March 30, 2011

Good Morning,

  It looks like we are going to have more snow this week.  I am thinking about driving to Pennsylvania and choking a groundhog on Saturday.  Please let me know if you would like to join me.  Today every child worked on their book projects and Time for Kids articles.  There is a lot of buzz, amongst the students, about reading right now.  Over the past three days we have received over $1,000.00 worth of books.  There is a nice range of variety for the kids to choose from.

  I hope your child is practicing his/her play lines.  Remember there are a few lines that call for everyone to say a line out loud.  If your child is having any concerns about the play, please let me know.

I hope you have a wonderful day.
Peace,
Tom

March 28, 2011

Good Morning,
  I hope you had a wonderful weekend.  My daughter was in the Willy Wonk a presentation on Saturday, and it was nice to see their hard work in action.  Speaking of  my daughter, she has caught the fever bug that many of the kids have been dealing with.  Today she missed her first day of school in over two years.  My wife stayed home with her today and I will be staying home with her tomorrow.  Mr. Willis will be the substitute.

Play (Strega Nona):  The scripts are in your child's homework bag.  Each child has at least one line in the play.  Most of the kids were able to choose the part he/she wanted.  We will be performing during the first part of June.  Please keep the script at home and help your child practice.  We will soon be working on scenery.  Please let me know if you would like to help with this.

Homework:  *Practice your play lines
                     *Read
                     *Math Problems (Must do at least one of the two sent home).

That is all for now.
Peace,
Tom

March 25, 2011

Good Afternoon,
  We started the morning with an assembly hosted by Mr. Van Dine's class.  They had invited two guest speakers to talk about the importance of conserving water.  This is an area of focus that his class has been investigating.  His class also set up an exhibit of the pull toys that each student had made.  This was part of a science inquiry task that his students have been working on.  The kids really seemed to enjoy the display.

  Today we worked on our Weekly News, Redwood project, spelling, and math.  The students have their Weekly News Journal in their bags.

  I hope you all have a great weekend.

Tom

March 22, 2011

Good Morning,
  I hope everyone had a good weekend and families are staying healthy.  I know a few kids were sent or stayed home sick yesterday.  My trip to NY City was eventful and the ride home was a slow one, but it was good to do the trip with my dad.  I was born in Staten Island and hadn't been back in quite some time.

  Today we went to the computer lab so the kids could fill out the school climate survey (online).  After that, we finished up some work from yesterday, had spelling, math and science.  We continue to look at similarities and differences of living organisms.

Homework:  There is reading and math homework this week.  I accidently sent home a repeat math problem this week.  Please only work on the new problem.  If your child would like more problems during the week, please let me know.

*Remember that tomorrow is a 1/2 day.  I will be at Thatcher Brook in the morning.  I have a math committee meeting that is looking at the results of the math test that I showed you during our conferences.

Have a great week,
Tom

March 16, 2011

We had a  wonderful time at the Montshire museum.  The students really seemed to enjoy all of the hands on discovery and were excellent guests both at the museum and on the bus.  Today we read Pennies For Elephants by Lita Judge.  This was a story about the children of Boston saving enough money to buy three elephants from retiring animal trainers.  This book was another one of the Red Clover Nominees.

Since skiing was cancelled, we were able to follow our regular schedule for the day.  During station time, the students worked on their Vermont State Symbol poster, wrote in their Reader's Notebook, and worked on their Literature Projects.

*Please remember that we are headed to the playhouse tomorrow afternoon.  The kids may need their rain gear.

*I am out of school next Monday.  I am taking my dad to Staten Island to visit a friend.  I figured with all the "play-date" rides he gave me as a kid, I owed him one.  I will be back on Tuesday. On Wednesday, I have a the spring math committee meeting at Thatcher Brook.  I will be over there all morning.

I will see you all at conferences tomorrow and Friday.
Peace,
Tom

March 14, 2011

Good Morning,
  This week will be crazy in regards to our schedule.  Today is actually our only full academic day of the week.  Since we have so many activities going on this week, I will not need my parent volunteers.  Below is a broad schedule for the week to come:
Tuesday:  Montshire trip; please bring a snack and lunch.
Wednesday:  Ski Day; math class moved into the morning time.
Thursday:  5th/6th grade play in the afternoon; math moved into the morning time.
Friday:  No School

Please make sure your child has his/her ski apparel for Wednesday.  Also, please make sure your child dresses for a walk to the play house on Thursday.

I look forward to seeing all of you at our scheduled parent conference.
Peace,
Tom

March 11, 2011

Good Afternoon,
  We have had a great week.  The students finished up their final Health class on Thursday.  Now that Health is over, we will be using that time in our day to focus on our play Strega Nona.  We will be performing this sometime in June.  If you would like to help with any aspect of the play, please let me know.  We will be working on this in class on Thursdays from 1:30-2:15.

  Please remember that we have our Field Trip on Tuesday.  Your child will need a bagged lunch.

Peace,
Tom

March 9, 2011

Good Morning:
  Please remember that we will be going on the Montshire trip next Tuesday.  Your child will need a cold lunch that day.  If you would like one prepared by our lunch program, please let me know by Friday.  I still need money from the following people:  Marieke, Greta, and Bill C.  Please send the $6 in tomorrow.  I need to fill out the final paperwork for the Montshire and get a check written to them.

  Below is the schedule for parent conferences:
Thursday:
2:30  Abby
3:00  Piper
3:30  Sawyer
4:00  Ayla
4:30  Dinner
5:00  Brynn
5:30  Jacob
6:00  Julia
6:30  Molly
7:00  Liza

Friday:
7:30  Charlotte
8:00  Winter
8:30  Greta (mom)
9:00  Kelci
9:30  Angela
10:00  Greta (dad)
10:30  Anda
11:00  Marieke

*The math homework is a story problem that is due on Friday.  Your child should try and solve this problem more than one way.

Have a great day.
Tom

March 2, 2011

Good Morning,
  I hope everyone had a wonderful break.  It was nice to have everyone in school today looking rested and feeling healthy.  We have a nice stretch of academic time ahead of us and I am looking forward to jumping right in.  We will start our changes/differences unit next week.  This is a science unit that compares living organisms.

  On Friday, we will have an assembly that focuses on Peace.  Ms. Fair has organized the event and is asking that we all sing the song I Like to Teach the World to Sing.  Below is a video with the words to the song.  Please practice it with your child.  I envision some kind of Walton thing going on in each house hold (joking).  Any help with this is greatly appreciated.

*There is reading homework for Wednesday and Thursday.  Please make sure to help your child fill out their log.  Math homework will pick up again next week.

*I have only received Montshire money from Molly, Ayla, Anda, Charlotte, Bryn, and Julia.  Please send in the $6 a.s.a.p.  If the fee is an issue, please let me know.

*March Goal:  I want every child to know the days of the week in order, as well as the months of the year.  We will be practicing at school but encourage extra practice at home.

I hope you have a wonderful day and evening.
Peace,
Tom