April 15, 2024

 Good Morning to all of you.  I hope you had a nice weekend. My wife and I were on the North Shore , visiting Abby, and enjoying the sunshine and the ocean. It certainly felt relaxing and very spring like. As you know, this is the final week before vacation. We are finishing up our persuasive writing unit with an assessment piece. The goal is that each kid finishes this before the break. 

We will be going on a field trip on Friday. Our gym teacher Kai has put together a trip to a gymnastics facility in Essex. I have everyone's permission slip with the exception of Rowen, Hazel, and Edith. I will put new ones in their homework bags today.  Please return them tomorrow. I have signed everyone for a bagged school lunch for the trip but kids are also allowed to bring their own if they prefer that.

Notes:

*I will not need parent volunteers on Thursday or Friday of this week. We will be doing a classroom library project on Thursday and Friday is the field trip.  

*Your child has book order forms and information in their reading bags. This will be the last book order of the year. This is a cheap way to get new books for summer reading.

*If you would like to come on the field trip, please let me know by Wednesday. We will have room on the bus. We will be leaving at 10:15.

I hope you all have a great April break.

Best,

Tommy

April 5, 2024

Good Morning All. I am writing this post, from my classroom, and wondering how it is that we are having another snow day.  Mother nature has certainly played havoc on our school calendar this year. Today I was going to read a book to the class about the Solar Eclipse, we were going to have an assembly about it too. I didn't want to miss out on reading the book I bought for the event and I also wanted to make sure the kids all got their viewing glasses. So I made the below recording and I am leaving the glasses on a bag outside my exterior door (by the gazebo).  Please top by and grab a pair for your child. There are exactly 18 and I ask that you only take one pair.  That way every member of the classroom gets a pair.  I hope you all enjoy the book.

Last week we read the book Mud by Mary Lynn Ray. As much as Mud can be a problem and a hindrance for us, it can be absolutely magical for kids. The book is "An ode to muddy hands and feet, brown earth, and new grass. The Simple text and exuberant illustrations make children and their grown-up friends want to sink their feet into gooey, gloppy, mucky, magnificent mud." After reading the story, the students were asked to think about something they truly enjoy about mud. The class drew pictures and wrote about their favorite "mud thing." The pictures are e hung up in the hallway and in our classroom library.  Feel free to stop by and take a look.

This week we also worked on writing a counter point to an opinion.  I wanted to teach the class how you can disagree with someone without attacking them.  The idea being that you use facts to support a counter argument.  I started Monday by telling the class that I had a big announcement. I decided that we would be more productive if we cut recess from 30 minutes to 15 minutes. I told them how excited I was about this idea and thought they would really like it. HOWEVER, your children (most of them) didn't particularly agree. So they spent the week trying to convince me otherwise. The one student who thought it was a good idea is writing a piece on why she agrees.  We will look to finish these as we start the new week.

NOTES:

*I will be doing one last summer book order.  The flyers will be in your child's homework bag and an email with the ordering information and other online flyers will be sent next week. This is a great chance to stock up on some summer reading books.

*Recess Attire for Next Week: Monday: Snow Clothes, Tuesday: Fleece and pants, Wednesday: Winter Coat and Shorts,  . . . Just kidding.  Please make sure your child is dressed for being outside each day next week.

Have a great weekend.

Tommy

March 19, 2024

I hope you are all having a good start to your week. This week is parent conference week. As of this morning, I have all but 4 families signed up for a conference time.  There are 4 slots left for Friday morning. I ask that you please sign up today. These conferences will be used to show you the growth your child is making, answer any questions that you might have, and lay out the plan for the remainder of the year (there is still a lot of learning left to do). I will leave it up to you if your child attends the conference or not. 

Last week the students were talking a lot about leprechauns and finding gold. We spent Thursday and Friday writing about what they would do with a pot of gold. We used this exercise to practice some pre-writing and also challenging the students to use more detail in their stories. The kids then turned their writings into leprechauns and they are displayed in the hallway. 

The students also worked on their Favorite Toy persuasive piece. Thank you all who were able to send in a picture of your child's choice. The students worked on their reason and opinions last week.  This week they are working on a hook, a conclusion and putting all of their pre-writing work into a final piece. 

The winter weather continues to come and go.  One day the kids can wear a sweatshirt outside and the next they need all of their winter gear. Please make sure your child has the appropriate clothing for each day. If it is under 40 degrees I ask them to wear their jackets.  If it is over 40 degrees , I allow them to just wear a sweatshirt. Boots are still a must and a pair of inside shoes are always needed. Thank you in advance for your help with this.

I hope you all have a great week and I will see you at your conference.

Tommy

March 10, 2024

I hope everyone had a great February break and enjoyed anytime you had off with your family. I used the vacation as a focus of our writing topic last week. The students wrote a persuasive piece about why they enjoyed their vacations (they had the option to write the opposite). The students focused on writing and adding detail. Our next step will be to bring in voice and writing endings with a "rating/recommendation."  

I sent out an email this afternoon asking for the kids to identify their favorite toy and to get a picture of it. If you can take a picture and dump it in this folder. Please do this by Tuesday morning. Please don't email them separately as it makes it much easier to print if they are all in one spot.

This past week we had PE for two of the three days that we were in school. The students have started a gymnastics unit and seem really excited about it. The kids are taking off their sneakers when they are on the gymnastics mats. If all kids could please have socks on Thursdays and Fridays.

We should have all of our class back this week and the next 6 weeks (before April break) will be a very academic filled stretch. This is the time where kids start putting all of the year's learning together and building upon many their knowledge.  It is important that they are all in school as much as possible during this stretch. 

This Wednesday will be our last winter sports program day. Please make sure that your child has all of the things they need as we head to the mountain.

NOTES:

*Please make sure

that your child has boots and sneakers/shoes each day. This helps us keep the mud and dirt (from recess time) off the classroom carpet.

*There are still spots for my summer basketball camp.  If you wish to have your son/daughter participate, please let me know.

*My daughter Abby is a freshman at Endicott College this year.  She is an education major and is looking for summer work. Please read through the message below if you are looking for summer nanny coverage and/or babysitting.  

Hi my name is Abby Young! I am a freshman at Endicott College in Beverly Massachusetts and am majoring in Early Childhood Education. I am hoping to find a family to nanny for this summer. I love games, playing outside and going on adventures. I am also willing to do some housework when the kids are asleep or occupied. My phone number is +18023827345 and would love to hear from you with any questions!

*I wanted to thank all of you who had a chance to support my girls Varsity team this year. We made it to the semi-finals for only the 5th time in school history (3rd in the last 5 years). It has been so much fun building this program. One of the most amazing things is the support the community has given to the team. It truly means so much to the players. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!

That is all for now.  I hope you all have a great week.

Peace,

Tommy

February 11, 2024

 Good Afternoon,

I hope you all enjoyed this beautiful weekend. It was nice to have a stretch of days with sunshine. We have a really busy week and only two weeks until vacation. It's hard to believe how fast January flew by. 

Wednesday is Valentine's day and we will have a pretty packed schedule. We will get done with math at 9:30 and then head to PE class. We will arrive back at 10:10 and will hand out Valentines (for those who chose to write them). A class list of names can be found on the previous two blog posts. We will lay out our ski stuff and head to lunch at 10:55. We will not be doing any sweet treats or anything like that. I rather have them just focus on the act of kindness that is giving a valentine to each kid. 

Last week I read the book The Perfect Pet by Margie Palatini. This book is about a little girl who really wants a pet."Even though Elizabeth's new plant proves to be a good listener, Elizabeth still really wants a pet. While Elizabeth campaigns to find the right pet, her family imagines some hair-raising possibilities, until Doug comes along. Doug is, without a doubt, the most unusual, perfect pet of all. Doug is a bug!" After the reading, I asked the students to write me a letter that would convince me to get them their own individual classroom pet. We started by partnering up and working on a good "hook" for the start of their letters. The groups then broke up and finished the letters on their own. This allowed the students to collaborate with writing a good introduction to their letters. 

I continue to be impressed with how quickly this group gets ready on ski days. I have a few expert boot bucklers that have been so helpful and kind to their classmates. Twice now, adults from around the building have come down to help out and the kids have already been done. Thank you all for making sure your child has everything they need each week for the sports program. 

NOTES:

*I will once again be running a week of basketball camp for next year's 2nd graders through 4th graders (boys and girls) and 5-8 boys and girls,  Please click here to obtain an application. Reach out with any questions.

*The weather will be back to seasonal temperatures this week. Even though the sun is out, the kids still need a coat, hat, gloves, and boots.  Thank you for your help with this.

*Please let me know if your child will be leaving early for vacation or not returning in time (after the break). For those who have already communicated this, thank you.

Have a great week!

Tommy

February 4, 2024

 Good Evening,

I hope you all had a great weekend and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine (I think that is what it is called) over the weekend. I was psyched to have no plans on Sunday and used the day to just relax. This past week we conducted another science investigation and used the scientific process to see if permanent markers were truly permanent. The kids tested different solutions to determine if their hypothesis was correct or not. 

Our writing focus this week was a response to the story Hey Little Any by Phillip Hoose. The story is about a young boy who comes across an ant, and wants to squish him flat, however he begins to question whether he should or not, after hearing the perspective of the little ant he is trying to squish. The story ends with the students deciding what the boy should do. The students then used persuasive writing to convince me on their decision. 

On Friday, the whole school accomplished their We Rock ticket goal and the school celebrated with a sledding and hot chocolate celebration at the end of the day. As always, the kids really seemed to enjoy it and it was a great way to wrap up the week. Our next student focus will be exhibiting great behaviors in all of the specials classes. 

NOTES:

I will be running basketball camps again this summer.  I will do a incoming 2nd-4th grade boys and girls, a 5-9 boys and a 5-9 girls.  Please click here for the camp brochure.  Each camp is capped at 30 participants.

REPEAT: Valentines: It's hard to believe but it will be here in a short amount of time. We will hand out valentines but not be having a party on this day. It is most likely going to be a winter sports program day so it will happen in the morning. All I ask is that if a kid is giving out a valentine, they do it for every student in the class. Here is a class roster:

Ava, Zip, Hazel, Olive, Rowen, Nora, Amelie, Landen, Edie, Ashton, Wiley, Finn, Annabelle, Warren, Miles, Jacob, Patrick, Keagan.

That is all for now.  I hope you all have a great week.

Peace,

Mr. Young

January 30, 2024

 Good Afternoon,

I have to apologize for the gap between this post and my last. Between report cards, sickness, and basketball each weekend has been filled with something during the month of January. Tomorrow will mark our third trip up to the mountain (for our winter sports program). I have to say that the kids have been incredible with helping each other get ready and with their behavior up at the mountain. We definitely have some expert ski boot bucklers and our whole group can pack up all the stuff they don't need and bring it to the library, eat lunch, get dressed for the mountain, and be ready to go in less than 45 minutes. PURE AWESOMENESS or in the words of Ms. Korb, "spectacular." 

Over the last three weeks we have started our work on persuasive writing. This year I have taken a new approach to teaching the unit. Some of this was out of me being bored and some had to do with finding a way to make super engaging for the students. I am doing most of the teaching through the use of picture books. To date the kids have written about their favorite kind of pizza, a plea for a redesigned bedroom (to you, from them), and deciding whether or not a tiny little ant should be squished or not. I will be sharing their writing pieces during the spring conferences. Make sure to ask your child about their opinions with these tasks. 

Valentines: It's hard to believe but it will be here in a short amount of time. We will hand out valentines but not be having a party on this day. It is most likely going to be a winter sports program day so it will happen in the morning. All I ask is that if a kid is giving out a valentine, they do it for every student in the class. Here is a class roster:

Ava, Zip, Hazel, Olive, Rowen, Nora, Amelie, Landen, Edie, Ashton, Wiley, Finn, Annabelle, Warren, Miles, Jacob, Patrick, Keagan.

We continue to talk about acts of kindness and giving a valentine is truly a small act that can make a kid feel like a champion.

In science, we have been looking at science investigations and conducting lab reports that have us making a hypothesis, conducting an experiment, collecting data, writing observations and then drawing conclusions. Last week the kids were testing what cookies floated or sank in liquid. This Thursday we will be doing an experiment with coffee filters, vinegar and markers 

That is all for now.  I hope you all have a great week.

Peace,

Tommy