Hey all,
I hope this warm weather has found you doing well. There has been a lot of sickness going around, so please be sure that your children are getting lots of rest and not getting too stretched out. The kids have been doing a fabulous job here in school, getting through the last long stretch of school in the year (can you believe it?).
We have been working hard on our land form projects and finished today, Thursday. I hope you get a chance to see them at conferences or when they come home. Speaking of which, since they are big, they will not be staying at school. I can hold onto them until the end of the day Tuesday at which time they will get recycled. I'll make sure the kids know, but please try to get a plan together to get them home by the end of the day on Tuesday. The kids will be presenting them on Monday morning during morning meeting time.
In Writer's Workshop we are going to be starting to work on some informational texts on animals in one of the habitats, related to our study on land forms. We will be focusing our work not only on the content and organization of these kinds of writing pieces but the grammar usage specific to their grade level. You can see the writing rubrics in the writing section of this blog.
Willy Wonka is being shown by our amazing Rumney theater production team. Please consider bringing your family to check it out. They never disappoint! Also, thank you to all of the parent volunteers who have helped out with boiling. The kids at Rumney get a great experience that helps them connect to the land under their feet. Not many public schools, elementary schools especially, provide their students with this kind of opportunity.
Again, if you need, here is a link to the conferences:
http://grades.wcsuonline.org/rumney/conference/
Again, I am looking forward to meeting with all of you!
~B
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Friday, March 18, 2016
Mid March Madness!
Hey All,
Well, it looks like winter still has some fight in her! On that note, please be sure to continue to send in winter clothes with your children daily, until we give the all clear here at school. When kids don't have their outdoor gear, we see an up-tick in resistance to going outside as well as playing in the way they usually do due to the lack of appropriate clothing. Water-resistant wear (pants especially) can be a big help, especially as we get more snow and the ground continues to be wet. Thanks for your support on this.
Thanks for sending in permission slips for our trip to the Flynn in May. I know it is a long way off, but we wanted to make sure people had plenty of time to make plans and think about chaperoning. The kids are already looking forward to it, as many are reading Henry and Mudge books right now.
I am going to be boiling tomorrow down at the Rumney Sugar house. Feel free to come on down and say a quick hello when you go to the amazing Pie Breakfast! It would be lovely to see anyone who'd like to. If you can't make the breakfast, consider a donation to the Rumney PTO instead, who make so many amazing things happen in our school.
We are doing some great work in science, where kids are working on a definition book of different kinds of major land forms and designing and building a landscape or poster that shows the different features as well. They are excited about this work and are doing a great job!
It has been a real pleasure to be reading and writing with your children at literacy time. It has been so wonderful to see how their writing and reading are progressing. I am looking forward to seeing you all at conferences on April 1st, or sometime around it. In Writer's Workshop, the kids are working on their land form books and writing about their favorite land form that they have been to. I look forward to finishing up both of those next week.
Conferences: I have set up times at http://grades.wcsuonline.org/rumney/conference/
Be sure to sign up for a time and if you can't find one that works for you, please be in touch.
Enjoy the pie and be sure to stop into the sugar house for a short visit on Saturday!
~B
Well, it looks like winter still has some fight in her! On that note, please be sure to continue to send in winter clothes with your children daily, until we give the all clear here at school. When kids don't have their outdoor gear, we see an up-tick in resistance to going outside as well as playing in the way they usually do due to the lack of appropriate clothing. Water-resistant wear (pants especially) can be a big help, especially as we get more snow and the ground continues to be wet. Thanks for your support on this.
Thanks for sending in permission slips for our trip to the Flynn in May. I know it is a long way off, but we wanted to make sure people had plenty of time to make plans and think about chaperoning. The kids are already looking forward to it, as many are reading Henry and Mudge books right now.
I am going to be boiling tomorrow down at the Rumney Sugar house. Feel free to come on down and say a quick hello when you go to the amazing Pie Breakfast! It would be lovely to see anyone who'd like to. If you can't make the breakfast, consider a donation to the Rumney PTO instead, who make so many amazing things happen in our school.
We are doing some great work in science, where kids are working on a definition book of different kinds of major land forms and designing and building a landscape or poster that shows the different features as well. They are excited about this work and are doing a great job!
It has been a real pleasure to be reading and writing with your children at literacy time. It has been so wonderful to see how their writing and reading are progressing. I am looking forward to seeing you all at conferences on April 1st, or sometime around it. In Writer's Workshop, the kids are working on their land form books and writing about their favorite land form that they have been to. I look forward to finishing up both of those next week.
Conferences: I have set up times at http://grades.wcsuonline.org/rumney/conference/
Be sure to sign up for a time and if you can't find one that works for you, please be in touch.
Enjoy the pie and be sure to stop into the sugar house for a short visit on Saturday!
~B
Thursday, March 10, 2016
If at first you don't succeed...
Hey all,
A couple of things.
One, we will have a morning performance practice as well, starting at 10:00, if the afternoon doesn't work for you. It won't be exactly the same, probably because of some pauses and some last corrections, but it is an alternative for folks who may not be able to make the afternoon show. I don't know if other parents will be there, but I thought I'd throw out the offer.
The other is a video clip I showed the kids today. For context, it takes place in Japan and it is at an all-school performance. I talked to the kids about how in other countries, struggling and supporting one another is something that is encouraged and accepted, as shown by the video. While recognizing the cultural differences (such as encouraging the student to keep going, despite the fact he/she was crying), I think the message and lesson is a powerful one.
Drive safe on those sloppy roads!
~B
A couple of things.
One, we will have a morning performance practice as well, starting at 10:00, if the afternoon doesn't work for you. It won't be exactly the same, probably because of some pauses and some last corrections, but it is an alternative for folks who may not be able to make the afternoon show. I don't know if other parents will be there, but I thought I'd throw out the offer.
The other is a video clip I showed the kids today. For context, it takes place in Japan and it is at an all-school performance. I talked to the kids about how in other countries, struggling and supporting one another is something that is encouraged and accepted, as shown by the video. While recognizing the cultural differences (such as encouraging the student to keep going, despite the fact he/she was crying), I think the message and lesson is a powerful one.
Drive safe on those sloppy roads!
~B
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
The Circus is Coming to Town!
Hello Families!
I hope this letter finds you well and enjoying our fine spring weather! The kids got a chance to go down to the sugar house and help collect sap and stack wood. The sap is really running hard! Mrs. Theresa's class went down today and collected sap and Mrs. Costello's class did as well. The buckets were filling fast!
As you might have heard, the circus is here at Rumney for our amazing residency. For our act, we will be dressing up as dogs. Please do not buy a costume, but rather help your kiddo figure out what color dog they are going to be. Please, no pink, blue, red, etc. dogs! The performance will be Friday at 2:15. Our class should be on sometime in that first 15 minutes.
Also, we had a short discussion in class about the upcoming election. Many kids are asking me about who I am voting for, which is not information I give out to students. Adult opinions are based on ideas and concepts that (hopefully) don't fit on a bumper sticker, and instead deal with social and global issues that are far beyond what is developmentally appropriate for 6,7 and 8 year olds. What we see here at school during these times is that children emulate the polarized view we have unfortunately become accustomed to. Today we had to talk a little about how people were saying hurtful things to people who were supporting one candidate or another. "Oh, my dad says he's crazy,", or "My mom says she's a liar," were two from today. The political process is confusing for young kids, who largely see this whole thing as an American Idol popularity contest. Your assistance in helping kids understand that supporting a candidate doesn't make someone inherently a bad person is a helpful message. Thanks for your support on this.
In science we are working on identifying different types of land forms and are working toward building models, maps, and drawings of them. The kids are working on making definitions for the different land forms and will be incorporating them into their projects. Our next step will be tying together different kinds of animals into their ecosystems.
Writer's Workshop work is coming along great as well. We are writing about a land form that they have been to and writing about it. It has been great to see the variety of land forms the kids have been to. You may be surprised that some of your children have been to the ice caps at the North and South pole!
As always, folks, please be in touch with any updates from home. I'm always happy to hear from you.
Enjoy early Spring!
~B
I hope this letter finds you well and enjoying our fine spring weather! The kids got a chance to go down to the sugar house and help collect sap and stack wood. The sap is really running hard! Mrs. Theresa's class went down today and collected sap and Mrs. Costello's class did as well. The buckets were filling fast!
As you might have heard, the circus is here at Rumney for our amazing residency. For our act, we will be dressing up as dogs. Please do not buy a costume, but rather help your kiddo figure out what color dog they are going to be. Please, no pink, blue, red, etc. dogs! The performance will be Friday at 2:15. Our class should be on sometime in that first 15 minutes.
Also, we had a short discussion in class about the upcoming election. Many kids are asking me about who I am voting for, which is not information I give out to students. Adult opinions are based on ideas and concepts that (hopefully) don't fit on a bumper sticker, and instead deal with social and global issues that are far beyond what is developmentally appropriate for 6,7 and 8 year olds. What we see here at school during these times is that children emulate the polarized view we have unfortunately become accustomed to. Today we had to talk a little about how people were saying hurtful things to people who were supporting one candidate or another. "Oh, my dad says he's crazy,", or "My mom says she's a liar," were two from today. The political process is confusing for young kids, who largely see this whole thing as an American Idol popularity contest. Your assistance in helping kids understand that supporting a candidate doesn't make someone inherently a bad person is a helpful message. Thanks for your support on this.
In science we are working on identifying different types of land forms and are working toward building models, maps, and drawings of them. The kids are working on making definitions for the different land forms and will be incorporating them into their projects. Our next step will be tying together different kinds of animals into their ecosystems.
Writer's Workshop work is coming along great as well. We are writing about a land form that they have been to and writing about it. It has been great to see the variety of land forms the kids have been to. You may be surprised that some of your children have been to the ice caps at the North and South pole!
As always, folks, please be in touch with any updates from home. I'm always happy to hear from you.
Enjoy early Spring!
~B
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