Patty Frame pframe@goddardusd.com

Parent Teacher Conferences:  Conferences are February 20 & 21.  Please call the office to schedule your appointment.  If you would like to see Mrs. Scott (Math) or Mrs. Zwemke (Science), please let the office know when you call to schedule your appointment.  Students are welcome to attend conferences with their parents!

Classroom Wish List:  As we did at fall conferences, each class will have a wish list posted outside of their classroom doors during February conferences.  If you would like to donate an item to the classroom, select an item from the wish list and send it to school at any time.  Any donations are much appreciated!

Valentine Boxes & Valentines:  Valentine boxes are due on Monday, February 11.   The students will be making valentine boxes that are book reports.  Please refer to the attachments for complete directions.  Student may choose to do either a fiction or non fiction report.  We will be giving book reports the week of February 11.  If exchanging valentines, please bring a valentine for each student in our class.  Attached is a list of the students in our classroom.

Policy Change! With a quarter of third grade now complete, students are learning to be more and more responsible with their school work.  Mrs. Frame and I have been very pleased at how well the students have adapted to switching classes for Reading and Math.  With that being said, we are now implementing a new policy in regards to no name papers and late work.

No Name Papers and Late Work: Papers that are missing a name will be deducted one point per assignment.  We will be deducting 10% per day on late papers.  This will be the policy for both Reading and Math. Because accidents do happen, each child will be given an “oops” to be used this 9 weeks. 

Behavior system:  I run my classroom as if we were a family or a team.  The kids will learn how to respect one another and problem solve together.  If a child should need correction and help, I will first give a verbal reminder.  If the student is not following classroom procedures at that time, I will then ask the student to talk with me and fill out a “Think Sheet”. The “Think Sheet” will require the student to write about the situation and state what he/she will do differently next time.  I will ask the student to have you, the parent, sign this form and return it the following school day. In some cases, a loss of activity time may also be necessary.  If any further problems occur, I will contact you that evening to discuss the matter. I do make sure and reward students as individuals-- mostly by giving them praise.  I make sure they know how much I appreciate their behavior! At times, I give out periodic trips to the prize box as an additional “thank you”.

Team rewards may be given to those teams who exhibit exceptional behavior.  These rewards may vary.  In the past, I’ve had teams invite a special friend to eat lunch with them in the classroom

For whole class rewards I offer an after school marble jar party.  Once the marble jar has been filled for overall good classroom behavior, the class is awarded an after school thematic party. For the past several years, I have even held an end of the year, over night “lock in”.  The kids usually really look forward to this! They work hard to earn these parties. 

Agenda Books: Students will be required to take home their agenda books daily. Please sign it each evening and have your child return it the following school day.  The purpose of the agenda book is to teach the students how to self-monitor the homework assignments they may have acquired throughout the day.  This will be a work in progress for our third grade students.

Weekly Folders: The students will have blue folders they take back and forth each day.  These folders will contain notes from the office or PTO, homework, and any graded papers.  Please take time every evening to check your child’s folder.  I will send graded papers home every Monday.  On short weeks, this could be altered a bit.  Please look at all of the graded papers and encourage your child to correct any paper that is below a 70%.  I will take an average of the two grades for the grade book.

Monday Night Read Slips:  Every Monday the students will be bringing home their weekly reading story. Please have your child read this story aloud to you, sign the reading slip, and return it to me by Wednesday. If there is a short week or your child is absent, he/she will always have two nights to read the story. This will count as an easy weekly participation grade.  Your child will receive a “credit” grade if the reading slip is returned to me on time.  Only partial credit will be given to those who return their slips late.  Students who do not return their slips by Friday will receive 0% in the grade book. 

Homework & Late Assignments:  If a student does not have enough time to finish an assignment, he/she will be required to take it home to complete it. Students who do not have their assignments the following school day will be expected to finish it during study hall/ activity time (3:25- 3:40). Students with chronic late work will have 10% taken from the homework assignment each day the assignment is late. I do not anticipate any problems in this area. 

Math:  
We have begun learning our multiplication facts.  Mastery of these facts is a must!  Students will be creating their own flash cards.  If you have not yet sent 3 x 5 index cards to school, please do so- so that your child may have their own set of cards.  I will be sending home weekly practice slips.  Students should be practicing a minimum of 2 nights each week for 10 minutes each night.  Watch the bulletin board in the third grade hall for students who have mastered their facts!  www.multiplication.com and www.gamequarium.com are excellent websites for practicing these facts.

In February we will learn our facts 0 – 5 & 10 as well as the  corresponding division facts and reviewing previously taught concepts in preparation for the state math assessment in early April.  

All students will be working on Multiplication and then Division this semester.

Reading: 
 2/4 – 2/8  Suki’s Kimono
 2/11 – 2/15    How My Family Lives in America
 2/18 – 2/22  No story this week!  Conferences!
 2/25 – 2/29  Good Bye, 382 Shin Dang Dong

Book It:
In October and through the month of March, our class will be participating in the Pizza Hut Book It Reading Incentive Program.  Students will have the opportunity to earn a free personal pan pizza each month by meeting the following requirements:

1. Students will read books in his/her reading range.
2. Students will take a reading quiz on the book and earn 80% or higher.
3. Students will meet a personal reading goal of 5 points each month. 

Spelling: 
Below are the spelling units for the month of February.  If you are in need of a copy of the 3rd grade spelling list, please let me know, and I will send one home.

 2/4 – 2/8  Unit 5 Week 1 Syllable Pattern CVVC & CVV
 2/11 – 2/15  Unit 5 Week 2 Homophones
 2/18 – 2/22   No spelling unit this week!  Conferences! 
 2/25 – 2/29  Unit 5 Week 3 Vowel Sound in ball 

Language: 
Our grammar focus this month will be on pronouns.  We will be writing descriptive valentines based on the book I Love You the Purplest.

Cursive:  
We know all of our lowercase letters. Students should be writing in cursive when writing in lowercase.  This month all math labels and language answers should be in cursive! We are learning our uppercase letters.  As students learn the uppercase letter of their first name, they should be writing their names in cursive! 

Social Studies:
We will be learning about the rights and responsibilities we have as citizens this month.  

As always, if you have questions, comments, or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me here at school 794-4260 or e-mail me at pframe@goddardusd.com.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Patty Frame

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