Cider, Open House, All School Adventure

Hello families!

I hope you have all been able to enjoy these beautiful summer days! I know we have here in our room. We are building our class rules, exploring and cleaning up the outdoor classroom and settling into our routines.

In literacy, we are working on building our work stamina, making sure that it is a silent work time so everyone can do their best learning, and getting to know what "good fit" work looks like. They are working so hard on their reading and writing. Next week, after we have finished all of our assessments, we will begin our reading work in earnest.

We've read a number of books, the two the Read-Aloud books we read were Elmer and Down the Road. 





We've been talking a lot about the author's message in the books I have been reading aloud and these are two of my favorites. The lessons from the books are critical in creating our classroom culture and helps us create expectations for ourselves and our friends in class.

We pressed some cider on Friday across our 1/2 team and the 6th grade got a crack at it, too. It's a good thing we picked so many apples! The kids all got to have a taste of their hard work at the end of the day and it is always a good reminder to celebrate our fall harvest. A special thanks and shout out to the Cotterill/Chabot family for letting us borrow the cider to press that allowed for this all to happen. The generosity of the families in Middlesex always come through!

The All School Adventure is planned for this Friday, the 27th. We will be leaving in the morning to go to Hubbard Park in Montpelier and will have a day of exploring the many sites and trails in the park. Please be sure that if you plan on joining us that you have filled out your Level 1 chaperone paperwork in the front office. Be in touch with Mary or Christa in the front office if you need more information about this. 

Open House is this Wednesday, the 25th from 5:30 to 6:30. I look forward to you all coming in and learning about our class and seeing/meeting you all! The kids will be showing you routines, some of their work, and much more. You should also make sure to check in with their allied arts teachers as well to talk about their amazing work as well.

I think that's it for now. Be in touch with questions, concerns or celebrations any time!

Enjoy the last day of summer!

~B

First Two Weeks

Hello Families!

I hope your children have had a wonderful two first weeks of school! I know it has been wonderful working with them and getting to know them!

The kids designed our room set up, have helped put away materials and have arranged out book shelves. They are doing a wonderful job working together! Over the next few weeks we will be establishing class rules, norms and expectations. This is when we all really get to know the other people in the room and how we start thinking about how we can take care of ourselves, take care of each other and take care of our school. This will be the foundation of our work going forward this year.

Holy dominoes, Batman!

Next week we'll being to dig our teeth into literacy time by practicing reading to self and doing some self-directed writing and handwriting practice. I'll also being doing our annual battery of beginning of the year assessments to help guide our work in word study, phonics, handwriting, reading and writing.

We have also had the pleasure of letting go of some monarch butterflies that we raised and hatched. It is always such a wonderful experience to share with children. We were talking about it today and we think that the children of Vermont are probably responsible for the huge number of butterflies we've seen this year!

To go along with the theme of autumn, I was wondering if any of you know someone with an apple grinder and press that we can use here for our 1/2 team to make some cider. If you know of anyone who'd be willing to let us use one, it would be greatly appreciated.

We were able to get out to the outdoor classroom today (Friday) and the kids did a great job talking about our second week and also about how we are going to use the space and spend as much time outside as we can. We'll be making science journals next week as well.

Information:

• September Dates
• September 9 - Picture Day!  
• September 18 - Instrument Rental Night, 5:00-6:15pm in Rumney Gym (Also Board Meeting at Doty, 6:30pm)
• September 24 - All School Meeting 9:05-9:35
• September 25 - Open House, 5:30-6:30pm
• September 26 - Kindergarten Screening Day
• September 27 - All-School Outing

I think that's about it, please be in touch with any questions, thoughts or concerns any time.

Enjoy the weekend!

~B

Welcome!

Dear First and Second Grade Families,

Welcome back! I hope you had a fun, refreshing and relaxing summer! I am so excited for the school year to start. I have had a busy couple of weeks getting ready and getting to know our new principal- Mr. Provost! It is going to be a great school year. Here is some information about me and some information about the first few days of school. I will see you soon!

Getting to Know Ben!

This is my 10th year teaching at our fantastic school! I grew up a few short miles from Rumney and am deeply connected and committed to this community. I remember playing little league on the ball fields! I believe in a classroom that is full of kindness, hard work and learning. I hope you get a chance to check out my blog (https://weissrumneyclass.blogspot.com/), which talks about this and many aspects of our days. Continue to check in as we go through the year for newsletter updates, curriculum resources and more. I am an avid outdoors person and am looking to finding lots of ways to get out and use nature as a resource for learning. I am looking forward to a great year working with your wonderful children!

Here are a few logistical reminders as we think about heading back to school:

• Look for your child’s home to school folder with lots of paperwork on the first day. After that, folders will continue to come home each day. Please try and check them and send any important information our way!
• Try your best to make sure your child knows their snack and lunch plan for the day. Also, feel free to shoot us an email with your weekly plans.
• Please send your child with a water bottle to keep at school! We will send them home on Fridays.
• We have PE on Monday and Friday, so be sure to have your child prepared with sneakers on those days.
• This Wednesday August 28, will be a regular 3:30 dismissal. Starting Wednesday, September 4 we will begin our early dismissal procedure with a 3:00 dismissal.
• Despite how excited your kids are, our school days can feel long to young learners. Please do your best to help your child rest up and get a good nights’ sleep before the first day.
• Please remember, snack should not have any nuts due to school wide allergies and policies. If your child brings a lunch with nuts, they will have to sit at the nut table in the cafeteria.
• If you feel like your child needs a change of clothes at school, please let us know and send them in. We will keep them in a safe, private place. In case of emergencies, the nurse has some available.
• Arrival and Dismissal: Arrival time in the morning is at 8:45 AM. If you arrive with your child before 8:45 AM, please wait in the lobby with your child until the start of our day. At this point, children may enter the classroom. Our day starts at 9:00 AM and this is when we take attendance. Dismissal will be at 3:30 PM. Please wait outside the primary wing for your child to be dismissed. If your child goes on the bus, please make sure you are there to meet them. The bus driver will not let children off the bus if no one is there to meet them.
• Please leave toys at home. If your child is someone who may benefit from a fidget of some sorts, we have many options of those for children to use and try out to see how they best learn.
• Picture day is Monday, September 9! Be sure to send your form in with your child.

Also, here is a picture of our room and what it will look like on the first day. No worries, though. I know we are all going to help each other make a space that is going to be amazing! We have tables to move, labels to make, bookshelves and materials shelves to move and books to shelve in book bins. I can't wait to see you all and for us to work hard together to create our one-of-a-kind space!



Feel free to reach out to us with any questions or concerns! We look forward to a great school year with you and your kiddos!

Warmly,

Ben
223-5429 (s)
223-3677 (h)
bweiss@u32.org

SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello Friends,

First, I'd like to say thank you for a wonderful year. Your children were such a gift to have in class and I thank you for sharing them and supporting our class and school.

Please be in touch if you need anything over the summer such as resources, books, or anything else. In the meantime, remember:

Read Good Books!

Go Outside and Play with Friends and Family!

Repeat!

Also, if you need a place to get started for apps, please check out:

Epic Books

https://www.getepic.com/

Razkids

https://www.raz-kids.com/

Summer Reading in a Box

https://www.playfullearning.net/resource/summer-reading-box/

For book resources and summer reading challenges, please go your own Kellogg Hubbard Library. They have a huge library of books for kids, knowledgeable staff and great programs running all summer.

Hope to see you around!

~B

Montshire, PLPs and Plays

Hey Families,

What an amazing weekend of beautiful weather! I hope you have been able to be productive and enjoy the outdoors despite our roller coaster weather! Luckily, we have had really good luck being able to get out for recess!

The All School Spring Concert is Wednesday,  June 5th at 6:00pm. Have the kids get here a bit early. There will be an intermission after K-2 go. At that time, we will be releasing kids to their families and you can head on home or stay. It's up to you!

As a reminder, we are going to the Montshire Museum this Friday, the 31st of May. We'll be leaving in the morning and coming back before buses. If you need information about the trip or another permission slip, please let me know and I'll send one home.

Our first and second graders will be going to U-32 on June 12th to get books that 7th graders have made for them. It is a great tradition that goes back some 25 years. The kids always have such a great experience and we are glad to be participating.

Our PLPs (Personal Learning Projects) are going great! Kids are working on building their books, which they have done a ton of research and work on. There are many kids who are going to be moving on to their posters before long. We'll have a presentation before the end of school, date to be determined.

We are working hard on our plays, too. Some kids are in a number of plays, some fewer. They will all be working on backgrounds and props. They should not be spending money on costumes. They can bring things from home to use in their plays (within reason). Our play presentation will be Tuesday, June 11th at 10:30 and 2:00. Feel free to come and see either (or both!).

We got to plant our squash for the garden here at school, which is super exciting! I can't wait to see what the summer months bring! Thanks to Talitha and the rest of the garden crew for continuing this great tradition.

I think that's about it for now!

Best,

Ben

Field Trips, 4 Winds, PLPs...

Hello Friends,

I hope that you all had a great break and that you are enjoying the start to snow-free ground! Things in our room are certainly picking up!

We have 2 field trips coming up! One is next week, May 7th, and we are going to the Flynn to see our make-up play from our canceled trip this past winter. We will be seeing "Me, Jane" and we are looking forward to it.

Find a link to the book here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dN0FwIKjlOk

Find a link to the play here: https://www.flynncenter.org/education/student-matinees/details.html?perf_no=15790&prefix=SMM19J

Field trip permission slips are being sent home today. Please get these back as soon as possible. If you have further questions, please be in touch. Parents must drive themselves and if you want to join us, you will need to buy your own ticket. We simply do not have enough tickets for staff and parents. We have encouraged kids to consider dressing up to go along with the theater experience. It's always a blast to see them all gussied up!

Our second field trip will be to the Montshire museum on May 31st. We will be sending home information in the coming weeks.

We had a great 4-Winds on Tuesday on deer. Despite the weather, we got some good fresh-air time in the morning and got some time to run around. We got to examine a pelt, look at antlers, look at how high (8ft!) and how long (25ft!) they can jump, and lots of other information. It is such a wonderful opportunity for kids to learn about the natural world around them. Thanks to Katy and Rachel for volunteering their time and working with us!

Our PLPs have started with great enthusiasm! When we read off the topics last week so that the kids could hear what others were doing, the list was staggering in its diversity. The kids are working hard on reading some tough stuff and are doing a great job helping one another. We are working on the skills of making sure that the questions we are asking regarding our topic are broad enough, note taking, and organization. It's always such a fun time of year!

Please be in touch if you have any questions, celebrations or concerns.

~B

Sugaring, The Big 4, Conferences

Hello Families,

I hope you have been enjoying the wonderful spring weather! We have been working hard on a number of skills here at school.

We will be making trips to the sugar house a regular part of our upcoming weeks. We will be collecting and boiling. I'm not sure who is more excited, me or the kids!

We will wrap up our persuasive writing this week and be transitioning into our works on our Personal Learning Projects (PLPs) for the rest of the year. We will be tying in our information writing to our projects. The projects will be made up of a formal writing piece, a poster and a model of some kind. We will be working on these for the remainder of the year.

Our literacy times have been filled with some great book shares by kids, kids doing their independent reading, meeting with individuals and small groups on reading and working on their own personal writing. Their volume and complexity of work is growing. An important note: This week on one of our morning messages the kids were asked by a classmate to write down what they read over the weekend. Many of the kids stated that they didn’t read anything. It’s always worth the reminder that it is important that kids are doing some reading everyday. I can’t stress the importance enough both in them learning a life skill as well as making sure they are getting opportunities to practice what we are working on in class. If you need any books, please let me know. We have a classroom library that the kids are welcome to sign out books from any time.

We’ve been talking a lot about our Big 4 at school. This is a time of the year when there is some cabin fever going on and the options for play have been relying heavily on imaginary play. While this is age appropriate and perfectly typical, we have run up against some physical rough housing that has crossed the line on what is acceptable and tolerable here at school (using objects, like sticks, for instance as well as unsafe bodies). I encourage you to talk further about this with your child as it makes sense.

We have had a few class meetings where We revisited our Big 4, especially “Make Safe Choices”. These talks with the kids are always so reassuring because there were a number of kids who knew that things might be getting crazy and knew they should have let an adult know, but didn’t. They felt responsible and was a perfect segue into discussions about being “upstanders”. I always wish we had cameras in these moments because they are powerful and I believe we as adults have a lot to learn from them in terms of honesty, integrity and forthrightness.

We also have parent conferences coming up! I always look forward to touching base about the great growth your child is making. Here is the link to sign up:

https://www.ptcfast.com/schools/WCSU_RMS

Again, my most sincere thanks to our amazing 4 Winds volunteers. Their efforts bring as needed element of science into our class and I can’t thank them enough for enriching our day. There was lots of tracking going on for days afterwards....

I think that’s about it. Please let me know if you have any questions, concerns or celebrations any time.

Enjoy the sugaring!

~B