Dear Students and Parents,

Welcome to third grade! My name is Loretta Young I am so thrilled that you are in my class this year.  I hope that you are as excited as I am about this year.  I promise you -  we are going to have so many opportunities to grow and learn and be silly.  And laugh! A lot!  I can't wait to meet you and begin building our classroom community where everyone feels safe, happy and supported and we will work diligently and consistently to be where we need to be by the end of 3rd grade and soar as learners.

Let me  tell you a little bit about myself.  I live in Doylestown. I went to Widener University and LaSalle University where I received my master's degree in elementary and special education. My husband is also a teacher. He teaches history at LaSalle College High School. I have three amazing children: Maggie my oldest, went to University of Pittsburgh and is a writer. She works in Communications at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.   Jack recently graduated from Temple University where he studies Psychology.  This summer he was out West working for a company called Wilderness Adventures. What an experience he had. My youngest, Aidan, just graduated from Central Bucks West and is headed to University of Vermont to study Environmental Design.. We also have a sweet cat named Angel.

Some of my hobbies include reading, yoga and barre, playing tennis and swimming. I love to walk, especially at Peace Valley Park and Central Park here in Doylestown, and I enjoy seeing shows.  Sunrises and sunsets are my favorite. This summer I also traveled out West as I celebrated my 25th anniversary with my husband.  We visited Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, Napa Valley and San Francisco. It was fabulous!  We also managed to spend a few days in Ocean City and some day trips. I also taught at Summer Academy.

What have you been doing this summer?  I cannot wait to hear! Please bring a picture or a small object that tells something about what you did this summer on the first day (for example: a shell, a baseball, a photo)

This year will be a fun one for us.  We will begin the year by getting to know each other. You will learn the third grade routines and your responsibilities for this year.  Each day will begin with Morning Meeting.  We will start off with some scavenger hunts and games and making some flipgrids if you are comfortable! Third grade is such an awesome year. We will study Weather, forces and magnetism in Science, Communities and Government, and Immigration in Social Studies.  We will read a lot of chapter books and learn to really think about what we are reading and respond to it in various ways. In Math, of course we will learn our times tables this year, and many games and hands-on activities that help us learn new concepts in Bridges.

Finally, I am excited to share with you that we will be having a student teacher in the Fall. Her name is Emma Hitchingham and I am excited that we will have that opportunity together to share as a new teacher learns her practice. I am sure I will learn a much from her as she will from me.  Of course, it is always so beneficial to have an extra adult in the classroom to provide that support and caring for the children.

Enjoy the last few days of summer!  If you want to get started on third grade learning, review and practice your math addition and subtraction facts. It won’t be long before we start multiplication. And -  make sure you know your student ID number. 

 I can’t wait to get to know you when the school year starts! Monday, August 29th is our first day!

Also, please let me know if you prefer to go by a nickname as I do my nametags and labels this week.

Enjoy these last few days of summer!                                                

Love,

Mrs. Young