1. Welcome Parents! As you come in: Sign up for a conference time (on the Google Doc on the laptops at the back of the room) Find your child’s desk and read the note they wrote you. Use pens at the tables to write a note back (feel free to use the materials in their pencil box to decorate your note!)

2. Miss Strong’s 3 rd Grade Class Welcome to Back to School Night!

3. Agenda  Teacher Introduction  Classroom Expectations  Schedule  Nine Week Plans  Math Grouping  Homework  40 Book Challenge  Retakes  Vacations  General Classroom Information  Contact Information  Questions

4. A Little Bit About Me…  College: Penn State University  Degree: Bachelor’s in Elementary Education  Minors/Certificates: English as a Second Language (ESL), Special Education and Deafness Studies.  Grad School: George Mason University (current)  Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA – Go Steelers!  Love watching sports- NOT playing them!  Enjoy travel, reading playing piano, and skiing! I also enjoy other outdoor activities.

5. Classroom Expectations  Students arrive promptly, unpack, and begin morning work.  Students are to stay on task and not disrupt the learning process.  Students are to be Ready, Responsible, Respectful (The “3 R’s”) Students will copy their homework in their agenda every day, and hand in completed homework in a timely manner (the next morning) Chance Cards (Individual Students) Bingo Points & Marbles (Whole Class) P.A.W.S Think Sheet--filled out in class and sent home for parent signature to be returned to school.

6. The First Nine Weeks MATH  Geometry  Place Value  Rounding Numbers  Addition & Subtraction  Properties  Carrying/using 0’s SCIENCE  Scientific Investigation (Method)  Matter  Natural Cycles (Sun, Earth, Moon)

7. The First Nine Weeks (cont’d.) SOCIAL STUDIES  Government  Famous Americans  Holidays LANGUAGE ARTS  Effective Communication Skills  Word Analysis Skills  Reading Strategies  fiction/non-fiction  Demonstrate Comprehension of Fiction  Descriptive Paragraphs  Personal Narratives

8. Math Grouping  Differentiated—classes switch  ALL students’ are taught the same content, but activities/content are delivered according to individual needs and specified areas.  Meeting increased demands of SOL test.  Fall and Spring pre-assessments for re-placement/assessment

9. Homework  Students should receive approximately 30 minutes of homework every night.  About 10 minutes per grade level  In addition students are expected to read 15-20 minutes every night.  Students are expected to use their agendas daily.  Parental supervision of agenda use is strongly advised.

10. 40 Book Challenge

11. At-Home Reading Log

12. At-Home Reading Log – Do it!

13. Grading Teachers will use the following grading scale for student work: 4– Consistently goes beyond established goals for achievement/contributions or explains & justifies reasoning behind an answer  -Consistently transfers, applies, and expands skills  -Routinely applies problem-solving and critical-thinking skills across areas of the curriculum  -Consistently shows originality, creativity, and intuitive thinking beyond standard expectations 3– Meets established goal for achievement  -Demonstrates all required knowledge of content area  -Frequently transfers, applies and expands skills  -Periodically demonstrates originality, creativity, and intuitive thinking  3 + : applies some of the “4” expectations

14. Grading (cont’d) 2– Demonstrates partial knowledge of established goal for achievement, but is progressing toward complete knowledge of standard  -Infrequently transfers, applies and expands skills  -Progressing toward expressing original, creative and intuitive thinking  -Rarely applies problem-solving and critical-thinking skills across areas of the curriculum  2+ : applies some of the “3” expectations 1-Has difficulty/does not meet established grade-level goals for achievement and expectations  -Requires support to meet established goal for achievement  -Seldom or never understands, transfers, or applies skills  -Does not apply problem-solving and critical-thinking skills across areas of the curriculum  1+ : applies some of the “2” expectations

16. Retakes on Summative Tests  Students will be permitted to “retake” a summative assessment if they received a score lower than a 2+  The highest score a student can earn on a retake is a 2+ -- IF they complete the requirements!

17. Vacations If you are planning on taking a vacation that will be more than 3 days, you must email the office to have it approved by the administration. PLEASE let me know if your student will not be in school for an extended amount of time! Several days notice is expected if you wish to receive any work ahead of time for your child to take with you before your trip!

18. General Classroom Information  Classroom blog: strong3e.blogspot.com  Wish list on Blog  Scholastic Book Orders -- MF3MC class code!  Class page on Pinebrook website

19. Contact Information  Please feel free to contact me via:  Phone (school phone)  Letters sent in with your child  Emails  rstrong@lcps.org rstrong@lcps.org  Remind 101 – You can sed messages!!

20. Questions ?

21. Thank you for coming! I’m looking forward to a great year!