Good Afternoon,
I hope everyone took advantage of the three day weekend. I know I enjoyed the extra time with my kids and Angela. We went and saw Crossett Brook's version of Alice in Wonderland on Saturday evening. It was amazing to see 5th-8th graders performing at such high level.
Today we put the finishing touches on our formal vacation writes. They are hung up in the back of the room. Stop by and take a glance.
*There is reading homework tonight. Please make sure to return your child's bag daily.
*Arrival: I have talked to a few kids individually, but wanted to put out a note to all. School starts at 7:40. I really need (for many reasons) each child to arrive by 7:40. This is slowly becoming more and more of a challenge for many. I appreciate your help in accomplishing this goal and the respect that you will give to our school requirements.
Peace,
Tom
January 30, 2012
January 23, 2012
January 23, 2012
Good Afternoon,
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. We have a very busy week ahead of us. On Wednesday, we will be heading to the Flynn Theater. We will be leaving school around 8:00 a.m. and returning around 11:30. We will eat lunch during the 5th and 6th grade block on Wednesday. Right after lunch we will get ready for another day of skiing and snowboarding. As always, I will not send home homework on this day. If you have not sent in the $3 for the trip, please do so tomorrow. I am still missing money for 4 of the students.
We started our day with our Morning Meeting. During our meeting we read the parent comments from our Weekly News journals. The students really enjoy hearing from each of you. My daughter has this in her classroom and she gets very excited to show us her entries each week. During stations, the students were given new sight words for the week, read through their new Time Life magazine for the week, cleaned up their typed drafts, and read with me. During math the 1st and 2nd graders both were working on surveys and data collection. The first graders took the end of Unit 4 assessment.
I hope everyone has a wonderful week.
Peace,
Tom
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. We have a very busy week ahead of us. On Wednesday, we will be heading to the Flynn Theater. We will be leaving school around 8:00 a.m. and returning around 11:30. We will eat lunch during the 5th and 6th grade block on Wednesday. Right after lunch we will get ready for another day of skiing and snowboarding. As always, I will not send home homework on this day. If you have not sent in the $3 for the trip, please do so tomorrow. I am still missing money for 4 of the students.
We started our day with our Morning Meeting. During our meeting we read the parent comments from our Weekly News journals. The students really enjoy hearing from each of you. My daughter has this in her classroom and she gets very excited to show us her entries each week. During stations, the students were given new sight words for the week, read through their new Time Life magazine for the week, cleaned up their typed drafts, and read with me. During math the 1st and 2nd graders both were working on surveys and data collection. The first graders took the end of Unit 4 assessment.
I hope everyone has a wonderful week.
Peace,
Tom
January 20, 2012
January 20, 2012
Good Afternoon,
Today was condiment day because we played "catch-up." This morning we finished typing our reports, our TIme For Kids sheets, and took our sight word tests. This afternoon we had math and art. I heard the musical performance was a success. I apologize for not being there, but I had a conflict with the rescheduled date.
We are going to the FLynn on Wednesday. We will be back in time for lunch and skiing. I have received the $3 fee from 11 of our 18 students. If you haven't sent the $3, please do so on Monday.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend
Tom
Today was condiment day because we played "catch-up." This morning we finished typing our reports, our TIme For Kids sheets, and took our sight word tests. This afternoon we had math and art. I heard the musical performance was a success. I apologize for not being there, but I had a conflict with the rescheduled date.
We are going to the FLynn on Wednesday. We will be back in time for lunch and skiing. I have received the $3 fee from 11 of our 18 students. If you haven't sent the $3, please do so on Monday.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend
Tom
January 17, 2012
Good Morning,
It is that time of year again. On Wednesday, January 25th, our class will be going to the Flynn to see a performance of "Duck For President." Once again the PTA will be paying for a large portion of the trip. However, we are still asking that each child bring in $3 to help cover the rest of the costs. Please send it in by the end of the week. All checks should be made out to Waitsfield Elementary School. Although this performance was not our top choice, I feel it will still be a great experience for the kids. Below is a brief outline. Peace -Tom
"Duck for President"and Other Storybooks
- Wednesday, January 25, 9:30am
- Flynn MainStage
- Grades K-3
This sparkling revue of mini-musicals is based on six beloved books for young readers: Duck for President, Fancy Nancy, Leonardo the Terrible Monster, Pirates Don't Change Diapers, Babymouse: the Musical, and I Have to Go!It's a winning and whimsical set of adventures, delightfully adapted for the stage by TheatreworksUSA, that reminds kids that reading is FUN!
Links to literacy, family roles, cooperation, self-esteem, and problem-solving.
VT Standards: 1.3, 2.2, 3.10, 3.13; all student matinees address 1.14, 5.4, 5.5, 5.7, and relevant form(s) within 5.31-5.37.
Show length: 1 hour
January 13, 2012
January 13, 2012
Good Afternoon,
We had a great day, and the kids seemed to enjoy the work that was presented to them. This morning we had our meeting and were able to get two rounds of Silent Dodgeball in. They then wrote in their Weekly News journals. After that the class went to the lab to type their final versions of a writing piece. We will continue to work on this next week. We finished the morning doing a book project with two different stories about the three little pigs. One was from the pigs' perspectives and the other written from the point of view of the wolf. They then had to pick a point of view and defend it. We finished the day with math and art.
Have a great weekend!
Peace,
Tom
We had a great day, and the kids seemed to enjoy the work that was presented to them. This morning we had our meeting and were able to get two rounds of Silent Dodgeball in. They then wrote in their Weekly News journals. After that the class went to the lab to type their final versions of a writing piece. We will continue to work on this next week. We finished the morning doing a book project with two different stories about the three little pigs. One was from the pigs' perspectives and the other written from the point of view of the wolf. They then had to pick a point of view and defend it. We finished the day with math and art.
Have a great weekend!
Peace,
Tom
January 11, 2012
January 11, 2012
Good Evening,
I hope the kids all had a successful day outside on the mountain. There are a lot of colds and high fevers going around the classroom again. Please make sure that the kids have appropriate clothing for recess. I want to do everything we can to keep each child healthy.
Today we had stations and a shortened math class. Please remember that we will not have stations tomorrow, so there will not be a new book in the homework bag. However, please reread some of the books from the week. We will have an all school rehearsal for our performance at 9:30 tomorrow. Mr. Hill has been working with each class quite diligently and I am looking forward to seeing the fruition of his work.
Have a great evening,
Tom
I hope the kids all had a successful day outside on the mountain. There are a lot of colds and high fevers going around the classroom again. Please make sure that the kids have appropriate clothing for recess. I want to do everything we can to keep each child healthy.
Today we had stations and a shortened math class. Please remember that we will not have stations tomorrow, so there will not be a new book in the homework bag. However, please reread some of the books from the week. We will have an all school rehearsal for our performance at 9:30 tomorrow. Mr. Hill has been working with each class quite diligently and I am looking forward to seeing the fruition of his work.
Have a great evening,
Tom
January 8, 2012
June 9, 2012
Good Morning,
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. This week we have two rehearsals for our Winter performance. One of the rehearsals will be Thursday morning during our station/reading group time. We will not need a parent volunteer that day. The other time is during our math block on Tuesday. Please remember that the performance is Thursday evening.
As I mentioned last week, we will be starting our unit on community and local history. Mr. Hubbard and I have been working out the details of this unit. Part of the curriculum requires us to work with timelines. One of our final projects for this unit will be for the students to create a digital timeline of their life. We will ask (at a later date) for you and your child to brainstorm 5-7 significant events that have happened during their lifetime. Mrs. Marcelle will be working with us on the integration of technology for this unit.
This week's homework: There is a math game for each child this week. Remember that the 1st graders will play the game for 2 weeks.
Reminders:
*Winter clothing needed for recess time and dry shoes for the classroom.
*Winter Sports Program on Wednesday.
I hope you have a great week.
Peace,
Tom
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. This week we have two rehearsals for our Winter performance. One of the rehearsals will be Thursday morning during our station/reading group time. We will not need a parent volunteer that day. The other time is during our math block on Tuesday. Please remember that the performance is Thursday evening.
As I mentioned last week, we will be starting our unit on community and local history. Mr. Hubbard and I have been working out the details of this unit. Part of the curriculum requires us to work with timelines. One of our final projects for this unit will be for the students to create a digital timeline of their life. We will ask (at a later date) for you and your child to brainstorm 5-7 significant events that have happened during their lifetime. Mrs. Marcelle will be working with us on the integration of technology for this unit.
This week's homework: There is a math game for each child this week. Remember that the 1st graders will play the game for 2 weeks.
Reminders:
*Winter clothing needed for recess time and dry shoes for the classroom.
*Winter Sports Program on Wednesday.
I hope you have a great week.
Peace,
Tom
January 6, 2012
January 6, 2011
Good Afternoon. We had a fabulous Friday. The students have their Weekly News Journals in their backpacks. Today we worked with the following poem by: Beverly Mcloughland, ask your child about the nouns, adjectives, and verbs.
Use words that are pleasing,
Like: Freezing
And snow,
Iceberg and igloo
And Blizzard and blow,
Try: Arctic, Antarctic
Say: shiver and shake,
But whatever you never say,
Never say: Bake.
Have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tom
Use words that are pleasing,
Like: Freezing
And snow,
Iceberg and igloo
And Blizzard and blow,
Try: Arctic, Antarctic
Say: shiver and shake,
But whatever you never say,
Never say: Bake.
Have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tom
January 2, 2012
January 3, 2011
Good Morning,
I hope everyone had a wonderful break. It was nice to have time to relax and enjoy the little things in life. It is hard to believe that we are starting the year 2012. I started teaching at the Waitsfield School in 2000 and the time has certainly flown by.
The rest of the year can be broken down into three chunks: from now until February break, March through the April break, and May through the end of the year. During this block, we will continue with most of our everyday scheduled things but will have a switch in focus from science to social studies. We will be looking at local history and use our Artist in Residence (at the end of this block) to celebrate this history. This year's Artist in Residence is the Bread and Puppet Company.
There are two changes to talk about as far as the makeup of the class. FIrst of all, we will officially welcome Claudia back to the Waitsfield School. After spending the first few months learning in Paris, Claudia will once again be a full time member of our classroom and school community. We also begin our life without Ms. Hines. Ms. Hines will be teaching in Berlin this semester. However, she will keep in touch and may even stop in from time to time.
NOTES: Please make sure to pay special attention to the information outlined below.
*Winter Sports Program: We will start our winter sports program this Wednesday. Please make sure that your child has all of the appropriate clothing and equipment. It is best if you can label all items. It always amazes me how our lost and found grows during this season.
*Winter Recess: It is expected that your child come to school prepared for recess each day. This means, coats, snow pants, boots, hats, and mitten/gloves. If you have extra sets of things and would rather have your child leave items at school, please let me know. I will help them with this.
*Homework: There will be reading homework this week, and math will start next week. Based on experience, I never assign any homework on our school's ski days. I find the the kids are quite exhausted, and parents appreciate the elimination of this task on these days. However, if you feel inclined, feel free to read with your child and/or play the math game on these evenings.
I hope everyone has a wonderful week, and I wish a Happy New Year to each of you!
Peace,
Tom
I hope everyone had a wonderful break. It was nice to have time to relax and enjoy the little things in life. It is hard to believe that we are starting the year 2012. I started teaching at the Waitsfield School in 2000 and the time has certainly flown by.
The rest of the year can be broken down into three chunks: from now until February break, March through the April break, and May through the end of the year. During this block, we will continue with most of our everyday scheduled things but will have a switch in focus from science to social studies. We will be looking at local history and use our Artist in Residence (at the end of this block) to celebrate this history. This year's Artist in Residence is the Bread and Puppet Company.
There are two changes to talk about as far as the makeup of the class. FIrst of all, we will officially welcome Claudia back to the Waitsfield School. After spending the first few months learning in Paris, Claudia will once again be a full time member of our classroom and school community. We also begin our life without Ms. Hines. Ms. Hines will be teaching in Berlin this semester. However, she will keep in touch and may even stop in from time to time.
NOTES: Please make sure to pay special attention to the information outlined below.
*Winter Sports Program: We will start our winter sports program this Wednesday. Please make sure that your child has all of the appropriate clothing and equipment. It is best if you can label all items. It always amazes me how our lost and found grows during this season.
*Winter Recess: It is expected that your child come to school prepared for recess each day. This means, coats, snow pants, boots, hats, and mitten/gloves. If you have extra sets of things and would rather have your child leave items at school, please let me know. I will help them with this.
*Homework: There will be reading homework this week, and math will start next week. Based on experience, I never assign any homework on our school's ski days. I find the the kids are quite exhausted, and parents appreciate the elimination of this task on these days. However, if you feel inclined, feel free to read with your child and/or play the math game on these evenings.
I hope everyone has a wonderful week, and I wish a Happy New Year to each of you!
Peace,
Tom
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