Week of September 22nd

Coming home this week...
If you have not yet signed up for a parent teacher conference a sign-up form will be going home this week.  Please indicate 1 or 2 times you are available.  I will send home a completed conference schedule as soon as all conferences are scheduled.  My goal is to meet with all families during parent-teacher conferences as we begin to work together to make your child's 3rd grade year one full of learning and fun!

Week of September 15th

Our 3rd grade year is off to a successful start!  We have been busy learning new routines and procedures, such as how to follow our classroom schedule and what it means to show listening behavior.  We have been working on creating our classroom rules--more to come on that soon!

In science we investigated different materials to build boats and then made hypotheses about which material would work best.  We all started our year long study of the solar system by beginning to investigate how our shadows changed throughout the day.

This week we will begin our Fall NWEA testing.  Your child will be taking the math portion of this assessment on Thursday.  Help your child do their best by ensuring they get a good night's sleep and a healthy breakfast.

Curriculum Night

Our annual curriculum night takes place this Tuesday, September 9th.  Come join us and see what your child will be learning about this year!

Week of September 8th

We had a great first week in third grade!  Over the week we got to know more about each other as well as get to know more about what we'll be learning about this year. 

We are readers in our classroom!  Students have been practicing reading for longer and longer periods of time.  They also are familiarizing themselves with our classroom library by categorizing books and making labels. 

This week we will begin personalizing our writer's notebooks.  Children may bring in family pictures or small drawings that remind them of events from their own lives.  We will then by gluing them onto our notebooks.  Please help your child choose photos and bring them to school by Thursday.

Here's what our plan for this week looks like...

Welcome Back!

     With a new school year upon us I am excited to meet our new classroom community and share more about what we will be doing in 3rd grade with you and your families!

     Each week on our classroom blog you will find information about what we'll be doing in the classroom.  Here's our plan for our first week together.

     Joining us in our classroom this year will be Ms. Caitlin Koska.  She is a teaching intern from the University of Michigan.  More about Ms. Koska to come!  She will join us everyday this week.  Beginning 9/8 she will be with us on Tues morning and all day Wed.

Our current specials schedule is as follows:
Monday-P.E. and Music
Tuesday- World Language
Wednesday- Media
Thursday- P.E. and Music
Friday- World Language, Art, and Media

Welcome Back!

Greetings Mitchell Families,

     Join us for the annual Mitchell Welcome Back picnic, August 27th, 6 pm. Come meet your child's teacher and connect with friends new and old! 

Week of May 19th

Dear Families,
     As part of our partnership with the University of Michigan, Mitchell teachers are working with an organization from UM called Teaching Works.  This organization works to develop excellent teachers through "high leverage practices".  In effect, the work that good teachers do.  Find out more about their work at teachingworks.org.  I share this information with you because Teaching Works is developing a library of videos of these "high leverage practices" in action and have asked to record me teaching writing on Friday 5/23.  This video will be edited and stored in the Teaching Works library and only accessed by registered users.  A consent form will be going home in your child's take home folder on Monday.  Please sign and return consent forms as soon as possible.  Of course, if you have any questions please feel free to ask. 

Sincerely,
Aaron Padgen-Soucy