Happy New Week, Parents and Campers!


I am super proud of my campers and how well they have been adapting to the routines and flow of grade 3!  Campers are learning how to self-regulate and follow expectations independently very well!  Way to go, campers, looking forward to more growth and progress this week!


Parents, this Friday, October 5th, the grade 3 classes will be putting our first school mass in our school gym at 1:30 pm.  All are welcome to attend.  Students all have a role to play in our mass.  Please practise your child's reading part at home this week for those who are reading.  Some are carring the gifts while others are playing a role in a skit.

This week, we are formally beginning our Music program on the recorders.  Students are expected to spend a total of 10 minutes practising each night.  It is important that proper fingering of the notes A, B and G are playing properly before moving on.  These are the notes we will focus on for the first two weeks.  Happy playing!

Homework this week will be Math that is not finished in class along with reading and recorder practise.

Counsellor Wilson

SECRET QUESTION:  What is the theme of our Mass this Friday? (Hint:  See image to the left)

Dear Parents and Campers!

More GREAT news!  Agendas are in and we are back on track!  For those of you who had notes for me in the old agendas, see Monday's date for my response.  Words of the Week (WOW words) will be added every Monday.

Also, I have started Book Orders from Scholastic Book Clubs and have sent home a few orders.  Please feel free to sign up for online booking and send in the reference number to me.  Or, you can send in a cheque for the amount payable to Scholastic Canada.  No cash please, I do not have my own cheques to use.  I am also collecting suggestions from students for books that they would like to see in my classroom library so that I can purchase them!  Very exciting!

Happy Weekend Campers and Parents!
Enjoy this down time!

Counsellor Wilson

SECRET QUESTION:  What strategy would you use to solve 6 + 7?
A:  Doubles  
B:  Doubles plus One
C:  Almost Neighbours?

GREAT NEWS!

Recorders are coming home TONIGHT!

     Your child has been LOANED a Yamaha Soprano Recorder purchased by our school from Long & McQuade for approximately $8.00/each.
     We are asking that you take extra care to keep this recorder properly cleaned and maintained so that it can be returned at the end of the year.  If this recorder is damaged or goes missing, we ask that you replace it by either sending in $8.00 or by going to Long & McQuade to purchase a new one.  All recorders have been sanitized, however, if you want to clean it again, please feel free to do so. 

      It is called a BACKPACK recorder, so please keep this instrument in your child's backpack so that it is with them everyday at school.  Students may need reminders to return the recorder back to their backpacks after practising each night. I suggest 10 minutes each night to start. 

      Our music program begins next week.  I will be sending home music duo tangs for practise.

Happy Playing!

Counsellor Wilson

SECRET QUESTION:  Which hand, left or right, goes on top when playing the recorder? (Hint, look at image above).

Wednesday, September 26

Reminder:  2 Sessions

Session One:  4:30 pm
Session Two: 5:00 pm

Topics to be Discussed:

• Blog
• Attendance
• Agendas
• Needs
• Field Trips
• EQAO
• Assessment
• Curriculum
• Reading Challenge
• Mass
• Music - Recorders
• Christmas Performance

Looking forward to see you all soon!

Counsellor Wilson

SECRET QUESTION:  What is the theme of this year's class?

Happy Monday Parents and Campers!

Tonight, most students are coming home with our first Math test to be reviewed, corrected, signed and returned.  I will keep all assessments in a portfolio in your child's desk until the end of the year for reference.  This unit in NSN (Number Sense and Numeration) has been divided into two parts; Representing Numbers and Addition and Subtraction.  We began the second part of the unit today.  As you may have noticed, students are expected to learn their doubles to 12.  Please review the flashcards your child brings home and I will assess them each day to get rid of the ones they know.  Goal to learn all 13 doubles (included 0) will be Friday.


This Wednesday evening, September 26th, St. Chris will host our Meet the Teacher night.  It will run from 4:30 until 5:30pm.  I will run 2 sessions.  The first session will begin promptly at 4:30 pm.  The second session will begin promptly at 5:00 pm.  Please plan to attend one of these as it will prove to be very informative and I'd love to meet and greet you all!

Tomorrow I will be sending home our Term One Curriculum goals.  Stay tuned...

Counsellor Wilson

SECRET QUESTION:  Why do we need to learn our doubles?  Answer A, B, or C:

A:  It makes us 'cooler' knowing our doubles.
B:  Knowing your doubles helps you with addition strategies.
C:  Because Mrs. Wilson said so.

Parents, 

     Our math test has been rescheduled until Thursday this week!  I will send the Math books home again tonight for you to make sure the final pages are completed.  Please make sure your child is reviewing at home.  

Thanks,

Counsellor Wilson

SECRET QUESTION:  What is 34 rounded to the nearest ten?

Dear Parents,

THE CHALLENGE IS ON!

I would like to challenge each of my campers to read ... (drum roll please...)
3000 minutes by June 20th, 2019! Now, that sounds like a lot of reading, but it is actually only 15 minutes of reading a day, 5 days a week! If you choose to read on the weekends as well, you will definitely reach and even surpass this goal!  We will officially begin this week!  Please make sure your child logs his/her reading times on the Reading Log that will be given to each camper to be kept in their black pouches.  Parents must initial each entry.  

200 school days x 15 mins a night = 3000 minutes in total

All campers who reach this goal will be treated to a very delicious lunch with yours truly, Counsellor Wilson!  Details to follow!  

Let the challenge begin!  Campers are encouraged to read from our classroom take home reading books, but other books may also be counted towards reading time.

Happy reading campers!

Counsellor Wilson



Parents,
This is my rationale for this challenge, and I'm sure you would agree that the benefits make it all worth it!




































Thank you parents for your support, it wouldn't be possible without your help!

Counsellor Wilson

Secret Question:  Who is the main character of the Read Aloud text we are currently reading in class?

Dear Parents and Campers,

Well, we ALL made it through the first two weeks of school and we are now beginning to get down to the thick of it!  Friday, your child brought home his/her mini-progress report on their first week and a half in school!  I hope you take time to review areas of celebration as well as areas in need of improvement.  Overall, I am thrilled with our start!

Spelling Tests:  Your child also brought home their first Spelling test.  Please sign, have your child write his/her errors 10x each at the back of the booklet and return to school promptly on Monday.  Words spelled incorrectly will be repeated as the following week's WOW words until mastered.  A bonus word is included, however, students must know how to edit the sentence it is given in.  We are learning about the four types of sentences and how to correctly punctuate each of them.

Math:  I have broken down our first unit in Number Sense and Numeration into smaller, more manageable sections.  Our first Math test will be on Wednesday next week.  I will review in class as well as send the math duo tangs home for review on Monday and Tuesday.  Please go over with your child.


Science: We have been learning about stable structures using our unit vocabulary; structure, load, stable and strong,  We have conducted 2 experiments thus far and have determined that shorter structures are more stable than taller structures. We are also learning that tall structures can be made more stable by adding weight to the base.  Ask your child how they managed to use one sheet of paper and make a tower strong enough to support a load of 500g.


Music: We are beginning MUSIC! Next week, your child will be given a school recorder to use for the year.  It is a Yamaha Soprano Recorder purchased from Long and McQuade that costs approximately $7.99.  Should your child misplace or break this recorder, we ask that you replace it.   These recorders will be collected at the end of the year so that they may be used the following year.  Please keep your child's recorder in your child's back pack at all times when not in use.  I will be starting Music next week and want everyone to have their recorders here and ready to be played on any given day.  Thank you for your support.  Also, thank you for your patience while your child practises each night!  Expect to hear some Christmas jingles in a few months at our upcoming Christmas concert! More on that later!

That's good for now,

Counsellor Wilson

SECRET QUESTION:
This number is represented in expanded form: 600+50+3  Write it in standard form.

Parents,

  I apologize for the confusion about the Math homework last night.  Initially, students copied Math pgs 20 and 21 in their agendas, however, later that day, I changed it to pgs 22 and 23.  Some students did not change it in their agendas and consequently completed two pages of math that I have not taught/gone over yet. I explained to students that the only math going home would be pages we started working on in class and concepts I have taught.  Feel free to check my blog for the homework is there is an future concern about what pages need to be done.  I am very anxious to get our order of agendas in!

Thanks for all your support!

Counsellor Wilson

Secret Question:  Which number has the greater value:  954 or 945?

Hello Parents and Campers!  

WOW words:

     All students, with the exception of three, now have their first 10 spelling words for the week.  They are written on the back of  the temporary agenda.  If your child is one of the three who does not yet have their words, they will by tomorrow (they haven't made 10 mistakes yet!).  Our first Spelling test will on Friday and will continue as such for the year.  Every word spelled incorrectly will be written out 10 x each at the back of their Spelling booklets and be included in your child's next WOW words the following week. If a student spells that same word wrong again on the second test, they must write it out 20 x each.  This pattern continues until the word is spelled correctly.

Math:

     This week's homework will be to complete any unfinished class work.  I give a good amount of time in class to complete all work, as I circulate and support where needed.  If it comes home, it is because they didn't complete it in class.  Please keep in mind, our homework guideline is grade x 10 minutes for homework, so in our case, 3 x 10 = 30 minutes of night of homework.  If you are exceeding this time, and frustrations are growing, just write me a quick note in your child's agenda to let me know you tried to complete it in the 30 minutes but were unable.  

Early Entry:

       Reminder to try get your child to school for 8:45 early entry so they can get properly prepared for the day.  This involves unpacking their backpacks at their lockers, changing into their indoor shoes, bringing all necessary materials to their seats, filling out the agenda, changing their books and starting the morning task.  This all takes time, so your cooperation is very much appreciated.  Thank you!

That's good for now!

Counsellor Wilson

SECRET QUESTION:  What is the value of the 9 in the number 392?

Hello Parents and Campers! 
This is EXACTLY how I felt when I saw how many parents have already written the answer to the secret question in your child's agenda!  That means you are all reading my blog and that makes me a VERY happy counsellor!!  Thank you, I look forward to our first BLOG DRAW winner this Friday! (Every week, I draw one ticket earned from answering the secret question. Students can earn up to 3 or 4 tickets some weeks depending on how many secret questions I ask, so keep reading!)  I hope you find this means of communication helpful and informative!

     Together as a camp, we brainstormed and came up with a list of success criteria that would make for a great start to grade 3.  I told my campers that I would be sending home a mini progress report after the first week of school based on this criteria.  Expect to see it early next week to read, review, sign and return to school.  I have students keep all signed assessments / quizzes / tests / assignments in their portfolio binders throughout the year.  


Take Home Reading Pouch

     Tomorrow I will be sending home a black Take Home Reading Pouch.  It should contain 2 books from my personal classroom library.  Your child is expected to read for 15-20 every night from these books, as they are leveled to suit your child's current independent reading level, however, if you have other books at home, of course, that is also acceptable.  ANY READING is good reading!  Your child knows to return the books for exchange any time they are ready for new ones. Please ensure that your child takes extra special care of my books throughout the year.  Thank you!



    This week, we are determining each camper's first 10 WOW words for next Friday's first spelling test.  Monday, all campers will receive their 10 words in the agenda by next Monday.  Every student will have their own unique 10 words to review/learn.  Please have your child review during the week.

Suggestions:

• Take a practise test and write each error out 10x each
• Recite the spelling orally
• Practise during commercials on TV, driving in the car, or whenever you get a few spare minutes.

Spelling is assessed in your child's everyday writing, not on these weekly tests.  However, those who manage to learn their spelling words usually write them correctly in their daily writing.

Ok, that's about all for now...I'm super excited about getting to know your child! This truly is a great group of campers!  Also, a BIG SHOUT OUT  to all of you parents who completed your homework EARLY by returning all of the forms I gave you!

Great start parents and campers!

Counsellor Wilson

SECRET QUESTION:  
What game did we play at the campfire carpet?