Third Grade Newsletter- Week 1

9/15 International Dot Day

9/16 Ruthie's Birthday

9/25 SPIRIT DRESS Day

9/26 Rainey's Birthday

Dear Third Grade Families,

It is hard to believe that we have already reached the halfway mark of September! Time is flying by, and our third graders are settling into the routines, expectations, and exciting learning experiences that make this year so special.

September 15th is also International Dot Day, a wonderful celebration inspired by the book The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. Dot Day encourages children to “make their mark” by embracing creativity, taking risks, and believing in their ability to grow and make a difference. It reminds us that sometimes the most important step is simply being willing to try.

In third grade, we want to foster that same sense of creativity, curiosity, and growth mindset in every student. We encourage our students to wonder, ask questions, try new things, make mistakes, and learn from them. We want them to understand that they may not know how to do something yet—but with effort, perseverance, and a willingness to learn, they can grow.

And what a group of learners we have! The kids amaze us every single day with how much they already know and, even more importantly, how much they want to learn. Their questions, ideas, conversations, and excitement continually remind us why teaching is such a rewarding career.

As we continue through September and the year ahead, we look forward to watching each child discover new interests, build confidence, and make their own unique mark. Thank you for partnering with us and for encouraging your children to be curious, creative, and brave enough to try.

Here’s to a wonderful year of learning, growing, and making our mark!

Warmly,
The Third Grade Team

Math Focus for Next Week:

• Students will continue building their place value skills as we learn how to compare and order numbers up to 10,000 using place value charts and the symbols < and >.
• Students will practice ordering numbers from least to greatest and greatest to least.
• Students will begin exploring rounding numbers to the nearest ten and hundred. They will use number lines and place value charts to determine which numbers are closest and strengthen their number sense.

ELAR Focus for Next Week:

• Reading:

  • Students will read and explore two nonfiction texts on the same or related topics.
  • Students will compare and contrast information from the two texts.
  • We will practice identifying important details and using evidence from both texts to support our thinking.

• Spelling

  • Students will receive a new list of spelling words
  • Our first spelling test will be Friday, October 2nd.
  • Please encourage your child to practice their spelling words at home each week!

• Writing: We will continue to work on compound sentences and practice combining ideas using conjunctions. We will also explore different ways to start sentences to make our writing more interesting and varied.

Science Focus for Next Week:

What is Happening in Science/STEM?

This week in science students will continue to explore Forces Around Us. Students will work with a partner to explore speed and height versus distance. Students will work with a partner to explore if time affects distance and if height affects distance in two different labs. Students will predict, record their observations and then communicate their results with their lab partner. We can’t wait to see if our hypothesis matches our findings!

Academic Language We Are Using This Week

force, balanced forces, unbalanced forces, measurement, metric, meterstick, centimeters

Social Studies Focus for Next Week:

We began map skills! This week we are looking at the compass rose and learning cardinal and intermediate directions. Next up will be locating places on maps and globes.

A huge Hilltop THANK YOU to our wonderful parent volunteers for serving as your grade-level Class Captains! Please be sure to join the 3rd Grade Group on the St. Luke’s App to stay connected and receive important updates and communication throughout the year.

Stacie Koonhow - stacie_harris@hotmail.com

Angie Shotzberger - angie.shotzberger@gmail.com