Dear Parents,  

 

         Welcome to Hephatha’s third grade.  My name is Mrs. Robyne Kajszo and I will be your child’s teacher this year.  I have been in the teaching profession, at the elementary level, for over 30 years and at Hephatha since 2009. I absolutely love working with children and am thrilled to be at Hephatha. I want the third grade year to be a positive and nurturing experience. 

         Your child’s spiritual and academic progress is important.  By choosing Hephatha as your family’s learning institution, you are making the statement that a Christian education is important to you.  It is my goal to create a positive and caring learning atmosphere in a Christian setting where your child can come to enjoy and participate in the learning process.  I will provide a positive environment in which your child can build an upright character.  I look forward to a wonderful year with your child, and my prayer is that God will bless us throughout the year.

         To contact me, you may call the school office during office hours, or e-mail me up to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at rkajszo@Hephatha.net. During the school day I am tied up with the class and not free to check emails. If it is vital that you get a message to me, go through the office. I welcome your questions and concerns and I will return your call or e-mail within 24 hours whenever possible.                               

 

 Mrs. Robyne Kajszo 

 

Third Grade Information

Routine Procedures

 

A morning routine is very important to the beginning of a productive day. You may drop off your child outside the class. Classroom doors open at 8:10. They should place their lunch on the lunch cart and hang their backpack a hook outside our room.  Upon entering the classroom, your child should hand in assignments, sharpen pencils, and be in their seats working on their morning assignment by 8:20. Resist the temptation to come into the classroom with them. 

Schedules

     •     Students should not arrive on campus before 8:10. Classroom doors open at 8:10. Class begins at 8:20.

•     If you arrive after 8:20, get a tardy slip in the office before coming to class.  In grades K-5th, children lose a recess upon receiving their 7th tardy.  

•    The school day ends at 3:00. Third graders are dismissed from class to a parent, sibling, your designee, or signed into daycare if not picked up from the classroom by 3:15.  If your child is to be released to someone not on your emergency card, I must have written authorization. Note: an older sibling may pick up their brother or sister and walk them to them out to you. 

•    If a student needs an early dismissal or needs to leave in the middle of the day, please call the office to make arrangements and they will contact me.  Any missed work will be expected the following day.  

•    Report any absences through the Hephatha app.

•    If you have a planned absence and would like classwork for the time you’ll be gone, contact me 2 weeks in advance.

For more detailed information, refer to the K-8th Family Handbook located in Hephatha's website. 

Illness

Please use Hephatha’s app if your child will not be in class. I ask that you do not send your child to school if they are sick; they are not at their optimum for learning when not feeling well. It is so easy to prevent the spread of germs and disease by limiting exposure to others. If your child has a fever, do not medicate for the fever, and then send them to school. Not only do they not feel well and have a difficult time getting their classwork done, but now the class has also been exposed. Often mid-morning the fever returns and they are sent home. Students should remain home until they are fever free for 24 hours and have not vomited within that time (Per Family Handbook). 

CDC guidelines: “In most situations, any student who develops new, unexplained symptoms should not return to campus until it is clear that symptoms are mild and improving or are due to a non-infectious cause (e.g., allergies). This includes waiting until 24 hours have passed since resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications."  

Homework   

  1.  Any class work not completed during the school day is considered homework.  This work should be returned                the next school day.  

        2. Also, each week spelling words, vocabulary words, and memory work is assigned for homework. It is emailed home in my Weekly Message. Parents print out this homework for their child to use each week. This homework will not be written in the planner. Unless otherwise stated, there is a spelling, vocab, and memory test given every Friday and the homework is due Friday morning.  Weekly spelling, memory, and vocab homework is not written in the planner.

            It is not my intention for third graders to be overwhelmed with homework. This is the reason I send the weekly homework assignments out early in the week and do not have them due until Friday morning.  If you know you have a busy week ahead, you can plan accordingly and still have your child show responsibility with their assignments.

             The Memory work which is assigned each week includes Bible verses that coincide with   

    their Religion lessons. There are generally two verses each week. We will also learn the

    Apostles Creed, the Ten Commandments, and in the third trimester we will learn the books of

    the Bible.  Please take time each week to practice the spelling, memory, and vocab with your

    child. 


Homework Expectations

   
Parents:

                o   Establish homework as a top priority

        o   Provide a quiet setting and positive support  

        o   Establish a routine

        o   Monitor their progress     

        o   Do not let your child excuse themselves from their homework

        o   Sports is not an acceptable excuse for not completing homework  

        o   Contact the teacher if your child experiences difficulty in completing homework assignments 

 


Students: 

        o Classroom homework assignments are written in the planner each day.   

        o   Homework is completed neatly

        o   Homework is completed on time

        o Homework is completed by the student  

               o  Students are responsible for making up any missed assignments 

 

Folders/ Papers Sent Home
     Each day your child is responsible for bringing home their planner and any unfinished classwork/ homework they may have.
     On Monday, all of the students papers are taken out of their mailboxes and placed into their Homework Folder. Corrected papers, work that needs to be redone, notices, and miscellaneous correspondence are sent home every Monday. In order to be aware of your child’s progress in class, it is important for you to look through the papers that are sent home. If any papers in the folder are marked “Correct”, please assist your child in making the corrections and send the papers back the next day. Parents should ask their child before removing work from the folder. Sometimes students place  unfinished work or work in progress in the folder and parents have removed it or thrown it away…yikes! 
 

Planner
     Your child will be using a planner this year. They will be passed out after Back to School Night. Students are responsible for recording their daily classwork in their planner and crossing out assignments as they are completed. The planner is designed to provide communication between the school and home. Parents, PLEASE check your child’s planner each day and sign it after the assignments have been completed.  A parent’s signature is required each day to confirm completion of your child’s homework. 

 

   I recommend using a binder clip as a place holder. 

   Grading

In grade three it is very important to focus on the potential a child has and the improvement the child can make during the school year.  An emphasis is placed on responsibility; responsibility taken on by the child for their own education, for being sure they have the necessary supplies each day at school, and responsibility for completing their assignments. It is a year for growth, learning, and establishing conscientious study habits. It is a time to learn from their mistakes in a safe environment

Chapel Offerings

         Chapel is every Wednesday. Offerings are collected before we go to chapel and put in our class offering bag. Please remind your child to bring their offering as a thank you to Jesus for all His blessings. Offering collection boxes will be coming home so students can save their money and bring it in for their offering. Collection boxes are emptied into the class offering bag. Then the boxes are returned home. 

 

Chapel Uniforms

      Both boys and girls must wear the chapel uniforms: 

                 •   White button-down shirts- Shirts must be tucked in for all students on Chapel days.

                 •  Ties for boys are optional

                 •  Plaid skirt or skort for girls 

   •  Pants or shorts for boys

   •  White or black socks

   •   Chapel sweater

   •   3rd-8th  grade boys, belts are mandatory

   •   K-2, belts are optional

   •  No free dress passes may be used on chapel days   

Hoodies must be plain and should not have any logos or designs. They must be school colors (red, white, black) or gray.

 Label clothing, especially jackets and sweaters. 

See the Hephatha Family Handbook for the entire dress code.

 

Birthdays

     Your child may bring a birthday treat for each student in the class. Each They will be passed out during recess. Keep in mind any student allergies. Please contact me prior to the birthday so I can plan accordingly. (Also, please send napkins along with the treat.) Bringing lunches for the entire class is no longer allowed.

***If your child is inviting the ENTIRE class, or all boys or all girls to their birthday party, invitations may be distributed at school.  If not, make other arrangements.

 

VIP

 

•    Each child will be assigned one week in which they will be the Very Important Person.  This is a program designed to let your child shine. You will receive a 2 page reminder before your child’s V.I.P. date.  The front page is a brief overview and the back page is for you to complete. You get to write about why your child is special to you. This letter will be read to the class. 

•    On Monday the V.I.P. brings in photos of themselves and their family, friends, and pets to display on the V.I.P. board. On the last day of that week they share their pictures. They may also bring in awards/trophies they are proud of, and your letter. AND they bring in a Guesstimation. 

•    We practice our estimating skills with the Guesstimation. Fill a container with items such as marshmallows, M&Ms, paper clips, marbles, (get the idea?) and seal the container.  Your child should count the number of items and KEEP IT A SECRET. Convey the number to me.

•     During the week each classmate fills out a Guesstimation slip. On the last day of the week, the V.I.P.  determines the 1 or 2 closest guesses. They are the winner(s). 

•    You provide a small “prize(s)” for the winner(s). It can be the contents of the Guesstimation jar, a small toy, candy bar, $5 gift card, etc. If you choose to have 2 winners, send a prize for a boy and a prize for a girl, or for the 2 closest guesses.

Example: one year a child bought an inexpensive gumball machine. The students guessed the number of gumballs inside of it and the winner won the entire thing. (Or the gumballs, your choice).  The winner shared the gumballs with the class and took the rest home.

Discipline 

      Classroom rules:

1.  Sit Quietly

2.  Listen when the teacher is talking.   

3.  Follow directions quickly. 

4.  Respect others, yourself, and your school. 

5.  Raise your hand to speak or stand.

Rewards

•       Praise/Hephatha Hooray/HLS ticket

•     Positive notes, calls or e-mails home

•     Treasure Chest prizes

•      Positive recognition in class

Consequences

Warning-name on my list

                                              ü- written explanation of the rule that was broken

       üü-10 minutes off recess

                               üüü-call or email home 

Parent Volunteer Hours

     There are opportunities to earn PVP hours by prepping projects or purchasing items for the class. You can contribute items we need for projects, contribute to the class TPT account, or purchase items from our class "Wishlist". The links are below under Classroom Donations and they are on my class website under Wish List. 

Fifty parent volunteer hours are required each year. Families can donate $10/hour.

 

Classroom Donations

Donations for our class are always appreciated. You can make donations by purchasing items from the Amazon Wishlist for Mrs. Kajszo's Class:  https://tinyurl.com/5yjs23tv

or

Donate to our Class TPT Account account. Here is the link:  https://tinyurl.com/5fj5797e

or

We appreciate donations of the following items:

·       Snacks/water for emergencies, or when someone forgets their snack

·       Ziplocks-all sizes 

·       Prizes for the Treasure Chest-check dollar stores, etc.

·       Art supplies-tissue paper, yarn, ribbons, cotton balls, jiggly eyes, buttons, etc.

Disaster Contact

In the event of a major disaster, local cell service can be spotty or non-existent, and it is recommended that a common contact number be established. Our common contact to call or text for information in the event of a disaster is our sister school, Shepherd of the Desert in Arizona.

Their contact number is 480 860-1188 ext. 200.