May 25, 2011

Good Afternoon,
  We had an amazing visit to the State House on Monday.  The students were absolutely fabulous and I thought the tour was very informative.  I was very pleased how well our class represented the Waitsfield School.
  Today we had rehearsal for tonight's performance.  Please remember to have your child go directly to the gym.  They should arrive by 6:25 with a 6:30 starting time.

  I have one parent who would like/is able to attend the Pen Pal Field Trip.  Is anyone else interested in going?  Please let me know.

See you tonight,
Tom

May 23, 2011

Good Morning,
  I am actually writing you on Sunday evening as I sit and watch the basketball game on tv.  Today we will be going to the State House.  I hope the students are excited about the trip.  The students' posters have been posted online on the Secretary of State's Kid Page:  http://www.sec.state.vt.us/kids/contest/2011_winners.html

Greta's Poster Entry

  Just a reminder about a few things for this week:

* I will not be sending math homework this week.  We have the Spring Performance on Wednesday and I will be out of the classroom (but in the building)on Thursday and Friday.  Remember that I will be testing kids in reading and math on Thursday and Friday.

*  Please make sure your child goes directly to the gym on Wednesday evening.  We will be sitting as a class for the Spring Concert.


  I hope you all have a great week.
Peace,
Tom

May 20, 2011

Good Afternoon,
  We have had a wonderful week!  This week the students have heard African Drumming, viewed a play, played a great game of dodgeball with Ms. Hale's class, and worked on a science experiment with Mrs. Belknap's students.  We also have spent a lot of time in the "World of Inch" and worked with measuring items with inch brick rulers.

  Just a reminder that we will be going to the State House on Monday.  Please bring umbrellas and/or rain coats.  Also, each child must bring a bagged lunch.

  I hope you have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tom

May 18, 2011

Good Morning,

NOTICES:
Please read through the following carefully.  This will be the last post that has thorough information about the trips and events coming up.

State House Visit:
  The State House visit is Monday, May 23rd.  We will be leaving school at 9:30.  If you are driving, could you please arrive at 9:15 so we can plan out vehicle space and riders.  We will meet in the State House lobby at 10:30 and be given a tour of the building.  Our ceremony will start at 12:30.  Students should bring a bagged lunch and appropriate garments to walk around outside.  If your child has an umbrella, it may be a good idea to bring.  ATTIRE:  The person in charge of the event asked us to please dress appropriately for the State House visit.  I am leaving that up to you.  Your child should wear what your feel is appropriate.  I will be wearing slacks, a buttoned down shirt, and maybe even a tie.

Oak Ledge Park Trip:
  We will be going to Oak Ledge Park on June 8th.  We will be leaving school around 8:00 a.m. and returning around the end of the day.  We will stop in Waterbury to pick up our pen-pals from Thatcher Brook.  Your child should wear clothes that he/she can run around in and enjoy the day.  There are areas where you can get wet, so please take that into consideration.  Your child will need a water bottle, snack and lunch packed for that day.  If you need the lunch program to provide one, please let Connie know before the day of the event.  I also recommend that you apply sun-screen to your child before they live the house in the morning.  If anyone would like to go on the trip, please let me know.

Spring Concert:
  The concert is scheduled for May 25th at 6:30.  Students should be in the gym between 6:20-6:25.  This is a performance based on the work that the kids have done with Mr. Hill during music class.  I hope you can all attend.

Testing Days:
  I will be testing the kids reading and math on May 26th and 27th.  I need every effort to have the kids in school on those two days.  I appreciate your help with this.

Strega Nona Performance:
  A reminder that we will be presenting our play at two different times,  once for the whole school at the assembly on June 3rd, and the other time is an evening performance for the families of our classroom.  This performance will be on June 7th at  6:00.  We will also have our spaghetti potluck and a short slide show.

Have a great day.
Peace,
Tom

May 16, 2011

100 Book Club Members

Good Afternoon,

  Today was a whirlwind of a day.  After gym class, the whole school loaded on the bus and traveled to Harwood  to listen to the beat of African Drumming and music from Uganda.  We arrived back around 11;30 and had lunch, took an end of the unit math test and then went to library.

*There is math and reading homework this week.

*Wednesday's blog will have a detailed post about the upcoming field trips.  Please make sure to read it.

I hope you have a great week.

Tom

May 13, 2011

Good Afternoon:

  We had a wonderful day today.  We worked on our pen-pal letters, graphing our jumps, wrote in our Weekly News journals, and practiced our play.  This afternoon I received an e-mail that contained our itinerary for the Statehouse trip.  If you are a chaperone/driver please take note of it.  Your child will need a cold lunch that day.  If your child would like the school lunch program to provide one, please let Connie know.

SECRETARY OF STATE                                                                5/23/11

Grades K-2nd-Poster Winner

Class:  Waitsfield Elementary (24)

             Teacher:  Tom Young

State House Tour Guide:

Schedule:        

9:30                       Leave Waitsfield

10:15-10:30         Find Parking

10:30-11:00         State House tour, lobby

11:00-11:30         lunch-picnic-Pavilion porch

                           or Snelling Room, Pavilion building, State St

11:30-12:00         VH Museum Scavenger Hunt (self-guided)

12:00-12:15         walk to State House, East entrance

12:15                           Arrive at State House Cafeteria

12:30-1:15                  Award Ceremony, State House cafeteria, 3^rd floor, West

1:15-1:30                   Departure

**Also, we will be going on a field trip on June 8th with our pen-pals from Waterbury.  We will be picking them up at TBPS around 8:30 that morning.  We will then head to Oak Ledge Park in Burlington for a day of fun.  I will need each child to bring in $4 to cover the cost of the pavilion.  As always, please let me know if the cost is an issue.  I would love to take as many chaperones as possible.  Please let me know if you are able to go.

Thanks,

Tom

May 11, 2011

In between meetings today, so here is the scoop:
Today we...
*had meeting
*went to music
*gardened with Jeremy
*wrote in our science logs
*ate lunch
*went home

Peace,
Tom

May 9, 2011

  I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  It felt very relieving to have two sunny days.  We had a great day today.  This week's meeting leaders are Kelci and Molly.  Their job is to write the Morning Message and lead the Morning Meeting.  During station time the students read with me, worked on their science journals, and continued with some non-fiction work.  Math consisted of another scavenger hunt as we continue to focus on the concept of measurement (non standard).

*Please remember that we will be in the garden on Wednesday.
*There is homework in your child's reading bag.
*We will be working with Ms. Belknap's class tomorrow afternoon.  We will continue to focus on our plant unit.

Have a great week.
Tom

May 6, 2011

Photos of our last two days. Ask your child to tell you about them.  Have a nice weekend and Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms.  -Tom

May 4. 2011

Good Morning,
  Today we continued to work on our animal reports, had reading/spelling groups, and continued working on horizontal and vertical addition within number stories.  This afternoon I hope to get out in the garden to work on our compost piles (weather permitting).  Just a friendly reminder, that Wednesdays will be our garden days.  Please make sure your child dresses for the weather.

*I have only heard back from 3 families about the play performance and the spaghetti dinner.  I would like to hear from everyone else by this evening.  Please refer to Monday's post if you are unaware of what I am talking about.

*We will be previewing the Harwood Middle School Musical tomorrow afternoon from 1:00-1:30.

I hope you have a great day.
Tom

May 2, 2011

Good Afternoon,
  What a wonderful day Sunday was.  It was so nice to soak up sun and green-up around our house.  It is amazing the energy one can receive from a beautiful spring day.

THE PLAY:
*I am throwing around the idea of having a "pot-luck" spaghetti dinner during the evening performance of our play.  If there is interest, I would like to know if there is a parent or two who would be interested in organizing this part of the evening.  If you are interested in taking this on, please let me know.

*I need to know how many people will be attending the evening performance and if you are interested in having a spaghetti dinner.  Please write me or e-mail me (by Wednesday) your response.

*The play is coming along nicely.  Mr. Hill is working on two songs with them and Ms. Davis is working on the scenery and a few costumes.  Please keep working on the lines at home and have your child practice projecting his/her voice.  If it is suitable, practicing outside is a great way to practice speaking loudly.

REPORT CARD MEETING:
*Tomorrow marks the first of two district wide report card meetings.  We are working on creating a unified report card for the district.  Tomorrow all of the 1st and 2nd grade teachers will be working on this.  Mr. Willis will be the substitute.

GARDEN:
*We will be using Wednesdays as our afternoon to be in the garden.  Please make sure your child wears appropriate clothing and footwear.

HOMEWORK:
*There is reading and math this week.  Also, kids can work on their play lines and practice his/her sight words.

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