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=Welcome to Mrs. Snaidauf's Third Grade Wiki= To view the weekly newsletter just click on the link to the right.

Dear Parents, I would like to welcome you to the 2014-2015 school year! My name is Suzanne Snaidauf and I am truly looking forward to working with you this year. This is my second year teaching at Foster Elementary and I’m very excited to be your child’s third grade teacher. I live in Orland Park with my husband and three children and I love learning new things. Prior to teaching at Forest Ridge, I worked as the Grant Project Manager for the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Education Center at Saint Xavier University. One of my goals is to integrate 21st century learning into the third grade curriculum. I will also teach the students a variety of reading strategies to help develop your child’s reading and comprehension skills. Another goal for me is to create a comfortable classroom so all students can become better readers and writers. I am looking forward to getting to know each student and to planning activities that will make third grade educational as well as fun! Feel free to contact me to discuss any concerns or suggestions you may have. My email is ssnaidauf@d142.org. Thank you for your support, Mrs. Snaidauf

**Classroom Management Plan**
====My classroom management plan includes a variety of activities. We will use “behavior cards” in third grade. Each student starts out on white. When they have to flip the card to green, it means they are receiving a warning. If the student has to flip the card again to yellow, the student has to fill out a Lion Reflection Log and bring home an O.D.R. The student will receive a classroom consequence and parents will be notified. Parents will also be notified of the consequence if a student flips the card again to red.==== ====We also have paws for positive behavior at Foster as well as my own activities. When students are caught making good choices such as being respectful, responsible, or safe, they will be given a ticket to put in a jar. Every Friday a few tickets will be pulled and students will have an opportunity to choose a prize from the prize box. Also, students as a class may earn marbles which will be redeemed for an activity voted upon by the class.====

**Student of the Week**
====Each week a student will be chosen as the “Student of the Week”. An “All About Me” poster will be sent home on Friday for the student to bring back on Monday. The student is also welcome to present a science experiment to the class. Students must be able to explain the science behind the experiment (this is usually explained in any experiment books or on websites such as sciencebob.com or under the Activities page of this wiki).====

**Reading**
====As a class, we will read a variety of fictional stories, poetry, and non-fiction materials. Within the next few months, students will be very familiar with the Daily 5. Children will be busy completing meaningful literacy tasks such as reading to self, writing, word work, listening to reading, and reading to someone. We will focus on increasing our stamina to work independently during ‘read to self’. While the students are completing their literacy tasks, I will be meeting with small groups and conferencing with individual students.==== ====In addition to reading at school, it is important that your child read at home for at least 15 minutes each day. Every student will receive a monthly “reading calendar”. Please take the time to initial the calendar for every night that your child completes the required 15 minutes. They should at least read 15 days out of the month. Book reports and book talks may also be assigned along with some of the monthly calendars.====

**Homework**
====Homework is a very important component of the learning process. Research has proven that homework helps children develop good study habits and fosters a positive attitude toward school. In third grade, your child will be receiving homework daily with the exception of Fridays. The only time your child will have homework over the weekend is for “Correct and Return” papers or make-up work. Each day, the whole class writes homework assignments in their assignment notebook together. Please check the assignment notebook daily and help your child return all homework in their Lion folders.====

**Monday (Weekly) Folders**
====On Monday, papers and tests your child has completed will come home in your child’s “Monday Folder” for you to view together. This will give you an opportunity to see what we are doing in school. There will be a sheet stapled to this folder for you to sign once you have viewed and discussed your child’s work with him/her. Any “Correct and Return” (CR) papers should come back to school on Tuesday after you and your child have reviewed and corrected them. Please include a parent signature on CR papers. All other papers should stay at home.====

**Specials**
====Our specials are Gym on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday so please wear gym shoes on those days. We will have Art on Monday and Friday. You can send in an art box if your student would like. Some of the pencil cases are too small. Library will also be on Friday.====