January / February 2024

 Happy New Year everyone! 

Goodbye 2023! Welcome 2023!

The year 2023 just went by so fast. I can still remember when I wrote my September blog - the Grade 3's were just starting the routine in the Grade 3. The continuous work, the tests, printing practices, mad minutes, and all other stuff. Now, four months had passed and the students are still trying to master their routine and they know what are the expectations required from them. I can say that they are indeed trying their best and that is what matters most. 

As the new year begins, there will be new lessons, new challenges and of course new expectations. And this year they were told that they need to work double time because in eight months time, they will be in Grade 4. 

In ELA, we are doing a lot of dictionary skills, finding words in the dictionary. Its definition and how they are going to use the words in a sentence. Every time we get a chance and they encounter difficult words, the dictionary is their go-to tool for learning. They are also encountering a lot of different words thru their weekly Spelling words. We did learn Synonyms, Antonyms and Homonyms. We did Nouns, Verbs and now Adjectives.. 

In Math, we are doing 2 and 3 digit addition and subtraction with and without regrouping. We also started with our Mad minutes with word problems. They learn Number Bond as part of the Fact Families lesson, Skip counting 2 to 12, and soon Multiplication. 

In Religion, we are going to learn about about Jesus and His Ministry, the Liturgical Calendar of the Church and the 4 marks of the church. And Lent is coming up which is quite a big lesson to discuss. 

In Science, we are going to talk about Seeds and other plant parts.. They had been answering a book Plant a Seed and See what grows. We planted romaine lettuce and radish egg. I tried planting spring onion and garlic. 

In Social Studies, we will learn more about Canada, its provinces, and its territories. Now just recently, we started learning about Right and Citizenship of a Canadian citizen. Then we will move to Canada's first peoples. 

In Art, we are going to do a lot of interesting art activities. 

In French, we are going to continue learning about basics - numbers, colors, alphabet, animals in French. . 

Our winter this year is beautiful. we don't even feel that its winter because of the warm weather. Nonetheless, we need to be extra careful about getting sick. If they're sick they should stay at home. 

February is again a month that is short. There are so many activities aligned for this month. We have I love to Read Month and the activities prepared were very beautiful. We can't wait to try them all. 

Just to give you a short glimpse on what is happening this month, we started Handwriting. We're off to finish Skip Counting and will head immediately to learning Multiplication. We are learning Seed Dispersal ways. We did some planting and the seeeedddds are growing.. YEhey! And what I love the most is the discussion that we having when we talk about being a Canadian citizen. 

Also, last year in November we started doing kindness sessions with Mrs. Jennifer Curtis-Klein, they were our Social Workers and they were doing sessions with the Grade 3. We started with the Kindness Sessions and this month we are doing Creating a Caring Environment. The students love it. And it is a good reminder for them to be kind and caring all the time. 

Another interesting fact this year - Ash Wednesday falls on Valentines day. WOw! What a special way to start Lent. After all, "You cannot spell VALENTINES, without LENT." 

Please make sure that you are checking and signing your child’s agenda everyday. This is a great tool for communication between school and home.

            If you have any questions or concerns about your child, please feel free to write me a note in their agenda or send me an email to grade3sgs@gmail.com.

Thank you, and stay safe. 

REMINDERS: 

* January 8th - Thurs. School Re-opens

*January 12th - Tues Early Dismissal and Mass 

*January 26th - Fri. Winter Family Fun Dance

Catholic Schools Week information will soon follow. 

Mrs. Francisco