End of the First Fantastic Week

Dear Parents and Students,

The first week of Grade 3 has passed very quickly.   Thank you for your assistance in ensuring that we function well as a team.  I appreciate your cooperation.

We spent this week getting to know each other, the schedule, and classroom procedures and rules.  The third graders are a lovely group and I am very excited about the year ahead!

We already started with Math, Science, Reading, English and Social Studies this week.

• In Math, we have completed our first five lessons about Place and Value.
• In English we started with the first unit, The Sentence, and we did the first lesson. 
• In Reading, we read our first story, Cliff Hanger, and did the first few activities.
• In Science we finished the first lesson of the first chapter, Parts of Plants.
• In Social Studies we started with Map Skills and learned about a compass rose, direction, a grid, map legend and the map scale.

What lies ahead in Week 2:

Math:  We will continue with Chapter 1 and finish and review it by the end of next week.  We will try to also have a brief look at Chapter 2.

English: We will continue with Unit 1 and learn about different sentences, end marks and parts of the sentence.

Oral Presentation: Students will get their first oral presentation assignment for Grade 3! Students will have 2 weeks to prepare for it.  The first oral presentation is scheduled for Thursday, September 20th. 

Reading: We will continue with activities based on our first adventure story, Cliff Hanger.

Science: It seems like the Grade 3’s are really hard workers.  By the end of next week we will be finished with Chapter 1. 

Social Studies:  We will continue with map skills, but we will also start with Chapter 1, Learning About Communities, and we will learn what a community is and how communities are different. 

From next week we will work at a faster pace. Now that students are settled back into the school routine after the long summer vacation, we are ready to start learning and growing more quickly!

Below is a list of all the specialty subjects the Grade 3’s will attend, with the day and the specific teachers’ names.

Subject	Day the attend	Teacher/s
Chinese	Monday Thursday	Mrs. Huang Mrs. Tsai
ESL (English Second Language)	Monday Thursday	Mr. Marais
P.E.	Tuesday Thursday	Mr. Burt
Music	Monday	Ms. Faye
Drama	Wednesday	Ms. Faye
Computers	Friday	Mr. Burt
Library	Friday	Mrs. Welz

As you know, the students have a homework book which needs to be signed daily.  Please sign this book only when the homework is complete.  Your signature will indicate that they have done the assignment as required.  Should it be necessary for you to communicate with me, you are also more than welcome to write a note in the homework book.

As part of our routine, we have a healthy snack break that takes place at 10.20 am daily. Please help to promote good eating habits by providing your child with healthy snacks such as fresh fruit, vegetables, crackers and granola bars.  Please do prepare a snack every day. 

When money is sent to school, please could you place the money in an envelope marked with your child’s name, the amount, and what the money is for. 

Please make sure about the adjusted school times.  School starts at 8.20am and lessons finish at 3.10pm.  Please make sure students are at school and ready for class by 8.20am. 

Clubs will start on September 10^th.  Students, that is something exciting to look forward to!

I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible at our Parent – Teacher introduction evening, which will be held on September 13th, 2012 at 6.30pm.

Parents and Students, please visit our blog every week.  This way you will be updated with important dates and events.  The homework will also be posted on our blog daily.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if there are any queries at crous.his@gmail.com. 

Thank you once again for your assistance.  

Ray Chang is leaving our HIS family.  We are very sad to say good bye to such a lovely student and friend.  We wish him all the best for his future.  Take care, Ray, and come visit us often.  

Have a pleasant weekend, everyone!

Kind Regards,

Ms. Crous

Homework 8/30

Math:  2 pages (Practice 1.4 ; Homework 1.4)
Social Studies:  Map Skills ~ p. 5 and p. 7
Reading:  Read p. 21 - 42 out loud

Homework 8/29

Math:  3 pages (Homework 1.1; Reteach 1.2; Practice 1.2)
English:  p. 1 - 2 (Workbook)
Science:  p. 2 -3 (Workbook)

Homework 8/28

English:  Complete booklet

Gr.3 Class Schedule

Welcome in Grade 3!

Dear Parents and 3^rd Graders,

A warm welcome to all the parents and students in the Grade 3 class.  I trust that you all had a wonderful summer and that you are looking forward to the new school year.

My name is Anneloe Crous and I am the classroom teacher for Grade 3.  It will be my third year as the Grade 3 teacher at Hsinchu International School.  I am South African and have been in Taiwan for more than 7 years.

There will be many new challenges to strengthen us, encourage us to develop our talents, find new skills, and achieve goals we would never have expected.  I believe in providing a happy, trusting, and supportive learning environment where each child will be encouraged and have the opportunity to reach his/her full potential.

To increase our communication throughout the year I have created a blog for our classroom.  I will keep you all up to date with important events, schedules, tests, dates and so forth.  Please visit this website regularly: http://mscrous3rdgrade.blogspot.com

Students will each receive a communication book for homework.  This book needs to be signed daily.  Please sign the book only when the homework is complete.  Your signature will indicate that your child has completed the assignment as required.  Should it be necessary for you to communicate with me, you are very welcome to write a note in the communication book. 

Your assistance with homework is essential to your child’s success this year, as it is the consolidation of work covered in class.  It is a good idea to get your child into a routine of packing his/her own schoolbag before going to bed, so that nothing is left at home. Please do not do your child’s homework for them but rather help them when needed.

As part of our daily school routine we have snack time in the mornings.  Please help to promote healthy eating habits by providing your child healthy snacks each day.  The stretch between breakfast and lunch can be quite long.  I ask that no candy be included in the snack. 

Please make sure that all students are wearing appropriate clothing for PE classes.  Students need to wear running shoes and need to bring a water bottle as well.  During the summer students can also wear hats.

When money is sent to school, please could you place it in an envelope marked with your child’s name, grade, the amount and what it’s for.

Please make sure about the school times.  School starts at 8.20am and lessons finish at 3.10pm.  Please make sure that students are at school and ready for class at 8.20am. 

Listed below you will find the classroom supply list so that your child can be prepared for the new school year.  Please feel free to contact me with any concerns, suggestions or questions.  My door is always open.  Please feel free to also contact me via email at crous.his@gmail.com.

I look forward to meeting and getting to know you all better during the coming year. 

Kind Regards,

Ms. Anneloe Crous

Classroom Supply List for Third Graders:

5 sharpened pencils

1 sharpener

1 eraser

1 ruler (showing both centimeters and inches; length = 30cm)

I pair of scissors

coloring pencils (a set of at least 12 colors)

markers (a set of at least 12 colors)

oil pastels (a set of at least 12 colors)

2 glue sticks (please NOT the clear liquid glue)

3 highlighters

1 English dictionary

Water bottle (please, fill with only water)

1 box of tissues

1 package of hand sanitizer wipes

hat/cap for PE

1 warmer shirt/sweater to be left at school (for when students find themselves chilly in the classroom)

2 folders, like the ones below (one would be used in Music class and the other one for Chinese/ESL)

*** Please restock your child’s supply regularly.

Parents, please send NT$480 to school?  This is to pay for notebooks and binders needed in various subjects, and a homework folder.