Welcome to Grade 3!
Here we are back for another school year amidst a global pandemic and navigating through a "new normal". Now it is time for Grade Three and moving forward while working together to assist your child in feeling secure, safe and continuing to grow as a person and a French language learner. This letter is to introduce myself and to inform you of some of the programs we will be dealing with this year.
Growing up in Grande Prairie along with being a student at St. Gerard in the very first French Immersion program, has instilled a deep sense of community in me. It thrills me to teach younger brothers and sisters of former students and I adore meeting new ones too. I have been with the GP Catholic district for over 20 years and the majority of them have been at St. Gerard in Grade 3. I have two children who have also passed through St. Gerard in the French Immersion program. I am involved with Alberta Education where I participate in the creation of the Grade 3 Student Learner Assessments along with the development of the new Alberta Curriculum. Both of these opportunities enable me to collaborate with teachers across the province and develop a better understanding of Alberta student objectives.
In regards to homework, I realize how busy many families are therefore, I do not like to assign extra homework. There will be many things that your child will need to practice on a daily basis already. This will include; practicing English spelling words, practicing French Dictée words and reading in English and in French. There will also be an important writing component that will accompany the reading. If at any time you feel that you or your child is having difficulties with completing these things, please come see me or send me an email. A manageable way to stay on top of reading in French and in English is to alternate reading nights. Read an English book one night and the following night, read a French book. A general rule of thumb in regards to homework is to do 10 minutes per each Grade level, therefore 30 minutes a night for Grade 3.
Communication will happen this year using email and ClassDojo. Many of you have used this platform in the past with previous teachers. It may also be helpful to have the ClassDojo app on your phone for sending and receiving quick messages. I will be posting the monthly newsletters on this website along with other information.
We will soon be beginning our home reading program. Last year, due to Covid precautions, students did not take home leveled books. Alternatively, they used the online platform RazKids. This year, students may take home reading books from the library or use the Raz-Kids to do their reading. It is your choice. The students used RazKids at school and seemed quite engaged as they earn stars for reading. If you choose to have kids access this at home, here are the instructions for logging in:
RazKids Your child will click Kid's Login, and type in ecolestgerard for the teacher's name. Here your child will see their name to click. They will need to put in their 4 digit password; this is the last 4 digits of your primary phone number. The Kids A-Z Apple App or Kids A-Z Android App may be useful for students to do their reading on a tablet. At this time there is no obligation however, you can feel free to explore this on your own. I will base the level of the French book on the level they finished at in March last year. It is a good idea to have your child read their French book aloud as this assists in the learning of a second language.
With their English reading, I used a reading placement tool on Raz Kids to assist me in finding a reading level for each child based on decoding and comprehension. This tool is not a perfect fit however, it gives us a starting point so that your child can begin reading books at their level so they may start their home reading right away. The newsletters tab has the home reading letter explaining the home reading program.
I have a system in my class for encouraging students to speak French. It is extremely important that students speak French as much as possible to help them become more fluent in the language. This can sometimes be a challenge as it is easier to speak in the native tongue. I use l'argent Fernandes as an allowance at the beginning of the week and the students can gain more by catching others speaking in English or if I catch them speaking in French. At the end of the week, they may purchase small prizes, candy or coupons for privileges.
I will be alternating months with Social Studies and Science. We will begin with Social Studies throughout September and in October we will begin our unit on Rocks and minerals in Science. In Social Studies, we will be looking at Communities in the World and Global Citizenship. The communities under study will be the Ukraine, India, Peru and Tunisia. During the month of September we will be learning about how people live in different communities around the world along with Global Citizenship and its relation to our classroom.
Math: Mathematics is about recognizing, describing and working with numerical and non-numerical patterns. Patterns exist in all strands of the program of studies. Working with patterns enables students to make connections within and beyond mathematics. These skills contribute to students’ interaction with, and understanding of, their environment. Patterns may be represented in concrete, visual or symbolic form. Students should develop fluency in moving from one representation to another. Students must learn to recognize, extend, create and use mathematical patterns. Patterns allow students to make predictions and justify their reasoning when solving routine and non-routine problems. Learning to work with patterns in the early grades helps students develop algebraic thinking, which is foundational for working with more abstract mathematics in higher grades. In Grade 3, students will demonstrate an understanding of increasing patterns by: describing, extending, comparing, creating numerical (numbers to 1000) and non-numerical patterns using manipulatives, diagrams, sounds and actions. They will also demonstrate an understanding of decreasing patterns by: describing, extending, comparing, creating numerical (numbers to 1000) and non-numerical patterns using manipulatives, diagrams, sounds and actions. There is a link on my "useful links" page to help you support your child with Patterns and Relations at home.
With Covid-19 and Physical Education, it is encouraged to plan activities outside as much as possible. On occasion, we will be visiting the Lion's Park near the school to do some of our PE classes.
With the safety protocol involved with Covid, please note the following points:
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and I look forward to a wonderful partnership in your child’s education.
Email: [email protected]
Here we are back for another school year amidst a global pandemic and navigating through a "new normal". Now it is time for Grade Three and moving forward while working together to assist your child in feeling secure, safe and continuing to grow as a person and a French language learner. This letter is to introduce myself and to inform you of some of the programs we will be dealing with this year.
Growing up in Grande Prairie along with being a student at St. Gerard in the very first French Immersion program, has instilled a deep sense of community in me. It thrills me to teach younger brothers and sisters of former students and I adore meeting new ones too. I have been with the GP Catholic district for over 20 years and the majority of them have been at St. Gerard in Grade 3. I have two children who have also passed through St. Gerard in the French Immersion program. I am involved with Alberta Education where I participate in the creation of the Grade 3 Student Learner Assessments along with the development of the new Alberta Curriculum. Both of these opportunities enable me to collaborate with teachers across the province and develop a better understanding of Alberta student objectives.
In regards to homework, I realize how busy many families are therefore, I do not like to assign extra homework. There will be many things that your child will need to practice on a daily basis already. This will include; practicing English spelling words, practicing French Dictée words and reading in English and in French. There will also be an important writing component that will accompany the reading. If at any time you feel that you or your child is having difficulties with completing these things, please come see me or send me an email. A manageable way to stay on top of reading in French and in English is to alternate reading nights. Read an English book one night and the following night, read a French book. A general rule of thumb in regards to homework is to do 10 minutes per each Grade level, therefore 30 minutes a night for Grade 3.
Communication will happen this year using email and ClassDojo. Many of you have used this platform in the past with previous teachers. It may also be helpful to have the ClassDojo app on your phone for sending and receiving quick messages. I will be posting the monthly newsletters on this website along with other information.
We will soon be beginning our home reading program. Last year, due to Covid precautions, students did not take home leveled books. Alternatively, they used the online platform RazKids. This year, students may take home reading books from the library or use the Raz-Kids to do their reading. It is your choice. The students used RazKids at school and seemed quite engaged as they earn stars for reading. If you choose to have kids access this at home, here are the instructions for logging in:
RazKids Your child will click Kid's Login, and type in ecolestgerard for the teacher's name. Here your child will see their name to click. They will need to put in their 4 digit password; this is the last 4 digits of your primary phone number. The Kids A-Z Apple App or Kids A-Z Android App may be useful for students to do their reading on a tablet. At this time there is no obligation however, you can feel free to explore this on your own. I will base the level of the French book on the level they finished at in March last year. It is a good idea to have your child read their French book aloud as this assists in the learning of a second language.
With their English reading, I used a reading placement tool on Raz Kids to assist me in finding a reading level for each child based on decoding and comprehension. This tool is not a perfect fit however, it gives us a starting point so that your child can begin reading books at their level so they may start their home reading right away. The newsletters tab has the home reading letter explaining the home reading program.
I have a system in my class for encouraging students to speak French. It is extremely important that students speak French as much as possible to help them become more fluent in the language. This can sometimes be a challenge as it is easier to speak in the native tongue. I use l'argent Fernandes as an allowance at the beginning of the week and the students can gain more by catching others speaking in English or if I catch them speaking in French. At the end of the week, they may purchase small prizes, candy or coupons for privileges.
I will be alternating months with Social Studies and Science. We will begin with Social Studies throughout September and in October we will begin our unit on Rocks and minerals in Science. In Social Studies, we will be looking at Communities in the World and Global Citizenship. The communities under study will be the Ukraine, India, Peru and Tunisia. During the month of September we will be learning about how people live in different communities around the world along with Global Citizenship and its relation to our classroom.
Math: Mathematics is about recognizing, describing and working with numerical and non-numerical patterns. Patterns exist in all strands of the program of studies. Working with patterns enables students to make connections within and beyond mathematics. These skills contribute to students’ interaction with, and understanding of, their environment. Patterns may be represented in concrete, visual or symbolic form. Students should develop fluency in moving from one representation to another. Students must learn to recognize, extend, create and use mathematical patterns. Patterns allow students to make predictions and justify their reasoning when solving routine and non-routine problems. Learning to work with patterns in the early grades helps students develop algebraic thinking, which is foundational for working with more abstract mathematics in higher grades. In Grade 3, students will demonstrate an understanding of increasing patterns by: describing, extending, comparing, creating numerical (numbers to 1000) and non-numerical patterns using manipulatives, diagrams, sounds and actions. They will also demonstrate an understanding of decreasing patterns by: describing, extending, comparing, creating numerical (numbers to 1000) and non-numerical patterns using manipulatives, diagrams, sounds and actions. There is a link on my "useful links" page to help you support your child with Patterns and Relations at home.
With Covid-19 and Physical Education, it is encouraged to plan activities outside as much as possible. On occasion, we will be visiting the Lion's Park near the school to do some of our PE classes.
With the safety protocol involved with Covid, please note the following points:
- No microwave to heat up students' lunches
- Ensure your child has a waterbottle. These will go home everyday and are expected to come back to school filled the following day.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and I look forward to a wonderful partnership in your child’s education.
Email: [email protected]