Our Third Grade B Track website has moved! Please visit: http://boyntonsevy.weebly.com

kboynton2@cherrycreekschools.org 720-886-8700 jsevy@cherrycreekschools.org 720-886-8700

• Thu August 6 - Back to School Night

• Mon September 7 - Labor Day Holiday -- No School

• Thu September 24 - Track-off Day Unit 3 Math Test

• Tue October 20 - Students arrive

• Thu August 13 - Picture Day

• Mon August 17 - Math Test: Unit 1 *Math volunteers, you have the day off.

• Thu August 20 - Assembly at 1:45 Entertainment Books

• Fri August 21 - BINGO Night

• Fri August 14 - Miss Schultz's class reward party. They may bring in a pillow and pjs for the afternoon.

• Fri September 4 - Math Unit 2 Test

• Mon August 31 - Spelling begins

• Wed September 23 - Spelling Test -- all groups

• Tue October 27 - Assembly at 9:30 am *Mike Nelson

• Fri October 23 - Junior Achievement ALL DAY Monster Mash 5:30-7:30 pm

• Fri October 30 - Sensory Centers 11:11:45 Fall Party at 2:00 pm

• Fri November 6 - Unit 4 Math Test spelling test

• Thu October 29 - Spelling Test

• Fri December 18 - Holiday Party 1:30-2:30 Track-Off Day

• Thu December 17 - Holiday Sing Along 1:45-2:30

• Tue January 26 - Track In Day

• Fri December 11 - Spelling Test

• Fri February 5 - Spirit Day: Wear Fox Hollow colors or gear Unit 6 Math Test Spelling Test

• Mon February 15 - No School

• Tue February 16 - No School

• Tue February 23 - CSAP-Reading at 8:00 am

• Wed February 24 - CSAP-Reading at 8:00am

• Mon March 15 - Conference week Book Fair

• Fri March 12 - CSAP-Writing at 8:00 am Report Cards go home

• Thu March 11 - CSAP-Writing at 8:00am

• Tue March 16 - CSAP-Math at 8:00am

• Wed March 17 - CSAP-Math at 8:00am

• Fri March 26 - Track-Off Unit 8 Math Test

• Thu March 25 - Miss Schultz's Birthday

• Mon May 31 - No School

• Tue June 22 - Last Day of Third Grade

• Sat February 6 - Fox Trotters at Grandview High School from 6-8pm *Come watch Miss Schultz attempt to play.

• Mon February 1 - Crazy Sock Day

• Tue February 2 - Career Day (Dress up as your favorite professional)

• Wed February 3 - Backwards Day

• Thu February 4 - Favorite Character Day

• Fri February 26 - Assembly at 1:30

• Wed April 21 - Track-In Day

• Wed March 3 - Class Picture Day

• Thu March 4 - Unit 7 Math Test

• Fri March 5 - Spelling Test

• Fri March 19 - Spelling Test

• Mon March 22 - No Spelling Biography Presentations from 11-12 everyday. Look for a schedule to come home the week of 3.15

• Wed March 24 - Fire drill at 2:00pm

• Tue March 23 - Assembly at 1:30pm

• Mon April 26 - *Autobiography notes due *We are FLEXIBLE when pictures are brought in. *Multiplication Mania begins for next three weeks

• Wed April 28 - Fire Drill at 9:00 am

• Fri April 23 - Two math volunteers are needed per class from 8:30-9:30. Contact your child's teacher if you can help out.

• Fri May 14 - Unit 9 Math Test Fox Hollow Carnival

• Mon May 10 - Begin typing autobiographies for the next two weeks from 11-12. Volunteers are needed in both classes. Please let your child's teacher know if you can help out.

• Fri May 28 - Autobiography Tea from 1:30-2:30 Last Spelling Test

• Fri June 4 - Field Day

• Thu June 3 - Unit 10 Test

• Tue June 15 - Plains Conservation Field Trip

• Fri June 18 - B Track Picnic

• Mon June 21 - Denver Zoo Field Trip

• Mon June 14 - Europe Presentations from 11-12

• Tue May 4 - Music Program at 6:30pm at Grandview

• Mon September 6 - Labor Day Holiday -- no school

• Thu September 23 - Track off day -- Fall Break begins Math Unit 3 test

• Tue October 19 - Students track in

• Fri December 17 - Track off day -- Winter Holiday begins

• Wed November 24 - Thanksgiving Holiday -- no school

• Thu November 25 - Happy Thanksgiving!

• Fri November 26 - Thanksgiving Holiday -- no school

• Mon September 20 - Plains Conservation Field Trip *Students must bring completely disposable sack lunch that day. Please send in permission and check ASAP.

• Fri August 13 - Unit 1 Math Test

• Thu October 21 - October Count Day: Be at school on time for a chance to win an iPod shuffle

• Fri October 22 - Monster Mash

• Fri October 29 - Final day for Broncos Food Drive collection

• Thu October 28 - Picture Retakes

• Fri November 5 - Unit 4 Math Test Spelling Test

• Tue November 23 - Fire Department Presentation & Stone Soup

• Fri November 19 - Spelling Test

• Fri December 3 - Unit 5 Math Test

• Fri December 10 - Spelling Test

• Tue January 25 - 1st day back for students

• Tue February 22 - Student Non-Contact Day

• Mon February 21 - President's Day Holiday -- No School

• Tue March 8 - CSAP -- Writing

• Wed March 9 - CSAP -- Writing

• Tue March 15 - CSAP -- Math/Parent/Teacher Conference week

• Wed March 16 - CSAP -- Math/Parent/Teacher Conference week

• Thu February 24 - CSAP Reading/ Parent-Teacher Conference sign up comes home.

• Fri February 25 - CSAP Reading

• Thu January 27 - Chat with the principal

• Sat February 12 - Fox Trotters

• Fri February 4 - Spelling Test

• Fri February 18 - Spelling Test

• Fri March 11 - Spelling Test/ Report Cards come home

• Fri March 25 - Students Track off for spring break Autobiography Tea 2:30-3:30

• Tue April 19 - Students return to school

• Mon May 30 - Memorial Day holiday -- no school

• Fri June 17 - Last day of school -- early dismissal

• Wed March 2 - Picture Day!

• Fri March 4 - Watching Australia Podcasts

• Mon March 14 - Parent/Teacher Conference week

• Thu March 17 - Parent/Teacher Conference week

• Mon May 16 - 6:30 Music Performance @ Cherokee Trail H.S.

• Fri June 3 - Field Day & Carnival

• Wed June 8 - Meet and Greet next year's teacher!

• Wed June 1 - All library books due

The Third Graders have been working hard and are just about ready to present their reader's theater plays to the school and to their families. They will be performing several times next week (June 13-16); please feel free to join us! Monday: 9:30-10:30 Spiderella, Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella Big Foot, and Three Pigs 1:45-2:45 Sideways Stories, Double Trouble, Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch Tuesday: 9:30-10:30 Sideways Stories, Double Trouble, Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch 1:45-2:45Spiderella, Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella Big Foot, and Three Pigs Wednesday: 9:30-10:30 Spiderella, Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella Big Foot, and Three Pigs 1:45-2:45 Sideways Stories, Double Trouble, Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch Thursday: NO morning performances due to 5th grade continuation 1:45-2:45 Groups TBD

Monday: "Houdini"; HL 11.2 Tuesday: HL 11.4; "Alliteration" Wednesday: HL 11.5; "David Copperfield" Thursday: Study math review for End of Year test tomorrow; "Tongue Twisters" *Nightly reading approximately 20 minutes, total homework time about 30 minutes per night. *NO MORE PARAGRAPHS OF THE WEEK FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE SCHOOL YEAR *Paragraph of the Week comes home (green spiral bound book) every Monday and is due each Friday. Please make sure students carefully read the prompt before attempting to respond. Suggested nightly activities can be found on the first page of each book (e.g. when to do the rough draft, when to edit/revise, etc.). Students' final drafts are to be hand-written or typed on the next blank page in the book. Please do NOT write the final draft on the back side of the previous student's work. If the final copy is typed, please print it and glue it carefully onto the next blank page in the book. The plan is to send home your child's complete body of work on the project at the end of the year. Please ask us if you have any questions!

We believe that spelling in isolation is not the way to learn to be better spellers or better wordsmiths. In 3rd grade B-track, our word work will focus on vocabulary. Students will still be responsible for spelling words accurately, but the focus in class will be more on meaning of words, and word morphology -- base words, prefixes, and suffixes. We will be emphasizing the consistency of these components (i.e. the root/base "micro" always means "small") as a way of transferring knowledge beyond the studied words. Generally speaking, tests will be every TWO weeks, since the amount of material to be learned is considerably more than a simple spelling list. Again, the emphasis is on the meaning of words and their components rather that just on spelling accurately. Students will bring home a copy of the list, including definitions, to use for study at home. It is important that students study words regularly to be fully prepared for the spelling tests. For each test, students will learn the meanings of 3-6 vocabulary words, the part of speech for each word, and how to spell the words. Additionally, there are always 5 "no excuse" words for spelling only, and a set of root words (a.k.a. base words, but they're usually called "roots" on CSAP) as well as meanings and spellings of prefixes and/or suffixes. Some of these prefixes and suffixes repeat on later lists, so once students have learned them they will have less to learn on some future lists. The first test or two may be a little "bumpy." This is to be expected and is not cause for alarm. Students (and parents) get the hang of the way it goes very quickly and will be much more comfortable as time goes by. As always, feel free to contact us if you have any questions!

Vocabulary Words: median--noun--strip of land between two sides of a road mediate--verb--to bring about a compromise mediator--noun--a person who helps settle arguments medium--adjective--about halfway between two points High Frequency "No Excuse" Words: August stomach scene calm private Suffixes and Meanings: -an: like, related to -or: one who, that which -ate: to make, to act -um: of or belonging to Roots and Meanings: medi: half, middle, halfway between

8:45 - 10:15 Math 10:15 - 10:50 Spelling/Cursive Practice 10:50 - 11:30 Specials 11:30 - 12:30 Science/Social Studies 12:30 - 1:15 Lunch/Recess 1:15 - 3:30 Reading Block *DLI *Read Aloud *Literature Circles/Book Clubs Writing

12/13 Art 1/24 Music 1/31 Technology 2/7 P.E. 2/14 Art 2/23 Music 2/28 Technology 3/7 P.E. 3/14 Art 3/21 Music 4/18 Technology 4/25 P.E. 5/2 Music 5/9 Art 5/16 Technology 5/23 P.E. 5/31 Art 6/6 Music

11/29 Art 12/6 Music 12/13 Technology 1/24 P.E. 1/31 Art 2/7 Music 2/14 Technology 2/23 P.E. 2/28 Art 3/7 Music 3/14 Technology 3/21 P.E. 4/18 Art 4/25 Music 5/2 P.E. 5/9 Technology 5/16 Art 5/23 Music 5/31 Technology 6/6 P.E. 6/13 Art

Everyday Math *University of Chicago *heavily language based -- students are required to explain their thinking on a regular basis *supplemented with basic fact drills, especially

Literature Based *novel groups *dynamic groupings -- interest, ability, gender *high expectations for written responses *fiction and non-fiction

Discovery Works *adopted by Cherry Creek schools in 2005 *supplemented with teacher resources *very heavily language based (includes higher level reading and writing)

I grew up in Cherry Creek Schools as a third generation Colorado native. After graduating from Cherry Creek High School in 1999, I attended The Metropolitan State College of Denver where I earned my bachelor's degree in English with a minor in Elementary Education. After completing my student teaching at Mission Viejo Elementary, I accepted a third grade teaching job at the same school. Having spent the last 6 years teaching third grade there, I am excited to have made the change to join the staff at Fox Hollow. Technology is a huge part of the day in my classroom. I believe that the 21st century learners that come to school everyday not only need, but expect their school experience to align with the world in which they live. My students use technology in many ways throughout the year to enhance their learning. We are especially lucky to have a SMART board in our room. My family and I live in Parker. My husband of 8 years, Justin, works in finance. We have two children who are the light of our lives, and who you will hear plenty about throughout the year, as I frequently tie their antics into what we are learning about in class. My daughter Hannah just turned five and is starting Kindergarten this year. My son Noah is two and has decided it is his job to keep me on my toes. I am an avid scrapbooker and love to spend time outdoors, whether jet skiing with my family and parents or geocaching with my husband and kids (Google it--it's fantastic!). My philosophy about teaching: Children are not miniature adults. Their physiology is different than an adult's, causing them to learn differently, behave differently, and look at life differently. Keeping this in mind throughout each day is critical to guiding and instructing children. I believe that children will rise to meet the expectations you set forth for them; thus my expectations regarding responsibility, academics, and behavior are high. My job as a teacher is not only to prepare students for fourth grade and beyond, but also to inspire students to want to know about the world around them in every way. Students in my class are encouraged to ask questions, challenge thinking, and problem solve. I wholeheartedly agree with the old Chinese Proverb: "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime."

I received my undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University (geaux tigers!) many years ago. My master's degree is in Social Work from the University of Georgia (go dawgs, sic 'em woof woof woof!). For a few years I worked as a social worker in child welfare while continuing my education at UGA in Developmental Psychology. Once I finally gave up on the whole dissertation thing, I carved my niche in social work in the field of kidney dialysis where I stayed for about 6 years, both in Georgia and eventually in Colorado. In 2002, I began work on teacher certification through the University of Northern Colorado. I student taught here at Fox Hollow and am now in my 8th year of teaching third grade. I live in Centennial (Littleton School District) with my husband of 16 years, Lou, and our three children -- Emily (15), Alex (13), and Ian (5). We moved here in 1997 when Lou's company transferred him from Atlanta. We spend our spare time swimming, going to movies, chauffering the kids to their various sporting events, and generally enjoying family time in the Colorado sunshine. Lou and I are HUGE college football fans, and students will find that I get particularly obnoxious from September through the end of Bowl Season. My philosophy about teaching: I am truly passionate about teaching, and I take the responsibility very seriously. I recognize that parents are entrusting me with their most precious "possession." Please know that my goal is to take good care of each and every student in our class and to prepare them for not only 4th grade, but also the rest of their school years and beyond. It is not enough to give children facts and information to memorize and regurgitate. My goal is to teach children to be independent thinkers, problem solvers, and responsible citizens even at this ripe young age. We as a staff are encouraged through feedback we receive from parents and other teachers that Fox Hollow students are, on average, exceptionally well prepared as they move to middle school and beyond.

Research supports the notion of some homework beginning in elementary school that is developmentally appropriate and that reinforces curriculum. Our homework policy is based on currently accepted practice, based on such research, in education regarding homework as well as Cherry Creek policy on homework practices. It is our practice in 3rd grade to send home nightly homework (Monday - Thursday) tied directly to curriculum covered that day. Homework that is sent home is expected to be returned the following day, unless otherwise noted. Typical homework will include a math page ("Home Link") as well as a Language Arts page. Additionally, students should be reading nightly about 20 minutes, for a total homework time of ABOUT 30 minutes nightly. If your child's homework time is significantly longer than this (and is not due to inattention or distractibility), please let your teacher know. If your child finds the homework too "easy" feel free to enrich their learning at home through increased reading and discussion at home and/or internet-based child-friendly websites. You may connect to these through the Fox Hollow website. Our current policy regarding missing homework is one of "watch and wait." In other words, as long as failure to turn in homework is not occurring on a regular basis (roughly weekly or more often), we will not offer immediate consequence, as long as the homework is turned in the next day. If homework is still missing the next day, the student will be sent home with another copy of the homework to be signed by parents. Homework turned in without a name is considered not turned in. If your student does not turn in homework in a timely manner on a more regular basis, we will implement some sort of behavior plan to encourage increased responsibility. Your input on this is, of course, more than welcome. If a student misses school for an excused absence, the student will have one day for each day absent to make up the work. However, work that was assigned before the student missed school is expected to be turned in the day the student returns. If you are anticipating an absence due to vacation, please inform the main office so that attendance may be marked appropriately. It is possible that some work may be sent with your child in these cases, but expect that the majority of make-up work should be completed upon return. Finally, we depend on the use of Assignment Books for regular, daily communication. Students are expected to record assignments daily and take the Assignment Book home to show parents what the expectations are for that evening. Of equal importance, is the use of the Assignment Book as a communication tool between parents and teacher. If you have a quick note to communicate, please feel free to write something in the Assignment Book. Similarly, I may occasionally jot a note to parents regarding something a student needs to remember, changes in scheduling, etc. Again, if you are unsure about this, feel free to contact me.