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Liz Hannigan
ST. BARNABAS
Zip Code: 60643
Contact Liz Hannigan

Page Last Updated Sep 01, 2011
Number of Visits: 1196

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Dear Parents,
    Welcome to a new school year! I am happy to be your child's 3rd grade teacher, and I am looking forward to a wonderful school year.
    I would like to take this opportunity to briefly cover some areas of interest that will be helpful to you and your child for a successful school year.
  
BEHAVIOR - As it is every year, one of our most important goals is to become more kind and respectful to each other. I do not expect the children to be best friends with everyone, however I do expect them to treat each other with kindness and respect. The good manners your child learns at home will be expected to carry over into our classroom. Misbehavior, in its various forms, (not paying attention, arguing, disrespect, disruptive behavior, etc.) takes valuable instruction time away from all students when a lesson is interrupted for discipline. The children in my classroom are aware of the behavior I expect from them. Inappropriate behavior will be addressed. If the behavior continues after the child has been given three verbal warnings,a written warning will be issued, followed next time by a conduct referral. All written warnings, conduct referrals, detentions, homework notices, and uniform notices should be returned the next day with a parent's signature. I am hopeful this will not happen too frequently. Please see Parent/Student Handbook for details.

HOMEWORK - I expect homework to be done neatly and handed in on time. This is where responsibility comes in, and it is stressed daily in my classroom. Homework is a time to review the skills/lessons that were presented during the school day. Although many homework assignments will not be graded, all will be checked in and reviewed together as a class. At this time, any questions the students may have had will be addressed. Routinely not completing homework could adversely affect a student's grade and a student's learning of the material. An exception will be made for illness or family emergency, as long as I have a note in the morning explaining why the homework was not completed. When you call the office to report your child's absence, please let them know if there is a sibling or a neighbor that could bring the work home. You may also pick up the work from the shelf outside the office.

ASSIGNMENT NOTEBOOK - Even though homework, tests, and projects will be posted on SchoolNotes, students are still expected to fill out their assignment notebooks daily. Assignments are written on the board and reviewed before the end of the day. Please check your child's notebook daily.

SUPPLIES - Please ask your child frequently throughout the school year if they need more paper, pencils, glue, etc. A fair amount of instruction time is wasted when children do not come to school prepared. It is a good idea to take advantage of the back to school sales and keep an extra set of supplies at home for homework and projects.
 
S/C/R - Sign, Correct, Return - I believe children learn from correcting their mistakes, therefore I encourage my students to correct their mistakes on work (not tests) with scores below a C-. These papers will be marked S/C/R. They are to correct their errors, have a parent check it for accuracy, and then sign it. If I do not receive this work in a day or two, the original score remains. This is a wonderful opportunity for the children to boost their average, yet many do not take advantage of it. If you are signing more than a couple of these in the same subject, it is an indication that your child is struggling and should be bringing the  text book home for a nightly review of the day's lesson. Grades for quizzes and tests are 50% of the grade, classwork is 40%, and book reports, projects, and any graded homework are 10% of the grade.

SPELLING - Tests are given on Fridays, and they will have, beginning in October, two grades - a number grade indicating performance and a letter grade representing handwriting. We will begin writing the list words 3x each and sentences (choosing 5 list words of their choice, and each sentence must have at least 7 words) in manuscript. I will advise you when  the sentences and 3x each are to be written in cursive. The 5 sentences and the 3x each will be due on Fridays, along with the Spelling unit workbook pages. Points will be deducted from the test score if the 3x each or sentences are not completed. The children have a week to complete this work, so I will not accept any excuses for missing or incomplete work. They should not wait until Thursday evening to work on their Spelling assignments.

GRADED WORK/POWERSCHOOL -  I do not have a particular day to send home graded work. I send it home as soon as I correct it and enter the score into Powerschool, which is usually within a day or two from when the work was handed in. Please check Powerschool frequently.

HANDWRITING - Nearly all school work will be done in pencil and on loose leaf paper for most subjects. Work done on loose leaf requires the following heading:
Name                         Date
Subject                       Grade/Room
   
Handwriting practice work will be done on writing tablet paper and in the handwriting practice book. The focus on third grade handwriting will be:
Students will be able to form and recognize all upper and lower case letters; be able to connect letters to form words in cursive; write in cursive in at a reasonable rate and with great fluency; be able to write legibly and accurately in subject areas; will be able to do all specified work in cursive by the end of 3rd grade.

TOPICS PER CORE SUBJECT COVERED DURING THE FIRST TRIMESTER

RELIGION: We will begin the school year with the Child Lures Prevention program, then we will learn about two of the Marks of the Church - The Church is One and the Church is Holy.

MATH: Before the start of a new chapter, a pretest will be given. Chapters 1 and 2: Count, read, and write numbers to 999,999. Round two-, three-, and four-digit numbers. Choose estimated or exact amounts. Place value to hundred thousands. Compare and order numbers. Find a pattern. Read a graph. Determine values of collections of coins and bills. Tell time and use a calendar.

READING: In conjunction with novels being read, the following skills will be covered: sequencing, drawing conclusions, cause and effect, synonyms, parts of a book, author's purpose, main idea and supporting details, and point of view. In my reading class, two book reports will be required during the first trimester - one written report and one oral report. I have book report forms available for the students. The books need my approval prior to being read. They should be chapter books, on grade level, and at least 100 hundred pages. The children are encouraged to read books on the accelerated reader list and then take the accelerated reader test.

SOCIAL STUDIES: Communities and geography, and Native American and Native Alaskans. We will be working on a Native American project.

SCIENCE: The life cycle of plants and animals. A life cycle project will be due in October - date to be determined! I will give more detailed information on School Notes in the next few weeks. The children will be gathering and recording information during class time, but there will most likely be "finishing touches" that will need to be done at home. 

MISCELLANEOUS: When the school permits, water bottles will be allowed as long as the students take care to protect their schoolbooks, desks, and materials from damage. Please be sure that your child eats a healthy breakfast in the morning. Lunch is not until 11:40 and there are no snack breaks.

Your child may bring a treat to share with the class on his/her birthday (refer to page 42 of the Parent/Student Handbook). Summer birthdays will be celebrated towards the end of the school year. Currently, we have 18 students in our classroom. You are encouraged to bring non-food treats. If you do send a food treat, individual items such as cookies are the most convenient to serve. DUE TO FOOD ALLERGIES, NO SNACKS CONTAINING NUTS, PEANUTS, PEANUT OIL, SOY, OR ANY NUT/PEANUT/SOY DERIVATIVES ARE TO BE BROUGHT. Even if the treats are split so that one half contains nuts and the other half does not, there is still the risk of cross-contamination which we need to avoid. A RECENT ADDENDUM TO THE SCHOOL'S WELLNESS POLICY STATES THAT ALL FOOD ITEMS MUST BE PURCHASED FROM A STORE (NOT HOMEMADE) WITH ALL THE INGREDIENTS LISTED ON THE PACKAGING (WHICH WILL EXCLUDE MOST PRIVATE BAKERIES). Please check ingredients carefully as "hidden" items such as peanut oil can cause an allergic reaction. I truly appreciate your cooperation with this important safeguard for our children.

Specials:

Monday - Computers

Tuesday - Library & Spanish

Thursday- P.E. & Music

Friday - P.E. & Art

     Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have. I can be reached via e-mail at stbteacher107@yahoo.com or by phone 773-445-7711 x 207. When e-mailing, please fill in the "subject" line with a reference to your child or St. Barnabas; otherwise the message may be sent to the spam folder as a precaution against viruses from unsolicited e-mails. In accordance to the school's policy, teachers may not access e-mails or take phone calls when students are in the classroom; therefore there will be times when I may not be able to respond to you e-mail or voice-mail message until after school.

Thank you for your time and support. I am looking forward to getting to know your third grader!

Kindest regards,

Mrs. Hannigan

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MEDICATIONS: Please refer to pag the Parent/Student Handbook regarding medication administration. Written orders from both a parent and the physician must be on file with the office. This policy includes such over-the-counter medicines as lip balm and cough drops.

TREATS- We have some third graders that have peanut and nut allergies. Please do not send any treats made from peanuts, nuts, or peanut/nut oils to school.

SPECIALS - Monday - Computers
                    Tuesday - Library/Spanish
                    Wednesday - PE
                    Thursday - Music
                    Friday - PE/Art

    I am looking forward to getting to know your third grader!
Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have. I can be reached via e-mail at stbteacher107@yahoo.com or by phone 445-7711 x 207. When e-mailing, please fill in the "subject" line with a reference to your chiId or St. Barnabas; otherwise the message may be sent to the spam folder as a precaution against viruses from unsolicited e-mails. In accordance to the school's policy, teachers may not access e-mails when students are in the classroom; therefore there will be times when I may not be able to respond to your e-mail or voicemail message until after school. I advise you against contacting me via School Notes as serious transmission delays have been reported.

Thank you for your time and support. I am looking forward to getting to know your third grader.

Kindest regards,

Mrs. Hannigan













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