A Great First Week!!

Parents,
We had a great first three days of third grade! We have been learning classroom procedures and we have been getting to know our classmates, too. What a wonderful group of learners! Remember that we do not have school tomorrow (Friday) or on Monday. We will be back on Tuesday, September 4!

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We have started learning about Growth Mindset. Our third graders will be learning more about this and will be using it as they learn throughout the year. We learned that our brain is like a muscle that grows stronger when we work hard and face challenges. Our mindset and attitude impacts the way we learn new things. Our mantra this month is EVERYONE CAN LEARN! The has been a great reminder for our class for when something is hard to do.

We discussed the difference between a Fixed Mindset and a Growth Mindset.
For example, with a Fixed Mindset, we say “I can’t do it”, but when we have a Growth Mindset, our thought is changed to “I can do it if I practice and try my best”.

Our class talked about how it is okay to feel upset, angry, or frustrated about learning new things, but when we feel that way, we need to use strategies to help us calm down and change our mindset.
We have been learning strategies such as movement breaks or calming breaths throughout our day that help us focus on our learning and be ready to take on challenges in a positive way.
Please take a look in your child’s daily folder. You will see a green paper that gives you more information about Growth Mindset and ways that you can encourage this at home with your child. I look forward to encouraging our students as learners this year!

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Puzzle Piece Homework:  Each student in our class is special and unique and together we make a great team! Each student is part of the puzzle that is our class. On Tuesday, we read a book called The Crayon Box That Talked. This reminded us that each one of us is a special part of our classroom community. Students were sent home with a puzzle piece homework assignment today. Please read this over with your third grader. This should be brought back to school by next Friday, September 7. I think I forgot to tell the due date to the class!

Thank you and have a great weekend!!

Ms Van Arkel   🙂