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

Dear Third Grade Parents,

Thank you for helping to make this year's Catholic Schools' Week a great success.  We have an amazing Catholic School Community here at SMA and this week we truly did shine brightly.  I am so blessed and proud to be a part of this family.  Thank you for all of the love and support you give to the Third Grade Class.

Please be sure to check this week's Curriculum Update below.  It should be a fairly quiet week in comparison to last week.

Curriculum Update for the Week of  February 2, 2015:

Religion:  Chapter 12 Quiz on Monday;  Begin chapter 13, the Church celebrates the Sacraments of Initiation, Holy Orders and Healing

Math:  Review subtraction and regrouping (borrowing) across zeros;  Quick Quiz on Wednesday- subtraction;  relate addition and subtraction; addition and subtraction practice; solve word problems; Quick quiz Friday on subtraction and addition

Reading:  Whole Group:  Read and discuss "City Critters";  Complete comprehension activities for "City Critters";  Guided Reading:  Meet in guided reading groups to read and discuss group novels

Science:  Continue Chapter 6- how we describe the features of the Earth's surface; earthquakes and volcanos; Begin Chapter 7- Stars and light; types of stars

Social Studies:  Finish chapter 6- the story of a community; Begin chapter 7- The Capital- rules, laws, and community government

Language Arts:  Unit 18 Spelling Test on Friday- words with the /j/ sound;  Vocabulary Workshop:  Continue unit 3 synonyms and antonyms; completing the sentence; Grammar: verbs/contractions: their, there and they're; your and you're;  Writing:  Continue "If I Were A Superhero..."

Art:  compose pictures combining observation and imagination; distinguish between foreground, middle ground and background; demonstrate knowledge of perspective through size and overlapping; demonstrate a controlled use of watercolor;  Students will need to bring in a small stuffed animal- beanie babies

Music:  Continue to study how to read and play music on the recorder

Thank you to Mrs. Koresaar for helping the third graders to create the Queen of Hearts' guards from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.  They turned out very well.  Thank you so much, Mrs. Koresaar!

Have a wonderful weekend Third Grade Families!!!!  Thank you for all you do to help make Stella Maris Academy the best school in San Diego.  Take care and God bless!!!

Sincerely,
Ms. Griffin
Your Third Grade Teacher

Happy Catholic Schools' Week!

Dear Third Grade Parents,

This is going to be an exciting week of celebrating our wonderful Catholic School, Stella Maris Academy!  The week will be filled with some fun activities.  I can hardly wait for the international lunch.  I am certain you will have the full report of each day.

Please be sure to go over this week's Curriculum Update to see all we hope to learn this week.

Curriculum Update for the Week of January 26, 2015:

Religion:  Finish Chapter 12- God calls some men to be priests or deacons;  the Sacrament of Holy Orders;  Chapter 12 Quiz on Friday

Math:  Subtract across zeros;  discuss methods of subtraction; ungroup to subtract; Relate addition and subtraction

Reading:  Whole Group:  Read and discuss the story "The Legend of Damon and Pythias";  Complete comprehension activities together and independently; Guided Reading Groups:  Read and discuss group novels- The Courage of Sarah Noble, Stone Fox, The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe;  "Who Was... "  Book Report due on Tuesday;  Read Aloud:  Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland

Language Arts:  Grammar:  Contractions- its and it's, they're, their, there; Vocabulary Workshop:  Begin Unit 3- match the meaning, synonyms and antonyms

Science:  Continue chapter 5- How we describe features of the Earth's surface, landforms, volcanos and earthquakes

Social Studies: Finish chapter 6- the story of a community; discover your community's history;  Read Aloud-  Little House on the Prairie;  Junior Achievement Session #2 on Tuesday afternoon

Art:  Continue to analyze Picasso's use of abstract, geometric shapes and balanced composition in The Three Musicians;  Create a Cubist collage of musicians using shapes to build figures and bright contrasting colors to show mood

Music:  Continue to learn and study how to read music;  learn and practice playing the recorder

Thank you, Parents for checking in each week to see what is going on in the Third Grade.  Don't forget, permission slips for our class field trip to Old Town went home last Friday.  The payment and permission slips are due on January 29th.

I hope all of you have a wonderful week.  I look forward to seeing many of you throughout the week as we celebrate Catholic Schools' Week.  Thank you for all you do to help make Stella Maris Academy the BEST school in  San Diego!!!!!!!  Take care and God bless.

Sincerely,
Ms Eileen Griffin
Your Third Grade Teacher

Dear Third Grade Parents,

On behalf of her family, thank you to all who helped build Ember's care package.  We made her day.  She is recovering comfortably at home and should be able to join us again soon.    Thank you, again!

I would also like to thank Mrs. Daly and Mrs. Turquand for coming in to teach a  great Art Literacy lesson.  Their time and dedication to this amazing program is greatly appreciated.

Please check the Curriculum Update below to learn what the third graders will be up to this week.

Curriculum Update for the Week of January 19, 2015:

Religion:  Chapter 11 Quiz on Tuesday;  Begin Chapter 12- God calls us all to holiness

Reading:  Continue in guided reading groups; whole group-  read and discuss the story, "Rugby and Rosie";  Go over story vocabulary and comprehension questions;  "Who Was…?" book report due January 27th

Math:  Discuss addition methods;  the grouping concept in addition;  practice addition;  quick quiz on Thursday on rounding to the nearest hundreds and tens and addition;

Science:  Continue Chapter 6:  What are rocks and minerals; what is soil;  the layers of soil

Social Studies:  Begin Chapter 6:  communities grow;  communities grow with the gold rush; how to read population maps; the story of a community

Language Arts:  Vocabulary Workshop- Finish Unit 2 and begin Unit 3- word meaning and complete the sentences;  Grammar- Direct objects; Writing- paragraph titled, "What SMA Means to Me"

Art:  Continue to study Picasso and his use of abstraction, geometric shapes and balanced composition in The Three Musicians;

Music:  Continue to read music and play the recorder

As you can see, the class and I will have a busy week of fun and learning as we wrap up this last week of the second quarter.

Be on the look out for a field trip permission slip coming home this week.  The third graders are heading to Old Town to take a tour of the first community here in San Diego.  It should be a great living experience of what we are studying in Social Studies.

Have a wonderful week of San Diego sunshine.  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

Dear Third Grade Parents,

This week will be a busy week as we are now in full swing after one full week back from the Christmas break.  The class has been working hard to end the second quarter on a high note and I am certain this week will show the same great results.  Please be sure to check the Curriculum Update below for upcoming tests or quizzes.

Lastly, a gentle reminder to please make certain your child is following the SMA uniform dress code each day.  This include making sure that shoes worn are either all black or all white, depending on regular school days, mass days or P.E. days.  Socks must also be of the correct length or style.  Thank you so much for your care and attention to this matter.  Please be sure to check the school handbook for any questions or clarifications with regard to the school uniform.

Curriculum Update for the Week of January 12, 2015:

Religion:  Continue and finish Chapter 11-  How our parish cares for others;  Chapter 11 Quiz on Friday

Math:  More practice with place value;  Round to the nearest hundred, ten; Explore multi-digit addition;  addition methods

Reading:  Continue in guided reading groups; Whole group reading- read and discuss "The Tree House" and complete reading activities in reader's notebook

Social Studies:  Continue chapter 5- early communities, the Spanish missions; how communities change

Science:  Continue chapter 6- weather and climate; what are rocks and minerals and how to identify rocks and minerals

Language Arts:  continue unit 2 of vocabulary workshop; Grammar- finish unit on contractions and begin unit on direct objects; Unit 15 Spelling Test on Friday

Art:  Analyze Picasso's use of abstraction, geometric shapes and balanced composition in The Three Musicians; Practice sketching figures using geometric shapes; create a Cubist collage of musicians using shapes to build figures and bright contrasting colors to show mood

Music:  continue to learn and play the recorders

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

Sincerely,
Ms. Griffin
Your Third Grade Teacher