Dear Families,

This year, I have decided to move my regularly updated classroom blog to a private Facebook group in order for parents to be better able to access all the information and photos from our classroom. In the past I’ve used this blog to share photos and things with families, but I think a Facebook group will be easier for families to access.

    Please know that this is a private Facebook group, people cannot just view the page, they cannot find it if they search, and I have to add you in order to give you access. With all this privacy comes the tricky part—giving access to everyone who wants access from our classroom. You do not need to friend me on Facebook in order to join. If you want to join, you will need to give me your email address that is associated with Facebook and I can add you to the group that way. If you wish to add relatives to the group so they can see what we are doing in third grade, I’m happy to do so, just let me know the email address to add. I’m always looking for better ways to keep parents connected to our classroom and to what we are doing, so I hope this is good for you.

     If you do not currently have Facebook, you can create an account to access the blog, or let me know and I can send you photos every now and then of what we are doing. All information put on Facebook will also be relayed through email or newsletters as well.

Sincerely, Sue White

This week is Red Ribbon Week! 

In grade 3, we celebrate making positive and healthy life choices! The schedule for the week is as follows: 

Monday- Wear red
Tuesday- "Follow Your Dreams" PJ day
Wednesday- "Team Up Against Drugs" wear team jersey or gear
Thursday- "Put a Cap on Drugs" hat day for $1 donation to the Resource Center
Friday- Wear your community color or superhero gear

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On Tuesday October 24, our class will be going on our field trip to Acadia National Park. The bus will be leaving AT 8:00 sharp! and returning at approximately 1:30. 

Please do not be late for school Tuesday, or you run the risk of missing this fun educational experience.

Some important reminders: 
- Unless you have already made arrangements with me to have the kitchen pack your child a lunch, be sure to send your child with a snack, a lunch and plenty of water in a resealable container. Please do not send juice boxes or pouches for this trip.  
- On Tuesday, students should dress in a few warm layers with sturdy closed toe shoes on. No sandals please.
- Students also should be prepared for a little rain, and need to have a full change of clothes in their backpacks in case they get wet.  

Some photos from this week:

Our hand washing experiment was a success, there are billions of bacteria growing on this bread from being handled with hands that had not been washed.  YUCK!  Our class is a lot more motivated to wash their hands and use hand sanitizer! 

In science we are studying life cycles and how/why animals live in social groups.  These pictures are from an experiment we did that demonstrated the benefits and pitfalls of being in a group! Students found that while sharing resources was at times not a benefit, sharing responsibilities and safety in numbers was! 

Every week we have a guest reader!  Jake practiced and did a great job reading to our class.

It's time for parent teacher conferences, please double check your child's backpack and look for the confirmation of the date and time you are scheduled.  No conferences on Monday, October 9.
Our room is in the red community upstairs, room 217.  At the top of the stairs, head right on to the red side, I am the last classroom.  I am looking forward to talking with you about your child's progress!

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     Permission forms went home Friday for our field trip to Acadia National Park. Our class will be going on October 24. We need to leave PROMPTLY at 8am, please do not be late to school that day or your child may miss the trip. Please sign both sheets and return them as soon as possible!  
     We will be gone until approximately 1:30, so your child will need a bag lunch, water in a resealable container and a snack.  If you would like the kitchen to make your child's lunch and snack, please indicate that on the permission form. 
    For your child's comfort and safety, send your child to school dressed in a few layers, as it will be both hot and cool on this trip and they may need to adjust for temperature. A change of clothes is a good idea, and closed-toe sturdy shoes with a good tread are a must.  No sandals or flipflops. 

Some photos of our year so far - if your child is not represented, please call the office to be sure we have a photo release from you on file. 

A Lego STEM activity - engineering a structure with constraints and parameters

Learning about plant and animal life cycles, we dissected Lima beans and planted seeds to observe their growth and development.  

An experiment to show how important hand washing is - please remember to wash hands often!!!  Yuck.

Our classroom mantra - It's OK to not know something, because we just don't know it YET.  There is always something to learn!  We strive to have a growth mindset, and be flexible thinkers.

The following are photos from our fabulous Acadia National Park Rangers classroom visit - Part one of the field trip that is coming up on October 24.  The kids learned about all the jobs the Park Rangers do, and got to put on skits for their classmates.  A lot of learning and fun was packed into this hour! 

Rangers Genevive and Carmedy

What sort of rangers are these?

Tourists and the Rangers that help them

This tourist is having WAY too much fun!

The 6 types of Park Rangers, and what they do!

I think this tourist was injured in the park and the Rangers below had to help!

Writing workshop is always better when you can add a little sunshine.  We took advantage of the beautiful weather to get out and WRITE!

This year is off to a great start!  As soon as I have all the beginning of year paperwork back from families I will be posting some pictures of all the cool things we have done in third grade so far already!

Today I am sending home a sheet for families to choose a date and time to come in for a parent teacher conference during the month of October. Please indicate a couple of times and dates that work for you so we can get together and discuss your child's progress.

REMINDER: 
Picture day is tomorrow, 9/26/17.  Please send in your package and payment if you plan to purchase pictures! 

The first week is in the books, and we are on to week two!

  A few reminders:

* Please send your child in with a pair of earbuds or headphones if you have not already done so.  We will be using them every day, and we do not share headphones between students for hygiene reasons. 

*As soon as I have all the permission forms back from the start of school, I can post some of the great photos of the activities happening in our room.   

*Please  join us for open house and a spaghetti dinner this Thursday starting at 4:30!  I look forward to meeting all the families of these great kiddos if I have not already done so!  

*Lastly, please save all the candy and soda for home instead of sending it in for snack.  We have snack at 9:30 in the morning, and a lot of sugar at that time makes it difficult to focus and learn for the rest of the day.   Thank you for understanding!

Only 2 more sleeps!!!! I am looking forward to seeing you all on Tuesday!

In case you lost your letter and supply list that went home in your report card -

Dear Brand New Third Graders,

                 My name is Mrs. White. If you are getting this letter, it is because you have been placed in my classroom for next year!  I can’t wait to meet you and learn together in the fall. This will be my second year teaching third grade. In years past, I have taught first grade, fourth grade and fifth grade. I live in Orono with my husband, three kids, and almost too many animals to count. Every grade has its charms and challenges, but I absolutely love third grade, and I love teaching at OTES.

If you want a sneak peek at what we did this year in my room, check out my blog.  The web address is: oteswhite.blogspot.com, it also can be reached from the staff directory on the OTES website. I use my blog during the school year to keep parents and students updated, post pictures and inform you of upcoming events.  Please check it regularly.  

You will find that moving upstairs is a big (but fun) transition. It is not something to worry about at all, you will love it. You are officially one of the “big kids” now!  As you know, here at OTES the big kids are always good role models for the littles downstairs, and I know you will be a good role model too. We will be having a lot of fun this year, and we will be learning a lot.

There is a third grade supply list on the back of this letter, please use it to help get started when you are out shopping for school supplies later this summer.  In third grade we have desks with just one small drawer to hold supplies, so keep the pencil boxes on the small side, and you will not need any big trapper keepers or three ring binders. There is no room for them, and they just get in the way.

VERY IMPORTANT - Your summer homework  

     1. Read

     2. Read some more

     3. Play outside every single day

     4. Rest a lot

     5. Have fun!!!!

I hope you are are as excited for third grade as I am!  I can’t wait to get our year together started. I am looking forward to a fabulous third grade year!  If you have any questions for me over the summer, I can be reached at susanne.white@rsu34.org.   

Have a great summer!  

Mrs. White

The supply letter:

Dear Third Graders and Parents,

We hope you enjoyed your second grade year and are excited for the summer.  In order to be prepared for class next year, here is a list of some items that would be helpful during the school year:

Suggested Supply List

• Pencils and erasers
• 3 folders and 3 composition or spiral bound notebooks
• Colored pencils, crayons, or markers
• Small pencil sharpener
• Earbuds or headphones

There are also a few items that we would ask you not to bring in as well:

Do NOT Bring List

• Large trapper keepers or 3 ring binders

There are a few items that you may bring in for the class to use if you’d like.  

Classroom List

• Tissues
• Ziplock baggies
• Clorox wipes
• Pens and pencils
• Markers, crayons, and colored pencils
• Expo markers

We hope you enjoy your summer and we’ll see you in the fall!

Sincerely,

3rd Grade Team:

Mrs. Doty

Mrs. Reinzo

Ms. Roy

Mrs. Sullivan

Mrs. White