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
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Getting ready for winter to begin!
Hey all,
We'll be starting to build some of our land forms this week before putting together big models for the kids to display their knowledge. They'll be writing, reading and creating to build our content knowledge about this subject.
Here are the NGSS here that we will be covering:
http://www.nextgenscience.org/sites/ngss/files/2%20combined%20topics%206.11.13.pdf
This will be it before break, folks. It has been a great stretch since I have been back. I have you and your kids to thank. So, thank you. Have a wonderful time with your families, and I look forward to seeing your children's bright sunny faces when we get back from break.
Best,
~B
This was a great way to (almost!) end last week! We have lots of thanks to give to our AMAZING PTO for their amazing efforts to make our school the best place it can be for our kids. Through their hard work, we get to have amazing residency programs for our kids and many other great learning opportunities! Thanks so much from this appreciative staff member!
Kids are working steadily on their writing at Writer's Workshop. This week we did a handwriting check-in and I'll be look over them this weekend. Next week we'll do a refresher course as well as having handwriting sheets to practice. We also have started an opinion writing prompt piece for us to check in and see how the kids are doing with their organization, handwriting, and use of complex language.
We'll finish our read aloud this week, the epic tale of Moomintroll, the first moomin to live through a winter. We'll begin our new read-aloud after break. The kids are so much fun to read to! I am looking forward to our many discussions about the next book we read.
In science, we have started to learn about land forms. We used the Smartboard as an introduction to the unit and the kids enjoyed it a lot.
Check it out here:
http://www.learningliftoff.com/1st-grade-science-activity-spot-landforms/#.VsSbFPkrLIU
We'll be starting to build some of our land forms this week before putting together big models for the kids to display their knowledge. They'll be writing, reading and creating to build our content knowledge about this subject.
Here are the NGSS here that we will be covering:
http://www.nextgenscience.org/sites/ngss/files/2%20combined%20topics%206.11.13.pdf
This will be it before break, folks. It has been a great stretch since I have been back. I have you and your kids to thank. So, thank you. Have a wonderful time with your families, and I look forward to seeing your children's bright sunny faces when we get back from break.
Best,
~B
Thursday, February 4, 2016
February, or March? The weather is confusing me!
Sorry for the long break, folks. Life has become infinitely more complicated... Thanks for understanding. It has been messy outside, so thank you ahead of time for sending your children in with the appropriate clothing for outdoor recess. We try to get them outside as often as possible.
Well, we have really settled down into our old routines and are working hard in class. The kids are all finding their strides and settling in. Today was one of the best literacy times we have had this year. The kids were focused and worked super hard.They are continuing to work on their sight words, writing and reading. Check in with your child to see what they are reading and writing about, as well as which sight words they are working on reading and spelling. Watching them continue to grow is one of the most rewarding parts of my job.
In Writer's Workshop we have been working on our opinion writing pieces. Yesterday we started to write about some bus topics, which continue to be a hot topic. More to come about the buses below... Next week, the kids are going to do a writing prompt to show what they know about this kind of writing. They will have three options to choose from and the use of the graphic organizer that we are using in class to help them in their work. It will not be timed to help alleviate stress and anxiety. We are only interested in seeing their best work! We will be looking at spelling conventions, organization, handwriting, and content when looking at their writing.
Next week in science, we will be starting our unit on the landscape around us and how it changes. We will be discussing and looking at different kinds of land forms and how the weather changes them. I always look forward to the melting snow in this unit when the river runs behind the school toward the parking lot and makes its own path!
We have been talking a lot about the bus in our class, as this continues to be a time in the day that is often challenging, scary, and unpredictable. We have been doing writing around this problem, talking about this problem, and encouraging people to solve these problems on their won by using Rumney CARES. That said, if your child comes home with bus issues, please get in touch with Mr. Rosen or I. We are committed to making our buses good places for our kids and it will happen faster with your help. The school has started making steps by assigning seats, but it is only a start.
I hope you got to look at your child's report card. Please be in touch if you want to meet and discuss it or if you have any questions. I am always happy to meet and talk about anything.
I think that's about it for now. Please be in touch if anything comes up.
Warmly,
~B
Well, we have really settled down into our old routines and are working hard in class. The kids are all finding their strides and settling in. Today was one of the best literacy times we have had this year. The kids were focused and worked super hard.They are continuing to work on their sight words, writing and reading. Check in with your child to see what they are reading and writing about, as well as which sight words they are working on reading and spelling. Watching them continue to grow is one of the most rewarding parts of my job.
In Writer's Workshop we have been working on our opinion writing pieces. Yesterday we started to write about some bus topics, which continue to be a hot topic. More to come about the buses below... Next week, the kids are going to do a writing prompt to show what they know about this kind of writing. They will have three options to choose from and the use of the graphic organizer that we are using in class to help them in their work. It will not be timed to help alleviate stress and anxiety. We are only interested in seeing their best work! We will be looking at spelling conventions, organization, handwriting, and content when looking at their writing.
Next week in science, we will be starting our unit on the landscape around us and how it changes. We will be discussing and looking at different kinds of land forms and how the weather changes them. I always look forward to the melting snow in this unit when the river runs behind the school toward the parking lot and makes its own path!
We have been talking a lot about the bus in our class, as this continues to be a time in the day that is often challenging, scary, and unpredictable. We have been doing writing around this problem, talking about this problem, and encouraging people to solve these problems on their won by using Rumney CARES. That said, if your child comes home with bus issues, please get in touch with Mr. Rosen or I. We are committed to making our buses good places for our kids and it will happen faster with your help. The school has started making steps by assigning seats, but it is only a start.
I hope you got to look at your child's report card. Please be in touch if you want to meet and discuss it or if you have any questions. I am always happy to meet and talk about anything.
I think that's about it for now. Please be in touch if anything comes up.
Warmly,
~B
Sunday, January 10, 2016
First Week Back!
Hello everyone! I hope you had a wonderful holiday and have had a great start to the new year. Things in the room are off to a fine start.
We have anew friend in our class, and I welcome you to welcome her when you some in and see a new face. The kids are such a welcoming and open bunch and are a great job opening up their hearts and room. It always is so telling when you see kids respond to changes in this sort of way.
In literacy, we had a good week of reviewing expectations for our times. We have made new table groups and we will be reviewing how best to use our time next week in a structured and sequential way. Kids who demonstrate that they can use their time well will be given more independence sooner. Some kids will need more practice, other kids a lot less. The goal is to give kids what they need, which is one of our Rumney sayings ("At Rumney you get what you need"). I've found that some kids need some more practice on how best to use their independent work time, and this will give them that opportunity.
We have started to read Moomintroll Midwinter for our read-aloud. It is full of great descriptive language and playful characters. The kids are enjoying the story, given that it takes place in the winter, too!
We will also begin writing our first persuasive writing pieces this week. The kids are all going to be working from a template to help organize their thoughts. We'll be writing one together as well as discussing the purpose of this kind of writing.
I will be conducting reading assessments on Monday as well as the following week. I am looking forward to seeing the summative data on how the kids are progressing in their reading and what that means for their instruction as we move toward the end of the year.
We started Winter Wellness Fridays last week and it was a big hit! The kids all did a great job in our skating group. If you have plans for your child that involves being picked up from our activities, please give Sorsha a big heads-up. It helps cut down on confusion and kids being worried. Thanks for the help on this!
Again, it's really good to be back and it has been great seeing all of your children's smiling faces. As always, be in touch if you need anything.
Best,
~B
We have anew friend in our class, and I welcome you to welcome her when you some in and see a new face. The kids are such a welcoming and open bunch and are a great job opening up their hearts and room. It always is so telling when you see kids respond to changes in this sort of way.
In literacy, we had a good week of reviewing expectations for our times. We have made new table groups and we will be reviewing how best to use our time next week in a structured and sequential way. Kids who demonstrate that they can use their time well will be given more independence sooner. Some kids will need more practice, other kids a lot less. The goal is to give kids what they need, which is one of our Rumney sayings ("At Rumney you get what you need"). I've found that some kids need some more practice on how best to use their independent work time, and this will give them that opportunity.
We have started to read Moomintroll Midwinter for our read-aloud. It is full of great descriptive language and playful characters. The kids are enjoying the story, given that it takes place in the winter, too!
We will also begin writing our first persuasive writing pieces this week. The kids are all going to be working from a template to help organize their thoughts. We'll be writing one together as well as discussing the purpose of this kind of writing.
I will be conducting reading assessments on Monday as well as the following week. I am looking forward to seeing the summative data on how the kids are progressing in their reading and what that means for their instruction as we move toward the end of the year.
We started Winter Wellness Fridays last week and it was a big hit! The kids all did a great job in our skating group. If you have plans for your child that involves being picked up from our activities, please give Sorsha a big heads-up. It helps cut down on confusion and kids being worried. Thanks for the help on this!
Again, it's really good to be back and it has been great seeing all of your children's smiling faces. As always, be in touch if you need anything.
Best,
~B
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