Week 21

Mixed Media Art depicting Elmore students doing outdoor winter activities!

Week 21 has been busy and cold!  We had more than one day where the cold kept us inside.  Students have made the most of it as we had opportunities to play more board games and pull up some toys from the basement that haven't been played for a couple of years.  We have already had more indoor recesses this year than we had all last year!  Fortunately, February is right around the corner and the days are getting longer the sun is getting stronger.  

This week we kicked off our unit on Non-fiction reading and writing (reading and writing to inform).  We began the week by looking at examples of non-fiction books to notice all the unique text features found in them.  Later in the week the students read books with the focus on 1)Noticing, 2) Learning, 3) Questioning. Students also picked a topic they know alot about and began the planning process for writing their own book to teach about a topic.  Finally, the students learned how to write an introduction with a "hook".

In Math, level 2 and 3 students began using math models to solve word problems, while level on students worked on additions strategies.

During Music this week 2nd and 3rd graders braved the cold in the town hall to work with Mrs. Leapold on Ukulele.  Later in the day we sang in a round (a round is when one group begins and the other groups echos the first group while the first group continues to sing, so the first group finishes before the second group) and worked on note values using legos!

Please sign and return the permission slip and waiver form found in your child's Friday Folder.  These need to be returned on Monday so I can begin coordinating equipment and groups for Thursday.  I have several parents who have volunteered to help!  Please also indicated these available dates on the permission slip.  We are still working out the fine details of getting equipment so we are asking students to use their own equipment whenever possible (especially for this first week).

Thank you to the Reynold's Family for providing us with Hot Lunch on Friday.  We all enjoyed freshly grilled Hot Dogs, Tomato Soup, and Clementines!   The DiMotta's are on the Schedule for hot lunch on the February 11th.

There is NO SCHOOL next Friday, Feb. 4th

February Break is the February 21-March 1st. Return to school on Wed. March 2nd.

Week 20

 

Recent artwork with a focus on positive and negative space.

Week 20 began with an important lesson in civics as students at The Elmore School showed up to support their community in an effort to show support for the Elmore Post Office and Elmore Store.  When students learned two weeks ago that the Elmore Post Office was in danger of closing as soon as February 4th, they were as upset as their adult counterparts. Students wanted to do something to help, so when I learned there would be a Press event with Congressman, Peter Welch and representatives from Senator Leahy and Senator Sanders offices, I knew we needed to go.  On Tuesday morning the children worked in small groups to create signs in support of saving the historic Elmore Post Office.  Just before 11:00 be bundled up in our outdoor gear to face the snowy, and blustery cold morning.  The students didn't have far to go as they crossed the street to join a generous crowd of community supporters.  As soon as we were across the street, Rep. Welch, who was preparing to speak, approached us to speak directly to the students and expressed his appreciation to the students for showing up and the importance of being a supportive community member.  Shortly after, as he addressed the crowd, he publicly thanked The Elmore School  students for their support, and noted what an important thing they were doing.  The Students Proudly displayed their signs as the listened respectfully to the various speakers.  After the event some of us were interviewed for the news!  What an exciting and meaningful event that I imagine students will remember for the rest of their lives.

Back in the classroom, we concluded our mini-unit on poetry.  This week students learned that poets write poetry about meaning events and people in their lives.  They composed a poem about a meaning person with a focus purposeful line breaks and beautiful language.  Later, students were asked to look through all the poems they have written and pick one to edit and revise to be published in a class book of our original poems.  We spend the rest of the week working to edit, revise and rewrite these poems.  

This week in your child's Friday Folder, please find an order form and envelope from Studentresures Pub..  All order forms need to be filled out and returned to the school by the end of next week.  If you wish to order a keepsake book, please fill out the form and include payment (you may pay online or send a check).  If you do not wish to order a book, kindly indicate this on the order form by checking the appropriate box AND return the order form and envelope to school.  When all order forms are returned the school will receive a FREE Deluxe copy of our book to have for the classroom!

During math this week level 2 and 3 students worked on elapsed (or change in) time using a linear model, while level 1 students learned how to regroup to make 10 when adding two numbers when the sum of the two numbers will be greater than ten. (6 + 7 can be regrouped by shifting 3 from the 6 and giving it to the 7 to make a more friendly math problem: 3 + 10).   This helps students become more flexible and fluent in their approach to solving math problems.  

First Graders also took the PNOA (Primary Numbers and Operations Assessment) this week.  This is an interview style assessment given three times during the year. Students demonstrate their ability to: count forward and backward (as well as skip count), symbolic notations (writing and reading numbers), place value (ones and tens), operations (adding and subtracting), Ordering numbers (consecutive and non-consecutive), magnitude and estimation, and comparisons.  

Additionally,  the students had several lessons in Equity and Justice, as they learned about the injustice of black Americans  in our country.  As we read books about Martin Luther King Jr. and students listened as I read the I have a Dream Speech.

 

Later in the week we read about Rosa Parks and the important part she played in the Civil Rights movement.  While many students expressed  great concern and were appalled by the treatment of black Americans in the past, we talked about how the injustice continues for black and brown Americans today. This is not just a problem in America, but all over the world there are injustices in the treatment of various populations.  Ultimately, the lesson here is kindness and compassion for others... no matter what.

As Covid-19 continues to affect our community, we have shifted to new guidelines for keeping kids in school.  As you know, we had exposure to another positive case of Covid-19 this past week.  Test to Stay for unvaccinated individuals is now in the hands of parents.  Test kits were sent home and parents should test students for 5 consecutive days (including the weekend).  Parents who requested kits for  fully vaccinated students, received two test which should be administered on days 3 and 5.  As long as test are negative and students continue to be symptom free they can continue to come to school.  All parents are asked to monitor students for any symptoms of Covid-19.  If your child has any symptoms of Covid-19 they should stay home.  As the district is allowing spectators in volunteers into schools, we will continue to have PE , Library, and Hot Lunch this next week.  

The Reynolds are on the schedule for Hot Lunch next Friday!  School Lunch will be available on Monday - Thursday.  Please EMAIL your lunch orders.

I am hopeful that we will begin our Nordic ski program at Craftsbury Outdoor Center the first week in February.  I should have dates and details for you soon!

Announcements:

• Library is Monday - remember books and activity bags!
• PE is at 8:00 am on Tuesday and Friday!  Please try to have students at school by 7:50.  Students need their SNEAKERS for PE!
• There is NO SCHOOL on Friday, Feb. 4th
• Winter Break is February 21 - March 1.  School resumes on Wed., Feb. 2nd.

Below: Students create signs to display in support of the Elmore Post Office

More student ART!

Week 19

Students have been working together all week to build this Snow fort.

We are back into the full swing of things in the Elmore School!  Even though we had one bitter cold day this week where we were stuck inside the children have had good spirit throughout the week! They have been working hard to move the snow into a pile in order to carve out this awesome snow fort .  They have added to it by piling more snow on the outside so they can carve out more from the inside.  This is engineering at it's best!  Play really is a child's "work".

On Monday Students were treated to another reading reward.  They watched the film, Because of Winn Dixie.  I chose this film as we just finished reading the book (read aloud) last week.  Students have been logging so many reading minutes they are over half way to reaching their next goal and next reward!

During Literacy we continued our mini unit on Poetry.  We have listened to several poems be read, have shared in reading several poems and have now had the opportunity to write a handful of poems.  This week we focused on adding intentional line breaks, using beautiful language (where students were encouraged to use a Thesaurus to find help them find beautiful words for more basic words), and showing, not telling to share about a feeling (describe the feeling rather than name it).  Some of their work is truly inspirational and I was very moved by the poetry they created! Students will be choosing one of the poems they have written and we will be publishing a book of original poems which families will have the option to purchase as a keepsake! Stay tuned for more on this soon.

Reading groups have also restarted and we are working on phonics rules (this week learning the ee, and ea rules for the long e sound) and spelling strategies.  Additionally, students took the STAR Reading assessment this week.  This was our second benchmark of the school year.  We will administer the assessment again in May.  This Assessment is just one of the tools we use to gage where students fall in meeting the end of the year reading goals.

Our focus in Math this week was reading clocks. Students had several days to practice reading an analog clock to the hour, 1/2 hour, 1/4 hour, and level 2 students also learned to read a clock to the 5 minute intervals, while 3rd graders read time to the minute.  Students also took the STAR Math Assessment this week.

In Science we finished our Science unit on Plant and Animal Superpowers.  In this unit students explored how parts of plants and animals are essential to their survival.  Students also made observations of parent and their offspring to determine how they are similar and how their behaviors help offspring survive.

I am happy to announce that we are working on plans for Nordic Skiing (and possibly snowshoeing).  Lisa Cross and Ryan Heraty have been working behind the scene at Central Office to make this happen for us.  It looks like we will have 4 afternoons of skiing at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center this winter and we will have transportation provided by Lamoille Valley Transportation.  The dates have yet to be determined, but I will let you know more when the dates have been set.  I need to get an idea of how many students have equipment so I can determine out how many students will need equipment.  Please take a moment to fill out this Questionnaire

Ms. Leapold will be taking a break from teaching recorders to 3rd graders for the time being.  Instead, she would like to begin teaching with 2nd and 3rd graders Ukulele!  This may begin as early as next week! I am so grateful to Lisa for taking the time in her busy schedule to offer these lessons to the Elmore students.  She is doing this as a favor to me, and I could not be more grateful!  If you see her around the community be sure to thank her for taking the time to come out to the Elmore School!

I'm happy to report that we made it through our Test to Stay period with no further positive Covid-19 cases.  I'd like to resume Hot Lunch on Friday.  Oliver's family is on the Schedule for Friday, January 21st.  They are planning to bring Meatball Subs with Cheese! School lunch will be available on Tuesday - Thursday.  Please EMAIL your lunch orders.

As you have probably heard The Agency of Education shared new Covid-19 Guidance for Schools this week.   Below is a summary of these changes (taken from the Lamoille Ledger)

• Contact Tracing - The contact tracing process is changing. It was reported that schools are being directed to stop contact tracing but that is not accurate. The process is actually becoming more conservative. What is changing is the formal process which has been extremely cumbersome on our health staff. Prior to this week, all positive cases required extensive formal documentation that was shared with the Vermont Department of Health (VDH). We will still be alerting all close contacts but will not be required to submit the same paperwork requirements to the VDH. This will expedite and improve the process from a risk mitigation standpoint while taking some burden off of our health care staff.
• Test to Stay - Once we receive the test kits, this program will be implemented at home instead of at school. In the event there is a positive case, all close contacts will be notified and unvaccinated students will be provided test kits for the next five days. Test kits will also be provided for vaccinated and unvaccinated staff. Vaccinated students may also have access to test kits to be administered on days 3 and 5 after exposure.  
• Masking - As most already know, state health officials are encouraging students and staff to not rely on a single-layer cloth mask. Health experts are recommending higher quality masks, including N95 or KN95 masks or a surgical quality mask underneath a cloth mask. Our district has provided these higher quality masks for all staff members. We have also ordered a high quantity of child size masks that will be available for those that need them. The agency is encouraging districts to require masks for all students through February at this time.

Announcements:

• All LSSU schools are closed on Monday, January 17th, and Friday, February 4th (Teacher Professional Development).
• Library will be Tuesday this week.  Please help students remember books and activity bags.
• ALL Students need sneakers for PE on Tuesday and Friday!
• Winter Break is February 21- March 1.  School resumes Wed. March 2nd.
• The 100th day of school will be Feb. 3rd (Provided there are no school closures between now and then).  Students will be asked to make a 100th day project to celebrate this day!  More to come on this soon!

More creative engineering as one of these students constructed this "Ice Mover"!

Below are the last of the secret Pal Projects created by students for students!

a Butterfly decoration

a stuffed cat!

A dog

Week 18

 

Happy New year!   We began the week with a full classroom of children who were happy to be back to school after a nice December Break.  It was so nice to see all their smiling faces and hear all about their break.  We had our 80th day of school this week, which means our 100th day of less than twenty school days away!

This week we began a poetry unit.  Together, we have been listening to and reading several poems.  We have learned that poetry is unlike fiction and non-fiction and does not follow many of the writing conventions as as other genres.  Poetry can be about anything and often and often expresses a person's feelings.  Students learned that poetry starts in the heart and is found everywhere.  Most anything we experience can be turned into a poem.  On Friday we took a Nature Poetry Walk where students were asked to tune into their senses.  When we got back to school the children used a graphic organizer to list what they saw, what they smelled, what they heard, and what they felt.  Then they chose one of the things to write a nature a poem about.  We ended with a poetry reading where students shared their nature poems.  

During math we all focused on adding coins and dollar bills this week.  Level 1 students added two types of coins or bills to find the total value, level 2 students added up to three types of coins or bills to find the total value, and level three students added up to four coins or bills to find the total value.  

As Covid positive cases increase in the community, it seems harder and harder to avoid transmission, and the Elmore School is not immune to this virus. As you are aware by now, we had another positive Covid case this week.  Our goal is to keep school open for in school instruction.  Monday we will begin "test to stay" for unvaccinated individuals.  Fully vaccinated individuals will not be tested and do not need to quarantine unless they develop symptoms.  Please check your email for a Google Form to complete prior to Monday morning or click HERE to access the Google form. Over the next week, continue to monitor your child for symptoms and if they have any symptoms of Covid-19, please keep them home and get a PCR test. Together we will get through this!

Additionally, we are taking stricter health and safety precautions while at school.  Students are being asked to wear their masks at all times unless they are eating (or drinking) both inside and out.  When possible we will eat in shifts to allow fewer people to be unmasked at a time.  We will continue to clean and disinfect surfaces and use good hygiene practices. These mitigations, along with our clean air system will help keep students healthy.  Please send at least TWO properly fitting, clean masks each day, as students are wearing them outdoors and when they come in their masks are wet.  

Mr. Wills asked me to remind you all to make sure students have sneakers on Tuesday and Friday for PE.  Crocs are ok for the classroom, but they are not safe for PE.  Students are encouraged to keep a pair of sneakers at school so they do not need to remember them each time. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

PE and library are hold next week for Monday and Tuesday.  Depending on how things go at the beginning of the week we will decide about PE on Friday.  

Ms. Leapold would like to meet with with Third Graders for recorder lessons on Thursday for the next few weeks. 

I've decided to suspending the Friday Hot Lunch for the time being as we need to limit the number of contacts students have at school.   Hopefully we will be able to resume serving lunch in a couple of weeks.  

EMAIL me your lunch orders for Monday - Friday

Several parents have asked me about the Friday Ski Program.  As of now, I have no new information. As soon as I know more, I will let you know!

There is NO SCHOOL Monday, Jan 17th (Martin Luther King Jr. Day) - Teacher PD

There is NO SCHOOL Friday, February 4th - Teacher PD

Lamoille South Unified Union (LSUU) Capital Improvement Subcommittee

The LSUU Capital Improvement Subcommittee is seeking an Elmore resident to join in our capital improvement planning process. This subcommittee will help plan future projects and build stakeholder support around improvements that will best meet the needs of our students. Please complete the application found HERE prior to January 14 if you are interested in serving. Applications will be reviewed and interested individuals contacted.