Welcome to Back to School Night

1. Welcome to Back to School Night

2. Third Grade Team • Jason Fischer • Travis Payne • Jody Sacks • Chelsea Rockwell • Bridget Ritchie • Susie Vitiello- Interventionist • Christina Merle- Math • Michelle Redmiles – Special Educator • Cathy Musgrove– Para Educator

3. Absences Contact • You may contact the school using one of the following options: • Phone: 410-880-5960 • email address: lwesabsence@hcpss.org

4. Daily Schedule • 8:40 - 9:00 Morning Work • 9:00 – 10:00 Related Arts • 10:00 -11:30Reading • 11:30 – 12:30 Lunch & Recess • 12:30 - 1:00 Writing • 1:00 - 2:30 Math • 2:30 - 3:30 Content • 3:30 Dismissal

5. Please be advised… • Morning announcements start at 8:50. Please try to have students here by 8:40 a.m. • Dismissal- The only students leaving at 3:30 are those whose parents are in the carloop. If a student’s parent is in a car on the hill or by the barrier, they are considered walkers and will be dismissed with our 2nd bell. • Please help us ensure smooth arrival and dismissal routines for all students.

6. Laurel Woods is on the“Road to Excellence” As students demonstrate expected behaviors, they earn “clicks” on their click cards. Clicks are traded in weekly for prizes. School-wide plan is guided by PBIS–Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. Look for information sheet in Friday folders.

7. LWES is committed to spreading respect throughout our school and community! Look for: Weekly “Spread Respect” Awards Staff and Student T-Shirts More ways to highlight respect within our student, school, and community

8. 1-2-3 MagicHow it works? Good teaching needs good discipline! In addition to click cards and rewards, students’ behavior is managed through the use of a 1-2-3 counting system. Students who are counted to 3 without changing their behavior will receive an in-class time out or loss of another privilege. Teachers will be communicating home via a behavior calendar or agenda book when students have been counted to 3. This communication will describe the behavior concern. Please sign the communication to indicate you have seen it and have spoken to your child about what occurred. We look forward to seeing many parents at our PBIS parent night this fall that will include training on using 1-2-3 Magic at home. Look out for the flyer soon!

9. PBIS AT HOME Please take time to talk about positive behaviors with your children daily. Questions that might start a meaningful conversation include: • “Tell me something good that happened today at school. Tell me something that you wish had been different.” • “How many clicks did you earn today? What were they for?” • “Did you receive a time out? What choices could you make differently tomorrow?” We encourage parents to tie home-based rewards and/or privileges to school behavior, if appropriate.

10. Science • Students will study 4 main units: • Weather • Experimentation • Heat, Light, and Sound • Plants and Trees

11. Writing • This year in writing we will be working on a variety of writing projects. Some include: • Personal Narratives • Letter of Opinion • Realistic Fiction • Research Report • Poetry • Book Reviews • Procedural Writing • We will also be teach grammar throughout the year.

12. Writing - Language Mechanics • Grammar and Usage • Capitalization Rules • Punctuation Rules • Word Study - Prefixes, suffixes, etc.

13. Reading • Students will read to perform a task, read for literary experience, and read to be informed. • Students will utilize the strategies of predicting, questioning, clarifying, and summarizing to increase comprehension of the text.

14. Reading Our reading curriculum includes a variety of genres including realistic fiction, non-fiction/informational, science fiction, poetry, historical fiction, biographies, folktales, and mystery. * Students will learn the defining characteristics of each genre.

15. Daily 5 • We are using a Reading Program called Daily 5 to increase Reading and Writing Stamina

16. Daily Five! • It is called The Daily Five because there are five literacy components for children to choose from when they go off to work. These components are: • Read to Self • Read to Someone • Listen to Reading • Work on Writing • Working with Words • It is NOT called The Daily Five because they have to do all 5 each day.

17. I PICK How students choose a good book: • I choose a book • P urpose – Why do I want to read it? • I nterest – Does it interest me? • C omprehend – Am I understanding what I am reading? • K now – I know most of the words

18. Social Studies • Students will study 4 main units: • Our Community and Beyond • Communities Near and Far • The Citizen Counts • The Citizen and the Community

19. Grade 3 Mathematics Overview • Grade 3 Mathematics Standards: • Adding and Subtracting • Multiplication and Division • Telling Time • Fractions • Patterns • Measurement • All Standards will be taught throughout the entire year.

20. Health Units • Our 3rd Grade Health Units: • Social and Emotional Health • Safety, First Aid, and Injury Prevention • Tobacco, Alcohol, and Other Drugs • Disease Prevention and Control

21. Words Their Way • Words Their Way is the new word study program that we will be using this year. • The program focuses on mastering word patterns not just the words. • There is a pamphlet that has more information

22. The Basis for Word Study Word study is developmental Word study follows the continuum of word knowledge. Most students follow the same continuum, but possibly at different rates.

23. Why Do We Sort Words? • Categorizing is how humans make sense of the world • Sorting helps students organize what they know about words and form generalizations that they can apply to new words

24. Why Do We Sort Words? • Generalizations can be applied to new words, therefore students learn for application rather than memorization • Hands-on! (Students are actively engaged)

25. Grades • Grades will be determined by: • Class assignments • Test/quizzes • Homework • Class participation

26. Homework • Assigned homework will be meaningful and will provide reinforcement and practice for concepts taught in school. • All homework should be able to be completed in a reasonable amount of time.

27. Homework • Work rates and other factors can vary for each student, which could affect homework time. • Teachers will keep a record of homework that is completed and returned. • Not meeting the responsibility of turning in homework (without a legitimate excuse) can affect a student’s grade.

28. Homework • Parental Role • We encourage parents to provide their children with positive support and encouragement, and provide help when needed to ensure accuracy. • Parents are also encouraged to help their children establish times and places to do their homework. • Feel free to call or email us if you have any questions about homework assignments.

29. Agenda Books • Students are responsible for completing their daily agenda with assistance from teachers. • They will be given time at the end of each class to write their homework in their agenda book. As a class, with the teacher, the agenda will be reviewed for accuracy at the end of the day. • The homework calendar can be found on the overhead projector in each homeroom at the end of the day.

30. Field Trips • Ellicott City- Friday October 4 • Maryland Science Center • Sharps Farm • Baltimore Orioles Game

31. Supplies • In addition to your child’s individual school supplies, we are also seeking donations of: tissues, hand sanitizer, post-it notes, ziploc baggies

32. Food Policy • Due to allergies and the Howard County Food Policy, birthdays will be recognized with a non-food celebration. • Suggestions: Donate a book in your child’s name to the classroom. School Supplies Indoor recess game

33. Volunteeringin Third Grade • There will be a great need for your help this year. • Field Trips for your child are enhanced by your involvement. • PTA- is looking for Pod Parents.

34. Newsletter: Dolphin Digest • We encourage parents to sign up to receive the newsletter electronically. • Paper copies will only be sent home upon request. • Register at hcpss.org

35. We are a Schoolwide Title I School! • We receive additional federal funding to support the academic needs of our students. Those funds are being used this year for additional staff and family programs. • As a Title I school, we value the parent perspective. Sign in sheets and evaluations will be a part of each family program or event. • Each grade has a grade level compact. A compact is an agreement between parents, students, and teachers. The compact is composed of goals and expectations focusing on academics, safety, and positive school behavior.

36. CONNECTICUT STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Our Compact

37. We are a Schoolwide Title I School! • Title I Documentation and Resources for Parents can be found: • On the School Website • At the Title I table in the school foyer this evening • In grade level pods Questions? ?? Please contact: LeNiece Smallwood, Assunta Vitiello, or Jaime Gittleson

38. Thank you for coming tonight! We look forward to working with you and your child. If you have further questions or concerns, please contact us at the school. 410-880-5960

39. How to reach us… Jason_fischer@hcpss.org Travis_payne@hpcss.org Bridget_ritchie@hcpss.org Chelsea_rockwell@hcpss.org Jody_sacks@hcpss.org Christina_merle@hcpss.org Michelle_redmiles@hcpss.org Assunta_vitiello@hcpss.org