Good Morning,
We spent most of our day working on a special project/gift for you. The students will continue to work on this tomorrow. They are all excited to make and give a special gift to you. In order to get this done, we will be cutting into our Language Arts time. Your children will not have homework tonight or tomorrow night.
We had a new student join our class from Florida. Anelise is a 2nd grade girl and we are happy that she is joining our room.
I hope you have a wonderful break and a fabulous New Year.
All the best,
Tommy
December 21, 2015
December 18, 2015
December 18, 2015
Good Morning,
We have had a wonderful week and the students have been hard at work with a variety of tasks and learning opportunities. They continued writing non-fiction/teaching books. We focused on using other readers to help clarify our own writings and reviewed spelling approaches (in our writing). Our chat with Senator Leahy went well. He was great with the kids and fielded all of their questions. He even imitated his Batman voice and talked about his appearance int he next Batman movie. In math, the 1st graders have been working on measurement (non standard), fractions, and time to the hour and half hour. The 2nd graders have been working on attribute blocks and sorting by specific rules.
I had stated, in Monday's post, that I would be sending home paper for students to complete the book for Lydia's last day. Lydia was not in school on Wednesday, so I used the afternoon to complete the book in class. We will present it to her on Wednesday. We will be having a "goodbye party" for her that morning.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
We have had a wonderful week and the students have been hard at work with a variety of tasks and learning opportunities. They continued writing non-fiction/teaching books. We focused on using other readers to help clarify our own writings and reviewed spelling approaches (in our writing). Our chat with Senator Leahy went well. He was great with the kids and fielded all of their questions. He even imitated his Batman voice and talked about his appearance int he next Batman movie. In math, the 1st graders have been working on measurement (non standard), fractions, and time to the hour and half hour. The 2nd graders have been working on attribute blocks and sorting by specific rules.
I had stated, in Monday's post, that I would be sending home paper for students to complete the book for Lydia's last day. Lydia was not in school on Wednesday, so I used the afternoon to complete the book in class. We will present it to her on Wednesday. We will be having a "goodbye party" for her that morning.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
December 14, 2015
December 14, 2015
Good Afternoon,
Holy Mud Season Batman! Hard to believe it is the middle of December. This past Saturday, my family and I went to Church St and it had true spring feel to it.
This will be our last full week before vacation. The routine will stay the same and homework will be sent home each night. On Friday, I will be sending home a blank piece of oaktag. I would like your child to create a picture of something they will remember about Lydia or something she does well. I will use these pictures to create a goodbye book for Lydia. Lydia and her family will be moving to Stowe and The 23rd will be Lydia's last day. I would like to have a little going away celebration on the 23rd. If anyone would like to provide snacks or drinks, please let me know. I would like to keep this a secret from Lydia.
On Wednesday, we will be chatting with Senator Patrick Leahy and learn about how he makes a difference as a Senator.
I hope you have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
Holy Mud Season Batman! Hard to believe it is the middle of December. This past Saturday, my family and I went to Church St and it had true spring feel to it.
This will be our last full week before vacation. The routine will stay the same and homework will be sent home each night. On Friday, I will be sending home a blank piece of oaktag. I would like your child to create a picture of something they will remember about Lydia or something she does well. I will use these pictures to create a goodbye book for Lydia. Lydia and her family will be moving to Stowe and The 23rd will be Lydia's last day. I would like to have a little going away celebration on the 23rd. If anyone would like to provide snacks or drinks, please let me know. I would like to keep this a secret from Lydia.
On Wednesday, we will be chatting with Senator Patrick Leahy and learn about how he makes a difference as a Senator.
I hope you have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
December 7, 2015
December 7, 2015
Good Morning,
I hope you enjoyed your weekend. I found myself running with 1500 other Santa Clauses through the streets of Burlington. It was a fun 5k race that raised some money for Camp Tukumta.
Today we finished our write up for our last week's guest speaker. We will be Skyping with Senator Leahy next week. The next phase of our unit will look at how people made a difference during the Civil Rights Movement.
In math, the 2nd graders have been focusing on attribute blocks and working on a variety of sorting activities. The 1st graders have been working with the idea of measurement. Today the measured the length of a variety of fish and determined if they met the 7 inch keeper rule.
I hope you all have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
I hope you enjoyed your weekend. I found myself running with 1500 other Santa Clauses through the streets of Burlington. It was a fun 5k race that raised some money for Camp Tukumta.
Today we finished our write up for our last week's guest speaker. We will be Skyping with Senator Leahy next week. The next phase of our unit will look at how people made a difference during the Civil Rights Movement.
In math, the 2nd graders have been focusing on attribute blocks and working on a variety of sorting activities. The 1st graders have been working with the idea of measurement. Today the measured the length of a variety of fish and determined if they met the 7 inch keeper rule.
I hope you all have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
December 4, 2015
December 4, 2015
Good Morning,
We have had a great week here at school. The students have been working on writing "Teaching" books (non-fiction). They are learning to plan it out on their fingers to make sure that they are truly an expert on the topic. This makes the writing process much easier as they write their story.
Today was also the first day of Health Class. Our time with Katie and Guidance has ended and the 2nd trimester will be all about healthy choices and healthy minds.
On Tuesday, the class was visited by Secretary Rebecca Holcombe. She is the Secretary of Education for the State of Vermont. She spoke to the children about all of the ways she is trying to make a difference for the kids of our state. She shared a personal story about what led her to find a job that helped others.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
We have had a great week here at school. The students have been working on writing "Teaching" books (non-fiction). They are learning to plan it out on their fingers to make sure that they are truly an expert on the topic. This makes the writing process much easier as they write their story.
Today was also the first day of Health Class. Our time with Katie and Guidance has ended and the 2nd trimester will be all about healthy choices and healthy minds.
On Tuesday, the class was visited by Secretary Rebecca Holcombe. She is the Secretary of Education for the State of Vermont. She spoke to the children about all of the ways she is trying to make a difference for the kids of our state. She shared a personal story about what led her to find a job that helped others.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
November 30, 2015
November 30, 2015
Good Morning,
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It is always nice to have some time with family and time to relax.
We are wrapping up our Earth, Moon, and Sky unit this week. I want to finish up with two more lessons on why and when we see the moon in the sky. We will start a writing unit that focuses on writing non-fiction chapter books, on Tuesday. This will be a fun and engaging unit as students write books about things they are experts on.
Tomorrow, Rebecca Holcombe, the Secretary of Education will be visiting our classroom. She will be talking to our class about how she makes a difference in the lives of school children across the state.
Notes:
*There is a new reading log in your child's homework bag.
*Please return your report card envelope to me (if you haven't already).
*The weather is finally turning toward the colder side. Could you please make sure your child has appropriate clothing for recess.
I hope you have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It is always nice to have some time with family and time to relax.
We are wrapping up our Earth, Moon, and Sky unit this week. I want to finish up with two more lessons on why and when we see the moon in the sky. We will start a writing unit that focuses on writing non-fiction chapter books, on Tuesday. This will be a fun and engaging unit as students write books about things they are experts on.
Tomorrow, Rebecca Holcombe, the Secretary of Education will be visiting our classroom. She will be talking to our class about how she makes a difference in the lives of school children across the state.
Notes:
*There is a new reading log in your child's homework bag.
*Please return your report card envelope to me (if you haven't already).
*The weather is finally turning toward the colder side. Could you please make sure your child has appropriate clothing for recess.
I hope you have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
November 24, 2015
November 24, 2015
Good Morning,
It was nice to meet with so many of you last night, during our conferences. I am looking forward to finishing up today. As always, if you find you still have questions and/or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Our next unit of study in writing will be Non Fiction chapter books. I am looking forward to moving on from our narrative focus and onto books that highlight each students interests and knowledge.
As I reflect on the first trimester and the season itself, I find myself truly thankful for both the opportunity to teach here at the Waitsfield School and to teach your children. We are an amazing community with a great leader and incredible educators. It truly is inspiring to work with such great people. The support we receive from parents and the community as a whole is absolutely remarkable. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Peace,
Tommy
It was nice to meet with so many of you last night, during our conferences. I am looking forward to finishing up today. As always, if you find you still have questions and/or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Our next unit of study in writing will be Non Fiction chapter books. I am looking forward to moving on from our narrative focus and onto books that highlight each students interests and knowledge.
As I reflect on the first trimester and the season itself, I find myself truly thankful for both the opportunity to teach here at the Waitsfield School and to teach your children. We are an amazing community with a great leader and incredible educators. It truly is inspiring to work with such great people. The support we receive from parents and the community as a whole is absolutely remarkable. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Peace,
Tommy
November 20, 2015
November 20, 2015
Good Morning,
I left my iPad at home today so I can't create the video (during lunch). Sorry about that. I am really looking forward to meeting with all of you during our conferences. I would like your child to attend and please bring the report card. I ask that your child attend for several reasons. First, I want them to know that this is their report. They have a part in how the scores turn out. Specifically, they control the Work Habits and Social Development part of their report card. This is truly the only thing they can control. The academic part is my responsibility. If a child isn't meeting the standard, it is on me to figure out how to get them there. It really helps develop the idea that we are working together as a classroom team.
Notes
*The Weekly News Journals are in each child's homework bag.
*There is reading homework today.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
I left my iPad at home today so I can't create the video (during lunch). Sorry about that. I am really looking forward to meeting with all of you during our conferences. I would like your child to attend and please bring the report card. I ask that your child attend for several reasons. First, I want them to know that this is their report. They have a part in how the scores turn out. Specifically, they control the Work Habits and Social Development part of their report card. This is truly the only thing they can control. The academic part is my responsibility. If a child isn't meeting the standard, it is on me to figure out how to get them there. It really helps develop the idea that we are working together as a classroom team.
Notes
*The Weekly News Journals are in each child's homework bag.
*There is reading homework today.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
November 16, 2015
November 16, 2015
Good Morning,
I hope you all had a great weekend. I would like to take a moment to thank all of you that were able to volunteer at the Ski and Skate Sale. This truly is a community event and takes the community to obtain success. Once again the PTA was able to meet their goal to fund the projects they had budgeted for. A special thanks goes out to the PTA and all of the hard work that goes into planning such an extraordinary event.
This morning we chatted with our friends, at the Study school, in Canada. We each shared some work that we did based on two different books from the author study. My class presented their work form the book "!". I am hoping to have this work hanging in the hall by the end of the week.
Your child's report card will be sent home on Friday. I was able to complete these this weekend and am excited for you to see how your child is progressing. I ask that you bring these report cards to your conference along with your child. This way I can use the report card to set a goal with your child and include them in the conference. After the 1st 5 minutes, your child will be asked to leave I will spend the rest of the time chatting with you.
I hope you have a great week. Maybe I will see you at the Thanksgiving luncheon.
Peace,
Tommy
I hope you all had a great weekend. I would like to take a moment to thank all of you that were able to volunteer at the Ski and Skate Sale. This truly is a community event and takes the community to obtain success. Once again the PTA was able to meet their goal to fund the projects they had budgeted for. A special thanks goes out to the PTA and all of the hard work that goes into planning such an extraordinary event.
This morning we chatted with our friends, at the Study school, in Canada. We each shared some work that we did based on two different books from the author study. My class presented their work form the book "!". I am hoping to have this work hanging in the hall by the end of the week.
Your child's report card will be sent home on Friday. I was able to complete these this weekend and am excited for you to see how your child is progressing. I ask that you bring these report cards to your conference along with your child. This way I can use the report card to set a goal with your child and include them in the conference. After the 1st 5 minutes, your child will be asked to leave I will spend the rest of the time chatting with you.
I hope you have a great week. Maybe I will see you at the Thanksgiving luncheon.
Peace,
Tommy
November 14, 2015
November 14, 2015
Good Afternoon,
I am sorry I didn't get this post out yesterday. This week, I spent most of our literacy times assessing each students reading, writing, and spelling abilities. Yesterday, I allowed the kids to watch a movie and eat popcorn as I finished testing. It also helped control the energy that comes with transforming our school into a weekend retail store (Ski and Skate). I use this information to compare to previous assessments and to allow me to determine the growth made and the next steps in instruction for each student. I will use a lot of the assessment pieces to guide me in determining scores on the report card and will share the information during our conferences.
As for conferences, please make sure to schedule a conference time. If you are not planning on requesting a conference, could you please let me know.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
I am sorry I didn't get this post out yesterday. This week, I spent most of our literacy times assessing each students reading, writing, and spelling abilities. Yesterday, I allowed the kids to watch a movie and eat popcorn as I finished testing. It also helped control the energy that comes with transforming our school into a weekend retail store (Ski and Skate). I use this information to compare to previous assessments and to allow me to determine the growth made and the next steps in instruction for each student. I will use a lot of the assessment pieces to guide me in determining scores on the report card and will share the information during our conferences.
As for conferences, please make sure to schedule a conference time. If you are not planning on requesting a conference, could you please let me know.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
November 8, 2015
Monday, November 9th
Good Morning,
I hope you had a great weekend with your family and enjoyed this April weather. We have a busy week ahead of us. In the classroom, the students will write up a reflection about our visit from Mrs. Davis. We will continue to work on our small moment unit in writing and hope to get to our final piece by the end of the week. I will be testing kids reading levels on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. During our Language Arts time, I will not be meeting with the kids for reading but rather testing their text levels. I want to see how they have progressed during the trimester and will use the information for report cards.
On Wednesday, we will have the Compass Cup. This was rescheduled from last week. The students will participate in a variety of team building activities as they celebrate their success with our PBIS goals.
Friday will mark the major setup day for the school's annual Ski and Skate sale. Our morning should run as normal but our afternoon may get changed up a bit. It all depends on what is needed from the classroom as set up happens.
I hope you have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
I hope you had a great weekend with your family and enjoyed this April weather. We have a busy week ahead of us. In the classroom, the students will write up a reflection about our visit from Mrs. Davis. We will continue to work on our small moment unit in writing and hope to get to our final piece by the end of the week. I will be testing kids reading levels on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. During our Language Arts time, I will not be meeting with the kids for reading but rather testing their text levels. I want to see how they have progressed during the trimester and will use the information for report cards.
On Wednesday, we will have the Compass Cup. This was rescheduled from last week. The students will participate in a variety of team building activities as they celebrate their success with our PBIS goals.
Friday will mark the major setup day for the school's annual Ski and Skate sale. Our morning should run as normal but our afternoon may get changed up a bit. It all depends on what is needed from the classroom as set up happens.
I hope you have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
November 2, 2015
November 2, 2015
Good Morning,
I hope you had a wonderful weekend and Trick or Treating was enjoyed by all who chose to participate. Today the students worked in teams of two to explain how the orbits of the moon and Earth work. We have been discussing the concepts of night and day and will now move into moon phases.
This Wednesday, the students will be celebrating the success of the compass cup. The school will gather in the afternoon as they bask in the glory of achieving our school wide behavior goals.
Notes:
*There is a new homework sheet in your child's homework bag for this week.
*I will be out of the building on Friday for personal reasons.
I hope you have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
I hope you had a wonderful weekend and Trick or Treating was enjoyed by all who chose to participate. Today the students worked in teams of two to explain how the orbits of the moon and Earth work. We have been discussing the concepts of night and day and will now move into moon phases.
This Wednesday, the students will be celebrating the success of the compass cup. The school will gather in the afternoon as they bask in the glory of achieving our school wide behavior goals.
Notes:
*There is a new homework sheet in your child's homework bag for this week.
*I will be out of the building on Friday for personal reasons.
I hope you have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
October 30, 2015
October 30, 2015
Good Afternoon,
It is truly a teacher's gift when Halloween falls on a Saturday. Just thinking about it brings tears of joy to my eyes! I hope your children enjoy tomorrow and have a safe and wonderful Halloween. This week, we spoke with our friends from Canada. Although we struggled through some technical difficulties, the session proved to be fun for everyone. Today we had a completely different afternoon than that of a typical Friday. After lunch, Mr. Mongeon and I introduced the students to a photography project that they will do throughout the year. We talked about how to take good pictures and then kids all practiced. These pictures will be part of an end of the year celebration.
We celebrated Halloween by focusing on math. The students used pumpkins and worked as 1st and 2nd grade teams to find the circumference, weight, height, and other features of their pumpkins. They also worked with Monster Symmetry. Their work should be in their bags.
Here is a video of the last two weeks in our class.
Notes:
*There is no Weekly News or Reading Homework in their bags. The Halloween activities trumped these things today. Look for them again next Friday.
*I am still missing 4 ski forms from my students. If you haven't already, please fill it out and send it back on Monday.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Tommy
It is truly a teacher's gift when Halloween falls on a Saturday. Just thinking about it brings tears of joy to my eyes! I hope your children enjoy tomorrow and have a safe and wonderful Halloween. This week, we spoke with our friends from Canada. Although we struggled through some technical difficulties, the session proved to be fun for everyone. Today we had a completely different afternoon than that of a typical Friday. After lunch, Mr. Mongeon and I introduced the students to a photography project that they will do throughout the year. We talked about how to take good pictures and then kids all practiced. These pictures will be part of an end of the year celebration.
We celebrated Halloween by focusing on math. The students used pumpkins and worked as 1st and 2nd grade teams to find the circumference, weight, height, and other features of their pumpkins. They also worked with Monster Symmetry. Their work should be in their bags.
Here is a video of the last two weeks in our class.
Notes:
*There is no Weekly News or Reading Homework in their bags. The Halloween activities trumped these things today. Look for them again next Friday.
*I am still missing 4 ski forms from my students. If you haven't already, please fill it out and send it back on Monday.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Tommy
October 26, 2015
October 26, 2015
Good Morning,
We finished our write-ups about Laura Brines this morning. The students sed our notes from her presentation to write about how she makes a difference and who benefits from her work with the Mad River Path Association. This afternoon, the students had handwriting/keyboarding with Eric and I and we also had a literacy block after lunch. Today's specials were French and PE.
Your child will have a new Yellow Recording Sheet (fro reading homework) in their homework bags today. Please leave them in their bag all week. It allows me to check in with kids about their weekly homework goals.
Notes:
*The PTA is desperately seeking help on Sunday of the Ski and Skate Sale. Please sign up if you are able to help. This is the only school wide fundraiser that we do and the students benefit greatly from its success.
*Please send in a pair of shoes with your child for inside the classroom. With boot season upon us, I expect students to have a pair of indoor shoes for the day.
*I am out tomorrow. I will be at my monthly meeting with the Agency of Ed.
Have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
We finished our write-ups about Laura Brines this morning. The students sed our notes from her presentation to write about how she makes a difference and who benefits from her work with the Mad River Path Association. This afternoon, the students had handwriting/keyboarding with Eric and I and we also had a literacy block after lunch. Today's specials were French and PE.
Your child will have a new Yellow Recording Sheet (fro reading homework) in their homework bags today. Please leave them in their bag all week. It allows me to check in with kids about their weekly homework goals.
Notes:
*The PTA is desperately seeking help on Sunday of the Ski and Skate Sale. Please sign up if you are able to help. This is the only school wide fundraiser that we do and the students benefit greatly from its success.
*Please send in a pair of shoes with your child for inside the classroom. With boot season upon us, I expect students to have a pair of indoor shoes for the day.
*I am out tomorrow. I will be at my monthly meeting with the Agency of Ed.
Have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
October 19, 2015
Monday, October 19th.
Good Morning,
I hope you all had a great weekend. The snow made for an interesting day of outdoor sports and recreation on Saturday. It also reminded me of some buts and bolts regarding the classroom. Students should wear boots or muck shoes on days where the playground will be messy. It is as equally important to make sure your child has a pair of indoor shoes for school too. Feel free to advise your child to leave a pair at school. This way you don;t have to deal with the back and forth each day.
This Thursday, Laura Brines will be coming in to speak about her work with the Mad River Path Association. This is the start of our people making a difference unit. We have invited a variety of people to come in and speak to our class about how they try and make a difference. Once the presenter is finished, the students will have two write about what they learned.
On Friday, We will be chatting with our friends in Canada. We will be discussing the book Duck! Rabbit! and presenting our opinion pieces about the book.
Below is a video of a new homework procedure and expectation. The new forms are in your child's reading bag today.
Have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
I hope you all had a great weekend. The snow made for an interesting day of outdoor sports and recreation on Saturday. It also reminded me of some buts and bolts regarding the classroom. Students should wear boots or muck shoes on days where the playground will be messy. It is as equally important to make sure your child has a pair of indoor shoes for school too. Feel free to advise your child to leave a pair at school. This way you don;t have to deal with the back and forth each day.
This Thursday, Laura Brines will be coming in to speak about her work with the Mad River Path Association. This is the start of our people making a difference unit. We have invited a variety of people to come in and speak to our class about how they try and make a difference. Once the presenter is finished, the students will have two write about what they learned.
On Friday, We will be chatting with our friends in Canada. We will be discussing the book Duck! Rabbit! and presenting our opinion pieces about the book.
Below is a video of a new homework procedure and expectation. The new forms are in your child's reading bag today.
Have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
October 16, 2015
October 15, 2015
Good Morning,
What a weekend to live in Vermont! The foliage was remarkable and the weather was perfect. I hope all of you found it as rejuvenating and enjoyable as I did.
We jumped right back into our reading and writing lessons on Wednesday. Our reading time was cut short due to the all school read-a-loud that occurred at 1:50. We will have one more all school read-a-loud next week as we gather in the gym to celebrate the 4 week school wide engagement activity.
We have been talking a lot about the idea of an "Apology of Action." This is what happens when you do something to hurt someone else's feelings. "Making amends is more than giving a verbal apology. When feelings have been hurt, truly making amends requires taking steps to restore trust and a sense of harmony. It requires taking responsibility and deciding what can be done to repair the relationship." In other words, I don't want students to just think they can say sorry and everything is ok. The person who is owed the apology must feel good about how their hurt feeling are fixed. We will continue to talk about different ways that students can complete an apology of action. I just wanted to give you all a heads up because I am sure you will start to hear this language at home too.
There is a new component to the reading homework. During our September professional Development, our speaker encouraged us to find ways for all students to have choice and to feel that they can be involved with their curriculum and expectations. On Monday, you will see a form in your child's homework bag. I will include a video, in Monday's blog post, that will explain how to use this form.
I hope you all have a great weekend. Below is a new video of the class.
Peace,
Tommy
What a weekend to live in Vermont! The foliage was remarkable and the weather was perfect. I hope all of you found it as rejuvenating and enjoyable as I did.
We jumped right back into our reading and writing lessons on Wednesday. Our reading time was cut short due to the all school read-a-loud that occurred at 1:50. We will have one more all school read-a-loud next week as we gather in the gym to celebrate the 4 week school wide engagement activity.
We have been talking a lot about the idea of an "Apology of Action." This is what happens when you do something to hurt someone else's feelings. "Making amends is more than giving a verbal apology. When feelings have been hurt, truly making amends requires taking steps to restore trust and a sense of harmony. It requires taking responsibility and deciding what can be done to repair the relationship." In other words, I don't want students to just think they can say sorry and everything is ok. The person who is owed the apology must feel good about how their hurt feeling are fixed. We will continue to talk about different ways that students can complete an apology of action. I just wanted to give you all a heads up because I am sure you will start to hear this language at home too.
There is a new component to the reading homework. During our September professional Development, our speaker encouraged us to find ways for all students to have choice and to feel that they can be involved with their curriculum and expectations. On Monday, you will see a form in your child's homework bag. I will include a video, in Monday's blog post, that will explain how to use this form.
I hope you all have a great weekend. Below is a new video of the class.
Peace,
Tommy
October 9, 2015
October 9, 2015
Good Morning,
I hope you have all had a great week. It has certainly been a crazy week with our regular schedule and a few additional things thrown in to keep us on our toes. On Wednesday, the Valley Fire Department came to visit our classroom. The four firefighters talked to the class about fire safety, the importance of smoke detectors, and demonstrated what a fire-person would look like with all of their equipment on. At the end of the presentation they handed out firefighter hats to everyone. Let's just say 18 kids running around the room making fire engine sounds made me feel like I had to put out a fire of my own.
On Thursday, the school met for a morning assembly and were introduced to the Compass Cup. The students were divided up into four teams, north, east, west, and south, and will be in these teams for a few weeks. As students get their We Rock tickets they are placing them in their team jar. The team with the most points at the end of the contest will win the compass cup.
On Wednesday, we started our participation in the Global Read-A-Loud. We are teaming up with a school from Canada called The Study School. The Study School is a leading Canadian private education all-girls school in Westmount, Quebec. Girls can attend from Kindergarten through to grade 11. The school was founded in 1915, by a young Englishwoman named Margaret Gascoigne. This year we will be reading books by Amy Rosenthal. This week we read the book Chopsticks. Each week we will connect with our friends in Canada via Google Hangouts and chat about the book we read. Below is a video explaining what the Global Read A Loud is all about.
Notes:
*Your child has their Weekly News journal in their homework bag.
*Each student has a Time For Kids Magazine in their homework bag. This magazine was used during reading groups today and can stay at home.
I hope you have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
I hope you have all had a great week. It has certainly been a crazy week with our regular schedule and a few additional things thrown in to keep us on our toes. On Wednesday, the Valley Fire Department came to visit our classroom. The four firefighters talked to the class about fire safety, the importance of smoke detectors, and demonstrated what a fire-person would look like with all of their equipment on. At the end of the presentation they handed out firefighter hats to everyone. Let's just say 18 kids running around the room making fire engine sounds made me feel like I had to put out a fire of my own.
On Thursday, the school met for a morning assembly and were introduced to the Compass Cup. The students were divided up into four teams, north, east, west, and south, and will be in these teams for a few weeks. As students get their We Rock tickets they are placing them in their team jar. The team with the most points at the end of the contest will win the compass cup.
On Wednesday, we started our participation in the Global Read-A-Loud. We are teaming up with a school from Canada called The Study School. The Study School is a leading Canadian private education all-girls school in Westmount, Quebec. Girls can attend from Kindergarten through to grade 11. The school was founded in 1915, by a young Englishwoman named Margaret Gascoigne. This year we will be reading books by Amy Rosenthal. This week we read the book Chopsticks. Each week we will connect with our friends in Canada via Google Hangouts and chat about the book we read. Below is a video explaining what the Global Read A Loud is all about.
Notes:
*Your child has their Weekly News journal in their homework bag.
*Each student has a Time For Kids Magazine in their homework bag. This magazine was used during reading groups today and can stay at home.
I hope you have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
October 2, 2015
October 2nd, 2015
Good Morning,
We have had a great week and are fully into our academic routine. Spelling consists of three groups. One group is a 1st grade group that is working on firming up letter sounds, short vowel sounds and then will move into digraphs. The other two groups are a mix of 1st and 2nd graders and are based on students' needs and not grade. You will not see a weekly spelling list from me. I believe that memorizing weekly lists doesn't actually teach students how to spell. The spelling groups will all focus on teaching spelling patterns and rules and then allow for multiple practice and repetition.
In writing, the students have learned strategies for spelling in their writing, are learning to revise stories, and how to identify small moments to write about. Now that reading groups have started, we will spend each Friday reading an issue of Time For Kids. There will be three different issues used each week. Each issue is based upon your child's reading level. These issues will be sent home in your child's reading bag on Friday. These magazines can be kept at home. For our beginner readers, these magazines may need to be read to the student. I will read it to them at school. It is important that students have a balance of nonfiction and fiction opportunities in their reading selections. The Time For Kids issues allow me to give them non-fiction opportunities and to test comprehension skills too.
There is no weekly video this week. I didn't capture enough clips on my i-Pad this week. However, I used the following video with my students at Champlain College this week. It gives you an idea about the "new math" and why it looks different from when we were in school. Let me know if you have any questions.
Why is Math Different Now from raj shah on Vimeo.
Notes:
*Your child has their Weekly News journal in their homework bag. Please look through it, respond, and return it on Monday.
*As many of you know, Colleen is a Behavior Interventionist in our classroom. Today marks Colleen last day. She will be moving out of state as she starts the next chapter in her lie. I know the students (especially the 2nd graders) will miss her. We had a little celebration for her this morning.
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
We have had a great week and are fully into our academic routine. Spelling consists of three groups. One group is a 1st grade group that is working on firming up letter sounds, short vowel sounds and then will move into digraphs. The other two groups are a mix of 1st and 2nd graders and are based on students' needs and not grade. You will not see a weekly spelling list from me. I believe that memorizing weekly lists doesn't actually teach students how to spell. The spelling groups will all focus on teaching spelling patterns and rules and then allow for multiple practice and repetition.
In writing, the students have learned strategies for spelling in their writing, are learning to revise stories, and how to identify small moments to write about. Now that reading groups have started, we will spend each Friday reading an issue of Time For Kids. There will be three different issues used each week. Each issue is based upon your child's reading level. These issues will be sent home in your child's reading bag on Friday. These magazines can be kept at home. For our beginner readers, these magazines may need to be read to the student. I will read it to them at school. It is important that students have a balance of nonfiction and fiction opportunities in their reading selections. The Time For Kids issues allow me to give them non-fiction opportunities and to test comprehension skills too.
There is no weekly video this week. I didn't capture enough clips on my i-Pad this week. However, I used the following video with my students at Champlain College this week. It gives you an idea about the "new math" and why it looks different from when we were in school. Let me know if you have any questions.
Why is Math Different Now from raj shah on Vimeo.
Notes:
*Your child has their Weekly News journal in their homework bag. Please look through it, respond, and return it on Monday.
*As many of you know, Colleen is a Behavior Interventionist in our classroom. Today marks Colleen last day. She will be moving out of state as she starts the next chapter in her lie. I know the students (especially the 2nd graders) will miss her. We had a little celebration for her this morning.
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
September 28, 2015
September 28, 2015
Good Morning,
I hope you all had a great weekend. It certainly felt like it flew by. Today, we started our formal spelling and reading time. I used today's reading time to check in with kids on their choices and to make sure they understood the expectations. Tomorrow, I will start meeting with groups and individuals. For my beginning readers, they will often have a book that they can read to you and then one that they would like read to them. Please make sure they read each night.
1st Grade Math Homework: Today marks the start of 1st grade math homework. Your child will have a sheet of flash cards in their homework bag. Please watch the below video before starting the
.
work. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Notes:
*I have a district meeting on Thursday afternoon. I will be out of the room from 1:00-2:15. The students have two specials during this time, so they won't be missing much instruction at all.
I hope you all have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
I hope you all had a great weekend. It certainly felt like it flew by. Today, we started our formal spelling and reading time. I used today's reading time to check in with kids on their choices and to make sure they understood the expectations. Tomorrow, I will start meeting with groups and individuals. For my beginning readers, they will often have a book that they can read to you and then one that they would like read to them. Please make sure they read each night.
1st Grade Math Homework: Today marks the start of 1st grade math homework. Your child will have a sheet of flash cards in their homework bag. Please watch the below video before starting the
.
work. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Notes:
*I have a district meeting on Thursday afternoon. I will be out of the room from 1:00-2:15. The students have two specials during this time, so they won't be missing much instruction at all.
I hope you all have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
September 25, 2015
September 25, 2015
Good Evening,
We had a great hike today. The students all did a great job and there were certainly a lot of smiles. laughter, and great stories. We certainly had a beautiful day for the event. This week's all school read-a-loud also occurred with much enthusiasm and success. I love the way our school's older students work with the younger ones and the way the younger students look up to the older students.
I want to thank everyone who was able to attend the open house. If you weren't able to attend, feel free to stop by the classroom (with your child) anytime.
Notes:
*Since we were gone all afternoon, the students did not have a chance to write in their Weekly News. Therefore, they didn't bring it home this weekend. There was also no reading sent home today either.
Below is this week's video.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
We had a great hike today. The students all did a great job and there were certainly a lot of smiles. laughter, and great stories. We certainly had a beautiful day for the event. This week's all school read-a-loud also occurred with much enthusiasm and success. I love the way our school's older students work with the younger ones and the way the younger students look up to the older students.
I want to thank everyone who was able to attend the open house. If you weren't able to attend, feel free to stop by the classroom (with your child) anytime.
Notes:
*Since we were gone all afternoon, the students did not have a chance to write in their Weekly News. Therefore, they didn't bring it home this weekend. There was also no reading sent home today either.
Below is this week's video.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
September 21, 2015
September 21, 2015
Good Morning,
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. It was nice to have great weather and be able to enjoy the outdoors.
We have a lot of events going on at the Waitsfield School this week. On Wednesday, the school will gather at 1:45 to participate in another session of the all school read a loud. The students will be mixed up in k-6 grade groups and work with two teachers as they read and discuss a story. Wren came in last week to help the school kick off the event. On Thursday, we will have our school's Open House. It will start at 5:30 and end at 6:30. Open house is meant to be an opportunity for your child to show you their school and classroom. They will have a variety of things that they will want to show you. I will be in the room and look forward to conversing to each of you. However, I want to keep the focus on the students celebrating their excitement and giving them the opportunity to communicate with you. On Friday, we will be eating lunch at 11:10. The whole school will be going on a hike at 12:15. We will be hiking near American Flatbread area. We will be back at school by 2:25. Please dress accordingly and bring a water bottle.
I hope you have a great week.
Tommy
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. It was nice to have great weather and be able to enjoy the outdoors.
We have a lot of events going on at the Waitsfield School this week. On Wednesday, the school will gather at 1:45 to participate in another session of the all school read a loud. The students will be mixed up in k-6 grade groups and work with two teachers as they read and discuss a story. Wren came in last week to help the school kick off the event. On Thursday, we will have our school's Open House. It will start at 5:30 and end at 6:30. Open house is meant to be an opportunity for your child to show you their school and classroom. They will have a variety of things that they will want to show you. I will be in the room and look forward to conversing to each of you. However, I want to keep the focus on the students celebrating their excitement and giving them the opportunity to communicate with you. On Friday, we will be eating lunch at 11:10. The whole school will be going on a hike at 12:15. We will be hiking near American Flatbread area. We will be back at school by 2:25. Please dress accordingly and bring a water bottle.
I hope you have a great week.
Tommy
September 18, 2015
September 18, 2015
Good Morning,
We have had another great week. This week the students each wrote their first small moment story. I can;t wait to read them over the weekend. We also introduced our sight word routine and each child has their own set of sight words that they are learning to spell. For some of the 1st graders, they have some easier words to start, to allow them to get use to the routine and have immediate success. The students will work on their sight words for 50 minutes a week. This will happen from 7:40-7:50 each morning. They have a variety of kinesthetic ways to practice and learn their words. If your child is late for school, they will be missing out on this opportunity to learn and it will put them at a disadvantage with their peers. Please help your child reach their potential by arriving prior to 7:40. As a reminder, the doors open at 7:30.
Below is a picture of the Strength Quilt that the students made this past week. Each quilt square
represents an identified strength of each student. The idea is that we each have strengths and we put our strengths together we can create a beautiful piece.
Here is the video for Week 4.
Notes:
*Your child has their Weekly News in their homework bag. Please read it, respond, and send it back on Monday.
*We will have our Open House next Thursday from 5:30-6:30. I hope to see you all that evening.
*We are projected to have our first school wide Behavior Celebration next Friday. If we earn enough rocks, we will be hiking next Friday afternoon.
*Today we had to have our mandatory "School Lock Down" drill. This is where we teach the students what would happen of we needed to lock the school down to keep everyone safe. In this case, I had the class all sit in a protected corner of the room and read them a book. Please check in with your child about the drill.
Have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
We have had another great week. This week the students each wrote their first small moment story. I can;t wait to read them over the weekend. We also introduced our sight word routine and each child has their own set of sight words that they are learning to spell. For some of the 1st graders, they have some easier words to start, to allow them to get use to the routine and have immediate success. The students will work on their sight words for 50 minutes a week. This will happen from 7:40-7:50 each morning. They have a variety of kinesthetic ways to practice and learn their words. If your child is late for school, they will be missing out on this opportunity to learn and it will put them at a disadvantage with their peers. Please help your child reach their potential by arriving prior to 7:40. As a reminder, the doors open at 7:30.
Below is a picture of the Strength Quilt that the students made this past week. Each quilt square
represents an identified strength of each student. The idea is that we each have strengths and we put our strengths together we can create a beautiful piece.
Here is the video for Week 4.
Notes:
*Your child has their Weekly News in their homework bag. Please read it, respond, and send it back on Monday.
*We will have our Open House next Thursday from 5:30-6:30. I hope to see you all that evening.
*We are projected to have our first school wide Behavior Celebration next Friday. If we earn enough rocks, we will be hiking next Friday afternoon.
*Today we had to have our mandatory "School Lock Down" drill. This is where we teach the students what would happen of we needed to lock the school down to keep everyone safe. In this case, I had the class all sit in a protected corner of the room and read them a book. Please check in with your child about the drill.
Have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
September 15, 2015
September 15, 2015
Good Morning,
I was not in school yesterday because I had a sick child at home. My wife and I alternate days and yesterday I was "up to bat." Yesterday the kids took their pre-assessment on our first science unit, Earth, Moon, and Sun. This is always a fun unit and I look forward to jumping right in.
Today, I read the story Night of the Veggie Monster by George McClements. This is our first anchor book for our writing program. We will start the year by learning to write small moment stories by taking a small moment and exploding it with detail and elaboration.
Notes:
*I am at a state meeting tomorrow. I will be in the building until 8:00. Please see Friday's post for details about this meeting.
*On Wednesday, we will have an all school assembly at 1:50 tomorrow afternoon. This will serve as a kickoff event for our all school read-a-loud. Over the next several weeks, we will combined kids from each grade and have an all school read-a-loud.
I hope you have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
I was not in school yesterday because I had a sick child at home. My wife and I alternate days and yesterday I was "up to bat." Yesterday the kids took their pre-assessment on our first science unit, Earth, Moon, and Sun. This is always a fun unit and I look forward to jumping right in.
Today, I read the story Night of the Veggie Monster by George McClements. This is our first anchor book for our writing program. We will start the year by learning to write small moment stories by taking a small moment and exploding it with detail and elaboration.
Notes:
*I am at a state meeting tomorrow. I will be in the building until 8:00. Please see Friday's post for details about this meeting.
*On Wednesday, we will have an all school assembly at 1:50 tomorrow afternoon. This will serve as a kickoff event for our all school read-a-loud. Over the next several weeks, we will combined kids from each grade and have an all school read-a-loud.
I hope you have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
September 11, 2015
September 11, 2015
Good Morning,
I hope you have all had a great week. As we wrap up week three, I am both pleased and excited with what the group has accomplished and the routines they have already mastered. On Wednesday, we officially started our writing times. We talked about why writers write and discussed the concept of spelling in their work. I stressed that spelling is important but that I don't expect them to already know how to spell each word they use. I showed them how to sound out a word and then circle it and move on. By circling the word, they are indicating that they tried their best but don't think it is spelled correctly. This eliminates the issue of students getting hung up and not producing writing pieces.
Today I introduced a game called silent dodgeball. It is a fun game that has become a tradition in my classroom. We play this game every Friday during our morning meeting. I spent some time talking about wanting to win and how to handle if you don't. We also talked about respecting the game and the rules that come with it. I then related the conversation to the kids playing soccer this weekend. How can they respect the game and make sure that they are enjoying the experience of the game. I explained that it is absolutely ok to want to win but to also know how to handle when things don't go the way they planned (hence the Respecting the Game). I told the kids they could email me and let me know about their soccer experience over the weekend. The point of these conversations are much bigger than the specific examples themselves and will continue to be part of our discussion as we learn to work with others.
Below is today's video. I hope you enjoy.
Notes:
*I will be out of the building on Wednesday. Last spring the Governor appointed me to the Vermont Standards Board for Professional Educators. We have a monthly meeting and October's meeting is next week.
*Please have your child in the classroom by 7:40. Now that the year is well on its way and the students all seem comfortable with the transition back to school, I ask that you make this a focus. Once October hits, the students will be working on spelling words from 7:40-7:50 each day. This amounts to 50 minutes of work a week. If your child misses this or is late each day, it puts them at a disadvantage with their peers. I appreciate your support and focus with getting your child to school on time.
*Homework bags. Please make sure that your child brings back their homework bag and reading book each day. I can;t send home a new book unless both come back.
*WEEKLY NEWS: Today your child has their Weekly News journal in the homework bag. We will write in these journals every Friday. The focus in learning to write a letter, a paragraph, detail and elaboration and/or sentence structure. It allows kids to write at their level and for each student to work on different skills. The entry will always focus on something about each child's week at school. Your job will be to read the letter and respond back. We will share the responses at Monday Morning Meetings. When you respond, just write on the side of the column or top or bottom of each page. Please make sure these journals come back each week.
That is all for now. I hope you have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
I hope you have all had a great week. As we wrap up week three, I am both pleased and excited with what the group has accomplished and the routines they have already mastered. On Wednesday, we officially started our writing times. We talked about why writers write and discussed the concept of spelling in their work. I stressed that spelling is important but that I don't expect them to already know how to spell each word they use. I showed them how to sound out a word and then circle it and move on. By circling the word, they are indicating that they tried their best but don't think it is spelled correctly. This eliminates the issue of students getting hung up and not producing writing pieces.
Today I introduced a game called silent dodgeball. It is a fun game that has become a tradition in my classroom. We play this game every Friday during our morning meeting. I spent some time talking about wanting to win and how to handle if you don't. We also talked about respecting the game and the rules that come with it. I then related the conversation to the kids playing soccer this weekend. How can they respect the game and make sure that they are enjoying the experience of the game. I explained that it is absolutely ok to want to win but to also know how to handle when things don't go the way they planned (hence the Respecting the Game). I told the kids they could email me and let me know about their soccer experience over the weekend. The point of these conversations are much bigger than the specific examples themselves and will continue to be part of our discussion as we learn to work with others.
Below is today's video. I hope you enjoy.
Notes:
*I will be out of the building on Wednesday. Last spring the Governor appointed me to the Vermont Standards Board for Professional Educators. We have a monthly meeting and October's meeting is next week.
*Please have your child in the classroom by 7:40. Now that the year is well on its way and the students all seem comfortable with the transition back to school, I ask that you make this a focus. Once October hits, the students will be working on spelling words from 7:40-7:50 each day. This amounts to 50 minutes of work a week. If your child misses this or is late each day, it puts them at a disadvantage with their peers. I appreciate your support and focus with getting your child to school on time.
*Homework bags. Please make sure that your child brings back their homework bag and reading book each day. I can;t send home a new book unless both come back.
*WEEKLY NEWS: Today your child has their Weekly News journal in the homework bag. We will write in these journals every Friday. The focus in learning to write a letter, a paragraph, detail and elaboration and/or sentence structure. It allows kids to write at their level and for each student to work on different skills. The entry will always focus on something about each child's week at school. Your job will be to read the letter and respond back. We will share the responses at Monday Morning Meetings. When you respond, just write on the side of the column or top or bottom of each page. Please make sure these journals come back each week.
That is all for now. I hope you have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
September 8, 2015
September 8, 2015
Good Afternoon,
I hope you had a great weekend. I certainly enjoyed the time with my family and meeting up with friends at a few social events. Today the students finished illustrating the class rules. They will bring these illustrations home tonight. It would be a great piece to use as you engage your child about their day. There is also a video linked below to explain how we created our classroom rules.
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The class also started a quilt (out of paper) project today. The idea behind the quilt that each student will create a quilt square that will represent an individual strength of their own. The squares will then be adhered into one large class quilt. The quilt represents the power of our collective effort as well as a reminder of individual competencies. I will post a picture of the quilt once it is complete.
Notes:
*Bus safety assembly on Wednesday.
*School pictures on Thursday
I hope you have a great week.
Tommy
I hope you had a great weekend. I certainly enjoyed the time with my family and meeting up with friends at a few social events. Today the students finished illustrating the class rules. They will bring these illustrations home tonight. It would be a great piece to use as you engage your child about their day. There is also a video linked below to explain how we created our classroom rules.
<
The class also started a quilt (out of paper) project today. The idea behind the quilt that each student will create a quilt square that will represent an individual strength of their own. The squares will then be adhered into one large class quilt. The quilt represents the power of our collective effort as well as a reminder of individual competencies. I will post a picture of the quilt once it is complete.
Notes:
*Bus safety assembly on Wednesday.
*School pictures on Thursday
I hope you have a great week.
Tommy
September 4, 2015
September 4, 2015
Good Morning,
We had a great second week of school. This week the students each developed, illustrated, and shared their hopes and dreams for the year. Their hopes and dreams are their goals for the year. These were then used to create the classroom "rules" through a collaborative discussion. The students were asked to think about things that they would need in place in order to accomplish their goals. The original list had 19 rule suggestions. Lydia suggested that we look for similar ones and consolidate the list. Our final list is now has 5 rules. We will call our rules "Our Be-s." All of the rules start with the word "Be." The students worked on illustrating these rules and they will bring them home next week.
We continued playing both outdoor group games and indoor small group games this week. The focus of the big group games is to learn to work together, participate, and being a good-sport through fair play. I am focusing on everyone joining a game, participating and modeling how to converse with peers. After each game we reflect, as a group, on how the game went and what made it successful. The small group games allow similar opportunities but also allow me to give direct feedback on game play and how each student treats their peers. I will continue to use these choices to help teach and reinforce the social curriculum goals.
This week the students also worked on the skill of Read to Self. This is a component of the Daily 5 program that I use for language arts. It is not a curriculum but rather a structure that allows students the opportunity to choose components of their daily learning. To learn more about this, visit this link. The class also started science this week. To start, we will focus on what a science notebook is and how can it be a learning tool and what scientists do.
Below is the video of the week:
Notes:
*We have school photos on Thursday.
*There will be a bus safety assembly on Wednesday morning.
*Please have your child wear sneakers to school on PE days (Mondays and Thursdays)
I hope you have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
We had a great second week of school. This week the students each developed, illustrated, and shared their hopes and dreams for the year. Their hopes and dreams are their goals for the year. These were then used to create the classroom "rules" through a collaborative discussion. The students were asked to think about things that they would need in place in order to accomplish their goals. The original list had 19 rule suggestions. Lydia suggested that we look for similar ones and consolidate the list. Our final list is now has 5 rules. We will call our rules "Our Be-s." All of the rules start with the word "Be." The students worked on illustrating these rules and they will bring them home next week.
We continued playing both outdoor group games and indoor small group games this week. The focus of the big group games is to learn to work together, participate, and being a good-sport through fair play. I am focusing on everyone joining a game, participating and modeling how to converse with peers. After each game we reflect, as a group, on how the game went and what made it successful. The small group games allow similar opportunities but also allow me to give direct feedback on game play and how each student treats their peers. I will continue to use these choices to help teach and reinforce the social curriculum goals.
This week the students also worked on the skill of Read to Self. This is a component of the Daily 5 program that I use for language arts. It is not a curriculum but rather a structure that allows students the opportunity to choose components of their daily learning. To learn more about this, visit this link. The class also started science this week. To start, we will focus on what a science notebook is and how can it be a learning tool and what scientists do.
Below is the video of the week:
Notes:
*We have school photos on Thursday.
*There will be a bus safety assembly on Wednesday morning.
*Please have your child wear sneakers to school on PE days (Mondays and Thursdays)
I hope you have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
August 31, 2015
August 31, 2015
Good Morning,
I hope everyone had a great weekend. It has been nice to have such great weather to enjoy the outdoors. My wife and I are training for a half marathon and went for a nice long run in Stowe on Saturday morning. We also got to try out our new pizza oven (that we built) for the first time. I think my youngest daughter has found a new passion in pizza making.
As I had mentioned in one of my summer letters to you, I use the Responsive Classroom approach in managing the students and building our classroom culture and expectations. If you would like to read more about it, I highly recommend The First Six Weeks of School by Paula Denton. I spent some time reflecting on this approach this summer and thinking about some of the social issues we face as a school, community, state and even country. I read a few pieces on the shortcomings of our high school graduates (as a whole). Many of our students graduate with incredible academic skills and abilities. However, some lack the interpersonal skills to work with others. Many don't know how to read other people or understand their feelings. It all kept pointing to the concept of empathy. Students must learn to be empathetic and have the ability to work with and think of others. It is with this in mind that I spend the first 6 weeks of school focused more on the social curriculum. Although we will slowly start to dive into the academic curriculum, the full on academic load won't really be in place until the end of September. You will find that your children have a greater connection to their class, with me, and will be more vested in their learning. Please let me know if you have any questions about this approach.
Today the students shared their Hopes and Dreams for the year. Their Hopes and Dreams will be the cornerstone for building classroom expectations. These goals will be displayed on a bulletin board in the classroom. I also spent the morning assessing a variety of Language Arts skills. These screenings will allow me to differentiate your child's learning t meet their specific needs.
Notes:
*Your children will be bringing home a plastic Ziploc bag with their name on it. It will contain a couple of books. For now these will be books that they choose. Eventually reading groups will be added to the mix too. The books that your child brings home now may be ones that they can read or they may be ones that they want read to them. They should be returned each day with the books inside them I suggest packing them up becomes part of your child's nightly routine. The bags are also for any notes that I may need to get to you or that you may need to get to me.
*We will have a new student joining us tomorrow. Mariah Wright, a first grader, will be joining our class. She stopped by for a quick visit today. It was great to meet her and to allow the students to introduce themselves.
*Our supervisory union is undergoing a structural change in the way we view goals, expectations, and standards in which we want all students to achieve upon graduation. It is called Proficiency Based Learning and it will change they way we teach our students. There is a supervisory union wide committee that has ben formed to guide us in this process. Kaiya has asked that I serve on this team. There are meeting once a month and a few during the summer. Therefore, I will be out of the building on Thursday afternoon. I just wanted to give each of you a heads up.
*Canvas/Cloth grocery bag: I only have had 9 (of the 17) students bring in a bag. Please make sure to send one this week. I would like them all in by Friday.
*Don't forget to subscribe to the blog.
I hope you all have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
I hope everyone had a great weekend. It has been nice to have such great weather to enjoy the outdoors. My wife and I are training for a half marathon and went for a nice long run in Stowe on Saturday morning. We also got to try out our new pizza oven (that we built) for the first time. I think my youngest daughter has found a new passion in pizza making.
As I had mentioned in one of my summer letters to you, I use the Responsive Classroom approach in managing the students and building our classroom culture and expectations. If you would like to read more about it, I highly recommend The First Six Weeks of School by Paula Denton. I spent some time reflecting on this approach this summer and thinking about some of the social issues we face as a school, community, state and even country. I read a few pieces on the shortcomings of our high school graduates (as a whole). Many of our students graduate with incredible academic skills and abilities. However, some lack the interpersonal skills to work with others. Many don't know how to read other people or understand their feelings. It all kept pointing to the concept of empathy. Students must learn to be empathetic and have the ability to work with and think of others. It is with this in mind that I spend the first 6 weeks of school focused more on the social curriculum. Although we will slowly start to dive into the academic curriculum, the full on academic load won't really be in place until the end of September. You will find that your children have a greater connection to their class, with me, and will be more vested in their learning. Please let me know if you have any questions about this approach.
Today the students shared their Hopes and Dreams for the year. Their Hopes and Dreams will be the cornerstone for building classroom expectations. These goals will be displayed on a bulletin board in the classroom. I also spent the morning assessing a variety of Language Arts skills. These screenings will allow me to differentiate your child's learning t meet their specific needs.
Notes:
*Your children will be bringing home a plastic Ziploc bag with their name on it. It will contain a couple of books. For now these will be books that they choose. Eventually reading groups will be added to the mix too. The books that your child brings home now may be ones that they can read or they may be ones that they want read to them. They should be returned each day with the books inside them I suggest packing them up becomes part of your child's nightly routine. The bags are also for any notes that I may need to get to you or that you may need to get to me.
*We will have a new student joining us tomorrow. Mariah Wright, a first grader, will be joining our class. She stopped by for a quick visit today. It was great to meet her and to allow the students to introduce themselves.
*Our supervisory union is undergoing a structural change in the way we view goals, expectations, and standards in which we want all students to achieve upon graduation. It is called Proficiency Based Learning and it will change they way we teach our students. There is a supervisory union wide committee that has ben formed to guide us in this process. Kaiya has asked that I serve on this team. There are meeting once a month and a few during the summer. Therefore, I will be out of the building on Thursday afternoon. I just wanted to give each of you a heads up.
*Canvas/Cloth grocery bag: I only have had 9 (of the 17) students bring in a bag. Please make sure to send one this week. I would like them all in by Friday.
*Don't forget to subscribe to the blog.
I hope you all have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
August 28, 2015
Friday, August 28th
Good Morning Friends,
We have had a wonderful first week. We have spent most of the week learning names, introducing classroom tools (through Guided Discovery), and modeling a variety of expectations. We have had all of our special classes as well. Prior to each special, I asked the special teachers to come to our classroom and explain how they expect our class to enter their space. I will use these conversations as a reminder each week.
Yesterday the students worked on a project using tableaus. Tableaus are usually used in the literary world to capture a moment or interpretation of a text. Tableaus can be photos, videos, or even a song. Our class used i-pads to take pictures for their tableaus. The project was focused on our school wide behavioral expectations. In this case, the students were placed in teams of 5-6 students and each team was assigned two different "places" in the school (i.e. bathroom, cafeteria, bus, hallway, etc.). The students were asked to collaborate and come up with a "scene" from each space. Once they had their idea, the teams had to capture it through a photograph. The images will be used to review expectations and will be used with other classroom at an upcoming assembly.
Notes:
*Please send in a cloth grocery bag or tote bag for your child. As outlined in the summer letter I sent, your child will need it for their classroom book choices.
*If you have not done so, please subscribe to the blog. You received an email, on Monday, on how to do this.
*We have PE on Mondays and Thursdays. Please make sure your child wears sneakers to school on those days.
We are off to a great start. I am really excited about the group and the opportunity to work with them. Below is a video of the week gone by.
Peace,
Tommy
We have had a wonderful first week. We have spent most of the week learning names, introducing classroom tools (through Guided Discovery), and modeling a variety of expectations. We have had all of our special classes as well. Prior to each special, I asked the special teachers to come to our classroom and explain how they expect our class to enter their space. I will use these conversations as a reminder each week.
Yesterday the students worked on a project using tableaus. Tableaus are usually used in the literary world to capture a moment or interpretation of a text. Tableaus can be photos, videos, or even a song. Our class used i-pads to take pictures for their tableaus. The project was focused on our school wide behavioral expectations. In this case, the students were placed in teams of 5-6 students and each team was assigned two different "places" in the school (i.e. bathroom, cafeteria, bus, hallway, etc.). The students were asked to collaborate and come up with a "scene" from each space. Once they had their idea, the teams had to capture it through a photograph. The images will be used to review expectations and will be used with other classroom at an upcoming assembly.
Notes:
*Please send in a cloth grocery bag or tote bag for your child. As outlined in the summer letter I sent, your child will need it for their classroom book choices.
*If you have not done so, please subscribe to the blog. You received an email, on Monday, on how to do this.
*We have PE on Mondays and Thursdays. Please make sure your child wears sneakers to school on those days.
We are off to a great start. I am really excited about the group and the opportunity to work with them. Below is a video of the week gone by.
Peace,
Tommy
August 25, 2015
August 25, 2015
Good Afternoon,
We had a wonderful start today. The day started with an assembly and a performance by Eli Lepla. Eli is a former student of Waitsfield and a former 1st grade student of mine. Ms. Korb talked to us about accepting challenges and rising to the occasion. Below is a quick video of our day together. I hope you enjoy.
Peace,
Tommy
We had a wonderful start today. The day started with an assembly and a performance by Eli Lepla. Eli is a former student of Waitsfield and a former 1st grade student of mine. Ms. Korb talked to us about accepting challenges and rising to the occasion. Below is a quick video of our day together. I hope you enjoy.
Peace,
Tommy
August 24, 2015
Monday, August 24
Looking forward to the First Day of School and the year to come.
Peace,
Tommy
June 12, 2015
June 12, 2015
Good Morning,
I wanted to once again thank everyone for attending last night's presentation. I hope you found it both enjoyable and rewarding.
We had a great time on yesterday's hike. I was very proud of the group for both their determination and their behavior. The truly did set the example yesterday and represented our school well. Below are two pictures from the trip.
*Field Days are on Monday.
This will be the last post of the 2014-15 school year. I hope you all have a great summer adn I look forward to seeing you in the fall.
Peace,
Mr. Young
I wanted to once again thank everyone for attending last night's presentation. I hope you found it both enjoyable and rewarding.
We had a great time on yesterday's hike. I was very proud of the group for both their determination and their behavior. The truly did set the example yesterday and represented our school well. Below are two pictures from the trip.
*Field Days are on Monday.
This will be the last post of the 2014-15 school year. I hope you all have a great summer adn I look forward to seeing you in the fall.
Peace,
Mr. Young
June 5, 2015
June 5, 2015
Good Afternoon,
Yesterday our Harwood friends came to visit. We had a wonderful time and the students were excited to share and received some nice feedback from the older students. Below is a video link of the visit.
This week, we continued our study of plants, their parts, and their functions. We had two guest speakers. Mr. VanDine spoke to the class about photosynthesis and Ms. von Trapp presented on flowers and seeds. Today, they started their final assessment on plants. Next week we will start our focus on the garden.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Tommy
Yesterday our Harwood friends came to visit. We had a wonderful time and the students were excited to share and received some nice feedback from the older students. Below is a video link of the visit.
This week, we continued our study of plants, their parts, and their functions. We had two guest speakers. Mr. VanDine spoke to the class about photosynthesis and Ms. von Trapp presented on flowers and seeds. Today, they started their final assessment on plants. Next week we will start our focus on the garden.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Tommy
May 29, 2015
May 29, 2015
Good Morning,
We have had a great week of science. The students started an experiment on plant needs. They have also studied the root, stem and will look at leaves this afternoon. They are learning how each is a part of a plant system and how it helps the plant survive. Yesterday they learned about the difference between a tap root and fibrous root. This afternoon they will learn about simple and compound leaves. Next week we will be having a guest speaker present about photosynthesis and another present about seeds.
I hope everyone saw the note/posting about the class presentation evening on June 11th. If you are not going to be able to attend, could you please let me know in advance?
Notes:
6/4/15 Our friends from Mr. Ibson's class (Harwood) will be visiting our classroom to see the final book projects.
6/8/15 Filed Days at Waitsfield. These will take place after lunch. Your kids may get wet so dress accordingly. Remember the sunscreen.
6/11/15 Pen Pal field trip. Bus will leave at 8:15. Please remember to pack appropriate clothing, hiking shoes, and a water bottle. All lunches must be NUT FREE!
Have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
We have had a great week of science. The students started an experiment on plant needs. They have also studied the root, stem and will look at leaves this afternoon. They are learning how each is a part of a plant system and how it helps the plant survive. Yesterday they learned about the difference between a tap root and fibrous root. This afternoon they will learn about simple and compound leaves. Next week we will be having a guest speaker present about photosynthesis and another present about seeds.
I hope everyone saw the note/posting about the class presentation evening on June 11th. If you are not going to be able to attend, could you please let me know in advance?
Notes:
6/4/15 Our friends from Mr. Ibson's class (Harwood) will be visiting our classroom to see the final book projects.
6/8/15 Filed Days at Waitsfield. These will take place after lunch. Your kids may get wet so dress accordingly. Remember the sunscreen.
6/11/15 Pen Pal field trip. Bus will leave at 8:15. Please remember to pack appropriate clothing, hiking shoes, and a water bottle. All lunches must be NUT FREE!
Have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
May 26, 2015
May 26, 2015
Good Morning,
I hope everyone had a chance to enjoy the beautiful weekend. Most of our weekend was centered around running. Abby participated in the Yam Scram on Saturday (part of the VCM weekend). On Sunday, Julianne, Angela, and I all ran different legs of the marathon. Julianne was on a team of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. Needless to say, they finished well ahead of our team. All in all it was a great weekend.
Announcements:
*Our friends from Mr. Ibson's class will be visiting us on June 4th. We will spend part of the morning sharing our narrative books and allow the high schoolers to see the finished product.
*We will head to Waterbury on June 11th. This is our pen-pal field trip. We will eat snack at school (before we leave) and then head to Thatcher Brook to pick up our friends. We will then head to Stowe Pinnacle and hike up to the meadow. There we will eat lunch and enjoy our time with our pen pals. On our way home, we will stop at Ben and Jerry's for some ice cream.
The chaperones on the trip are Leslie Badger, Sheila Fiaschetti, and Natascha Brandenberg. If anyone else would like to join us, please let me know.I will ask that the chaperones drive themselves/carpool because we will fill the bus with the students and teachers. We will be leaving school by 8:15.
*Presentation Night: Our class will be having a presentation evening on Thursday, June 11th. It will start at 6:30 and be done by 7:30. I figured the 6:30 time would allow people to grab dinner before coming back to school. We will start promptly at 6:30. The students will share their published notebooks and their social studies projects. The evening will warp up with a quick class reflection piece.
I hope you all have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
I hope everyone had a chance to enjoy the beautiful weekend. Most of our weekend was centered around running. Abby participated in the Yam Scram on Saturday (part of the VCM weekend). On Sunday, Julianne, Angela, and I all ran different legs of the marathon. Julianne was on a team of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. Needless to say, they finished well ahead of our team. All in all it was a great weekend.
Announcements:
*Our friends from Mr. Ibson's class will be visiting us on June 4th. We will spend part of the morning sharing our narrative books and allow the high schoolers to see the finished product.
*We will head to Waterbury on June 11th. This is our pen-pal field trip. We will eat snack at school (before we leave) and then head to Thatcher Brook to pick up our friends. We will then head to Stowe Pinnacle and hike up to the meadow. There we will eat lunch and enjoy our time with our pen pals. On our way home, we will stop at Ben and Jerry's for some ice cream.
The chaperones on the trip are Leslie Badger, Sheila Fiaschetti, and Natascha Brandenberg. If anyone else would like to join us, please let me know.I will ask that the chaperones drive themselves/carpool because we will fill the bus with the students and teachers. We will be leaving school by 8:15.
*Presentation Night: Our class will be having a presentation evening on Thursday, June 11th. It will start at 6:30 and be done by 7:30. I figured the 6:30 time would allow people to grab dinner before coming back to school. We will start promptly at 6:30. The students will share their published notebooks and their social studies projects. The evening will warp up with a quick class reflection piece.
I hope you all have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
May 18, 2015
May 18, 2015
Good Morning,
We have quite a week ahead of us. We will have two concert rehearsals, the performance itself, and our school PBIS celebration on Friday. The students will continue working on their social studies and narrative projects. I am hoping to wrap up our light and sound unit this week and start our plant unit next week.
Concert:
1st Rehearsal: Will be on Tuesday at 8:15.
2nd Rehearsal: Will be on Thursday from 9:00-10:30
Performance: Will be on Thursday at 6:00. I will not be able to attend because my daughter has her own concert that evening.
Friday's PBIS Celebration:
We have quite a week ahead of us. We will have two concert rehearsals, the performance itself, and our school PBIS celebration on Friday. The students will continue working on their social studies and narrative projects. I am hoping to wrap up our light and sound unit this week and start our plant unit next week.
Concert:
1st Rehearsal: Will be on Tuesday at 8:15.
2nd Rehearsal: Will be on Thursday from 9:00-10:30
Performance: Will be on Thursday at 6:00. I will not be able to attend because my daughter has her own concert that evening.
Friday's PBIS Celebration:
11:10 Kick off assembly Kaiya & Katie will introduce the task and celebration, sharing the general schedule, expectations and some ideas for what will make a “good vessel”. Students will be called up to lunch in their multi-age groups.
GROUP TASK: Using the materials that are provided to you (you will be given a bucket of supplies), build a boat that is capable of traveling approximately 1 mile on the Mad River. Recognition will be given for categories such as most creative, fastest, best constructed (not losing any pieces!). Each boat should include a sail/flag. In addition to the bucket of materials they are provided with, each group will be able to select one item from the “Bonus Supplies”. Teams will be called on, during building, to select their bonus item.
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11:25 - 12:15 Working lunch Multi-age groups eat lunch together while discussing plans for building.
12:15 - 1:00 Group leaders and older students are asked to support the whole group in being involved in building the boat by helping to divide tasks (creating the flag/sail, working on different components of the boat). Part-way through building, each group will draw a number and, in order of the numbers, get to select an item from the bonus supplies. Groups that are working especially well together might find themselves rewarded with bonus supplies.
1- 1:15 Walk down to Bridge Street We will walk down, in our groups, to the parking area behind the Bridge Street shops.
1:15 - 1:45 Boat Launch/ Creemees A representative from each group will walk out onto the sandbar with the boat and, upon the signal, launch their boat. Groups will watch from the parking lot/grassy area. Students will see their boat start and be able to watch until it hits the covered bridge area. After the launch, groups will be given creemees (from the village grocery). Each group should identify a safe place to sit and eat their creemees (on the bank by the river, in the green by the library), keeping in mind that they are in a public area.
A few community volunteers, in kayaks/canoes, will accompany the boats down the river, helping them along the way, gathering video and still footage and pulling the boats out when they arrive back at school.
1:45 - 2 Walk back to school When groups are done eating, they will walk back to school. Once at school, we’ll go to recess/playground for free play.
2- 2:15 Recess/ Boats returned to the playground
2:15 - 2:25 Dismissal Students return to classrooms to pack up/ for dismissal
I hope you all have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
May 15, 2015
May 15, 2015
Good Morning,
We have had a very productive week with our narratives. The students have been busy illustrating their books and are enjoying the project as a whole. We continued looking at the concept of light and explored the idea of items being transparent, translucent, opaque, and reflective. We will wrap up this unit next week.
Notes:
*Thank you all for getting your money in for Ben and Jerry's. Please remember to let me know if your child will need a bagged lunch. I have two chaperones for the trip. Please let me know if you would like to come along.
*The spring concert is next Thursday at 6:00. Please have your child meet our class in the gym. If your child will not be attending, could you please email Mr. Hill at jhill@wwsu.org.
Have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
We have had a very productive week with our narratives. The students have been busy illustrating their books and are enjoying the project as a whole. We continued looking at the concept of light and explored the idea of items being transparent, translucent, opaque, and reflective. We will wrap up this unit next week.
Notes:
*Thank you all for getting your money in for Ben and Jerry's. Please remember to let me know if your child will need a bagged lunch. I have two chaperones for the trip. Please let me know if you would like to come along.
*The spring concert is next Thursday at 6:00. Please have your child meet our class in the gym. If your child will not be attending, could you please email Mr. Hill at jhill@wwsu.org.
Have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
May 11, 2015
May 11, 2015
Good Morning,
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and all of the mothers were celebrated and honored. We will continue to use our Language Arts block to illustrate our narratives. This means that the students will have reading homework but it will be book of choice and not from their reading groups.
On Thursday, we will be celebrating the school's success with acts of kindness. We will be working in small teams to build small rafts and then floating them down the river. The launch will happen around the covered bridge area. The students will then walk back to the school and enjoy some ice cream and other fun activities. This will start around 11:00 on Thursday.
Notes:
*Please send in your child's money for Ben and Jerry's. This money is due by Friday. It is $4.50 per child. If you don;t wish to have your child participate in this, please let me know.
*If your child needs a bagged lunch (from the school) for the field trip, please let me know by Friday. REMEMBER, if you are bringing your own lunch, it must be peanut and tree nut free.
Have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and all of the mothers were celebrated and honored. We will continue to use our Language Arts block to illustrate our narratives. This means that the students will have reading homework but it will be book of choice and not from their reading groups.
On Thursday, we will be celebrating the school's success with acts of kindness. We will be working in small teams to build small rafts and then floating them down the river. The launch will happen around the covered bridge area. The students will then walk back to the school and enjoy some ice cream and other fun activities. This will start around 11:00 on Thursday.
Notes:
*Please send in your child's money for Ben and Jerry's. This money is due by Friday. It is $4.50 per child. If you don;t wish to have your child participate in this, please let me know.
*If your child needs a bagged lunch (from the school) for the field trip, please let me know by Friday. REMEMBER, if you are bringing your own lunch, it must be peanut and tree nut free.
Have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
May 7, 2015
May 7, 2015
Good Morning,
I wanted to send out a quick post today since I will be out (memorial service) tomorrow. I wanted to remind you of the field trip notice that I posted on Monday. Please let me know if your child will need a bagged lunch (from school) and send in $4.50 if your child will be having ice cream from Ben and Jerry's. Please see Monday's (May 4th) post for further details.
The students have started illustrating their books this week. This is a lengthy and thoughtful process and it will take us a better part of a month to complete. We have been doing this during our language arts time in the afternoon. This is why there has only been "book of choice" selections for homework.
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
I wanted to send out a quick post today since I will be out (memorial service) tomorrow. I wanted to remind you of the field trip notice that I posted on Monday. Please let me know if your child will need a bagged lunch (from school) and send in $4.50 if your child will be having ice cream from Ben and Jerry's. Please see Monday's (May 4th) post for further details.
The students have started illustrating their books this week. This is a lengthy and thoughtful process and it will take us a better part of a month to complete. We have been doing this during our language arts time in the afternoon. This is why there has only been "book of choice" selections for homework.
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
May 4, 2015
May 4, 2015
Good Morning,
I hope you all enjoyed the beautiful weekend. It was certainly nice to bask in the glow of the sun. May marks the start of a very busy month. We will be wrapping up several projects, conducting individual math and reading inventories, and preparing for our spring concert. To accommodate these items, parts of our schedule will look a little different from time to time. There will be some days where we are doubling up science classes, in order to get through the rest of our science curriculum.
Field Trip: We will meeting up with our Waterbury pen-pals on June 11th. This year we will meet them in Waterbury and then take the bus up to the trailhead for Stowe Pinnacle. We will hike up to the meadow, eat our lunch, play a little, and then return to the bus. On the way home, we will stop by Ben and Jerry's for an ice cream cone. Each child will need $4.50 for an ice cream cone. Please send in the money by Friday, May 22nd. Checks can be made out to Waitsfield Elementary School. There is a process in getting one check written and I won't be able to accept any other checks after this date. If you would like your child to have a school (bagged) lunch on this day, please let me know by the 22nd as well. I would love for a few chaperones to join us. Let me know if you would like to join.
***NOTE**** One of the students in our pen-pals' class has a severe nut allergy. Your child's lunch needs to be nut-free on this day. This includes both tree nut and peanuts. If your child chooses a school lunch, it will be nut-free and you won't have to worry about it.
Spring Concert: The spring concert is on Thursday, May 21st at 6:00 p.m. Please plan on arriving by 5:50 in the gymnasium. Our rehearsals will be on Tuesday morning and Thursday morning of that week.
Notes:
*I will be out of school on Friday. I have a wake to attend in St. Albans.
*Early release day on Wednesday. Students are dismissed at 11:50.
I hope you all have a great week.
Best,
Tommy
I hope you all enjoyed the beautiful weekend. It was certainly nice to bask in the glow of the sun. May marks the start of a very busy month. We will be wrapping up several projects, conducting individual math and reading inventories, and preparing for our spring concert. To accommodate these items, parts of our schedule will look a little different from time to time. There will be some days where we are doubling up science classes, in order to get through the rest of our science curriculum.
Field Trip: We will meeting up with our Waterbury pen-pals on June 11th. This year we will meet them in Waterbury and then take the bus up to the trailhead for Stowe Pinnacle. We will hike up to the meadow, eat our lunch, play a little, and then return to the bus. On the way home, we will stop by Ben and Jerry's for an ice cream cone. Each child will need $4.50 for an ice cream cone. Please send in the money by Friday, May 22nd. Checks can be made out to Waitsfield Elementary School. There is a process in getting one check written and I won't be able to accept any other checks after this date. If you would like your child to have a school (bagged) lunch on this day, please let me know by the 22nd as well. I would love for a few chaperones to join us. Let me know if you would like to join.
***NOTE**** One of the students in our pen-pals' class has a severe nut allergy. Your child's lunch needs to be nut-free on this day. This includes both tree nut and peanuts. If your child chooses a school lunch, it will be nut-free and you won't have to worry about it.
Spring Concert: The spring concert is on Thursday, May 21st at 6:00 p.m. Please plan on arriving by 5:50 in the gymnasium. Our rehearsals will be on Tuesday morning and Thursday morning of that week.
Notes:
*I will be out of school on Friday. I have a wake to attend in St. Albans.
*Early release day on Wednesday. Students are dismissed at 11:50.
I hope you all have a great week.
Best,
Tommy
May 1, 2015
May 1, 2015
Good Morning,
I hope you had a great week. Today we started our light unit. The students worked on defining the words transparent, translucent, opaque, and reflective. They then toured the school, looking for items that fit this description.
Below is a video of our visit to Fayston:
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
I hope you had a great week. Today we started our light unit. The students worked on defining the words transparent, translucent, opaque, and reflective. They then toured the school, looking for items that fit this description.
Below is a video of our visit to Fayston:
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
April 27, 2015
April 27, 2015
Good Morning,
I hope all is well and you all enjoyed the extra time with your child(ren). I had a nice time with my family and visiting Boston. I also taught at a math academy, in Lawrence, last week. It was a lot of fun and a very hard working group of 3rd graders.
Today marks the start of a very busy stretch of the school year. From now until the end of the year we will be wrapping up many projects, conducting a variety of 1:1 assessments in both math and language arts, and finishing up both our science and social studies curriculum, I hope that students are in school as much as possible as we hit this crucial and final stage of the year.
Acts of Kindness
Our school has taken on the challenge of focusing on the school's principle of being "kind." The entire staff and student body will be looking for acts of kindness throughout their day. The students are trying to collect enough (award) rocks to earn a school wide celebration. The next celebration will be a boat race. Ask your child about this event.
I hope you all have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
I hope all is well and you all enjoyed the extra time with your child(ren). I had a nice time with my family and visiting Boston. I also taught at a math academy, in Lawrence, last week. It was a lot of fun and a very hard working group of 3rd graders.
Today marks the start of a very busy stretch of the school year. From now until the end of the year we will be wrapping up many projects, conducting a variety of 1:1 assessments in both math and language arts, and finishing up both our science and social studies curriculum, I hope that students are in school as much as possible as we hit this crucial and final stage of the year.
Acts of Kindness
Our school has taken on the challenge of focusing on the school's principle of being "kind." The entire staff and student body will be looking for acts of kindness throughout their day. The students are trying to collect enough (award) rocks to earn a school wide celebration. The next celebration will be a boat race. Ask your child about this event.
I hope you all have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
April 10, 2015
April 10, 2015
Good Morning,
I hope everyone has had a great week. Today the students will head over to the Valley Player's to watch our 5th and 6th graders perform their take on Cinderella. Due to this, we didn't have reading groups or Weekly News today. So, your child has no work to do over the weekend.
There are a few events going on over the next week and week after vacation. Please make note of the following:
*We have a new 1st grade student joining our class on Monday. His name is Alex and he is coming from Stowe Elementary.
*I will be out of the classroom on Monday and Friday. I have a meeting at the Agency of Education on Monday. I will join the class for arrival, to welcome the new student, and then take off shortly after. On Friday, I will be headed to Boston with my family. The Red Sox are honoring a few teachers (I am luck to be one of them) from New England (for their work in Math) and are having an on-field ceremony before Friday's game. So, I have decided to use a personal day to take my family down for this event.
*On Wednesday, April 29th, Our class will be headed to the Fayston school. We will be working with their 1st and 2nd graders on a Red Clover project. As you may remember, we recently wrote opinion pieces about which book should win. The Fayston students responded to the same prompt and we will share or responses and then work on a project that will have them working in teams to sell their opinion. We will leave at 11:15 on this day. The students will eat lunch at Fayston. Since it is the same lunch program, students can sign up for hot or cold in the morning. Ms. Korb, Mr. Mongeon, and I will drive the students up. If you would like to join us, please let me know.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
I hope everyone has had a great week. Today the students will head over to the Valley Player's to watch our 5th and 6th graders perform their take on Cinderella. Due to this, we didn't have reading groups or Weekly News today. So, your child has no work to do over the weekend.
There are a few events going on over the next week and week after vacation. Please make note of the following:
*We have a new 1st grade student joining our class on Monday. His name is Alex and he is coming from Stowe Elementary.
*I will be out of the classroom on Monday and Friday. I have a meeting at the Agency of Education on Monday. I will join the class for arrival, to welcome the new student, and then take off shortly after. On Friday, I will be headed to Boston with my family. The Red Sox are honoring a few teachers (I am luck to be one of them) from New England (for their work in Math) and are having an on-field ceremony before Friday's game. So, I have decided to use a personal day to take my family down for this event.
*On Wednesday, April 29th, Our class will be headed to the Fayston school. We will be working with their 1st and 2nd graders on a Red Clover project. As you may remember, we recently wrote opinion pieces about which book should win. The Fayston students responded to the same prompt and we will share or responses and then work on a project that will have them working in teams to sell their opinion. We will leave at 11:15 on this day. The students will eat lunch at Fayston. Since it is the same lunch program, students can sign up for hot or cold in the morning. Ms. Korb, Mr. Mongeon, and I will drive the students up. If you would like to join us, please let me know.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
April 6, 2015
Good Afternoon,
Today the students worked with the concept of sound waves and observing the difference between vibrations going through the air compared to through solid substances. Ask them about the hanger experiment. The students also had reading, writing, and Daily 5. We continued to work on our pen pal letters and students worked with a volunteer to edit their free write stories.
On Thursday, we will be walking to the Valley Players (at 12:45). We will be watching a production of Cinderella performed by our 5th and 6th graders. We will be back before 2:15.
I hope you all have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
Today the students worked with the concept of sound waves and observing the difference between vibrations going through the air compared to through solid substances. Ask them about the hanger experiment. The students also had reading, writing, and Daily 5. We continued to work on our pen pal letters and students worked with a volunteer to edit their free write stories.
On Thursday, we will be walking to the Valley Players (at 12:45). We will be watching a production of Cinderella performed by our 5th and 6th graders. We will be back before 2:15.
I hope you all have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
April 3, 2015
April 3, 2015
Good Morning,
We have had a fun week. The students received letters from heir pen pals. They have spent this week working on their 1st drafts of their responses. I am in the planning stages of our annual field trip to meet up with our pen pals. I am looking at the first week of June. After talking with Sally, the TBPS teacher, we have decided to do part of the Stowe Pinnacle hike. We wills tart at the bottom and hike up to the meadow. There we will eat lunch and then return. We will stop by Ben and Jerry's for some ice cream on the way back. I will be looking for chaperones when I finalize a date and time.
I joined the students for art class today. I had heard the class was working on more paper for our narrative illustrations. It was fun to sit in and see they fun they had. Check out the clip below:
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
We have had a fun week. The students received letters from heir pen pals. They have spent this week working on their 1st drafts of their responses. I am in the planning stages of our annual field trip to meet up with our pen pals. I am looking at the first week of June. After talking with Sally, the TBPS teacher, we have decided to do part of the Stowe Pinnacle hike. We wills tart at the bottom and hike up to the meadow. There we will eat lunch and then return. We will stop by Ben and Jerry's for some ice cream on the way back. I will be looking for chaperones when I finalize a date and time.
I joined the students for art class today. I had heard the class was working on more paper for our narrative illustrations. It was fun to sit in and see they fun they had. Check out the clip below:
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
March 31, 2015
March 31, 2015
Good Afternoon,
We continue to explore and discover the concepts of sound in science. Yesterday, the students finished up their lesson on Kazoos and today they used rulers to explore ways of varying pitch.
Yesterday, the students were treated to a preview of Sensical the Musical performed by members of Harwood Union High School. Students saw beloved Seuss characters come to life to tell their stories through song and dance! This is a great opportunity for families to enjoy. The performance will be at Harwood on April 9 - 11. Below is some more information on the performance.
Notes:
*We have our last Winter Sports program this week. Please make sure your children have all of their clothing and equipment.
*There is homework in your child's bag. Please make sure they do it tonight. In honor of the last ski day and April 1st, I will not send anything home tomorrow.
I hope you have a great night.
Peace,
Tommy
We continue to explore and discover the concepts of sound in science. Yesterday, the students finished up their lesson on Kazoos and today they used rulers to explore ways of varying pitch.
Yesterday, the students were treated to a preview of Sensical the Musical performed by members of Harwood Union High School. Students saw beloved Seuss characters come to life to tell their stories through song and dance! This is a great opportunity for families to enjoy. The performance will be at Harwood on April 9 - 11. Below is some more information on the performance.
Shows:
Thursday, April 9 @ 7:30pm
Friday, April 10 @ 7:30pm
Saturday, April 11 @ 1:30pm & 7:30pm
Friday, April 10 @ 7:30pm
Saturday, April 11 @ 1:30pm & 7:30pm
Tickets are available at the door. Adults $10; Students $5
For more information, check out their website at: http://friendsofharwoodmusic.Notes:
*We have our last Winter Sports program this week. Please make sure your children have all of their clothing and equipment.
*There is homework in your child's bag. Please make sure they do it tonight. In honor of the last ski day and April 1st, I will not send anything home tomorrow.
I hope you have a great night.
Peace,
Tommy
March 26, 2015
Yesterday we ventured to Harwood to work on editing our narratives. The students were very excited and a little nervous. I was excited to see the enthusiasm and focus that so many demonstrated. Here is a video of our morning.
Today, the students were asked to write a persuasive piece that asked them to convince me why their choice for the Red Clover Book Award should win. The students were asked to write a letter to me and present their argument. These pieces will be used as an assessment piece and shared at our next district wide Early Release Day.
What is a Red Clover book?
Each year a committee of librarians, teachers, and sponsors reviews all picture books published in the prior year and chooses ten stellar picture books as the Red Clover books for the next school year. The books are considered in their entirety when chosen; both text and illustrations must be considered exemplary. To learn more about the books and the Red Clover program, visit the Vermont Center for the Book.
Each year a committee of librarians, teachers, and sponsors reviews all picture books published in the prior year and chooses ten stellar picture books as the Red Clover books for the next school year. The books are considered in their entirety when chosen; both text and illustrations must be considered exemplary. To learn more about the books and the Red Clover program, visit the Vermont Center for the Book.
A Local Connection to Red Clover
The Red Clover book program was started in Windham County, the brainchild of Eileen Christelow, author of the Five Little Monkeys books, The Great Pig Escape, and many other books. Jessie Haas, another of our beloved children's book authors, best known for her horse books and her picture books of rural farm life, named the program after the state flower of Vermont, the red clover. After one year as a Windham county program, the Red Clover book program went statewide, and today children in grades Kindergarten through 4th grade throughout the state of Vermont read the Red Clover books and vote for their favorite each April.
What is a picture book?
The picture book combines words and pictures to tell a story. Text and images work together to bring a sotry to a new level. Illustrations can extend the meaning of a story or alter a book altogether. So while a picture book is simply word and pictures, when viewed as a whole, it becomes a work of art. (MM Del Rosario, http://hubpages.com/hub/what-is-a-picture-book)
I hope you all have a great weekend!
Peace,
Tommy
March 23, 2015
March 24, 2015
Good Morning,
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. It was a pleasure to be able to speak with you about your child's progress and how wonderful they are. I hope you found the conferences both meaningful and insightful. If you still have questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.
We will be headed to Harwood on Thursday. We will leave school around 9:50 and return just before 11:30. So far Ken Wilson and Sheila Fiaschetti have offered to drive. I will also drive. If anyone would like to join us, please let us know.
This week we are scheduled to have a ski day on Wednesday. I will be at a district math meeting in the afternoon. If skiing is canceled there will be a sub in for me for the afternoon.
I hope you all have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. It was a pleasure to be able to speak with you about your child's progress and how wonderful they are. I hope you found the conferences both meaningful and insightful. If you still have questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.
We will be headed to Harwood on Thursday. We will leave school around 9:50 and return just before 11:30. So far Ken Wilson and Sheila Fiaschetti have offered to drive. I will also drive. If anyone would like to join us, please let us know.
This week we are scheduled to have a ski day on Wednesday. I will be at a district math meeting in the afternoon. If skiing is canceled there will be a sub in for me for the afternoon.
I hope you all have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
March 16, 2015
March 16, 2015
Good Morning,
I hope everyone enjoyed the circus performance on Friday evening. It was wonderful to see so much enthusiasm and so many smiles form all of the students. Below is a video from the evening event.
I would like to take the students to Harwood on Thursday, March 26th. We would leave school around 9:45 and leave Harwood around 11:15. The purpose of the trip is to have the students work with a freshman writing class. The students would be sharing their narratives and would receive editing help from the high school kids. I need a few drivers. If you are able to help, please let me know by this Thursday.
As we continue our study of sound, I am looking for clean plastic containers with lids (i.e. yogurt). If you have any, could you please send them in. I am also looking for shoe boxes for our light unit. Please send in any that you are willing to part with.
I hope you all have a great week and I will see you at our scheduled conference.
Peace,
Tommy
I hope everyone enjoyed the circus performance on Friday evening. It was wonderful to see so much enthusiasm and so many smiles form all of the students. Below is a video from the evening event.
I would like to take the students to Harwood on Thursday, March 26th. We would leave school around 9:45 and leave Harwood around 11:15. The purpose of the trip is to have the students work with a freshman writing class. The students would be sharing their narratives and would receive editing help from the high school kids. I need a few drivers. If you are able to help, please let me know by this Thursday.
As we continue our study of sound, I am looking for clean plastic containers with lids (i.e. yogurt). If you have any, could you please send them in. I am also looking for shoe boxes for our light unit. Please send in any that you are willing to part with.
I hope you all have a great week and I will see you at our scheduled conference.
Peace,
Tommy
March 13, 2015
March 13, 2014
Good Morning,
It's SHOWTIME! The students' excitement for tonight's performance is inspiring. They are truly ready for the show to begin. Here are the final details about tonight:
*Kids should go to their classrooms between 5:45-5:50. Please don't be late. I ask that they wear boots to the performance and change into shoes once they arrive. This way none has to sit in mud and snow during the performance (we will be on the gym floor). The kids will leave their coats and boots in the hallway (by their classroom) and be able to pick them up after the performance.
*The kids should wear brown or black (or dark colors) to go with our monkey skit. There is one person who is a banana and they should wear dark colors as well.
I look forward to seeing everyone tonight and look forward to a great show. I will create a video of the show after tonight's performance.
Notes:
*We only had math class today. The kids had health, art, French, and rehearsal during the rest of the day. So, there is no homework tonight.
*Several kids are still showing up to school with just boots. Please help them remember to pack shoes for class.
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
It's SHOWTIME! The students' excitement for tonight's performance is inspiring. They are truly ready for the show to begin. Here are the final details about tonight:
*Kids should go to their classrooms between 5:45-5:50. Please don't be late. I ask that they wear boots to the performance and change into shoes once they arrive. This way none has to sit in mud and snow during the performance (we will be on the gym floor). The kids will leave their coats and boots in the hallway (by their classroom) and be able to pick them up after the performance.
*The kids should wear brown or black (or dark colors) to go with our monkey skit. There is one person who is a banana and they should wear dark colors as well.
I look forward to seeing everyone tonight and look forward to a great show. I will create a video of the show after tonight's performance.
Notes:
*We only had math class today. The kids had health, art, French, and rehearsal during the rest of the day. So, there is no homework tonight.
*Several kids are still showing up to school with just boots. Please help them remember to pack shoes for class.
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
March 11, 2015
Good Morning,
I wanted to write to fill you in on the Circus Residency and the needs for Friday. The class has really been enjoying Troy and he has a wonderful demeanor with the students. He has been able to capture their excitement and energy and focus it toward a class routine (for the performance). Our students will be monkeys. If your child could wear brown or black on Friday evening that would be most helpful. Please don't go out and buy something just for the evening. If you don't have brown or black just go with something dark.
**There is reading homework this afternoon. Please make sure your child takes the time to read.
**I will be out tomorrow afternoon. My daughters both have dentist appointments.
**If you haven't signed up for a conference time please do so.
Have a great day.
Tommy
I wanted to write to fill you in on the Circus Residency and the needs for Friday. The class has really been enjoying Troy and he has a wonderful demeanor with the students. He has been able to capture their excitement and energy and focus it toward a class routine (for the performance). Our students will be monkeys. If your child could wear brown or black on Friday evening that would be most helpful. Please don't go out and buy something just for the evening. If you don't have brown or black just go with something dark.
**There is reading homework this afternoon. Please make sure your child takes the time to read.
**I will be out tomorrow afternoon. My daughters both have dentist appointments.
**If you haven't signed up for a conference time please do so.
Have a great day.
Tommy
March 6, 2015
March 6, 2015
Good Morning,
I hope you all had a great break and for those who had time off found it rewarding and restful. We are in the midst of fishing up our 1st drafts of our narratives. The next step will be to meet with a group from Harwood to help the kids edit their stories. Next week we will be starting our next science unit. This unit will be on sound and light waves. It will be a 20 lesson unit and will Take us through the end of April/beginning of May. As I was writing the sound lessons, I kept finding myself singing Good Vibrations by the Beach Boys. Now it is stuck in my head!
Next week will mark the start of the school's one week artist in residency. This year we will be guided by the work of Troy Wonderle. Troy is returning to our school to lead us through a week of circus adventure. If you would like to find out more about Troy and his talents, check out http://www.bigtopadventures.com/home.html.
Our residency schedule is as follows:
Monday: 1:45-2:15 (in place of PE)
Tuesday: 10:15-10:45 (in place of writing)
Thursday: 9:50-10:20 (in place of PE)
Friday: 12:45-2:15 All School Rehearsal (no reading/Weekly News in the afternoon)
There will be an evening performance on Friday, March 13 @ 6:00. All are encouraged to attend.
Notes:
*Your child has reading homework and their Weekly News in their backpacks.
*Please make sure your child brings a change of shoes to school. It would be helpful and appreciated if they weren't wearing their boots all day long.
*Wednesday is an Early Release Day.
PARENT CONFERENCES: On Monday, the online parent conference scheduler will be available to you. You will see that I have a lot of slots on Thursday and only a couple on Friday. I have a meeting at the Department of Education at 9:00 on Friday. If you can't find a time that works for you, please let me know and I can work with you to find a time. If you don't plan on attending a conference, could you please let me know.
I hope you all have a great week.
Tommy
I hope you all had a great break and for those who had time off found it rewarding and restful. We are in the midst of fishing up our 1st drafts of our narratives. The next step will be to meet with a group from Harwood to help the kids edit their stories. Next week we will be starting our next science unit. This unit will be on sound and light waves. It will be a 20 lesson unit and will Take us through the end of April/beginning of May. As I was writing the sound lessons, I kept finding myself singing Good Vibrations by the Beach Boys. Now it is stuck in my head!
Next week will mark the start of the school's one week artist in residency. This year we will be guided by the work of Troy Wonderle. Troy is returning to our school to lead us through a week of circus adventure. If you would like to find out more about Troy and his talents, check out http://www.bigtopadventures.com/home.html.
Our residency schedule is as follows:
Monday: 1:45-2:15 (in place of PE)
Tuesday: 10:15-10:45 (in place of writing)
Thursday: 9:50-10:20 (in place of PE)
Friday: 12:45-2:15 All School Rehearsal (no reading/Weekly News in the afternoon)
There will be an evening performance on Friday, March 13 @ 6:00. All are encouraged to attend.
Notes:
*Your child has reading homework and their Weekly News in their backpacks.
*Please make sure your child brings a change of shoes to school. It would be helpful and appreciated if they weren't wearing their boots all day long.
*Wednesday is an Early Release Day.
PARENT CONFERENCES: On Monday, the online parent conference scheduler will be available to you. You will see that I have a lot of slots on Thursday and only a couple on Friday. I have a meeting at the Department of Education at 9:00 on Friday. If you can't find a time that works for you, please let me know and I can work with you to find a time. If you don't plan on attending a conference, could you please let me know.
I hope you all have a great week.
Tommy
February 16, 2015
February 16, 20145
Good Morning,
Today the students used their knowledge of magnets and attraction of poles to fix a problem. We watched a video of a kid using a pogo stick. I explained that I was trying to do the same tricks with my pogo stick and the spring inside broke. I asked the students to use a spindle and magnets to create a new spring for it. The students worked in teams of two and came up with great solutions and backed up their thinking with scientific evidence.
The students also started writing their own narratives today. I am hoping to have most of the rough drafts done by the end of the week.
On Wednesday, we will have our school wide PBIS celebration. This is a reward that the students had earned because of their behavior. Recently we have been focused on being responsible. Our class has really done a fabulous job of focusing on their own responsibility around the school itself. We will be outside all afternoon on Wednesday to celebrate their success. They will all take part in a winter celebration. Please make sure to dress them accordingly.
Have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
Today the students used their knowledge of magnets and attraction of poles to fix a problem. We watched a video of a kid using a pogo stick. I explained that I was trying to do the same tricks with my pogo stick and the spring inside broke. I asked the students to use a spindle and magnets to create a new spring for it. The students worked in teams of two and came up with great solutions and backed up their thinking with scientific evidence.
The students also started writing their own narratives today. I am hoping to have most of the rough drafts done by the end of the week.
On Wednesday, we will have our school wide PBIS celebration. This is a reward that the students had earned because of their behavior. Recently we have been focused on being responsible. Our class has really done a fabulous job of focusing on their own responsibility around the school itself. We will be outside all afternoon on Wednesday to celebrate their success. They will all take part in a winter celebration. Please make sure to dress them accordingly.
Have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
February 13, 2015
February 13, 2015
Good Morning,
I hope you have had a great week. I was out all day Wednesday and half a day on Thursday. I was at a meeting on Wednesday and took half of a personal day on Thursday (to do my taxes).
Next week the school will be having their PBIS celebration. The school will gather and take part in a variety of winter fun. The event will be outdoors, so dress accordingly. This will start around 12:45 on Wednesday.
Notes:
*There will be no Weekly News this week. We used the time to pass out Valentines.
*I will be testing the kids reading and spelling abilities next week. Although I won't be out of the classroom to do this, our schedule will look a little different.
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
I hope you have had a great week. I was out all day Wednesday and half a day on Thursday. I was at a meeting on Wednesday and took half of a personal day on Thursday (to do my taxes).
Next week the school will be having their PBIS celebration. The school will gather and take part in a variety of winter fun. The event will be outdoors, so dress accordingly. This will start around 12:45 on Wednesday.
Notes:
*There will be no Weekly News this week. We used the time to pass out Valentines.
*I will be testing the kids reading and spelling abilities next week. Although I won't be out of the classroom to do this, our schedule will look a little different.
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
February 12, 2015
February 6, 2014
Good Morning,
I realized that I never posted last Friday. Sorry about that. This week the students finished writing a narrative piece about the picture book that their group chose. They will present their stories next week. Yesterday, we continued looking at the Statue of Liberty. This is a continuation of our monument unit. The students have been using a variety of sources to find the information they need to research each monument. The final project will have them using their research/notes to create a presentation about their learning. This week the first graders have been working with non-standard measuring and the concept of telling time to the hour and half hour. We have also looked at the concept of fraction notation (1/2s). The second graders have been working with the concept of patterns within numbers and completed a unit on subtraction with regrouping.
Valentine's Day: The students will be allowed to make Valentines for their classmates. Next Friday (after lunch), we will have a time where the kids can pass out their valentines. Below is a list of the students who would like to participate:
Isaac, Jaedyn, Chip, Parker, Noa, Lydia, Juno, Jack, Riley, Soren, Logan, Lucy, Julia, Matthew, Emma
If students would like to bring in a treat for the afternoon, they are welcome to do so. We will do this from 12:45-1:30. We will not be doing Weekly News next week (to accommodate the time for this).
Notes:
*Your child has their Weekly News in their homework bag.
*There is weekend reading homework.
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
I realized that I never posted last Friday. Sorry about that. This week the students finished writing a narrative piece about the picture book that their group chose. They will present their stories next week. Yesterday, we continued looking at the Statue of Liberty. This is a continuation of our monument unit. The students have been using a variety of sources to find the information they need to research each monument. The final project will have them using their research/notes to create a presentation about their learning. This week the first graders have been working with non-standard measuring and the concept of telling time to the hour and half hour. We have also looked at the concept of fraction notation (1/2s). The second graders have been working with the concept of patterns within numbers and completed a unit on subtraction with regrouping.
Valentine's Day: The students will be allowed to make Valentines for their classmates. Next Friday (after lunch), we will have a time where the kids can pass out their valentines. Below is a list of the students who would like to participate:
Isaac, Jaedyn, Chip, Parker, Noa, Lydia, Juno, Jack, Riley, Soren, Logan, Lucy, Julia, Matthew, Emma
If students would like to bring in a treat for the afternoon, they are welcome to do so. We will do this from 12:45-1:30. We will not be doing Weekly News next week (to accommodate the time for this).
Notes:
*Your child has their Weekly News in their homework bag.
*There is weekend reading homework.
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
January 26, 2015
January 26, 2015
Good Morning,
Today we finished up a science lesson from last week. The students had to discuss why a magnet was attracted to some metal objects but not others. This was the second lesson in our 10 lesson unit on magnets. Our next unit will be light and sound.
We also continued our study of narrative writing. The students are working in teams to write the words for a picture book that they chose. Their writing must include all of the elements to a narrative. Once they are finished, we will read their writings and determine of all of the elements war ended included.
Notes For the Week:
*There is a whole school music concert on Thursday from 6:00-7:00 p.m. We will have two rehearsals this week. One rehearsal will be on Tuesday, from 8:15-8:45 and the other will be on Thursday from 9:00-10:00. On Thursday, the students will all meet in the gym and not go to their classrooms. Since we will be sitting on the mats, I am asking that students where their boots to the concert and then change into a pair of shoes. This way we are not sitting in puddles. If it is easier, you can leave your child's boots in the hallway outside their classroom. This way you won't have to search for them after.
*We have a Winter Sports program day on Wednesday.
Have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
Today we finished up a science lesson from last week. The students had to discuss why a magnet was attracted to some metal objects but not others. This was the second lesson in our 10 lesson unit on magnets. Our next unit will be light and sound.
We also continued our study of narrative writing. The students are working in teams to write the words for a picture book that they chose. Their writing must include all of the elements to a narrative. Once they are finished, we will read their writings and determine of all of the elements war ended included.
Notes For the Week:
*There is a whole school music concert on Thursday from 6:00-7:00 p.m. We will have two rehearsals this week. One rehearsal will be on Tuesday, from 8:15-8:45 and the other will be on Thursday from 9:00-10:00. On Thursday, the students will all meet in the gym and not go to their classrooms. Since we will be sitting on the mats, I am asking that students where their boots to the concert and then change into a pair of shoes. This way we are not sitting in puddles. If it is easier, you can leave your child's boots in the hallway outside their classroom. This way you won't have to search for them after.
*We have a Winter Sports program day on Wednesday.
Have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
January 23, 2015
January 23, 2015
Good Morning,
Yesterday we were treated to a performance by an group from the VSO. The singing was engaging and the students enjoyed the many interactive parts of the program. Below is a video that captures the past few weeks.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
Yesterday we were treated to a performance by an group from the VSO. The singing was engaging and the students enjoyed the many interactive parts of the program. Below is a video that captures the past few weeks.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
January 16, 2015
January 16, 2015
Good Morning,
I hope you have all had a great week. The first winter sports day went off with great success. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the kids all spoke of great fun on the mountain. I appreciate all that you did to have your child prepared for the afternoon on the mountain.
This week we continued our focus on narrative writing and looked at the elements of setting, characters, problem, solution, events, and wrap up. The students were asked to identify these parts in the story Good Dog Carl. We will continue our narrative focus on Tuesday.
The first graders have spent the week collecting and analyzing data in math. They also created their own surveys and collected results. Today they took the end of unit test and all did all with it. What was impressive is I condensed 12 lessons into 4 lessons and the students walked away with the knowledge they needed. It was a great job on their part. The second graders worked on graphing information, interpreting graphs, and subtraction.
Notes:
*No School on Monday
*Winter Sports Program on Wednesday
*The VSO will be visiting on Thursday at 1:00. Ah! Cappella (vocal quartet)
I hope you have all had a great week. The first winter sports day went off with great success. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the kids all spoke of great fun on the mountain. I appreciate all that you did to have your child prepared for the afternoon on the mountain.
This week we continued our focus on narrative writing and looked at the elements of setting, characters, problem, solution, events, and wrap up. The students were asked to identify these parts in the story Good Dog Carl. We will continue our narrative focus on Tuesday.
The first graders have spent the week collecting and analyzing data in math. They also created their own surveys and collected results. Today they took the end of unit test and all did all with it. What was impressive is I condensed 12 lessons into 4 lessons and the students walked away with the knowledge they needed. It was a great job on their part. The second graders worked on graphing information, interpreting graphs, and subtraction.
Notes:
*No School on Monday
*Winter Sports Program on Wednesday
*The VSO will be visiting on Thursday at 1:00. Ah! Cappella (vocal quartet)
Using nothing but the instruments they were born with, the four singers in “Ah! Cappella” have wowed schoolchildren across the state with a varied and amusing program since their debut in 1999. All four are teachers as well as musicians, and expert at presenting a program that delights as it instructs. They perform a wide selection of music, from an early madrigal and part of a mass to an African-American spiritual.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
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