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
October 30, 2015
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
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