Good Morning,
This week we had been working on stories that focus on small moments. The students are learning to pick a specific moment and then explode it by writing in detail about the event. In science, the students have investigated who force can effect an object, created testable questions, and write conclusions about their results. The first graders (in math) have been focusing on solving story problems, and the subtraction concept. The second graders have focused on using number grids to solve unknown equations and story problems.
Our Flynn trip is fast approaching. Each student will need to bring in $3.00 for the trip. Checks can be made out to Waitsfield Elementary School. I would like to collect this money before the Thanksgiving Break. Please let Kaiya or I know if the $3.00 presents a challenge. We will not need chaperones for this trip. We have a limited number of seats and the Flynn has it organized to a "T."
Conferences: Please make sure that your child comes to the conference (for the first 5 minutes). They are welcome to hang out in the classroom or the gym afterwards. I am skiing that you also bring the report card to the conference. I will use it to talk with your child.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
November 21, 2014
November 17, 2014
November 17, 2014
Good Morning,
I want to thank all of you that were able to support the Ski and Skate sale over the past weekend. This is truly a remarkable event and the proceeds allow us to enhance your child's school experience in many ways. This event would not be the success that it is without the many volunteers and supporters from our community.
If you haven't signed up for a parent conference time, please do so today. If you have more than one child in our school, you may not want to schedule them back to back. This way you don't loose time during the transition from one room to another. My conferences tend to be one right after another and I will be prompt. If you are late, please understand that you will only get the remaining time for your slot because it could effect more than jeu the conference behind you. I WOULD like your child to attend the first 5-6 minutes of the conference.
Report cards will be sent home on Friday. Please bring them to the conference with you.
Have a great week!
Peace,
Tommy
I want to thank all of you that were able to support the Ski and Skate sale over the past weekend. This is truly a remarkable event and the proceeds allow us to enhance your child's school experience in many ways. This event would not be the success that it is without the many volunteers and supporters from our community.
If you haven't signed up for a parent conference time, please do so today. If you have more than one child in our school, you may not want to schedule them back to back. This way you don't loose time during the transition from one room to another. My conferences tend to be one right after another and I will be prompt. If you are late, please understand that you will only get the remaining time for your slot because it could effect more than jeu the conference behind you. I WOULD like your child to attend the first 5-6 minutes of the conference.
Report cards will be sent home on Friday. Please bring them to the conference with you.
Have a great week!
Peace,
Tommy
November 14, 2014
October 14, 2014
Good Afternoon,
We had a slight change in our afternoon schedule today. The students will not be bringing home Weekly News or Reading Bags over the weekend. We spent the afternoon writing procedural pieces about our favorite Thanksgiving food. The students used temporal words to describe how to make their favorite choice.
This morning, we called our friends in Iowa and conducted a video chat. We shared our thoughts on the Global Read A Loud and talked about what our favorite books were. We ended a call with a whole group (Iowa and Vermont) dance. I think we wowed them with our moves!
Here is this week's video.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
We had a slight change in our afternoon schedule today. The students will not be bringing home Weekly News or Reading Bags over the weekend. We spent the afternoon writing procedural pieces about our favorite Thanksgiving food. The students used temporal words to describe how to make their favorite choice.
This morning, we called our friends in Iowa and conducted a video chat. We shared our thoughts on the Global Read A Loud and talked about what our favorite books were. We ended a call with a whole group (Iowa and Vermont) dance. I think we wowed them with our moves!
Here is this week's video.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
November 10, 2014
November 10, 2014
Good Afternoon,
Today was quite a packed day. The students started the day by working on their sight words. We then moved into Morning Meeting and shared the parent responses from their Weekly News Journals. Math was up next. The first graders worked on games that asked them to focus on complements of 10 or 20. The second graders looked at numbers in story problems. The class then moved into spelling. One group worked on recognizing initial and endings sounds as well as medial short vowel sounds. Another group worked on the short e, er, ir, and ur, and the -tion ending. The third group worked on y making the long e sound at the end of the word, er, ur, and ir sounds, and the chunk -ture. A final student was working on vocabulary words. In science, the students watched a video that featured a car with square wheels. They watched as it sped down the road. They were then asked the question; Do certain types of shapes roll easier than others? The students then started conducting an experiment that allowed them to test ideas that would help them answer the question. We will finish this experiment tomorrow. During the afternoon, the students had reading groups and their Daily 5 activities. The students ended the day with PE.
Notes:
*I will be leaving at 1:00 on Monday. I have a district math meeting.
*Please make sure that your child is arriving at school by 7:40. It is important for them to be arriving on time and to have the same advantage as every other student. As I have stated before, students start in with their sight words right at 7:40. Being 5 minutes late each day puts them at a 25 minute disadvantage to every other child.
I hope you have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
Today was quite a packed day. The students started the day by working on their sight words. We then moved into Morning Meeting and shared the parent responses from their Weekly News Journals. Math was up next. The first graders worked on games that asked them to focus on complements of 10 or 20. The second graders looked at numbers in story problems. The class then moved into spelling. One group worked on recognizing initial and endings sounds as well as medial short vowel sounds. Another group worked on the short e, er, ir, and ur, and the -tion ending. The third group worked on y making the long e sound at the end of the word, er, ur, and ir sounds, and the chunk -ture. A final student was working on vocabulary words. In science, the students watched a video that featured a car with square wheels. They watched as it sped down the road. They were then asked the question; Do certain types of shapes roll easier than others? The students then started conducting an experiment that allowed them to test ideas that would help them answer the question. We will finish this experiment tomorrow. During the afternoon, the students had reading groups and their Daily 5 activities. The students ended the day with PE.
Notes:
*I will be leaving at 1:00 on Monday. I have a district math meeting.
*Please make sure that your child is arriving at school by 7:40. It is important for them to be arriving on time and to have the same advantage as every other student. As I have stated before, students start in with their sight words right at 7:40. Being 5 minutes late each day puts them at a 25 minute disadvantage to every other child.
I hope you have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
November 7, 2014
November 7, 2014
Good Morning,
This week, I started reading some of the Choose Your Own Adventure books for our read-a-loud time. The students seem to enjoy the opportunity to choose where we will go next in the book. We also read Going Places, by Peter Reynolds. This is another selection from the Global Read-A-Loud author study. The students are excited to start designing their own "going place" vehicle.
In science, we looked at the effects that force has on the rate of speed. We used different amounts of force as we timed ourselves going down the slide. The students were asked to make predictions, record data, and then use the data to determine if their prediction was correct or not.
In math, the 2nd graders have been working on the concept of expanded notation and who to write numbers in that form. They have also been focusing on math fact fluency through games like Beat the Calculator. The first graders finished up their unit on geometry and the ability to classify, compose and decompose shapes from other shapes. They also started their next unit on problem solving. Their continues to be a focus on complements of 10, 20 and 100 (depending on your child's ability).
In writing, the students started writing to their pen pals at Thatcher Brook Primary School. We will be writing to Mrs. Kulis' 1st and 2nd graders. At the end of the year, we will join them on a "meet and greet" field trip.
Notes:
*Your child has reading homework over the weekend.
*Please read and fill out the Weekly News Journal and return it on Monday.
*If you haven't done so, please return your child's Winter Adventure Program form.
*Don't forget to sign up for volunteering at the Ski and Skate Sale.
Have a great weekend!
Peace,
Tommy
This week, I started reading some of the Choose Your Own Adventure books for our read-a-loud time. The students seem to enjoy the opportunity to choose where we will go next in the book. We also read Going Places, by Peter Reynolds. This is another selection from the Global Read-A-Loud author study. The students are excited to start designing their own "going place" vehicle.
In science, we looked at the effects that force has on the rate of speed. We used different amounts of force as we timed ourselves going down the slide. The students were asked to make predictions, record data, and then use the data to determine if their prediction was correct or not.
In math, the 2nd graders have been working on the concept of expanded notation and who to write numbers in that form. They have also been focusing on math fact fluency through games like Beat the Calculator. The first graders finished up their unit on geometry and the ability to classify, compose and decompose shapes from other shapes. They also started their next unit on problem solving. Their continues to be a focus on complements of 10, 20 and 100 (depending on your child's ability).
In writing, the students started writing to their pen pals at Thatcher Brook Primary School. We will be writing to Mrs. Kulis' 1st and 2nd graders. At the end of the year, we will join them on a "meet and greet" field trip.
Notes:
*Your child has reading homework over the weekend.
*Please read and fill out the Weekly News Journal and return it on Monday.
*If you haven't done so, please return your child's Winter Adventure Program form.
*Don't forget to sign up for volunteering at the Ski and Skate Sale.
Have a great weekend!
Peace,
Tommy
November 3, 2014
November 3, 2014
Good Afternoon,
We are off to a good start for the week. Today the student's continued a science investigation from last Thursday. At the end of the lesson, the students were describing their observations as part of a while group discussion. Many of them concluded that the heavier the ball was the harder it was to move with a breath of air.
We also had writing time this morning. I continued to edit with some students and a few more published their books. They are excited to be published authors. This afternoon, we had Daily 5 and PE.
Notes:
*There is a half day on Wednesday.
*As the ground starts to get muddier/snowier please make sure that your child has a pair of boots for outside play. They are welcome to leave an extra pair of indoor shoes here at school. Just remind them that they are to leave them at school.
I hope you all have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
We are off to a good start for the week. Today the student's continued a science investigation from last Thursday. At the end of the lesson, the students were describing their observations as part of a while group discussion. Many of them concluded that the heavier the ball was the harder it was to move with a breath of air.
We also had writing time this morning. I continued to edit with some students and a few more published their books. They are excited to be published authors. This afternoon, we had Daily 5 and PE.
Notes:
*There is a half day on Wednesday.
*As the ground starts to get muddier/snowier please make sure that your child has a pair of boots for outside play. They are welcome to leave an extra pair of indoor shoes here at school. Just remind them that they are to leave them at school.
I hope you all have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
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