Dear Students, Parents, & Guardians, I want to welcome you to the third grade at Hancock Elementary School. My name is Mrs. Dickinson and I will be your child’s teacher for the 2014-2015 school year. This is my first year teaching at Hancock, but my 6th year teaching third grade in the Clark County School District. I truly love my job and enjoy making a difference in the lives of children. I look forward to sharing many experiences with you and your child this year, including learning, having fun, making growth, laughing, discovering and communicating. My overall goal is to ensure that your child is surrounded by a friendly and productive learning atmosphere, and is prepared to enter the fourth grade and further be ready by exit. Your child will continue to improve his/her reading, writing and mathematical skills with the third grade Common Core curriculum. We will be studying a wide range of literature that will captivate your child’s mind and encourage reading, but will also promote comprehension strategies. Students will learn about various genres of writing, gather ideas of what it takes to be a good writer, and refine his/her writing techniques. In math, students will continue to master their addition and subtraction facts while becoming proficient in basic multiplication and division facts. They will also engage in higher level thinking and become excellent problem solvers by persevering in mathematics. As a third grader, you will be a role model to students in the younger grades. They will look up to you and follow in your footsteps. I know that with hard work, determination. Respect and responsibility, each one of you will have a successful 2014 – 2015 school year. Third grade is an awesome year that is filled with many fun activities and experiences. I am very excited to be your teacher this year! Sincerely, Mrs. Dickinson