Welcome to Grade 3A

Lake George, New York. July 2017

Hello and welcome! My name is Maria Ciampa and I am very excited to be your child's Grade 3 teacher for this academic year. This is my first year teaching at St. Emily School and I look forward to growing and learning with our class and with the school community. I am coming back from over a year off on maternity leave and am blessed with a busy 14 month old boy named Michael. 

With my husband Joey and son Michael

I have a passion for educational technology and collaborating with others for shared learning opportunities. This year our class will participate in a variety of global projects that will allow us to connect with different classrooms on a global scale. My goal is to encourage them to think critically while communicating and collaborating with their classmates and with other classes globally. We are fortunate to have some flexible learning spaces in our room. Remember, flexible learning happens not just in their physical classroom space, but beyond our classroom walls too!

We are fortunate this year to have Mme. Borger as our French Teacher. This year in Grade 3 students will prepare for EQAO! We will work on practice questions throughout the year to get ready. We will be practising quiet entry by modeling how to read silently (DEAR time), answering some would you rather scenarios and completing brain snack math problems daily. Students will be encouraged to use their agenda to stay organized. Nightly homework will not always be mandatory. Students will be encouraged to demonstrate their responsibility by choosing to either review their word wall words, write on their blog, read on Raz Kids or complete the occasional math review. Please check the agenda daily for important notes or information. Class updates will be shared daily on our class Twitter (@MrsCiampaClass) written by myself and your children!

Your child will get the opportunity to share their learning on a variety of online tools including our class Twitter (@MrsCiampaClass) and their individual student blogging accounts (to be introduced later in the fall). Please read and sign the Blog/Twitter permission form for more information on how we will use blogging to enhance our learning. 

This year our Grade 3 class will be learning in Portable 2 outside. Please ensure that your child has a pair of indoor gym shoes with non-marking soles and earphones to use while working on our various tech devices. Below are some suggested, optional items that you can chose to donate to our classroom to help keep it clean and organized:

-Kleenex

-hand sanitizer

-baby wipes

-Ziploc bags (large and small)

There are several notes in your child's new agenda this evening. Please take the time to read them over, sign each form,  and return them to school at your earliest convenience. If you have any questions, please write me a note in the agenda and remind your child to show me! Scholastic Book Orders for September will be sent home next week. Scholastic Parent Pay is available for payments online. More information to come next week.

I am excited to meet you at St. Emily's Open House next week on Thursday September 14th at 6:30pm. I have a class magnet that I'd like to share with each of you when we meet in person in Portable #2. 

Yours in Education,

Mrs. Ciampa