Welcome to 3rd Grade

Goals: Our goals as third grade teachers:  enable students to become active learners and independent higher level thinkers  promote student participation in the learning process  accommodate different styles of learning  expose students to a variety of educational experiences  expect exemplary behavior and responsibility

Discipline Management System: Our third grade classroom rules are:  Complete work on time.  Stay on task.  Work well in groups.  Treat others with respect.  Listen to and follow directions.  Accept and fulfill responsibilities.  Follow school and class rules.  Demonstrate 3rd grade behavior.

Citizenship Folders  Every student will have a Citizenship Folder for teachers to note the behavior exhibited during the school day. The citizenship folder will follow the student to every class. The number of infractions will determine the student’s citizenship grade.  0-3 “E” for exemplary  4-7 “S” for satisfactory  8-12 “N” for needs improvement  13+ “U” for unsatisfactory on their report cards

Grading System:  Subject averages are based on class work and test grades. An integrated language arts grade will be given by averaging the writing and grammar grades.  Progress reports will be sent home at the end of the fourth week of each nine weeks  The grading scale for all subjects is:  “A” =  “B” =  “C” =  “D” =  “F” = 0-69

Differentiated Instruction  All Third grade classrooms are filled with different academic levels. Each teacher is qualified to remediate, and enrich with the support of campus staff.  Bilingual  GT  Reading Specialist  Trailhead  Collaborative  Extra Support from other qualified staff

Homework:  Monday through Thursday  Student’s responsibility to copy all homework assignments daily  Homework should not take longer than 30 minutes daily daily  At Least 15 minutes of reading is expected in addition to nightly homework. addition to nightly homework.  Please help your child establish homework as a top priority before outside activities

Attendance :  Excused absences include:  illness  death in the family  religious holidays  doctor/dental appointments Please send a note following any absence with the child’s name, date of absence, and reason. Absent notes will NOT be accepted after 5 days. Please send a note following any absence with the child’s name, date of absence, and reason. Absent notes will NOT be accepted after 5 days.

Attendance : If a student is absent, make-up work must be completed.  Two days to complete make-up work for each day of absence  If a student is absent for more than one day, notify the office and arrange to pick up assignments for the child

Partial Day Absence and Tardies:  Arriving at school after 8:00 am or picking up your child before 2:45 pm is considered a partial day absence.  Excessive tardies and/or early-outs will result in a letter from administration.

School Times:  School begins at 7:35 am  Classes are picked up from the gym at 7:35 am  Tardy Bell rings at 7:45 am  School ends at 2:45 pm  3 rd grade Lunch time range is 11:00-11:42  Conference time is from 12:15 -1:00

Student Work :  Student work will be returned, reviewed and kept in the student’s binder behind the appropriate divider. Students will keep this work until the end of the grading period.  Some assignments may need to be corrected and returned with a signature. Please return the assignment the following day. All corrected assignments will receive a grade of no higher than a 75.

COGAT TESTING COGAT testing will take place Sept. 17 th Sept. 18 th Sept. 19 th

STAAR Tests : Third Grade takes 2 STAAR tests:  Math April 22  ReadingApril 23

Lunch:  Money can be added to lunch accounts as needed  Reminders will be given from the cafeteria when a student does not have any money in their account  Parents can add to the account online  Students may bring a healthy snack  Only water bottles in the classroom

Textbooks:  Students are responsible for the care of all textbooks issued to him or her  Lost or damaged books must be paid for  Report cards and/or transcripts may be held until the student’s textbook accounts are settled

Dismissal Procedures:  Students will be required to check out with their teacher before leaving for the day teacher before leaving for the day  Send a note/ notifying the teacher of a change in the normal routine to get home before 1:00 pm. in the normal routine to get home before 1:00 pm.  Without a note/ , teachers are required by law to follow normal procedure for your child

Office Procedures:  Please deliver any items to the office that you need to get to your child during the school day  The office staff will ensure your child will receive the item(s)  For security purposes, Mrs. Gorsche has asked that no one be in the halls except school personnel, unless you have checked in at the office and received a visitor’s pass  Visitor procedures-Raptor

Communication:  All communication will be electronic.  Please provide an accurate address for teacher, campus, and PTA information  If you do not wish to receive information electronically, please advise as soon as possible

Communication:  For Emergencies: Call the school office at Call the school office at  is the easiest form of communication:  Classroom Telephone # ext. 224

I look forward to working with your child and having a wonderful year! Questions?