Welcome to 3rd Grade
The Ashlawn Third Grade team would like to welcome you to Ashlawn
Elementary School.
Ms. Lindsay Cronin
lindsay.cronin@apsva.us
I am so excited to be teaching in third grade! I grew up in Arlington. A fun fact about me is I’m a former Ashlawn Eagle! It’s a pleasure to get to work here now, continuing many great traditions from when I was a student. I love the Ashlawn community and the Global Citizen Project activities that help our community. In addition to teaching, I am also a swim coach and swim instructor. I am dual certified in elementary and special education and I am currently working on getting my Master to be a reading specialist. When I am not working, I enjoy spending time with my family, Callie – my Golden Retriever, being outside or at the pool, and exploring new places. Ashlawn is a great place to be, and I can’t wait to help your child SOAR!
Mr. Ryan Dallas
ryan.dallas@apsva.us
I grew up next to the beach in the Tidewater area of Virginia. I attended Virginia Commonwealth University where I earned my undergrad and masters in pedagogy for grades k-6. Since graduating, I have taught first grade, English Immersion exclusively to native Spanish speakers, 5th grade, and now I am teaching 3rd grade. This is my 5th year at Ashlawn and I’m really proud to be here working with the school staff and with the community. I currently live in Arlington and working here makes me feel really invested in the Arlington. When I am not working, I enjoy spending my free time playing soccer, trying new restaurants, exploring the area, and reading.
Mrs. Charlotte Hoffer
charlotte.hoffer@apsva.us
I am thrilled to be a teacher at Ashlawn Elementary School! This will be my 6th year teaching 3rd grade. I grew up a military brat, Go Army!, and lived in 7 states throughout my school years. I received my Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education at Clemson University, Go Tigers! I earned a Masters of Education in Social Foundations with an ESOL Endorsement through the University of Virginia. I taught 4th and 6th grade in Fairfax County for 9 years prior to moving to Ashlawn. I love spending time with my husband, Adam, sons, Charlie and Henry, and Sheepadoodle, Willa. We enjoy watching Clemson Football and Formula 1, being outside, and spending time with our extended family. I also love to read, mysteries are among my favorite. In elementary school, you could find me reading the Nancy Drew series. I love the school spirit at Ashlawn and all that we do to be Global Citizens, particularly service events like the Walk to End Homelessness and Cereal Mountain Food Drive. Go Eagles!
Ms. Kim Klaus
kimberly.klaus@apsva.us
I’m thrilled to be a part of the Ashlawn community and the 3rd grade team. Before I entered the teaching world, I grew up in Richmond, Virginia and attended the University of Mary Washington. After college, I followed my love of history and became a park ranger, where I ran outdoor children’s programs at Civil War battlefields. My love of working with children led me back to school to get my teaching degree. I have a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from George Mason and a Master’s in Reading Instruction from the University of Virginia. My favorite picture book is Pink and Say, a book that makes me cry every time I read it. When not at school, I love spending time with my wonderful husband, two sweet sons, and our two dogs, Cindy Lou and Malibu.
Mr. Jeremy Strohl
jeremy.strohl@apsva.us
I am very excited to be teaching 3rd grade at Ashlawn Elementary. Before arriving to Ashlawn I grew up in Burke, VA and then went to college at Elon University. After college I lived and taught in Spain for before coming back to the states to get my master’s at James Madison University. Since then I have been teaching in Arlington and enjoying my time with the students and staff at APS. When I am not teaching, I enjoy traveling, biking, kayaking, playing volleyball and reading. My favorite elementary books to read include The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, Mercy Watson, and Piggie and Elephant. Hmm those are all pig books. I guess I also love pigs…
Ms. Ofelia Oronoz
Get conversations started at home this summer by discussing these current learning topics.
Reading We will be doing lots of great reading this year! We are focusing on “Reading is Thinking”! We do lots of thinking while we read. We make predictions, make connections, visualize (movies in my mind), and have questions. We will focus on a guided reading approach to meet the fluency and comprehension needs of your child this year. What you can do at home: Ask your child to make predictions, connections, and what they are visualizing in their head as you read to them, or in a conversation after they have read independently. Ask your child to point out some details about what they read, and the main idea that all those details fall under. Have your child frequently summarize what they read to you.
Writing Students will be gathering many ideas for writing stories through great examples of books we read. Each book offers a new idea for writing. We will be using our writing journal every day.What you can do at home: Ask your child to think about one of the ideas they have in their ideas section or that we have discussed to write a story. As your child to write about a small moment, and stretch it out over ten sentences.
Social Studies We will be learning about our government as we start the year, and will celebrate Constitution Day in September.What you can do at home: Visit one of the many great monuments in Washington DC to see our government in action (Archives, Capitol, Mt Vernon). Look at maps on pamphlets, GPS systems, and books to discuss them. Have your child create a treasure map with a title, key, and scale. Ask your child to make connections between ancient cultures or connections to our culture.
Science We will be learning about the scientific method through various science experiments. We will learn to make a smart hypothesis, collect data, and interpret results of an experiment.What you can do at home: Help your child identify simple experiments at home. Does a plant grow bigger if watered by milk or water? Does a baseball go farther when hit by a wood or metal bat? Which grows mold faster – moist bread or dry bread? Does exercise affect heart rate?
Math We will begin the year with fact fluency and patterns in math.What you can do at home: Visit the “3rd Grade Links” and practice some of the math activities. For place value, we are learning up to the hundred thousands place (100,000). Students should be able to write numbers in standard form, expanded form, and word form. Provide them one of those expressions, and have your child complete the other ways to express it. Students should be able to round numbers up to the thousands place this year. Ask your child to help you count money and make change. See a graph anywhere? Help your child interpret it!
