A Happy New Year Sendoff!

Dear Third Grade Families,

What a busy and exciting week it’s been! After much rehearsing, third graders performed beautifully during the Hebrew Hanukkah play! We also celebrated the ending of Hanukkah with a final all school candle lighting.

In Social Studies, after hearing about Captain Henry Hudson for two weeks, the Third Graders finally learned what happened to him at the end of the fourth journey! Throughout the process of investigating Henry Hudson, we learned about his perseverance and dedication to finding a quicker route to Asia. No matter the obstacles he faced, Hudson’s positive attitude in his search for the Northwest Passage is something to admire.

We first discussed his third voyage, which helped him claim the Hudson River area for the Dutch. One aspect of this trip that we investigated was the different encounters he had with the Lenape (near the mouth of the river) and the Mahicans (towards the middle section of the Hudson River). Based on Hudson’s journals, the Lenape were more defensive against the Dutch ship, and some of their interactions were violent. On the other hand, when Hudson spent time with the Mahicans, they begged him to stay and even broke their weapons to show their dedication to friendship. We then spoke about his fourth journey, and where things started to go wrong for Hudson — be it the Discovery (his ship) breaking, them being stuck in the bay throughout the winter, or the crew’s mutiny against him — all of which lead him to live the last of his days in Canada.

To conclude our study of Henry Hudson and his four journeys, students chose one of two project formats to represent what they learned. Some students chose to write diary entries from the perspective of either Henry Hudson himself, or one of his crew members. Others created a map to represent one voyage Hudson and his crew took, along with labels of things they saw or countries they visited.

Throughout our discussions about the final two voyages Hudson takes, we asked the question about if this is really what happened, or if it’s just based on the history we’re able to read or know about — based on the perspective of the victor. Thinking about perspective is an important piece to our Third Grade curriculum, as is understanding why someone feels the way they do. Some of the writing we will be doing this winter has students put themselves in the shoes of another person (be it historical figure of someone of their own creation).

Topics to talk about with your student:

• Why did the Mahican natives, near Albany, get along better with Henry Hudson’s crew than the Lenape?
• Which of Henry Hudson’s voyages was your favorite and why?
• Of all the things you’ve learned, what is the most important fact people should know about Henry Hudson?

Dates to know:

Friday, January 12 — Martin Luther King Jr. Tekes @ 9:00am

Monday, January 15 — no school (MLK Day)

Wednesday, January 24 — 3rd Grade trip to the Wyckoff House (information to come after the New Year)

Have a wonderful break! We can’t wait to see you all in 2018!

Hilary and Alisa