Planners Third grade is a big transition year for children. They will begin having more responsibility and independence in and out of the classroom. In order to help guide your child through this time, we will be using a planner provided by the district. This communication tool has been extremely beneficial in the past. It not only promotes responsibility and learning, but also life-long organizational skills. Time is spent daily updating their planners with information on assignments and important dates.
Students are required to take their planners home each evening, show it to an adult at home, talk about their work/day, ask the adult to sign it, and return it the following day.
Feel free to write notes to your child or me in the planner. Also, be sure to check for any notes from me. Please look through your child’s take home folder each evening and remove any notes or completed and checked work from school. I do expect the take home folders to be cleaned out every few days. Thanks!
Attendance I would like to encourage families to keep school attendance a high priority. The third grade curriculum is packed full all day long, so it is very hard to make up the instructional time lost. If you know ahead of time that your child will be absent, late, or leaving early for any reason, I would appreciate a note in their planner, so I am aware and can plan accordingly.
Homework Students will have some homework each night. I am a very strong believer that when your child gets home from school each day, they need to play, be a kid, and spend time with the family. We work hard all day long in school, so by the time your child gets home, they will be tired and will need a break. The homework consists of reading 20 – 30 minutes every night (beginning of the year I require 10-15 minutes), practice weekly spelling words, and basic math facts.
Dismissal If your child is walking home or riding the bus with a friend, each child needs to have a note with the following information: date, name of the person’s house the child is going to, bus number (if needed), and a parent signature. If both children do not have a note, the child will not be released to go with the friend and will be dismissed according to their original dismissal plan. The safety of your child is the number one priority at RVDH!
Birthday treats Children are welcome, but not obligated, to bring treats for their birthdays or half-birthday. Please make certain that all birthday treats are off the updated Spartan Safe Snack List.Please note there is a new snack list this year. This is a district policy. All items found on this list are nut-free products and are the only snacks that can be brought into school. It would also be very helpful if you provided napkins or any other supplies that may be needed for your child’s treat. You should have received the list of treats in your child’s school calendar or you can visit RVDH’s website. If the birthday treat is not listed on the Spartan Safe Snack list, the treats will be sent home which is definitely not what we’d like to have happen.