My name is Michelle McEnerney and I am delighted to continue teaching here at St. James School! This will be my second school year here at St. James after completing student teaching in the spring of 2015 school year in this exact classroom! Between student teaching and the 2017-2018 school year, I was a teaching assistant at a therapeutic day school for students with Autism.  While working with students on the autism spectrum, I gained great knowledge and insight on student learning and each individuals learning.  I am grateful for all of my experiences as they have led me to this amazing classroom!

As a lifelong learner myself, I attended DePaul University in Chicago.  I received my Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education with a Social Sciences endorsement.  At my time at DePaul, I also minored in Business Administration. My involvement at DePaul also guided me to lead a Microfinance brigade to Honduras three times! Each time, I was president of the education committee where I taught children the importance of savings and finance.  I feel that education is a lifelong journey for everyone and hope to instill this value in my students.  

I would also like to tell you a bit about myself.  I currently reside in Arlington Heights, where I have lived my entire life.  I got married this past July 28th to my husband, Bill!  We have a puppy named Sloane who is an Australian Shepard mix. A few interesting things about me are….

• I love to travel! Croatia has been my favorite place so far.
• My favorite hobby is spending time with my family and working out, keeping an active & healthy lifestyle. 
• I am a triplet!  I have two brothers who live out of the area so when I see them, I am grateful for my time with them.  

I am looking forward to getting to know your child and watching them grow over the course of the school year.  It will be an exciting year full of hands-on and engaging activities! Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have at any time.  

Monday, January 14th

Tuesday, January 15th

Wednesday, January 16th

Thursday, January 17th

Session 15 Religion Quiz

Friday, January 18th

Unit 14 Spelling Test

Midterm 

Reading: read 20

Math: myHW 343-344

English: none

Spelling: 5 detailed sentences-write last sentence in cursive

Science: exit slip

Social Studies: none

Religion: online religion extra credit game

Third graders are expected to read at least 20 minutes daily. This can be independently, with a parent/family member, on audio book, etc. When a reading log is assigned, please help your child to fill out the worksheet. Students turn these in on Monday mornings and at that time, will receive a new reading log for the week. 


The students will be completing Simple Solutions lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays while we will utilize Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for Rocket Math. Incomplete Simple Solutions lessons from morning work and math class will go home as homework. I kindly ask that you help your child and remind them that practicing fact fluency is a daily assignment– even if it is orally practicing a few problems in the car while driving to soccer practice. In third grade we begin with two addition and subtraction Rocket Math rounds in order to review those skills. Once individual goals have been reached, students will move onto multiplication rounds.

If you are looking for ways to practice fact fluency, I recommend the following strategies:

• Rocket Math app
• Math Cards app
• Oral practice
• Flash cards
• IXL or Xtra Math
• Use of old Rocket Math worksheets (will be sent home weekly)

Handwriting:
In third grade, we continue to build on handwriting/cursive skills that were developed in second grade. A page of handwriting is a part of daily morning work. As this is such a crucial skill in third grade, students will be required to take this assignment home for homework if it is not completed in the morning or during the day. We will gradually integrate our handwriting/cursive skills into our work come winter.

Religion:
When religion quizzes are approaching, students are encouraged to access the “Finding God” website and complete the given “Interactive Game”. I offer all students who complete these games during quiz week an extra credit point on the open-book assessment. If completing the game, please be sure that my email is entered so that I can receive confirmation of completion. Should you ever experience issues with email input, please feel free to send me an email, note, or screenshot of the activity.

***Please be sure to check your child’s assignment notebook daily. They will write down their homework assignments each morning upon arrival.