November 18, 2022

 Good afternoon families of incredible students!  I hope this finds all of you healthy and looking forward to Thanksgiving and all that comes with it for each family.  I will be headed to Pittsburgh, after school on Tuesday, to spend time with all of my siblings and parents. 

Well winter weather is finally here.  With this weather a ton of clothing and accessories come and go with your child everyday. If you have a mud room, you know a family of four can fill a space rather quickly with all of their winter attire. Picture a mudroom for 18.  It is important to me that your family doesn't have to purchase replacement pieces (glove, hat, a boot, etc.) during the winter.  As you can see by the picture, the kids can keep their stuff pretty organized.  However, many people can have the same set of black gloves.  It is with this in mind that I ask that you write your child's name on everything. This will save you stress and frustration, I promise! Remember, for recess a child needs a hat, gloves/mittens, boots, a coat, and snow pants. Your child also needs something else to wear on their feet besides their boots. Feel free to have your child leave a pair of shoes at school to save the back and forth each day. 

The kids enjoyed the first snow fall while in PE class and at recess. There is always excitement when vacation nears but adding the "energy" of the first snow really puts it over the top for kids. For those of you who have seen Elf with Will Farrell, just watch any scene that he is in with sugar in his hand. 

Our science focus has turned to the study of the moon, sun, and light. The students explored all of the different shapes of the Moon that can appear on different nights. They created a My Moon Book, while they observed photos of the Moon taken over the course of four weeks and drew pictures of the Moon's phases in their book. They used these observations to discover patterns in how the Moon’s shape changes and predict when the next full moon will appear.

Next week we will spend some time talking about the celebration of Thanksgiving and look at some of the traditions that are associated with the holiday.  This will take place during our writing and reading times next week (Monday and Tuesday). I would love to include some of the traditions that the students do with their families.  If you would, please click on this link and add your family's name and a tradition that you do.  Try to think of one that is really specific to your family. 

NOTES:

*I will not be sending homework bags home until we get back from the break.  Just to save you searching the house for it on Sunday evening/Monday morning.

*Please make sure your child has recess attire for winter.  If you need anything regarding this, please let me know.

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

Peace,

Mr. Young

November 11, 2022

 Good Evening,

I just spent the day of in-service training thinking and learning about students dealing with trauma, ideas regarding mindfulness and even some therapeutic drumming. I always like walking away thinking about some new things and insights. The therapeutic drumming was run by a gentleman named Trevor.  I will be looking to bring more of this into our school and classroom.  I will let you know if this is something that will happen this school year.  If you would like to check it out, please click on this link. 

This week we also finished our learning and work with Veteran's Day. Each child brought home an informational book that he/she made and you can find it in their bag. We sent a bunch of the cards to relatives of the students, my retired USMC brothers, gave some to Clayton Wetzel (Navy) and I also included some on Facebook and Twitter.  We already have had the cards shared more than 30 times.  

Chris Wadel visited our school.  Chris is a former middle school and college classmate of Mr. Hubbard. "
He is an American Paralympic sit-skier and wheelchair track athlete. He was a promising non-disabled skier while attending Middlebury College in Vermont, before a skiing accident left him paralysed from the waist down. As a sit-skier, Waddell won medals in Winter Paralympics. As a wheelchair track racer, he has also represented the US at the Summer Paralympics. Chris also became the first paraplegic to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Currently, Wadell has a foundation called "One Revolution" that is dedicated to seeing the world positively, by the use of "Nametags" that define oneself."  Here is the link to Chris' website, if you would like to find out more about him. 

It was great to see all of you during parent conferences.  I hope you found them valuable and that it gives you a better insight on how your child is doing. If you have any questions, please reach out.

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

Peace,

Mr.Young

November 4, 2022

 Well, I hoped you all survived the Halloween week as well as the countless viruses and colds that are circulating amongst our community.  As promised, Monday had us looking at the celebration of Halloween.  The students all wrote about some of the traditions they all participate in around the day itself. I did show the students the video I made of all of their costumes (see below)

Next Friday will be Veterans' Day. This week we started talking about this day and why we celebrate it. The students are all making an informational booklet to share with you at home.  We finished that up today and it will be sent home next Friday. Next week the students will each make a card for a Veteran and we will send them out to Veterans to thank them for their service.  If you have a Veteran that you would like a card sent to, please send me their name and address and we will mail it.  We will have 18 cards to send out.  I am also going to teach the kids how to use social media to send the card out to Veterans around the country. It should be fun to track.

This week's writing class focused on using capital letters, ending punctuation and commas. Students continue to edit, complete and write new small moment stories. I will show you some of their work during our parent conference times.

Math class had the 1st graders focused on fact fluency, doubles facts, and complements of 10 and 20.  Through the use of dominoes, dice, and 10 and 20 sticks, the kid shad a variety of ways to practice their fact fluency.  The 2nd graders focused on expanded notation, place value and a couple of games involing place value trades.

A quick word from Ms. Belknap's guidance class focus: "I am just finishing a unit on Emotions Matter. Students enjoyed learning more about how bodily sensations match their feelings. Next, we will learn more about Community, Safety, and Climate. Finally, we will revisit the classroom charters and discuss how our emotions impact the group. Try to incorporate the Meta-Moment or Mood Meter at least 1x per week.

NOTES:

*Parent Conferences are next week.  Please make sure you are on time for your conference.  Mine are stacked back to back so their isn't much flexibility to add or make up time.

*I was talking to the kids today about the boys Harwood Soccer team and the fact that they are in the state championship game tomorrow.  If you are free around 10:00 am, head up to South Burlington High School as the team takes on Montpelier. 

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

Peace,

Mr. Young

October 28, 2022

 Good Afternoon,

I hope this finds all of you happy, healthy, and feeling rested up as you get ready to take on one of the biggest challenges in parenting.  HALLOWEEN MONDAY! I want to wish you all the best with the week to come.   My advice would be to hydrate this weekend.  As a reminder, we will be talking about the traditions and the celebration of Halloween on Monday.  I apologize for those who had difficulties uploading a picture of your child in their costume.  I had the wrong setting but that has been fixed.  If you can take a look and see if your child's photo is in there.  If so great, if not please add it in before Sunday morning.  I will be making a video of their pictures on Sunday and won't be able to add any other pictures in (once I publish it).  The link to the Drive Folder is here. 

This past Wednesday, Mrs. Smith's class and our class joined up to carve pumpkins together. I started the day reading a book about pumpkins and all of the things we can do with them. That afternoon we headed outside to carve the pumpkins. This was part of the school wide reward for earning so many tickets over the past few weeks. This also started our conversation regarding the traditions of Halloween. We will continue the discussion on Monday afternoon.  The kids will again write about their learning and understanding of the traditions and celebrations of Halloween.

The Fire Department also visited our school this week. Each year they come to talk to the kids about fire safety.  The students got to see a fireman (a former 1st grade student of mine) all geared up and also got to hear what their voice sounds like with their mask on. The goal was to let them know what it would sound and look like in the case of a real fire. One of the key ideas is that every family tests their smoke detectors once a month and that every family has an escape plan and a meeting spot for their own homes. As a father who had one of his own daughter's have to crawl out of a house fire, I am very grateful that this is done with the kids. You never know when it will be needed. The students 

This week the 1st graders have been focusing on math facts and complements of 10 and/or 20.  We are working ob fluency with each of these skills.The students played a variety of games, worked with Ms. Figdor, and also parent volunteers, as they honed their skills with these concepts.  The 2nd graders worked on adding two digit numbers as well as adding numbers beyond 125.  Their primary focus was numbers within the 200-299.

In science, the students completed a third experiment.  This one involved putting milk on paper plate and then puddles of food coloring on top of that. Then the kids used a Q-tip and dipped it into dish soap. They then touched the food coloring with the soap and watched the colors dance. The students continued working on making a prediction, recording their findings (through diagrams and words), noting two "I notice" statements, and then reporting out, on their predictions. 

NOTES:

*Please no costumes at school on Monday. I have a variety of plans for Monday afternoon (to celebrate the tradition). We also have cider being sent in and I will be making Halloween Cookies.

*Please make sure your child has at least a sweatshirt and/or a coat for recess time.

*I will not be sending homework bags home on Monday.  Something tells me that you will be busy enough and it will not be top priority for the kids that evening.

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

Peace,

Mr. Young

October 21, 2022

Good Morning to all of you.  I hope you are having a lovely Friday.  I know the students are excited for the fall celebration this afternoon. I arrived in DC earlier this morning and as I write this, I find myself inside a building wearing a mask (required).  I am realizing and remembering how happy that the everyday wearing of the masks is past us. Wearing a mask and trying to wear glasses is a tough one! More fog on my lenses than RT. 100 on an early fall day.  

This week I received several emails about kids being nervous or even a little scared about the biking unit that Ms. Ally has been doing in DC. I really appreciated the heads up and used the concerns to drive a project we did on Wednesday afternoon. On Tuesday, I read the story The I'm Not Scared Book by Todd Parr, to the class. "With his signature blend of playfulness and sensitivity, the author explores the subject of all things scary and assures readers that all of us are afraid sometimes." After reading the story, the students identified a time when they were scared and what they did or could do to make it less scary.  Their writing and illustrations of this, will be sent home next week. 

Yesterday, the students started a 2nd science experiment.  The experiment involved putting a gummy bear in a cup of water and one in a cup of vinegar. Again the focus was on making predictions, setting up the experiment, creating diagrams of what they saw and writing "I noticed" statements about their observations. Today the students were going to record what happened over night and then check to see if their predictions were correct or not. I've been really impressed with the detail in their observations, recordings, and their science writing.

In math, 1st graders have been working on building fluency with their complements of 10 and also with domino math facts.  They have been playing a game where they each add their fact and then compare each other's quantity by using the greater than or less than symbols. Second grade math has been working on adding and subtracting 10s from a given number.

NOTES:

*Please remember to add a photo of your child in their Halloween costume (if they wish to) and I will add it to the presentation on the 31st.  Please add any photos into this drive folder. If anyone wishes to donate 2 gallons of cider for that day, please let me know.  I will provide the class treat.

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

Peace,

Tommy

October 15, 2022

Good Morning,

I have to apologize for not getting this out on Friday. I do hope you all are having a great weekend and have a chance to help out and/or shop at the Ski and Skate sale. The proceeds from this sale fund many opportunities for the students of our school.

One of my goals this year is to develop a love of reading within each student. Over the years I have received grant money, used budget money, and have been fortunate enough to receive donations to build a classroom library. This library is filled with thousands of books and allows the students to choose from a wide variety of titles.  Over the past few weeks, I have added over 100 new books to our classroom library.  All of these books were free to us! Half of them came via the Scholastic book order.  I used points (earned when you all order) to receive them for free.  The other half came from an organization called Donors Choose.  This is an organization that allows me to put projects on and donors from around the country choose to donate towards a project.  I don't advertise these projects via email and social media because I am not looking for friends, family or the school community to donate.  Over the last two years I have received over $1,250 dollars in books alone.  Needless to say, the kids were very excited for all of the new choices and titles. Between the books they shop for every Wednesday and the book that goes home each night, these titles are already flying off the shelves. Who would have thought 15 new books about pugs or pug characters would be so popular.

Our class teamed up with Mrs. Smith (Torrey) 5/6 graders on Wednesday. Torrey and I are going to do a few projects with our classes this year and this was the introduction of the two groups.  We started off by teaming them up and kids finding a nice spot outside to read with their 5/6 grade partner. We then had the kids go on a walk, using the Mad Path that parallels our playground. It was such a beautiful day and the gathering was fun for all of them. I found it funny that so many of the 5/6 kids came up and said that their younger partner runs too quick for them. Next week we will carve pumpkins with the 5/6 class.  This will be part of our write up for the celebration and traditions of Halloween.

Speaking of Halloween. I just wanted to go over how it will work for our class. On Monday, October 31st we will use part of the afternoon, to talk about the tradition of Halloween. We will read some books, talk about traditions each student has, write about our learning and have a little treat, that I will provide. We will not be doing costumes at school. This way nothing gets left at school or lost before the big event that evening. However, I would love to do a photo parade of the kids in their costumes.  If your child would like to participate, take a i of them prior to 10/31 and upload it into this Google Drive folder. I will then turn it into a slide show for the kids. That way everyone gets to see each other's costume. If anyone would like to donate two gallons of cider, please let me know.  We will enjoy that with the treat that I make.

This week's writing instruction had students focusing on writing with detail. I referred back to one page from Jane Yolen's book Owl Moon and we talked about how well she painted a picture in the reader's mind. The discussion focused how Jane went after the reader's senses to help create such a vivid piece of writing. The students then had a chance to practice this in their own small moment stories. 

I used science time this week to go over how experiments work and the idea of making a prediction, conducting the experiment, writing their observations through "I notice . . ." statements, and then checking if their prediction was correct. The students documented all of their learning in their science notebooks and seemed to have a great time with the simple experiment. The focus was more on how to document their learning than the actual experiment itself. 

NOTES:

*Please make sure your child has a sweatshirt or fleece for the classroom, in their backpacks. If you want them to leave it at school, please tell them that and make sure their name is in it.

*Picture retake day is Wednesday. This is for individual shots.  The class picture will not be retaken.

*I will be out of the classroom on Friday. I run a mentorship program, for teachers learning about global education through a fellowship program. The kick off for the new cohort is this weekend in Washington DC. I will be back on Monday.

I hope you all have a great week!

Peace,

Mr. Young

Free Hot Chocolate for the Kids

"Waking" on the Mad Path

Reading with the 5/6 kids

Reading with the 5/6 kids

October 6, 2022

Drawing in the Park

Well week seven has come and gone and we are on the eve of a 4 day break for the students. I truly hope 

Celebrating Leaves!

each and everyone of you can find some time to get outside this weekend and enjoy the colors and beauty that nature is providing this fall. Speaking of leaf peeping, that is exactly what we did on Wednesday. We used the morning to enjoy the tradition of leaf peeping. We walked along the side walk and made our way to the pocket park and the covered bridge. The students found comfortable spots to sit and draw two pictures of the scenery. As they were working, I found myself reflecting on how lucky I am to teach and live in the community I do. It was so great to see the kids sitting on rocks, laying on the grass and working away in their illustrations. When we got back to the room the students used colored pencils and crayons to enhance their illustrations. We also read the Leaf Thief by Alice Hemming. "Squirrel is so cross. Yesterday there were loads of beautiful leaves on his tree, but today? Today some are missing and Squirrel is convinced that someone has stolen them... there's a leaf thief on the loose! Join Squirrel on a mission to find the culprit, and meet so many fun animals on the way, while you find out how the world takes on different colors as the months pass by. A laugh-out-loud book about the changing seasons.

Writing like a scientist

We also continued to write like scientist today.  The students used their knowledge of drawing diagrams, labeling them, and adding color to enhance them as they each colored and wrote about their apple observations and leaves that they had collected. Kids used hand lenses to capture zoomed in observations and also learned to write I notice statements.

The students each were given their own sight word rings this week.  These are words that they are working on spelling and often can;t be sounded out.  The students learned a few ways in which they can practice these words in order to get to "mastery." The students get two weeks to work on these words and then are tested.  Words that they get correct are taken off the ring and new ones are added. Each student is always working on 10 different words.

We are very fortunate to have a handful of parent volunteers this year.  These volunteers started to come in this week.  You may hear the students talking about them.  I am truly appreciative of all that are able to help out this year.

NOTES:

*There is 1 more book coming in for a student and then all of the books from the Scholastic order will have been handed out.

*This week we had a bus evacuation drill. This is a planned event that allows students to hear the procedure and practice getting off the bus in case of an emergency.  This is a required drill and is done once a year.

*The weather is certainly getting cooler.  Please make sure to send your child in with a sweatshirt, fleece, and/or jacket for recess time.

Learning 4 Square with Ms. Ally

 *This week's specials were library, guidance, french     and PE. In PE, Ms. Ally continues to introduce and go   over rules of games that kids can play at recess.  Make   sure to check in with your child about their specials   classes from the week.

 That is all for now.  I hope you all have a great   weekend.  I am headed to see my oldest daughter at her   college and will even get to see her compete with her   team in a cross country race.  It should be a a lot of fun.

 Peace,

 Mr. Young

Sight Word Work

Enjoying Read to Self Time

A Little Math Too

Playing Tourist

Glasses Twins