Somehow we’re moving into the third calendar month of this school year…time is flying by!

What a beautiful fall weekend this has been! I hope you’ve been able to get outside and enjoy this weather. We are really starting to dig into curriculum and get into the “normal” swing of things in 3rd grade at this point, and as the seasons change we have a variety of things to look ahead to!

Please read on for a variety of reminders and information, and for upcoming dates (including information about school pictures this week ).  We were so busy with our first 5 day week, I have hardly any photos! I did include a few at the end from the last two weeks🙂 

——————————————————————————————–

Word Work Practice at Home

A handful of parents have asked about spelling practice at home. To aid in this, along with a new Reading Log you will see sent home tomorrow I will be sending home a copy of the words your child is working on in Word Work groups each Monday. Please consider running through these words with your child once at night as an added exposure to the spelling patterns they’re working on at school each week.

Thanks so much for supporting your child’s learning!

——————————————————————————————–

Reading Logs Turned In Tomorrow

Don’t forget to send your child’s Reading Log in tomorrow; you will have a new one sent home as well to return the following Monday. PLEASE DO YOUR BEST to encourage your child to read for a minimum of 100 minutes each week!

Important: When we want kids to do something, we know that intrinsic motivation is the highest indicator of their continued pursuit of the activity. For this reason, PLEASE do your best not to correct every little mistake your child makes when reading aloud (I know, I know, this is easier said than done 🙂)

By all means, help your child sound/stretch out hard words, have them back up to reread for understanding if necessary, etc, but please let your kiddo read…the more words they can consume, the stronger their reading will become in time. Thank you so much for your help in growing a love for reading instead of fear of mistakes in your child!

——————————————————————————————–

October Lunch Menu 

Meals offered at school for the month of October can be found here.

Please check out the following message from the Jenison/Hudsonville Food Service:

Are school meals (breakfast and lunch) really free right now?  YES!! The meal itself is free.  Remember – each meal must contain a fruit or a vegetable to be qualified.  Students will still be charged for any other purchases like: milk only, bottled water/juices, additional entrees, etc. The USDA extended rules from this summer that allow us to serve free breakfast and lunch to students. This Extended Summer program will end on December 31, or until the USDA tells us to stop.  NO additional paperwork is needed to receive these meals. 

What comes with lunch?  Lunches include protein (meat/meat alternatives), whole grains, fruit, vegetable, and milk.  Students can select 3, 4, or all 5 items.  The meal must contain a fruit or vegetable to qualify as a complete meal. 

Free and Reduced Meal Applications:  We are still collecting Free/Reduced Applications.  Even though meals are free right now, when the Extended Summer program stops, an approved application MUST be completed to continue receiving meals at the free or reduced rate.  If you had an application approved in 2019-20, but have not renewed it for this year, it expires on October 7.  If you do not reapply, you will be charged full price when the Extended Summer program ends.

Did you know?  Approved Free & Reduced Applications help our school district!  School Districts receive money for Title I reading and math support based on our number of eligible students.  You can also qualify for discounts on athletic fees, AP testing fees, and college application fees.  You may also be eligible for discounts on your home’s cable TV or internet!  Apply anytime at www.lunchapp.com.

LOW and NEGATIVE BALANCE EMAILS:  These automatic emails will be turned back on on September 28.  If your child has a negative balance, this is left from the 2019-20 school year, and you are still responsible for paying the charges.  If you need purchase histories, just reach out to us and we can provide them for you.

——————————————————————————————–

Picture Day – Thursday, October 1

School pictures will be this coming Thursday, October 1st! The order forms were sent home this past week, and will need to be returned by picture day.

Sadly we have the last slot of the day — 1:50 PM, after snack, lunch, and recess have all given the kids ample opportunity to mess up their hair and cute outfit you send them to school in 🙁 I’m sorry about this! We will do the best we can to spruce them back up before they get in front of the camera 🙂

——————————————————————————————–

Multiplication and Division

This. Is. HARD for many 3rd graders! If your child is voicing that they are struggling, please reinforce the “growth mindset” we are working on in class:

My brain is capable of hard things.

It’s not that I don’t get it, it’s that I don’t get it…YET!

I will NOT give up!

While equal groups in multiplication is clicking more and more, tying that concept to division can be so tricky for some kids. Please trust that it will come with time, and that we are going to be able to start working in small group settings to reinforce these tricky concepts this week.

I promise, it will come! We are all different, and all learn in our own time…if only the curriculum pacing guide allowed for greater differentiation of time spent on these concepts, BUT we will all get the hang of it in the end! 🙂

——————————————————————————————–

Curriculum

This week begins the first lesson or two in 3rd grade content and curriculum. I can’t wait to partner with you to help your child reach his or her full academic potential this year!

• Reading: We will continue developing our first Reader’s Workshop unit, “Building a Reading Life”.
• Writing: This week we will continue the first unit of our Writer’s Workshop: Crafting True Stories. We will be drafting our last “practice” of a true story from our lives.
• Word Work: Students will be working on spelling patterns based on individual needs indicated by a spelling inventory we took last week. This will be done through both small group and individual practice.
• Math: We will continue working on multiplication and division, introducing 3’s fact families and touching on the concept of area (very tricky for 3rd graders!). PLEASE work on flash cards with students at home every night! Thank you for your help in this!
• Social Studies: We will talk about how challenges, mistakes, and taking risks all help our brains to learn, stretch, and grow.

——————————————————————————————–

Upcoming Dates

• Thursday, October 1: Picture Day
• Friday, October 23: Early Release (12:15 pm dismissal)
• Monday, October 26: No School

Above: Equal groups of leaves collected on Nature Day lead to the creation of trees and multiplication story problems from the real world!

Above: Word Work groups began this past week! Spelling pros, here we come!

Above: We are continuing to use excellent mentor texts to study and imitate in our own writing. Students found examples of dialogue, stretching small moments out bit by bit, and where the words make it feel like a movie is playing in the reader’s mind instead of a news report!

We are headed into the last week of September. Wow!

Friday morning was one of those times when I look around my room (or look around outside, since that’s where we spent the majority of our day) and think to myself, “WOW, I have the best job in the world!” Your kids continue to remind me daily of the beauty, wonder, and purity that still exists in the midst of this crazy world. Thank you for working hard to raise amazing little human beings. You are my inspiration to do my best to do the same with Baby Deters in a couple of months!

Please read on for a variety of reminders and information, and for upcoming dates. No pictures included this week because my internet connection is not supporting the uploads today, even after restarting a couple of times 🙁 Next week photos will return! 🙂 

Please also check the heading titled “Photos”, and remember that this week is the Walkathon and Spirit Week!

——————————————————————————————–

Five Day Week This Week!

Our first FULL week of 3rd grade…I’m guessing you’ll have some tired kiddos by Friday night! 🙂

——————————————————————————————–

Walkathon and Spirit Week!

Thank you so much to those of you who have worked to help your child raise money for GES! With all of the added restrictions and regulations, the monetary needs that have arisen across the school to be able to provide the best learning in a safe way are significantly higher than normal years.

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HELP in ensuring your child receives a quality education, even in the midst of all this craziness, through fundraising with this Walkathon!

Please remember that we are sadly not allowed to have any visitors or volunteers at this year’s event; thank you for your understanding and support in this.

• Monday, September 21 – Friday, September 25th:  Spirit Week
  • • Monday-PJ Day
    • Tuesday-Silly Socks
    • Wednesday-Crazy Hair
    • Thursday-Hat Day
    • Friday-Maize & Blue
• Thursday, September 24th: Walkathon

——————————————————————————————–

Photos?

Parents, please email me at kdeters@hpseagles.net if you are NOT COMFORTABLE with photos of your child’s face and/or any part of them being posted on the blog, on the school website, or on any form of social media. Thank you so much for your help with this!

——————————————————————————————–

Recorder Orders

Please be sure to get your child’s recorder order form and payment in for music class! As a former elementary music teacher, I can assure you these BEAUTIFUL sounding instruments (  but truly when played correctly, they actually are nice…that just doesn’t happen all that often!) are such an exciting right of passage for these kids. They can’t wait to begin learning and playing!

——————————————————————————————–

Sports Events and Performances

There’s nothing I love more than supporting my students in their interests outside of school! While I know this year has limited extracurricular opportunities for students, I would love to support your child in any activities he or she is a part of! While I cannot guarantee that I make it to an event, I can guarantee that if I don’t know about it there’s no way I’ll be there 😉 

Please email me a schedule of your child’s sports, dance, karate, musical performances, or whatever else they have going on (virtual events included!) and I will try my very hardest to make it to at least one! Email me at kdeters@hpseagles.net . Thank you!

——————————————————————————————–

Reading Logs

Beginning today (Monday, September 14th), a weekly reading log will be sent home for students to keep track of their reading outside of school, and will be turned in the following Monday. PLEASE DO YOUR BEST to encourage your child to read for a minimum of 100 minutes each week!

Please…

• Read with your child
• Have them read to or with a sibling
• Have them read alone
• Have them read in the car
• Have them read while waiting for dinner
• Have them bring a book to a sibling’s sports game or practice
• WHENEVER and WHEREVER you can to get those 100 minutes in!

We do not have traditional homework in 3rd grade because the number one indicator of success in literacy (anything related to reading and writing…which is just about every subject out there!) is tied directly to a child’s time spent reading! 

We work very hard at school to grow as readers and writers in 3rd grade, but the time constraints of our school day just don’t cut it. Please encourage your child to read anything and everything they find interesting — I had a girl last year who read cookbooks and food blogs most nights. That’s great! If they’re excited to be reading something, please ENCOURAGE that!

Thanks so much for your help in this, parents 🙂

——————————————————————————————–

Library

Speaking of reading — trips to our school library will begin this week. A variety of books were not returned to the GES library due to the abrupt school closure last spring, so please do your best to get them returned as soon as you’re able. Thank you so much to those of you who have already brought yours in this fall!

We will have library on Wednesday afternoons this year.

Thanks so much!

——————————————————————————————–

Curriculum

This week begins the first lesson or two in 3rd grade content and curriculum. I can’t wait to partner with you to help your child reach his or her full academic potential this year!

• Reading: We will continue developing our first Reader’s Workshop unit, “Building a Reading Life”.
• Writing: This week we will continue the first unit of our Writer’s Workshop: Crafting True Stories.
• Word Work: Beginning this week, students will be working on spelling patterns based on individual needs indicated by a spelling inventory we took last week.
• Math: We will continue working on multiplication and division, introducing 10’s, 9’s, and 3’s fact families. PLEASE work on flash cards with students at home every night! Thank you for your help in this!
• Social Studies: We will talk about how challenges, mistakes, and taking risks all help our brains to learn, stretch, and grow.

——————————————————————————————–

Upcoming Dates

• Monday, September 21 – Friday, September 25th:  Spirit Week
  • • Monday-PJ Day
    • Tuesday-Silly Socks
    • Wednesday-Crazy Hair
    • Thursday-Hat Day
    • Friday-Maize & Blue
• Thursday, September 24th: Walkathon
• Friday, October 23: Early Release (12:15 pm dismissal)

 

This weekend will mark a whole month of 3rd grade for your student. Wow!

Over and over this weekend work came up (baby showers, church, etc), and every single time I found myself gushing about how much I love my kids and love my job. Thank you for all you do to support your students’ learning, and my work as a teacher — YOU and your KIDS are what make my job rock!

Please read on for a variety of reminders and information, and for upcoming dates. Thanks so much! Like last week, I included a few pictures from our week at the end of this post. 

——————————————————————————————–

One More Short Week

Another short week for the kids this week! Please remember that students will have a half day this Friday, September 18th.

——————————————————————————————–

Recorder Orders

Please be sure to get your child’s recorder order form and payment in for music class! As a former elementary music teacher, I can assure you these BEAUTIFUL sounding instruments ( but truly when played correctly, they actually are nice…that just doesn’t happen all that often!) are such an exciting right of passage for these kids. They can’t wait to begin learning and playing!

——————————————————————————————–

Sports Events and Performances

There’s nothing I love more than supporting my students in their interests outside of school! While I know this year has limited extracurricular opportunities for students, I would love to support your child in any activities he or she is a part of! While I cannot guarantee that I make it to an event, I can guarantee that if I don’t know about it there’s no way I’ll be there 😉 

Please email me a schedule of your child’s sports, dance, karate, musical performances, or whatever else they have going on (virtual events included!) and I will try my very hardest to make it to at least one! Email me at kdeters@hpseagles.net . Thank you!

——————————————————————————————–

Reading Logs

Beginning today (Monday, September 14th), a weekly reading log will be sent home for students to keep track of their reading outside of school, and will be turned in the following Monday. PLEASE DO YOUR BEST to encourage your child to read for a minimum of 100 minutes each week!

Please…

• Read with your child
• Have them read to or with a sibling
• Have them read alone
• Have them read in the car
• Have them read while waiting for dinner
• Have them bring a book to a sibling’s sports game or practice
• WHENEVER and WHEREVER you can to get those 100 minutes in!

We do not have traditional homework in 3rd grade because the number one indicator of success in literacy (anything related to reading and writing…which is just about every subject out there!) is tied directly to a child’s time spent reading! 

We work very hard at school to grow as readers and writers in 3rd grade, but the time constraints of our school day just don’t cut it. Please encourage your child to read anything and everything they find interesting — I had a girl last year who read cookbooks and food blogs most nights. That’s great! If they’re excited to be reading something, please ENCOURAGE that!

Thanks so much for your help in this, parents 🙂

——————————————————————————————–

Library

Speaking of reading — trips to our school library will begin this week. A variety of books were not returned to the GES library due to the abrupt school closure last spring, so please do your best to get them returned as soon as you’re able. Thank you so much to those of you who have already brought yours in this fall!

We will have library on Wednesday afternoons this year.

Thanks so much!

——————————————————————————————–

Curriculum

This week begins the first lesson or two in 3rd grade content and curriculum. I can’t wait to partner with you to help your child reach his or her full academic potential this year!

• Reading: We will begin our first Reader’s Workshop unit, “Building a Reading Life”. Students will learn how to combine literacy skills with personal reading preferences to make reading the BEST it can be, and to begin the road to being a lifelong reader.
• Writing: This week we will continue the first unit of our Writer’s Workshop: Crafting True Stories.
• Math: We will continue working on multiplication, introducing the concept of division and multiplying groups of 2’s.
• Social Studies: We will build on the work we did looking at Growth versus Fixed Mindsets, and learn more about how are brain works and why it is so important to be willing to take risks!

——————————————————————————————–

Upcoming Dates

• Friday, September 18: Early Release (12:15 pm dismissal)
• Monday, September 21 – Friday, September 25th:  Spirit Week
  • • Monday-PJ Day
    • Tuesday-Silly Socks
    • Wednesday-Crazy Hair
    • Thursday-Hat Day
    • Friday-Maize & Blue
• Thursday, September 24th: Walkathon
• Friday, October 23: Early Release (12:15 pm dismissal)

——————————————————————————————–

Above: Using examples of great 3rd graders’ writing to investigate and recorder what good third grader writers DO and what they DON’T do!

Above: Introduction to multiplication using ARRAYS with playdough!

Above: Weekly grammar work in a colorful, fun way!

I’m not sure how this happened, but next week is WEEK 3 already!

We started working on multiplication, took our first writing pre-assessment, really began to dig into Growth Mindset, and laughed…a lot! I’m headed into this long weekend with a very full teacher heart — and exhausted pregnant body!

Please read on for a variety of reminders and information, and for upcoming dates. Thanks so much! Like last week, I included a few pictures from our week at the end of this post. They’ll have to do until you can come visit “Our Neck of the Woods” in person! 🙂

——————————————————————————————–

Short Week

Another short week for the kids this week! Please remember that students will not have school this coming Monday, Labor Day (9/7).

——————————————————————————————–

Sports Events and Performances

There’s nothing I love more than supporting my students in their interests outside of school! While I know this year has limited extracurricular opportunities for students, I would love to support your child in any activities he or she is a part of! While I cannot guarantee that I make it to an event, I can guarantee that if I don’t know about it there’s no way I’ll be there 😉 

Please email me a schedule of your child’s sports, dance, karate, musical performances, or whatever else they have going on (virtual events included!) and I will try my very hardest to make it to at least one! Email me at kdeters@hpseagles.net . Thank you!

——————————————————————————————–

Reading Logs

Beginning Monday, September 14th, a weekly reading log will be sent home for students to keep track of their reading outside of school, and will be turned in the following Monday. PLEASE DO YOUR BEST to encourage your child to read for a minimum of 100 minutes each week!

Please…

• Read with your child
• Have them read to or with a sibling
• Have them read alone
• Have them read in the car
• Have them read while waiting for dinner
• Have them bring a book to a sibling’s sports game or practice
• WHENEVER and WHEREVER you can to get those 100 minutes in!

We do not have traditional homework in 3rd grade because the number one indicator of success in literacy (anything related to reading and writing…which is just about every subject out there!) is tied directly to a child’s time spent reading! 

We work very hard at school to grow as readers and writers in 3rd grade, but the time constraints of our school day just don’t cut it. Please encourage your child to read anything and everything they find interesting — I had a girl last year who read cookbooks and food blogs most nights. That’s great! If they’re excited to be reading something, please ENCOURAGE that!

Thanks so much for your help in this, parents 🙂

——————————————————————————————–

Library

Speaking of reading — trips to our school library will begin the week following next: Monday, September 14. A variety of books were not returned to the GES library due to the abrupt school closure last spring, so please do your best to get them returned as soon as you’re able. Thank you so much to those of you who have already brought yours in this fall!

We will have library on Wednesday afternoons this year.

Thanks so much!

——————————————————————————————–

Long-Term Substitute for Maternity Leave

Of all the years to have your child’s teacher be leaving to have a baby, this was the perfect one, right?! I have some very exciting news to share, though…

We have a wonderful substitute teacher all lined up!

As we get closer to my November 8 due date, I will let you know more about our plans for the leave as well as will introduce her; however at this point we are still solidifying everything with HR. I’m so relieved (as I’m sure you especially are!) to have a great guest teacher lined up for the weeks I will be stepping away with Baby Deters.

Thanks so much for your support in this!

——————————————————————————————–

Outdoor Learning

This week we will continue to spend time learning outside. I do have extra towels and mats on hand, but if you would like your child to have their own please be sure to send one in this week!

We will be working under a shady spot outside the 2nd/3rd wing. I will do my best to encourage dry, grassy sit spots, but if a towel gets overly dirty or muddy I will send it home with the student in a plastic baggie that day to be washed (yoga mats can be wiped down when we head back into the classroom). Thanks so much for your help with this added laundry — I know you never have enough with little kids, so I thought I’d find a way to throw another bit your way 😉

——————————————————————————————–

Lunch

Third graders will be eating lunch in our classroom this fall! Students getting hot lunch will go to the cafeteria to get their meal, then bring it back to the room to eat. What an adventure this will be! 😉

• On Early Release days, students wishing to get school lunch can get a sack lunch to go!
• SeptemberMenu2020 Calendar

——————————————————————————————–

Curriculum

This week begins the first lesson or two in 3rd grade content and curriculum. I can’t wait to partner with you to help your child reach his or her full academic potential this year!

• Reading: We will begin our first Reader’s Workshop unit, “Building a Reading Life”. Students will learn how to combine literacy skills with personal reading preferences to make reading the BEST it can be, and to begin the road to being a lifelong reader.
• Writing: This week we will begin the first unit of our Writer’s Workshop: Crafting True Stories.
• Math: We will continue working on multiplication, expanding on equal groups and introducing arrays and the Commutative Property of Multiplication.
• Social Studies: We will build on the work we did looking at Growth versus Fixed Mindsets, and learn more about how are brain works and why it is so important to be willing to take risks!

——————————————————————————————–

Upcoming Dates

• Monday, September 7: Labor Day / No School
• Friday, September 18: Early Release (12:15 pm dismissal)
• Friday, October 23: Early Release (12:15 pm dismissal)

Above: Week 2’s Morning Bins brought LEGOs!

Above: Multiplication with equal groups was delicious!

Above: Reading outside after a week of earning it inside!

Above: Transferring our skills with equal groups from candy to whiteboard work.

Wow, your kiddo is already heading into the second calendar month of 3rd grade!

What a fantastic first week they had. I’m not sure what I did to earn it, but I have the best group of kids around! They have learned so many routines, expectations, and new “norms”, and this week we will continue building on those as well as begin some “real” curriculum…I am so excited to see your student grow! 🙂 Your kid rocks, I’m excited for Week 2!

Once again, I have to thank you for the grace you have extended toward me and Georgetown’s staff in general. There was so much anxiety around all the unknowns leading up to this past week, but (of course) you and your students proved to us that while circumstances may change, our kids and their families are consistently wonderful to work with. I love my job because of families like YOU! THANK YOU!

Please read on for a variety of reminders and information, and for upcoming dates. Thanks so much! I also included just a couple of pictures from the first week of school — I will try to include a few more next weekend!

——————————————————————————————–

Short Week

Another short week for the kids this week! Please remember that students will have an Early Release this coming Thursday (9/3), and no school Friday (9/4) or Monday (9/7).

——————————————————————————————–

Sports Events and Performances

There’s nothing I love more than supporting my students in their interests outside of school! While I know this year has limited extracurricular opportunities for students, I would love to support your child in any activities he or she is a part of! While I cannot guarantee that I make it to an event, I can guarantee that if I don’t know about it there’s no way I’ll be there 😉 

Please email me a schedule of your child’s sports, dance, karate, musical performances, or whatever else they have going on (virtual events included!) and I will try my very hardest to make it to at least one! Email me at kdeters@hpseagles.net . Thank you!

——————————————————————————————–

Outdoor Learning

This week we will add another opportunity for mask breaks to sit spots we have spaced 6 ft apart around our room: We will take our towels and yoga mats to head outside for some independent reading time as well as some math work. I do have extra towels and mats on hand, but if you would like your child to have their own please be sure to send one in this week!

We will be working under a shady spot outside the 2nd/3rd wing. I will do my best to encourage dry, grassy sit spots, but if a towel gets overly dirty or muddy I will send it home with the student in a plastic baggie that day to be washed (yoga mats can be wiped down when we head back into the classroom). Thanks so much for your help with this added laundry — I know you never have enough with little kids, so I thought I’d find a way to throw another bit your way 😉

——————————————————————————————–

Lunch

Third graders will be eating lunch in our classroom this fall! Students getting hot lunch will go to the cafeteria to get their meal, then bring it back to the room to eat. What an adventure this will be! 😉

• On Early Release days, students wishing to get school lunch can get a sack lunch to go!
• SeptemberMenu2020 Calendar

——————————————————————————————–

Curriculum

This week begins the first lesson or two in 3rd grade content and curriculum. I can’t wait to partner with you to help your child reach his or her full academic potential this year!

• Reading: We will begin our first Reader’s Workshop unit, “Building a Reading Life”. Students will learn how to combine literacy skills with personal reading preferences to make reading the BEST it can be, and to begin the road to being a lifelong reader.
• Writing: This week we will write a pre-assessment (ungraded) to provide a baseline for measuring growth over unit 1 of our Writer’s Workshop (which we will begin next week).
• Math: We will begin learning about multiplication! This week we will begin with 5’s, working to understand that multiplication by 5 is simply a certain number of equal groups of 5, or repeated addition of 5.
• Social Studies: We will continue building on what it means to be a good member of our class, and how to S.O.A.R.  at school! Next week we will begin focusing on having a growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset.

——————————————————————————————–

Upcoming Dates

• Thursday, September 3: Early Release (12:15 pm dismissal)
• Friday, September 4: No School
• Monday, September 7: Labor Day / No School
• Friday, September 18: Early Release (12:15 pm dismissal)

Making labels for book bins in our classroom library!  (Above)   

Morning Bin fun! This week we had playdough in our morning bins, and the option to choose free draw on white boards (Above)

Your 2020-2021 3rd Grade Team – Mrs. Deters, Mrs. Houtstra, Mrs. Greenlund, Ms. VanArkel (Left to Right)

First day of school, here we come!

Parents, you did it. You survived the world’s longest unexpected time away from traditional schooling, and it’s finally time to send your kiddo back to our wonderful Georgetown for a year of learning and growing. I can’t wait to meet all the kids in person! I will send more general information about the school year to you at the end of this week when you’ve had some time and space to process all the crazy that is this first week of school 🙂

Don’t forget to fill out the parent survey if you haven’t already so I can ensure your child has a smooth transition to 3rd grade.

I know that everything feels different and many things still feel “off”: You are not alone in thinking and feeling this. We have been working so hard to prepare for your kids to return to school smoothly and as “normally” as possible, and I will work my buns off to love and support your child day in and day out. Third grade will be a year your child will never forget, hopefully for lots of GREAT reasons! 🙂

THANK YOU for all the grace and patience you have already shown me…I work in the BEST district around because of the amazing students and parents!

Please read on for a variety of reminders and information, and for upcoming dates. Thanks so much! I also recorded a video explaining our agenda for the first day of school — please show this to your child to ease as much anxiety as possible!

——————————————————————————————–

Half Days

Hopefully you are well aware of this change, but remember that due to the heat/humidity, students will have Early Release days this coming Monday (8/24), Tuesday (8/25), and then the previously scheduled Thursday (8/27).

——————————————————————————————–

Important Paperwork to Return to School

Please be sure to review, complete, and return three forms that will be sent home in your child’s folder on Monday. Typically these would be sent home at Open House, but this year they’ll be coming home the first day of school. Your child will return them to me, and I will get them to the office. Thank you for your help in this!

Required forms that MUST be returned to GES:

• Family Compact (pink paper)

• Student Profile Sheet (white paper)

• Covid-19 Health Screening Commitment (white paper)

• Medical Forms if your child needs medication at school

——————————————————————————————–

Parent Pick Up

Copied from the GES Blog:

“CHILD DROP OFF:  If you are dropping your child off at school, please do this in the front circle drive. 

• DO NOT DROP OFF BEFORE 8:35 a.m.
• Your child will exit your vehicle (passenger side only for safety) and enter the building.
• Students will go right to their classrooms and NOT to the playground.
• Once inside the building, we will walk groups of students to their classrooms.
• If your child arrives after school begins, you must walk him/her into the front office and sign your child in for the day.
• Our school secretaries will have a sign-in log available at the front desk.  Your child will then walk to his/her classroom.

CHILD PICK UP: For those of you who pick your child up after school, please park in the lot and wait outside the building, on the south side of the cafeteria near the outside door of the cafeteria.

• Please do your best to remain respectful of others and abide by social distancing standards.
• A Georgetown employee will be there to greet you, find out which child(ren) you are there to pick up, radio into the cafeteria to have the child(ren) sent out.
• If your child normally rides the bus, SEND A NOTE ADDRESSED TO THE TEACHER AND DATED indicating that you will be providing pick up.
• If it is a last minute change, inform the office no later than 3:00 p.m.  Follow the pick-up procedure listed above after informing us of the change.”

——————————————————————————————–

Lunch

Third graders will be eating lunch in our classroom this fall! Students getting hot lunch will go to the cafeteria to get their meal, then bring it back to the room to eat. What an adventure this will be! 😉

• On Early Release days, students wishing to get school lunch can get a sack lunch to go.
  • 8/24 and 8/25: Sack lunch consists of a Ham & Cheese Croissant Sandwich, veggies, fruit, and milk
• SeptemberMenu2020 Calendar

——————————————————————————————–

Upcoming Dates

• Monday, August 24: First Day of School / Early Release (12:15 pm dismissal)
• Tuesday, August 25: Early Release (12:15 pm dismissal)
• Thursday, August 27: Early Release (12:15 pm dismissal)
• Friday, August 28: No School

It’s *Almost* Back to School Time!

Parents, I’m thrilled to get to know your student this year and to help him or her reach their fullest potential! I will send a more “typical” weekly blog post on Friday with daily schedules, specials schedules, upcoming dates, and other first week information.

For now, please read on for THREE reasons: Pictures, Survey, and Virtual Open House!

1) Let’s See Those Sweet Faces!

I can hardly wait to get your student into my classroom in a few days, but since I don’t get to meet him or her without a mask on for a while, I would LOVE to see a picture of your student without a face mask on! Please email a picture of your child, with his or her first and last name included, to me at kdeters@hpseagles.net.

I will also be taking a picture of each student’s face during a mask break sometime during the first week of school, and will be printing them to hang in our room! This is fun, too, because we have a “first day” or “first week” of school picture to look back on at the end of the school year — which seems lightyears away from this point in August!

——————————————————————

2) Parent Survey

Please take a few moments to fill out this Parent Survey with questions regarding your child’s transition to his or her 3rd grade school year. While some of the information may feel redundant to type to me (bus number, parent email, etc), I will compare your responses from the survey to any communications from the office or PowerSchool and will check for discrepancies. Hopefully any confusion or changes will be cleared up early on this way! 🙂

Thanks so much!

——————————————————————

3) Happy Virtual Open House!

While I cannot wait to meet you in person on Monday, I know that it will be a little different than our usual first day of school because students will not have gotten to see their new classroom or met me yet. Because of this, you will see:

1. A video that shows how to find our classroom from the bus, how to find it from parent drop off, and also what you’ll do when you get to school on the first day! Don’t forget, you will be coming straight to our classroom instead of to the playground.
2. A panorama shot of our classroom!
3. A picture of me without a mask on! Don’t forget to head to the All About Mrs. Deters page on my blog to read about me and my growing family…and for more pictures 🙂

Welcome to Third Grade!

Home, Sweet Classroom!

Mask-Free Mrs. Deters 

Hello, hello!

As promised, after a very long wait (you have been so patient, thank you!), here is your child’s classroom supplies list for their year in 3rd grade! You may notice a couple of items that seem unusual — we are going to be making a few adjustments to our “norm” to best facilitate safe and fun learning this year!

You will also see quite a few more supplies on this list than you are used to; that is because our students will be keeping both their classroom supplies and specials supplies in labeled Ziploc baggies as “Specials To Go Bags”. I will provide these labeled baggies, and we will put all our materials in them together during our morning meeting on the first day of school.

Students will bring these bags with their supplies in them to each special they’re needed to avoid sharing materials. This eliminates the need to clean supplies used after each class, in order to maximize learning time for the amazing specials teachers who see every student in the school at least once a week.

We are going to be very careful about germs this year, and to cut down on sanitation needs each student will be sharing very few materials with others around them. Please label every single item that is on our class supplies list with your child’s name! Thank you!

Mrs. Deters’ Classroom Supply List

For Learning:

• (1) Writing composition book
• (2) Spiral notebooks
• (1) Black Sharpie permanent marker — regular size, not a pen or a jumbo
• (2) Fine point dry erase markers for whiteboard work
• (2-3) Glue sticks
• (1-2) Highlighters
• No.2 pencils (please no mechanical)
• Colored pencils
• Markers
• Crayons
• (5) two-pocket folders (plastic folders hold up best, but are not required). Please do NOT send in a binder!
  • (1) Red folder
  • (1) Purple or orange folder
  • (1) Yellow folder
  • (1) Green folder
  • (1) Blue folder
• Scissors
• An extra mask (because kids are kids, and they will get sneezed in, dropped in the mud, etc ).

For the Desk:

• Water bottle — the larger the more tippy, but any size is fine
• Hand sanitizer, tissues, etc — students are welcome to bring their own, however remember that they need to fit inside their desk. The school does provide each of these for our students!
• Comfortable masks that fit well over mouth and nose

For PE: 

• Tennis shoes to be left at school. These do not need to be brand new, just clean shoes for the gymnasium floor (and our P.E. teachers are sticklers about this! Just like Mrs. Deters — they do not like mess in their space! )

If any of these supplies are not possible for your family to purchase, PLEASE reach out to me ASAP and I will make sure your child has what he or she needs, no questions asked. kdeters@hpseagles.net

I would also really like to take the kids outside for as much time as possible when working independently (think independent reading, math work, etc). This will allow the kids more time without their masks on! For this I would love to have students have either a yoga mat or towel to sit on. If your family is able, please consider sending one in with your student for daily use!

I am so excited to meet each of your students, and to work closely with you this year!

-Mrs. Deters