Taiko Drumming, Science, Writing, Snow Clothes, Kindness, Solstice Celebration...

I hope you all have had a great past couple of weeks, everyone! There's a lot here, folks, so please bear with me.

First off, have you seen a more psyched group of castle builders? These friends worked during the better part of their free time over the past few days to build this latest creation. We've been talking a lot about kindness and what it looks/sounds/feels like. The kids had an interesting take on the difference between kindness. They said:

"Being nice is when someone needs help and they ask for it and you help them. Kindness is when you notice someone needs help and you help them without them asking."

It was profound in its simplicity and its directness. They have been watching videos regarding the topic of kindness and the idea of sending out kindness boomerangs: When you put out kindness, it helps other people be kind too. Sometimes the kindness comes back to you quickly, other times when you least expect it or most need it. There's no telling. What is true, however, is that being kind makes the world a better place. That fact never changes. We will be doing a kindness mailbox system this week and we will be making sure all children get a piece of mail. We'll be doing some name-drawing in our class to ensure that it happens.

In science, we have been continuing our exploration of the senses and have wrapped them all up except for touch, which we will be looking at this week. The kids especially liked our exploration of taste, as I used some sweet water, salty water, plain water and apple cider vinegar. The kids blind taste tested them all and had to determine if they were sweet, salty, plain or sour. We didn't do bitter on this trial. Some are more straight forward than others. I challenge you all to try it out yourself. We will be moving into our study of states of matter (solid, liquid, gas)  next. We had another great visit by our 4 Winds friends and did a great lesson on predators and prey. We've been referencing the lesson as we've been talking about our senses (how did predators and prey use their senses to help them?). It has been a great connection to keep drawing from.

In writing we have finished our "Show What You Know" writing pieces. The kids were asked to write a shorter version of their personal narrative stories without the help of a teacher. They were able to use all of the same graphic organizers as well as their work books to help them. We will be using the writing rubrics from my writing page on the blog to score them. I'll send home a copy when we are all finished. Should you be interested in finding out more about your child's work, please let me know when they come home. I'll say it again, but it is important to remember that these writing pieces are a one-day snapshot of their learning. It is important to recognize it as such. On a more regular basis, their daily literacy writing is a much more accurate guide to how their writing is progressing independently, and one I reference much more regularly when thinking about their progress.

Jen Campbell, our amazing Art teacher (among many other jobs!) here at school has once again scheduled an amazing Artist in Residence. We are lucky to have Stuart Paton, founder of the Burlington Taiko drummers, here to teach us about the culture of Taiko drumming as well as some sweet drumming moves. The culminating performance will be Friday, December 22nd, at 2:00 in the gym. Check out more information at: http://www.burlingtontaiko.org/index.php

Working from that, we will be having our solstice celebration that Friday before our performance. We will be celebrating from 1:00-2:00. We do a candle lighting ceremony where the kids make some wishes for the coming year. We'll have some small snacks afterwards as well as some time to get some excitement out before we go to the gym for our performance. Therefore, we will not be sugar loading beforehand, so please refrain from sending in sugar snacks should you be asked/volunteer to bring something in.

PLEASE TAKE NOTE: We will be starting our  new winter clothes guidelines starting on Monday. There was a note in the school newsletter but I want to make sure you all see it here. The kids need to have a dry pair of indoor shoes, boots, snow pants, jackets, gloves/mittens and hats every day. We are trying to make sure kids are prepared to be in the weather every day. This time of year can be tricky to dress for and we want to make sure the kids all have what they need. If there is any article that a student forgets, we will have a small collection of clothes in the room to borrow from. That said, there aren't enough pieces of clothing for everyone.

Phew... I think that's it. If I missed anything, I apologize. This time of the year is busy, busy.

I hope you all enjoyed the snow over the weekend. I am looking forward to lots more!

Best,

Ben

Post Thanksgiving Update

Hello Friendly Families!

We've been busy in class over the past couple of weeks. We've finished up our Small Moment stories (coming home soon), we've kicked off our study of the senses and continued our hard work on our day to day tasks. I really appreciated the time I got to meet with all of you about your child's progress thus far this year. I really value the relationships we are beginning to/continuing to form. I am always here as a listening ear, someone who you can brain-pick or anything else you may need or be wondering about. Don't hesitate to get in touch.

A special thanks to our School Garden group, who allowed us to enjoy the garlic and squash grown in our amazing small collection of raised beds. This has been the year with the most adventurous "I'll try a bite" all the way to "Can I have thirds?" I think I can speak for us all when I say Thank You!

 We have finished our Small Moment stories and will be taking those home soon. We will soon be doing a "show what you know" writing prompt to see how they do with an unassisted one draft shot at the same kind of prompt. The purpose of this is to see what skills the kids have picked up and which they need more practice with.

In literacy we have continued our hard work on our sight words, reading and independent writing. The kids are doing such a great job on all of this. At home, check in with your kiddos to see how these different areas are going.


In science, we will be exploring taste, smell and touch later this week. The kids did a great job working in their science journals when thinking about sight and sound. As scientists, these senses (and a wondering mind!) are the building blocks we need to always have engaged when engaged in an investigation (no, I am not going to get into observer's effect for those of you who may be wondering...).


We continue to work hard on maintaining a kind, caring, and helpful culture in our room.
With the addition of a new friend in our class this week, I always get to see our hard work in these areas put to the test. Tammy and I have been so pleased with how inviting and friendly our group has been. This group has been exceptional in this area all year long. Along this theme, I was happy to hear that some of you got to see the movie "Wonder". In the primary unit, we will be using literature to really stress kindness in our everyday interactions with friends, families, and new faces.

Other Notes

• Please remember to support the Food Drive our school is doing and feel free to send in non-perishable goods to school with your child to add to our collection. 
• We will not be doing a Secret Snowflake or something like it. We do a candle lighting ceremony in class on the last day before break (the 22nd). I'll be asking someone to put together some refreshments for after our candle lighting.

I think that's about it. Please be in touch with questions, concerns or celebrations!

Best,

Ben and Tammy

First Week of November and the Post Halloween Doldrums...

Hey Folks,

We have been hard at work in our class over the past couple of weeks! I hope you have been getting lots of great updates. The kids did a great job on their Halloween recovery, I am sure I have you all to thank as well. Can you believe that we are only a couple of weeks out from Thanksgiving????

We will be starting science next week, exploring all of our senses. We will start with exploring sight and moving into sound. If we have time we'll move into some of the others. We'll be using our beautiful science journals to explore theses ideas.

Next Friday is parent conference day. I've set up times outside of this day for you all to do as well. Check out the link below to see what is available.

http://grades.wcsuonline.org/rumney/conference/

In literacy I've been working with small groups on reading and it has been amazing to see their growth. They are becoming more and more confident with their skills as we go along. We are practicing skills like looking at common sounds in words, looking for word families in words and using context to help word solve unfamiliar words. check out the reading section of my blog to look more into what we do.

We've done a great job on our small moment writing pieces. I can't wait for you all to see them at your conferences. They have been working so hard on them and have done a great job. We will be doing a writing assessment in the next couple of weeks. For the assessment, the kids are given the same tools we used to write our story and we see what they can produce without the guidance of a teacher.

In first grade math we are working on number patterns as well as making 10 as many ways as we can by rolling 1 dice. The kids make the combinations to make ten in as many ways as they can. We are working so hard on learning out sight facts to 10 (all the ways to make 5,6,7,8,9 and 10) and are making great progress.

I'll be adding pictures to the blog later but the batteries on my ipad in the room are dead at the moment. Ahhh, technology...

I hope you are all well and have a wonderful weekend!

Best,

Ben and Tammy

Literacy Reflections, Parent Conferences, All School Meeting, Book Orders, Science, is that it???????

Happy Weekend, Folks!

We have a lot to talk about...

This week we had a great discussion about our house creation and we came to some great new expectations about our cardboard house. It came about by some students experimenting around the space available in the house and the ability to squeeze in as many bodies as they could. As you can imagine, this led to the need for some creative problems solving, which is a skill this group has shown a great ability to do.

Talking About The House At Morning Meeting

Their solution was that on your sharing day you could use your morning playtime to either play in or build onto the house. At any other break time during the day, anyone could work on building/repairing the house. Everyone seemed happy with the outcome and I was so pleased with the thoughtful solution they came up with and I am looking forward to seeing them put it into practice. If only kids were in charge of the world...

A Literacy Reflection From This Week

In literacy this week the kids had a new task. I asked them to make some goals around the words they were learning as well as some independent writing skills that they were going to focus on in their own writing. The kids got to reflect on their progress over the week and give themselves a score. I will be looking at these over the weekend and then sending them home on Monday with a note to them. Please take a look at it and use it as a discussion tool when talking to them about their work.

We have also continued our hard work on our Small Moment stories. The kids are doing a wonderful job thinking about their stories and adding details to help stretch them out. We've talked about transition words (after, next, then, etc.) as well as adding more juicy words to help add to their amazing work. We should be wrapping them up this week in time for us to use them as talking pieces at our parent conferences.

We had a lovely All School Meeting and the kids in the 1/2 did some great singing! We sang the songs "Raking the Leaves", "Crimson and Red" (in a 3 part round!), and "Keep on the Sunny Side". It was especially great to see all of the older students sing along with the songs that they remembered singing when they were in our classes.

Parent Conferences are coming up and there is a sign-up link to share with you:

 http://grades.wcsuonline.org/rumney/conference

Sign up for a time and if you don't see one that works, let me know. I am always happy to accommodate your busy lives.

We will be starting Science in the next couple of weeks, mostly on Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays. Monday and Tuesday afternoons are full of specials. Our opening unit will be on matter and states of matter, which will be full of a lot of fun and learning. Christine and I are hard at work building our unit of study and mapping out our timeline.

Reminders:

Food Drive - Feel Free to send in any non-perishable items for the Middlesex Food Shelf. It is a great resource for the community and any little bit helps our neighbors in need.

Book Orders - Please check out the book orders that are coming home. Feel free to put in an order and return them to school. They will be due on Friday, November 17th.

Link to School Newsletter - https://www.wcsu32.org/domain/175

Harvest Dinner - Consider coming or making a donation to this great school fundraiser on November 4th! See the school newsletter for more details.

We hope you all are having a great weekend, enjoying all of the sunshine!

~Ben and Tammy

Open House and Other Happenings

Hey Everyone,

I hope everyone got to catch up on some rest over the long weekend before we begin our next long stretch before Thanksgiving break. I got to press some apples and share some with the kiddos, always a treat!

Open House is always such a great evening and it was great to see you all. The kids are always great tour guides. If you have any questions/comments about what you saw and want to talk more, let me know. Also, if you couldn't make it but would like the opportunity to come in and check things out, let me know. We can always set up a visit during the day or before school.

A drawing from one page of a storyboard

A "Small Moment" planning sheet

In Writer's Workshop we are working on our Small Moment narratives (stories). We are starting with non-fiction and then moving to fictional narratives next. The kids are focusing on a small moment that they have had related to our Big 4 and thinking about the moral (lesson) they learned. My choice to do non-fiction first is because it is a type of writing that they are more familiar with and one that they are personally connected to. The structure of this kind of writing is different than fictional stories. To meet this challenge, we had kids draw a story that was at least 5 pages long. This is an effective way to help them stretch out the details in their their stories. They will be adding more words next week and we will be looking at the different parts of their writing that we will be looking for. For a look at the writing rubrics we use to score their writing pieces, take a look at the writing section of the blog page.

In literacy I got to start all of my reading groups. In our groups we do word study, reading books, learning about reading strategies, and practice our sight words. Each group meets for 20 minutes and I go through about 4 groups per day, meaning an 80 minute literacy time. The kids are really doing a great job building their stamina. We have also begun to have kids plan their literacy time over the past 2 weeks. Each day they plan what they will be doing in each of the 4 blocks of time during literacy. Next week we will be starting to goal set around writing skills to practice as well as the number of words they want to try and learn each week and then reflecting on their effort and progress at the end of the week. They will be attaching a piece of their writing from the week to show evidence of their progress toward meeting their goal. I'll look at these over the weekend and then return them to bring home on Monday.

A literacy plan from this week

We will be starting word study (spelling) groups in the next couple of weeks. The kids took a spelling assessment early in the year and we grouped the kids between my and Christine's (Ms. Babcock) class according to which spelling rules they are familiar with (long/short vowels, beginning/ending sounds, magic-e words, etc.). It is our hope that we will be able to split the kids up into 5 different groups, but this is depending on which adults are available during our Word Study time.

We'll begin our science work in earnest at the end of the month. In the meantime, we'll be doing some class investigations and doing some modeling of the scientific process in class. I'd like to give a shout-out to our 4-Wind volunteers who will be coming into our class to do some additional science work as well. It is a great program that the kids really enjoy and learn a lot from.

Last, here is a new math link for interested parties:

https://media.pearsoncmg.com/curriculum/math/Investigations3/gamecenter/english/index.html#/Grade:1/

I will add this link to my math page on the blog. I haven't fully explored the page (yet) but what I saw looked like there may be some good stuff.

We hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Ben and Tammy


Other News:

BOOK ORDERS - Please send in any you might want on Monday. We didn't get any this first round. Be on the look-out for the next ones in the coming weeks if you didn't get in on this order.

This November 4th Rumney Memorial School will be hosting the 11^th annual Harvest Dinner to  raise money for two worthy causes—the local foods program at Rumney and the Middlesex Food Shelf.

In the next month leading up to the Harvest Dinner our school community will work together to collect items for the Middlesex Food Shelf. We will have donation boxes in each classroom, staff room, and in our school lobby. We have a goal of collecting 1,000 items, non-perishables and toiletries, before November 4^th.

Please consider bringing in items that you’d stock in your own pantry.  All donations are accepted and appreciated!

If you have any questions or would like to help plan this year’s Harvest Dinner please contact Honi Bean Barrett at hbarrett@u32.org

Hike Week

Hello Everyone!

We had a great week! Between the summer weather and the hike, I feel like we nailed it! I had a great time spending the morning outside with our group. I am looking forward to thinking of ways to improve our experience so any feedback I can pass along would be great, either from what was reported to you or what you experienced if you joined us. We want to make sure our kiddos have the most rich and enjoyable 1st and 2nd grade experience possible.

Thanks to the thinking of Mrs. Joslyn, we added a picture to our class, you can see it here:

We have talked a lot about the picture on our door and what they think it means. "Why are they doing that?" is the common question. When we talked about our picture and I asked them to explain why a circle is so powerful, the came up with quotes such as:

"It's like a nest, it keeps us safe"
"It's like the Earth"
"You can see what is different and the same about us"

It was an inspiring class meeting. We're working on printing out another copy and putting it next to the one on our door, maybe as a bulletin board and writing prompt. The possibilities are limitless.

An amazing cardboard creation

I've wrapped up reading assessments and will be starting on Monday. Like I said last week, depending on where your child is on their reading development will determine the frequency on how often we meet to discuss reading. In reading groups we will be also be practicing sight words, word families, similes/metaphors, etc. Spelling assessments are also done. I will score those over the next week and the kids will be starting word study groups in the coming weeks.

I saw that my first grade math blog page wasn't being posted and fixed that problem. For those 1st grade parents who want to check out what math looks like in our room, check it out. It also has additional resources to access.

The marble track to end all marble tracks (so far!)

We continued to talk about our class small moment story which focused on our Big 4. We made it about making safe choices and the kids will be digging their teeth into it next week by brainstorming and doing some work around organizing their thoughts and story.

As for a couple of updates, make sure you are checking heads in your house. We've had a couple of cases in the 1/2. We are doing daily checks here in school. We also had our first Clear the Halls drill. This can be a scary event for some kids so please do a check-in with your little one and let me know if there is anything that was concerning that came up. We are sending home book orders today. You don't need to participate, but it is a great way to get some books and  to get your kids excited about reading. There is nothing like looking forward to a book... Please make sure your orders come back to school by Friday, October 13th.

Last, this is a reminder that we do not have school next Friday or the following Monday due to teacher inservice and Columbus Day.

If you have questions, concerns or celebrations, be in touch! I hope you all get a chance to go and get some cider or explore the outdoors on the beautiful autumn weekend!

Best,

Ben and Tammy

Parent Night and Hike Update

Hello Wonderful Families!

We have had another stellar week in our room. The kids are getting settled into their routines and are doing a great job. We are slowly building work stamina and are adding more options to their literacy time.

It was wonderful seeing those of you who could make it to our curriculum information night on Wednesday. For those of you who couldn't, we have sent home the same information we handed out as well as provided you a sheet for an opportunity to write questions and give feedback. If you have questions about any of this paperwork, please get in touch with Ms. Toth.

I know there has been some changes to the All School Hike that your children may have passed along to you. Some kids are concerned about the changes and we are committed to providing our 1/2 students with a great, fun-filled day. After we return from the Nature trail at Elmore State Park we'll be having a room for artwork (painting, pastels, maybe some clay), we'll be using the gym for some games, we'll have some quiet time, wrapped up by some outdoor play time. We think these options will scratch their itch for fun.

Literacy time is ramping up. You may have heard about their new sight word books, which we handed out today. These book are word lists tailored to the sight word count I've been collecting this week. There is a link in the reading section of the blog for you to print out these word lists, should you want to practice at home. If you don't have a printer but would like a list or a booklet from school, let me know. I'd be happy to print them out and send them home for you.

I'll be getting done all of our reading assessments done next week, which means guided reading

groups will be starting the week after. Kids will be grouped by their reading skills (word solving, comprehension, fluency {smoothness}, etc.). This way we ensure that the kids are getting exactly what they need. In reading groups we will be doing some sight word practice, reading books, and focusing in on word families and similar skills. Ask your kids about the books they are reading next week.

We have also started working on our handwriting during Writer's Workshop time. Kids are working at their own pace and doing constant check-ins with teachers as they go. Kids got books based on observations on their free writing and how they are using the lines on the page as well as their fine motor control. I've also given some pencil grips out for some kids to explore, it's important to have an efficient grip to ensure that kids are not over-working their hands while writing.

We had a visitor on the playground this week that got quite a bit of attention. It was pretty scary looking and we made sure to give it plenty of room. Problem being, I couldn't control where it

landed. So as I was standing guard to ensure the safety of our insect friend, it decided to visit my leg. It turns out it was a Pigeon Tremex. Check out the link for more information:

https://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.asp?identification=Pigeon-Tremex

Last, I wanted to say how much I have appreciated all of your kind words and support thus far this year. I feel really good about the partnerships we are forming and I look forward to seeing them continue to grow.


Please get in touch with any questions, concerns or celebrations.

Enjoy the sunshine this weekend!

Ben and Tammy

The Brook, Literacy and Parent Night

Hey Folks,

It's been a beautiful, sunny week filled with laughter and learning in our room. There's a lot of information here, so please take note!

Nuts and Bolts:

• If you haven't and want to, please send in a spare set of clothes in a labeled bag. We'll keep them in a private place in the room
• The U-32 Cross Country Invitational is this weekend and there are kids races starting at 8:00am.
• Parent Information Night is this Wednesday, September 20th, at 5:30pm to 7:00pm. Christine and I will be doing presentations about our 1/2 program. We'll be free to touch base from 6:30-7:00. Again, please, no conferences! If you;d like to schedule a more formal conference, just let me know. I'm happy to meet any time.
• We'd like to start doing book orders in class. If you are interested in doing the organizing and ordering, let me know. The sad fact is that I don't have time to do it, so without help it is unlikely to happen.

We have been working really hard on our Big 4 and filling in the details on what we see them as

meaning. We have hung the poster in the room and the kids have begun to add their "signatures" around it as our social contract. We reference it daily and we have done some great learning around our expectations for one another and for our friends throughout the building. As a part of this, we are going to do a special project and we need your help. Next week we'll be doing an activity and we're asking the kids to have a set of darker clothes to wear for it. Please try to send them in on Monday.

We've continued our hard work in literacy. We're up to 30 minutes of continuous work time and will be moving up to 45 by the end of next week. We're working on writing and reading to ourselves.

We'll be introducing word work next week, where kids get to work on their sight words. To get a look at literacy in our class, check out the side bar on the blog page.

We traveled down to the brook, using our senses to observe our surroundings. We did a little writing along with our watercolors. Look at the example of the science journal cover as well as some of the

beautiful writing they are working on. We've continued enjoying our butterflies in the room as well. We avoided a close call with one of our caterpillars and had a great chat about the nature of all things living...

It is going to be lovely this weekend, enjoy the outdoors! Be in touch with questions, concerns and celebrations.

Best,

Ben and Tammy

Butterflies and The Big 4

Hey Everyone,

It was such an exciting week. We were lucky enough to see a monarch hatch and as you can see in the pictures, it was quite the event. Lots of excitement! We also go to release a couple of the butterflies that hatched, as well. As we looked for new milkweed for our last couple of caterpillars, we found another, which we donated to the kindergarten. Thank you to Katy, Brian, Anna and Ben for giving us the opportunity to share this amazing experience!

We did some great reading, too. We read a book called To Be A Kid, a book full of pictures and parts of being a kid. The kids wrote about What it means to be a kid to them in their new writing journals for their first writing assignment of the year. We have emphasized doing your best writing and including as many sounds as you can when writing words you don't know how to spell rather than an emphasis on correct spelling. They did a great job! I don't know about you all, but I know that sleepovers after school on a Friday always felt special... The bus note, the planning, English muffin pizzas and the falling asleep way before I wanted to.

We did some great work around "The Big 4", the expectations we are learning about and building with the students in our school. You can see the start of ours in the picture. We have been talking about each one of the rules and adding to them as we go. Ask your child about it.

As part of our butterfly releasing, we got to start our science journals as well. The kids were given a question, "Do you think the butterfly will fly away (instead of being place on a flower)?" They made a prediction and then did some observations. Considering that it is only day 9 and they were doing something totally new, we were so pleased with their effort.

The kids have been getting better and better at their morning routines. Please make sure your child is clear about their breakfast, snack and lunch plans as to avoid tears and confusion for us and the kitchen. By and large the kids have been doing a great job at this, so thanks. Along these lines, also try to be clear about after school plans with your kiddo(s). There is a big effort in our school right now, trying to tighten up this process. We appreciate all of your help and flexibility.


I have sent you all a sharing schedule as well. I've included a reminder in the email about sharing guidelines but please help your children remember the sharing rules:

1. It can be from nature
2. It can be something they made
3. It can be a story, with or without pictures/artifacts (no toys, please)

As a reminder, we will be offering a parent forum here at Rumney on September 20th from 5:30-7:00. Christine and I will be talking about our 1/2 programs for the first two blocks (there will be 3 total, 30 minutes each) and we will be free for the third block (6:30-7:00) for some light checking-in. No impromptu conferences, please! If you'd ever like to set up a time to chat in more detail, I am more than happy to meet before school most any day. Just let me know when.

As always, let us know if you have questions, comments or concerns.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Ben and Tammy

Week 1 Reflections

Friday, September 1, 2017

Dear First and Second Grade Families,

We have had a magical first week of school together! It has been so fabulous to start to get to know each other. We played many games to get to know names, sang some songs, shared about ourselves, learned classroom routines and to had fun! At the beginning of the week we enjoyed the beautiful weather and spent time outside exploring what our campus has to do!

This week we also spent a lot of time practicing routines in our classrooms. This involved learning expectations as well as how to function as a group. To do so, our school is focusing on four main expectations or rules:

1. Respect yourself and others
2. Work Hard
3. Help each other
4. Make safe choices

We have had some great conversations this week about the “Big 4” and will continue to do so throughout the year. These are school wide expectations so they are present in allied art areas, recess, lunch as well as all classrooms. Our students have already shown great knowledge of these and have been using them already! Ask your child about the Big 4!

We have talked about our weather chart as well as spent some time painting, making our covers for our science journals. We will be putting those to work more and more as we go through the year. Next week I hope to make some time to go to the brook and into the woods to do some observing.

We have also read some great books during read aloud this week. We have read The First Day Jitters,  Elmer,  Down the Road and Wolf Watch. All of these books are along the theme of getting to know each other and recognize that we are all different and special for our own reasons. We also are asking children to think about how their classroom dynamic may be like the book we read (we are like a pack, making mistakes is okay, etc.) They have started some great conversations about our classroom culture and how we want each other to feel as a part of a community.

Next week we are looking forward to getting into some more literacy jobs, math rotations and exploration of our senses outside. I will also be sending home a sharing schedule to be started the following week (September 11th). When it is your child’s share day, they can share a story (may include photos), a homemade item, or something from nature.

I will be sending this to all of your emails but check out the blog for pictures. They are great! Last, as best you can, please try to help your kiddos get lots of sleep. I know the transition back to school is intense and more sleep for them (and we adults!) is really helpful.

Please reach out with any celebrations, questions or concerns. Have a great three day weekend!

Sincerely,

Ben and Tammy

bweiss@u32.org

223-5429 (s)

223-3677 (h)

Post Production Week

Hey Folks,

It was wonderful to see you all at the play last week and at my house for collecting clay. I'll try to schedule another date for folks who didn't get a chance to get to the house to collect some more clay.

Wedge Party!

Also, if you could send in labeled tools such as hand saws, brace and bit drills, egg beater drills, etc. it would be a huge help as we embark on our wood working training next week. Also, if you have scrap 2x4s laying around, feel free to send them in. We'll need them!

We'll be starting our non fiction writing this week. Along with it, the kids will begin to work on working with their mediums (wood and clay) to display with their writing. We picked out our topics for our projects and let me tell you, this will be one of the greatest celebrations of learning yet! I am so excited to see their hard work pay off! The kids will be working on their projects during free times, Literacy and Writer's Workshop. I always find that this is the best and productive way to spend time at the end of the year to ensure we are the most productive we can be.

Two Friends Reading Together

Important Upcoming Dates:

May 26th: (Blue permission slip): First Graders go to U-32 for Book Buddies from (9:15-11:15)

May 30th: (Yellow permission slip): All first and second graders to The Montshire Museum (full day)
Chaperones for the Montshire Field Trip (The first three returned):

Emily Leader
Brigitte Beaudoin
Mary Trepanier

June 20th: Last day of school (1/2 day of school, 12:30)

Let me know if you have any questions or thoughts as we move toward the end of the year!

Best,

Ben

Tomorrow Reminder

Hey Folks,

A friendly reminder that you are all invited to my house from 10:00am to 12:00 tomorrow, Friday to collect clay out of the brook behind my house. We'll probably do some playing on the lawn before heading down in case you get there a bit later. The forecast is not totally friendly, so dress appropriately.

If you get to the house and we are nowhere to be found, walk out the the barn out back and hang a right, heading to the back corner of the field. Look for the orange tractor and listen for kids playing in the water. Because the water may be a bit high, the tractor may be elsewhere where we can find the clay easier. Just look for the tractor at the edge of the field and we'll be close(ish) by.

If you can, bring digging materials and buckets to store clay. I have some stuff but not enough for everyone.

Directions:

Route 12 North from Montpelier
Welcome to Worcester sign on your right in the field after you travel by the ledges
Black mailbox on the left as you crest the next rise in the road, #187
Driveway is 100 yards long, full of potholes (sorry) and lined with white pines. You can't mistake it for another.

Route 12 South from Minister Brook Road
Take a right out of Minister Brook Road
Drive past LBJ's on your left
Go past red barn on your right with a collapsed barn shortly after. Slow down
After about 300 yards, look for a black mailbox on your right, #187
Driveway is 100 yards long, full of potholes (sorry) and lined with white pines. You can't mistake it for another.

My Address:
187 Worcester Village Road
Worcester, Vermont
05682

Other Important Dates:

May 26th: (Blue permission slip): First Graders go to U-32 for Book Buddies from (9:15-11:15)

May 30th: (Yellow permission slip): All first and second graders to The Montshire Museum (full day)

June 20th: Last day of school (1/2 day of school, 12:30)

I'll see some of you tomorrow!

Best,

Ben

Updates and Dates Galore!

Hey Folks,

We've been hard at work at school and as we make our transition back from April break, we are becoming more and more aware of the approach of the end of the year. I can't believe it is so close!

Update:

Due to an unforeseen change at school, our plays will be Friday, May 12th, not the 5th as I had written in the prior blog post.

Again, you are welcome to swing by my house on Saturday, May 6th from 10:00 to about 12:00 to harvest clay out of the brook behind my house for some class projects. I suggest going to the Post Office Cafe in Worcester Village beforehand. There is a lovely gal named Rhianna working the counter who will undoubtedly take good care of your caffeine, sweet and savory needs.

Other Important Upcoming Dates:

May 26th: (Blue permission slip): First Graders go to U-32 for Book Buddies from (9:15-11:15)

May 30th: (Yellow permission slip): All first and second graders to The Montshire Museum (full day)

June 20th: Last day of school (1/2 day of school, 12:30)

We will begin our work on non-fiction writing this week. The kids will work on a lot of different kinds of non-fiction writing based on the projects that they will be starting as well. This will be a great way to incorporate their learning for the year.

We are wrapping up out latest read-aloud book, Runt, and it has been a great read. The kids have enjoyed learning more about the dynamics of being a wolf (and other wild animals) in nature and how we share many of the same traits (we take care of our families, we work together, etc.).

If you have any questions, please get in touch! I always appreciate touching base.

I hope you all had a lovely weekend.

Best,

~B

Final Week Before Break

Hello Wonderful Families,

I am looking forward to finishing up conference next week and have deeply enjoyed and appreciated the conferences I have had thus far.

A few nuts and bolts details:

• Our class plays will be performed on May 5th at 10:30 (usually mostly kids from other classes) and at 2:00 (usually more family and special friends). We usually do a cast party after the afternoon plays. Feel free to let me know if you can send in some refreshments. Costumes should be simple, if at all. PLEASE, do not put yourself out for these costumes. The plays are about 2 minutes each.
• On the Morning of May 6th I invite you all to come to my house for a stroll-about to dig some clay out of the riverbed behind my house for our end of year projects. I'm thinking of about a 10:00-12:00 timeline. Please let me know if you have any thoughts.
• I sent home placement forms to second grade families. Please be sure to let me know if you didn't get one. If you could get them back to school by the end of next week, that would be great.

These friends found a sunny place to do their literacy work

During literacy we have been really gearing up for the home stretch. Kids are regularly wanting to check in about their sight words, I am meeting with lots of kids about their reading and they are producing some fantastic independent writing pieces. Robbers, puppies, and Monster Shark Evolution are some of the many topics being explored.

In Writer's Workshop we have almost wrapped up or Convince Me writing pieces and will do a show what you know before break. We will then do some information writing as we move toward the end of the year. 

In math we are talking about fractions as well as brushing up on our math facts and math addition strategies. We are using a number of different materials (blocks and pattern blocks, for instance) to demonstrate that the number one is relative to what you are talking about. We call this idea one-ness. For instance, one cookie is different from one cake. However, they both can represent one and can be broken into halves. Those halves are different sizes. It's a complicated, but important concept for these kiddos to wrestle with and they are doing a great job.

As always, be in touch about anything that's on your mind. I'm always here to make this the best place for you all and your kiddos.

Happy last weekend of sugaring?

~B

Last Week, Crazy Week!

Hey Everyone,

We have had a great week last week, despite the weather interruption. I really appreciated how we were given the opportunity to plan ahead for the days by getting phone calls ahead of time as well as the responsiveness to the evolving weather to keep all of us safe.

We were going to start new book groups this week but because of me not being in on Monday and the two days off, I decided to just wait until next week. The kids are all working so hard on their reading strategies as well as the volume of reading they are doing.

We are going to be continuing our work on some persuasive writing as well. The kids have almost all finished choosing their topics and are practicing using the graphic organizer that we will use in our final writing prompt next week.

We will be starting our end of year projects after April break. We will be doing work around woodworking and working with clay as mediums. We will be keeping a work log and planing journal to keep track of our work. The kids will also be tying their work to a specific topic (animals, events, etc.). These personal learning projects are always a great way to end the year.

In any case, make sure to sign up for conferences and be in touch if you'd like to discuss anything else beforehand, any time. 

Have a great week,

Ben

Long Time, No See!

Hey All,

It has been a long time! Sorry about that. As you might imagine, the past few weeks of school have been busy for me. It's no excuse, but it is the reason some things have had to slide. I endeavor to get back on track in the coming weeks.

We have been getting better and better at making our literacy choices in the morning and following through with their plans. They are producing more and more in regards to volume and detail. A couple of students wrote an amazing story and presented it to the class this week. They did the great work of trying to make sure everyone who wanted to, be involved. I and some of the other kids were a group of villains and ,yes, we got what we deserved. Chris and I talked about how this was a genuine, organic, team-building experience. It wasn't something we organized or manufactured, it came from caring, fun-loving and thoughtful friends. It put life into our hearts that we really needed, and appreciated. This is the beauty of my job: The gifts we exchange, every day, that we don't even know we give.

We have started to work on our persuasive writing which will, as always, culminate in some sort of writing prompt to gauge how well they absorbed the information, purpose and format of this kind of writing piece. We played a game called "Convince Me" and have had a lot of fun challenging the kids to convince me of a number of topics (best pet, best sandwich, etc.) On top of that, kids continue to do a great job working on their writing during literacy time.

I have continued my work with kiddos on their reading in class. This is typically a time when kids make huge gains in their reading. As always read, read, read at home. If you ever want any guidance on things that would be helpful to work on, don't hesitate to reach out and ask. You can also practice sight words. All of the links needed for a start are on the class webpage.

You can sign up for conferences on the link below. As always, if none of the times work for your family, let me know. We can always figure something else out.

Here is the parent link:

 http://grades.wcsuonline.org/rumney/conference.

Last, a few of you have reached out to me to talk about the recent events here at school, which I have appreciated. By sitting and talking/answering questions, I feel more comfortable knowing that we are all communicating openly, honestly and building toward a place of common understanding. If you'd like to sit down and get whatever clarity I am able to provide, let me know. I'll be happy to pencil you in!

Have a great weekend and don't forget to spring forward!

Best, 

Ben

Post Holiday Update!

Hey Everyone,

I hope you all had a restful and healthy break. Even though the plague moved through our house, it was fast moving and largely predictable, which we all appreciated! The kids have all had a great week, despite the fact that it was a full one after vacation. There are some pretty wiped out kiddos but we have really made an effort to make sure we keep our expectations reasonable and our patience high. Our rules for the day (and every day) are to be kind, work hard and have fun. They are doing a wonderful job on these!

We have begun a class myth, which is shaping up really well. The kids are really engaged in the story that they are writing. We will then be writing some either as partners or individually. The kids are going to get the choice on how they will be crafting their stories. We will be putting them all together to make our own class book of myths, including the one that we all wrote together. Here is a preview:

Slowly, the ice and snow started to pile up and take form. It was no longer a pile! It was now a Snow Goddess! Her hair was flowing with ice and snow and she had a long flowing dress, made of snow. Her skin was icy cold.

"Who are you and what are you?" asked the Cloud God. 

We have begun our mid year reading assessments. The kids have all done a great job so far. I finished about half of the class this past Wednesday and will finish the rest next week. Be sure to be in touch if you'd like to ask any questions about them or if you need any clarifying information. I'll include their progress in their report cards, which will be sent home late January/early February. The reading assessments we do are one data point, but one that is largely standardized throughout our district. The data we get from this assessment are some of the most important we get, and I am always excited to see confirming information about my students' progress as well as new questions to be explored. We will also be doing our mid-year spelling assessments next week. The information we get back from these will also be included in your child's report card.

We have renewed our work on Rumney CARES as well as our tiered behavioral intervention system as well. We'll be getting new posters in our room that show the steps we go through to help students practice their best behavior and will be practicing them as the weeks go along.

We will be starting Winter Wellness next Friday afternoon. Please make sure that your child comes in with all of the necessary gear to participate. If you have questions about what this things are, be in touch with Lauren Caswell, our amazing PE teacher and organizer of this great opportunity for our kids, at lcaswell@u32.org or by calling the school to talk to her directly.

I think that's about it for now. Let me know if you have any further celebrations, question or concerns.

Think snow!

~B