3 rd Grade Back to School Night

1. 3rd Grade Back to School Night August 21st, 2014

2. Ms. Mays (Mia) TannousI have been teaching at UTES for 7 years. This is my 8th year here! I taught for 3 years in Pennsylvania. Some fun facts about me. 1. I have 5 siblings. 2. I have traveled to about 30 of the 50 states. 3. I speak Arabic. 4. I love NFL football (Philadelphia Eagles.) 5. I have a dog named Coco. 6. I was born in Amman, Jordan. 7. I’m shy outside the classroom.8. My favorite color is navy blue. 9. I was named after a famous middle eastern singer. (Her name is Mays. I loved to sing in front of thousands when I was younger.)10. I have two nephews and one niece!

3. Ms. Noura Wakim I was born and raised in Austin, TX. I graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with high honors. I speak Arabic and my family is from Lebanon My sister also taught at UTES I have one older sister and one younger brother I have one beautiful niece and another on the way! I enjoy outdoor boot camps (workouts) I have no pets I taught fifth grade for two years before this and had the best math scores in fifth grade in the Del Valle district and the best science scores in the school (our school was under performing). My favorite colors are purple, burnt orange and dark green.

4. Contact Information Conference Time: 1:00-1:40pm or 3:45-4:15 (by appointment) Emails: mtannous@austin.utexas.edu nwakim@austin.utexas.edu School Phone: 495-3300 Extensions: 320-Tannous 321-Wakim

5. Drop off / Pick up Procedures • 7:15-8:00 - Drop-off/Arrival – use Hidalgo circle drive/entrance to new Healthy Horns Hall • 8:00-4:15 – Use Front Office entrance to enter school. • Pick-up/Dismissal – at 3:30 use 6th Street Entrance. • Bus and van pick-up will be at Hidalgo. • The YMCA will meet here at UTES café, gym, and library.

6. School Rules • Listen to others. • Follow directions on first request. • Respect self, others and property. • Make safe choices. • Always do your best!

7. Classroom Management Systems • Classes earn special rewards and privileges by doing their best. • Time Out / Break Time – is utilized to give students a break. It is not a punishment. It is simply used to give students time to themselves. They may return to class activities when they are ready. • Reflection Sheets and notes about concerns will also come home in student agendas. • Phone calls will be made when necessary.

8. School-wide Behavior Consequences • 1. Verbal warning • 2. Redirection to an alternative activity • 3. Cool down (in an alternative classroom if needed) • 4. Note or call home to parent • 5. Office Referral

9. Color Reflection System • Our school wide management system is a color system where students earn colors through out the day. • After each block with a teacher, your child will decide if he/she has met expectations and earned their color. If they feel they have not met expectations then they will not earn their color. • Each student reflects on their own behavior and goals. It is up to the teacher and student to decide if they have earned a color. • Color order: White(everyone begins on white), Yellow, Green, Purple, Red, Orange. • At the end of the day your child with record his/her final color in their Agenda. The agenda needs to be signed each day.

10. Expectations • Agendas must be filled out by students and signed daily by a parent, guardian, or other adult mentor. • Homework packets are due by Friday with individual assignments due as indicated in Agenda. • Progress Reports will go home half way through each quarter and are due back signed by parents. • Reflection Sheets will be sent home if behavior concerns arise. They also need to be signed and returned.

11. Homework • Provides important practice of skills taught and reviewed. • Will be graded but will not count toward over all grade. • Completion counts toward Lil’Longhorn Leader responsibility recognition.

12. Book Reports • Each grade in UTES (2-5th grade) will doing book reports. • Third grade will do a minimum of 16. • Ms. Tannous will have several different kinds of forms that they can use. • Book reports will be due every two weeks on Fridays. • Students can do them at home OR at school. • If your child gets behind on book reports, Ms. Tannous will notify you.

13. STAAR Testing Dates Math – April 21st, 2015 Reading – April 22nd, 2015

14. Grading

15. Tutoring • Before or after school sessions will be provided. • Dates and eligibility will be announced at a later date. • Benchmark data, daily classroom data, and past test data will be used to determine eligibility.

16. Report Cards and Awards Assemblies • Report Cards go home each 9 weeks • Progress Reports go home at 4 week intervals • Awards Assemblies will be held twice this year – at mid-year and end-of-year. • Recognition Ribbons will be given based on achievement in academic areas, special areas, and behavior. • Distinguished Achievement (All A’s) • Recognized Achievement (A’s and B’s) • Effort (A’s, B’s, and C’s) • Longhorn Leader • Excellence in Conduct Award (All E’s) • Perfect Attendance (No Absences and 3 or less tardies) • Special Area Ribbons

17. 5th Grade Curriculum Language Arts: Students will be learning about different genres of reading. This will include, non fiction (expository), fiction, realistic fiction, fables, folktales, fairytales, advertisements, and poetry. We will also be learning how to comprehend text using skills. Please see First Nine Weeks “Big Ideas” in the Important Documents section online. Social Studies:We will be studying communities, government, maps, geography, and economy and culture in third grade. Social Studies will be interweaved into language arts. Please see First Nine Weeks “Big Ideas” in the Important Documents Section online. Science: We have 6 main units of study in science this year. Each unit will include experiments and project work. The six units include an Introduction to Science, Matter and Energy, Force, Motion and Energy, Patterns in the Sky, The Changing Earth and Life Science. Please see First Nine Weeks “Big Ideas” in the Important Documents Section online. Math: This year we will work on efficient methods for addition and subtraction and use the operation in multistep word problems. We will work to grasp and understanding of multiplication and division as well as continue our understanding of fractions. Geometry will be focused on classifying 3D shapes, finding perimeter and area, and standard measurement. Interpreting a variety of graphs will also be a main focus this year. Please see First Nine Weeks “Big Ideas” in the Important Documents Section online.

18. 3rd Grade Special Areas • STEM – taught by Ms. Felicia Adams • Wellness – taught by Mrs. Rebecca Vore • Multicultural Arts – taught by Mr. Rashid Amrani • Physical Education – taught by Mr. Robert Knipe (Coach K)

19. Website Directions • http://www.utelementary.org/ • Click on Classrooms  3rd Grade Staff Pick a Teacher Important Documents Look at bottom of right side of page. You will see all the important documents. • Click on Classrooms  3rd Grade Staff Pick a Teacher Links  Look at bottom of the right side of page. You will see links.

20. Field Trips (Tentative) • UT Astronomy Lab / Imax – December 4th • WAYA (Date TBD) • McKinney Rough’s Rafting (Date TBD) • Others TBD

21. Join Little Longhorn League! Christie Hay is the President christi.hay@gmail.com • Events will be announced throughout the year. • Thank you for joining the L3 and helping raise money for our school.