Friday, November 30, 2018

Fictional Writing, Artist in Residence and Parent Conferences

Hello, friends!

It was wonderful to touch base for conferences. It is always such a great pleasure to discuss your children and their progress in the many skills they are developing. If you still need to schedule a conference, let me know. I can schedule times after school and before school most days.

We have been starting our work on story writing. The kids are developing characters for their stories and they are really something. They are working on three main characters to build their story off of. The idea is that the details about their characters will lead them to the main idea of their stories. An example is a character that one student developed that is a dragon that has a hole in its wing. This detail alone is intriguing and one that may lend itself to developing the plot and backstory that led to it. Ask your child about the characters they are thinking of!

In literacy I have continued to work with kid on their reading in small groups and individually. We have talked a lot about thinking about the story as they are reading and asking themselves if they understand what is happening. If they don't, that is the cue to go back and read what happened again. I am also encouraging the kids to try different genres as well (fiction vs. non fiction, for example). They are all working so hard and making lots of great progress.

We are so lucky to have Marv Klassen-Landis as this years Artist and Residence at our school. He will be working on story-telling with our kiddos and the kids will be having him for 5 sessions during the two weeks before the holiday break. If there is a time when the kids will be presenting their work, I'll be sure to send it your way. 

Speaking of getting close to the holiday break, we will be doing our annual Solstice party on the afternoon of the 21st. We will be doing our celebration from 12:30-1:45. More details will be coming in the coming days. We will be centering our work for the solstice around kindness and giving.

Last, here a link to a great site for some online reading resources. They have a huge online library of books that kids really enjoy. They are having a great sale right now that might be a great gift for the holidays!

https://www.getepic.com/

As always, be in touch with any questions, concerns or celebrations.

 Best,

Ben


Monday, October 29, 2018

Conferences, etc.

Hey Friends,

We have had a great couple of weeks of school. We had our hike day, been enjoying the last of our school garden for the year, and working really hard in class.

First, conferences. I have set up dates and times for parent conferences. Please follow the link to sign up for a time that works for you. If you can't find one, please let me know. We can always find a time and place to make it work. I look forward to seeing you all!

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

It's ambitious and we'll see how it goes, but I would really like to try to get your child to run their conference. The goal will be for them to be presenting their work and talking about their year thus far. This is a first try and I'm sure we'll adjust and modify as needed for our Spring conferences. I am trying to help support and encourage their investment in their work.

The kids did a great job presenting at All School Meeting. The kids split into 4 groups and presented about our favorite board game, literacy choices, read-aloud books and a super brave reader read her own "small moment" writing piece. It was all a great showcase of the amazing work these kids are doing in our room.

The Rumney garden is closing up so keep your ears open for any dates that we may need to help shut the garden down for the season (mulch spreading, garlic planting, final weeding, etc.). Thanks to all of you who make it possible for kids to access this amazing school resource.

We are continuing our Small Moment writing and are now in the phase of adding detail and descriptive language. Some kids are also playing with using dialogue as well. I have really loved getting to know these second graders as developing writers!

In Read-Aloud we have started a book about Jackie Robinson and the value of courage. It is really something to hear from kids about times when they have needed to have courage. Courage can mean a lot of different things to a 7 or 8 year old!

In literacy I have continued to meet with reading groups, conference with kids about their independent writing and to work with kids on their sight word reading and spelling. They are all working so hard on their independent work habits and making plans for themselves.

That's it for now. Let me know if you have any questions, concerns or celebrations.

Best,

~B

Thursday, October 4, 2018

Literacy, Open House, the Rumney Garden, Infinite Campus and 4-Winds!

Hello Friends,

I hope you all have been finding creative ways to enjoy our wet weather! I have a feeling that we are in for some amazing colors this weekend. I hope you all get a chance to get out and enjoy them!

We have been working really hard on developing and working on our reading workshop menus. The kids went through their first week using them and to help guide their decision making. The choices they make include responding to text, reading on their own, reading with a reading group partner, free writing, and sight word practice, to name a few. Now that we are done our battery of reading assessments, I can place the kids in reading groups, which we are starting next week. As a group we have been talking a lot about non-fiction texts and the features of the text (glossary, labels, etc.) as well as making the connection from what they are reading to the skills we are working on in group.

In writing we have talked a lot about complete sentences and capital letters. The kids have done a couple "show what you know" exercises around this skill. We have talked about how periods mark the end of a complete thought and the capital letters are used at the beginnings of sentences as well as when writing the names of specific places or people (I know there's more, but they're only in second grade!). We started to talk about our first formal writing piece, which will be a "Small Moment" writing piece. The kids are going to work from an event that they have experienced and making a connection to the lesson they learned. We talked about lessons such as: never giving up, be a good friend, don't listen to people who may be asking you to make a bad choice, etc.

Open House is next Wednesday, October 10th from 5-6. I can't wait to have you all come in a see all of the wonderful work the kids are doing and the big plans we have for our year! It is such a wonderful time and I look forward to touching base with all of you!

The Rumney Garden has been closing up for the year. As always, this is such an amazing part of our school. That said, it is a REALLY big job! We need to spread out mulch, turn over the soil and put away materials and we will be looking for volunteers in the coming weeks. It would be great for folks to put some time into this great resource. We will also be looking for help in the spring and through the summer to make sure our plants are well cared for. The kids benefit greatly from seeing the food they raise. One child, last week, when eating beets said, "What were the red things? They were delicious!" I replied, "Beets!" They yelled, "But I'm not supposed to like beets!" It's experiences like this that make it all worth it and if you have any time, please consider pitching in to help when help is needed.

I had a chat today with the kids about Infinite Campus (IC) and why I am scoring some of their work. I talked about how the numbers are a way for me to communicate to them and families about how they are progressing on their many skills. That said, if you choose at your child's IC account and see scores entered, just know that these scores reflect a snapshot of time. The kids will be getting many opportunities to "show what they know" in many different areas and ways. It is important for you to know that the numbers reflect their progress toward end of year expectations. Therefore, it is typical for kids to be earning a score of 2, as a 2 reflects progress toward meeting the end of year expectation. Again, and I can't stress this enough, if you talk to your children about their work, you really only need to ask 1 question: Was it your best work? If yes, that's great! They are on their way. In class we are encouraging hard work and effort being before results. You may hear athletes talking about this all of the time. They put in the practice and preparation and when competition happens, the results are what they are. What is most important is that they prepared as best as possible. I'll try to have more information handy at Open House to help with other questions you may have.

We had a great week of 4-Winds, talking about plant-eaters. The kids saw a puppet show and looked at different leaves to see what critters may have been munching on them. We also got to think about some food webs so that kids could see what consumes what. Our next 4-Winds class is in a couple of weeks and we can't wait! Thanks so much to our awesome volunteers!

Phew! That was a lot! If you have questions, celebrations or concerns, as always, please be in touch.

Enjoy those leaves this weekend!

Warmly,

Ben


Also a very important message from Honi Bean Barrett:


For the month of October we are hosting a Food Drive. Please help us FILL the donation boxes for the Middlesex Food Shelf! Our goal is to bring in 1000 items.

We have a list of most helpful items from the food shelf. This is just a general guideline. 

Please note that every and all donations are appreciated!

PreK/K – Breakfast cereal, both hot and cold. Snack items such as granola bars.
1st/2nd grades – Pasta, sauces, beans, canned veggies & fruits.
3rd/4th grades – Tuna, canned meats (such as beef stew, sausage, ravioli), canned soup, convenience food (mac and cheese, other boxed foods).
5th/6th grades – Nut butters, jams, jellies. Baking ingredients.
Rumney staff – Toiletries, soaps, toothpaste, paper products such as toilet paper.

Items can be brought in from NOW until the Harvest Dinner on October 26th.
Thank you in advance for your generosity! 

Questions? Want to help with the food drive or the Harvest Dinner? 

Contact Honi Bean Barrett hbarrett@U32.org

Friday, September 14, 2018

Monarchs and More!

Hello Friends!

We have had an amazing couple of weeks in our class. It felt really good to have a shortened week last week, they seemed to really appreciate the extra break and shortened workload.

We have been practicing our work at literacy time, doing some free writing as well as practicing read-to-self time and learning how to pick out "good fit" books to read. We have been building a class puzzle, talking about who they are using the words "I am". We are going to put the puzzle together and put together all of our parts to create the "We Are". I am so excited to see how it turns out! We are also starting to fill out our "Big 4" poster to think about what our school-wide expectations mean to our class and how we interpret them.

Also, in regards to our class culture, we have talked a lot about our personal responsibilities to ourselves as well as to others around us. For instance, it is my number one job to keep the children in my class safe. It is also all of our jobs to keep each other safe.

A quick related story: My wife has started a new job as the afterschool pre-k CC person at Doty school in Worcester and the other night we were talking about our day and she asked, "What is this thing about line-up?" It's funny, because I had never thought about it. After thinking about it for a bit, I thought about what line-up means. To mean it includes the skills of body space, safety and awareness, patience, negotiation, compromise, following expectations about volume, and so much more. In a sense, it encompasses many of the skills we are trying to help our kids learn throughout the day. I am trying to impress upon the kids that by demonstrating these skills and showing that we can help our friends follow them as well, many fun and exciting doors will open in our classroom.

Thanks to our friends in and out of school, we have the privilege to raise 3 monarch butterflies. All three are in chrysalises and should be hatching in the coming weeks. I can't wait to see their faces when the metamorphosis is complete! We will release them outside after they hatch. I'll try to take pictures to capture the event!

Watching the Metamorphosis!

It was great to see all of you at Curriculum Night. I hope you all got the details and answer to questions you may have been looking for. If not, feel free to get in touch and I'll help clear up your questions as best I can.

We have started a classroom library sign-out. The kids are allowed to sign out two books from our class library. They developed a great system. The reason for it is because there were some kiddos who were having a tough time picking out "good fit" books to read at literacy and were instead choosing books that were not. We talked about how it is important for them to read good-fit books while at school and that home may be a better place for the books that they may not be ready for yet. They, of course, are allowed to sign out good fit books to bring home as well. I'll be in touch to send a reminder if the books stay out for too long (1 week or so).

Phew. That's it for now.

See you at the fair!

~B

Friday, August 31, 2018

The First Week!

It has been so wonderful getting to know all of your children this week. They all came in ready to work and ready to embark on a great journey together. I am so looking forward to seeing all of them grow in their own special ways.

This week we are getting to know our new friends, our learning space and the daily routines. They are quick bunch, I'll give them that! We set up the room together, did some cleaning, opened up all of our ordered materials and put them away, organized our class library and made table groups for work times.

We read two great books together, Wolf Watch and The Giant Jam Sandwich.

Image result for the great jam sandwich Image result for wolf watch book

While the stories are totally different, we talked a lot about how not only is it the jobs of the adults in the building to keep kids safe, it is their job to keep one another safe as well. In the book Wolf Watch, we talked about how the wolves in a wolf pack helps each other in this kind of way. We also talked about how when there is a problem, it is the job of the group to help solve it. The solution can be straightforward or creative, as we found out when looking at how the characters in The Giant Jam Sandwich solved their problem.

We did a little practicing of read-to-self time at literacy and will continue our work expanding into writing next week with some guided prompts. We will be doing more work on our literacy schedule and options in the days and weeks ahead.

ALLERGIES: In order to be sensitive to the dietary needs of the kids in our class, I am asking for families to not send in baked goods for birthdays and other "treat days". Fruits are best but please avoid mango, apple and pineapple. If you have questions, please be in touch.

I think that's it for now. It has really been a pleasure to be back at school, surrounded by the creativity, kindness and earnestness of young children. I look forward to getting to know your children more and more and I look forward to seeing you all soon!

Best,

Ben


Thursday, June 21, 2018

Last Thoughts for the Year

Hello Friends,

I hope you have enjoyed the year as much as I have. I have enjoyed getting to know all of you and your wonderful children over these past months and years. I was driving though Stockbridge some summer years ago and the elementary school had a sign out front with what I felt to be appropriate words for their students instructions for the summer:

Play Outside

Read

Repeat

I will be around all summer so I sure I will bump into many of you. If you want to get in touch you can reach me at:

bweiss@u32.org
223-3677 (H)

Have a wonderful summer!

Warmly,

Ben

Monday, May 21, 2018

Plays, PLPs and Pattern Blocks

Hey Friends,

I hope have all been enjoying this amazing weather. I know the kids have! We have been trying to extend the times we have outside, soaking in the sun...

We have begun our PLPs (Personal Learning Projects) in earnest and the kids are really into their topics of choice. We are working on the research and writing components and will be moving into the visual components We will be making posters as well as using clay to make models, should the kids want to. In the past I have had the class over to my house to harvest clay but I think that will have to wait until the fall for a new batch for classroom use.

We also have made our groups for the plays, gotten our scripts and have started practicing. The kids are so earnest and working so hard on reading their lines, thinking about their scenery and where they'll be on stage. Our performances will be on FRIDAY, JUNE 8th at 10:30 and 2:00. Families usually try to make the 2:00 because we do a little cast party afterwards. Details will continue to come out, but feel free to get in touch if you need any further details.

In first grade math, we have been using pattern blocks to explore the concept of fractions. We have been using the shapes of equilateral hexagons, trapezoids, rhombuses and triangles. We have been stressing the idea that when you are breaking a whole into equal parts that this represents a numeral, that it can be drawn as a picture or it can be shown on a number line. This is a complicated concept and the kids are doing a great job with it thus far.

In science, we are beginning our exploration of land forms and how they are created eroded. We will be starting with volcanoes as being one of the major landscape creators and moving to the idea of erosion using water as the catalyst. I can't wait to show the pictures when we get to put our erosion table to the test!

Thanks to our amazing 4-Winds volunteers! We had an amazing exploration of owl pellets last week that the kids really got a lot out of. Also, we'll be doing some work on the Rumney garden this week as well. There is so much going on!

I hope all is well with you all and please be sure to be in touch with questions, comments or concerns!

See you all soon,

B

Friday, April 13, 2018

Break and Next Year

Hello Friends,

We have had a great week filled with lots of fun and work. The most important part is that everyone makes it through this heavily charged day feeling happy.

It has been such a wonderful experience, as always, talking to you all about your children at conferences. They are all so special to us here at school and we deeply appreciate the trust you put in us as their daily care-givers.

Below, please read the letter Christine and I have written regarding the grade configurations in the first and second grade for the 2018-2019 school year. If you have further questions, please be in touch.

Have a wonderful, recharging break!

Ben and Tammy



Dear Families.

Over the past couple years, our ½ team has been doing a lot of thinking about what is best for young children at the primary level.  This conversation parallels the ongoing changes in our SU on a curricular level in regards to new academic and social standards and proficiency based learning.

In order to give kids the learning that best fits them, we have decided together to group the kids by grade level, meaning we’ll have a first grade classroom and a second grade classroom. The primary way that we will address their needs is that we will loop our classes so kids will have the same teacher for two years. This allows for consistency for kids and teachers alike. We have been talking about their span of development academically, socially and emotionally over these two years. The difference in needs from a beginning-of-the-year first grader and a beginning-of-the-year second grader are vastly different. It’s our belief that the main goal of first graders is to learn how to learn whereas the goal of a second grader is to start applying that learning throughout their day.

Tentative Map

2018- 2019: Christine - Grade 1 Ben - Grade 2
2019- 2020: Ben - Grade 1 Christine - Grade 2
2020- 2021: Christine - Grade 1 Ben - Grade 2
2021- 2022: Ben - Grade 1 Christine - Grade 2

We acknowledge that there are benefits to having these age groups together, however, we feel that by focusing on one age group at a time we will better meet students’ developmental needs and abilities. In this model there will still be plenty of opportunities to work together as a primary team: (Recess, Lunch, Primary Sing, Word Study, possibly for Reading Groups) so that kids still get to see their first and second grade friends.

The social and academic needs of your children are always the focus of our decision making process.  We believe that this change will help your children learn and grow to their fullest. Thank you for your continued support in our ½ program.  

Sincerely,

Ben Weiss
Christine Babcock

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Parent Conferences, Pie Breakfast, Stilts and More!

Hello Everyone!

We hope you had a great weekend. We heard stories of family, food and fun, which is always so great to hear about. We have been very busy in our room.

 
A friend sanding away
Last week we got to make our first trip to the sugarbush and do some sap collecting. The group rescued the buckets, which were almost filled to the brim. Brian was also boiling and drawing off so the kids got to do a little tasting as well!

A shout out to the PTO for doing the pie breakfast over the past weekend. The pies were delicious and I know the proceeds go towards a very worthwhile cause. I know the PTO is looking for some help with the Spring Fair as well. Please consider getting in touch with April Davis or Jill Drury if you are interested in helping out.


The miter saw is a great tool. Thanks to Chip Hedler for lending it to us.
The kids all got a chance to do some work with the tools in class to help build some stilts for our PE program. Thanks to Talitha Klassen-Landis for spearheading this great project! We practiced using a couple of miter saws, some drills, screwing screws, and sanding. They could always take a break and do some practice stilt walking when they finished their job or just got tired and needed a break. I was so pleased with how responsibly and efficiently they used the tools. I know the other students in the school are going to appreciate their hard work.

Mrs. Joslyn was psyched for one of our friends while they learned to use the stilts!
Thanks to those of you who have signed up for conferences. This is one of my favorite times, and one that I wish I had more of during the year. If you need the link to the conference sign up, find it here:

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

I look forward to seeing you all!



We needed treads for the bottoms of the stilts.
We also have been working on our literacy choices. We continue to meet regularly and talk about the books that they are reading in their book groups. Some kids have begun to work on some projects that they are interested in. Some topics include: the US Army, bow weapons, Norwich University, and castle defenses and siege engines.

We watched a great video the other morning about inclusion and what that means. Despite it being a commercial by Canadian Tire, the point it makes was not lost on the kids in class. They really had a great discussion about it. Here is the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFuwUiHo-WI

Safely learning to use tools. 
 I think that's about it, folks. Please be in touch if we need to know anything at school. We are always open for comments, questions or concerns.

Best,

Ben and Tammy





Friday, March 16, 2018

Science, Daylight Savings and Snow!

Hello Friends,

Some great math thinking!
We had a great week back getting our feet under us and are now working on getting all the way back on track. The kids have made a good transition from break as well as through Daylight Savings. Make sure they are getting lots of sleep (as best as you can!). I know that making kids sleep when their bodies aren't into it can be a challenge...

In science we have continued our scientific investigations and the they are doing a great job. We have been talking a lot about fair tests and making sure that only one thing is being tested in their investigations. For example, when doing a ball and ramp rolling experiment, you can
Here we are exploring a science question as a group
change the ball or the ramp, not both. They are using their results to explore a further wonder on their own. They are working on observing accurately as well as recording their results.

The kids have gotten back to their work in literacy. They are continued their work on their independent writing as well as meeting with me and other teaches for reading and practicing their sight words. They are now able to consistently do 80 uninterrupted minutes of literacy, which shows their progress in being able to manage their time and stay focused on their tasks.

We'll be wrapping up our convince me writing pieces next week as well. The kids have worked hard on these. We'll do a quick "show what you know" to see if they can create a convincing, logical  argument and use age appropriate grammar/spelling.

We were treated to a special song from one of our friends!

Many of you have gotten in touch with me regarding the weather on Tuesday. As I am not the one who makes these sorts of decisions, please pass along your concerns to Principal Toth or Superintendent Kimball.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Ben and Tammy


Reminders:

April 6th         Parent Conferences (I'll post times and dates next week)

From the PTO: Please join us for the Rumney ALL YOU CAN EAT Pie Breakfast on Saturday, March 31st, from 9-11. We are still in need of pie DONATIONS (make it or bake it!). We aim to have 150 pies and currently only have half of what we need. Email RumneyPTO@U32.org for more information or to sign up. Thank you! 


Monday, February 12, 2018

February! Can you believe it?


Hey Folks,

I can't believe we are already here in February! I hope you all got a good chance to look over your child's report card. Should you want to talk more about it, let me know. I'm always happy to get together and chat about their progress and how we can best support them in their day here at school.

The kids continue to do a great job working on their goals for the week in literacy. I would encourage you all to ask them what they are working on in their reading groups or what they are writing about. The topics are as varied as they are!

In read aloud we are currently reading a children's biography about Abe Lincoln which helps adds context for the kids and will lead into our reading about Harriet Tubman and other people of color to celebrate Black History Month. There is so much great literature out there to here help us and, as always, I look forward to working with Lynn Woodard (our amazing librarian) on providing some great reading for our kids.


In helping our kids get a more broad view of diversity, we read a couple of books that deal with economic diversity. The subject was about home. Carson Ellis, one of my current favorite authors, wrote a beautiful book about homes called "Home". After reading it, I realized that while her fantastical views of different kinds of homes were fun to read about, it also provides a helpful place to explore when talking about people who have no homes. Eve Bunting's book "Fly Away Home" gets to this in a beautiful way. I encourage you all to check both of these books out to open this rich and important discussion.

In Writer's Workshop we are going to be working on our hooks and for our writing pieces. They have done some great writing about convincing their readers. Good luck with your cats, dogs and vacations to Guatemala! We are also using this time to talk about what scientists do. This discussion will lead into the scientific process.

We have also had a great new start with our class house (aka The Chateau). The kids have stripped it down and we have begun the renovation. I am helping some friends build a periscope for it. I am looking forward to seeing where it all goes. I have been thinking a lot about how the house has been a metaphor for our year thus far; create, use, play, share, work through conflict, and reset. 

Winter Wellness continues to be a big hit. I can say that seeing the kids improve weekly is so inspiring. Kids who couldn't stand on skates a couple of weeks ago are zooming all around! It just goes to show you how hard work and dedication can pay off, even in a relatively small amount of time.

Reminders


  • If you send in Valentine's with your child (not something we make a big deal of in our room, so no worries if you don't) make sure everyone gets one. If you need a class list, let me know.
  • There is also an All School meeting on the 19th, feel free to stop in and check it out. The last Winter Wellness is this coming Friday (the 16th)

As always, let me know of any questions, comments or celebrations.

Best,

Ben and Tammy

Friday, January 19, 2018

These Short Weeks...

Hey Friends,

A short one this time. We have report cards going home next week and that has been a deep time sink, as it usually is. I hope that you have all taken advantage of getting in touch with Aimee regarding the shift in our report card. If you haven't, no big deal. You can wait until you get them and then let us know if you have any questions.

I have finished our mid-year reading assessments which has been a big relief. The kids all worked super hard and did a great job. If you'd like an update on your child's assessed reading level, it will be on the report card. This information helps when looking for books that have the same guided reading level (a-z).

Next week we will begin our work on exploring the scientific process with the kids. We will be doing a number of investigations as a class where then afterwards they will be able to try one on their own. This kind of thinking will be important as we move toward our next investigations of erosion and the water cycle.

In Writer's Workshop we have started out new "Convince Me" writing pieces. The kids are continuing their focus on organizing their thoughts as well as working on applying their writing skills (punctuation, upper case/lower case, using the lines on the page, etc.). We shared some today (Friday) and had some great discussions about writer's craft and writing mechanics.

In Read-Aloud we have done some great reading about Jackie Robinson, Johnny Appleseed and now Helen Keller. The kids have been interested in stories about historical figures and their questions always show care and insight. I value their thoughts so much.

Next week will be the first Friday of Winter Wellness. If you don't know what activity your child is doing, please get in touch with Lauren Caswell (lcaswell@u32.org), the PE teacher, who is organizing this great opportunity. Also, next Friday morning we have an All School Assembly, should you be interested.

I think that's it for now. I hope you all have a great weekend!

Best,

~B