March 29, 2013

Happy Friday Everyone, 

This morning we saw a preview of Harwood's production of Pippin.  Many of our students thought it was a real treat to see dancing and singing first thing in the morning.  

Today, we read the last chapters of James and the Giant Peach.  The class laughed out loud as I read about the giant peach being part of a parade and then being eaten by a swarm of children.   Next week, we will be starting a new adventure!  

In science, we learned about the subtle changes that our tadpoles will go through.  Below are some photos of students arranging large magnets that depict their development into frogs. 

FIRST GRADE PARENTS: I realized that I sent the math game home early this week.  Sorry about that!  Please start playing the new game, and I will send the survey for this new game home on 4/11. 

Reminder: We will be sharing what we have learned about Civil Rights at the assembly on 4/12 at 7:50AM, and would love if you could all join us! 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Best, 

Britta

Dear Parents,
  I spent the day observing a 1st and 2nd grade at T.B.P.S.  It was my second visit to the school this week.  I am enjoying the opportunity to observe others and to discuss practices with my peers.  Next week I will be visiting Fayston Elementary for two days, Mrs. Hines' (last year's student teacher) classroom on Wednesday, and back to Thatcher Brook on Thursday.  I will be at our school on Friday, because I will be helping kick off the 1st grade poster project and the 2nd grade research papers.  If you are a parent of a second grader, please fill out the research questionnaire that I gave out at conferences.  I really need those by Thursday of next week. 

  I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Peace,
Tom 

March 27, 2013

Hello Everyone, 

This has been a wonderful start to my solo weeks, and I would like to thank you for your support.

For the past two days each student has been working hard to create his or her own book on punctuation.  These books include definitions and examples.  So far, we have focused on using periods at the ends of sentences and after abbreviations.  

In science we have started learning about the life cycle of frogs.  Students have been working carefully to put the stages of the cycle in order.  

Please feel free to come in and check out how our tadpoles are developing.  

Today Jude shared with the class how his family celebrates the tradition of Passover.  

Thanks for sharing, Jude! 

Today was also our last ski/ride day of the year,  I can’t wait to hear how it went!

Best, 

Britta

March 25, 2013

Hello Everyone, 

This morning got off to a quick start: we loaded the bus at 8:15 and were on our way to Burlington!

It was such a treat to see the Taiko drummers at the Flynn.  Students were sitting on the edge of their seats, watching the choreographed moves of the performers as they played.  The show also included dragon puppets that danced off the stage and into the audience, and a giant drum played by two musicians.  

I am proud of our students, who were a model audience.  They were respectful of the performers and others trying to enjoy the show.  

For more information, visit  http://www.burlingtontaiko.org

Best, 

Britta

March 22, 2013

Good Morning,
  I just finished my last conference for the day.  I appreciate meeting with everyone over the past two days, and also appreciated the dialogue and input from all of you.  I hope you found the conferences beneficial, meaningful, and productive.  As always, if you have any concerns and/or remaining questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

  Mrs. Lea will be starting her solo teaching on Monday.  However, I will be attending the trip to the Flynn to help out with management and supervision.  Please be on time for school.  We will be leaving by 8:15 and want to make sure everyone has a chance to eat a quick snack and use the bathroom before we leave.  Mr. Hubbard's and Mr. Greenleaf's classes will be joining us on the trip.

*I will be visiting other 1st and 2nd grade classrooms during Mrs. Lea's solo teaching.  I am excited to have the opportunity to visit other classes and see new ideas.

*Our class will be presenting during the April 12th, assembly.  It will give us an opportunity to showcase some of our learning from our study of the Civil Right's movement.  The assembly starts at 7:45.

Have a great weekend!

Peace,
Tom

*A  note from Mrs. Lea:

Good afternoon everyone,
As some of you may have heard, our class got tadpoles!
We are just kicking off our Life Cycles science unit and the students are very excited. Over the next few weeks we will take an in-depth look at the different life cycles of butterflies, frogs, and plants. We will even touch briefly on the stages humans go through as they develop into adults. Students will learn about similarities and differences among cycles, and I am sure they will be eager to share what they learn at home.
As always, stay tuned to the blog for pictures and updates as we begin our new science unit.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any comments or questions about this unit. Best,
Britta
Some things we have planned for this unit:
-Creating an observation log where we can record changes in plants and animals -Watching tadpoles develop into frogs right in our classroom!
-Growing plants in jars
-Creating posters that explain how organisms move through developmental stages 

March 20, 2012

Good Afternoon,
  Since my last post, we have taken a day off, had two specials, a lunch period, skiing, and oh yes reading and math.  Not much to say on the academic front.  However, the class has been wonderful and I am very pleased with there effort over the past fe weeks.  We have had several people comment on their work and/or behavior.  A job well done by all of them!

Parent Conferences are Thursday and Friday.  We are back to back on many of them.  Please be on time.  I will be as equally attentive of this request.  Please bring your child and his/her report card.

Remember, we are headed to the Flynn on Monday morning.

Peace,
Tom

March 18, 2013

Good Afternoon,
  I have to apologize for not posting on Friday.  I had every intention of doing it during art class, but pent the time dealing with a different issue.  We had a great day on Friday.  Mrs. Belknap's class joined our class for a Red Clover Book project.  We divided the classes into 4 groups.  Each group had to read a Red Clover selection and then complete a story map about the book.  The groups then used their story maps to create a poster of their story.  The poster had to include all of the information from the story map.

  Today, Mrs. Hosford was in observing Mrs. Lea.  Mrs. Lea led two reading groups, a spelling group, and the math lesson.  During Writer's Workshop, we continued our focus on biographies.  I read a book about Jesse Owens.  We will use the notes we took to write a biography during tomorrow;s workshop.  The kids also tried to jump the distance that Jesse did during his Olympic long jump event.  Below are some pictures and videos of the event.

*Report Cards are in your child's homework bag.  Please bring them to your conference.

Peace,
Tom

March 13, 2013

Good Morning Friends,
  Yesterday, I introduced the students to the song What A Wonderful World, by Louis Armstrong.  It is a song that I am using to wrap up our study of the Civil Rights Movement.  A few of the special teachers are wrapping up their activities (for this unit).  Once they are finished, we will have an assembly to present some of our work.  In the mean time, check out the work in our hallway.  The kids have done some wonderful projects.

If you have not signed up for a parent conference, please do so.  I look forward to seeing you (and your child) at the conference.  Report cards will be sent home on Monday.

NOTES:

*Flynn Trip:  We will go to the Flynn on Monday, March 25th.  This is Britta's first day of her solo teaching, but I will be joining the class for the trip up north.

*There is a new 1st grade math game in your child's bag (handed out on Monday).  Please play it a few times over the next week and a half.  The survey will be sent home a week from Thursday.

*As the weather fluctuates, please make sure your child still is prepared for colder recess days.  Boots are still a must.  Once "mud season" ends, we will lift the boot request.

Have a great day.

Peace,
Tom

March 11, 2013

I hope you are all having a good start to your week!

 

We started our Monday with juggling as a class and set a new record.  We were able to pass the ball to every student in 60 seconds.

 

In Writer’s Workshop we started to study the craft of biographies.  We used stories about Barack Obama, Sally Ride, Helen Keller and the Wright brothers to practice finding facts in books.  

 

The tickets for out Flynn trip are limited so we will not be able to have any parents join us.  We will keep you posted if anything changes.

 

Best,

 

Britta & Tom

March 8, 2012

**NOTE:  You will be able to schedule conferences online.  Please sign up. --Tom**

Happy Friday! 

This week we had a chance to share stories about February break.  From the sound of it, everyone had a good time. 

Our Martin's Big Words posters have been hung from the ceiling in the hall by our class and by the library.  Many parents and teachers have payed our students compliments on their hard work and beautiful art (pictured below).

  

We have continued to study the Iditarod, and we're all hoping our class favorite, Lance Mackey, wins the race.  You can track his progress on the official website, http://iditarod.com.

We hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Best, 

Britta

March 6, 2013

Good Morning,
  I hope everyone had a great break.  We started this morning with a discussion of where we have been and where we are headed.  We reviewed a few expectations and focused on giving our best effort in all that we do.

  I will spend today and tomorrow doing a few reading test (for report card purposes).  There will be reading homework each day this week.  Math will start again next week.

  Our Martin Luther King Jr. posters are now hung in our hallway.  Please stop by and take a look.  The kids did a fabulous job with them.

Have a great day.

Peace,
Tom