Welcome to Grade 3!

September 2, 2014 

Dear Parents/Guardians: 

Welcome to the 2014-2015 school year and our second year together as a St. Cecilia School Community. My name is Lori Delahunt-Caluori and I am your child’s teacher this year. Your child’s French teacher is 

Vincenza Nicoletti. As part of the Grade 3 team, we are looking forward to an exciting year of learning with your child. It gives me great pleasure to welcome your child into our classroom as we kick off the new school year.

Over the next couple of weeks the students will be busy getting settled, establishing routines, reviewing safety rules, and being introduced to new units of study. More details about the Grade 3 program will be outlined on Program Night, which will be held on Thursday, September 18th at 6:30 pm in our gym. 

Each month I will be sending home Scholastic book order forms. Please take a moment to look them over. You are under no obligation to buy. If however, any titles interest you please calculate the correct amount and send both the form and a cheque payable to Scholastic Canada Ltd. (Please do not send cash!) Also, please ensure all book orders arrive at school by the due date to prevent delays on orders. We are eligible for free books for the classroom (or perhaps we might donate them to our school library) each time we send in an order. Learning to read and understanding what he/she is reading are the foundation of a child’s education. Reading expands a child’s horizons and introduces him/her to new ideas. Studies have shown that reading to children frequently helps develop a life-long love of reading. 

Now that your child is in Grade 3, he/she should be developing responsibility for homework and have established routines which can be carried on through high school. Homework will consist of reading and practising concepts already worked on at school. At this stage, an appropriate amount of time spent on homework is 10-20 minutes per evening on top of reading. The homework routine will be initiated shortly. 

To help make our classroom ‘green’ I will limit the paper going home by updating you about what’s going on in the school and our classroom through the use of a class blog. The blog will provide you with important dates, curriculum updates, and links that support the curriculum. No student pictures will be placed on the blog. 

Our Class Blog: 

mrscaluoris.blogspot.ca 

Communication between home and school is very important. Agendas will be used regularly to record homework and other messages. Please read and initial your child’s agenda daily. It is also a convenient place for you to jot any messages or notes as I will check the agendas at some point in the day. When your child receives the agenda, please review the first section of the agenda for useful information concerning school routines and policies. 

To help with the smooth operation of our class, the Grade 3 team is suggesting a few helpful supplies. 

These include: 

• an enclosed pencil sharpener (ex. Staedtler) 

• Purell and/or wet wipes 

• quality pencil crayons (ex. Laurentians) 

• non-marking indoor shoes (running shoes) 

• 1 box of Kleenex or 1 box of large Zip-loc bags 

• 1 red pen 

• 1 pair of earphones for iPad and Laptop use (labeled please– Dollar Store earphones work    well) 

• 1 reusable water bottle (not glass) to keep your child hydrated! 

For an upcoming Religion Craft, we require a 15 cm diameter plastic lid (ex. Margarine lid) by the end of September. 

Please have all personal items marked with your child’s name to help facilitate returning lost items to the rightful owner. 

In our grade three classrooms, we have some students who have anaphylactic allergies (life-threatening allergies) to peanuts, so please remember to refrain from bringing in peanut products. 

Checking labels on granola bars and cookies is helpful. We thank you in advance for helping keep all our students safe! 

I look forward to meeting you and working with your child this year. 

Sincerely, 

Lori Delahunt-Caluori 

 & 

The Grade 3 Team 

(Mrs. Denyer, Mrs.Brownrigg, Madame Nicoletti, Mrs. McCuen, Mrs. Smith & Madame Sultan)