Week of June 3rd, 2017-18

We would like to thank everyone for a fun year of learning. We hope you have a relaxing summer spent with family and friends. 

We encourage students to keep their minds active during the summer. This can involve many different ideas. The experiences that children have during vacation when traveling and seeing new things is definitely one of them. If you are traveling this summer, please take the opportunity to talk with your child about the places you visit. Discuss the historical, cultural, and political aspects of your destination. 

Keeping a diary of all the exciting events they see and take part in will help to maintain and develop their literacy skills. This will also help give them ideas in the new school year. Encourage them to describe in detail so they 'paint a picture' in the reader's mind.

Reading every day is a great habit to help your child build. Educators and researchers have long recognized what has come to be known as the “summer slide,” the loss of learning that can take place during the summer months if students do not engage in educational activities. Click this link for an article that tells ways to prevent the summer slide.  

Check out the online resources the library has that are located on the CAC website. In addition to reading resources they have social studies and science websites such as brainpopjr. The websites below will give you additional access to online books and reading resources. https://www.tumblebooks.com/
http://support.newsela.com/hc/en-us/articles/208874926-Camp-Newsela

Third graders can also practice math through various activities. We do encourage them to continue to practice their basic math facts each day for a few minutes. Our students are familiar with Mathletics for online practice. Another website to visit is Khan Academy. Khan Academy has learning videos and activities that students can visit to refresh their math skills or learn new ones. Students can use their school email to log on and get a student account. 

We created this packet from Eureka Math activities: Summer Math Fun for fluency practice. This Getting Ready for Grade 4 (use your CAC email to access it) packet has activities to keep your child engaged and ready for the next school year. 

Please remember that summer vacation is also a time for the kids to relax and recharge. Enjoy your time with them and have a fantastic summer vacation.

Your Third Teachers

Week of May 27th, 2017-18

Reminders for the Week

It's almost the end of the school year. 

Drama Class Performance

Grades 3 - 5 have been hard at work, writing their own scripts. They have asked me to invite you to their final class performances. Please note, Drama class performances are not a typical performance, as it is a part of their classwork. They are very proud of their work, as am I. Please find the schedule below:

5K - 8:15 - 9 on May 27th

3W - 9:15 - 10 on May 27th

5O - 8:15 - 9 on May 28th

3D - 9:15 -10 on May 28th

4F - 2:15 - 3 on May 28th

3H - 8:15 - 9 on May 30th

5J - 10 - 10:40 on May 30th

4M - 2:15 - 3 on May 30th

5G - 10 - 10:40 on May 31st

4D - 11:15 - 12 on May 31st

3C - 1 - 1:45 on May 31st

Thank you for your continued support,

Ms. Dolly

End of year dates for the ES Library

May 27 - the first day of summer checkout

Summer checkout

Available to all students and parents who:

Have cleared their library accounts for the year

Are returning to CAC in the 2018-2019 school year

Limits:

• 25 books per patron (parents must be present for checkout)
• 5 DVDs per family checked out to the parent
• All books due back the first day of school in August

Damaged or lost books will have to be paid for by the patron who checked them out.

READING

With summer break around the corner, our “Following Characters into Series” unit concludes this week. The third grade readers will take the time to reflect on the lessons learned from, and with the characters they have been reading about. They will make connections, draw conclusions and will ask themselves, ‘What is the big lesson I am learning here?’

At the same time, they will have the opportunity to look back, in retrospective, at their progress throughout this school year. They will reflect on their growth and share with each other their best experiences as readers in the third grade.

WRITING

With this being our last full week of school, Third Grade writers will look back at where they started as writers, reviewing what they have covered this year. They will have the opportunity to choose a piece of writing to develop even more.


MATH

In our final full week of school, the third grade mathematicians will review concepts learned and strategies practiced throughout the school year. Third grade mathematicians will spend some time in class exploring websites such as Mathletics, Khan Academy, and Greg Tang Math, which are all resources they can continue to use over the summer to gain practice of their math skills. Students will also receive feedback on their module 7 end of unit assessment and can use this feedback to develop meaningful goals they can work towards over the summer and at the start of the next school year.

SCIENCE

As we start our last week of Science, students are bringing together their data, answering their guiding question and creating a presentation to share with the class. The group will present their findings to the class with a short presentation that includes relevant pictures, graphs, tables and diagrams.

If they haven't been able to answer their question they will look at why and what they could do differently. What do they need to change; their question? method of recording data? etc.

Through their investigation they will have a deeper understanding of our essential question: How do plants and animals interact with and within their environment?

Week of May 20th, 2017-18

Reminders for the Week

Ramadan Kareem!

Parents, please inform your classroom teacher if your child will be fasting so we can make any necessary arrangements to make sure they are comfortable. It is helpful to know if they fast for the whole or part of the day at school, food and water?

Letter to parents regarding soccer sportsmanship

Dear Parents of Third Grade,

Last weekend your child may have received access to a slideshow titled ‘Worst Soccer Players in Third Grade’, containing negative language about students in the grade level. One of our Core Values is ‘Respect’ and we expect students to use positive language with one another in and outside of school. 

We want to make you aware of this situation, and if you feel the need, have a discussion about digital citizenship with your child. We will be having a meeting with all of the soccer players in the grade level to reinforce the Core Values and discuss sportsmanship. Thank you for continued support of our students learning.

Sincerely,


Third Grade Team

We look forward to seeing all of you tomorrow at Student Led Conferences

TIPS FOR PARENTS

• Express positive interest and anticipation about the upcoming conference.
• Be on time.
• Listen and respond to the student (not the teacher).
• Express pride in growth and progress.
• Ask questions (see below for samples).
• Be positive, offering to help in areas where improvement is needed.
• Recognize that students need to develop independence in communicating progress – the teacher will be there to facilitate and answer specific questions but will not take charge of the conference.

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS TO ASK DURING THE CONFERENCE

• Can you explain this to me?
• How did you come up with this idea?
• How have you grown in this area?
• How can you improve in this area?
• How can we help you at home?
• What was important to you about this?
• If you could do this work over again, how would you change it?
• What future goals do you have as a student?

Drama Class Performance

Grades 3 - 5 have been hard at work, writing their own scripts. They have asked me to invite you to their final class performances. Please note, Drama class performances are not a typical performance, as it is a part of their classwork. They are very proud of their work, as am I. Please find the schedule below:

5K - 8:15 - 9 on May 27th

3W - 9:15 - 10 on May 27th

5O - 8:15 - 9 on May 28th

3D - 9:15 -10 on May 28th

4F - 2:15 - 3 on May 28th

3H - 8:15 - 9 on May 30th

5J - 10 - 10:40 on May 30th

4M - 2:15 - 3 on May 30th

5G - 10 - 10:40 on May 31st

4D - 11:15 - 12 on May 31st

3C - 1 - 1:45 on May 31st

Thank you for your continued support,

Ms. Dolly

Guidance Update - Flipping Your Lid!  - A Tool for Managing Stress

The end of the school year is a busy and exciting time! It’s also a time that invites strong emotions and stress. End of year celebrations, final project deadlines, saying goodbye to those moving on, transitions to new school divisions  or even to new schools, are only some of the events during this time that can lend themselves to complete meltdowns. It’s important to be mindful of this and prepared so we can use these times as opportunities to teach our children how to cope effectively during times of stress.  

During Gudiance we are teaching the students about their brains and how the brain functions when we are experiencing stress. The students were introduced to the following lesson, “Brain in the Palm of Your Hand - Flipping Your Lid and Finding it Again- ”. The concept of “Flipping Your Lid,” is very visual. We use the “flipped lid” signal to help the children acknowledge their feelings and the need to calm down when they are starting to feel stressed or angry.

We are providing you with the lesson (see link above) so you can use  the same signal and the same language at home with your family! The following video is also very helpful for understanding the concept of a “flipped lid”.

Why Do We Lose Control of Our Emotions?

READING

This week, third grade readers will be reminded that paying attention to characters in general and their motivations and struggles in particular, can deepen our reading understanding. Students will ask questions to determine characters’ motivations and will expect the story to go in a predictable way once the main character sets himself/herself in motion to reach a goal. The character is expected to face difficulties and ends up struggling to achieve that goal. Students will notice the character’s attitude and will learn that people’s reactions when confronted with challenges can teach readers not only about the person, but also a life lesson.

WRITING
This week in our Editorial writing unit we are reminded that as we publish our editorials we need to continue to check and make better our writing. We need to remember all the things we have learned about what makes a good editorial.

MATH

This week our third grade mathematicians will review concepts learned and strategies practiced throughout the module and complete their end of module assessment.

They will start the week sharing and critiquing various problem solving strategies and evaluate each other’s math work for accuracy and efficiency. We will go through word problems together as a class and examine different ways students could come to a solution. This will continue to support students in understanding that there are many routes one can take to find the solution when problem solving.

We encourage students to review their module 7 problem sets and homework prior to the end of module assessment at the end of the week and, as always, to read questions carefully, review their work for accuracy and completeness, and to check their solutions for reasonableness.

SCIENCE

This week third grade scientists will review the data they collected to answer their group's question. If they haven't been able to answer their question they will look at why and what they could do differently. Do they need to change their question or their method of recording data? 

The group will then decide how they want to present their findings whether it's on a poster or power point and then put the presentation together. 

Week of May 13th, 2017-18

Reminders for the Week

Emergency Drills - Hardened Shelter Drill

Throughout the year, we do talk to students about what to do in case of fire, or intruder, with the subject matter and terminology adjusted for the grade level. The safety and security of our students is our highest priority, and through preparations in advance, we can ensure that students and staff know what to do in the case of an emergency. Next week we will have our first hardened shelter drill on Sunday, May 13th, 11:00 am. Parents, if you are in school please follow faculty to the designated areas.

Skyward online payment for food services open 

Elementary Parents

We are pleased to announce our Skyward online hot lunch payment system will be open for Kindergarten - Grade 5 students from Sunday, May 13. Parents can pay into your family account for the hot lunch commencing via the CAC cashier’s office in our welcome center. Minimum payment of 500 LE per student is required. 

This new system will give parents and students a more convenient way for their elementary child’s hot lunch.  

Making payment is straightforward and offers you the freedom to pay CAC’s cashier in our welcome centre whenever you are on campus or send the money via your child and the class/grade aide will pay on your behalf and send the receipt to you. Your Skyward secure online food service tab is part of your Skyward account and the link can be found on your parent dashboard. This system will support if you have more than one child in our division as each child has a personalized bracelet which will register who, when and cost of each hot lunch purchased. Parents can view this on their Skyward account. Please see this link for a quick tutorial.

If a student orders hot lunch and the family account does not have funds, the meal will be given to the student and the parent will receive an automated email informing them. Also, when the amount drops to 300 LE the email will request the replenishment of the student’s account balance. At the end of the year if the family account is overdrawn and you have a debit balance, the report card will be held until cleared. If there is a surplus it will be rolled over the following year for returning students, grade five and departing students will be notified by elementary school office and the refund can be collected from the cashier’s office. 

From the student side their class/grade aide will hand out the bracelets to students having hot lunch and collect them after lunch. The food vendor will scan the bracelet and return to the student. 

38 LE meal card  & 45 LE Combo meal/ juice cards are acceptable in lieu of cash for your child’s meal until May 31 which is our last day for hot lunches.  Please hand them to the cashier and receive a payment receipt.

Who do I see if I have a problem?

If you have feedback, questions regarding the Skyward online payment system please contact our technology office, Mr. Fadi Duweni, email: felduweini@cacegypt.org, Ph: 2755-5495

If you have feedback, questions regarding the payment please contact CAC’s cashier Reda Ibrahim, email: ribrahim@cacegypt.org, Ph: 2755-551

If you have feedback, questions regarding the use of the bracelet or general please contact Mrs. Jackson-Jin, email:  jjackson@cacegypt.org, elementary office: 2755-5222

Parent questions so far?

What if my child uses their bracelet to buy a friend’s lunch? Your child will only be permitted to scan for their own lunch and the bracelet.

What if I don’t want my child to buy juice with lunch? We can add it as an alert for the vendor on the system, but please understand that it comes by practice and vendor may miss this sometimes initially.

I would like to thank our lunch committee chair, Sandrine Kachour and development chair Jackie Goodall Riley, for their support in trialling the system and giving us feedback. As we know with any new systems their may be glitches, so we would appreciate your feedback.

Best regards,

Julie Jackson-Jin

Elementary Principal

ES Dismissal - Important message to ES parents

We had two students who left campus without parental permission with a nanny. We have taken steps to ensure this does not happen again and ask for your cooperation in following our handbook guidelines for all Elementary students PreK to Grade 5. Our handbook states, that any change in the usual pattern of dismissal for your child at the end of the school day should be verified by a note or email from the parent or guardian to the classroom teacher. We have added that we need to receive this information before 12 p.m. which will give us the time to make sure all necessary personnel is informed before 2:30 p.m. each day. We appreciate CAC’s security as they have increased vigilance in making sure our students go home safely and with the person/s permitted. Ms. Samah will continue to be at the dismissal gate from 3:00 and Ms. Nadia from 4:00 for our after school activity dismissal time.

How to give permission?

-Write to the classroom teacher informing the dismissal plan change.

-Name the person you are giving permission to and the date/s.

-In the case of a change in driver or nanny, full names and photos are needed.

What will happen if no permission has been given?

If we do not have a written record of a change in dismissal, security will not let the student leave campus. The student will be sent to the office. To avoid disappointment, please make sure to arrange the change in dismissal plans ahead of time.

Our student's safety is a school/home priority and we thank you for your understanding, support and welcome your feedback.

ES Yearbook 2017-2018 Pre-Sales

To our cashier, Mr. Reda in the Welcome Center.

May 13th till May 31st for L.E. 580 ($33)

After May 31st, price increases to L.E. 650 ($37)Please note that for this week only (May 13 - May 17),

the cashier will only be available before 10:00 am and after 2:00 pm.

21st Century Libraries for Parents: CAC Overdrive and ebook collections

Join us on May 23 at the MHS to access the CAC ebook collections. We have lots of options,

and of all of them, Overdrive is our prize collection. Overdrive is an app that allows you to read

ebooks and listen to audiobooks offline, and choose from hundreds of titles in our digital collection.

We will offer this session twice, at 8:15 am and at 2 pm. Both times will be at the MHS library.

Please download the Overdrive app before the workshop. It is available for free at all the app stores.

You will need your CAC single sign on to access the CAC digital collection.

End of year dates for the ES library

May 15 Last day for check out

May 22 Last day for classes; All books are due

May 23 Overdrive and ebooks training - 8:15 am and 2 pm

May 29 Summer check out starts

READING

This week, third grade readers will be reminded that when they get about halfway through their books (or when books are bursting with ideas), it is wise to take some time to organize their thoughts. One way to do this is to sort their Post-it notes into piles of ideas that seem to go together. They read across these Post-its and push themselves to grow a theory. They might say, “This is important because…” or “This makes me realize that…” or “The bigger idea here is that…” At the same time, they will learn that once readers have grown a theory, a big idea, they reread and read on with that theory in hand, looking for information that will change or grow their thinking.

WRITING

We start the week as editorial writers the think about how to conclude their editorial to leave the reader thinking about their letter. A strong conclusion offers the reader a final thought and also reminds the reader of the exact change the writer wants to see/happen.
Later in the week we look at the power of the comma and apostrophes.

Finally we look at how editorials are most convincing when they are clear and easily understood. Appropriate punctuation, correct spelling and proper grammar contribute to this clarity. One way editorialists make sure their editorials are clear and easy to understand is to proofread their pieces. Proofreading means examining your text carefully to find and correct typographical errors and mistakes in grammar, style, and spelling.

MATH

This week our mathematicians will apply their knowledge of shape attributes and measurement to solve word problems involving area and perimeter using all four operations. Throughout the entire week, students will apply a variety of problem solving strategies to one and two-step word problems and follow steps to successfully determine solutions. They will be expected to use the Read, Draw, Write method for problem solving: 

1. Read the problem carefully, determine what you know and need to solve for

2. Draw a diagram or model of the problem 

3. Write an equation, calculate to solve, and write a statement for the solution

4. Assess the solution for reasonableness and accuracy

This continued practice with solving word problems will help prepare our mathematicians for the end of module assessment, which they will take the following week. 

SCIENCE

It has been a fun experience for the kids, observing a habitat, recording their findings and trying to answer their questions. We have had a mix of success and revision. This week we continue with our observations. 

At the end of the week students will review the data they collected  to answer their group's question. They will synthesize their findings by making tables, graphs, photos to draw conclusions about the interaction in the habitat before presenting to class. The group will then decide how they want to present their findings whether it's on a poster or power point. They will reflect on whether they answered the question or not.

Week of May 6th, 2017-18

Reminders for the Week

ES Dismissal - Important message to ES parents

We had two students who left campus without parental permission with a nanny. We have taken steps to ensure this does not happen again and ask for your cooperation in following our handbook guidelines for all Elementary students PreK to Grade 5. Our handbook states, that any change in the usual pattern of dismissal for your child at the end of the school day should be verified by a note or email from the parent or guardian to the classroom teacher. We have added that we need to receive this information before 12 p.m. which will give us the time to make sure all necessary personnel is informed before 2:30 p.m. each day. We appreciate CAC’s security as they have increased vigilance in making sure our students go home safely and with the person/s permitted. Ms. Samah will continue to be at the dismissal gate from 3:00 and Ms. Nadia from 4:00 for our after school activity dismissal time.

How to give permission?

-Write to the classroom teacher informing the dismissal plan change.

-Name the person you are giving permission to and the date/s.

-In the case of a change in driver or nanny, full names and photos are needed.

What will happen if no permission has been given?

If we do not have a written record of a change in dismissal, security will not let the student leave campus. The student will be sent to the office. To avoid disappointment, please make sure to arrange the change in dismissal plans ahead of time.

Our student's safety is a school/home priority and we thank you for your understanding, support and welcome your feedback.

Used Book Sale, May 8 to 10

We are getting ready for our annual used book sale, this year from May 8 to 10. We welcome donations of used books for all ages in saleable condition. This is a good time for departing families to dispose of books before packing. We will soon have a donation box at the front gate.

End of year dates for students from the library

May 8-10 Used book sale

May 15 Last day for check out

May 22 Last day for classes; All books are due

May 29 Summer check out starts

READING

This week, third grade readers will continue their series reading journey. As they learn more about their character(s) with every new book in the series, readers will work on adding on and building solid theories. They will push themselves to think deeply about a character by asking, ‘Why?’, ‘Why is the character that way?’ They will observe patterns and ask themselves, ‘Why does the character keep doing that?’ At the same time, they will realize that no character, or person, is one way, therefore they need to think of more complex ideas and grow richer theories. They might say, ‘On the one hand… but on the other hand…’ Or, ‘One side of this character is… but he can also be…’

WRITING
This week in our Editorial writing unit, we look at ways to elaborate our reasons. Specifically looking at the 'Rule of Three' - Instead of simply using one description, we try to string together three using commas in between.
We will also look at word choice. Making sure that we use powerful words that evoke emotion from the reader.
We also look at how editorials from different points of view can have an impact on the relationship of the reader and the writer, and even the tone of the writing. One way editorialists alter this relationship in their favor and make the reader agree with them is the intentional use of personal pronouns, such as I, we, you, he. For example, first person is typically reserved for autobiographical writing, although using it in persuasive can tone down the authority and make the tone more informal. Using second person (you, your, yours) can set up some distance between the writer and the audience or can create an authoritative tone.

MATH

Continuing with their study of geometry and measurement, our mathematicians will begin the week constructing rectangles using unit squares and determining the perimeters given a specific area for rectangles. For example, students can construct several different rectangles with an area of 18 sq. cm and each rectangle will have a different perimeter due to their side lengths being different (e.g. 1 cm X 18 cm; 2 cm X 9 cm, etc.).

Also this week students will create line plots to show the number of rectangles that can be constructed from a particular number of unit squares. Students will work with a partner to determine the possible side lengths for rectangles when provided an area by going through the multiples for that product. This will provide our mathematicians an opportunity to review their math facts and strategies practiced during the fluency portion of our daily lessons.

Our math will wrap up this week with students constructing rectangles with a given perimeter to determine the area. They will learn a strategy for determining possible side lengths of rectangles using an equation P = 2 x (length + width), which will involve students calculating what half of the perimeter is and from there determining the two side lengths that can add together to equal half of the perimeter. For example, if the perimeter is 22 cm, half of the perimeter is equal to 11 cm, which means that 9 cm and 2 cm could be possible side lengths (P = 9 cm + 9 cm + 2 cm + 2 cm). The area for a rectangle with these side lengths would be 9 cm x 2 cm = 18 sq. cm. 

SCIENCE
Third grade scientists are diving into observations and data collection this week.  Each group will spend 15 minutes twice a day (Morning and afternoon), three times a week to observe and collect information about their habitat. 

As well as the observations we will look at 'food chains' and 'food webs' and how everything needs energy to survive. We will learn that the energy moves through the 'food chain' and 'food web’.

Through this process students will learn that plants are called 'Producers' and they get their food from the sun, water, and soil. Animals are called Consumers as they directly or indirectly depend on plants for energy. Consumers can be broken down into Herbivores, Carnivores and Omnivores.