February 18, 2019

Good Morning,

  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  We are in the final stretch before our Winter Break.  We have a busy week with a jump rope performance on Wednesday morning, Compass Cup activities on Friday afternoon, and we are also hoping to finish our pen pal letters by Wednesday.

  In your child's homework bag is a yellow piece of paper.  It is two sided and I need it to be sent back to me, filled out, by tomorrow.  Your child will earn a prize if they bring it in.  It is a permission slip to participate in a study through the Empatico program, (we have been using their platform to talk with the class in Florida), and permission to use pictures and videos of our class.  Please read through it and let me know if you have any questions.  Thanks for getting these back to me tomorrow.

 **Just a reminder that there is no winter sports program this week.

That is all for today.  Have a great week.

Peace,
Mr. Young

February 12, 2019

Good Afternoon,
  As you may know Valentine's Day is this Thursday (for those of you who forgot, you are welcome).  The kids always enjoy writing, giving, and receiving valentine's cards from each other.  We will be doing our little celebration at 1:45 on Thursday.  If you would like to send in a class treat or drink, feel free to do so.

Class List:  Oliver, Adele, Caden, Riley, Kai, Anna Mae, Liv, Ben, Steele, Donovan, Bronte, Carley, Libby, Mabel, Shane, Noah, & Kylie

Last Thursday was the 100th Day of School.  With the delay, musical performance, and two specials, we had no time to take part int he activities that I had planned.  So we did a "Not Quite 100th Day" celebration on Friday.  During math class the 1st graders worked on solving a 100th day code by solving a variety of addition and subtraction equations.  After math, the whole class worked on a 100th day scavenger hunt that involved using writing, reading, math, and technology skills.  Their goal was to find the stollen 100th day cake in 45 minutes.  They were able to successfully complete the task and were rewarded with some cake later that afternoon. 

I truly hope we don't have another snow day tomorrow but I hope every stays safe and warm as another storm moves in.

Peace,
Tommy

February 1, 2019

Good Afternoon,
I am sorry it has been so long since I have posted.  Between the flu, report cards, and basketball, I have been skating by.

I need to start by addressing the shirts and clothing that are referred to as "flip shirts."  These have become quite a craze in the 1st and 2nd grade.  I too think they are very cool and I understand why the kids like them so much.  However, Mr. Hubbard and I have been talking and we feel they are becoming a major distraction and prohibit many of the students from being able to focus during instructional time.  So we put our Middlebury and Champlain College educations together and came up with "Flip Shirt Friday."  We are asking that kids only wear these shirts on Fridays.  This will allow them to still show their friends but not be a distraction all week long.

I also need to ask that you talk to your child about wearing the shirt or flipping other people's shirts.  My concern is people are just going up and touching a persons body because their shirt has flippable sequins.  We work hard to teach each other to respect each person's body.  I would ask that you spend some time making sure that your child knows they don't have to let someone rub their chest just because of the shirt they are wearing and that they should ask permission before doing it to a classmate.  This is something we are addressing here too but your help would be beneficial.

Yesterday we tried a variety of food that our friends in Tampa sent us.  These were Spanish snacks that included two different types of cookies and some guava paste.  The reaction were generally the same, cookies-good, guava paste-not so much.

We have been working on our new writing unit that focuses on persuasive pieces.  The students have been writing letters to each other about their favorite books, characters from books, and/or favorite parts.  Ask your child about a character they have written about.

That is all for now.  Have a great weekend.

Peace,
Mr. Young