My name is Jon DiLorenzo and this is my 23rd year in education. I am very pleased to be teaching 3rd/4th graders at Saint Mary's Visitation School. I have over 15 years of experience in working with these two particular grades and I am excited to be working with my students.
I graduated from Grand Valley State University in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts in English/Language Arts with Elementary Distributed Minor. Before SMV, I taught 3 years of 4th/5th grade at Black River School in Holland. I have taught at various schools throughout Grand Rapids. I am a few classes shy from my master’s degree which is Educational Differentiation. I am very excited and eager to work with not only my students, but fellow teachers and parents as well. There is so much to be learned from one another!
In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my wife, Jessica, my son, Carson, and our seven year old Boston Terrier, Lola. Jessica is a Lead Clinical Applications Consultant for the Midwest for Phillips. Carson is a senior at Aquinas College majoring in Biology. I love playing and watching all kinds of sports. I enjoy watching baseball and football. I also enjoy hiking. I am a huge fan of food, not only eating it, but cooking it as well. I am also a huge fan of reading. I really love a good book that I can get lost in.
I am very excited to start my fifth year here at Saint Mary's Visitation School and can’t wait to see what the future has in store!
Rules:
1. Follow directions the first time given.
2. Keep hands, feet and objects to yourself.
3. No bullying or put-downs.
4. Listen when somebody is talking.
5. Use your own materials unless you get permission.
Consequences:
1. Verbal warning
2. Check
3. Behavior rubric write up and email home
4. Office visit/phone call home
At St. Mary’s Visitation Catholic School we are disciples; striving for personal and academic excellence, making Mary our model, as we voyage the path of Jesus.
Monday:
Art: 8:00 - 8:50
Strings: 10:45 - 11:30
Tuesday:
Physical Education: 8:00 - 8:30
Strings: 10:45 - 11:30
Computers: 2:15 - 2:45
Wednesday:
Mass: 8:00 - 9:15
Reading Buddies: 2:15 - 2:45
Thursday:
Music: 10:00 - 10:30
Library: 1:00 - 1:30
Friday:
Physical Education: 8:00 - 8:30
September - October 6th
October - November 3rd
November - December 1st
December - January 5th
January - February 2nd
February - March 1st
March - April 12th
April - May 3rd
May - May 31st**
**All Bingo sheets will be due on or before the first Friday of the following month, with the exceptions of May, which will be due on Friday, May 31st.
*The March Book Report/Project will be due on Monday, April 15, 2024*
**The April/May Book Report/Project will be due on Friday, May 17, 2024**
Parents,
Our annual SMV Golf Outing takes place on Saturday, September 30th at Briarwood Golf Club. There are still spots available. We hope to see you out on the course!
Your child's planner should be coming home daily. Please be sure to initial the planner each night. Your child should be the one who is asking for your signature. This sometimes takes some getting used to, so it is fine if you have to ask for the planner for the first month or so. You should see assignments written in. If they are crossed off, then that means that your child has completed that assignment. If it is not crossed off, then your child should be bringing that assignment home. It should be completed that day and returned the next! If your child has a late assignment, I will make note of it in the planner. This will keep an open communication between parents and myself. Sometimes it is wise to look ahead in the planner for Practical/Spiritual Life Bingo and Book Project due dates, as well as spelling tests, and any other upcoming tests students may need to study for.
Just a reminder that every Friday, your child should be bringing home their Friday Folder/Homework Folder. In the Friday folder you may see graded assignments, completed work, notes, office communications, etc. Please be sure to look through the stack of papers for important information.
Every Thursday students will be taking a State Quiz. 3rd graders should know all 50 states by the end of the year and 4th graders should know all 50 states and capitals. The 50 states/capitlas will be broken into the 5 regions of the U.S. All students will start with the Midwest states. The first State Quiz will take place on Thursday, September 21st. Students must know the location of each state/capital, as well as spell it correctly. As an incentive to learn the 50 states/capitals, I have told the students that if they complete this task, that they will earn a pizza lunch at the end of the year. Again, 3rd graders must know all 50 states and 4th graders must know all 50 states and capitals.
There should have been a couple of Scholastic Book Orders sent home with the Friday Folder items this week. Just a reminder that book orders are strictly online and should be placed no later than Wednesday, October 11th!
Please check out our classroom photos located at the bottom of my web page. We had our first week of reading buddies. The students had an amazing time reading with the preschoolers!
Classroom News:
We will conclude our Fall MAP Testing this week. We will finish up with the Reading and Math tests.
There is a half day of school on Wednesday, September 20th. Dismissal will be at 11:15 a.m.
We will be attending Mass on Wednesday, September 20th, at 8:00 a.m. Please feel free to join us in celebrating the Eucharist!
Clare will be our next Star Student for the month of October. Please have pictures and the question sheet filled out by Friday, September 29th please.
I have discussed the September Practical/Spiritual Life Bingo assignment with students. There is a copy of the September Practical/Spiritual Life Bingo Sheet in your parent informational packet. I have also sent one home and attached a copy to my documents section of my web page. The September bingo sheet will be due by Friday, October 6th.
I have discussed the September Book Project last week. Students should pick out a book and have it approved by me no later than Monday, September 11th. Students may choose any genre to read, but it must be grade level appropriate or appropriate to your child's reading level. Book report books are almost always chapter books. Please let me know if you have any questions regarding the September book project. The September Book Project will be due on Monday, October 2nd.
What We Are Learning:
Mathematics:
3rd Grade: Chapter 1: Understand Multiplication and Division
4th Grade: Chapter 1: Place Value Concepts/Chapter 2: Add and Subtract Multi-digit Numbers
Chapter 1 Test will take place on Tuesday, September 19th.
ELA:
Unit 1 - Classic Tales: The Wind in the Willows
Spelling:
List 1 Spelling Test will take place on Friday, September 22nd.
Science:
Unit 1 - Lesson 2: How Does Living in a Group Help Some Animals Survive?
Social Studies:
Issue 1: Michigan History for Kids: Headed for Home/Issue 2: Michigan History for Kids: Underground Treasures
Religion:
Chapter 2: God Created the World
Mass
Please have questions answered and pictures (no more than 10 please) sent in by the Friday before your child’s scheduled star student date. Please send in pictures that you don’t mind me putting a pin through to attach to the bulletin board. Thank you!
Clare - October 2nd - October 20th
Gunar - October 23rd - November 10th
Meri - November 13th - December 15th
Ryder - December 18th - January 19th
Jacob - January 22nd - February 9th
Joseph - February 12th - March 1st
Oliver - March 4th - March 29th
Jackson - April 8th - May 3rd
Jack - May 6th - May 31st
I am asking that students read for 20 minutes nightly, Monday through Friday, unless they have school work to complete. I would also like them to get their planner signed nightly please. I would also like the students to get into the habit of asking you to sign the planner, not you asking to sign their planner. I know this may take some getting use to, so if you need to ask for the planner until they get into the habit of remembering, then that is perfectly fine. Thank you!
Work that is not completed in the classroom will be sent home as homework. Students should not have more than 30 minutes of homework on any given night. If a student has homework, then they are not required to read for the 20 minutes.
Students will have monthly homework in the forms of Practical/Spiritual Life Bingo and Book Reports.
If you are looking for additional work, I would suggest giving your child a practice spelling test each Thursday night that we have spelling. Studying basic math facts, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, using flash cards or computer games/programs is another idea. Knowing these basic math facts will greatly improve your child's math skills! Studying states and capitals is another idea.
1. admit
2. signal
3. attic
4. catfish
5. fantastic
6. cabin
7. children
8. until
9. himself
10. hundred
Challenge
1. hesitate
2. interfere
1. problem
2. happen
3. kitchen
4. insect
5. plastic
6. pocket
7. rabbit
8. chicken
9. tennis
10. tunnel
Challenge
1. arranged
2. dejected
1. jacket
2. magnet
3. wedding
4. napkin
5. banner
6. comment
7. basket
8. sudden
9. unless
10. bandit
Challenge
1. mended
2. possessed