Welcome to the Week of Sept. 2-5

Hello families!  This week our main focus will be on refining classroom procedures, assessing your kiddos so I know what they know, establishing the students' Hopes and Dreams for the year and thus creating our own set of classroom expectations (rules), and reviewing items from last year.  This is a more in-depth look:


Procedures: The students will be introduced to using Daily Planners (The students will be required to write the various assignments for each subject in their planners each day.  The planners will go back and forth each day with the Home and Back Folder.  There is a code in the back for you, me, and the student to know if he/she completed the work.), using Whiteboards for Spelling, using Math Textbooks, and choosing books for SSR (Silent Sustained Reading). I will be requiring that students ALWAYS have a book that they are in the process of reading in their desks.  They are welcome to bring a school-appropriate book from home if they'd like!


Classroom Community: We are continuing to build our sense of community in the room.  The students will be identifying "Hopes and Dreams" for themselves to work towards this year.  With those goals in mind, we will be discussing what we expect from each other and ourselves in order to help each person attain their personal best.  We will then create a set of expectations for our class.  This will give each student personal accountability and input in making our classroom a safe learning environment.


Reading: We will be completing some vocabulary and comprehension assessments in order to put the 3rd graders into reading groups.  We will also be doing a computer-based SRI testing on Friday, which will give me a reading level for each student.  We will also be reading stories that identify positive character traits.


Writing: We will be reviewing what the students already know about writing, including the definition of a sentence, paragraph, and parts of speech (noun, verb, adjective, and adverb), as well as the purpose of writing.  We will complete one writing sample this week in the students' journals.


Math:  We have quite a bit going on in Math this week!  I will be introducing daily "Drops in the Bucket", which are Math worksheets with an assortment of skills to practice.  We will practice counting by 2s, 5s, 9s, and 10s.  We are continuing our work with problem solving.  We will also be reviewing place value.  My goal towards the end of the week if the students are ready for it will be to introduce rounding to 10s and 100s.


Art:  We will make display boards for work in the hallway.


These are lofty goals for the week, and I am excited to see the kiddos on Tuesday morning.  I am really looking forward to learning more about their comfort levels in various aspects, such as reading and math.  Thank you for checking into the blog!


Miss Kimpton

Welcome to the 2014-2015 School Year!

Thank you for checking the class blog!  I am so excited to see old and new faces and start building our classroom community.  The first day of school is Wednesday, August 27.  The teachers will be outside at 8:00, and we will be lined up by our grade signs (look for cups stuck in the fence).  If I am your child's teacher, please come on over (I'll be holding a sign) and introduce yourself.  I'd love to meet you!  The bell rings at 8:20, and we will line up and head into the school to start our day.

My main goals for the week are to teach our classroom procedures (using supplies, sharpening pencils, lining up, lunch expectations, etc), build our sense of community, and, most importantly, get to know each other!  The best learning occurs when we feel secure and have strong relationships.  My classroom will be one filled with kindness, safety, and respect, and we will be doing many activities and games to build towards this environment.

This week, the students will be integrating some writing about themselves, graphing and sorting data to answer questions about school and themselves, reading books about character traits, and completing an art project that shows that we can work together to complete great things.  By the end of the week, my goals are for your children to be excited about our school year and ready to dive into next week.

As the days progress, I will be adding more information and links to the blog.  It is my primary newsletter source, so please check it weekly (you can certainly check it more often-I love to post special tidbits during the week).

On Wednesday, I will be sending home a large amount of paperwork that needs to be carefully read and signed by both students and guardians and returned as soon as possible.  On Friday, I will send home more information about myself, permission slips for the classroom, and a student information questionnaire.  If you have any questions at all, please email me at kimptonw@billingsschools.org or call the school at 281-6220.

I hope to see you on Wednesday morning!
Miss Kimpton