Dear Parents and/or
Guardians,
Welcome back to
another school year! It was so nice to meet all of you at Meet the Teacher. It
is hard to believe that night was only two weeks ago! I appreciate all of your
warm welcomes to the Archway community. We are going to have a great year
together.
Thank you for
your time in continuing to sign your student’s agenda and reading log. Please
also look out for any tests coming home. I am asking that students bring home the
test for you to sign. I feel that this is an efficient way to increase
communication about grades between the school and home. Below you will find
information about the news in our classroom. Thank you for your time and
interest in your child’s academic life. Our weekly schedule is on the reverse
side.
Please email me
at bheadrick@archwaychandler.org to confirm that you received this newsletter.
I would like to get an email list of all the parents of students in the class. Also,
look out for an updated blog coming soon! Finally, I would like to invite you
to join Melanie Hunter as co-classroom liaison. Please email me if you are
interested in this greatly appreciated classroom role.
This Week In…
Science: Our
third-grade scientists are coming to learn the classification system. Last week
we grouped animals by vertebrates and invertebrates, then according to whether
they are warm- or cold-blooded. This week we are starting to learn the
classification system. Students now know the order is: Kingdom, Phylum, Class,
Order, Family, Genus, Species. One way to remember this is: Kings Play Chess on
Fine Grain Sand. Today we had an exciting science presentation with a live
snake in the Chandler Prep auditorium as an example of a cold-blooded
invertebrate. Friday, Ms. Bettis will bring her bearded dragon to each
third-grade class. This is to introduce students to a cold-blooded vertebrate.
Next week we will be looking further into cold-blooded vertebrates.
Language Arts: Last
week, we read a short story called Gone
is Gone. This week, we will read Amelia
Bedelia to introduce students to literal vs. implied meaning of words and
phrases. Next week, we will begin reading our first novel, Shiloh. Please make sure that your child has this book with him/her
at school. We are reviewing in Riggs phonics before beginning our new spelling
words. Archway Chandler has started using a new grammar program—Shurley
grammar, which we will delve into next week. We are currently reviewing
capitalization rules and nouns before commencing our work in the more rigorous
grammar curriculum.
History/Geography:
Last week, students took a test on the seven continents and four oceans. We did
a great job! This week, we are coming into a more narrow geographic focus by
using our map skills to study North America, the United States, Arizona,
Phoenix, and our school. We are discussing the difference between state and
national borders. Additionally, we are learning about the land forms in the
United States.
General
Classroom Procedures: As a group, we are establishing appropriate behavior in
the classroom. Please discuss the meaning of appropriate school and classroom
behavior with your child. We are working on following directions the first time
they are given and, in doing so, cutting down transition time. Students are
working toward having a full five minute activity at the end of the school day.
We were able to play yesterday for three minutes; every day has improved since
Friday. We are trying to keep that momentum going. I am confident that we can
do it!
