Monday News for Dec. 21st

We all had a great time at Colonial Craft Day last Thursday. This was our culminating event for our Long Ago unit and a celebration of the season. Thanks again too all of you who sent in supplies and volunteered at the event. We hope you enjoy "the goods" your child brought home and the pictures below.

This week, we'll be working on story problems in math that use presents (units of 1) and parcels (groups of 10), and we'll continue this work after vacation. We'll be finishing up our writing prompts about our choice to live today or long ago and will be finishing up with holiday/long ago books in our reading groups.

On Tuesday, we'll participate in the Holiday Sing-Along and have a small Holiday celebration (popcorn and a movie) in the afternoon. We hope you have a wonderful break. Perhaps we'll actually have a stretch of winter weather when we return! We look forward to lots of new learning with your children in 2016.

Monday News for Dec. 14th

On Friday the class had an opportunity to participate in The Hour of Code.  The Hour of Code is a global movement to try an hour introduction to computer science, reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries. Our class learned the beginnings of how to write code.  The children could choose from working on computer websites or apps created for I pads.  I have included a link to the website for you and your child to continue to explore and learn about writing code.  https://code.org/learn

This week we are wrapping up our unit on Life Long Ago.  Our culminating activity will be Colonial Craft Day on Thursday.  Thank you so much for all your generous donations!  It is great to have such supportive parents!  The children will be responding to a prompt about whether they prefer life today compared to long ago or vice versa.  They will need to explain their ideas based on what they have learned during this unit.  

In math we continue to explore the number line and different strategies for adding and subtracting using the number line.  If you are supporting your child at home with their homework and have any questions of your own, please do not hesitate to contact us. 

Please don't forget library books on Wednesday.  We will not have Library again until after the break, so Wednesday will be a time when your child can take books home for the holiday break.  As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.  Have a great week ahead and THINK SNOW!  

Monday News for December 7th

In writing, students are finishing up and sharing writing prompts they have worked on. These prompts focus on a favorite place. We worked on having three reasons it is a favorite place and supporting each reason with details. We also worked on having introductions and conclusions for our writing. This week, students will get to work on another prompt about whether they would rather live long ago or today and why.

We continue to read books and learn about Colonial times, this week focusing on a general introduction of the conflict between the American colonists and Great Britain. We'll also look at some famous Americans of the time including George Washington, Ben Franklin and Paul Revere. Next Thursday will be our Colonial Craft Day from 1:15-2:30. Thank you to all who have volunteered to come in and signed up to send in materials!

As part of our December Number Corner, we've been creating surveys. Last week, we looked at favorite colors and favorite books. This week, students will come up with ideas for another type of survey we can do as a class.

Have a great week!

Monday News for Nov. 30th

Performing a Readers' Theatre

I hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving!  It is great to be back to school!  We will resume spelling this week with words coming home on Monday for the week.  We have also begun a new unit in Math so look for the Unit 3 parent letter in your child's homework folder.  Many of the concepts that the children will be working on in this unit will be explained.  Also, we would like to suggest that on the evenings when your child does not have math homework, that this would be a good evening to practice math facts for about 10 minutes.  If your child does not know their doubles facts this would be a great place to begin.  If your child has their doubles memorized, then move on to doubles plus or minus one facts. For example, 5+6=11.  They can use one of their doubles to help them solve this problem.  If they use the higher double they subtract one and if they use the smaller double they add one.  If you have any questions, please let us know!

We are continuing our unit on Long Ago.  We will be focusing on Colonial Times

 over the next few weeks.  The second grade team will be holding Colonial Craft Day on December 17th from 1:15 - 2:30, as a culminating activity to our unit.  In order to make this possible we will be looking for parent volunteers to help us out by running a craft center.  We will have it all organized and will show you what to do.  You don't have to be crafty to participate!  We will also be asking for donations of supplies and will have a sign-up genius where you can sign up to make a donation.  We will be sending further information with the link to the sign-up in an e-mail.  We should be sending it out in the next couple of days.  This is a great afternoon and we would love to have your help!

Have a great week ahead!

Monday News for Nov. 16th

Last Friday, students began using a computer program called "Kidspiration" to publish their personal timelines. Thanks for your help with coming up with important moments in your child's life to include on this. We will keep working on the timelines this week. We also have a long timeline that includes the past six centuries posted in our classroom. When we read a book from "long ago," we discuss the time period in which the book takes place and label it on our timeline. We have read and explored books including Nora's Ark by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock which takes place during the 1927 flood in Vermont and Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall which takes place in the 1800s. When delving into these texts, we focus on life then and now. In our reading groups, all students are reading books about long ago or what historians do. 

It has been wonderful making connections between our historical timelines and the number lines we have been using in math. We noticed how we can use some of our strategies to add on the number line to figure out how many years have passed between an event long ago and today. 

Last week, we were lucky enough to see and hear a trio from the Vermont Symphony Orchestra. This week, we will get to see HONK! The Musical, performed by our own middle school students. Library will be on Thursday this week.  There will be no school for students next week, and we hope you have an enjoyable Thanksgiving Holiday. As always, let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

Classroom News for November 9th

On Friday the children participated in a writing celebration with Mrs. Stanton's class with both classes sharing their narratives. Please enjoy the photos!

 The children continue to work this week on their non-fiction books and are using many non-fiction features in their writing.  We are hoping to complete these books this week.  The children have really enjoyed learning about their topics as well as writing and illustrating their books.

Thank you for helping your child to complete their timeline homework.  Next steps will be for the class to visit the computer lab to create individual time lines using the Kidspiration program.

This week we will focus on Hinesburg Long Ago.  The children will be looking at slides of Hinesburg from the late 1800's and early 1900's to determine how our town has changed over time.  If you have a family member or friend who lived in Hinesburg over 50 years ago, we would love to have them come in and share any memories of school and other stories of how Hinesburg has changed through the years.

In Math, the children are learning how to use a number line for adding two amounts together.  The number line is an important tool that students will be using this year for adding and subtracting large numbers.  This is a strategy that most of us were not introduced to during our own school years.  If you have any questions as you are working with your child, please feel free to contact us.  
That's about all!  Have a great week ahead!

Monday News for Nov. 2nd

Last week was a very fun week with our visit to Shelburne Museum on Tuesday and Fun-O-Ween on Friday. Thanks to all the parents who joined us for these events! Enjoy the pictures below. This week, we will be starting our in school study of life long ago, including Hinesburg long ago. We'll be looking at timelines, seeing artifacts, exploring important events in history in Hinesburg and beyond, and comparing life then and now.

Students have been working hard on their non-fiction research reports. They have been organizing their notes into different categories/headings and have begun writing their reports on insects, owls, bats or spiders. They will be including maps, diagrams, pictures, and a table of contents as part of their report. During reading, students have continued to research their topic, trying to fill holes in the information they have gathered for their report.

Our November Calendar for Number Corner focuses on clocks and telling time. If you have analog clocks or watches at home, spend some time exploring these with your child. In other math news, we continue to become more flexible and efficient with adding and subtracting numbers. This week, we will be exploring number lines as a tool for this.

Have a great week!

Sitting in front of the General Store

 Some Pictures from Fun-O-Ween!

Don't we look great in our costumes!

Monday News for Oct. 26th

It was great having an opportunity to sit down and share your child's progress with you.  Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to do so.  We consider you to be an important partner in your child's education!  If you feel a need to meet again, please feel free to contact us at any point throughout the school year.

Our field trip to Shelburne Museum on Tuesday will mark the beginning of a unit on "Life Long Ago".  The children will compare and contrast how life is lived today with life in the past.  Part of this unit will also include learning about Hinesburg long ago.  If you know of any elders who grew up in Hinesburg and would like to share their stories with our class, we would love to have them visit.  Please let us know and we will be happy to work around their schedules.  Please make sure your child has warm clothes for the field trip.  The buildings at Shelburne Museum are not heated and we will be spending the entire day in unheated buildings that often feel colder than outdoors!

If you have any questions please feel free to contact us.

We are participating in the Journey North Tulip Project .  Feel free to click on the link and read more about it.  This is another citizen science project that monitors the arrival of spring throughout the northern hemisphere.  The children will be planting their Journey North garden on Monday.  In addition the children have planted an experimental garden to see whether or not bulbs will grow if planted in unusual ways.  Some of their experiments include planting a tulip upside down, wrapping a tulip in paper to see if it will grow, planting the tulip 18" deep instead of  the recommended 6", and placing the tulip in paint to see if it will change the color of the flower!  Springtime will be exciting this year!  We can't wait to see what happens!  

In literacy, the children have just about completed their non-fiction text feature books.  Next steps will be to use these features to write their own non-fiction books on research they have just about completed on either insects, spiders, owls or bats.  It has been exciting to see the enthusiasm of all the children towards their different topics.  In this unit,  the children have learned how to take notes on the most important information and have used a variety of sources to collect their note facts.  Organization of note facts will then help the children to begin writing their books.  These books will eventually be sent home for you to enjoy!  

On Friday the children will participate in Fun-O-Ween which has been a tradition in the primary wing for many years.  Your child is welcome to bring a costume to school in a bag to change into for the afternoon.  Please do not send any accessories as your child will need their hands free to participate in the activities.  Also please no masks or face paint, just costumes only.  We thank you for your cooperation!  

Have a great week ahead!

Monday News for Oct. 19th

After the taste of cold weather this past weekend, it seems like a good time for a reminder to send your child with clothing appropriate for the weather (hats, mittens, jackets). We go outside almost every day, and it can still be pretty chilly at recess time at 11:20, even when it is warming up in the afternoon.

Today, word study homework will be coming home for the first time. Your child has a weekly word sort and list of common "trick" words to do three activities with during the week. Our first word study assessment will be on Friday. Please let us know if you have any questions about the homework or word study program.

In reading and writing, we are beginning a non-fiction unit. Your child is learning about features of a non-fiction text (headings, photos/captions, table of contents, glossary, maps, and more) and how they help us read a non-fiction text with purpose. Eventually, we will each become experts on a topic and write a research report using the non-fiction features we are learning about.

This week, we will also be planting tulips as part of the Journey North Tulip Project. We need to get the bulbs in the ground before it freezes! From the Journey North Website: "In this international science experiment, students in schoolyards across the northern hemisphere plant tulip bulbs in their Journey North Test Gardens each fall. When the plants emerge and bloom, children announce springtime in their part of the world." To learn more, you can visit:  http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tulip/index.html

Next Tuesday, we have our field trip to Shelburne Museum. If you haven't done so already, please make sure you send the permission slip back this week. We also could use some additional parent chaperons if you are able!

And congratulations to Amelia and family! They were the winners of the Open House Pumpkin.

  

Weekly News for Oct. 13th

We will begin holding Parent-Teacher Conferences this week.  Please feel free to check-in with us if you do not remember your conference time.  We look forward to sharing your child's progress with you!  It was great seeing many of you at Open House!  Also thank you to all of you who participated in the school wide fund raising effort!  The money raised will help to offset the cost of several field trips we will be taking this year.

Speaking of field trips, we will be taking the class to Shelburne Museum on Oct. 27th.  This field trip will be an introduction to our upcoming unit on Life Long Ago.  The children will be comparing their lives to the life children lived long ago.  This will be an opportunity for your children to visit the one room school house and experience school back in time.  The children will have opportunities to play with toys from this time period as well as make candles and ice cream.  We will have lunch at the museum and then be free to tour the old general store and some of the houses and maybe have time for the Ticonderoga!  We are need of chaperons for this field trip.  If you are interested, please indicate on the permission slip that will be sent home later in the week.  We look forward to this wonderful opportunity!

We are also looking for volunteers who can volunteer some time to dig up a garden bed next to the tool shed in the garden.  We are participating in the Journey North Tulip Project and need to plant tulips.  We would greatly appreciate your help! Please contact us if you could help us out!  We can provide shovels if needed!  This project is collective effort to mark the arrival of spring across the world.  You can read more about this wonderful project by clicking on the Journey North link.

Reminders:  Please remember to send your child with sneakers on PE days!

Also now that cold weather will soon be arriving, please make sure your child's name is on all their winter clothing.  This helps a great deal when items turn up missing.

As always, please feel free to call or e-mail us with any questions you might have.  Have a great week ahead!

Mondays News for October 5th

On Friday, we had so much fun collecting school yard rocks as part of our science unit. We had already explored properties of volcanic and river rocks. Now, we get to explore the properties of rocks we have found right outside our classroom window. There are some really cool ones!

This week, we will be starting a more formal version of word study. To best meet each student where they are in their development of spelling, vocabulary and word recognition, we will be using a program called "Words Their Way" as the basis for our word study program. Each week, your child will be studying words that follow a certain spelling pattern, as well as some common words students need to know that do not follow regular spelling patterns. A homework menu will be coming home next week that will give your child a variety of choices of how to study (and we hope have fun) with their words each week.

A reminder that the K-2 Open House is this Thursday, October 8 from 5-6. The Spaghetti Dinner sponsored by P.I.E. will follow (from 5:45-7). We hope to see you all there! Enjoy this picture of our classroom quilt that will be hanging at the Open House along with lots of other wonderful student work.

Monday News for Sept. 28th

We are about to finish our first month of school!  Routines have been established at this point but do require frequent reminders.  The children are working very hard each day at school so plenty of rest will help your child immensely!  If you are interested in volunteering in our classroom, we would love to have you!  Please e-mail us with dates and times that work for you.  We would love to have your help!

Parent-Teacher Conferences are coming up quickly.  We have created a sign-up genius where you can look over dates and times and hopefully find a time that can work for you.  If none of the dates and times work for you, please contact us and we will find another time that will work.  

We are continuing with our unit on Pebbles, Sand and Soil.  The children are enjoying their work as scientists.  Don't be surprised to see your children looking more closely at rocks to see if they can find some evidence for questions they are trying to answer in class.  One on-going science theme is our garden.  On Friday, the children explored parts of plants that are edible (roots, stems, leaves, fruit).  They also had an opportunity to do some sampling.  We will be planting tulips in our garden as part of a Journey North project coming up soon.  

Enjoy the photos!  If you have any questions, please give us a call or send us an e-mail with your concerns.  Have a great week!