Good Evening,

  We had a great final week of 2017.  Below is a link of each kids geography presentation.  I hope you enjoy them.  Click on your child's name and you can hear their presentations.

Caroline Kai Annamae Lev Liv Steele

Sam Kane Carley Noah Clara

The students also did a great job with their secret pals and had a great time with the pancake breakfast.  Below is a video of them from both events.  I was looking for the appropriate song to go with the pictures of them cooking. I figured how could you go wrong with the Sweedish Chef singing Rapper's Delight.



I hope you all have a wonderful break that allows for traditions, celebrations, and time with family. 

Peace,
Tommy

December 14th, 2017

Good Afternoon,
  I am going to write one post for this week.  It will be rather lengthy but please read through the whole thing.  Several of my 2nd graders have asked that we do Secret Pals again this year.  The purpose of this event is to celebrate each other and enjoy the idea of trying to surprise a friend.  Today, in your child's homework bag, there will be a yellow note for you to read and sign your child up.  The note MUST be returned by tomorrow.  I will use our Art time tomorrow to create a list of each other's Secret Pals and send home a note with your child's Secret Pal. 

  Yesterday, my friend from India, Ajay led the class in a yoga session.  I have to say it was absolutely amazing.  He led them through a variety of poses and was impressed with their knowledge of so many yoga poses.  For me, I was thrilled that they got this opportunity.  What was great was the excitement by both the students and Ajay.  We will try and do this again in January. 

  Wednesday afternoon, we finally finished our map work with town, state, country, continent, and world.  Next week the kids will present their understanding to each other. I am hoping to record a presentation or two so that you all can see the work that they have been doing. 

  We have been using read a loud time to study a particular author or illustrator.  Last week we read a lot of Lauren Castillo book.  This week we have been reading books by Tomie De Paola.  One of the books we read was Pancakes For Breakfast.   The class has decided that we need to have a pancake breakfast.  We will do this on the last day of school before vacation.  Please go to this link to sign up to with food, plates, or drinks.  I will provide the pancakes.  This will be better than having a "sugary party" on the last day.   

That is all for now.

Have a great weekend.

Peace,
Tommy

December 8, 2017

Good Afternoon.  We finally finished up the video for our project that has us helping Ella from Harwood.  Take a look at the video below.  It truly is a product of the kids work and they created everything you see (with the exception of the last slide).  In order to finish this work, we postponed our literature/reading time today.



Enjoy your weekend.
Tommy

December 4th, 2017

Good Afternoon,
  I hope this find all of you well and rested as we head into the blur we call December.  It is hard enough to believe that we flew through November so quickly.
Last week we had a visit form local author Lou Bevaqui. He shared his book and used games and art activities, to introduce the concept of emotional self-awareness. Lou was able to really connect with the kids, drawing from them their thoughts and ideas, and making it fun so they could learn without ever realizing it!

Lou and the children used art and descriptions and their five senses to explore various emotions. They were were introduced to the idea that these emotions do not define them (“I am angry”). Rather, the emotions are something they “feel,” and feelings change. Lou ended by introducing the children to ways they change how they feel.

Here is a description of Lou’s book and message:

Sarah’s day leads her into one emotional storm after another. Can Sarah weather these storms and find ways to turn her day around? Vibrantly illustrated, Changing Your Weather is intended to help children and their parents identify and understand their emotions, increase their emotional self-awareness and create mental tools that allow them to choose the way they want to feel. When children learn language and tools to identify and govern their emotions they become more attuned with what is going on both inside and outside of them. The fun glossary and journal included in this book provide tools to enable parents and their children to interact as they build these important skills.

You can learn more about Lou at: http://loubevacqui.com/

  Today we headed to Moretown to hear from Sam Drazin.  He is a person who deals with  Treacher Collins syndrome.  You may have heard of the new movie out or read the book Wonder.  The main character deals with the same syndrome.  Here is a link to hear more about Sam.  

That is all for now.  I hope you all have a great week.

Tommy

Last week's Estimation Winner!

November 21, 2017

Good Afternoon,
   A bit of a whirlwind two days.  Yesterday Ella Gannon, a sophomore at Harwood and one of my basketball players, visited our classroom.  Ella will be headed to Kenya in January with her family.  Her dad and uncle are doctors and will do some work in a clinic there.  Ella will be working with students in a prek-2 grade school.  Ella talked to the class about why she goes and what she hopes to accomplish.  She has asked for our help.  She would like to fill a backpack full of pencils (ones with fun designs), colored pencils, chalk and stickers.  Her goal is to distribute these items to the students during her visit.  After our break, the class will create a presentation and enlist the help of the entire Waitsfield School.  Stay tuned for more details.

  Today the students finished their Thanksgiving writes.  This is one of maybe two activities that I repeat each year.  I feel it is important to have the students reflect on how much they have in their lives and how fortunate they are.  Look for their Turkey themed writings today.

  I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I am looking forward to a little down time and some needed time with family.  I know that I am truly thankful and fortunate to teach in such a great community and for that I am grateful.

Peace,
Tommy

November 17, 2017

Good Afternoon,

  I hope you all had a great week.  We spent Wednesday afternoon looking at maps.  The point of the exercise was to learn about some geography terms, identify our town, state, country, continent, and world, and to identify that their is water in many places.  We didn't have time to complete our all of the work and will continue the week after next.  This will lead us toward the science concept of erosion and how water has impacted the shape of many land forms.

  Yesterday morning, we had a visit form three members of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra.  They were three string players that go by the name Fiddlesticks.  They took time to explain and demonstrate some of the instruments that they play.  They then treated the students to a variety of songs and got the crowd involved too.

  The students spent time today writing in their Weekly News journals.  Please take time to respond.  There are a couple of kids that need a few more minutes to finish their writing at home over the weekend.  Thank you in advance for your help with this.

NOTES:
*Please make sure all of your child's winter gear has their name written somewhere on or in it.  It makes it easier to get it back to them if they drop something in transit.

*There is reading homework over the weekend.  Everyone has something they should read a a few have some questions to answer too.

Have a great weekend.

Peace,


Tommy

November 13, 2017

Good Afternoon,
  I want to start by thanking everyone for the help with the ski and skate sale.  Once again the PTA was able to exceed their expectations.  I find the whole process to be both amazing and incredibly beneficial on so many levels. 

  Today we continued writing our letters to our pen-pals.  Most kids are on their final revisions.  We hope to get those in the mail this week.  We also started a new read a loud titled Stuart's Cape.  "Stuart's got problems. It's raining. He's bored. And worst of all, he's new in town, so he's got a lot to worry about. What does a kid like Stuart need in order to have an adventure? A cape, of course!" I can't wait to find out how Stuart tackles his boredom.

  That is all for now. I hope you have a great week.

Peace,
Tommy

November 10, 2017

Good Afternoon,
  I would like to start by wishing any and all of you who have served a Happy Veteran's Day and thank you for your service.  I have two brothers who are both Marines and truly appreciate what comes with being a member of our armed services. 

  This week we received our first letters from our pen-pals.  Once again, our pen-pals will be from Mr. Thurston's 1st & 2nd grade at Thatcher Brook Primary School.  We read through the letters and I asked the students to highlight any questions that were asked of them.  We then came up with other criteria that would need to be include in their responses.  We will try to meet up with our pen-pals at least twice this year as well as write a few letters to each other. 

  In science, we continued to focus on our fist unit of the changing Earth.  The 1st lesson had us focusing on maps and directional points.  We will expand on this notion next week as Mr. Mongeon and I work with them on terms such as town, state, country, continent, oceans, lakes, rivers & compass rose.  I am rewriting each science unit to meet my satisfaction and to maximize your child's learning and engagement.  I am also trying to weave in parts of the new social studies curriculum to be able to cover the topics that are being asked of us.  Our next unit  of study will be States of Matter and Local Traditions.  I am looking at developing a uni that focuses on the sugaring process.  More to come on this.

NOTES: 

*Ski and Skate Sale this weekend.

*Your child has reading homework this weekend.  Please take a small moment from your weekend to have them complete their tasks.

Have a great weekend.

Peace,
Tommy

November 6, 2017

Good Afternoon,
  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  As I had mentioned last week, the Ski and Skate sale will be this weekend.  Friday is a day where our school transforms into the biggest skid and board shop around.  Most of our day, on Friday will be normal and remain the same as always.  However, the end of our day will be a little different and we will not do Weekly News this week. 

  Another change, on Friday, is the need to eat in our classrooms and not use the cafeteria.  Today, I asked your child if they would want home or school lunch (a bagged lunch containing a sandwich).  Here is what your child signed up for.  If you would like something different, please let me know by tomorrow. 

Home Lunch:  Caroline, Kane, Carley

School Lunch:  Kai, Anna Mae, Lev, Liv, Steele, Donovan, Sam, Noah, Clara

I hope you have a great week.
Tommy

November 3, 2017

Good Afternoon,
  I want to thank all of you, that I have already met with, for taking part in the parent conference process.  I hope you found it informative and purposeful.  I truly enjoy involving the kids in the goal setting process and having their voice being such a powerful part of the conference.  This week the kids illustrated their new goals and will finish them next week.  I will hang them up for kids to refer to throughout the next few months.

  This past Wednesday marked the end of our inspiration hour projects.  The offerings were wonderful for this and the kids really seemed to enjoy them.  This afternoon each child wrote about their experience with inspiration hour in their Weekly News journal.  Please take a look at their thoughts and feelings.

  Thursday morning two members of the Waitsfield/Fayston Fire Department.  They talked to the kids about the importance of smoke detectors, what to do in case of an emergency, and other safety tips.  The students brought home a packet of information with them.  It is the time of year when each family should work on their own home evacuation plan. 

SKI and SKATE SALE:  The school''s annual ski and skate sale is this coming weekend.  This one event single handedly funds the PTA's budget each year.  It is nice that we can do all of our fundraising in one weekend and not feel like we are being asked to sell or buy something each month.  THERE IS STILL A NEED FOR VOLUNTEERS on Saturday (a few spots) and Sunday (a lot of spots).  If you can spare some time on either of those days, we would all appreciate it.  Go to this link to sign up.  This is a great way to volunteer for our students and to interact with our community as a whole.

NOTES:
*Please make sure your child has a coat/jacket that is appropriate for the weather for that specific day.  We do go outside most days.  Also, if you would like to have your child bring in a sweatshirt to leave at school, please label it with their name and send it in.  I usually open the windows to at least get cool fresh air in as the day starts.

*Winter Program forms are due to Kathy.  Please make sure to return them to school.  It is important that we have this information as we move forward with the program.

That is all for now. I hope you all have a great weekend.

Peace,
Tommy

October 23, 2017

Good Evening,

I hope you all had a great weekend.  Between a soccer game, a cross country meet, and the prep for winter, I certainly found many reasons to be outside and enjoy the beautiful weather.  On my drive to work today, I was admiring the landscape as I usually do.  However, today's view was something special and I felt I needed to pull over and capture the moment.  It just reminded me what a wonderful and beautiful place we live in.

Our Mindfulness Walk This Morning

Today we took a quick 15 minute walk during our mindfulness time today.  I challenged the kids to focus on their breathing and to walk at a relaxing stroll pace.  We then got back to the room and had a productive 60 minute writing block.  It is powerful to see how these mindfulness moments lead to more productive and focus work times.

Parent Conferences:  Below is the schedule for this week's conferences.  Please check your time and arrive a few minutes early.  I am asking that the students attend the conference (for the 1st part).  As you can see the conferences are booked back to back (for the most part) and I actually have to be at Harwood right after my last one on Wednesday night.  So I will be very timely with the conference blocks. 

Wednesday:  Caroline 2:30, Clara 3:45, Steele 4:10, Liv 4:35, Sam 5:00, Kai 5:25
Thursday:  Anna Mae 4:10, Carley 4:35, Noah 5:00, Kane 5:25

That is all for now.  Have a great week.

Peace,
Tommy

October 20, 2017

Good Afternoon,

  This week we joined a Skype session with Celine Cousteau.  She is the granddaughter of the famous diver and is quite an accomplished director and producer of environmental documentaries.  We were joined by schools from all over the world.  Some of the content was a bit to heavy for our class but the kids did hear about the need to conserve and the importance of protecting our environment.  Both the 1st and 2nd grade math classes are working on a geometry unit.  The 1st grade has been focusing on pattern block features, names and composing bigger shapes using smaller shapes or decomposing bigger shapes to create smaller shapes (i.e a hexagon can be made up of 6 smaller triangles).  The 2nd graders have been working with attribute blocks and sorting shapes by specific attributes.  This week also saw a multitude of "special events."  Tuesday morning had the students carving pumpkins as a whole school.  They had a great time and were excited about their designs.  I really enjoyed watching the evening event unfold.  It was nice to see so many of you and the smiles on the kids faces.  Wednesday was the 2nd day of our 3 event inspiration hour.  We will have our final session on November 1st. Yesterday we continued our discussion about climate change with our friends in New Jersey, Tennessee, and Minnesota.  It was great to hear how each class is using their time to focus on an aspect of climate change. 

Yesterday, I sent home a gold form for you to fill out with your child regarding conferences and helping your child set a goal for the next part of the year.  I had asked that they be returned today but only received 5 back.  I did speak to a couple of people this morning and know that they will return them Monday.  I really need all of them by Monday.  Could you please sit with your child this weekend and fill it out.  We will use these as part of our parent conferences and I want to review them before the day of the conferences.  Thank you in advance for your support and effort with this. 

NOTES:
*Your child has their Weekly News and weekend reading in their backpacks.

*I will be out of the classroom on Thursday, October 26th but will be back for conferences,  I have a meeting at the agency of ed that day.  I will also be out of school on Monday, October 30th.  I am using a personal day to travel home from Detroit. 

I hope you all have a great weekend.

Peace,
Mr. Young

October 16, 2017

Good Evening,

I am sorry I am only getting to this now.  There is a bit to read but it is all important.

Tomorrow we will have an earned PBIS school wide celebration.  From 10:00-11:50ish, the kids will be carving pumpkins in teams, They will then have lunch and an all school recess.  The students and their families are invited back for a pumpkin lit walk on the recreation path.  The lanterns will be placed along the path and lit between 5:30 and 6:30. We will have flatbread pizza (thanks to a generous donation from American Flatbread) for snacking and be pressing cider. Please note that this will be an all outside event, so dress warmly!

Today we spent are writing time talking about the Lorax (read a loud from last week).  I asked the students what caused all of the changes in the story's environment.  They noticed that the trees were al cut down and the water became mucky.  They also pointed out the smoke that polluted the air.  We eventually connected that the pollution changed the climate of the town.  The kids made before and after posters and will finish their writing tomorrow or Wednesday. 

This week's focus, for our climate project, is how to avoid/solve effects of climate change. Today we had a visit from Suzy Hodgson. "For the last three years, Hodgson has worked at the UVM Center for Sustainable Agriculture, where her main project is studying how farmers react to climate change. The goal is to learn how farmers can keep their organic soil healthy during both wet and dry periods." Today she talked to the kids about water and how to use techniques to preserve soil/moisture during heavy rains and dry spells. We looked at our garden, the brook on the north side of the school and walked to the pocket garden to observe the river bed. The students did a great job and Suzy was impressed with how wonderful the group was.

PARENT CONFERENCES:  Our conferences our schedule for Wednesday October 25th and Thursday October 26th.  This Thursday, your child will bring home a goal setting form that will help me prepare for the conference.  I will not send home any other work that night but rather ask that you sit with your child and fill out the form together.  Please return it the next day. 

The conferences are goal setting conferences.  The students are required to attend the first part of the conference as we set a student chosen and teacher selected goals for them for the next 1/4 of the year.  The rest of the conference will be a chance for us to meet and to talk about the start of your child's year.

The following already have conferences scheduled.  If you haven't please schedule your's online by Wednesday. 

SCHEDULED:  Caroline, Steele, Liv, Sam, Kai, Lev, Anna Mae, Noah, Carley, and Kane.

MINDFULNESS UPDATE:  The students have been enjoying our mindfulness time.  Classroom visitors have been impressed with how the kids use it to regulate their energy.  Yesterday I heard from our friend in India has been in contact.  He has had to postpone our session until November and wrote to us yesterday. 

Dear Tommy,

     It seems I might have to request you again for postponing our class. 18th is the festival of Deewali and the time we have set is the busiest time for the festivities with lots of fire crackers and prayers. Its my mistake in proposing the date and if its not inconvenient can we postpone it just once more.
     October 25th the next Wednesday, I am meeting a group of devotees from US on their way to the cave of their Guru. Its close to our place and they want to visit our Center. So, should we plan for a date in November; is there a Wednesday that works for you and the class.

best regards and apologies....

I look forward to our November session with him.

That is all for now.  Have a great week and I hope to see you at the pumpkin event Tuesday evening.

Peace,

Tommy

October 13, 2017

Happy Friday the 13th (in October of all months)! We have had a great week, filled with a variety of activities.  Last week was the 1st week of the Climate Action Project.  We spent some time talking about our seasons and what we typically see for weather.  I then asked them if the climate was changing.  We created a comparison chart of what we saw this year during each season.  The kids noticed a big change from what was typical.  They made 4 clips to summarize their learning.  Please skip over the part where I am speaking.  I had to introduce the project to the rest of the world.

 

This week we have focused on some causes of climate change.  We have read the Lorax, by Dr. Seuss.  We had a great discussion about the clear cutting of the trees and what effects it had.  We will continue this work next week.  We also talked with another 2nd grade in Tabernacle, New Jersey.  I am friends with a teacher there and our classes compared our climate change work.  It was great to hear about their area (very southern New Jersey), the changes they have seen near the ocean, and the climate work they have been doing.  We have also been working on a song about climate change, and are working with three other schools (in 3 different states) to create one collaborative piece that we will all sing.  It gave us a chance to talk about syllables and rhyming words as we created our two verses.  The song is a spin on I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing.  We recorded a practice version yesterday.  Take a look and see what you think.

Wednesday marked the start of the school's Inspiration Hour project.  The idea is that students will find an offering that both interests them and challenges them to learn a new skill, develop a stronger love for, or just dabble in something new.  The kids were very excited for this and they all had a great time.  We will continue this project in two weeks and then finish it with a culmination on the 1st on November.

Volunteer Schedule:

Our volunteer schedule will start this coming Monday.  Below is the schedule.  If you would like ot be added, please let me know.

Tuesdays:  Kellee Mazer 8:30-9:45 (Math)
Fridays:  Carla Ryley 1:45-2:15 (Writing)

The Following Parents Will be typing kids stories at home:  Jean & Jonathan G., Brandi T., and Carey R.

The Following Have offered to help with trips.  If you are able to drive, please make sure you get the necessary paperwork and fingerprinting done:  Will R., Brandi T., Rich or Sarah P.

To assist interested volunteers in completing this step, Laura Titus, who coordinates background checks in HUUSD, will be at Waitsfield School Tuesday 10/24, 7:30 - 8:00, to start the paperwork process for these checks. As this paperwork can take up to 2 months to be processed, I strongly encourage all to take care of it now.

You will need to bring a photo id and be prepared to pay $12 (checks made out to HUUSD). The Waitsfield PTA has offered to reimburse volunteers for this cost.

That is all for now.

Have a great weekend.

Peace,

Tommy

October 2, 2017

Good Afternoon,

  I truly hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful weather this weekend and took advantage of the multitude of outdoor activities that our area has to offer.  We were in Belfast, Maine all weekend for my daughter's, Julianne, race.  It was very picturesque of New England and the fall season.

  It sounds like Friday's hike was a complete success.  I was so excited to hear how many class members challenged themselves to a more difficult hike than they thought they could do.  Many of the students couldn't wait to tell me how they did.  Today we traveled to the Flynn theater.  The class saw a performance of My Father's Dragon.  I gave the performance an "ok" rating.  I didn't find it overly engaging for the kids.  I would be curious what you hear from them.  I have found that the music and movement performances tend to be more engaging and memorable.

Below is a video about homework. I hope you find this helpful.

NOTES
*No School on Friday due to teacher workshops/professional development.

Have a great week.

Peace,
Tommy

September 28, 2017

Good Afternoon,
  I wanted to give you a heads up about tomorrow's all school hike and Monday's trip to the Flynn Theater. 

HIKE:  Today your child chose from 1 of 3 hikes that they can do tomorrow.  The students will be leaving around 9:00 and will be back by 12:30.  The kids will eat lunch up at the mountain.  Please have your child pack a lunch.  Lev, Kane, Liv, Noah, Clara, and Sam have signed up for bagged lunches (from school).  We will eat snack before we leave school.  Your child should empty out their backpack, except homework bag, and put a water bottle in it.  They should dress in layers and have good shoes for hiking. 

FLYN TRIP:  On Monday (about 8:00 am) we will head to the Flynn Theater to see My Father's Dragon.  We will be traveling with Mr. Hubbard's, Mrs. Belknap's, Ms. Hale's classes.  We will be back in time to eat lunch at school. 

With talking animals, a daring rescue, a flying dragon, buried treasure, and lots of humor throughout, this fabulous adventure is brought to the stage using puppets, masks, inventive scenic effects and original music. Enchantment Theatre Company presents the story of a compassionate and courageous young boy and his unlikely friendship with a splendid yellow and blue striped dragon.

I hope everyone enjoyed the Open House.  It was nice to see so many of you.  The classroom is always open to you, please feel free to stop by anytime.  I apologize for not having the classroom tree finished in time.  However, here is a picture of the finished product. 

This week also marked the unveiling of Caroline's caterpillar.  She brought it on a few weeks ago and we have been patiently awaiting to see the arrival of this particular monarch, 

September 25, 2017

Good Afternoon,

 I need to apologize.  I forgot to post that the all school hike will be Friday, switched from today's date.  It looks like it was a good call because the heat index has cancelled many outdoor activities today (high school & middle school).

 I hope you are all ready for tomorrow's Open House.  This is a very exciting time for your children and they love showing off their classroom and work.  My request is that you have them be your tour guides and ask them lots of detail related questions.  They will have a checklist (that they create) to help them guide your through the tour.  I will be in the room, please feel free to ask me any questions about the blog, logging into Zearn and/or homework.  Please understand if you ask me how your child is doing my answer will be "GREAT!".  The reasons being, they most likely are doing great and I wouldn't talk about a specific child's progress in front of other families.  The open house runs from 5-6 pm.

PARENT VOLUNTEERS:  Your child will have a volunteer form, in their homework bag, this afternoon.  Please take a look and decide if you are able to sign up to volunteer during any oft the times.  I would like all responses by Friday and will post the schedule next week.  Volunteers will start October 16th.  Please note that the district policy requires anyone volunteering to drive on a field trip to be fingerprinted and have a background check done.  If you are simply volunteering in the room while I am supervising, no background check is needed.

That is all for now.  Have a great week.

Peace,
Tommy

September 22, 2017

Some of the leaves the students created

Good Afternoon,


  I hope you all have had a great week.  This week we finalized all of our routines and are ready to get into our full schedule next week.  There will be reading groups and reading homework.  Many of our younger readers will have a book from our group to read and a book of choice.  They should read the book from our group to you (you can help when needed) and then you can handle the book of choice anyway you wish.

  We are creating a tree for our classroom.  This week the students used food coloring and water colors to create "fall colored" leaves.  They had fun exploring how the colors could mix into each other and created deep shades of reds, yellows, and oranges.  I hope to have the tree up by next week.

 If you stop by our classroom, you will see a huge super hero cape hanging on the wall by the cubby area.  The cape has illustrations of a special power (talent) that your child feels they have.  We talked about each student having a special power and that if we each put our power together and used them to help the whole class we would be like a super hero with great powers.  A special thanks to Mrs. McDonough for helping with the cape.

Mindfulness Moments:  This week we talked about anchor spots and asked each child to identify where their spot was.  An anchor spot is a place where a person can place their hand on their body and feel their breaths go in and out.  For many this is their chest, hand, elbow, leg, or even their nose. Ask your child about their spot and how they can use breathing to calm their bodies.

 That is all for now.  I hope you all have a great weekend.

Peace,
Tommy

September 18, 2017

Good Afternoon,
  I hope you all had a great weekend.  Today we introduced are 3rd Daily 4 choice.  This is called read to self.  The kids will be using the software called Tumble Books.  This is a subscription web based site that allows for kids to listen to a variety of books read to them.  The great thing is that you can use it at home too.  If you have a night where your child is too tired to read and you have a million things going on, let them go to the Tumble Book site and listen to a story read to them.  Here is the information:

Username: waitsfield Password: reads Direct Link: : http://www.tumblebooklibrary.com/auto_login.aspx?u=waitsfield&p=reads Also, be sure to check out the iTunes App Store and Google Play to download our new APP! The app will greatly simplify the way your students log in from mobile devices like Tablets and Smart Phones! FIRST GRADE MATH:   As in past, first grade math homework is optional.  I use a program called Zearn and it is something that I use as part of my daily instruction as well.  Today, your child will bring home a black composition book that has their log in information taped inside the cover.  What is nice about this program is it is individualized for each student and allows them to work on skills that they need.  Below is a video on how to access Zearn at home.

That is all for now.  I hope you all have a great week.

Peace,
Tommy

September 15, 2017

Good Morning,
  We have had a very busy week in 1st and 2nd grade.  We have introduced and practice many of the routines that will be used all year long. The students also received their first set of words for their sight word spelling rings.  These sight words are practiced each morning upon arrival.  We do this for ten minutes prior to morning meeting.  Each kid will work at their own pace and are tested on them every two weeks.  When they demonstrate mastery, they get new words added to their rings.  If your child arrives on time each day, they will have the opportunity for 50 minutes of practice a week.

Yesterday was picture day (I wished I would have remembered that when getting dressed).  The students looked great and we even took a picture day selfie.

 Notes:
*We will have an all school hike on Monday, September 25.  We will be leaving around 8:00.  Please make sure your child has appropriate attire, a snack, and a water bottle.  They should also have a backpack to carry their items in.

*I will be out of the building on Thursday of next week.  A few years ago, I was appointed to the Vermont Standards Board for Professional Educators.  We meet once a month and this is our 1st meeting this academic year.

*Your child does not have their Weekly News in their bags today.  I needed to wrap up a few things this afternoon and decided to put this off until next week.

Have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy

September 11, 2017

Good Evening,

I hope you all had to enjoy the wonderful weather that we had yesterday.  My wife and I were able to get up to Stowe and access the fitness path.  It was certainly a beautiful day.

This week I will continue to introduce and practice the 4 options that kids have during our Daily 4 time.  Today they all were able to work on Core 5 (a phonemic and sight word program) and read to self for 12 minutes.

We also started to work on posters that incorporated our PBIS expectations (We ROCK) into a variety of school settings.  The students each teamed up and took of setting to illustrate kids being safe, kind, respectful and engaged. We should have these completed by week's end.

NOTES:
*Please send your child's book and homework bag back each day.
*Your kids are welcome to leave a sweatshirt here at school.  Some find that they want one to wear during class.

That is all for now.  I hope you have a great week.

Peace,
Tommy

September 8, 2017

Good Afternoon,
  I need to apologize.  I forgot to post last week's video, on Tuesday, as promised.  Please find it below.


This week we started to dive into our routines more deeply.  We have been learning to read to ourselves.  This is one part of our language arts block called the Daily 4.  The Daily 4 consists of 4 different language arts activities that students can choose from.  While I am working with kids in small, differentiated, "reading groups." the rest of the class is engaged with these.  It allows for student choice and interests to drive their own learning while still accomplishing the required learning outcomes.

We also spent some time creating our class rules.  I asked the students to think about their Hopes and Dreams illustrations and what they would need in place for rules that would help them achieve their goals.  The class initially came up with 16 rules.  We all agreed that this was too many and one student had the idea of putting them into categories.  This narrowed the list down to 5 simple rules or should I say 4 rules and a suggestion. Below is the poster that they all signed agreeing to follow these simple requests.

We were also visited by three different dogs this week.  Kane, Steele, and Caroline all brought in their dogs and shared them during our morning meeting.  Steele's dog gave Anna Mae & Kane more kisses than my great Italian aunts do a a family wedding.  Let's just say it was a lot.

I am very excited to announce that my friend Ajay Rastogi will be able to lead our class in some yoga this year.  He lives in India and is know for his love a sustainability and yoga.  He just got back from a glacial trek (see picture below) and was hoping to be able to be able to connect with the group this year.  He will be traveling to Princeton in September to work with some students but will be

back in India by October. We will have our first session on October 11th.  We will use Skype and the Smart board to make this happen.

On Thursday we had an all school assembly.  The school found out that we are working toward an all school celebration that will involve pumpkins, pizza, our families, and a stroll on the mad path in the evening.  I hope our school wide work toward our expected school behaviors will pay off and we earn this fun filled event.  Ask your child about tickets and rocks and why he/she gets them.


This October, our class will be participating in a Climate Action project.  It is being run by a friend of mine in Belgium and involves over 50 countries and 150 different schools.  Our focus will be as follows:

Students will focus on 4 different topics during the Climate Action project:
- week1: Introduction - What is climate change?
- week2: Causes and effects in your own country
- week3: Action - How do avoid/solve the effects - Action on a personal/local/global level
- week4: Let's talk about it - Exchanging insights and findings via Skype sessions

We will work collaboratively as a class and learn how others are dealing with this global issue at the same time.  If you would like to learn more about this project, see our class page, and/or see other schools and classes participating, check out  http://www.climate-action.info/

NOTE:  Your child has their 1st Weekly News entry in their homework bag.  Please take a look and a moment to respond to them.  We will read the responses at Morning Meeting on Monday morning.

That is all for now.  I hope you all have a great weekend.

Peace,
Tommy

September 1, 2017

Good Afternoon,
  I want to thank all of you, who were able, for coming to the informational meeting and potluck last night.  It was nice to start off the 1st week with a gathering and a chance to get to know all of you.  Please let me know if you have any unanswered questions.  I truly feel this is going to be a fabulous year and a special group of students and am quite excited for things to come.

  The 1st week has flown by.  On Tuesday, Katie Babic came in to review a talk regarding zones of regulation in regards to our personal mood.  We are creating a chart that will help kids identify how they are feeling and strategies to help them regulate their behavior, mood and/or feelings.  If you would like to know more about this, please check out this link.

 The students had each special this week with the exception of French (which will start at the end of September).  I asked that each specialist teacher come to our classroom to explain their expectations as we enter their space (the gym, art room, music, etc.).  These conversations are important and allows all of us to remind each other what is the desired expectations of each class.

  We read a few more 1st week of school books during our class read a loud time.  The 1st was The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak.  It is exactly as titled and has no pictures.  I used this book to get the kids laughing and to allow them to see me being goofy and having fun at my own expense. The 2nd book was This School Year Will Be the Best! by Kary Winters.  This book helped us think about things we may want to see or accomplish this year and got kids thinking about their own goals. The final book was Dear Teacher by Amy Husband.  This book had a student writing his teacher a variety of notes, throughout the summer, on why he wouldn't be able to make it to school for the 1st part of the school year.  

  We have introduced many of the tools that we will use throughout the year.  I use a process called guided discovery.  It allows the students to explore the items, think about ways of using them, and developing shared expectations on appropriate use.  There is a bulletin board in the classroom that has a lot of their work from this displayed.  The kids also completed posters about themselves.  These can be found in the hallway outside our room.

  As I mentioned above, the kids did create goals for themselves.  I call these our Hopes and Dreams. The students all decided on a hope or dream they had for the coming year.  They then illustrated these and shared them with the class today.  We will use these as a guiding force in developing our shared expectations for behavior in the classroom.  This allows the class rules to be both relevant and personal.  The kids illustrations can be found in the library area of our classroom.

NOTES:
*This week's video will be posted on Tuesday's post (no school Monday).
*I type the post quickly during lunch.  Please excuse any typos.
*There is no reading homework tonight.  Enjoy the long weekend.

 That is all for now.  I hope you all have a great weekend.  We are off to a great start!

Peace,
Tommy

August 28, 2017

Please Read This Entire Post, There Is Important Information

Good Evening,

  Well . . .We are off and running.  We had a great 1st day of school.  The morning started off with a whole school assembly.  Our featured singer was Sarah Reid.  She was a 2nd grader in my 1st ever class at the Waitsfield School.  It was great to have her kick off our start with some music.

  Once we got into the classroom, we quickly established the use of a rainstick as a means to get the whole class' attention.  You should ask your child what it means when Mr. Young says direction time. They are very fast learners and I think they like the sound of the rainstick.

  We read two different stories today.  The first book we read was You're Finally Here by Naomi Watt.  This book had a very impatient rabbit complaining that it had been waiting for us for quite a while.  After reading the book we talked about the rabbit's feelings and then turned the discussion toward our own feelings about the 1st day of school.  Each child created a self image that illustrated the feelings they had about the 1st day.  You can find this work on the bulletin board outside our classroom door.

The 2nd book we read was First Day Jitters by Julia Danneberg.  The story describes the feelings of a person's first day of school but has a surprise ending.  This book led to a discussion of a time we were nervous or scared and ways in which we overcame those feelings. You can hear the whole story below.



POTLUCK THIS THURSDAY!
I am looking forward to the potluck on Thursday.  So far I have 8 families that have signed up.  All of the information was sent to you in the mail last week.  Here is the link to access the sign up sheet.  I hope to have every family in attendance.  Remember the 1st half hour will be a meeting for the parents (child care provided) and then we will converse and eat as a whole class.

I will make videos or attach photos of your child's week on this blog.  I will also post any important information.  Please check this every Monday and Friday.  Below is this week's video.

**For those who sent your child in with a reusable grocery/canvas bag, I appreciate it.  For those who didn't could you please do so by Wednesday.

That is all for now.  I hope you have a great week and look forward to getting to know and work with all of you throughout the year.


Peace,
Tommy

June 15, 2017

Good Evening,
  I want to thank all of you who were able to come to the celebration this morning.  I hope you all
have a great summer and thank you for a great year.

Peace,
Tommy

June 2, 2017

Good Afternoon,
  There is a lot of information in this post. Please red through it carefully.

Monday, June 5:  We will have an all school rehearsal after lunch on Monday.  This will allow the group to finalize their preparations for Monday night's concert.  The concert will be at 6:00 on Monday evening.  I ask that the kids arrive in the gym at 5:50 and join their class on the floor.  If you arrive before 6:50 please have your kids hang out with you.  This way we don;t have kids running through out the gym and school.

Tuesday, June 6:  We will be headed to Harwood around 10:30.  The kids that needed a cold lunch provided have already signed up.  Everyone else must provide their own lunch that day.  We will meet with Mr. Ibson's Freshman Global Studies class.  My class will be presenting some of their writing work form the semester.  Kasara, Barb, and I will be driving that day.  If anyone else would like to dome/drive, just let me know.  Please send in your child's booster seat on Tuesday.

Wednesday, June 7:  Our school is scheduled to go on an all school hike in the afternoon.  We will leave the school at 12:00ish and hike up and around Mad River.  Please make sure your child has appropriate hiking shoes and a water bottle.

Friday, June 9:  We will be leaving around 8:15 to visit our pen-pals in Waterbury.  We will travel to TBPS and pick them up and then head to Little River State Park and hike and eat lunch.  We will then head back to TBPS and have some ice cream with our friends and then finally head back to Waitsfield.  If your child would like a snack and lunch provided for this trip, please let them know.  I will be collecting lunch numbers on Monday (during meeting).

Monday, June 12:  We will have field days from 12:00 on.  Please make sure your child wears clothing that they can run in and also get a little wet.  Sunscreen is advised.

Thursday, June 15th:  I was looking to have an evening gathering but schedules seem to be too full with kids baseball, Waitsfield graduation, and my own children's schedules.  So, I would like to invite everyone in on Thursday morning.  We will start right at 7:50 and the kids will present their writing work from the semester.  You will also take part in voting on who created the best new Pokemon card.  The whole thing should take about an hour.  Please let me know if you can't attend.

Friday, June 16th:  The last day of school.  Please remember that it is a half day.

Today will be the last day we write in our Weekly News journals.  The kids wrote about a special topic today.  Please take a minute to read their last entry.  The journals should not be returned and are yours to keep.

As you can see our schedule will change a bit over the next two weeks.  There will not be assigned reading for homework but rather books of choice during this time.

Peace,
Tommy

May 30, 2017

Good Afternoon,
  I hope you all had a pleasant long weekend.  I spent half of my time in Portsmouth, NH watching a few soccer games and the latter half of the weekend working around the house. I love doing lawn work and find it very fulfilling.

I have received payment for our field trip for 8 of the 14 students.  Please send in the $1.50 this week. It looks like we have enough driver's on the 6th of June.  We will be leaving around 10:15 and arriving back by 1:30.  Tomorrow, I will be asking kids who needs a school lunch for that day.  If your child will need one provided, please let them know.

End of year testing.  I was in the class all day today but was testing kids 1:1 in math and will do the same tomorrow for reading.  Sally Utter is also in the room with me to help the kids through the day.

Have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Good Afternoon,
  Your child will be a bit excited about their homework.  They will each have a pair of paper binoculars and their science log.  They are being asked to observe the moon once over the next week. They should then draw what they saw and explain their observations. Some have asked if they can observe more than once.  I am fine with that but want you to control the number of times because they may need to stay up later than usual to do this observation (hence the ability to do it over the weekend).  I ask that you send the science journal and binoculars back by next Wednesday.

Field Trip Update:

We will be headed to TBPS on the 9th and then up to Little River State Park.  I NEED $1.50 from each kid.  It costs us $0.50 to get into the park and then I am using the other $14 to buy ice cream for the class afterwards.  Unfortunately, due to costs, the TBPS kids could not do Ben & Jerry's, so this will be a happy compromise.  Please send in the money by 6/2/17.  Checks can be made to Waitsfield Elementary School.

We will head to Harwood on June 6th.  I am still looking for 1 more driver.  Barb, Kasara, and I will drive.  Students can order a bagged lunch from our school or bring their own that day.

Have a great Wednesday afternoon.

Peace,
Tommy

Monday, May 15

Good Afternoon,

  Today we started our final opinion pieces.  The students are working on the writing portion of their Pokemon cards.  We will have an evening, in June, where all of you will be invited to explores some of your child's writing from this semester as well as vote on your favorite new Pokemon card.  More details to come on this in the coming weeks.

  This afternoon, the tooth tutor cam in to talk to our class about good practices and how to best clean your teeth.  She has been visiting all of the classrooms.

  The next few days will be quite sunny and you may want to start thinking about applying sun screen to your child in the morning.  We will be outside at various times over the last few weeks of school.

FIELD TRIPS:

*We will be headed to Harwood Union on the morning/afternoon of June 6th.  We will be working with a freshman english class as we share our writings and get editing suggestions.  I am looking for drivers to help get kids to and from on this day.

*We will be going to meet our pen pals in Waterbury on Friday, June 9th.  We will pick them up at TBPS and then head to Little River State park to hike.  We will eat lunch at the park and then head to Sunflower to get creemes.  Your child will need $1.50 for this trip.  I am looking for any and all volunteers for this.  So far I have Brynley's mom signed up to go.

Tommy

May 9, 2017

Good Afternoon,
I am sorry I didn't get a post out yesterday.  Over the last two days, the students teamed up and worked on editing their writings about the school's hat rule.  They were asked to use an anchor chart (about persuasive writing) that allowed them to check for all of the elements within their writing.  Most groups found that they were missing introductions in their pieces.  Ask your child about our "Hamburger" format in writing.

Field Trip Update:  I am working with our pen-pal teacher as we set up our final pen-pal celebration.  We are looking at June 9th.  We will go to Little River State Park and hike.  Tom and I are working out the final details.  I will get back to you with more information and cost.  Any and all chaperones would be welcomed.  Please let me know if you want to come along for the fun in the (hopefully) sun.

Yesterday we set a new record on our power walk.  The kids powered through the "snowy conditions" and were proud of their achievement.  We stopped by the VG on the way back and celebrated with a cup of hot chocolate for each kid.

I hope you have a great week.

Peace,
Tommy