Mrs. Mortus’s Third- Grade Class Welcome, Parents! “When we learn together, we build up together”

What you should know about SJVA…. SJVA is an inquiry based charter school. Inquiry-based learning helps develop high-order thinking and critical thinking skills. Students will also develop problem-solving abilities and develop skills for lifelong learning. Students will work collaboratively to solve problems to reach a deep level of understanding. What does that mean to you? Your child will be asked to complete several inquiry projects this year. Also, many of our classroom tasks will have a focus on inquiry and research.

About Me My background This is my fourth year here at SJVA. I have four children and three have attended SJVA since kindergarten. I love being around children and helping them reach their true potential. I love to run! I am an avid runner and will bring my love of running to our classroom.

My Goals To give your child the academic and social skills he/she needs to progress to fourth grade. To provide a supportive and fun classroom environment. To help create a self-sufficient learner who actively participates in his/her own education. To help students become more responsible for their learning and actions.

Class Schedule Morning Routine Math Recess Writing Language Arts Lunch Reading Science/Social Studies

Class schedule continued Wednesdays – Spanish Tuesday and Friday-P.E. Monday- Music

Subjects   Math: Number sense, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, geometry, measurement, time, graphing, and probability. Please help your child practice their multiplication facts. Flash cards, educational computer games

Social Studies: “Continuity and Change”, local history, community building, geography, map work (Inquiry Project #1). Science: Nonfiction text, Life science (plants and animals)(Inquiry Project #2), earth science (planets), physical science (Inquiry Project #3) Computer: Keyboard skills, Google docs, power point presentation, and inquiry projects.

Reading: comprehension strategies and skills, fluency, character, setting and plot study; nonfiction, poetry, read aloud, summarizing, compare and contrasting, predicting, inferring, and cause and effect. Language arts/Writing: Personal narratives with more developed and complex sentence structures and formats(3-5 paragraphs), letters, response to literature, poetry, spelling, grammar, and cursive.

Classroom Rules and Expectations Following the directions the first time Raise your hand and wait to be acknowledged Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself Respect yourself, classmates, and the teacher. Try and solve your problems in a peaceful manner

Rewards for Following Rules Praise Move clip up on behavior chart Tickets Positive note home Table points

Consequences for Breaking a Rule 1st time – Move clip to Think About it. First opportunity to make better choices 2nd time – Move clip to Parent Contact/Detention. Students will reflect on their bad choices and fill out and Action Plan during their lunch time. The Action Plan are sent home and to be returned the following day signed by a parent. 4th time – Possible time out in another class, lunch detention and a phone call home, and possibly a parent conference.

Homework Students will receive a packet on Monday which is due on Friday morning. Spelling, cursive, times tables, reading log/summary and grammar Math homework will be sent home daily. Math, Reading, and Grammar are check and reviewed daily. So, please make sure they complete assignments on time. To help build responsibility, if your child did not complete/forgot their homework, they will be completing it during their lunch time.

20 minutes every night?! Really?

Weekly Progress Report The Weekly Progress Report will be sent home every Friday. This will include your child’s daily behavior, complete/incomplete HW, and scores for all the exams. The Weekly Progress Report will be due the following Tuesday. Please review and sign. Students will move their pin if not turned in on time. Again, this is to help build responsibility.

Homework….you can help! (Just not too much!) All subjects- Encourage your child to do the work independently. Create a routine and stay consistent as much as possible. Be honest! *****Please contact me as soon as possible with any questions or concerns.******* **Please circle the questions your child had troubles with. Reading and Writing- Ask questions! (ex. What do you think will happen next? ) Provide your child with plenty of reading material and allow them to choose. Have your child read to you and have discussions about the material. Math- Have your child draw pictures and use real world examples to deepen their understanding of the concepts. Create flashcards for memorization of math facts

Concerns? Comments? Questions? Contact Information Questions? Comments? Throughout the year, we will stay in contact through: Email: jmortus@sjacademy.org Website: Search “Mortus” through the SJVA website and you will find our classroom website. http://www.sjva.net/ Remind text 80101 the message@mortus Notes through your child Weekly newsletters Concerns?

Tardiness School starts at 7:45 A.M. It is very important to be on time for school every day!

Absences Our goal is to maintain 100% attendance. If your child is absent, please call the office or go to the school website to obtain an independent study packet. http://www.sjva.net/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=138201&type=d&pREC_ID=350128 The fax number is (951)654-5083.

We appreciate your generosity! Classroom Donations We will use the following materials throughout the school year: Tissues Ticonderoga Pencils Lined Paper Crayons Pencils Dry Erase Markers Antibacterial wipes Hand Sanitizer We appreciate your generosity!

Let’s Have a Great Year!