Welcome back on Monday, October 5, 2020!  The Zoom meeting ID and password will remain the same.  The link and information is provided in our Google Classroom, Classwork, under Zoom.

When we return we will be studying:

• Math:  addition and subtraction to 1,000;  this will include rounding numbers and several conceptual strategies to add and subtract.
• ELA:  biographies from our Wonders books; long vowel sound spellings (a); and subjects and predicates.  
• A “pick-up” of our Charolette’s Web books is also upcoming (dates TBD)
• Science:  we will cover several of the NGSS standards by studying wetlands.  On October 21st a Jr. Duck Stamp presentation will occur reviewing waterfowl adaptations and an art lesson on waterfowl.
• PE is now scheduled for Mondays at 8:10 am to 8:30 am
• Computers is now scheduled for Tuesdays at 11:35 am to 12:05 pm

  I hope that everyone is well and had an enjoyable, safe break.  I am looking forward to seeing and working with your children on Monday!

We are at the end of Week 6!  We track off next week on Wednesday, September 16th.  We will be working on September 16th :).

• Our Responsibility Characters Awards were awarded to:  Gabriel, Miles, and Brooke.  Congratulations!
• We had our first field trip – kind of.  The Sacramento Public Library librarian from our local Rancho Cordova branch visited our class and shared with us all of the resources available to the students.
• I have posted the Sacramento Public Library information and all of the links on the Stream in our Google Classroom.
• Next Tuesday, September 15th is PFO’s Burger Inn Drive Thru fundraiser.
• Next Wednesday, September 16th is also the PFO’s virtual dance party!  The links to dance are on Sunrise’s social media page.
• Our local Sunrise Elementary School librarian, Mrs. Christensen, announced “that our (Sunrise) library will be opening to our students next week!! ?? Students (and staff) can access our library catalog through their Classlink Portal, reserve a library book online and pick it up via drive thru.  Our library catalog is available through Destiny Discover and it will be a work in progress as I will continue to add educational resources/links to this site. (AR Bookfinder, AR testing, Library of Congress for Kids, etc.)

Here is some important information to note:

• TUESDAY – Students must place a hold on the book that they would like to check out by each Tuesday night
• WEDNESDAY – I will check out these book to your students on Wednesday and send them a confirmation email with details of how to pick it up
• THURSDAY – Students will pick up their library books via drive thru every Thursday from 12-4:30pm
• Students may place a hold on ONE book at a time
• Students may check out their library book for up to TWO weeks at a time
• Books can be returned to our Library Drop Box located outside of the front office Monday-Friday 7:30-4pm or books can be returned during curbside pick up

Hello Parents,

We have a 3-day weekend!  Monday, September 7 is a holiday.  We have ended our 5th week of 3rd Grade!  Woo hoo!  Your children are so kind and delightful – they are also very respectful and hardworking.

Some information:

• We are about mid-way through the 1st trimester.  Individual progress reports will not be sent home; however, you can see your child’s grades on Synergy ParentVue and StudentVue.
• I will email a PDF copy of the Progress Report upon request.
• I am doing my best to stay on top of missing assignments and redos; but it does take me some time to check, verify, and then enter the new/missing grades.
• If you would like to schedule a Parent/Teacher Conference, I am available after school and can be available before school if needed.
• We will take the Chapter 4 math test during the week of September 16th (likely on September 16th).
• We go off-track on Wednesday, September 16th!  We return back on-track on Monday, October 5th.
• Heads-up:  When we return back on-track, students will complete their first book report and oral presentation of the book.
• I will provide them with the format/requirements for the both the book report and presentation prior to going off-track in case they (or you) would like to work on it when we are off-track.
• Students should be memorizing the multiples (skip counting) of numbers 2 through 7.  (We will finish to 12’s when we return from off-track.)
• To memorize, they can use their blue Skip Counting sheet, and touch each number while saying it to activate more senses.  They can also write them down several times.
• I recommend to memorize one set of multiples  before moving on to the next.
• Memorizing the multiples will aid in the transition to memorizing the multiplication facts, which is expected by the end of third grade.
• In spelling, we have moved on from short vowel review to long vowels.  This past week, the students have been working with the long vowel spellings of vowel_e.
• Next week in Spelling, students will work with the other long vowel a sound spellings.
• Most spelling work is done through Spelling City.
• In reading and writing, we have been working with narrative stories and writing.  We have been looking at the text structure and “signal words”, also known as transitions.
• We started Social Studies with oceans and continents videos and work.

As always, please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or comments.  I hope that you have an enjoyable weekend.

Sincerely,

Tracy Wetzel

Week 2 ofSubject: Week 3 Information 🙂

Dear Parents,

Week 2 of Distance Learning is completed and I am continuing to work on improving our instruction and independent practice :).

Some things to know:

• Students will need small objects to use for arrays tomorrow (about 24 objects)

– Some examples to use are: beans, coins, cereal, paper clips, etc.

• Monday Early Out: 11:05 am Zoom meeting ends; but

– students work until 1:40 pm independently without my presence;

– the teacher (me) is in meetings, etc.

• Grades have been entered into Synergy.

– They can be checked in ParentVue and StudentVue

– Some students need to redo assignments for a better grade

– I encourage students to redo assignments for a better grade

• 3rd Grade Respect Character Awards are Thursday, 08/20, from 2:40 pm to 3:00 pm

– Anaya, A’Nayah, and Theon will be recognized

– All students are invited to attend via a Zoom meeting link that will be posted to Google Classroom Stream on Thursday

• Math Chapter 3 test is scheduled for Friday, 08/21

• I will be administering Diagnostic/BOY (Beginning of the Year) assessments next week

– The assessments are not for a grade, they are for me to determine instruction and small group instruction

– It is important that parents do NOT help their child so that I can accurately plan for their small group instruction

– Some will be whole class and others will be individual

• PE with Mr. Cross is on Thursdays from 1:00 pm – 1:20 pm (½ class) and 1:20 pm – 1:40 am (next ½ of class)

• For those students who weren’t able to pick up the agenda/planner:

– it is available for pick up in the office

– I have added “Agenda/Planner” assignments to the Google Classroom to refer to

• Scholastic Books Orders due on Friday, 08/21

– Shop the flyers with your child: https://editions.mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?i=667328

– Connect to Our Class Page: https://orders.scholastic.com/HZPJV

• Computers in Mr. Stringer’s Google Classroom: Students will going to Mr. Stinger’s Google Classroom for computer lessons. This next week, they should be practicing keyboard skills by utilizing the home row. Distance Learning is completed and I am continuing to work on improving our instruction and independent practice :).

Dear Parents,

         It is with great pleasure that I welcome your child to 3rd grade.  We are in an unprecedented time, so please have patience and grace with the on-line teaching learning curve.   

Some important dates are listed below: 

Supplies/Books Pick Up:  Monday, July 27th from 8:00 am to 10:00 near the office parking lot, under the tree on Anatolia nearest the corner.  (A list of supplies and books is attached below).

Back-to-School-Night (BTSN): Thursday, July 30th.  

I do not know what BTSN will “look like”, but I have created two Zoom session options to facilitate:  

• Session 1:  6:00 pm – 6:30 pm;  or 
• Session 2:  6:30 pm – 7:00 pm 

The Zoom link is posted on my Google Classroom Stream.  

3rd Grade Distance Learning/school begins on Monday, August 3, 2020 @ 8:00 am!

We are getting a Sunrise School Garden!  Mrs. Young (1^st grade, C Track) has been organizing and planning for our school garden for over a year, and it is finally coming to fruition.  We will be having a community garden day to help build the raised beds, put the soil into the beds, and attach irrigation on Saturday, March 14^th from 8 am to 12 noon.  So please drop by before noon with your garden gloves, shovels, wheelbarrows, hammers, brooms, and power drills to help.

The students have requested to have a Class Talent Show.  They have voted to exhibit their talent on March 12^th and 13^th.

Wow!  We are quickly approaching the end of the school year with our month off in April!  A big deal and transition in 3^rd grade is the CAASSP Standardized Testing.  The exact dates have not been set, yet, but are likely to be in May.  Practice and Training tests can be viewed on the CAASSP website at http://www.caaspp.org/.   These tests don’t score the students’ work or provide results.  They are still helpful to have students review the content and become familiar with the format of the test.  The Think Central on-line math homework also helps students become more accustom to the format.  Plus, it grades and provides results of the homework.

Donations requested of student white board markers.  Thank you for all of the donations at the beginning of the year.  We have just used the last white board marker.  So, if you may please donate some to our class and/or buy some for your own child it would be greatly appreciated.

I am collecting cardboard egg cartons, old Altoid containers (for Mrs. Mendez), and liter plastic bottles.  If you have any, please send them in.

In the Classroom we will . . .

Math:  We finishing Chapter 8, Understand Fractions.  Chapter 8 test is tentatively scheduled for Friday, March 6^th.   We will begin Chapter 9, Compare Fractions next week.

Your children are so enthusiastic about memorizing the multiplication facts!  They love to be tested on them.

Reading:  We have been reading expository text and learning the text features of it.  Many students are struggling with our “Cold Comprehension” tests.  The students read these tests and answer questions independently; the tests have not been read as a class.  Some students are struggling with the stamina it takes to read two selections, make notations, and refer back to the text for the basis for the answers.  Please have your child read each night.  You can read/share a book with them by having them read parts aloud to you, you read parts aloud to them, and make comments/discuss the book.

Writing:  Students have written opinion pieces on the Grand Canyon and a friendly letter from Abraham Lincoln’s point of view.

Social Studies:  the students have learned about national landmarks and African American heroes.

Science:  We are continuing the GLAD (Guided Language Acquisition) unit on Ecosystems and Biodiversity.  We are studying and investigating the adaptations of plants and animals.  The students were also introduced to the Scientific Method and completed a “lab activity” using it for the topic of bird beak adaptations.

March:

2^nd:  Dress as your favorite book character for Dr. Suess’s Birthday

3^rd:  Conservation Ambassador (Wild Things) Assembly

4^th:  B Track Academic Awards

5^th:  Minimum Day; Report Cards go home

10^th:  Jump Rope for Heart Assembly

12^th and 13^th:  Classroom talent show

14^th:  Community Garden Day 8 am – 12 pm

20^th:  Family Picnic Day ~ bring a sack lunch to eat with your child

27^th:  Track Off – Minimum Day

April:

30^th:  Track Back On ~ on a Thursday

May:

20^th:  Stonelakes Wildlife Preserve field trip

25^th:  Memorial Day ~ No school

28^th:  A/B Open House 6 pm – 7 pm

The students’ book reports and presentations are/were fabulous!  It was a joy to be a part of the audience and listening to their oral presentations.  Most students were very well prepared with an introduction and recommendation of their books.  Some students added some fun facts or anecdotes.  The class was also eager to borrow books based upon their peers’ recommendations.

To recognize Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the students wrote their dreams for their community, school, home, and classroom.  Many of their dreams revolved around being kind to others and the reduction/elimination of litter.  How wonderful.

NOTE:  January 30^th is a BIG DUE date day – Junior Duck Stamp Program permission slips forms are due; Sheldon High School Performing Arts field trip forms are due; and Scholastic Book orders are due.

Spirit Day Spirit Wear has changed to Sport’s Day on Friday, January 31^st.

In the Classroom we will . . .

Math:  We are midway through Chapter 7, Division Facts and Strategies.  Chapter 7 test is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, February 12^th.  Chapter 8 will introduce/review fractions.

Most students have memorized the 2 multiplication facts.  Students are now memorizing the 5 multiplication and division fact families with triangle flash cards, followed by the 3’s, 4’s, 6’s, etc.

Spelling:  Prefixes:  mis-; pre-; and dis-

Reading:  We have been reading expository text and learning the text features of it.  Cursive letters instruction has been slow.  Students are learning how to slant their papers so that their cursive letters can also be slanted – or “lean forward”.

Science:  We started the GLAD (Guided Language Acquisition) unit on Ecosystems and Biodiversity.  The “pre-unit” “What Do I Know” paper was empty by all students, so it is exciting to see how it will look at the end of the unit.  The 2^nd grade teachers did a great job of teaching the geologic time scale – our students had good background knowledge.

January:

30^th:  DUE:  1) Sheldon High School Performing Arts Field Trip permission slips due (trip on February 19^th); 2) Scholastic Book orders (On-line orders class code:  HZPJV); 3) DUCK Picture Contest Permission Slip Forms

Eat at Burger IM for proceeds to go to Sunrise

31^st:  Minimum Day:  Spirit Wear change to SPORTS DAY from Robot day

February:

5^th:  Talent Show

7^th:  Valentine Family Dance

10^th:  Observance of Lincoln’s Birthday – No School

14^th:  Valentine’s Day ~ Valentine’s will be exchanged in class

17^th:  Observance of Washington’s Birthday – No School

19^th:  Sheldon High School “Universal Rhythm” Dance Company field trip

28^th:  Yearbook orders DUE

March:

4^th:  B Track Academic Awards

20^th:  Family Picnic Day ~ bring a sack lunch to eat with your child

Welcome to 2020!  We had our first field trip today to the Crocker Art Museum – THANK YOU parent chaperones!  Our next field trip will be to Sheldon High School to watch the Sheldon High School’s “Universal Rhythm” Dance Company demonstrate a variety of dance styles.  This trip is scheduled for February 19^th.

Our first Book Report is due on January 14^th!  I have been assigning “parts” of it this week to help students manage their time in its completion.  So far, students should have:

• chosen a book that they read;
• Written the Setting, Main Characters and made a title page
• Written a summary of the book including the beginning, problem, 3 – 4 main events, and a conclusion
• Begin preparation of their speech and design the report

Common Core Math strategies are being practiced in solving multiplication and division equations using “Choose 3 Ways” modeling.  Choose 3 Ways modeling:  creates conceptual and thoughtful understanding.  Algorithms (equations) are “short cuts” and do not create or show understanding of concepts; they occur at the end of teaching the concept.

In the Classroom we will . . .

Math:  Chapter 6 test is tentatively scheduled for Friday, January 17^th.  We will begin Chapter 7, Division Facts and Strategies

• Begin to memorize multiplication and division fact families with triangle flash cards
• Continue to memorize and test on Skip Counting.

Spelling:  Week 14, r-controlled vowels.  I will be using the dictation sentence posted under the “Unit 3, Spelling” link for Week 14.

Reading:  We have been working with synonyms and Shades of Meaning in the new year.  We have also began learning cursive.  The cursive letters will be taught in groups of lower case letters according the stroke that is used.  The students need practice in interpreting metaphors using context clues, so we will practice, and then retake the Cold Comprehension test with their reinforced practice.  Students are also practicing reading with “prosody” – expression and intonation and NOT for speed.

Science:  We will be starting a GLAD (Guided Language Acquisition) unit on Ecosystems and Biodiversity.

Upcoming Dates:

January:

2^nd Thursday:  Track-back-on!

8^th:  Crocker Art Museum field trip

14^th:  Book Report due

15^th – 17^th:  Book Report presentations

20^th:  Holiday of observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. – No School

21^st:  Family Skate Night @ The Rink from 6 pm to 8 pm

30^th:  Sheldon High School Performing Arts Field Trip permission slips due (trip on February 19^th)

31^st:  Minimum Day:  Robot Day

February:

5^th:  Talent Show ~ information will be coming

10^th:  Observance of Lincoln’s Birthday – No School

14^th:  Valentine’s Day ~ Valentine’s will be exchanged in class

17^th:  Observance of Washington’s Birthday – No School

19^th:  Sheldon High School “Universal Rhythm” Dance Company field trip

28^th:  Yearbook orders DUE

• Math homework will now be assigned on-line J on the Think Central website. To access the Think Central website, go to the Sunrise Computer Lab website at http://blogs.egusd.net/sunriselab/;
• access Classlink Portal. On Classlink Portal
• select “Things to Do” and the homework will be aligned with the day’s lesson.
• If your child does not have access to a computer, they may still complete the homework in their Standards and Practice Book.
• Regional Transit bus/light rail passes will be sent home next week so that your child can ride for free on RT.
• DUCKS – Permission slips will be sent home to enter our duck drawings into the Junior Duck Stamp Program Conservation and Design Contest. For every entry we submit, $1 is donated to the education/conservation program.
• Track-off Day (Friday) the class will be making a craft, baking muffins, and playing board games. Students will be allowed to bring in blankets and board games to play.  If you have been “fingerprinted-cleared” by the district, you are welcome to come and join us.  We will begin at approximately 8:45 am.
• The 1^st Book Report will be assigned before we go off-track; however, it won’t be due until January 14^th. This is to accommodate families who might want to work on it when we’re off-track and for students who would rather work on it each evening as homework when we track back on.

In the Classroom we will . . .

Math:  Chapter 5 test is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, November 19^th.  We will begin Chapter 6, Understand Division

• Begin to memorize multiplication and division fact families with triangle flash cards
• Continue to memorize and test on Skip Counting.

Spelling:  Week 13, r-controlled vowels.  I will be using the dictation sentence posted under the “Unit 3, Spelling” link for Week 13.

Reading:  Continue with genre biography and evaluating Cause and Effect in literature and recognizing/understanding metaphors.

Upcoming Dates:

November:

21st:  Academic and Character Awards 8:30 am

22^nd:  Deficiency Notices sent home

22^nd:   Craft, baking, and game day; fingerprinted parents are invited to come!

We Track off; Minimum Day:  Spirit Wear:  Color Rush – one color from head-to-toe

January:

2^nd Thursday:  Track-back-on!

8^th:  Crocker Art Museum field trip

14^th:  Book Report due

20^th:  Holiday of observance of Martin Luther King, Jr.

30^th:  Sheldon High School Performing Arts Field Trip permission slips due (trip on February 19^th)