Good Afternoon,
I am sorry it has been over a week since I last published a post. I hope you all had a great weekend and got to enjoy the warmer weather. I spent some of Sunday snowshoeing through the woods with my wife. It quiet sounds of the tranquil woods is always something special. It was nice to be able to just wear a sweatshirt and yet be warm enough.
It was nice to finally have school on a Monday again. It seems like it has been a while. Today we started our new writing unit. This unit will focus on students learning to write books that inform of us of a specific topic. We will spend the next 6-8 weeks working on this type of writing. Each student did have the opportunity to start their own informative piece today. Ask your child what their focus was.
NOTES:
*At this point the winter sport's program seems to be up int eh air for this week. We will see what tomorrow's weather brings.
*Please make sure your child has a pair of shoes to put on when they arrive to school. Otherwise, their boots get the carpet all wet and ten someone ends up sitting in it.
*A big shout out to all of those who were able to support Ella and her trip to Kenya. We were able to fill an entire backpack!
That is all for now. Have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
January 22, 2018
January 12, 2018
January 12, 2018
Good Afternoon,
I was psyched that the kids got to enjoy their first day of the Waitsfield Winter Sports program this week. It was certainly a beautiful day and the kids did great. According to their survey results (the next day in class), they had a great time. I was also pleased to hear how well they listened to their instructors and volunteers and the respect they demonstrated on the bus.
This week the students finished up their final narrative pieces. These pieces will be scored by a handful of teachers as we use a district wide scoring rubrics to assess their work. These pieces are a representation of their independent work with minimal to zero input from me. I also spent the week assessing their spelling abilities and reading as well. This information will help me populate their report card grades. Due to some technical glitches and the use of a new electronic data base system for our report cards, the date that they will go home is now January 30th.
NOTES:
*Your child has reading homework this weekend. Their Weekly News journal is also in their bags.
*Please make sure your child's winter sports apparel and equipment is labeled with their names.
That is all for now. Have a great weekend and be safe on the ice.
Peace,
Tommy
I was psyched that the kids got to enjoy their first day of the Waitsfield Winter Sports program this week. It was certainly a beautiful day and the kids did great. According to their survey results (the next day in class), they had a great time. I was also pleased to hear how well they listened to their instructors and volunteers and the respect they demonstrated on the bus.
This week the students finished up their final narrative pieces. These pieces will be scored by a handful of teachers as we use a district wide scoring rubrics to assess their work. These pieces are a representation of their independent work with minimal to zero input from me. I also spent the week assessing their spelling abilities and reading as well. This information will help me populate their report card grades. Due to some technical glitches and the use of a new electronic data base system for our report cards, the date that they will go home is now January 30th.
NOTES:
*Your child has reading homework this weekend. Their Weekly News journal is also in their bags.
*Please make sure your child's winter sports apparel and equipment is labeled with their names.
That is all for now. Have a great weekend and be safe on the ice.
Peace,
Tommy
January 2, 2018
January 2, 2018
Good Morning,
I hope you all had a wonderful break and are ready to ring in 2018 with health, hope, and optimism. Tomorrow will mark the start of our school's winter sports program. It is an extremely well run program and a lot of fun for the kids. It does take a bit of planning and a lot of organization. That being said, please take note of the following information and help us continue to run a smooth and stress free sports program.
Here are a few reminders about our program -- please review them especially before this first session of the year. Thank you!
Please make sure everything is labeled (skis, board, poles, boots, goggles etc).
Equipment is brought to the mountain during the morning. equipment needs to be at school by 10 a.m.Please plan to drop gear off at the school no later than 10am. Skis/boards/poles on the wall outside the gym; all other gear into the child's classroom.
Please help your child dress in layers for the day, from warm socks to long underwear. The temperatures and conditions can vary, so thank you for helping your kids be prepared when they leave your house in the morning.
If your child has a ski pass, please be sure he/she has it on winter sports days.
If your child will do something other than returning to the school by bus, please send a note or email to Kathi (korr@wwsu.org) no later than 9 a.m. the morning of the program.
We have a delayed end of school day on winter program days, with busses leaving at approximately 2:45. 1st-6th grade students are back at school, ready for dismissal, at 2:40.
All backpacks/etc will be left at school. The school remains open until 5:30 p.m. Unless picked up at the mountain, equipment is returned to the wall outside the school gym. We ask that it be picked up within 24 hours.
I hope you all had a wonderful break and are ready to ring in 2018 with health, hope, and optimism. Tomorrow will mark the start of our school's winter sports program. It is an extremely well run program and a lot of fun for the kids. It does take a bit of planning and a lot of organization. That being said, please take note of the following information and help us continue to run a smooth and stress free sports program.
Here are a few reminders about our program -- please review them especially before this first session of the year. Thank you!
Please make sure everything is labeled (skis, board, poles, boots, goggles etc).
Equipment is brought to the mountain during the morning. equipment needs to be at school by 10 a.m.Please plan to drop gear off at the school no later than 10am. Skis/boards/poles on the wall outside the gym; all other gear into the child's classroom.
Please help your child dress in layers for the day, from warm socks to long underwear. The temperatures and conditions can vary, so thank you for helping your kids be prepared when they leave your house in the morning.
If your child has a ski pass, please be sure he/she has it on winter sports days.
If your child will do something other than returning to the school by bus, please send a note or email to Kathi (korr@wwsu.org) no later than 9 a.m. the morning of the program.
We have a delayed end of school day on winter program days, with busses leaving at approximately 2:45. 1st-6th grade students are back at school, ready for dismissal, at 2:40.
All backpacks/etc will be left at school. The school remains open until 5:30 p.m. Unless picked up at the mountain, equipment is returned to the wall outside the school gym. We ask that it be picked up within 24 hours.
NOTE:
*There will not be homework on ski days.
Peace,
Tommy
December 22, 2017
Good Evening,
We had a great final week of 2017. Below is a link of each kids geography presentation. I hope you enjoy them. Click on your child's name and you can hear their presentations.
Sam Kane Carley Noah Clara
The students also did a great job with their secret pals and had a great time with the pancake breakfast. Below is a video of them from both events. I was looking for the appropriate song to go with the pictures of them cooking. I figured how could you go wrong with the Sweedish Chef singing Rapper's Delight.
I hope you all have a wonderful break that allows for traditions, celebrations, and time with family.
Peace,
Tommy
December 14, 2017
December 14th, 2017
Good Afternoon,
I am going to write one post for this week. It will be rather lengthy but please read through the whole thing. Several of my 2nd graders have asked that we do Secret Pals again this year. The purpose of this event is to celebrate each other and enjoy the idea of trying to surprise a friend. Today, in your child's homework bag, there will be a yellow note for you to read and sign your child up. The note MUST be returned by tomorrow. I will use our Art time tomorrow to create a list of each other's Secret Pals and send home a note with your child's Secret Pal.
Yesterday, my friend from India, Ajay led the class in a yoga session. I have to say it was absolutely amazing. He led them through a variety of poses and was impressed with their knowledge of so many yoga poses. For me, I was thrilled that they got this opportunity. What was great was the excitement by both the students and Ajay. We will try and do this again in January.
Wednesday afternoon, we finally finished our map work with town, state, country, continent, and world. Next week the kids will present their understanding to each other. I am hoping to record a presentation or two so that you all can see the work that they have been doing.
We have been using read a loud time to study a particular author or illustrator. Last week we read a lot of Lauren Castillo book. This week we have been reading books by Tomie De Paola. One of the books we read was Pancakes For Breakfast. The class has decided that we need to have a pancake breakfast. We will do this on the last day of school before vacation. Please go to this link to sign up to with food, plates, or drinks. I will provide the pancakes. This will be better than having a "sugary party" on the last day.
That is all for now.
Have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
I am going to write one post for this week. It will be rather lengthy but please read through the whole thing. Several of my 2nd graders have asked that we do Secret Pals again this year. The purpose of this event is to celebrate each other and enjoy the idea of trying to surprise a friend. Today, in your child's homework bag, there will be a yellow note for you to read and sign your child up. The note MUST be returned by tomorrow. I will use our Art time tomorrow to create a list of each other's Secret Pals and send home a note with your child's Secret Pal.
Yesterday, my friend from India, Ajay led the class in a yoga session. I have to say it was absolutely amazing. He led them through a variety of poses and was impressed with their knowledge of so many yoga poses. For me, I was thrilled that they got this opportunity. What was great was the excitement by both the students and Ajay. We will try and do this again in January.
Wednesday afternoon, we finally finished our map work with town, state, country, continent, and world. Next week the kids will present their understanding to each other. I am hoping to record a presentation or two so that you all can see the work that they have been doing.
We have been using read a loud time to study a particular author or illustrator. Last week we read a lot of Lauren Castillo book. This week we have been reading books by Tomie De Paola. One of the books we read was Pancakes For Breakfast. The class has decided that we need to have a pancake breakfast. We will do this on the last day of school before vacation. Please go to this link to sign up to with food, plates, or drinks. I will provide the pancakes. This will be better than having a "sugary party" on the last day. That is all for now.
Have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
December 8, 2017
December 8, 2017
Good Afternoon. We finally finished up the video for our project that has us helping Ella from Harwood. Take a look at the video below. It truly is a product of the kids work and they created everything you see (with the exception of the last slide). In order to finish this work, we postponed our literature/reading time today.
Enjoy your weekend.
Tommy
Enjoy your weekend.
Tommy
December 4, 2017
December 4th, 2017
Good Afternoon,
I hope this find all of you well and rested as we head into the blur we call December. It is hard enough to believe that we flew through November so quickly.
Last week we had a visit form local author Lou Bevaqui. He shared his book and used games and art activities, to introduce the concept of emotional self-awareness. Lou was able to really connect with the kids, drawing from them their thoughts and ideas, and making it fun so they could learn without ever realizing it!
Lou and the children used art and descriptions and their five senses to explore various emotions. They were were introduced to the idea that these emotions do not define them (“I am angry”). Rather, the emotions are something they “feel,” and feelings change. Lou ended by introducing the children to ways they change how they feel.
Today we headed to Moretown to hear from Sam Drazin. He is a person who deals with Treacher Collins syndrome. You may have heard of the new movie out or read the book Wonder. The main character deals with the same syndrome. Here is a link to hear more about Sam.
I hope this find all of you well and rested as we head into the blur we call December. It is hard enough to believe that we flew through November so quickly.
Last week we had a visit form local author Lou Bevaqui. He shared his book and used games and art activities, to introduce the concept of emotional self-awareness. Lou was able to really connect with the kids, drawing from them their thoughts and ideas, and making it fun so they could learn without ever realizing it! 
Lou and the children used art and descriptions and their five senses to explore various emotions. They were were introduced to the idea that these emotions do not define them (“I am angry”). Rather, the emotions are something they “feel,” and feelings change. Lou ended by introducing the children to ways they change how they feel.
Here is a description of Lou’s book and message:
Sarah’s day leads her into one emotional storm after another. Can Sarah weather these storms and find ways to turn her day around? Vibrantly illustrated, Changing Your Weather is intended to help children and their parents identify and understand their emotions, increase their emotional self-awareness and create mental tools that allow them to choose the way they want to feel. When children learn language and tools to identify and govern their emotions they become more attuned with what is going on both inside and outside of them. The fun glossary and journal included in this book provide tools to enable parents and their children to interact as they build these important skills.
You can learn more about Lou at: http://loubevacqui.com/
Sarah’s day leads her into one emotional storm after another. Can Sarah weather these storms and find ways to turn her day around? Vibrantly illustrated, Changing Your Weather is intended to help children and their parents identify and understand their emotions, increase their emotional self-awareness and create mental tools that allow them to choose the way they want to feel. When children learn language and tools to identify and govern their emotions they become more attuned with what is going on both inside and outside of them. The fun glossary and journal included in this book provide tools to enable parents and their children to interact as they build these important skills. You can learn more about Lou at: http://loubevacqui.com/
That is all for now. I hope you all have a great week.
Tommy
 |
| Last week's Estimation Winner! |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)