Parent Handbook 2025-2026
Mrs. Adamson-Chen’s classroom
Meet the teacher….
ADAMSON-CHEN
Teacher Type: Warm Demander
There are 4 archetypes of teachers; The Nurturer, The Enforcer, The Permissive, and The Warm Demander. Your child will likely experience every type at some point. I am a proud Warm Demander! Knowing and understanding your child’s teacher type will make your time together easier.
To understand this teacher type fully, you should read this short article:
My Personal Goal:
My main goal as your child’s teacher is to teach them to be kind, independent, responsible, problem-solvers who will persevere through challenges with resilience and grit.
These skills will be taught by having a structured, predictable, and organized classroom environment where children are held accountable for meeting expectations, encouraged to take risks, challenge themselves, make mistakes, and accept responsibility over their own learning.
I have high expectations for all my students because I know all children are capable of rising to whatever level we ask them to - We just need to believe in them and encourage them!
Third-Grade Goals
3rd grade is often a very tough transition for many students because…
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Tough Transition
Executive Functioning Skills
In order to be successful in our busy third-grade classroom, your child will need to have strong executive functioning skills. These skills will be taught in the classroom but must also be reinforced in the home to become habitual. Please focus on helping your child build these skills as early as possible!
You can learn how to do this by reading the rest of this article.
WEEKLY SCHEDULE
SPECIALIST SCHEDULE
Week A
M: Vibe & Thrive
T: PE
W: Art
TH: Music
F: Vibe & Thrive
Week B
M: PE
T: Art
W: Music
TH: Vibe & Thrive
F: PE
Week C
M: Art
T: Music
W: Vibe & Thrive
TH: PE
F: Library
Week D
M: Music
T: Vibe & Thrive
W: PE
TH: Library
F: Music
Daily Arrival & Departure
Arrival:
Students should arrive between 9:00-9:10 am - not any earlier because there is no adult supervision, therefore we can’t guarantee their safety. They will wait outside each morning at our exterior classroom door (room 20), located just below the bus loop on the SouthEast side of the building. They’re expected to stand quietly and calmly in a line until the door opens at 9:15. Class begins promptly at 9:20 and anyone who arrives after this time will be marked tardy.
Departure:
School ends at 3:45 M, T, TH, & F and at 2:05 every Wednesday.
In third grade the child is expected to know how they are getting home (bus, walk, car pickup, etc) on their own, the teacher will not be responsible for guiding them in the right direction at the end of the day.
ALL dismissal changes must be sent to wmschedulechange@mercerislandschools.org and you must send in the change before noon or the change will not be honored.
Snack Time
to keep their brains and bodies going.
This is a green classroom-
Please avoid using single use
plastic bags! Send all snacks and
lunches in reusable containers!
Equality vs. Equity
All students will not always get the same things or do the same things. Their individual academic, social, emotional, and behavioral needs will be met.
For example, students might have different worksheets, or some might sit in a group while others will sit alone - whatever they need to be their best self and do their best work.
EQUITY > EQUALITY
Choice Seating
*Why? http://neatoday.org/2016/09/23/ditching-classroom-desks/
Reading Curriculum
10 Units, 3 weeks per unit. Half the units are fiction, half are non-fiction.
Units (themes): Life Science, Character Matters, Government and Citizenship, Perspectives in Literature, Technology and Society, Themes Across Cultures, History Culture and Geography, Earth Science, Economics, and Physical Science.
Week 1: Teacher models new reading skills while students listen and learn
Week 2: Teacher and students work together on the new skills
Week 3: Students practice all the new skills on their own with teacher monitoring and assisting as needed.
Reading lessons are a mix of whole class instruction, small group instruction, and independent reading work.
�� While reading, 3rd graders are expected to be working on these standards:��* Asking and answering questions about the text�* Identifying cause & effects within a text�* Summarizing the main idea & giving 3 supporting details�* Determining the author's point of view�* Comparing & contrasting 2 similar texts or characters (similarities & differences) �* Discussing how illustrations contribute to the story
* Naming various text features and describing how they add to the text�* Defining new words using text context clues and word study skills�* Describing characters traits, feelings, and actions and how their actions affect the story�* Identifying the sequence of events in the text (first… next… then… finally…)
*Summarizing the main events or facts in a text�
3rd grade reading skills:
Skilled Reading Components
K-2
3-5
Writing �
Benchmark Reading Curriculum:
Increased Writing Expectations
There’s a jump in writing expectations from 2nd to 3rd grade - their answers need to be written as complete sentences and proven with evidence.
For example, an acceptable written response to the question: Who is the main character in the story?…
In 2nd grade: “Mary is the main character.”
In 3rd grade: “Mary is the main character. I know this because she appears most often and the narrator focuses on her experiences more than any other character.”
NOTE: For the final writing assignments students will be expected to write 5 paragraph essays!
Skilled Writing Components
Room 20 Math:
I follow the YouCubed by Stanford guidelines for teaching math →
You can learn more about this teaching style by visiting: https://www.youcubed.org
These 4 messages about math will be shared with students this year, please provide the same messages at home: https://www.youcubed.org/resources/four-boosting-messages-jo-students/
Math Expressions
*2nd grade math is mainly a review of 1st grade math. But in 3rd grade, all math, aside from the 1st unit, is brand new! So, be aware that math can feel much more challenging this year.
Math Instruction
I use the CPA Approach
3rd Grade Math Units:
1st unit: Base 10
2nd unit: Multiplication and Division
3rd unit: Multi-step Problems, Area, Graphs
4th unit: Fractions, Length & Line Plots
5th unit: Measure Time, Liquid Volume & Mass
6th unit: Shapes & Perimeter
NOTE: We will not finish every unit before the end of the year!
Their iReady math workbooks will be kept at home and can be worked in as homework for review!
Science & Social Studies
Social Studies (September-November):
*Native American Project completed in class
*Culture Project- 80% of this project will be completed at home!
*Culture Feast during lunch in early Dec.
*Culture Fair in the evening in early Dec.
Science (December-June):
*Field Trip to the Zoo in the spring
Second Step
Social Emotional Learning
Once a week students will get a social emotional learning lesson. The 3rd grade units include; skill for learning, empathy, calming down, test anxiety, solving problems, dealing with bullies, and *child safety.
*This final unit will happen in May-June and during it students will learn about private parts and about how to identify and report unwanted touches and/or unsafe situations. Please let me know if you’d like to preview this unit ahead of time.
Technology Integration
Each student will have their own school iPad that they will use daily.
These do not go home with them in third-grade!
The iPads allows students to be able to have differentiated learning experiences and teaches them the important 21st century skill of using technology.
*All students need to bring a pair of headphones/earbuds that they LEAVE AT SCHOOL to be used daily!!
(Headphones that have a 3.5 mm jack or are Bluetooth work best!)
Digital Classroom Subscriptions
Most of their subscriptions will be accessed through Classlink, which they sign in to using their school Gmail account. Some of the subscriptions they will use frequently include:
Not in Classlink:
Instructions for how students log in to each of these can be found by clicking here.
SeeSaw App
Growth Mindset
Fixed vs. Growth-What is your mindset?
For more information on Mindsets visit: http://mindsetonline.com/
Or watch this brief overview video: https://youtu.be/NWv1VdDeoRY
TALK ABOUT IT:
Talk with your child about their day, but guide the discussion by
asking questions like: �“Did you make a mistake today?” “That’s great! What did you learn from it?”�“What did you do that was difficult today?” “Did you persevere through it?
That’s wonderful!” �
PRAISE THE PROCESS. Instead of saying, “You’re so smart!” praise them for working hard, analyzing mistakes, setting goals, and persisting through challenges. You can say something like: “Wow, this is good! I can tell you must have worked really hard”
ENCOURAGE FAILURE (say what?!)
Your child needs to know that failure can, and will, happen, and it’s okay! Remind them that each time they fail and try again, their brain is growing stronger! Don’t step in to prevent your child’s failure – this is how they learn to persevere in the face of challenges.
REMIND THEM THE BRAIN CAN GROW!
Remind your child that their intelligence is not fixed. Remind them that when things are difficult, the brain grows if you persist through the challenge. Each time they learn something new, the brain is making new connections. Your child needs to know this is possible!
HELP THEM CHANGE THEIR DIALOGUE!
The way your child talks to themselves makes a huge impact on their mindset. If they say, “I can’t do this!” help them change that to, “I can’t do this yet.” The power of “YET” is amazing! Make sure you are modeling this yourself!
Growth Mindset Quotes:
Addressing Growth Mindset Misconceptions...
Graded work & Friday Testing
Not all work students do in class will be graded for accuracy. Most assignments/worksheets are given to students immediately after a lesson as a way for them to practice and store the new skill/knowledge - it’s does not show if they have truly learned the concept. If I were to grade these assignments for accuracy I would be evaluating their short term memory, not their long term memory. Instead, students will receive a stamp on their work if they completed it and did high quality work.
Every Friday they will have tests on each of the lessons from the week and these tests are what are graded.
Why? To truly learn something we need to go through all 3 stages of learning (Figure 1.1) Additionally, people remember things better when they have to teach it to another person (Learning Pyramid) so when when your child reviews and explains their worksheet(s) with an adult,, they are doing this.
Encoding: Teacher Lesson
Storage: Practicing independently with an assignment or worksheet
Retrieval: Reviewing their classwork at home
Homework
The required homework in 3rd grade is for students to finish any work that wasn’t finished in the classroom. Students will have a folder in their backpack labeled “UNFINISHED WORK” You must check this folder every day and if your child has work in there, it must be completed and returned the following day. Students who have not return ALL their weekly work will not earn any free time on Friday. Instead, they will spend this time redoing all the work they didn’t return.
Additionally, students will have a weekly Reading Log and will be expected to read at least 20 minutes Monday-Friday.
There are no excuses or exceptions for missing homework!
(aside from severe illnesses or family emergencies)
*If you want additional homework for your child, please utilize our digital subscriptions by signing into ClassLink and having them do digital work (click here for instructions) and/or have them do pages in their iReady math workbook they will be kept at home.
Grading & Progress Reports
You will get a Progress Report at the end of each trimester this year. The scores displayed are based on how your child does on the weekly assessment given each Friday. Your child is graded on a scale of 1-4 academically and their SEL and executive functioning is graded on a scale of R-C
Absences
It’s very important for your child’s success that they miss as little school as possible! It’s nearly impossible to recreate most of the lessons & learning experiences that happen in the classroom - trying to reteach missed content is not an adequate option and completing missed worksheets at home does not replace the in-class lessons & activities your child misses when absent. Additionally we do many partner & group assignments and your child’s absence could damage their partners success.
Please try to schedule your child’s appointments before or after school (Wednesday afternoons are great for this!), and all your vacations during the scheduled school breaks (you can find the school calendar here). Save absences for severe illnesses! Below you can see a screenshot from the district handbook outlining the policy on vacations:
Absence impacts:
Example Lesson Plans
Here’s an example of a 3-day lesson plan. As you can see, a student who misses even just one day is going to have a hard time trying to catch up on all the information they missed learning and all the work they missed doing.
This doesn’t even include all subjects!
Now, imagine if they missed all 3 days!
Birthday Celebrations
If your child would like to celebrate their birthday in class, we can have a birthday party for them during our Friday freetime on the Friday closest to their birthday. We will sing to them and you can send them to school with goodie bags for ALL students to enjoy. Small toys or trinkets are preferred, but the goodie bags can also have something edible*. Please send me an email if this is something you and/or your child would like to do, otherwise we won’t do anything in class.
*No foods containing peanuts or tree nuts!
Note: Summer birthdays can be celebrated during the last week of school if requested.
Parent/Teacher Communication
Part of the Family
Additionally, you can expect to receive a lot of tips and suggestions from me on ways to help your child improve their academics when at home - we’re a team and children are always the most successful if they get the same messages and support at school and at home!
Volunteering
No other volunteer
work will be needed!
Music
With Ms. Kurtenbach
Concepts, skills and elements that are learned and applied in Music:
Behavior Grading
Students will receive a grade for participation, effort, and positive contribution.
Participation rubric:
C - Consistently observed
G - Generally observed
N - Needs prompting
R - Rarely observed
Academic Grading
Students will be assessed on knowledge and skills taught throughout the year.
Academic rubric:
4 - Exceeds standard
3.5 - Above standard
3 - Meets standard
2.5 - Almost meets standard
2 - Progressing to standard
1 - Below standard
NA - Not assessed
WEST MERCER
TALENT SHOW!
February 6, 2026
For ALL West Mercer Students!
Showcase your talent!
Rehearsals:
We we have a few rehearsals to give feedback to students. Participants must attend two rehearsals in January (TBD)
More information to come!
Welcome t0 PE!
Mr. Alin
A little about me….
What to expect!
Fun
Exercise
Skills
Sportsmanship
Cooperation
Games
Practice makes better
Wins and Losses
What I expect!
Be Safe
Be Respectful
Be Responsible
Try your best
Positive attitude
Try new things
Wear proper clothing
Have fun
Help Others
Thank you to the Mercer Island Schools Foundation!
Thank you to the West Mercer PTSA!