Dear Third Grade Parents,

I hope all of you have a wonderful week and have a blessed Easter celebration with family and friends. Please be sure to check this week's Curriculum Update.


Curriculum Update for the Week of March 30, 2015:

Religion:  The Chapter 18 Quiz has been moved to Tuesday;  Read and discuss the end of the Season of Lent and what we have done to prepare for Easter and Holy Week

Math:  Continue Chapter 6:  Name Polygons; Parallelograms, Rectangles, Squares and Rhombuses; Drawing Quadrilaterals; Classifying Quadrilaterals;  Continue nightly homework of ALEKS

Reading:  Continue unit on Greek Mythology; Continue in guided reading groups- The Penderwicks, Tuesdays at the Castle and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Read and discuss Chapters 5-7

Language Arts:  Grammar- continue verb tenses; subject-verb agreement; Verb review; Verb Quiz on Thursday; Vocabulary Workshop: Finish Unit 6- suffix -ment, -ity, -ive, -ike; Unit 1-6 Review

Science:  Continue Chapter 8:  States of matter- solids, liquids and gas; Changes in water; How matter is measured

Social Studies:  Continue Chapter 8:  The roles of citizens; making choices by voting

Thank you for all you do to help make Stella Maris Academy an amazing place to learn.  Take care and God bless!

Sincerely,
Ms. Eileen Griffin
Your Third Grade Teacher

Spring Has Sprung!

Dear Third Grade Parents,

Happy spring to one and all!  With the season of spring, there often comes an epidemic of spring fever and our third graders are not immune to this.  I can place myself in their shoes and remember those days  when you can see Easter Vacation just around the corner.  I cannot say I blame them.  The Third Graders have been working hard to end the third quarter on a high note and this Friday marks the end of the quarter.  This week, we will be working diligently to ensure all "missing" or "late" assignments are complete and the on-line grade book gaps should be updated as the week progresses.

Just a reminder, the Third Graders will now be required to complete 10-15 minutes of the ALEKS Mathematics Enrichment Program each night for homework.  A link to the site is posted here on the right side bar.  Your help and support of this valuable tool that assists in advancing your child's mathematical skills is most appreciated.  Thank you!

Lastly, Monday is a mass day and the Third Graders will be attending a Lenten Penance Service as well.  It will definitely be a busy morning.

Here is this week's Curriculum Update.  Thank you for keeping on top of things!

Curriculum Update for the Week of March 23, 2015:

Religion:  Continue Chapter 18-  God is our Forgiving Father; the Parable of the Prodigal Son; The Sacrament of Penance and its parts; Chapter 18 Quiz next Monday, March 30th

Reading:  Continue to meet in guided reading groups to read and discuss novels of study; Whole Group:  Begin genre study of Greek Mythology:  read and complete activities for "King Midas and the Golden Touch"

Language Arts:  Spelling Test on Thursday;  Grammar:  continue irregular verbs; Vocabulary Workshop:  Begin Unit 6; Writing:  Begin planning paragraphs of opinions

Math:  Continue to review multiplication tables; review rounding to the nearest ten and estimate sums and differences; review two-step word problems; Begin Unit 6: Polygons, perimeter and area

Social Studies:  Begin chapter 8- being a good citizen; character traits and building model citizens;  Roles of citizens

Science:  Begin chapter 8-  what is matter and its properties; the states of matter

Art:  Native American Burlap Weaving- Learn about Southwest design and Navajo culture; Learn how to make prints with stencils; Learn how to control the use of paint in the printing process; Learn how to weave in a variety of patterns; Learn simple stitchery

Music:  Continue to learn how to read music and play the recorder

Have a wonderful week.  Thank you for all you do to help make Stella Maris Academy a wonderful place to learn.  Take care and God bless.

Sincerely,
Ms. Eilee Griffin
Your Third Grade Teacher

Dear Third Grade Parents,
What a warm weekend of early spring fun!  I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend.  Please be sure to check this week's Curriculum Update to see what we will be up to.


Curriculum Update for the Week of March 16, 2015:

Religion:  Going out to love and serve the Lord; Concluding Rites; Chapter 17 Quiz on Thursday- the parts of the mass: Introductory Rites, Liturgy of the Eucharist Concluding RItes

Math:  adding money amounts; estimating differences; review subtracting three-digit numbers; subtracting with regrouping tens and hundreds

Reading:  Finish reading Matilda- Chapters 18-21;  Begin new guided reading groups:  read and discuss Ch 1-3 of Tuesdays at the Castle; The Penderwicks; Chitty Chitty Bang Bang depending upon which group your student is in

Social Studies: Finish Chapter 7- History of the local government: councils, public works, local government services; Begin Chapter 8: Being a good citizen- justice, responsibility, respect and caring

Science:  Finish Chapter 7 and review the planets, stars, moon and sun;  Finish solar system scavenger hunt and fact file

Language Arts:  Spelling Test on Thursday; Begin vocabulary workshop unit 5- completing the sentence and synonyms and antonyms; Grammar- regular and irregular verbs

I would like to extend a BIG thank you to Mrs. Koresaar and Mrs. Goldman for coming into the third grade and helping the class create their own colorful and glittery clay stars.  Thank you for giving us your time, ladies.  Your help and guidance are priceless.  I would also like to thank Mrs. Daley and Mrs. Turquand for their time creating another amazing Art Literacy project inspired by Faith Ringgold. The time and energy our wonderful parents put into creating such wonderful projects is a true blessing. Thank you for helping to make Stella Maris Academy the best place to laugh and learn.

Have a wonderful week!  Take care and God bless.

Sincerely,
Ms. Eileen Griffin
Your Third Grade Teacher

Dear Third Grade Parents,

Here is this week's Curriculum Update!  Thank you for continuing to check in!

Curriculum Update for the Week of March 9, 2015:

Religion:  Begin Chapter 17:  Gathering to praise God!;  Introductory Rites, the Liturgy of the Word, the Liturgy of the Eucharist, and Concluding Rites

Math:  This week will be a week of review of past concepts:  addition; estimating sums; adding money; estimating differences; subtracting 3-digit numbers; Subtracting with regrouping tens and hundreds; Review of multiplication tables

Reading:  Continue to read and complete comprehension activities for Matilda- Chapters 15- 18; Continue to read and discuss guided reading group novels

Language Arts:  Grammar- helping verbs and regular/irregular verbs; Begin Unit 4 of Vocabulary Workshop- completing the sentences, synonyms and antonyms

Science:  Finish Chapter 7- the solar system scavenger hunt and fact file search

Social Studies:  Continue Chapter 7- the Three Branches of the Federal Government; Local Government in California- city and town government

Art:  Continue to study Van Gogh and his painting of The Sunflowers

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend of sunshine and quality family time.  Have a wonderful week.  Thank you for all you do to help make Stella Maris Academy an amazing place to learn.  Take care and God bless.

Sincerely,
Ms. Griffin
Your Third Grade Teacher

Dear Third Grade Parents,

Thank you for checking in each week to see what we are up to.  It is greatly appreciated and helpful to your third grader.

This week will be busy as the second and third grade classes prepare to host the All School Mass on Friday, March 6.  In addition, the school will also be playing host to members of the San Diego Philharmonic on Thursday morning.  The Philharmonic will be performing  "Peter and the Wolf".  I can hardly wait to experience this with the class.  It should be a memorable event.


Here is this week's Curriculum Update for the Week of March 2, 2015:

Religion:  Chapter 16 Quiz on Tuesday;  Begin Chapter 17- We Worship at Mass- the parts of the Mass:  Introductory Rites and the Liturgy of the Word;  Deacon Mark Wieczorek will be our guest speaker to answer all our "pressing" third grade questions about our Catholic Faith.

Math:  Practice two-step word problems; Equations and two-step word problems; focus on mathematical practices; Multiplication review

Reading:  Continue to read and complete comprehension activities for Matilda- Chapters 11-14;  Guided Reading:  Continue to read and discuss group novels

Language Arts:  Grammar:  Continue unit on verbs- regular/irregular verbs and helping verbs;  Unit 22 Spelling test on Thursday

Social Studies:  Continue Chapter 7- A new government- the Constitution;  Junior Achievement Lesson #5

Science:  Finish Chapter 7- Motions of the moon; moon phases; characteristics of the moon; Planet scavenger hunt

Art:  Become familiar with the art of Vincent Van Gogh; Practice drawing skills by drawing a vase of sunflowers; Practice tempura painting techniques; create an original sunflower painting in the manner of Van Gogh

Music:  Continue to read music and practice playing the recorder.

Thank you again for checking in each week to see what we are up to in the third grade.  Have a wonderful and safe week/weekend.  Take care and God bless.

Sincerely,
Ms. Eileen Griffin
Your Third Grade Teacher

Dear Third Grade Parents,

I hope everyone had a wonderful four day weekend!!!!!!  Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Presidents' Day.

Thank you for helping to make our class Valentine's Day celebration a great success.  It was a fun day for the kids to enjoy.  I especially loved the Alice in Wonderland Theme.

I would also like to thank Mrs. Wieczorek, Mrs. Koresaar, Mrs. Liem, Mrs. Broyles,  Mrs. Limberg and Mrs. Turquand for driving and chaperoning on our fabulous field trip to Old Town.  The class had an amazing experience and learned a great deal about how our city of San Diego first came to be.  The history of San Diego's early residents is very colorful and full of great stories.  Thank you for helping to make this possible.

Be sure to check this week's Curriculum Update to see what we will be up to this week!

Curriculum Update for the Week of February 16, 2015:

Religion:  Chapter 15 Quiz on Tuesday;  Begin Chapter 16-  Passover and The Last Supper; The Mass is a sacrifice and a meal

Reading:Continue to read and complete comprehension activities for chapters 5-8 of Matilda;  Guided Reading Groups:  Continue to meet and read in individual reading groups

Language Arts:  Spelling- Unit 20 Test on Friday;  Vocabulary Workshop-  Continue unit 3; Grammar:  Verbs- action, regular and irregular

Math:  word problems with unknown addends and unknown factors; word problems with unknown starts; comparison problems; comparison problems with misleading information

Social Studies:  Chapter 7- community laws and government;  The U. S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights

Science:  Continue chapter 7- our solar system; the inner and outer planets

Music:  Continue to learn to play recorders

Art:  Continue to work on Noah's Ark inspired paintings

Have a wonderful week Third Grade Families.  Thank you for all you do to make Stella Maris Academy an amazing place to learn.  Take care and God bless!

Sincerely,
Ms. Griffin
Your Third Grade Teacher

Dear Third Grade Parents,

This week the third graders and I will be learning all about the start of our San Diego Community.  On Wednesday we are going on our field trip to Old Town.  The class and I can hardly wait.  It should be a great time and a valuable learning experience.  Thank you for helping to make it possible.

Please be sure to check this week's Curriculum Update to see what will be covered in Third Grade.

Curriculum Update for the Week of February 9, 2015:

Religion:  Continue Chapter 13- The Seven Sacraments: The Sacraments of Healing and the Sacraments of Service to Others;  Chapter 15 Quiz next Tuesday

Math:  focus on mathematical practices; addition and subtraction situations; chapter 4 review; review multiplication facts

Social Studies:  Finish Chapter 6- Learning about our community; Begin Chapter 7- Our government- local and federal

Science:  Begin Chapter 7- What is a star?;  Stars and light; The planets and our solar system

Language Arts:  Grammar- review there, their, they're, your, you're, its, it's;  Vocabulary Workshop: Unit 4- understanding the definitions; completing the sentences;  Spelling: Unit 19 Test on Thursday

Reading:  Read and complete comprehension activities for Roald Dahl's novel, Matilda- chapters 1-4;  Guided Reading Groups: read and discuss individual book studies

Art:  Compose pictures combining observation and imagination; Distinguish between foreground, middle ground and background; Distinguish knowledge of perspective through size and overlapping

Music:  continue to practice and play recorders

Have a fantastic week!  Thank you for all you do to help make Stella Maris Academy an amazing place to learn!  Take care and God bless.

Sincerely,
Ms. Eileen Griffin
Your Third Grade Teacher