Thursday, September 26, 2019

Week of September 23 - 27

What We've Been Up To:

Reading: We are beginning to work on recognizing traits of the characters in the stories that we are reading. Students are busy reading, doing Lexia, and teachers are reading individually with students to understand what skills each student needs. 

Word Study:  This week we worked on adding the -ing ending to words with a final e and words with a double vowel. The rules for the week will come home each Monday along with a few words that your child will need to know how to apply the rule to on the Friday assessment. Assessments will be sent home on Mondays along with the new rule sheet for the week.

Math: All of our skills are starting to come together. We are now beginning to add 3-digit numbers together while making sure that we round and estimate first in order to know if our answer is reasonable. We still have a number of students that are struggling to add and subtract 10 easily or count backwards from larger numbers. Please have fun with your child at home by practicing this skill. 

Science: Our first "mystery" was solved this week! Students learned what a plant needs to make seeds. We hope you enjoyed their flower and bee activity that came home this week! They thoroughly enjoyed the activity.

Social StudiesThe social studies test came home. Please look at it so you know how your child is progressing. Next week we will begin the "5 Themes of Geography".

Writing: Personal narrative work has started! Your child has chosen a topic and we are learning all of the important features that must be included in a personal narrative (strong emotion, writing through the senses, a crystal clear moment, small amounts of dialogue, and clear events throughout the story).


Next Week's Schedule:
Monday: B Day
Tuesday: C Day
Wednesday: D Day 
Thursday: E Day
Friday: F Day
Upcoming Events:
Oct. 2  : Late Start
              Student Count Day
Oct. 7  : Teachers will begin conferencing families
Oct. 10: 1/2 day of school (dismissal 12:05)
Oct. 11: Access at 8:00 a.m.
              1/2 day of school (dismissal 12:05)
Oct. 16: Late Start
Oct. 17: PTO (noon)
              Donuts with your Superman (Last name A-K)
Oct. 18: Donuts with your Superman (Last name L - Z)
Oct. 22: 3rd Grade Teachers out in the afternoon for curriculum development
Oct. 23: Late Start
              Picture Retakes
Oct. 30: Late Start
              Book Fair Begins
Oct. 31: Halloween Party
Nov. 1  : Popcorn Friday

Conferences

Conferences will begin the week of Oct. 7th. In the fall, conferences are split into 2 sessions. The second session begins the week of Nov. 4th. You will be contacted by your teacher to sign up for a time during one of those two sessions. If you feel it is important to meet with the teacher during the first round of conferences, please contact her and let her know. 

Paws on the Path Ends Tomorrow
Just a reminder that Paws on the Path classroom totals end tomorrow (Friday, Sept. 27). We want to thank you again for your generous donations. What a difference your donations make for our students! 

Planners
The goal of planners is to increase communication between home and school. To ensure that parents see what we are doing each day, we have asked that planners be signed nightly. We understand that occasionally your family may forget to sign the planner. However, we ask that you do not sign the planner ahead of time just so that it is signed. The nightly conversation that happens between you and your student while looking at the planner is the reason that we request your signature. Thank you for understanding and taking time to be part of your child's learning this year!

Scholastic Book Orders
Scholastic book orders are a fun and inexpensive way to get books in the hands of your child. AND!!! Our class earns points for free books when you order! If you would like to order, please go to:
You can choose the books you would like to order and pay right online. The process is easy--you just need your child's teacher codes. They are as follows:
Covert: N96RR
Knuth: J7328
Yoder: W6DZ3

        

Thursday, September 19, 2019

September 16 - 20



Paws on the Path Tomorrow!!
What a very fun day for our kids! Thank you to our spirit parents that took time to get the kids excited this week. Also, thank you to ALL of our families that donated to help our school. Clarke teachers feel so fortunate to be part of such an amazing schools with such supportive families. Our children definitely benefit from your generosity. Hope to see you tomorrow!

Back-to-School Night
Thank you to everyone that came to visit third grade for Back-to-School Night. We very much appreciate your time. The pdf from the presentation is posted on our ItsLearning pages. We are really looking forward to partnering with you this year to ensure the best education for your child. 

Planners
Please don't forget to have your child show you their planner each night. We would like you to sign their planner to show that you looked at the planner with your child. 

Social Studies Test
We will have our first social studies test on Tuesday. A study guide is coming home by Friday. Please review with your child. There is also a Kahoot! on our itslearning page which is a fun quiz game you can play (2 devices are needed). 

Scholastic Book Orders
Scholastic book orders are a fun and inexpensive way to get books in the hands of your child. AND!!! Our class earns points for free books when you order! If you would like to order, please go to:
You can choose the books you would like to order and pay right online. The process is easy--you just need your child's teacher codes. They are as follows:
Covert: N96RR
Knuth: J7328
Yoder: W6DZ3

          

Next Week's Schedule:
Monday: C Day
Tuesday: D Day
Wednesday: E Day 
Thursday: F Day
Friday: A Day
Upcoming Events:
Sept. 23: Paws On the Path Donations Continue
Sept. 25: Late Start
                Lunch is changed to hot ham on a pretzel bun
Sept. 26: Lunch is changed to breaded chicken leg
Sept. 27: Paws On the Path Collections End
What We've Been Up To:
Reading: We continue working on the structures, routines, and behavior that set us up for optimal learning during our daily 5 rounds. Teachers have been reading with students to get to know what skills will need to be practiced to improve reading for your child. We have also started our Lexia program.

Word Study:  Finishing up Unit 2--adding -ing to VC and VCC words. Ask your child the rules! Next week we learn how to add -ing to VCe and VVC words. We will text on these words each Friday. 
*drop the final e before adding -ing (take becomes taking)
*just add -ing to VVC words (steal becomes stealing)

Math: We have completed the rounding portion of Unit 1. Students that are not secure with the skill of rounding will receive intervention to master that skill. We are now moving on to adding and subtracting 2 and 3 digit numbers.

Science: Science will begin next week!

Social StudiesFinished unit 1. Study guide coming home by Friday. Test on Tuesday. Please help your child review.

Writing: No formal writing unit has been started yet, but we have been writing just for fun!

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Sept. 9 - 13


Pictures Tomorrow--Friday, September 13th
All students at school will be photographed for the class composite and school records tomorrow. Fliers to order pictures were sent home last week. To order online, please visit:
The code for our school is 3717IAYSOEDVIM. All credit card orders must be handled online. You may also send cash or check to school in your child's envelope. Please mark the "online order" box and make sure the exact amount is included. Please make checks to GPI

Bear Wear Order
For families wishing to order bear wear, please use the above link to do so. Orders must be placed by Tuesday, September 17th at 11:49 p.m.  All orders will be delivered to school 3 weeks after the store closes.

Back-to-School Night
We look forward to seeing all of our new families Monday night for back-to-school night. Times are as follows:
5:15 - 6:00pm - 1st & 2nd Grade
6:15 - 7:00pm - 3rd & 4th Grade
7:15 - 8:00pm - 5th Grade

Paws on the Path
Our official Paws on the Path kickoff is tomorrow at lunch. Packets will come home with your child. Paws on the Path is our main fundraiser for the year and an amazing community event sponsored by our PTO. The information included in the packet will help you get started assisting your child's class in our annual competition. We hope you will be able to join us the afternoon of September 20th for the actual event. It's always such a fun time for everyone!

Scholastic Book Orders
Scholastic book orders are a fun and inexpensive way to get books in the hands of your child. AND!!! Our class earns points for free books when you order! If you would like to order, please go to:
You can choose the books you would like to order and pay right online. The process is easy--you just need your child's teacher codes. They are as follows:
Covert: N96RR
Knuth: J7328
Yoder: W6DZ3

          

Next Week's Schedule:
Monday: D Day
Tuesday: E Day
Wednesday: F Day
Thursday: A Day
Friday: B Day
Upcoming Events:
Sept. 16: Back to School Night
Sept. 17: Bear Wear orders due
Sept. 18: Late Start
Sept. 19: PTO (Noon)
Sept. 20: Paws on the Path (specific times to come later)
Sept. 25: Late Start

What we've been up to:
Reading: We have been working on building our reading stamina. This is important as students will be doing a lot of reading in 3rd grade! We have also been reviewing and practicing our class routines for Reader's Workshop so that students are ready to make the most out of their learning time while the teacher meets with students in small groups for reading instruction. Also, remember that students need to spend a lot of time reading! Third grade teachers expect students to read at least 5 out of 7 nights at home for at least 20 minutes. This is a nice wind down activity at night or, if you are having difficulty fitting it into your life, have your child read while you travel from place to place. A trip to the store and back could earn your child 10 minutes of reading time!

Word Study:  Our first word study unit was compound words. This was a fun unit for our students and got them used to some of the routines that we have for word study. Our current unit is adding -ing to VC and VCC pattern words. What does this mean? The word run is a vc (vowel consonant) pattern. The final consonant is doubled before adding -ing to become running. Words like talk and pass have a VCC pattern (vowel-consonant-consonant). Because there are already 2 consonants, there is no doubling before adding the -ing making the words talking and passing. Now you know the rule that perhaps you just did automatically!

Math: We are very excited about the start of our first math unit! Our first standard is based around place value. We want our students to have a solid understanding of numbers. Children should be able to count forward and backwards by 10's and 100's from any number. They should easily be able to add 10's and 100's to numbers also. Additionally, we are working on rounding numbers to the nearest 10's and 100's. Our kickoff was a place value popcorn party that helped us learn how to round numbers--it was a lot of fun!

Science: We have not started our first science unit yet.

Social StudiesWe are learning all about Michigan's state symbols, the Great Lakes, and the surrounding states. Next week we will have a quiz on the map of Michigan. Students are expected to label the Great Lakes as well as Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. We are practicing in class, but we will send home extra maps so your child can give it a try at home as well. 

Writing: No formal writing unit has been started yet, but we have been writing just for fun!


Thursday, September 5, 2019

September 3rd-6th


E.P. Clarke Information
http://clarkeconnection.blogspot.com/


Welcome Back!

Welcome back to school! It has been wonderful to see our hallways and classrooms filled with the excitement a new school year brings! 

This blog will provide 3rd Grade families with information that pertains to learning, field trips, upcoming events, and any other pertinent news. We will be sending the link via email at the end of every week (and also posting to our itslearning page). Thank you for taking the time to read along!

Forms
We are still missing some emergency contact forms and parent questionnaires. Please send these (as well as any other paperwork) to school as soon as possible. If you need an extra copy, please don't hesitate to reach out to your child's teacher. 


Supplies
Thank you for sending in the suggested 3rd grade supplies. If you haven't done so already, we are still gladly accepting them. In addition, we will be using headphones/earbuds in the near future, so please send those at your earliest convenience if you have not. Those are not something that we like children to share so it is important that they each have their own pair. Art shirts and a pair of gym shoes (to be left at school) are also recommended. Lastly, if you would like to donate a pair of scissors to the classroom we could each use a few extra pair in the classroom. Thank you for your support!

Snack
We do allow students to have 2 snacks each day. We have been providing those snacks for students if they forgot this week, but ask that you help remind your child next week to pack those the night before. In addition, if you are able to send in goldfish or pretzels for community snack, we would greatly appreciate it! As a reminder, only water is allowed in our classroom.  

Back to School Night
Our back to school night will be held Monday, September 16th. This event is for parents/guardians only, and will be filled with information regarding the upcoming school year. We will discuss what we will be learning, classroom expectations, communication, and offer sign-ups for parent helpers and classroom parties. 

Anything Else?
If there is anything that would help your child have a successful year, or any additional information you would like to share, please don't hesitate to reach out. We look forward to working with you this year!



Next Week's Schedule:
Monday: E Day
Tuesday: F Day
Wednesday: A Day --LATE START
Thursday: B Day 
Friday: C Day 
Upcoming Events:
September 6th: Tailgate at the high school 
September 16th: Back to School Night