Dear Parents,

We are delighted to have your child in our class! This year, we hope that your child feels
supported, challenged, excited about learning, comfortable taking risks, loved, and like he/she belongs. We
can’t wait to build relationships with the students in the room and help them form new friendships,
strengthen existing ones, and take on leadership opportunities that fit their personal strengths and goals.
This school year, we are not transitioning to different rooms and working with different teachers as we
have in the past.We are looking forward to building a relationship with your child and seeing them as
mathematicians, writers, readers, historians, and scientists! Third grade is a special year, and we are excited
that we get to be a part of it for this special group of kids.

Kadijah Arnold​: I grew up in Athens and continued my education at Kennesaw State University, Bagwell
College Education. I am currently working to earn my Masters in Educational Psychology at the
University of Georgia. I love to explore things outdoors, playing sports, and anything art related. This is my
third year teaching third grade at Barrow. I truly enjoy this age as it is a special transition from lower
elementary to upper elementary. Students grow in so many amazing ways and I can’t wait to help them
explore and learn!

Caiti Quiza:​ While I grew up in Marietta, I was a Double Dawg, earning both my Bachelor’s and Master’s
from the University of Georgia and I’ve lived in Athens for about 8 years now. I love being in Athens and
enjoy trying all the different local restaurants and coffee shops. I also love Saturdays in Athens cheering on
the Dawgs and spending my weekends in the mountains the rest of the year. This is also my 3rd year at
Barrow and I’ve been fortunate to work with a wide variety of students throughout my time here. This
year, I’m very excited to spend the year in 3rd grade, watching your children grow and learn!

 
It is so important to keep the lines of communication open between parents and teachers. If you have
questions or concerns about our classroom, or need to communicate with us in any way, we are available
to talk each day. If you send an email during the day, know that we will not get it until 3:00 because
our first priority during school is your child’s instructional needs. As we start the year, we can talk about
the communication method that works best for you. Please don’t hesitate to contact Kadijah at:
706-621-9135 or ​arnoldkad@clarke.k12.ga.us​ and Caiti at 678-699-8510 or ​quizac@clarke.k12.ga.us​.

We look forward to being a team with you and your child this school year!

Sincerely,

Kadijah Arnold and Caiti Quiza  

 
 
 Ms. Arnold’s and Ms. Caiti’s Class 2019-2020 
Welcome to 3rd Grade!
 

Schedule:
7:20 - 7:40 Arrival/Breakfast
7:50 - 8:10 Morning Meeting (Character Development)
8:10 - 9:10 Math
9:10 - 10:10 Writing (*Snack)
10:10 - 10:45 ELT
10:45 - 11:15 Recess
11:15 - 11:45 Lunch
11:55 - 12:40 Social Studies/Science
12:40 - 1:45 Reading
1:45-2:30 Specials
2:35 Dismissal

Snacks:
● Please remember: CCSD policy states that any snacks or food brought by students should
be ​healthy​.
■ Ideas for Healthy Snacks:
● Food:​ ​Fresh seasonal fruit (grapes, watermelon, bananas, etc), Applesauce cups (no
sugar added), Fresh raw vegetables (carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower) with low
fat dip (ranch dressing, peanut butter*), Dried fruit mix (add nuts* for protein),
Raisins, Yogurt*, Granola/dry cereal (with fiber), Baked Chips, Crackers & Cheese
(or Peanut Butter), Pretzels (try honey wheat!), Trail Mix (pretzels, peanuts*,
raisins, Cheerios), Half a Bagel with Low Fat Cream Cheese* or Peanut Butter*,
Graham Crackers/Animal Crackers, Fig Newtons, Low Fat Mini Muffins, String
Cheese*, Low Fat Pudding Cup
● Beverages:​ Milk* (non fat, low fat, plain, flavored), Fruit and/or Vegetable Juice
with at least 50% Real Juice, Fruit and/or Yogurt Smoothie*, Water (No Sugar
Added for Flavored Varieties)
○ *​ indicates items containing protein
Homework:
● 3rd graders will be expected to practice at home for at least 30 minutes every night.
● Students will not be regularly given printed homework assignments. Their homework will be
on the computer. Once they receive their computers, they will have accounts for 2
different learning websites for homework.
○ Reading Log: ​Students are expected to read every day. Each day that they read,
they are to fill out their weekly reading log to be turned in at the end of the
week.. Parents, please initial your child’s reading log to signify that they have
completed their reading for the week.
○ Math Workbook: ​Workbook pages will be assigned each week and will be noted in
the Weekly Home to School Connection (please see example in communication
section)
○ Study Guides:​ To prepare for upcoming tests, optional study guides may be sent
home for students to complete.

○ Make Up Work: ​There may be times when students need to redo work to improve
grades and complete incomplete work (due to being absent).

Computers:
● During the first week of school, students will receive personal laptops. They will use their
devices every day at school.
○ Students will read and sign a computer contract accepting the responsibilities of
having a computer.
Parent Volunteers:
● If you would like to volunteer, please write your name and email address on the volunteer
form and I will send you more information!

Celebrations:
● We do not have classroom “parties” for birthdays or other holidays. This is a schoolwide
policy. We ask that you ​do not​ bring in cupcakes, candy, goody bags, balloons, stuffed
animals, flowers, etc. for birthday or other holiday celebrations.
○ This does not mean that you are discouraged from celebrating with your child on
his or her birthday. Contact me and we can arrange a celebration that fits in with
our schedule, such as reading a book to the class or having lunch with your child.
● There may be times that we will have a classroom celebration. If this happens, I will
contact you and let you know of any items that are needed.
Communication:
● Any important forms, flyers, or other information will be sent home every Monday in your
child’s “Monday Folder”. It is very important that you check these folders and send them
back to school on Tuesday.
● If you haven’t already, please register for a parent account on ClassDojo! ClassDojo is a
free program used for behavior management and classroom updates. There’s an app that
you can download on your phone so you can always stay connected to what’s going on in
room 203!
● I will send a weekly newsletter with homework assignments, calendar reminders, and
curriculum updates depending on your preferred method of communication (email, ClassDojo,
hard copy, etc.). The newsletter will also be in the Announcements Tab on the class
website (http://www.thesharpbunch.weebly.com)
○ Below is a ​sample ​of the weekly newsletter:

 
3rd Grade Weekly Home to School Connection 
Week of August 5th-9th
 

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

8/5 8/6 8/7 8/8 8/9
Homework 
Enjoy your
Brown Bag Autobiography!
weekend!
 

Curriculum Highlights:​ ​What are we learning this week?

Character 
Math  Reading  Writing  Social Studies 
Development 
The Importance of
Math Mindset, Setting Up Introducing
Skills for Learning Kindness and Working
Data & Measurement Writing Workshop Connecting Themes
Together as a Class

Calendar Reminders:​ ​What’s going on this week?

Monday  Tuesday  Wednesday  Thursday  Friday 
8/5  8/6  8/7  8/8  8/9 

First Day of School! Bring In Brown Bag We get our

Autobiography Computers!