B-1: Mrs. Fox's Third Grade Classroom
Welcome!
I am happy that I am your teacher this year. You will find that third
grade is filled with many wonderful adventures and learning experiences.
Your third grade year will be a time of learning new things in math and writing and reading,
and it will also be a time of fun field trips and many other special events.
Sometimes we will be serious, and sometimes we will be silly, but we'll always learn a lot!
I look forward to meeting each of you on the first day of school, and to
working with each of you through the days and months ahead!
Schedule
Specials Schedule
P.E. - Mondays and Wednesdays 8:45 - 9:25
Art - Tuesdays and Thursdays 8:45 - 9:25
P.E./Art rotation - every other Friday 8:45 - 9:25
LMC - Monday 12:35 - 1:35
Music - Thursday 1:15 - 1:55
Weekly Schedule!
Monday
8:25 First Bell
8:30 Tardy Bell
8:45 - 9:25 P.E.
11:30 Lunch
12:15 Afternoon Bell
12:35 - 1:35 LMC
3:15 Dismissal
Tuesday
8:25 First Bell
8:30 Tardy Bell
8:45 - 9:25 Art
11:30 Lunch
12:15 Afternoon Bell
3:15 Dismissal
Wednesday
8:25 First Bell
8:30 Tardy Bell
8:45 - 9:25 P.E.
11:30 Lunch
12:15 Afternoon Bell
3:15 Dismissal
Thursday
8:25 First Bell
8:30 Tardy Bell
8:45 - 9:25 Art
11:30 Lunch
12:15 Afternoon Bell
1:15 - 1:55 Music
3:15 Dismissal
Friday
8:25 First Bell
8:30 Tardy Bell
8:45 - 9:25 P.E./Art rotation (every other week)
11:30 Lunch
12:15 Afternoon Bell
3:15 Dismissal
Third Grade Homework
Homework helps the children practice old and new skills. I appreciate your help in providing your child the time, space, and support he/she still needs to get this homework done.
Spelling and Dictation
Each Monday we will write and discuss the words for the week, bonus words, and dictation. The dictation sentences (usually two) will have to be perfect to get credit on the Friday test so the dictation will require some study. Spelling books will be sent home on Monday for that weeks lesson to be completed and returned every Wednesday.
Reading
Each month the children will take home a reading calendar to record how many minutes they read each night. The requirement is at least 60 minutes per week. The calendar will be due the first school day of the new month. I will need a parent's signature on the returned calendar.
Math
I will assign math homework on Wednesday and Thursday night. Sometimes I may assign something on Thursday night other than math if we are working on something that requires a follow up. Most of the time the homework on Wednesday and Thursday will be due the following day.
Projects
There will be at least one home project each grading period. The children usually have several weeks notice so they can put some extra time and effort into these projects.
Any class work that wasn't completed in class should be taken home for homework and brought back the following day.
Additional Information
B-1/B-4 Rotation
All third graders study writing with me, and they all study math with Ms. Leighty. So we switch groups on a regular basis. By sharing students in this way, we feel we get to know everybody better. This helps us generally, and it really helps on field trips and during other special events.
The Specials
Please note that this year there are some important changes with the Specials. The Physical Education schedule is being reduced, and the Art program is being expanded.
Challenge
Ms. Kraybill is our Challenge instruction again this year, offering alternative or supplemental instruction to qualifying students – probably about one hour a week in the afternoons. If you have a question about who qualifies and why, please talk to her. She will most often work with Challenge students in our classroom. She may also sometimes take these students to Room A-1b for a separate learning activity.
Special Education/PD Center
As with Ms. Kraybill and the Challenge students, at our school there are teachers and staff members who work with our L.D. studneets (that is, our mild-moderate learning disabled students) or P.D. students (our physically disabled students). They will sometimes work in our classrooms and sometimes in their own rooms (A-0 or A-1a).
Bromwell Eagles Always Care
The B.E.A.C. program, in past years, was our school's character-education initiative. The B.E.A.C. committee was a team of parents and teachers who helped integrate character ed programming into our classroom activities, usually on a weekly basis. Many of the parents who have spear-headed this work in the past, however, have now moved on -- as have the principals and teachers who were involved. We hope the program can make a comeback, and we are particularly interested in finding parent volunteers to help bring it into classrooms this year.
Battle of the Books
Banks, Lynne Reid: The Mystery of the Cupboard
Dubois, William Pene: Twenty One Balloons
Gardiner, John Reynolds: Stone Fox
Kinsey-Waenock, Natalie: The Canada Geese Quilt
LeGuin, Ursala: Catwings
Montgomery, L.M.: Anne of Green Gables
Sewell, Anna: Black Beauty
Smith, Robert Kimmel: Chocolate Fever
In order to participate, your child must read at least five of the books. The more books that are read, the better they will do in the battle. They may use their monthly reading calendar to record their reading time. Students may read the books or parents may read to them. We will hold the battle during the month of December.
VOLUNTEERS
If you are interested in volunteering, there are various opportunities in our class. Some of them are:
Typing
Running off and collating materials
Class programs, stage decorations
Small group activities
Piano
Jr. Great Books
Bulletin Boards
Sewing for projects
Room mother
Spelling grader every Wednesday
Book Orders
Profiles of Ms. Fox
One year, Ms. Fox was the subject of not one but two Bromwell Blabber
profiles by our young journalists. Those articles are presented here, followed by an additional piece from our principal.
FACTS ABOUT MS. FOX
by Nate & Sam
Why did Ms. Fox want to come to Bromwell? She had heard through other teachers that it was a good school. "I wanted to be a part of a school that had great kids, dedicated teachers, and involved parents," she tells us.
She likes teaching a lot. She likes working with the kids and getting to know them. She says, "Teaching offers a different challenge every week."
Ms. Fox taught Second grade, and then moved up to Third grade. She liked her kids and their parents so much that she wanted to move up with them when she got the chance. Is there a big difference between Second and Third? "Yes," Ms. Fox says, "Third graders have more homework, work more independently, and develop more projects and demonstrations. Kids are also more interested in their friends and social groups in third grade."
What did she like better, her old school or Bromwell? She tells us, "Definitely Bromwell!"
LIFE WITH MS. FOX
by Grant
I'm in Ms. Fox' 3rd grade class. I think Ms. Fox is a great teacher. She's nice, she's always helping kids out with their homework, and she's just plain great! Ms. Fox always lets kids have free time when they're done with everything. Sometimes when she's having a good day she lets us have recess or something like that.
I think the easiest thing about 3rd grade is math and writing in our draft books. Pokemons are the big hit this year. Sometimes there are big groups trading on the playground. My friend Bernardo and I call it "Pokemon Central."
In 3rd grade, we study space. I'm doing a project on Neil Armstrong. I'm learning a lot in 3rd grade!
AND MORE ABOUT MS. FOX
from our principal
Ms. Fox is a caring third-grade teacher. She is a model of teamwork and professionalism, and works with families for the benefit of her students. Her lessons are engaging and unique, and her students' work is consistently of a high caliber.
- Mr. Wolfer
CONTACTING MS. FOX
The best way to reach me is by my school e-mail address: katherine_fox@dpsk12.org
My team partner, Ms. Leighty, can be contacted the same way at meredith_leighty@dpsk12.org
SCHOOL SUPPLIES
Wondering about classroom supplies? Look at the Grade 3 Supply List
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