Week of September 24 - 28, 2018

Third Graders are busy bees....

Members of  the "Golden Pups" math group working together on a challenge multiplication paper.  

Willow is carefully practicing her cursive handwriting.  What form!

HCA Band Demonstrations

Mr. Norton, HCA Band Director held a band demonstration with some of his students to encourage children in Grades 3 & 4 to begin taking band lessons this year.  Here are some photos from the session.

The 3rd & 4th Graders watched and and listened intently during the Band Demo.  

Our very own, Sanjay, played a short musical piece on the flute for his classmates.  

Friendship Traits

As part of a class Guidance lesson, the students identified the traits of a good friend.... "is a good listener," "offers me help on a math problem," and "stands up for me."  After watching the video, How Full is Your Bucket? for Kids  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5R6-2m_qHk, the students worked with partners on their "Pick a Good Friend" worksheet. 

         

Student buddies working together!!

What makes a good friend?  Listen to Ava, Jude, Willow explain what they look for in a friend.

Science Fun!

We have begun our Animal Classifications and Adaptations unit in science this year.  After playing the online game, "Animals that Belong," http://sciencenetlinks.com/interactives/class.html, the children worked in pairs to categorize animal cards. They brainstormed possible classifications and then sorted the cards. Look how well they worked cooperatively together!

            

                

Working together to classify animals!

          

       

The finished products!!

Week of September 17 - 21, 2018

We have completed our first couple weeks of school.  Sometimes children have difficulty answering the question, "How was your day?"  Here are some suggestions on some questions to ask your child to get the conversation going.....

1. What made you smile today?
2. Can you tell me an example of kindness you saw/showed? 
3. Was there an example of unkindness? How did you respond?
4. What was the book about that your teacher read?
5. What did you do that was creative?
6. What is the most popular game at recess?
7. What was the best thing that happened today?
8. Did you help anyone today?
9. Did you tell anyone “thank you?”
10. What made you laugh?
11. Did you learn something you didn’t understand?
12. Who inspired you today?

From: http://herviewfromhome.com/50-questions-to-ask-your-kids-instead-of-asking-how-was-your-day/  

September Fun

Our class theme is "Be a Special Agent."  The children worked together to decode secret messages.  They also collaborated in groups to be "text detectives" to solve notorious nursery tale mysteries.  Finally, they honed their writing skills to write friendly letters to their parents.  

Sanjay and Kayden are detectives decoding a message together.

London is enjoying her time in the Book Nook.

Madisyn and Nyla are writing friendly letters. 

Quinn, Willow, and Ava take a break from writing.

Legend is using her neatest cursive writing.

I wonder what Anaya is writing?

Emily is hard at work on her friendly letter. 

Ava and Quinn working together as "Text Detectives."

Madisyn and Kayden are solving the mystery of  "Goldilocks."

"Text Detectives," Willow, Anaya, and Emily solving the mystery of "Snow White."

We Are Family

This year, HCA has Student Families.  Each child in the school is part of a "family" consisting of Middle School, Lower School, and Early Childhood students.  The families will meet occasionally during Day 2 Community Time to work together on projects.  During their first meeting, the families created their personal family shields which will be displayed around the school.  Ask your child who is in their "HCA Family."

2nd & 3rd Grade Co-Op Activity

The 2nd & 3rd Grades got together to have some Co-Op fun.  First, they played an Adjective name game whereby the children had to think of an adjective that began with the letter of their first name such as "Questionable Quinn," or "Awesome Ava," or "Lovely London."  Then they played a Classmate Scavenger Hunt whereby they had to find a classmate with a particular trait and have them sign their paper.  Examples included, "I made my own bed this morning," "I am a good artist," and "I have flown on an airplane."

Back to School - Week of September 10 - 14, 2018

Hello and welcome to Third Grade! I enjoyed meeting many of you at this week's Back to School presentation and am excited to begin the 2018 - 2019 school year with your children. The following is some useful information to get you familiarized with the daily schedule, routine, and expectations of this school year.

HCA will use a 6 day cycle this year, rather than the traditional 5 day cycle. This means that your child's "Specials" will rotate depending on the "day" we are on.  Here is the entire year mapped out on the school calendar: https://www-k6.thinkcentral.com/ePCEval/evalRegistration.do   

Third Grade's Schedule of Specials:
Day 1 – Music & P.E.
Day 2 – Spanish, Jr. Choir, & STEAM
Day 3 – Spanish, Music & Jr. Choir
Day 4 – P.E. & Spanish
Day 5 - Library & Art

School Lunches provided by JPM Catering 
JPM will be providing whole, healthy, locally sourced food each day. Visit their website to set up your account.  Remember to order your child's lunch by midnight the night before to assure they will receive a lunch.  http://jpmcatering.com/product-category/school-lunch/holy-child/ 

Homework:
∙ Homework is given to reinforce educational concepts that are taught during the school day. Also, homework helps students to organize their time between other activities they may be involved in.
∙Homework will usually be given Monday – Thursday nights (occasionally Friday nights too). It should take your child approximately 45 minutes – 1 hour to complete his/her homework each night.
∙ Homework is posted on the HCA website daily. https://sites.google.com/a/holychildacademy.com/3rd-grade-homeroom/
∙ Homework will be collected and checked each morning and returned back to your child that day. If a homework assignment is not handed in, your child will receive a Homework Notification form. Please sign and return the form the following day. The missed assignment will be completed during afternoon recess time.
∙Please initial your child’s homework journal each night.

Tests:
∙Tests will be announced in advance (usually 2 – 4 days) in order for your child to have adequate time to prepare for the test.
∙Tests must be signed and returned to school the following day.

Gym Uniforms
Children will come to school in their gym uniforms and sneakers on their gym days. In colder weather, they are expected to wear a Holy Child sweat suit over their gym suits. On days when we have liturgies, students must wear their school uniform and bring their gym uniform.

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Enjoying pretzels for a morning snack on the first day of school!

Third Graders have fun getting to know their way around the classroom during the "Explore the Room" activity.