September 14, 2018

Good Evening,

Three of our classmates enjoying the Friday hike

  I hope this post finds all of you well and hopefully enjoying a relaxing Friday evening.  There is some pertinent information that I need you to take note of throughout this post.

  Today almost the entire school went up to Sugarbush and hiked a variety of trails.  Although the temperature was certainly warm, I was told that the kids did a great job.  Rumor has it that some of the younger kids out hiked some of their older peers.  Ms. Fornaby was able to capture this photo from her group.

Ms. Stockton sharing at Morning Meeting.

  This morning, Ryan Dreimiller presented at our morning assembly.  He helped the students understand ideas about graphic layout as we start to think about a new t-shirt design for the official WES school spirit shirt.  The idea with the shirt is to promote spirit around our awesome school.  We envision these being worn at weddings, services and for fine dining and oh yeah maybe even to school.  Today, in your child's homework bag, you will find a blue note that describes how your child can create a design entry for the t-shirt design contest.  We will work on this in school next week too.

Deep in math thinking

NOTES: 



Book Orders:  They will be submitted Monday.  If you have not ordered and would like to, please do so by Monday.  There will not be another order until December.  You can email me over the weekend if you have any questions about this.

Field Trip:  We will be headed to Adam's Orchard on Thursday of next week.  If you would still like to give the $6 suggested donation, please do so.  I will take lunch orders (for school provided bagged lunch) on Monday.  I will post a list of who ordered one in Monday's blog post.

Open House:  Please remember that Open House is next Thursday.  This is an opportunity for your child to show you what they are most proud of in their room.  Trust me when I say, it is one of the more exciting school events for them.  I hope to see you all there.

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

Peace,
Tommy

Monday, September 10th

Good Afternoon,
  I hope you all had a great weekend.  I certainly enjoyed the cooler and sunny days.  Today we created our class rules.  The students came up with 27 different rules that they needed.  A few students suggested that we group them by categories so that there weren't so many.  We have narrowed it down to 4 of them.  We will review them tomorrow and I will post the final product in Friday's post.

  The blue forms on families, traditions and celebrations is due tomorrow.  I have only received forms from Adele, Riley, Kai, Ben, Donovan, Libby, and Noah.  I appreciate the effort in getting the rest in by tomorrow.

I AM REPOSTING THE BELOW INFORMATION.  PLEASE< PLEASE TAKE NOTE:

 *HOMEWORK BAGS:  Please, please make sure the bag and book inside are returned on a daily basis.  This is a great time of year to establish a routine, at home, where your child places it in their backpack each evening.

*Book Orders:  Book orders are due by next Friday.  Please make sure to make your selections this week.  Let me know if you need any help with this.

*All School Hike:  We are scheduled to go on an all school hike, up at Sugarbush, on Friday of next week.  Please make sure your child has appropriate footwear, clothing, and sunscreen, if needed.

*Field Trip:  As part of our study of traditions and celebrations, I want to explore a Vermont tradition in the fall, winter, and spring.  The fall focus will be on apple picking.  We will be taking a trip tp Adam's Apple Orchard (Facebook Page click here) on Thursday, September 20th.  Mrs. Boyden's 1st and 2nd grade (Fayston) class will be joining us too.  We will be leaving around 8:30 a.m. and returning around 12:45.  We will eat a picnic lunch at the orchard.  Please pack your child a lunch or let me know if your child needs a cold lunch provided by the school's lunch program.  You can email me to let me know if this is needed.  Please do so by Friday of next week.  If you would like to chaperone on the trip, please let me know by next Friday as well.

  While at Adam's Orchard, the kids will take a wagon ride, learn about the cider making process and receive a sample, pick their own 1/4 peck of apples (to take home) and learn about celebrations that the orchard does to celebrate the apple harvest.   If you are able to make a donation to help support our participation in this event, that is appreciated but not required. A suggested donation of $6/student may be made out to Waitsfield School and will help support this and other field trips; please know that such a donation is not, however, required.  I need all donations by Thursday, September 13th.

Have a great week.

Peace,

Tommy

September 7, 2018

Mr. Mongeon demonstrating how to log into account

Good Afternoon,

Today was picture day!

What a productive week 2.  It feels like it lasted 20 minutes yet the kids accomplished so much.  The students have been introduced to three of the four language arts activities that happen during reading instruction.  The activities are reading to self, listening to reading, and Core 5.  These activities allow student to engage in academic choice activities that enhance skills that I amdirectly teaching during our reading instruction.

  Please take note of the following:

*HOMEWORK BAGS:  Please, please make sure the bag and book inside are returned on a daily basis.  This is a great time of year to establish a routine, at home, where your child places it in their backpack each evening.

*Book Orders:  Book orders are due by next Friday.  Please make sure to make your selections this week.  Let me know if you need any help with this.

*All School Hike:  We are scheduled to go on an all school hike, up at Sugarbush, on Friday of next week.  Please make sure your child has appropriate footwear, clothing, and sunscreen, if needed.

*Blue Forms on Celebrations and Traditions:  Please make sure to send those back by September 11th.  We will be using these for our social studies unit over the next few weeks.  I appreciate your help with this.

*Field Trip:  As part of our study of traditions and celebrations, I want to explore a Vermont tradition in the fall, winter, and spring.  The fall focus will be on apple picking.  We will be taking a trip tp Adam's Apple Orchard (Facebook Page click here) on Thursday, September 20th.  Mrs. Boyden's 1st and 2nd grade (Fayston) class will be joining us too.  We will be leaving around 8:30 a.m. and returning around 12:45.  We will eat a picnic lunch at the orchard.  Please pack your child a lunch or let me know if your child needs a cold lunch provided by the school's lunch program.  You can email me to let me know if this is needed.  Please do so by Friday of next week.  If you would like to chaperone on the trip, please let me know by next Friday as well.

A student using the Smart board as they fill in the # line

  While at Adam's Orchard, the kid swill take a wagon ride, learn about the cider making process and receive a sample, pick their own 1/4 peck of apples (to take home) and learn about celebrations that the orchard does to celebrate the apple harvest.   If you are able to make a donation to help support our participation in this event, that is appreciated but not required. A suggested donation of $6/student may be made out to Waitsfield School and will help support this and other field trips; please know that such a donation is not, however, required.  I need all donations by Thursday, September 13th.

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

Peace,
Tommy

September 4, 2018

Good Evening,
  I hope you all had a wonderful long weekend and enjoyed the weather.  I found myself at a x-country meet in Burlington, a shrimp boil in Fairfax and on a boat in Lake Fairlee. All in all a wonderful weekend to be in Vermont.

  Today we started our first official lessons in the new Bridges math  program.  This is a K-5 district wide implementation.  I have to say it is a hefty program and requires an extensive amount of prep time to get ready for each lesson.  I hope the students find it both engaging and exciting.  If you would like to learn more about the Bridges click here.

  The students spent some time illustrating their Hopes and Dreams for the start of school.  We share these illustrations tomorrow and then use them as we start to develop our classroom norms (rules).


  Today your child brought home a very attractive yellow piece of paper.  This is for volunteer opportunities in the classroom.  If you are looking to be a driver on field trips or a field trip chaperone, I need you to make sure you have completed the required background check.  Please contact Kaiya for information on this.

  We also started our daily mindfulness focus today. Over the past 5 years I have seen the need for students to learn techniques too help self regulate their energy and emotions, when needed..  I have found that introducing mindfulness techniques has helped many of my students develop these skills.  This year, Katie Babic, our guidance counselor, will join us for two of our sessions each week. Today we focused on breathing from our diaphragm. 


Notes:
*Picture day is Friday.

*Tomorrow your child will have a blue form in their homework bag.  Please fill this out and send it back to school.  We will be using this information for part of our Social Studies Families and Traditions.

*Please make sure your child's homework bag is returned each day with the book inside it.  It is the easiest way for me to keep track of books and to get you any information you may need.  I really appreciate your support with this.

Have a great week.

Peace,
Tommy

August 31, 2018

Good Afternoon,
  What a great first week and start of the year.  We have spent the week getting to know each other and some of the classroom expectations and routines.  We had a great discussion about why we come to school and what we can learn at school.  This conversation will help each student devise a Hope and Dream for the year and also guide us in the rule making process.  This work will continue next week.

  This week we have read a variety of books regarding the start fo the school year and books that celebrated our differences. Two of this week's favorites were We Don't Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins and The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi.

  I appreciate so many of you coming out to the potluck the other night.  I hope you had a chance to meet the two new families (new to our school).  I think it is great to meet everyone before the year gets going.

NOTES:
*A reminder that the book orders are due 9/14/18.  This is the last book order until November. Remember you can order online or send in the forms and a check.

9/7 School Photos, 8am
9/14 All School Hike
9/20 Open House, 5:30-6:30pm
10/5 Inservice-no school for students
10/8 Holiday-no school
10/24 & 10/25 Family Conferences, 2:30-7pm

I hope you all have a great weekend.  

Peace,
Tommy

August 27, 2018

Good Morning,
  I hope this finds all of you excited for the start of the school year.  I always like the prospect of the fresh start, the new challenges, and the opportunity to develop a new classroom community.  We had a great day today.  The morning started with a whole group assembly in the gymnasium.  Ms. Korb talked about the terms community, newness, and inspired and how they relate to our job as a learning community.  This afternoon the class had French class and PE class.

Most of our day was spent on introductions and the beginning stages of developing shared expectations.  We read three different books today.  The first book was First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg.  The second was This School Year Will Be the Best by Kary Winters.  The final book was Skin Again by Bell Hooks.  This book addressed the idea of their skin just being a covering for whats inside a person and that what's inside is who the person really is.  The students then wrote "I am ..." statements and helped create the bulletin board as you enter our classroom.

Your child has a plastic Ziploc bag in their backpack.  Please go through all of the information and return it asap.  The Ziploc bag should come back each day.  It is my way to make sure items you need to see are in one spot for you and are easily found inside the backpack.

  There are book order forms in your child's bag.  There is also a note that explains the process.  Please take a look and let me know if you have any questions.  The due date for orders is 9/14/18.  I will send out orders in September, November, and May this year.

  The potluck is scheduled for this Wednesday at 5:00.  So far 9 families have signed up.  I would love to get everyone there.  Here is the link if you still need to sign up  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12Oc-XoMWV_UJhAt-Dm2x6EGUA76fkMAWum0s65n00FA/edit?usp=sharing

I hope you all have a great evening and that your child had a wonderful 1st day.

Peace,
Tommy

June 8, 2019

Good Afternoon,
  Hard to believe there is only one week left of school.  We will be working right up until Thursday.  We have 2 more writing pieces to complete in our persuasive writing unit.  We also have three science lessons left in our coding unit.  Mr. Mongeon has been leading the coding unit and the kids are really into it. 

  We have been talking about the last day of school, as a class, and what they would like to do.  We have an assembly in the morning and an early lunch before dismissal.  I am making a slideshow and will share that on the last day of school blog post.  The kids really want lemonade and cookies and to watch a movie.  I have not committed to the movie, I may find a teamwork type project to do instead but will have time for some sweets and lemonade.

  If you are willing to send in a sweet treat for the last day, please let me know.  It should be nut free.  I will provide the lemonade. 

Next weeks events:
*6/13  Field Days.  The events will start at 12:00.  Kids should wear clothing that can get wet and plenty of sunscreen and even a hat.

*6/15  Last day of school.  Early dismissal @ 12:00

*6/15  Report cards sent home

*6/16  RELAX

That is all for now.
Peace,
Mr. Young