Dear Parents/Guardians,
Welcome to an Exciting New School Year! My name is Megan Guthrie and I am pleased to be
one of your child’s teachers this year!
Each month I will write a newsletter. These newsletters will give you information about
important events and dates. They will also have information about the curriculum expectations
we will be covering each month, and ideas you can use to help your child’s learning. To reduce
paper, we are asking parents to go to our school website to read classroom newsletters
(www.granderie.ca/schools/grahambell).
For the grade 3s it is the year for the provincial standardized test, EQAO. More information will
follow.
Agendas
We will be using our agendas to record important reminders, and information. Please send in $4
with your child to pay for the agenda. Thank you to those who have already done this. Please
sign your child’s agenda each night (even if there is nothing written in there that day) to show
me that you have looked at it. I will check the agendas in the morning, and then students will
record information in it at the end of the day, and I will initial it. The agendas are a great way for
us to communicate. Please feel free to write any comments or concerns in the agenda.
Any forms and work from school will be placed in the front pocket of the student agenda or
appear on the school website.
Water Bottles
Students are recommended to bring bottles filled with water to school. Studies have shown that
children who are de-hydrated, have difficulty focusing. Please help to remind your child to
frequently bring his/her water bottle home to be clean and I will do the same at school.
School Supplies
Here is a review of items you may want to purchase for your child if you haven’t already.
Pencils, erasers, pencil crayons, crayola markers, pencil sharpener, ruler, scissor, glue,
indoor shoes (that can be use for physical education)
Thank you so much for purchasing these items. I will do my best to ensure that your child’s
school supplies are handled with care.
What Can I Do at Home?
Many times I get asked the question, “what can I do to help my child learn?” The number one
thing you can do is to READ with your child. Have your child read to you, a sibling, a
grandparent, the dog/cat, anyone, or anything! Promoting a love of reading at an early age will
go a LONG way in your child’s school career. We will be sending home a math calendar each
month.
Math Calendar:
Please work with your child on the activities that are on the Math calendar for each
month. At the end of the month please return the calendar and initial the activities you worked
on.
Spelling Words:
Each Monday, students will receive a new spelling list in their agenda. The students will
be tested every Friday. Test marks will be written in the agenda on Friday. Please sign,
comment and return agendas.
ME Bags
For the first month of school we will be working on “Me Bags”. Each child will make their own
bag covered in interesting facts about themselves. To help get acquainted, students will be
asked to take their bags home and pick 3 objects, pictures, etc. that represent who they are.
Each student will be presenting their bag collage and objects to the class. The students will
need to give clues to the class to get the class to guess what important objects are in their bag.
Each student will need to explain why each object is important to them and present their bag
collage.
French
Students in Grade 3 will be joining the Grade 4s in French class.
Classroom Volunteers
We would love to have more volunteers in the school. If you are able to volunteer please ensure
your information at the office is up to date. Remember, forms and police checks need to be
completed each year if you plan on going on class trips with us.
I am looking forward to a wonderful school year. If you have any questions at all please don’t
hesitate contacting me, Ms. M Guthrie