3rd Grade: 6/15

What a year this has been!

Our study of New York, from the original inhabitants, the Lenape, to the Dutch, the construction of the Erie Canal and Brooklyn Bridge, and finally to immigrants coming through Ellis Island, culminated in an amazing and exciting production! The kids did a fantastic job and I am so proud of them! They’re still repeating their lines and singing the songs in class!

We read Stone Fox and were devastated at the ending (no spoilers!), Because of Winn Dixie and sympathized with Opal’s journey, and The One and Only Ivan and learned about friendship and the meaning of home. In between, we read books independently and participated in book clubs.

We were prolific writers, starting with a personal narrative which showed our personalities, non-fiction informational books about the Lenape, opinion pieces about something important to us, biographies about an important African-American, a fairytale which allowed us to be creative, and an anthology of poetry.

This past week we’ve had a chance to reflect on our entire year together. These are some of our thoughts:

What are you proud of?

I was proud of doing the play because I saw that all the parents were so joyful.

I learned how to write better and that social studies is really great.

My biggest accomplishment is learning to do area and perimeter in math because I did not know that before.

The play because I have stage fright.

Learning multi-digit multiplication, about the Lenape, and how to do a quiz.

Learning script.

My poems because I had no idea how to make a poem.

What do you wish you did better?

Not calling out.

Raising my hand.

Not calling out.

To no call out.

Hebrew because a new language is hard.

I wish I was more quiet.

What advice would you give the next 3rd grade?

That your wrists might be broken at the end of the year because you have to do a lot of writing, and that the play is really fun.

That at first it might seem very tough to do all this writing but it turns out to be very fun.

You have to be prepared that there’s some challenges you might not be aware of or it’s more difficult than you think.

Listen to instructions clearly. In 2nd grade you get instructions 4, 5, or 6 times, but here it’s once or twice and if you mess something up, that’s it.

It will be a fun year but if you don’t listen, you’ll lose some things.

You’re gonna have a very fun time.

Thank you to all of the students for working hard this year. I hope you are as proud of your accomplishments as I am. Thank you to the parents for being partners with us to make sure your children were successful. I wish everyone a restful and enjoyable summer. Good luck in 4th grade! Don’t forget to come say hello, I’ll be just down the hall!

Math

Third Graders finished the year playing math games and reviewing important skills and concept like adding and subtracting fractions, multi-digit subtraction with regrouping, and multi-digit multiplication. It’s been a wonderful year for our third grade mathematicians. I am so proud of their growth and work and I am wishing them the best in 4th grade! Have a great summer!

Judaics

We had a fabulous trip to the Park Slope Jewish Center last week.  Students were so excited to take the subway as a class again, and a few even said that the train ride was their highlight of the whole trip. In addition to the sudway ride, we also had an amazing visit with Rabbi Carie Carter, the head rabbi at PSJC, and former Senesh parent. She greeted us outside the beautiful building and led us through a close examination of the facade. We then had the opportunity to use tfillot and talitot (prayer shawls) from the shul. Students were also offered pride stickers in honor of June being pride month. We did our regular morning prayers in the main sanctuary, which made our regular prayer service feel super special. Students even got to lead prayers from the central bimah and to come up close to the arc to view the shul’s 6 torah scrolls. It was a great trip and I was very proud of the students curiosity and enthusiasm.

Music:

Third Graders finished their musical year by playing songs on their ukuleles and offering each other dance, ukulele and piano performances. Have a wonderful, musical summer everyone!

STEAM with Sammi:

I can’t believe it is the end of the school year! I had the best time getting to know your 3rd graders this year and I am so glad I get to continue teaching them for the next two years.

As we finished up the school year, the 3rd graders became geologists. They learned about sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks and used their knowledge to identify the names of different rocks. To finish up the year, we spent the last class reflecting on all we have done. They have truly learned and grown so much.

I hope you all have an amazing summer filled with lots of outdoor and family time. If you are ever in need of a family activity, building something is always a good idea! You don’t need any fancy materials to get creative and be an engineer.

I can’t wait to see everyone back here in September!

With love,

Sammi