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Third Grade - Room 23 and 24 Mrs. Eglington and Mrs. Anderson 2007 – 2008
Welcome to our classrooms! We are sure that many of you can hardly believe your child is beginning third grade. You and your student may be feeling a bit anxious and excited about the upcoming year. We want to assure you our goal is to work with both you and your child as a team to make this year a wonderful learning experience. Mrs. Anderson and Mrs. Eglington work as a team everyday planning curriculum and often opening the door between our two rooms. Your children will get to know both teachers and the kids in both classrooms.
Getting to Know your Teachers
Shari Eglington This is the beginning of my 15th year at Cougar Ridge plus I have many years of experience at other schools in Issaquah. I love this school. I was on the core team that wrote the mission statement and planned the philosophy and core beliefs at the opening of the school. I attended Washington State University (Go Cougars!) and have a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction. My husband, Doug, and I have been married for 33 years. Doug works for King County’s Office of Business Relations and Economic Development. We have two children. Our son Jared, 27, and daughter-in-law Kristen live in Seattle. He works for Wachovia Finance and she is a Providence Pharmacist. Our daughter, Leah, attends BCC and just turned 20! We can’t believe our baby is this old!
Jill Anderson This is the beginning of my 9th year at Cougar Ridge. My husband and I have three children. Heidi, age 30 is a lawyer at Genie Industries in Redmond. Adam, age 28 works at Nordstrom and is married to Shannon, a Real Estate Agent. Amy, age 22, works at the Bobcat Club (Cougar Ridge’s school age daycare) and attends BCC. My exciting news this summer is that I am the proud first time Grandma of Gavin Robert Anderson, age 7 weeks! Ask me to see the pictures! I attended the University of Washington (Go Huskies!) so the Washington schools are both represented in rooms 23 and 24 by the two teachers. My husband, Dean works for Boeing on the Dreamliner program and we have been married 32 years.
Both teachers live in
Sammamish and this summer we made two trips together. We traveled on the Oregon
Trail through Wyoming and visited the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. Now, when we
teach third graders about Pioneers and the Oregon Trail we will be able to say
we were there! Then, the week before school started, we went on an Alaska
cruise with our husbands, which was very relaxing and also very beautiful. This
year we truly feel your child will get the best of our shared strengths as
teachers.
The third grade curriculum Night will be held on Wednesday, September 19th from 7:00 to 7:45PM. Please mark your calendar and plan to attend this very important meeting. We will be presenting an overview of the year’s curriculum, our classroom behavior management program, and volunteer opportunities for parents. Please remember, this is an evening for parents and/or guardians only, no children.
Communication
We are committed to the importance of parent involvement in your child’s education. We firmly believe that your child receives the best education possible when we all work together as a team. We will be keeping in touch with you this year through regular newsletters to let you know what your child has been learning in the classroom and to notify you of upcoming events. We may also contact you through notes, emails or phone calls. Please feel free to contact your child’s teacher with any questions or concerns you would like to discuss.
Email: eglingtons@issaquah.wednet.edu andersonj3@issaquah.wednet.edu
Telephone: Mrs. Eglington 425-837-7272 Mrs. Anderson 425-837-7271 Please be aware that we check for voicemail messages before and after school only. If you have an important message that your child or we need to know prior to the end of the day, please call the office. Leave the message with the secretary and let her know we need to receive the message before the end of the school day. Otherwise, we will respond to your voicemail message as soon as possible before or after school.
Meetings: If you would like to meet with your child’s teacher, please e-mail or call to make an appointment ahead of time. We want to provide a time when we can give you our full attention. Having parents drop by the classroom without an appointment or a scheduled volunteer time is discouraged. It takes away from our classroom routine, teaching time, and your child’s learning experience.
Homework
Starting on Monday, September 24th your child will be responsible for weekly assigned homework and nightly reading. Regular weekly homework will be sent home on Mondays and will be due on Friday mornings before class begins. These assignments will be reflective of what has been taught in the classroom and are either additional practice, review, or an extension of what they have learned in class. The weekly homework assigned in third grade should normally take no longer than 30 minutes plus an additional 15 to 20 minutes of nightly reading. There will also be some assignments throughout the year that require more than the usual 30 minutes. These projects will be given a longer due date. An example is the book talk projects that are assigned monthly. In our classrooms homework has several purposes, one to help establish a consistent routine that is reasonable for a child in third grade. In using the “weekly” homework we realize there are evenings that can get hectic. With this system a student can choose to do their homework the following evening or the day before. Assignments can be easily divided throughout the week if this works for your child. They will need a designated study space, appropriate materials, and specified time to complete their assignments. The second purpose of homework is to provide an opportunity for children to gain independence and responsibility for their school work. We will convey to students that… “Homework is not done until it has been checked by an adult, put into their folder, the folder has gone into their backpack, and the backpack arrives in the classroom and homework is placed in the correct place!” Further information regarding homework will be discussed at curriculum night.
Classroom Management
As a class we will develop and vote on our classroom rules for the school year during the first few days of school. Rules help us all get along with one another and learn effectively. The goal of these rules is to promote a positive and respectful environment in which all students are guaranteed the right to learn and play together.
How this works: In the classroom logical consequences ensure that everyone stays safe and is able to learn. We believe in being firm and fair in my treatment of all children. We do not believe that embarrassing a child will help him or her in any way to behave in a more appropriate manner. We prefer to show mutual respect with logical consequences for inappropriate behavior. Each child will start the week with a pocket containing a set of colored cards-white, green, yellow, red, and purple. The goal is to keep your color on white and not have to flip a card. Flipping a card happens when a child is not following one of the rules.
1. White card is GREAT! The child is a team player. 2. Green card is the first warning – a visual reminder for a student to catch the behavior & change it. 3. Yellow card is a second warning. This is more serious and the student will be asked to move to the “time out zone”. This is a time when the child can reflect on their previous choices, come up with a new plan, talk with the teacher (during an appropriate time), and return to the group. 4. Red card is the end of the warnings. At this point the student will lose privileges in the classroom for that week and be required to write a letter home explaining what choices he/she has made to get to this position. At this point I will be communicating my concerns with the child’s parents/guardian. 5. Purple card is a direct visit to the principal’s office and a call home that is made by the student while with the principal or teacher.
IMPORTANT: If at anytime a child behaves in a manner that is harmful to others or themselves the parent/guardian will be contacted as soon as possible and the above steps may or may not be used.
Natural Consequence: Students who are team players and have white, green, or yellow cards on Fridays will earn “Choice Time” at the end of the day on Friday. This is a very BIG deal in the third grade world. All cards will return to white at the beginning of every week and we start fresh. We appreciate your support with this plan & hope you will discuss the importance of this program with your child.
Volunteers
We appreciate and utilize volunteers throughout the year. At curriculum night we will discuss opportunities to help in a variety of ways and you will receive a volunteer packet to take home, fill out, and send back to the classroom with your child. Most volunteer positions will begin in October.
Very Important Person
of the week – V.I.P.
Beginning in the next few weeks each student will have the opportunity to be the V.I.P. for a week. This is a chance for each student to share their interests, hobbies, and background with their classmates. It is a fun way for us to get to know each other better. Each Wednesday a student is chosen to be the next weeks V.I.P. in a random drawing. They will bring home an “all about me” poster and instructions for the week. The VIP is not due until the following Monday. This way each child will have ample time to prepare and put their best effort forward.
Additional Request for Funds
Magazine: Teaching students to read and understand non-fiction is fun! As a 3rd grade team we have chosen the classroom news magazines, Time for Kids and National Geographic. These magazines present current events and interests designed for young people. The articles are interesting and give an opportunity to better understand non-fiction and strengthen their vocabulary.
The total cost for the two magazine subscriptions is $11.00 per student. Please send in a check made out to Cougar Ridge as soon as possible to cover the cost of these items. Please do not send cash.
Snacks
Each day after morning recess your child will have time to have one snack during our “read-aloud” time. You are welcome to send one healthy snack (no candy, soda or sugary items) with your child. If you would like to send snacks for the week your child can keep them in their cubby or backpack. We will not provide snacks in the classroom nor will students be allowed to share or trade snacks. This school policy is adhered to in order to avoid any medical problems for children with food allergies. If your child does not bring a snack from home they will not have one.
Field Trips
There are several field trips tentatively planned for third graders this year. The third grade team has chosen a variety of educational activities to extend your child’s learning experience across the curriculum. More information will be sent home as the date and cost of each activity gets near.
To date, the following activities are tentatively planned:
We are looking forward to a great year with your children!
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