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Field Trip Details
Trip 1: Wednesday, May 29th (9:00-3:00) PDX
Jennifer, Fisher’s mom, has generously offered to guide us around the Airport. I am so pumped. We will see the huge construction project, see the planes land and take off from a special spot and learn all about what it takes to run a airport of that scale. Also, we may meet the cutest and furriest employees at PDX!
Trip 2: Friday, June 7th (9:00-3:00) Washington Park
We will be heading up to Washington Park. It encompasses many of the things Portland is known for. Wonderful hikes, roses and a beautiful view. We will be checking out a natural wonder that our city has to offer.
Trip 3: Tuesday June 11th (9:00-3:00) Mt Tabor Celebration!
This trip is on the 2nd to last day of school and it is a celebration of our Portland learning. We will get a chance to enjoy a beautiful park in our Neighborhood, see a dormant Volcano and look down on one of the best views in town. This trip is for everyone including siblings that are not yet in school.
All 3 of these trips offer a fair amount of walking. However Trips 2 and 3 have a lot of walking and are a bit up hill at times. Your child will need a lunch and a water bottle that day. I would not send your favorite water bottle in case it gets left behind. They can buy a sack lunch at school if that is what you prefer.
These trips are free and we will be walking or riding the Max.
If you would like to chaperone and have not already volunteered let me know. We are able to take all who want to go.
May 8th Invitation
Next Wednesday we will be out of school to advocate for getting our students a quality education. Students and Families are welcome to join us. CSS will be meeting at Skidmore Fountain at 11:00. It is the Saturday Market Max stop. Reminder that there will be thousands of people so it would be best to take public transportation.
See you there! Wear RED!!
Below is a letter that explains a little more about the reasons behind it and a website to more information.
Dear Parents,
As a Portland Public School (PPS) educator, I value working to create the best possible
learning environment for your student.
My role as an educator is to advocate for the needs of your students and it is something
I take very seriously. I don’t want to lose a day of teaching with my students, but I can’t
tolerate another round of budget cuts.
As you know, PPS is closing schools on Wednesday, May 8th because thousands of
teachers like me are coming together to stand up for your students and draw attention to
the need to fully fund our schools. This family friendly event will have morning activities
starting at 8:30 a.m. followed by a rally at 11 a.m. on the Tom McCall Waterfront with
educators, parents, and students.
Over the last 30 years, Oregon has spent far less than the national average per pupil,
which has resulted in larger class sizes, reduced instruction time and cuts to physical
education, art, vocational and music classes. Every year, teachers are asked to do more
and more with fewer resources. This has a real impact on all our children.
If you would like to learn more about this family friendly event so you can make an
informed decision about whether you would like to participate, please click here:
https://may8forstudents.org
Best,
CSS Teachers
3rd grade is getting wild!
Hello All,
You may know that we got a tortoise in the third grade this week. He is so ugly he is cute. Name to be determined tomorrow afternoon. Here are a few other details as things come fast and furious from this point on.
- Our culmination for the Portland Guide Book is scheduled. It is non traditional as it is after school and off campus at a The Children’s Place bookstore on 15th and Fremont. It will take place on June 5th at 6:00.
- It is field trip time! We will be headed to the Ballet at Portland Metro Arts on May 2nd. As this is only 3 blocks from school we will not be needing parent volunteers but don’t worry there will be plenty of opportunity. 3rd grade will take our traditional Mt. Tabor hike on the second to last day of school, which will be June 11th. This is open to everyone who wants to come including younger siblings who are not in school yet.
- We will also be taking a Portland Field Trip (Or two) which is TBD. We need to get a sense of what kids are interested in before the trip gets fully planned. Those will happen after we turn in our Guidebook to the printers. I was wondering if any families spend time in Washington Park. Due to the changing nature of our city our city field trips have grown increasingly difficult. I thought maybe some of you had some favorite hikes up in the park. Let me know.
-Third Grade
1 Week to Go!
Hey all,
Just one more week to go before spring break and boy is it a doozie! We have 3 pretty cool things going on.
- The Bee Fair! On Thursday, March 21st we will be hosting the Bee Fair. We are doing the fair all day long but families are invited at 2:15.
- Project 2nd Wind. This is a food drive to Benefit the Oregon Food Bank. We will be collecting food all the way through next Friday.
- Red for Ed on Tuesday. On Tuesday all over the State of Oregon students, parents and teachers will be wearing red to demand our state properly fund education. PPS is short 17 million dollars this year and we have nothing else to cut. We will be gathering at the front of the school at 8:20 and 3:30 to make our voices heard. Stop by one or both.
Also there is still stuff to buy at the CSS Auction. Check out the online auction.
Allison and Katie
Valentines Day
Hello all,
Valentines Day is coming up. I think it is a sweet little holiday for 3rd graders . They really seem to enjoy it. We will have a little celebration at the end of the day on the 14th. Just a couple of things to keep in mind.
- If you and your child choose to bring Valentines please bring one for everyone in the class. List below
- We have nut allergies in 3rd grade so please no nuts.
- There will be supplies for your students to make Valentines at the party. Don’t feel pressured.
- I have included a list of kids but feel free to leave the To: section blank and sign the from section. It makes for easy distribution.
Aaliyah
Abby
Alex
Alvin
Amelia
Anya
Archer
Brendan
Clementine
Eben
Fisher
Gage
Henry
Isla
Jessica
Juniper
Kalin
Kinsey
Leone
Luci
Myrna
Olivia
Phoenix
Rush
Scarlet
Taban
Literacy Workshop News
Hello 3rd Grade Families!
It’s hard to believe that we are already onto the second half of third grade! Hopefully you had an opportunity to look at your child’s report card this week and celebrate their learning with them.
Important Save the Date! We have scheduled parent visitations to the Bee Fair for Thursday, March 21st at 2:15. We have been hard at work learning about bees and your child will be so excited to share their learning with you. A more formal notice will be sent home as we get closer to the date.
In this post I am going to fill you in on how our Literacy Workshop is going and what we are working on. There are many parts to our workshop time: reading (of course), weekly paragraph writing, word work, and small groups. Students are given different tasks throughout the week and are learning how to manage their time so that they can complete everything.
Word Work: This year, we are using the new PPS adopted curriculum, Words Their Way. Earlier in the year, third graders were given a spelling inventory test that asked them to spell words with different spelling patterns. This helped me assess the various skills of the group and place students into groups accordingly. Each week, groups are given a set of words that focus on a skill they are working on (vowel combinations, suffixes/affixes, inflected endings, etc.). Students spend time each day manipulating the words sorting them by spelling patters, and writing them down. This helps students build skills in areas they need.
Paragraph of the Week (POTW): Since the beginning of the year, third graders have been working on the important skill of paragraph writing as well as the writing process (brainstorm, organize, first draft, edit, final draft). Each week, students are given a prompt to respond to (this week’s was: What would you do if you were teacher for a day?) and then work on crafting a paragraph with a topic sentence, three supporting detail sentences, and a concluding sentence. For the fall we spent two weeks working on the same topic, breaking the writing up into chunks. Starting this week, students are now writing the whole paragraph in one week. Of course, along with writing a paragraph, we have looked subjects and predicates and what makes up a complete sentence. The third graders are doing a great job and I am seeing their work pay off in both their writing and spelling.
Small Groups: In addition to the work listed above, students are also working in small, leveled groups on various reading skills. Some groups are focused more on fluency and accuracy to help get them really moving along in their reading, while other groups are starting to delve deeper into comprehension skills. Small groups work on reading fiction and non fiction.
I love teaching reading and love of literature to third graders! It is such a fun time in their reading development. If you ever have questions or wonderings about your child’s progress please feel free to reach out!
Take care,
Katie
Fall into Winter
Hey 3rd grade families,
It was great to see you all at conferences! I hope you had wonderful Thanksgivings and you are looking forward to the long winter break. Here are just a few things to know before we go.
- Winter is coming! We have a terrible rainy day recess plan, it is simply stay inside. It is the worst. Unless the weather is going to hurt us, (i.e. hail/sleet or lightening) we will be heading outside. Please remind them to pack the necessary apparel for the cool and wet weather.
- We have a food drive going on. A neighboring school packs backpacks of food for kiddos during the long winter break. We have decided to help out by bringing in some food. If you have any kid friendly food please send it with your student and it will be distributed to those in need.
- Don’t forget to check the lost and found before the break. There is some incredible stuff that goes to the clothing closet every break make sure it isn’t your stuff.
Allison
October
Hey All,
It has been a pretty great start of the year. We have already done so much. I am getting to know each kiddo as an individual and it is my favorite part about having both classes.
Kids in both classes have expressed an interest in having the invention center as an option for Fun Friday. Please send your recyclable items to school with your kiddo so we have a robust invention center.
Reminder of Dates:
Conference Sign Ups: October 11th
Picture Day: October 19th
Conferences: November 19th and 20th
Thanks to Eva for the Creative Arts Pics
The Third Grade Team
First of the year details
Hello 3rd grade familes,
Just a short post with some need to know details for you.
- This is the third grade blog. There are posts from me, there are posts from Katie on it. You will receive an email when we have posted something we want you to see with the link to the post. Of course you are welcome to look through all of the blog posts from the both of us.
2. Math/Reading: One thing that is a big change is that your child will have both Allison and me as teachers this year. In the afternoons, my class will go to Allison’s room for math and Allison’s class will come to me for reading. This is our second year of departmentalization and we have found that it really allows for us to go deeper with content and really get to know who students are as readers/mathematicians. Your child will still do Storyline, community building, specials, and reading with my “homeroom”. This week, we switched a couple of times so that each class could learn routines and meet the teacher. Next week, we will switch and begin our reading/math instruction!
3. Specials this year!
Monday: PE
Tuesday: Library
Wednesday: PE
Thursday: Music
Friday: Art
4. Contact info:
Allison – ahalvors@pps.net
Katie – klongstr@pps.net
Welcome Back! Update from Katie’s Class
Welcome back! I hope you and your child had a good first week of school. A full week is a lot to come back to, but the kids were troopers and we had a lot of fun getting to know each other, our classroom, and our routines. I just wanted to write a quick post to introduce you to our 3rd grade blog (where most of our class updates will be posted) and to fill you in on some important things to know about 3rd grade.
Math/Reading: One thing that is a big change is that your child will have both Allison and me as teachers this year. In the afternoons, my class will go to Allison’s room for math and Allison’s class will come to me for reading. This is our second year of departmentalization and we have found that it really allows for us to go deeper with content and really get to know who students are as readers/mathematicians. Your child will still do Storyline, community building, specials, and reading with my “homeroom”. This week, we switched a couple of times so that each class could learn routines and meet the teacher. Next week, we will switch and begin our reading/math instruction!
Start/Dismissal: The first bell rings at 8:55. The tardy bell rings at 9:00. I stand and shake hands until the first bell rings and then I will shut the door. If you arrive and the door is shut, it means your child will need to go to the office and sign in. I have communicated this to the class and will have a reminder note on the door. (If your child is walking down the hall when the bell rings I will wait for them before shutting the door. They do not need to run or turn around and go into the office.)
Dismissal is at 3:15. 3rd graders are released from the classrooms. If you would prefer for your child to wait in the classroom and be picked up by you that if just fine. If there’s ever a change in your pick up plan and you need to let your child know, call the office and they will tell me. I don’t always have chance to check my email during the day, so the office is the best way to make sure your child get the message.
Nut Free: We are a nut free class. A member of our classroom community has a severe allergy, so please do not send anything with peanuts or tree nuts (coconut is okay). I have been told that foods that say “Processed in a facility with peanuts/tree nuts” is okay. If you have any questions please let me know.
Toys From Home: A new CSS rule this year is that we are not going to have toys from home come to school. This includes Beyblades, stuffed animals, Fingerlings, etc. Students are welcome to bring books from home to read.
Homework: There is no homework in 3rd grade
Gum: We usually allow 3rd graders to chew gum, however I will let the kids know when as we have a meeting before I let kids start.
Volunteering: Let me know if you’re interested in volunteering, in either my room or Allison’s! We will also need chaperones for field trips in third grade. Volunteers need a current background check on file. Check in the main office and Melissa or Kate can let you know if yours is current.
Contact: Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions, concerns, or thoughts. I am usually available for quick chats before/after school if you let me know in advance, and we can always schedule a meeting if you need more time. My email is klongstr@pps.net and you can reach me by phone at 503-916-6431(leave a message and I’ll get back to you). Allison is also more than happy to talk to you about yoru child, email is ahalvors@pps.net
I had a great first week and I am so excited to get this year started! 3rd grade is awesome and I can’t wait to see how much your child grows this year!
Have a great weekend and I’ll see you Tuesday,
Katie
CSS 3rd Grade 