Welcome to Third Grad

October 3, 2024

Hello Families,

Reminders- There will be no school on Friday October 11th due to a teacher’s professional development day. Please enjoy your long weekend.

Upcoming Events We will be going to Felix Neck on October 21st. We will be learning about pond life. Winter boots or rubber boots will be great clothing items to wear on that day.

What we are learning- In Math we have been working on finding the difference (subtracting 2 digit and 3 digit numbers). We have been using a total- part/part strategy to determine the answer.

What we are learning – In Language Arts we are on Week 2 of our Solving Problems Unit. We have been focusing on how we can learn from others.

What we are learning- In Writing we are working on personal narratives, which are true stories about ourself. We are trying to be very detailed in our writing, which gives our reader a clear picture of our story.

We have been asked to have the kids names put on their lunch boxes, coats and water bottles. Once an item is lost it goes to our lost and found. Without names we have no way or returning the item to the owner.

Have a great weekend. Pam

September 26, 2024

Hello Families,

We have had a wonderful first few weeks of school. I have really enjoyed seeing some of my old kindergarten friends from a few years ago as well as my new 3rd grade friends. Our focus over the past few weeks has been going over classroom procedures, usage of materials, learning our schedule and meeting new staff members. We also have been assessing your children’s skills in the area of math, reading and writing. We will use this information to direct our teaching. All lessons are designed to meet each child where they are at.

We have introduced our Magnetic Reading Program our Tang Math Program and our Lucy Caulkins’ UP The Ladder Writing Program to the kids. The kids seem really excited to work on each of these programs. All of the programs involve small group, large group and individual practice components. During parent conferences in a few weeks I will walk you through these programs so that you have sense of what are lessons look like each day. Our conferences will last about 20 minutes each.

I will be scheduling field trips to the Martha’s Vineyard Museum as well as in class speakers from the Museum, over the next few weeks. We will be learning about Native Americans and the Pilgrims passage to Plymouth and the Puritan’s visit to the area 10 Years later.

I will be updating this website each Thursday afternoon. I will include what we have learned, what we are about to learn, new things that our happening in our class, projects that we are working on and in general the fun and cool stuff that Mrs. Hurley’s class does each day.

Please know that you can contact me by email at phurley@mvyps.org. I check my email multiple times a day. My last check of my email is around 2:20 each afternoon.

I look forward to working with you and your child this year. Pam Hurley

---

August 2024

I can’t wait to meet each of you. I want to learn about things that you are interested in and things you want to learn more about. We will be a class team. We will begin the year with lots of fun activities that will help us get to know each other.

Here is a little information about me. I have 11 brothers and sisters. I grew up in Cambridge MA, which is a city right next to Boston. I live in Edgartown with my husband Mike and my two children Colin and Rita. We have 2 pet guinea pigs named Lilly and Smores.

Ms. Linda Wanamaker will be my assistant this year. This will be our fourth year working together. She loves to read stories and she is passionate about horses.

I want to say welcome to the second floor of our school. I know you are going to love it.

The supplies you will need this year will be 1 pencil box (you’re welcome to use ones from previous years), 1 package of black dry erase markers thick ones called chisel tip I believe and 2 packages of 12 colored pencils. I have everything else you need. You do not need to have these supplies by the first day of school, any time during September works.

The best way to reach me is through my email at phurley@mvyps.org. I check my email often and I also check it at 2:00 p.m. each day to see if there’s any changes to the kid’s dismissal plans.

Can you please email me to let me know what your child’s plans are for coming and going to school each day. You can reach me at phurley@mvyps.org

Can you also let me know if I have your permission to include your email address in a full class email list. This will allow me to contact you all with updates about our class.

Our specialist schedule is as follows

Monday- Health Tuesday-Music and Technology Wednesday- Gardening and Gym (sneakers needs for both of these lessons) Thursday- Art and Gym

Friday- Library

Snack- Please send a snack and water bottle with your child each day. Fruit is always available if you would prefer your child to have that from the cafeteria each day. It is helpful when the kids water bottles are not super large.

Over the next few weeks, I will be sending you more information about this school year. For now, continue to enjoy the rest of your summer. Mrs. Hurley and Ms. Wanamaker

phurley@mvyps.org