November 23, 2020

 Good Afternoon,

I hope you all had a great weekend.  It not be certainly a unique time as we navigate the holidays while trying to adhere to the guidelines outlined by our governor.  As we approach Thanksgiving, I know it will be difficult making for some to not be with their extended family.  I know my wife and I will not go see out parents, in Vermont, for the 1st time in almost 20 years.  I want to make sure I make decisions that give us the best chance to keep school open for the students to keep attending in person as much as possible.  If you find yourself going against the Governor's guidelines, please do the right thing and quarantine.  If family comes to you, please do the same.  I appreciate your respect of making decisions that are better for the whole.

A student trying to save 10 Turkeys

Today the 1st grade math did an "Escape Room" type subtraction challenge.  The had just over an hour to save 10 turkeys from becoming Thanksgiving dinner.  There were several clues hidden around the room and they needed to solve subtraction problems to receive the next clue.  In the end, it worked out.  The students solved all the problems and saved the ten turkeys, with 48 seconds to spare.  

We spent this afternoon and will spend tomorrow afternoon writing about why we are thankful.  This stems from the book and pre-writing we did last Wednesday during our virtual meeting.  I am hoping each student will have a letter that they can read during your thanksgiving celebration.

Winter Recess:  We don't have clothing to give out this year for recess time.  If it is drizzling, kids will most likely still go out.  Please make sure your child has a coat, gloves, a hat, and boots.  It may be a good time, during break, to go through your child's bag and get them set up for winter.

I hope you all have a  wonderful Thanksgiving and are able to stop and think about the positives we do have in our lives.  Right now it is easy to think about all that is challenging and different.  However, I know even during this pandemic, there are still many things that I am grateful and thankful for.  

This week we visited the state of New York

Enjoy your week.

Peace,

Tommy

November 16, 2020

Wearing the Captain's Band

Good Evening,

 You may have noticed a red folder in your child's homework bag today.  This folder should remain in their bag for a period of time.  It is basically the paper they would need to work on their passports if we were suddenly moved to remote learning and didn't have access to the classroom.  I am not worried that we will have to use it but want to be prepared just in case.  

Your child may have mentioned that my daughter, Abby joined our class today.  She is a sophomore at Harwood Union, and is taking on an internship this semester.  She has an interest in becoming an educator and this will give her a chance to be in the field and be part of the class.  She will be joining us on Mondays for the rest of the school year.  It was great seeing her connect with so many different kids, as they worked, throughout the day.  

  Today I introduced the "Captain's Armband" to the class.  I talked to them about how captains of teams, ships, planes, are people that lead by example.  They are looked at as leaders and can be counted on to do their best.  Over the next 16 school days, I will let each student be a captain for the day.  They will be the line leader and will help set the tone for the class for that day.  I also talked about how being named captain comes with responsibility and we related our classroom responsibilities to this position.  Please let me know if you have any questions about this.

Abby (#20) joined our class today

Wednesday's Asynchronous Work:

1. Fill out attendance form.

2. Class meeting at 8:45.  We will begin a project about being grateful.  Kids will need materials that I send home tomorrow in their homework bag.

3. A Zearn Lesson

4. An entry in their Weekly News (please make sure the Neck of the Woods people are aware of this)

5. Lexia/Core 5 (30 minutes)

Note:

*Please make sure your child has sneakers or shoes to wear.  With boot season upon us, it's important that they have a change of footwear for the in class portion of the day.

That is all for now.  Have a great week.

Peace,

Tommy

 

November 13, 2020

Thank you all for taking time to meet with me during conferences.  I have one more left to do, rescheduled because of my needs, I appreciated the opportunity to chat about your child and what the plan is for each student.  Again, if you have any additional questions please reach out.

A student writing equations for a # bond

This week I tested the 1st grade students on their understanding of their complements of 10.  We have been working on these and I am looking for fluency with them.  Those who demonstrated mastery have been working on complements of 20 and for some 100.  I am hoping each student has the ten complements down by the end of November.  The 2nd grade math students have been working on writing numbers using expanded notation.  I was impressed with the work that Mr. Hubbard showed me and know they are working diligently with this concept.  

Mr. Hubbard and I discussed the current Covid situation and the endless scenarios that could come about.  We have both agreed that if we have to switch to an all remote scenario that we would only assign Lexia and Zearn the 1st day and use that day to get all of the students materials, to be used at home, ready for pickup.  This would allow you to not have to try and navigate your work schedule and getting kids on a video call that first day.  

We will be headed to the state of New York this week as we once again get back in the old class RV and head west.  After taking a week off to get everyone caught up with their work, it will be fun to head to our neighbors to our left.  It has been nice hearing from you, that your child is excited and enjoying this work.  I can't wait to see what each student find s interesting this week.  There will be new scoring rubrics, for the passport and video entries, posted on our Google Classroom site on Monday.

On Tuesday, I spent some time talking about Veteran's Day and what a veteran was.  We watched a video about it and also heard a story read aloud.  The students also talked about Veteran's they know.  I wanted to make sure they understood why we honor those who served. 

Students learning about Veteran's Day

NOTES:

*Please make sure your child brings their reading group and/or book of choice book back each day.

*Please make sure your child has a pair of shoes to wear if they wear boots to school.

*We will be keeping the windows open for the foreseeable future.  Your child may want to bring an extra sweatshirt or jacket to leave at school.  Just make sure his/her name is in it.  

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

Peace,

Mr. Young

November 9 2020

 Good Evening,

  I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend.  It was so nice to have such beautiful weather to enjoy late fall in Vermont.  I noticed today that my post for October 30 was posted on my professional blog and not my classroom blog.  I will include that post at the end of this one.  Sorry about that.

We will not be visiting a new state this week.  The kids needed some time to finish up their work on Massachusetts.  Between the short week last week and my wanting to go over their entries individually, I felt like this would be the best way to proceed this week.  Next week the criteria, for entries, will be upped for both grades and I want to get everyone in the same page,

Today the students had art and they used water colors with Ms. Morse to create their own lanterns for a display that the school is doing.  Ms. Morse also referenced a book called The Dot by Peter Reynolds.  I read this story to them this afternoon.  "Reynolds’ book The Dot showcases that theme through the tale of a caring teacher who invites a doubting student to trust in her own abilities, inviting and encouraging her to be brave enough to “make her mark.” The student begrudgingly rises to the challenge and a small dot on a piece of paper becomes a breakthrough in confidence and courage, igniting a journey of self-discovery and sharing."  If you want to watch/hear the story with your child, see below.

Notes:

*Please make sure your child's Chromebook is charged each day.  Today was the first day that multiple kids came in and needed charging.  It was hard to find outlets in work places to make this meet the charging needs.

*Parent Conferences are Wednesday and Thursday.  Please see Friday's post for the complete schedule of times.  Again the link to join your meeting is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9886582893.

*Open House:  You should have received a video of our class' version of Open House, Covid Style.  YOu can access it by clicking this link.  

That is all for now.  Below is the post from October 30th too.

Peace,

Tommy

Good Afternoon,

  I hope you are all gearing up for what is about to come at you this weekend.  A full moon, Halloween, and a growing need to curve the upswing in COVID cases.  I wish you all the best!

 

Today we finished up our travels in Maine.  The students all filled in their Maine facts and some even finished their videos.  I made the kids fresh Wild Maine blueberry muffins to enjoy this morning.  Did you know that the wild blueberry is Maine's official state fruit?

  Yesterday the students, who were able to be at school, carved pumpkins.  Every students, at the Waitsfield School, decorated a pumpkin and they will be lined along the Loop Road (Old County Road) on Halloween night.  The students enjoyed having the opportunity to decorate their own pumpkin.  If you are out an about on Saturday night, take a stroll along the Loop Road.  

Notes:

*Your child has a Halloween treat bag from me.  I stapled them shut and asked them not to open it until they saw you.  There is enough candy in each bag to share with siblings, if they choose to.

*Please refer to the email about Zearn pacing that I sent to all 1st grade parents yesterday.  This gives you an idea of how your child is doing as far as keeping up.

*Your child will have a book, from reading group, that he/she can read over the weekend.

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

Peace,

Mr. Young

November 5, 2020

Students conducting a table greeting during our Morning Meeting

 

Good Afternoon,

  Well that was a quick, in person, three day week.  I am looking forward to being back in person 4 days next week.  This week, we worked our way through Massachusetts and the kids documented some of their learning.  We will not start a new state next week but rather give some more time to spend in Mass. and give students the chance to fix some of their work from Maine.  I want to get everyone caught up on the same page before I switch the grading criteria for the writing and the video.  Once I share the new scoring rubrics with them, I will put them in Google Classroom.  

PARENT CONFERENCES

We are all set for parent conferences on November 11th & 12th.  These conferences will all be done via Zoom and you will use this link to access your conference  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9886582893.  Please note that I have a lot of back to back conferences and I need you to please be on time or your conference time will be cut short.  When you come to your conference, I will talk to you about how your child is doing, a goal that he/she has set, and anything else I feel is important about your child.  Please come ready with any questions you may have too.  

November 11                                                                    November 12

8:00  Ben Reese                                                                2:55  Arlo Kiviranna

8:25  Hardin McCoy                                                         3:20 Callum Kielich

8:50  Micah Selvagio Welsh                                             3:45 Vera Pashby

9:15  Miles Zena                                                               4:10 Elijah Joseph 

                                                                                          4:30  Quinn Lazorcheck  

Break For Mr. Young

9:40  Brayden Cannarecci

10:30  Otto Duckworth

10:55 Koji Lindberg

11:20  Berkley Plouffe

11:45  Tobin Foley

12:10  Hunter Lucier

Vera's Tikki Lounge

You may have heard talk about a tikki lounge that has popped up in our classroom.  As you know, Vera is the only girl in our classroom and I promised to do some special things for her this year.  I am sure you will understand the reasoning behind this and appreciate your support.  The tikki lounge seats 3  other people at the table.  For now I will pick two others to sit with Vera each day or she will pick someone too.  We will leave one seat for the other girl that joins her during lunch (from Mr. Hubbard's room).  However, the boys will be earning points to be able to make  a reservation to join Vera in the tikki lounge.  They can tell you about how it works.  Below is a picture of an almost completed tikki loungs.  I have a few things to get this weekend.

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

Peace,

Tommy

Monday, November 2, 2020

 Good Afternoon,

  I hoped you all survived the weekend and found a way to honor a tradition that is liked by so many.  As I am typing this, I am staring out my classroom window, seeing the swirling snow, and thinking about the students playing outside at recess right now.  I took a picture of the group,before they went outside for recess.  If you see your child is missing any clothing or boots they might need for a snowy recess, please work that out with them and send it in.  After I took the picture, I did check two kids backpacks and found clothing they insisted they didn't have.  

Today we had music class with Mr. Hill and Library with Mr. Mongeon.  If your child has any overdue books, please send them in so Eric can let them check more out.  We started out exploration of Massachusetts today.  After this state, I will change the writing criteria to up it a bit more for each grade.  This will be the last week using the current rubric.

This afternoon we read the story M Is For Mayflower by Margot Raven.  This story is an A-Z book all about Massachusetts.  This book can also be found in Epic Books, if you want to read it with your child.  We also had reading groups and Literature Block rotations after lunch time.

NOTES:

*No school tomorrow.  No asynchronous work assigned but Lexia and Zearn are always available and great choices.

That is all for now.  Have a great week.

Peace,

Tommy