January 9, 2017

Good Evening,
  I hope everyone had a good weekend and found a way to stay warm and stay healthy.  There is a variety of illnesses floating around and it seemed to hit a few of our classmates at the end of last week and again today.

  Today I once again reviewed the student goals that each student set during our fall parent conference.   I asked them to think about their goal and how they have progressed with it.  I then assigned each student with the task of writing a reflection on their goal.  I explained that these reflections would be included in the narrative that I write for the report card.  Although I can't take credit for this idea, Ms. Hale, Mrs. Belknap, and a colleague from Waterbury get that, I do think it is a great way to reinforce the importance of each goal, validate the time spent with them during conferences, and create a personal ownership of the report card for each student.  I look forward to sharing these with you in a few weeks.

  Field Trip Reminder.  As I mentioned in last week's blog, we will be headed to Burlington on Friday. We will be leaving around 8:15.  I ask that the kids eat a good breakfast since we will be leaving before snack time.  The kids can pack a snack for the afternoon, once we are back at school. We will be back in time for lunch and a bagged lunch is not required.

NOTES:

*Please send in your child's homework bag each day.

*Winter sports program is planned for this Wednesday.  Last week, I did not send home reading homework on this day.  I thought they could use the break the 1st week back, but will send reading this week.  Please let me know if it prevents any issues.

(This is a little late) Mad River Youth Basketball will be starting a weekly clinic for boys and girls grades 1/2. This is open to any child in the Mad River Valley. This clinic will be hosted by Jesse Carst and other MRYB Coaches. We will focus the clinics on basic skills. Children of all abilities are welcome and encouraged.

Program Dates:
Mondays (1/9, 1/16, 1/23, 1/30)
Location: Fayston Elementary (if no school then no clinic)

Times: 5:30-6:30
Cost: $10 for entire 4 Clinic session
Limited to 16 1st and 2nd Graders
Please bring sneakers (no boots). We will provide the basketballs.

January 6, 2017

Good Afternoon,
  Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had a joyous, reflective, and rewarding holiday/break.  I always finding it rewarding to catch up with friends, family, and to take a little time to appreciate my surroundings.

  We have eased back into the week and the kids benefitted from a 4 day week with a winter sports day mixed in.  Although the winter sports program does effect some academic realms, it does offer many positives that just can't be emulated in the classroom setting.  You can see the excitement and joy in many of the kids eyes as they get ready on Wednesday afternoons.  We are truly lucky, as a community, that our kids have access to these opportunities.

  This week, the students have been working on responding to their pen pal letters.  Each child should have brought home a letter they received form their pen pal.  I took time to teach the children how to respond to questions their pen pals asked and to ask new questions to gain more information about their pen pal.

  We will be headed to Burlington on Friday, January 13th.  This year's Flynn trip will have us headed to Leddy Park to see La Patin Libre.  The secription of the show goes like this, "You’ve never seen ice skating like this! Founded by professional figure skaters who loved the ice but hated the industry’s kitsch and sparkles, Canada’s Le Patin Libre have created something entirely new. Blending modern dance, hip-hop, breakdance, stepping, and of course the jumps, spins, and heart-stopping speed of professional skating, these dancer/skaters absolutely take your breath away! The attitude and energy of street dance combine with the soul and structure of contemporary dance, and the tools and panache of an Olympic sport. We don’t just mean it literally when we say this is one of the coolest shows we’ve ever seen!"  Below is a clip from one of their performances in Montreal.



Over the break, a friend of mine sent me a video regarding social media and kids/adults. I found it very interesting and it certainly made me think about my own kids and my responsibilities as a parent (in regards to educating and monitoring).  Although your children aren;t at the age where social media is a constant for them, I thought you might find it interesting.




NOTES:

*Please, please send your child's homework bag back each day.  I had 5 students without it today and it made reading group work tricky.  I really appreciate your help with this.

*We will pretty much go outside for recess all winter long.  Please make sure your child is dressed for recess success.  A coat, hat gloves, and boots allow your child to be warm and for me to not judge you (just kidding but wanted to see if anyone was reading this far down the post).  However, we will be outside most of the winter during recess time.

I hope you all have a great weekend.

Peace,
Tommy

December 19, 2016

Good Afternoon,

  I had to adjust our tweak or schedule a little bit as our school's Compass Cup activities have been schedules for Wednesday afternoon.  Ms. Jane and I want to finish our current science unit, and used this afternoon to do that.  Some kids will need a little more time to finish tomorrow afternoon.  Your kids will have book of choice tonight, a reading group assignment  tomorrow, and then book of choice on Wednesday.  I will not send books home over vacation but the town library is always an option.

REMINDER:  Secret Pal starts tomorrow.  The card is due tomorrow.  The snack and drink is due Wednesday, and the gift/book is due Thursday.  If you are leaving for vacation prior to Friday, please send in any items for this exchange prior to leaving.

Have a great week.

Peace,
Tommy

December 16, 2016

Good Morning,
  Well the delay seemed to make the kids happy and some seem to capitalize on the extra sleep.  We used our shortened morning time to finish our book for Ms. Jane.  As a reminder, we will be having our Secret Pal Party and her going away party on Thursday.  So far I Clara's and Kane's families bringing in an item.  If anyone else could provide drinks, nut free food, or plates/cups, please let me know.

  As a reminder, Secret Pals start next week.  Your child should bring their card in on Tuesday.  The snack should be brought in on Wednesday and the gift/book on Thursday.  Remember to label each item and sign it "From Your Secret Pal."

Notes:

*Your child has their Weekly News and books of choice in their backpack.  Please take a look and have them read this weekend.

*There will be a ski/mountain safety assembly next week.  It was postponed today.

*Scholastic book orders will be in next week.  I just got an email that they had been shipped.

Have a great weekend.

Peace,
Tommy

December 9, 2016

Good Afternoon,

  For those who looked at Tuesday's post, you will have noticed that the entry looked a bit different.  We, as teachers of the Waitsfield School, are required to keep a blog of our professional goals and reflections.  This past Tuesday, I thought I was posting ot my professional blog and instead posted to the classroom blog.  So, for those who looked, you got to read about my thoughts on the first two units of the new science program.

  This morning we had reading groups and the students worked on their gift for Mrs. Jane.  Mrs. Jane will end her time in our classroom on 12/22.  We will have a special celebration on the morning of the 22nd.  I am hoping that people might bring in some nut free breakfast type food/drinks for the occasion.  If you can send something in, please let me know.

We shop at the same store! 

SECRET PAL:  It has been a few years since I have done this with a class, but this class is so awesome that I thought I would try it this year.  If you would like your child to take part in the Class' Secret Pal exchange, please email me at tyoung@wwsu.org.  Here are the details:  The event will take place the week of 12/20/16.  Over the course of three days, your child will have to bring in three different items that are wrapped up and labeled with their Secret Pal's name on it.  There will be a box in the classroom for kids to place the items into upon arrival each morning.

12/20/16:  Your child will make a card or picture that wishes their Secret Pal a Happy _______.  It should be what your family celebrates (Christmas, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, New Year).  This way your child is celebrating their family's beliefs and passing their good wishes onto their Secret Pal.  Your child should put some time into this and make it their "best work."  I can provide any paper that might be needed for this, just let me know.

12/21/16:  Your child should bring in a nut free snack and drink for their Secret Pal.  This can be wrapped and labeled in a bag (if that easier).

12/22/16:  Your child should bring in a wrapped gift/book for your Secret Pal.  It should be less than a $5 value.  Again have it wrapped and labeled.

If your child signs up, it is important that they follow through with this and bring each item each morning.  Please let me  know if your child is interested by Tuesday of next week. I will make up a list and send home a note with your child's Secret Pal on Wednesday.

Notes:
*Each student has their Weekly News Journal in their backpack.  Please take a moment to read and respond over the weekend.

*Please make sure your child has indoor shoes on the days they wear boots to school.

*Book orders will be here by the 19th of December (the latest).

I hope you all have a great weekend.

Tommy

December 6, 2016

1. What progress have you made towards these goals thus far? I am into my 2nd unit of study with a goal of finishing before December break. Depending on the length of the ski season, I may or may not get through all of the units this year.

2. What challenges, if any, are you finding in moving forward on these goals? I am not finding the implementation challenging but rather the depth of the content. I feel the program makes big academic jumps throughout unit, lacks in content connections for the students, and is very language heavy (which is challenging at this age).

3. Are there any revisions to these goals you might suggest -- or new goals that you find yourself focusing on in your work? I am already starting to think on how I would improve these units in the future. I think with the Animal Adaptations unit I will focus on how they as students and local animals change and adapt throughout the seasons.

4. What, if any, improved experiences for students are you seeing as a result of your work on these goals?  Please be specific. The students like the large block science time. I am glad that I decided to allow for an afternoon of science and it has allowed for deeper explorations and discussions because of the time allotment.

December 2, 2016

Good Afternoon,
  As you know, Jane concluded her solo week yesterday.  I know she knocked it out of the park and the kids truly enjoy her teaching and approach.  I used the week to conduct a variety of Language Arts assessments.  I asked Jane to conclude her week with a blog entry of her own.  Below are her thoughts from the week.

Have a great weekend!
Tommy

We had a great week this week. This we worked on including hope and wonder as well as sensory detail in our writing by writing about that we are for breakfast and a moment before we went on a trip when we wondered about what it would be like or hoped would happen on the trip. They did an amazing job! In science we continued to experiment with Scratch Jr. and worked on writing code that would make two characters interact with each other. We acted it out first and then experimented with writing code in the app. This first week back from break was filled with excitement and over flowing with enthusiasm for our learning.

Thank you for allowing me to learn alongside your children I greatly appreciate it.
Jane