Wednesday 24th August 2011 Open House

Agenda:•Welcome and introductions

•Grade 3 expectations

•Our Classroom

•Transdisciplinary Skills & Dispositions

•Weekly Schedule

•Specials, CMC, IT

•Being Numerate

•Being Literate

•Units of Inquiry

•Homework

•Blog

•Reporting

•Looking forward

•Help!

•Questions?

The Grade 3 Team

Janice Remoroza

Ilana McGrath

Anna Pagcaliwagan

Kris Hamaguchi

Michael Quinlan

Travis O’Neel Amber

Shortridge

…and our Teacher Assistants

Clarisse Samera Elaine Faustino

We work very well together!

EXPECTATIONS OF GRADE 3 STUDENTS

•Being responsible learners by taking initiative and participating positively

•Being respectful members of our classroom community

•Becoming inquiring, reflective problem solvers, and knowledgeable and skilled learners

•Becoming more independent

TRANSDISCIPLINARY SKILLS

• Communication

• Connection & Collaboration

• Critical Thinking & Problem Solving

• Research

• Personal Management & Reflection

DISPOSITIONS

• Responsible

• Self-Directed

• Caring

• Ethical/Fair

• Creative

• Balanced

SPECIALS

• Each week, your child will receive specialized instruction in:

Music (90 min)

Art (90 min)

Physical Education (135 min)

C.M.C.(Children’s Media Centre)

• Flexible schedule for book borrowing (before or after school and at recesses with passes)

• Increased opportunity to use the CMC for spontaneous personal inquiry or small group work

• Parents are welcome to sign out books for family use

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

This year, your children will learn to:• Use digital editing technology to modify or

create works of art or music • Research on the internet, using age appropriate

resources and citing sources correctly• Use proper keyboarding skills to increase

accuracy and speed• Use a variety of programs to

share information with others

NUMERACYThe children will be encouraged to apply each of these concepts to real life situations.

*Place Value *Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication & Division*Money *Time*Measurement *Geometry*Data and Probability *Fractions and Decimals

Each unit is supported and extended with various activities, investigations, manipulatives and games.  For example:                         

Everyday Mathematics Workbooks Marcy Cook ActivitiesComputer / Internet based support games

•to•with•by

Reading•Guided strategy-based reading•Individuals•Small Groups•Whole Classe.g. literature circles author study genre studies

Speaking and Listening (Formal and Informal)

Writing•Guided traits-based strategies•Writing Process•Recount •Explanation•Procedure•Persuasive•Narrative•Reports•Poetry

IntegratedWord Study

Writing Process

INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING

1. CITIZENSHIP

• Everyone is a citizen of the world and has a responsibility to it

• A responsible citizen makes informed decisions (based on rights and responsibilities, needs and wants) and contributes to the overall betterment of the community

• Most organizations are hierarchical and members have different roles and influences

UNITS OF INQUIRY

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

• How does a citizen become a good citizen?

• How do people make fair decisions?

• How do hierarchies help groups of people stay organized? Does this matter?

2. LOCATION

• The understanding and interpretation of visual representations (ie. diagrams, maps, models) enables a better understanding of concepts, processes and the physical world

• Where we live influences how we live

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

• How do visual representations help us understand our world?

• Why is location so important?

• How does where we live affect how we live?

• Energy comes from various sources and in various forms

• Energy needs to be harnessed and transformed in order to be useful in our everyday life.

• Various energy sources have positive and negative consequences

3. ENERGY

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

• What is energy?• How does energy affect our everyday life?

• What is the best energy source? Why?

• All living things are interdependent

• Human actions and nature impact the environment

4. BIODIVERSITY

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

• How are living things interdependent?

• What causes an environment to change?

LEARNING JOURNALS

• Examples of student learning, but not necessarily best work

• May include reflections and teacher/peer feedback

HOMEWORKLargely planned by your child in conjunction with personal goals

Includes a home reading program (all students are encouraged to read at home in English and/or their first language) 15 minutes nightly / 5 days out of 7 would be ideal. Reading responses should be done at least once a week.

May also include other activities directly related to what is being taught in class

You can support your child by:

Establishing routines and expectations

Providing guidance and positive encouragement

Listening to your child read or reading to your child (in any language!)

Discussing the story and relating it to personal experiences

Homework should not:

Ruin family time

End in tears!

DEAR MOM AND DAD

PURPOSE:•Reflection Tool

•Learning Tool – ie. Paragraph writing

•Communication Tool – both ways …which means homework for Mom and Dad

…but remember

Homework should NOT end in tears!

BLOGS

• Means of communication between school and home

• For students and parents• Provide information on the learning that is taking

place at school• May provide links to resources to support your

child’s learning• Accessed through the school website or link in

emails

A variety of assessment tools will be used:

•reflections•conferences•observations•peer assessments•self assessments•group projects•in-class projects•written assignments•individual inquiries•rubrics•checklists•anecdotal records•tests•diagnostic assessments

REPORTINGReport Card – end of semesters 1 and 2

- no grades The report will comment on the following areas:

Unit of Inquiry

Language Arts(Literacy)

Mathematics(Numeracy)

Transdisciplinary Skills

Student Reflections

Emerging Developing Proficient

Conferences

Parent-Teacher Conferences

– October 10 & 11

Student Led Conferences

– March 6

Events to look forward to in Grade 3…

Sports Day

Filipiniana

International Day

PTA Liaisons and Room Parents

Malar Selvaraju And our Room Parent?Hansa RajMiss Remoroza’s Class Mrs. McGrath’s Class

Remember:

1.PTA liaisons and Room parents can provide some basic information, support new parents and take part in event planning for the grade/class

2. They are not the local “complaint box” and do not involve themselves in discussing specific adults or children

WE NEED YOUR HELP• Keep a hard copy of current telephone tree• Respond legibly and regularly to “Dear Mom and

Dad”• Help your children to become independent with

homework responsibilities• Help your child to arrive at school on time• Contact the classroom teacher by email or in

person if you have any concerns or questions• Keep birthday treats to a minimum• Volunteer to be Room Parent • Check blogs regularly

Partnership

Let’s work together in the education process. The heart of this effective communication, for both positive and negative issues

You can email me at remorozaj@ismanila.org

Or make an appointment to meet with me.

Please make sure you have checked the details on the telephone tree and indicated any changes you would like

me to make on your info.