January 28, 2022

 Good Afternoon,

  I hope you all have had a great week.  It has been a fun week at school and I hope your child has been keeping you in the loop.  

No skid and board day, no worries!  The kids were excited that we had a chance to work on a literature project with the book What Am I? An Animal Guessing Game by Iza Trapani.  The book  has the reader is asked to identify several animals after reading riddles which describe their specific qualities. After we read through the book, the students broke up into teams and created their own animal riddles and illustrations.  These will be turned into a book that I hope to share next week (via the blog).  If you want to hear the original book, check out the video below.

Mr Cadwell missed the last two days this week.  He was suppose to start his social studies unit but that will now start next week.  I instead used the time to finish up our geography unit over the past two days.  We spent the last two days talking about positive and negative consequences that happen when we change natural characteristics of land.  The students also completed the final assessment that involved key vocabulary from the unit.  

Ms Figdor had this to say about 2nd grade math this week: "This week in 2nd grade math we wrapped up a unit on measurement. Students did several activities where they described the height of objects by comparing them to other objects. Through comparing objects students started to think about how fractions could be used when measuring. During Number Corner we learned a new game where the second graders practiced equal group multiplication. Students used repeated addition and skip counting to solve these equal group multiplication problems. Next week our focus will be threes. Students will identify, describe, and extend the counting-by 3s pattern."  First grade math had students working on magnitude of a number by placing a specific number between two no points.  For example, they may see 0 and 100 on each end of a number line.  They would then be asked to place 79.  There placement and explanation would demonstrate to me their understanding of where the number would be placed and why.  There was also work with using efficient strategies to solve more addition problems.  

NOTES:

*I did not send homework bags home today.  

I hope you all have a great weekend.

Peace,

Mr. Young

January 21, 2022

  Good Afternoon,

  I can't believe another week has flown by.  We had a fun week with lots going on, so let me jump right in and fill you in.  I used Tuesday morning to talk about why we had Monday off.  During Morning Meeting, I asked the kids if they had talked about Martin Luther King and why we honor him.  Seven of the kids had had some conversations and talked about what they had learned from previous years and from home conversations.  It was great to talk about why we were off and about the words of Dr. King.  I read the book Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rappaport.  We then  took the quotes from the book and each child interpreted some of the quotes by drawing pictures and writing their own words of what they thought the quotes meant.  Their writings will be in their backpacks today.  If you would like to listen to the story we read, check out this link.  We will get back to our opinion writing next week, but I wanted to take time to teach and allow the students to learn about Dr. King and why we honor him and his work.

  First grade math consisted of us working on adding three digits and explaining how each kid solved the problem.  We continued fact fluency practice through our Mad Minute drills, and explored equations where in subtraction situations the subtrahend was missing.  "The 2nd graders continued with their measurement unit. They learned a new game where they practiced measuring several objects and then found the difference and sum of those measurements. They also spent time practicing our subtraction facts. During Number Corner this week we looked at different types of graphs. The mathematicians also began to think of fractions that are greater than, less than, and equal to ½."

  Mr. Cadwell started his social studies unit this week.  Here is what he had to say. "Today we started our Social Studies unit, “Different Communities”. We will be learning about three types of communities––urban, suburban, and rural––and the ways that each community is similar and different to the others. We started our study with an outdoor tour of Waitsfield Village, where we noticed the defining features of our town, and made observations about what makes up a “rural community”. Students made a “drone drawing” of their house and the land around it to further understand their place in our rural community. In the next few days, we will be learning about urban communities, taking a virtual tour of New York City from the Empire State Building, and learning about how the lives of kids in cities are similar and different to ours. I’m looking forward to some great weeks of curiosity, exploration and discovery in this unit!"

  We had another great day at the mountain on Wednesday.  The weather was great, the snow was deep, and the excitement and  joy was unmeasurable. We are certainly fortunate to have the support from our PTA, our volunteers, and the ski mountains to allow each student a chance to enjoy the day with their friends.  

NOTES:

*Please remember to send back your child's homework bag each day.  Remember, I don't send homework bags home on ski days.  

*MAD RIVER VALLEY LITTLE LEAGUE

No Experience Required 

Tee-Ball (ages 4-6): Introductory league teaching basic skills and concepts. One to two days a week. 

Farm Leagues (ages 6-8): Baseball and girls only Softball. Teaches finer skills of fielding and hitting mechanics with basic team skills. Coach pitch. Two to three days per week. 

Advanced Softball and Baseball Leagues (Ages 9-12): Advanced strategy while still progressing in technical fundamentals. Mainly player pitched with coach support where needed. 

Registration fee includes a full uniform: jersey, pants, socks & hat. Full and partial scholarships available. 

Since 1960, Mad River Little League has created lifelong friendships and taught the value of being part of a team. The League's high coach to player ratio provides active, athletic experiences for our community's youngsters. We are based at the Couples Club in Waitsfield, known as one of the best facilities in the state. After a successful season last year, we are committed to offering a safe and positive experience, consistent with Vermont COVID-19 guidelines. 

The 2022 season will begin in mid-April, with Opening Day tentatively scheduled for April 30. Practices and games are mid-week in the evenings. Our league coordinates with other sports leagues to support multi-sport athletes. 

Register at MadRiverLittleLeague.com 

Email ceg4@goodmanconstructionvt.com with any questions.

AVOID LATE FEES 

REGISTER BY MARCH 13, 2022

REGISTER @ MadRiverLittleLeague.com 

  

January 17, 2022

 Good Evening,

  I am sorry I am just getting to Friday's post today.  Report card week is always a bit hectic and it consumes a lot of our free time.  I hope everyone had a chance to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather today.  We had some meetings this morning but I spent quite a bit of time just playing in the snow and soaking in the beauty of the day.

Last week, Mr. Cadwell (Parker) led a morning meeting and a math activity.  You may have heard that we had a visitor watching him teach.  This was Parker's professor from St. Michael's College and will be in a few times during his student teaching placement.  Mr. Cadwell will be starting his social studies unit on Friday.  He will write a description about this on this coming Friday's blog post.  

This past week the students did a variety of assessments that we use as one piece to determine how your child is progressing.  Some of the test are done as a whole group using i-pads, some were done in small group and some were done one on one with me or another teacher.  I want to thank Mrs. Wright and Ms. Figdor for their help with this testing.  

Ms Figdor also reports that last week in math, "This week in second grade math we continued to work with the U.S. Standard measurement system. We continued to measure objects around the classroom using benchmark tools such as tiles. Then, students made their own rulers and used them to measure. At the end of the week we used yardsticks to measure the length of our classroom. We discussed success criteria needed in order to make accurate measurements. These included making sure the measurement tool was lined up along the edge of the object as well as making sure that they started measuring from zero. On Wednesday the students took the star 360 diagnostic math assessment. I was blown away by how well they did on this assessment and what incredible growth they have made in the area of mathematics this year."

NOTES:
*Report cards will be sent home on Wednesday of this week. Please look for them in your child's back pack.  

*We will be skiing this week. We should certainly have plenty of snow. Please remember that homework bags are not sent home on Wednesdays during winter sports program.

I hope you all have a great week.

Peace,

Mr. Young

January 7, 2022

Students got hot chocolate on our Wednesday morning walk

 Good Evening,

  I hope all of you have had a great start to your New Year.  It was great to get back to work and the students seemed psyched too.  We also welcomed a new student (but a Waitsfield Family) to our classroom.  Rowan Richards, a 1st grader, has joined our classroom.  Many of the students have been in class with Rowan in previous years. We all are psyched to welcome Rowan back to Waitsfield.  

This week we continued writing opinion pieces.  Our focus was learning how to write a counter argument or how to disagree with someone, in a respectful way.  Our discussion focused on how you need to use evidence and fact.  To get this writing started, the students each had to choose the item that they liked the least, from their collection.  They then had to make an argument why that items was their least favorite and provide reasons why.  

First grade math had students playing a Cat and Mouse game that focused on using the inequality symbols of greater than and less than.   We also introduced a timed math activity that works on fact fluency.  This is a 1 minute activity that kids do each day.  Ms. Figdor had this to say about 2nd grade math:This week we launched unit 4 on measurement. Each student started by measuring the distance across the classroom heel-to-toe footsteps.  Of course the results varied widely, due to the fact that we all have different size feet. This led to a discussion of using standardized measures such as rulers and yardsticks. During the next few weeks we will be learning about the US standard measurement system. After the initial discussion about measurement tools the second graders  explored feet. They used feet to measure different objects around the room. Then, we moved on to learn about yards. Students discovered that it takes three feet to equal a yard. After measuring the same distance across the room students, discovered that it takes fewer yards to measure the same distance. Next week we will be making our own “inchworm rulers.”

Yesterday the students had a chance to share the game they created during our coding unit. I used a rubric to score their games and their ability to use codes to create a game. After they shared, each child had a chance to try out their classmates games. This concluded our coding unit. I will use next week to wrap up our geography unit. Mr Cadwell will start a new social studies unit the following week.

Speaking of Mr. Cadwell, he has joined us full time during this semester (college semester). We are very fortunate to have him in our classroom and working with our students this year. Mr. Cadwell has great energy and is looking forward to learning from and working with your children.

Wednesday marked the 1st day of our Winter Sports Program. I want to thank you all for having your children being well prepared for the afternoon on the mountain. The students did a great job of getting ready and helping each other. Before we headed to the mountain, we watched the video, that WES made,

NOTES:

*Please make sure to send your child's homework bag back each day. I will not send the bag home on days that we have the winter program.

*We are good on paper towel and toilet paper tubes. Thank you for all of the donations from everyone.

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

Peace,

Mr. Young