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