Visualizing Peace

Interview Night = Thursday November 8th

Dear Parents,
I have a few spots open for an in-person interview for your child this Thursday November 8th. Please click and view the form below for an available time. If you'd prefer a phone interview, please give me a call at the school.

Many thanks!

Adding Juicy Words to our Writing

Global Maker Day 2018: Cardboard Challenge

What a #GlobalMakerDay it was in @MrsCiampaClass and Mrs Boyer's grade 3 classes today! So much creativity and innovation went into making these great arcade games! Impressive! @StEmilyOCSB @StEmilyCouncil pic.twitter.com/sExFl2urnG

— Margie Butler (@ButlerMargie) 24 October 2018

That’s the sound of @Makedo safe-saws for cardboard construction. #ocsbDesignThinking #GlobalMakerDay @StEmilyOCSB pic.twitter.com/vABFaAIn2N

— Mrs.Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) 23 October 2018

Beginning our Cardboard Challenge with a planning session. Asking questions and imagining what games we could make for #GlobalMakerDay today. #DesignThinking #ocsbDesignThinking ⁦@StEmilyOCSB⁩ pic.twitter.com/lbAO6X6dRu

— Mrs.Ciampa (@MrsCiampaClass) 23 October 2018

Wanted: Small Cardboard!

Next week we will be completing a Cardboard Challenge during #GlobalMakerDay. We are in need of cardboard boxes or cardboard of any kind to prepare for our future challenge. (Examples: cereal boxes, gift boxes, kleenex boxes, paper towel rolls, etc..) If you have any small cardboard boxes or materials that you can donate to our class, please send them with your child before next week!

Many Thanks!

Program Night Slide Deck

Thank you to all families who joined us this evening at our school's Program Night. It was a pleasure meeting all of you and I look forward to growing and learning with each of your children. Please view below the slide deck from this evening's class visit. Feel free to add more of your comments or what you or your child are looking forward to in our class this year on our Padlet below! What hope, dream or wish do you have for your child in Grade 3?

Raz Kids is Ready to Go!

Raz Kids account access is ready to go. In your child's agenda you will find your child's username and password. Your child's reading level on Raz Kids reflects what their current reading level is or what their level was at the end of Grade 2. As I complete further reading assessments I may alter the level on your child's Raz Kids account over the next while.
Raz Kids is easily accessible through the Student Portal. Students can also download the app on any iOS device or simply click on the Raz Login Page. My username is: mrsmciampa

Remember: if students are reading on Raz Kids for homework, please limit their reading or comprehension practice to no more than 30 minutes a day!

Happy Reading :-)

What Can You Do to Be Safe on the Internet?

What is Important in our Class?

Over the past week, students reflected on what is most important to them. We talked about what kind of classroom they wanted and what kind of new learning they want to explore this year. ART, Science, Writing and Math were popular topics students wanted to explore. We have some creative friends in our room and they made sure that their most important words stood out. 

 All students signed it and made a promise to TRY. We learned that mistakes are ok and mistakes help us to learn as long as we try our best and as long as we learn from them. Ask your child about what is most important to them.  

Welcome to Grade 3A

Carousel in Bryant Park, NYC. March 2018

Hello and welcome! My name is Maria Ciampa and I am very excited to be your child's Grade 3 teacher. This is my second year teaching at St. Emily School and I look forward to continuing to grow and learn with our class and with the school community. 

I have a passion for educational technology and collaborating with others for shared learning opportunities. This fall our class will participate in a variety of projects that will allow us to work collaboratively and connect with different classrooms on a local and global scale. We will also experiment with STEM and design thinking tasks. My goal is to encourage the class to think critically while learning how to communicate and collaborate with their classmates. 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! 

With my husband Joey and our son Michael.

We are fortunate this year to have Gail Gavan 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, 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). Please read and sign the Blog/Twitter permission form for more information on how we will use online platforms 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. Students are also encouraged to come to school with a water bottle. 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) 
-pencils and erasers

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 Tuesday September 25th at 6:00pm. 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    

See You Soon!

Open House - May 2018

Letting our Light Shine for Catholic Education Week

Healthy Living Presentations

Narrative Stories

Over the past few weeks, our writing focus has been on narrative writing. Students read a variety of stories and learned the features of narratives. Their assignment was to come up with their own adventure stories. They planned their ideas, developed their topic and came up with drafts of their work. They followed a checklist and had to ensure that their adventure stories had key must haves such as: problem and solution, characters, setting, details, describing words, linking words and character dialog with quotation marks. Students self assessed their work and had to follow the feedback from the teacher and their peers. We revised and edited to help our friends produce their best work.

Please head over to our class KidBlog account and leave us some comments or feedback on what you think of their hard work. They are very eager to share their amazing stories globally and can't wait to see comments on their hard work.

https://kidblog.org/class/MrsCiampa/posts