May 29, 2023

 Good Evening,

writing time in the gazebo

I hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend. It was nice to have time with friends each day, some time to work on house projects, and even squeezed in some time for report card work. Sunday night, I found myself at Trapp's listening to some music and staring at the beautiful backdrop of the green mountains. We certainly are lucky to live in such a beautiful area.

Last week, the students took an end of the year literacy and math test using the Star 360 assessment that the district requires.  The students have also been taking an end of the year sight word test and reading test. The reading test allows me to see what level each kid finished the year at. This week the 1st graders will continue working on an end of the year comprehensive assessment.  This assessment has a written component and a 1:1 interview.  Ms. Figdor has been awesome in helping with this testing.

Most of the kids are finishing up their final non-fiction writing piece. After the students are finished with this, their writing time will allow them to have more of a self directed direction in the type of stories they want to write to finish out the year.

We will be starting our final science unit of the year.  This is a coding unit and Mr. Mongeon will be in to help teach this unit. This is always a fun unit and this year the kids will focus on making their own digital game. If you would like to learn more about coding and why we teach it to young students, check out this article https://educationandbehavior.com/benefits-of-teaching-coding-to-elementary-school-children/.

This past week also wrapped up our three week inspiration hour event.  Over the past three weeks, the students have been using Wednesday afternoons to seek out activities of self interests. The activities have been fantastic and the students demonstrated great enthusiasm for this time. 

NOTES:

A product of inspiration hour

*Many of the students have been asking for more snacks during the day.  The PTA has been providing extra snacks all year.  As the year winds down, please talk with your child and see if they need more snacks packed (from home).

*WATER BOTTLES.  Please make sure your child continues to bring in a water bottle for use during the day.  

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

Peace,

Mr. Young

kids completed another 300 piece puzzle

May 15, 2023

Good Morning!  I want to wish all of the classroom mothers a Happy Mother's Day.  Hopefully your child gave you the picture and letter they wrote about you. I know they were all very excited about their work.

I wanted to wait until today to publish the blog, so that I had all the information regarding the concert this week. We have a very full schedule with lots of extras going on.

Wednesday:  Inspiration Hour will happen again from 12:45-2:15.  This will be the 2nd of the 3 session event. I know the kids were thrilled with their sessions last week.

Thursday:  We have have lunch at 11:55-12:25.  We will then get on a bus and head to the Art Show at Larue Farm.  We will do this until 1:15.  We will then get back on the bus and head to Warren School for our concert rehearsal. At 2:00 we will head back to Waitsfield Elementary.

The concert will be at the Warren School at 6:00.  We ask that students arrive between 5:45-5:55.  The concert will promptly start at 6:00.  The kids will be sitting as a class and then go to you once the concert is done.  

I wanted to thank everyone for the kind PTA teacher lunch, the cards, and the gifts that were sent in.  I am very luck to teach at such a  supportive, kind, and appreciative school.

I hope you all have a great week.

Peace,

Tommy

 Good Afternoon,

I hope you all had a wonderful break and your kids feel ready to go for the final stretch.  I have touched base with them each day about how much school we still have left.  I word it this way to get them to understand we still have a lot of work to do. We have used our morning meetings to remind each other about our focus and ability to give our best. The kids have been FANTASTIC as a whole and the work this week has been outstanding.  

We started our final writing unit of the year.  The focus is non-fiction writing or writing to inform. We started this week by looking at a few "mentor text" and the parts of a non-fiction book. We also looked at how the author introduced the topic and the structure of each section or chapter. As a class and small groups, the students have been writing a book about the school. Eventually they will research a chosen topic (based on their favorite activity) and write their own non-fiction book.

First grade math focused on comparing equations and determining if they are equal or not. They have also been working on complements of 10, 20 or 100 depending on their own abilities. We have also been looking at counting by 10s and 1s on the number grid.  Second grade math has been focused on more division and multiplication facts.  They also have been conducting surveys and learning how to display the results. 

Inspiration Hour will start next Wednesday and run for three weeks.  Each student has signed up for 3 choices and will find out which choice they got at the start of next week. This is a great offering and the kids really get excited for it and always seem to enjoy their experiences.

 NOTES:

*I think it is safe for kids to just wear their sneakers to school now.  The mud is mostly dried up and boots can stay at home.

*Please make sure to send your child's reading bag and book back each night.  I won't send them home on Fridays.

I hope you all have a great weekend.

Peace,

Mr. Young