Dear Parents:
I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome you and your child to Grade 3.
You will find a big difference between Grade 2 and Grade 3. Homework is a
big factor, and study is an important part of homework. This letter is to
let you know what to expect in Grade 3.

Your child will have homework of some kind every night and study is
an important part of the homework schedule. Your attitude toward homework
will be reflected in your child's attitude toward homework. All children
complain about homework, but if you sympathize with them or make derogatory
comments about homework, they will feel their complaints are valid.
Encourage them in doing their homework, and if you have any complaints about
the homework, please bring them to me. Homework is necessary for extra
practice; it lets me know if they really did catch on to the lesson that
day; and it gives you some idea of how well your child is grasping the
concepts taught that day in school and what topics we are working on. It
lets you see if your child needs any extra help with what we are learning.

The schedule for homework will be similar to this with some shifting for
days off:
Monday: Spelling-- words in ABC order
Tuesday: Spelling page
Wednesday: Spelling Make-a-Word sheet and occasionally
social studies
Thursday: Occasionally social studies
Friday: NO HOMEWORK except math

Miss Diekemper assigns math daily for homework.

This is your child's first experience with regular studying, and a good
beginning makes for good study habits which will help your child throughout
his/her school years. Your child will most likely need help learning how to
study. Help them by asking review questions on the material to be learned
and asking them to spell their spelling word both orally and on paper. Don't
simply ask your child if he/she has studied, you ask them questions and
review with them to be sure that they do indeed know the material.

Make conditions right for study. Either set aside a certain time each
evening for study with radios, TV, stereos off and all toys put away. Don't
let your child convince you that they are not allowed to bring their books
home. They may bring home any book, anytime as long as they have it back for
class the next day.

Check their homework assignment books each night when they get home to see
what homework they really have. The homework is also posted on my website
every night. Be sure to check over their written homework to see if it is
complete and neatly done.

The test and study schedule will be as follows:
Spelling-- every Friday; Thursday when Friday is free
English-- about every six weeks
Social Studies-- every two- three weeks; study material for the chapter in
their notebook, questions at the end of each section, and the review at the
end of the chapter.
Religion-- tests will be almost every week.

All tests (except spelling) will be sent home for your review and must be returned signed by a
parent the next day or as required by the teacher. This is the student's
responsibility to see that the test is signed and brought back to school on
time!

Each evening I take home the children's work and make a list of missing work
for the day as I correct their papers. (Your child should be bringing home
corrected papers daily!) If a child's name is on the list in the morning,
he/she may not have recess that day until the missing work is handed in.
Some children work slower than others, but they may take the work home and
finish it, bring it in the next morning and not lose their recess.

This year for Student of the Week there will be a chart to be filled out.
Those sheets will be sent home the Friday before your child is Student of
the Week.

A sheet is being sent home on which the children are to record the title,
author, and number of pages of books they read during the year. Every time
they read ten qualifying books, they should bring that list back to school
where they will get a sticker on the chart and a certificate stating that
they have read ten books. Twenty books must be read by the end of the year--
ten by Christmas and ten in May. This is not an impossible task since they
bring home a library book each week, and if they just record those, they
should have those twenty books read by the end of the year. However, those
books must be recorded on the sheet and the sheet turned into me for them to
count! The books should be at least 50 pages long to be counted for their
quota. We do want to challenge your children to read books on their level--
not books that are too easy. Books with 50-100 pages will count as one book,
books with 100-150 pages count as two books, and books with 150+ pages will
count as three books.

We will be reading a different kind of book each month for book reports--
not necessarily written reports-- to expand the students' horizon in the
type of books they have read. There will be more information on this when
the time arrives. The first book report will be due the end of October. Book
report books also count for the twenty books read this year.

We will also be working on a poem about every so often which must be
memorized by Friday. The poem will be sent home the previous Friday, and the
student can recite it to me any morning before the bell rings at 8:00. On
Friday, those students who have not yet recited their poem will be called upon to do so.

Every evening the news of the day will be found on my website under News
Flash. Tests and projects for that week will also be announced under
Announcements and Homework. That way, when your child comes home and says
they did "nothing" and learned "nothing" you will still know what is going
on at school.

Please come and join us as we celebrate the Eucharist together each
Wednesday morning and every other Friday. We will be preparing the liturgy
every so often.

If we work together, your child will learn much and have a very good year.
If, at any time, you have any questions or problems concerning school, feel
free to contact me. Education is a team effort between home and school, and
we need to support each other.

My e-mail address is: mkprit@charter.net
Website containing list of homework upgraded daily:
teacherweb.com/IL/StTeresa/Miss3P/index.html

I would also like your e-mail address so I can keep you informed about goings-on in our
classroom. Please send it in to me.


Sincerely,
Mary Kay Pritchett