Kelly Elementary School -- Back to School Night
Dear Parents,
Welcome to the 3rd grade! My name is Mr. Hernandez and I am looking forward to starting another
year here at Kelly Elementary School!
Curriculum
This will give you some general information regarding our classroom curriculum and procedures for the school year.
For Reading, we use the district adopted Open Court series. Students will be expected to use a variety of comprehension strategies that aid them in reading and understanding grade level material. In Writing, students will progress through the stages of the writing process. They will write a friendly letter, descriptive paragraph, and summarize a story. They will learn and use correct punctuation and grammar. Students will be learning to write in cursive.
In Math, students will understand place value and expanded notation, as well as rounding. Word problem solving strategies will also be covered. Students will need to memorize their multiplication and division facts from 0 – 10 and will be using Rowley Math methods at school to aid in the memorization of these facts. Students will be expected to practice their multiplication facts and I will be asking parents to help with this at home. We will also be learning geometric terms and shapes, plus recording the outcomes of probability experiments.
For Social Studies, we will be using the district adopted Scott Foresman series. We will be learning about land forms, Native Americans, early settlers, Tracy’s community history, holidays, and symbols of our country.
In Science, we use the Houghton-Mifflin series. We will learn about forces, matter and energy (Physical Science), living
things (Life Science), and the solar system (Earth Science). Students will gather and record data in an organized way, and will communicate their findings.
Physical Education will be an opportunity for learning and demonstrating good sportsmanship along with fine tuning large and fine motor skills.
Homework:
The district has stated that homework for grades K-3 should average no more than 30 minutes per night. This will include 5 minutes for multiplication/division fact practice, plus spelling practice and a math review. It could also include unfinished work if time was not used wisely in class. The district homework guidelines also state,“Regular reading at home on a nightly basis is encouraged but not required in addition to the assigned homework.” Studies have shown that reading ability improves with practice. I hope that you as parents consider reading to be an important part of your child’s academic development and will encourage your child to read every night. Practicing reading also helps your child develop into a fluent and confident reader. Plus, reading to or with your child is a wonderful way to show them you care! Therefore, I am having students read for at least fifteen minutes in additionto their written
assignments. They will then write a brief summary of what they read, and turn in their summaries on Friday.
Your child is responsible for bringing their homework, notebooks, and agenda with written down assignments home each day, (Monday through Thursday). Each day, your child will bring home an agenda where they are responsible for writing down nightly homework and due dates. The actual work will be sent home each day. Please be sure your child has completed the homework that is assigned each day and that their agenda is initialed, verifying that you have seen their homework. Have your child place the homework back into their folder and put it back into their backpack, so that it will be brought to school the next day. They will not have homework on Fridays unless special circumstances arise.
Complete credit will be given to each child who returns completed homework at the beginning of class the next day. Recognition will be given for those who complete this task. In the event your child doesn’t complete the work, they will need to complete it during class, if they have extra time or during Friday Enrichment time. Students who complete it in class, will earn back their Friday Enrichment time.*** If, for some reason, your child is unable to complete the assignment due to unforeseen circumstances, please write a note to
me and your child may will be allotted extra time to make-up the work.
Make Up Work:
Students will be allowed 2 times the number of days absent to make up work. If you would like to pick up your child’s work after school or at lunch, let me know as early as possible.
Enrichment Friday/Study time
Every Friday, time is set aside to reward students who completed the week’s class work, homework, and did not receive any yellow/red days or no more than one green for the entire week in his or her Behavior Report. A fun activity is planned for this time. Students who do not meet the criteria may spend this time in a designated study room with a teacher.
Book Orders
Students will have the opportunity to order books from Scholastic Book Clubs. When your child wishes to order books, you may send in cash or write a check to the Book Club and return it to me the following day. Please be sure to pay attention to Book Order Due Dates.
Classroom Parties
Parties will occur throughout the year. A party note will be sent to you prior to the event to give you the opportunity to donate items
needed. Don’t forget that food items must be commercially prepared (store bought) per district health policy. If you don’t want your child to participate, please let me know. If your child has specific food allergies, let me know.
Birthdays
A student may celebrate their birthday in class. Any treats provided must be store bought. Please notify me at least ONE WEEK in advance to bringing in treats and we can together plan a good day and time. Children that have a birthday over the summer may have their parents make arrangements with me in order to find a good day and time to bring in treats at the end of the year.
Classroom Library
Students are more than welcome to help our classroom library grow by donating books that they no longer read. It will help expand our genre selection and will be a direct reflection of student interest. Donators will have the honor of being recognized by the class and will have his or her name written on the inside cover for future classes to see.
Damaged classroom materials
Oops! Sometimes accidents happen and materials such as book containers, classroom library books, writing and art tools become damaged. However, it can become quite costly to replace with a class of 32 students. In the event that a student damages classroom equipment, they will be required to replace it or provide the dollar amount.
Communication
In your child’s agenda, you find a section at the bottom of each to use for written communication. Please feel that this can be a way for us to communicate throughout the year. Please note, that I am also available by email, which is the best way to reach me.
Friday Folders
Friday Folders will be sent home each Friday. In each envelope will be your child’s work for that week. Please sign and return this envelope on Monday.
Assessments
District assessments will be given throughout the year. These are the grades that your child will receive on their report card.
Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking, and Math Standards, will receive grades as noted below:
4 – Student is progressing above grade level.
3 – Student is on target for meeting grade level standards.
2 – Student is approaching grade level standards.
1 – Student is below grade level standards.
**Science/Health, Social Studies, Visual and Performing Arts, and Physical Education will receive the following
grades:
E – Excellent
S – Satisfactory
N – Needs Improvement
I look forward to a wonderful year with you and your children. I know that together we will help them succeed in becoming successful and confident learners as well as citizens! Please let me know if you ever have any questions or ideas. I can be reached by email at [email protected] . I look forward to working with you and your child to make this a successful 3rd Grade year.
Dear Parents,
Welcome to the 3rd grade! My name is Mr. Hernandez and I am looking forward to starting another
year here at Kelly Elementary School!
Curriculum
This will give you some general information regarding our classroom curriculum and procedures for the school year.
For Reading, we use the district adopted Open Court series. Students will be expected to use a variety of comprehension strategies that aid them in reading and understanding grade level material. In Writing, students will progress through the stages of the writing process. They will write a friendly letter, descriptive paragraph, and summarize a story. They will learn and use correct punctuation and grammar. Students will be learning to write in cursive.
In Math, students will understand place value and expanded notation, as well as rounding. Word problem solving strategies will also be covered. Students will need to memorize their multiplication and division facts from 0 – 10 and will be using Rowley Math methods at school to aid in the memorization of these facts. Students will be expected to practice their multiplication facts and I will be asking parents to help with this at home. We will also be learning geometric terms and shapes, plus recording the outcomes of probability experiments.
For Social Studies, we will be using the district adopted Scott Foresman series. We will be learning about land forms, Native Americans, early settlers, Tracy’s community history, holidays, and symbols of our country.
In Science, we use the Houghton-Mifflin series. We will learn about forces, matter and energy (Physical Science), living
things (Life Science), and the solar system (Earth Science). Students will gather and record data in an organized way, and will communicate their findings.
Physical Education will be an opportunity for learning and demonstrating good sportsmanship along with fine tuning large and fine motor skills.
Homework:
The district has stated that homework for grades K-3 should average no more than 30 minutes per night. This will include 5 minutes for multiplication/division fact practice, plus spelling practice and a math review. It could also include unfinished work if time was not used wisely in class. The district homework guidelines also state,“Regular reading at home on a nightly basis is encouraged but not required in addition to the assigned homework.” Studies have shown that reading ability improves with practice. I hope that you as parents consider reading to be an important part of your child’s academic development and will encourage your child to read every night. Practicing reading also helps your child develop into a fluent and confident reader. Plus, reading to or with your child is a wonderful way to show them you care! Therefore, I am having students read for at least fifteen minutes in additionto their written
assignments. They will then write a brief summary of what they read, and turn in their summaries on Friday.
Your child is responsible for bringing their homework, notebooks, and agenda with written down assignments home each day, (Monday through Thursday). Each day, your child will bring home an agenda where they are responsible for writing down nightly homework and due dates. The actual work will be sent home each day. Please be sure your child has completed the homework that is assigned each day and that their agenda is initialed, verifying that you have seen their homework. Have your child place the homework back into their folder and put it back into their backpack, so that it will be brought to school the next day. They will not have homework on Fridays unless special circumstances arise.
Complete credit will be given to each child who returns completed homework at the beginning of class the next day. Recognition will be given for those who complete this task. In the event your child doesn’t complete the work, they will need to complete it during class, if they have extra time or during Friday Enrichment time. Students who complete it in class, will earn back their Friday Enrichment time.*** If, for some reason, your child is unable to complete the assignment due to unforeseen circumstances, please write a note to
me and your child may will be allotted extra time to make-up the work.
Make Up Work:
Students will be allowed 2 times the number of days absent to make up work. If you would like to pick up your child’s work after school or at lunch, let me know as early as possible.
Enrichment Friday/Study time
Every Friday, time is set aside to reward students who completed the week’s class work, homework, and did not receive any yellow/red days or no more than one green for the entire week in his or her Behavior Report. A fun activity is planned for this time. Students who do not meet the criteria may spend this time in a designated study room with a teacher.
Book Orders
Students will have the opportunity to order books from Scholastic Book Clubs. When your child wishes to order books, you may send in cash or write a check to the Book Club and return it to me the following day. Please be sure to pay attention to Book Order Due Dates.
Classroom Parties
Parties will occur throughout the year. A party note will be sent to you prior to the event to give you the opportunity to donate items
needed. Don’t forget that food items must be commercially prepared (store bought) per district health policy. If you don’t want your child to participate, please let me know. If your child has specific food allergies, let me know.
Birthdays
A student may celebrate their birthday in class. Any treats provided must be store bought. Please notify me at least ONE WEEK in advance to bringing in treats and we can together plan a good day and time. Children that have a birthday over the summer may have their parents make arrangements with me in order to find a good day and time to bring in treats at the end of the year.
Classroom Library
Students are more than welcome to help our classroom library grow by donating books that they no longer read. It will help expand our genre selection and will be a direct reflection of student interest. Donators will have the honor of being recognized by the class and will have his or her name written on the inside cover for future classes to see.
Damaged classroom materials
Oops! Sometimes accidents happen and materials such as book containers, classroom library books, writing and art tools become damaged. However, it can become quite costly to replace with a class of 32 students. In the event that a student damages classroom equipment, they will be required to replace it or provide the dollar amount.
Communication
In your child’s agenda, you find a section at the bottom of each to use for written communication. Please feel that this can be a way for us to communicate throughout the year. Please note, that I am also available by email, which is the best way to reach me.
Friday Folders
Friday Folders will be sent home each Friday. In each envelope will be your child’s work for that week. Please sign and return this envelope on Monday.
Assessments
District assessments will be given throughout the year. These are the grades that your child will receive on their report card.
Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking, and Math Standards, will receive grades as noted below:
4 – Student is progressing above grade level.
3 – Student is on target for meeting grade level standards.
2 – Student is approaching grade level standards.
1 – Student is below grade level standards.
**Science/Health, Social Studies, Visual and Performing Arts, and Physical Education will receive the following
grades:
E – Excellent
S – Satisfactory
N – Needs Improvement
I look forward to a wonderful year with you and your children. I know that together we will help them succeed in becoming successful and confident learners as well as citizens! Please let me know if you ever have any questions or ideas. I can be reached by email at [email protected] . I look forward to working with you and your child to make this a successful 3rd Grade year.