Auburn Village School

Mrs. Pampel

About Mrs. Pampel’s Class

2010-2011

 

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 Specials:  Monday- Art

                  Tuesday- Music

                  Wednesday- Physical Education  and Guidance (Q1&Q3) /

                                       Enrichment(Q2&Q4)

    Thursday- Computer Lab                                                    

    Friday- Library

 

Homework:  Students will generally have homework each night.  They will usually not be assigned homework over the weekend, however if a student has quite a few assignments from previous days to finish, then I will send that home with them to be completed over the weekend.  Students should be spending about 30 minutes per night on homework.  In addition to assigned homework, students should also spend time practicing math facts, studying their spelling words, and reading.

 

Mondays-Thursdays students write their homework in their student planner.  Please check your child’s planner with them each night for the assignments and any extra directions.  Planners do not need to be signed each day.  Homework is always due the next day, unless noted otherwise in the planner.

 

Each quarter, your child is allowed three “free forgets.”  They can forget to return their homework three times.  If your child forgets their homework, it should be brought in the following day.  Once your child has not returned homework more than three times on its due date in a given quarter, they receive a consequence of losing one recess.  If your child continuously doesn’t return homework, I will contact you via a note, email, or phone call.

 

Periodically your child will also have projects.  Some are book projects done at home, others are projects that are worked on partly in school and partly at home.  Directions will always go home with a due date.  Book projects are usually due 4-6 weeks after assigned.  There will also be other mini projects in school through out the year.  Please encourage your child to always show their best quality on their work!

 

Donations:  We will use several things throughout the year.  Please feel free to donate the following items at any time during the school year.

Boxes of resealable baggies (all sizes- but I run out of snack and sandwich size quickest)

Kleenex

Hand sanitizer

Prizes for the prize box (decorated or mechanical pencils, erasers, pencil top erasers, pencil grips, small notepads, pencil sharpeners, folders, sidewalk chalk, small bouncy balls, small puzzles, art supplies, wordsearch/crossword puzzle books, bookmarks etc.  Think dollar store items!)

 

Reward System:  I have individual rewards, team rewards, and whole class rewards.

Individual- Kids may earn “Pampel Points” which is our classroom currency.  It is used on Fridays to purchase items in the prize box.  They may earn “Pampel Points” many ways, including doing the right thing or earning good grades.

Team- The students sit in a team.  When the entire team is working well together, on task, cooperating, or following directions they may earn a team point.  At the end of the week, the top two teams earn “Pampel Points.”

Class- We have a marble jar.  The class earns a marble when everyone is doing something good.  Marbles can also be taken away.  Once all of the marbles have been earned the class will decide on some sort of reward.

 

Consequences:  There is a traffic light in the front of the room.  Each child has a clothespin at the bottom.  Every day is a new day.  They get one verbal warning.  After one warning, if the behavior continues, they move their “clip” to the green light, which is their final warning.  If the behavior still continues, they then move their “clip” to the yellow light and miss out on the current activity or work-time for five minutes.  If spoken to again, they move their “clip” to the red light.  They then lose their recess and fill out a “Think Sheet.”  You will get a discipline note sent home which I discuss with the child.  On the back is the “Think Sheet” that your child will fill out stating what they did and what they will do differently next time.  They have one night to get it signed and returned.  If it is not returned the following day, I will call or email you.

 

Spelling:  We do individualized spelling.   We pretest on Mondays and then correct it to see how many are correct.  If the word is spelled correctly, it will not be part of their list.  If it is spelled incorrectly, it becomes a spelling word.  They will then fill in the rest of their list with other words.  Spelling words will almost always follow a pattern or phonetic skill.  Students will write two identical lists, one that stays at school, and one that goes home to study from.  The home list does not need to come back to school.  We have a spelling test each Friday.  There are 2 bonus words each week.  Periodically we will have review weeks, in which students will have a spelling list comprised of words they have gotten wrong on previous spelling tests or words they misspelled on an assignment.

 

Math:  The math program we use is Everyday Mathematics.  Students each have a workbook.  Pages will not be torn out because students do need to sometimes go back to previous pages.  It is a “work in progress.”  So, not many math class work pages will come home.  I will send a letter home at the beginning of each new unit for you to see what is coming up.  These letters will explain vocabulary, give examples, and Home Link answers (to help you when you help your child).  Many nights your child will have a Home Link for homework.  These are meant for students to do with an adult at home in order to reinforce that skill.  Often the page may ask for your child to explain their work to you- talking about math helps!  If you have any questions about any of it as the year goes on, please let me know.

 

Language Arts:  Each week we will read a new story.  At the beginning of the week I will send home a note that tells about the story and gives other information about what we will cover.  Pages from the reading workbook and grammar pages will be torn out and sent home as they are completed.

 

Social Studies and Science:  In social studies we will talk a lot about different types of communities.  We will do some basic government and economics lessons.  We will study some celebrations in other cultures around the world.  We will also do lots of map skills.  Our science topics include:  Solar System, Chemical Tests, Rocks and Minerals, and Life Structures.  Mrs. Spain will be teaching the science units, and I will teach the social studies units.

 

Birthday Treats:  You welcome to send treats in with your child on their birthday.  No whole cakes or juice please!  We celebrate birthdays along with our morning snack.  We have 16 students. For those students who have a summer birthday, I will assign them a time in June that they can bring in a snack to celebrate if they’d like.  Don’t forget, snacks can be nutritious too!  If you need any suggestions, let me know.

 

Snack:  The kids have about 15 minutes for snack each morning.  The only thing not allowed is candy or soda.  We do have a quick working snack in the afternoon for those students who are still hungry.  Students may keep a water bottle at their desk to use throughout the day.

 

Please feel free to get in touch with me at anytime with questions or concerns.  Let’s work together to create a fantastic year in third grade for these children!