Third Grade

Jen McCoy - I am so excited to be back in the classroom. I have a Bachelor of Arts, Elementary Education degree from the University of Wyoming, and from 1994-1999, I taught 6th graders. After running our family business for 11 years, I am overjoyed to be in the role of elementary educator once again. My husband Torrey and I have been Riffenburgh parents for several years as our kids Briery and Elijah are Riffenburgh Roadrunners. We love the dedication and devotion prevalent throughout this school community and to be a part of it, we are extremely grateful. “We are designed to flourish.” This quote from author David Wolpe summarizes my philosophy of education. We are all moved to improve and grow, and I am honored to be involved with your child’s 3rd grade journey. I believe that our children are precious. I am driven and truly thrilled to identify the gifts and talents in every child.

Diane Rice - I have been teaching for 23 years, 20 of them at Riffenburgh. I have a BS in Elementary Ed/ Early Childhood Education from Northern State College (University) in Aberdeen, South Dakota. I have always loved children, school, and variety, as is evident in the number of grades I've taught. So this was just a perfect match for me. Teaching is a continually changing creature, which I hope makes me a better person. I love this school so much I brought both of my children here using "school of choice." I have taught kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th at Riffenburgh, 2nd in an inner-city school, and full-day kindergarten in Virginia. I am also a ten-year cancer survivor of which I am very proud!

 

About our class!

It is our philosophy that by working together to provide a consistent, disciplined, child oriented atmosphere we can best meet the needs of each student in our care. We realize that every child needs attention, a feeling of acceptance, approval and successes. We try to create an atmosphere that is both exciting and challenging. We recognize that a climate that supports success will develop life long learners.

To accomplish this we will:

P rovide a learning environment
R ecognize self worth
I nvolve parents
D evelop useful knowledge and skills
E ncourage personal growth

Click to Download curriculum map (PDF)

News!

Third graders visit the CSU ARDEC education center each year where they learn about growing regional crops, soil conservation, machinery safety, agricultural animals, and wool production. Their field trip is filled with many hands on learning activities prepared by the CSU students.

Thank you to the Fort Collins Rotary Clubs for donating individual dictionaries to each third grader in the district. That’s a total of 2, 200 dictionaries for the children to use this year. They will then be able to take them home later in the year. The Rotary Clubs, for the fifth year, sell boxes of peaches to raise the money for the books. They also sponsor the Rotary Read Program in November which all students in the district can participate in. Thanks to all members for their hard work.