I am so excited about this school year! I hope we can work together as a team to make sure that your child has a successful third grade year. If you ever have any concerns or questions, please contact me. dsims@ptisd.org

School begins at 8:05. Please make sure your child is on time each day. Tardiness not only interrupts the class, but also wastes valuable instruction time.

Please send a note to school anytime your child is absent. If you would like to pick up missed work for your child to work on at home, please notify the office before lunch. I will place your child's work in a folder and leave it with the secretary.

If your child needs to be picked up early, please send a note ahead of time. All students must be signed out through the office. This is for your child's protection. Your child will be notified by the office staff, and will meet you in the office, not at the classroom door.

All medications may only be administered by our school nurse. Please contact her if your child needs to take any medications during school hours. If your child has a health concern, please plan to visit with the nurse so that she can better meet the needs of your child.

Please make sure your child knows how he/she is getting home each day. If your child's afternoon transportation changes, please send a note so that I can help your child remember what to do at the end of the day. Notify the office of any last minute changes, and they will forward the message to me.

Your child will bring home a "Take-Home Folder" Monday through Thursday of each week. It will include an assignment sheet, which needs to be initialed each day by a parent/guardian. It will also contain a monthly calendar and a schedule. Please do not remove any of these items from the folder, for they might be referred to in class. Please check this folder each night for homework/assignments and important notes.

Your child will bring home a "Conduct Folder" on Fridays. It needs to be signed by a parent/guardian, and returned to school on Monday. This folder keeps you updated on your child's weekly conduct/behavior. Each child starts off each six weeks with a "100" conduct grade. Each time your child breaks a rule (warnings are given), he/she will receive a "hole punch" on his/her weekly "goal card". A point is subtracted from your child's conduct grade for each hole punch. This card will be stapled to the front of the Conduct Folder each week.

Birthdays are special and birthday treats are lots of fun! If you would like to furnish birthday treats for your child's birthday, please do! According to the state nutrition policy, we are allowed to serve birthday treats after lunch.

If your child does not bring a lunch from home, please make sure that he/she has money or credit in the lunchroom. You may pay for lunch credits in the morning or during our lunch time. You may also add money to your child's account online at www.ptisd.org.

Parents are welcomed to eat lunch with their children. If you choose to do so, please meet your child at the cafeteria door at our lunch time. Refer to your child's schedule (in his/her Take-Home Folder) for our lunch time.

Please refer to your child's monthly calendar for P.E. days, so that he/she can come to school prepared with "athletic" shoes. Sandals and flip-flops are not appropriate for P.E. activities. If your child is injured, and does not need to participate in P.E., please send a note addressed to the P.E. teacher.

The goal of the A.R. program is to motivate students to enjoy reading, increase comprehension/fluency, and increase ability to become independent, self-directed readers and learners. Accelerated Reader is used in connection with quality reading lessons. It is a part of our reading curriculum, but NOT represented in the gradebook in any way. It is in our campus plan that students are to be given a point goal each six weeks. Students who meet this goal will be rewarded. Students who meet their goals all six weeks, with an average percent correct of 80% or higher, will get to go on a fun field trip with the librarian. Please help your child accomplish this goal. Parents are encouraged to read to and with their children. Reading aloud with your child offers a perfect model for what a fluent reader should sound like.

Students who have received three or fewer "hole punches" for the week will enjoy a special treat on Friday. All parents will be assigned a Friday or two throughout the school year to send "state-approved" Fun Friday treats. Please check your child's Take-Home Folder to see if it is your turn. Please encourage good behavior at school, so that your child can enjoy this special treat each week.

I will collect pictures and various certificates throughout the school year for each child. At the end of the year, I will bind them together as a Memory Book for your child to keep. If you attend any of our classroom parties/events, and happen to take any cute pictures, I would love copies. Parents can also help out with Memory Books by donating bright-colored copy paper. It takes a lot of colored paper to put together 20 or more Memory Books. Thank you so much!

This is going to be a super year! I want your child to LOVE third grade, and enjoy coming to school each day! Once again, I know that we can work together as a team to make sure that your child has a successful school year!

Dana Sims