Week 16

 

Students find creative ways to store their backpacks during ECO.

This was a whirlwind of a week filled with projects, ECO, and special surprises!  Though the air felt more like spring during the middle of the week, students were busy inside the school finishing up their secret Pal Projects!  What I love about these projects the most is the student engagement and thought that goes into each and every projects.   Every student has persevered through challenges and has set goals and problem solved along the way.  Students show empathy and compassion for others as they watch classmates struggle, persevere and  solve problems.  I hear words of encouragement and compliments to others as they see their classmates projects coming to completion.  While we might be taking some time away from our regular routines, students are growing and learning so much from creating these projects.  This week I wish to thank Caitlin Mahoney, Megan Batchelder, and Chloe Tartaglia who graciously donated their time to come in to help with projects.

On Monday Mrs. Leopold generously came for a whole class music lesson.  Students had the pleasure of playing Boomwhackers and Hand Bells to a couple of festive seasonal songs!  Later in the week we made Jingle bell bracelets and took the Boomwhackers our and played along with some more festive tunes!  

On Wednesday during ECO, our focus was on the coming of the Winter Solstice, birdseed treats for our forest friends (our gifts to them), and we baked bread on sticks over the fire.  Students also enjoyed forest choice where they made fairy house (or mouse houses) and larger den structures from materials found in the forest.  Thank you to our parent volunteers, Caitlin Mahoney, Hank Glowiak, Eric Schoeberlein, and Bethany Sagent!  

Hot lunch, provided by the Dryden's, was enjoyed by all on Friday!  The class enjoyed pancakes with maple syrup, and / or strawberries and sausage links.  For dessert they were treated to a green and red Jello parfait and gingerbread cookie!  Special Thanks to Ann Marie and Everett Dryden for this delicious feast!

We had a second visitor on Friday as Martha Twombly, a well known Elmore community member, stopped by to read a couple of books to the children and she brought cookies and hot cocoa for them to enjoy! Mrs. Twombly used to attend the Elmore School as a child AND her mother used to teach at the Elmore School (back when there were 8 grades!).  Each students also went home with a small gift from Mrs. Twombly!

Announcements

• Third Graders WILL HAVE recorders on Monday (a change from last week's announcements).
• If we get enough snow this weekend, I hope to take the class over to the state park to go Sledding on Wednesday afternoon.  
• A reminder that next week we have an early release on Thursday, December 23rd.  
• Winter break is December 24 - Jan 2nd.  School resumes on Monday, Jan 3rd.

Here are a few more photos from ECO last week!