Week 21

Students skied during our outdoor recreation on Wednesday at Spruce Peak.

 

Our week at The Elmore School flew by quickly!  Two snow storms provided lots of fresh snow to play in at recess and allowed students to nordic ski for the first time during our outdoor recreation on Wednesday at Spruce peak!  In the classroom we were engaged in writing final drafts of our informational text, and in math we learned about reading an analog clock.   

Students have been working hard, throughout the month of January, planning, drafting, editing and revising their informational books.  On Friday, during our morning meeting I asked students to share about some work they are proud of this year.  Several children shared that they are proud of their writing and then read their books to the class.  I was so impressed by the level of work each student produced.  It is clear they have been working hard and that work has paid off!  This week I also heard comments such as "I love writing!", and there was disappointment on the days we didn't do writing due to other scheduled events.  

During Math this week, we began a unit on telling time.  This week students learned how to read an analog clock, show the time on an analog clock,  and how to write the time.  First graders worked on telling time to the hour and half hour.  Second graders worked on telling time to the nearest 15 minutes and then nearest 5 minutes, and third graders learned how to tell time to the nearest minute.  While this is not a major mathematical standard, children become very engaged in this work as it feels applicable to them in the real world.  

On Wednesday we had our their outdoor recreation at Spruce Peak.  We had several students nordic ski this week, while re remainder enjoyed another week ice skating.  Thank you to the parent volunteers who joined us this week: Eric Schoeberlein, Shawn Smejkal, Caitlin Mahoney, Samantha Fuller, and Hank Glowiak.  And To the Van Anda / Hart family for providing us with a snack!

Volunteers on 2/1/23 are Shawn Smejkal, (and Bethany Sagent?) (skiing),  Steffany Mosley (transporting ski equipment and skating).  Snack is provided by Emily Sorensen

Next week we will be working on creating our Personal Timelines.  Please help your child complete the questionnaire that went home last Monday and return it on Monday along with their images (photographs or drawing) of each event.  A community volunteer, Tina Lyon will be coming to help us with this project on Monday morning.  

Our 100th day of school will be Thursday, February 9th.  Each student will create a 100th day project.  Please find information about this in their Friday Folders this week.  

We will exchange Valentine's (or sentiments of friendship and kindness) on Tuesday, February 14th.  I will send a class list home next week.  

Please email our School lunch orders to this link

Thank you to Caitlin Mahoney for a delicious lasagna, salad, and brownie/cherry trifle this Friday!

Hot Lunch on Feb. 10th will be provided by the Schoeberleins (TBD)

Announcements:

• School Banking is Monday - bring your deposits!
• Library is Monday - remember to bring your books!
• Wednesday: Ski and Skate - brings your gear and a water bottle
• PE is Thursday - Students need their sneakers
• No School Friday, Feb. 3rd (teacher professional development)
• 100th day of School - Feb. 9th - Project are due
• Field trip to the Vermont State House and Vermont Historical Museum - Tuesday, Feb. 21st
• Field trip to MES to see the Tiger Anti-bullying production - Thursday, Feb, 23rd
• Winter Break, February 27 - March 7 (school resumes Wed. March 8th)
• Second marking period ends Friday, March 10th.
• Elmore School Concert, Wednesday, March 15, 2023
• Early release day (12:10) March 16th
• No- School - Parent Conferences Friday, March 17th

 

Week 20

We had another great week at The Elmore School, ended with a beautiful snowy Friday which provided fresh snow to play in at recess!  Students came back to school on Tuesday after enjoying a long weekend with Monday off to observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  Monday, I spent the day in service, collaborating with colleagues across the Supervisory Union (Morrisville, Stowe, and Elmore) schools.  The elementary school teachers and middle school teachers are working with the All Learners Network on Math Menu professional development.  Wednesday, we had our second ski and skate day at Spruce Peak.  All students skated again for lack of adequate snow cover on the nordic trails at the Club at Spruce Peak.  With Friday's snow and another storm on the way Sunday night, we should be ready to ski next Wednesday for those interested!  

During our Literacy block this week we practiced phonemic awareness (hearing an manipulating sounds in words), phonics (applying the sounds we hear to written words), ans students practiced their spelling words in a multitude of ways.  Next week we will be doing a spelling inventory to screen how well students are applying the spelling patterns and rules they have been learning.  Students have also been working on their first drafts of their informational writing.  This week our focus was writing subtopic paragraphs and conclusions.  On Friday, students began editing and revising their first drafts.  Next week, I hope to begin writing book reviews.  

During math, first graders have been working hard to learn "make ten" strategies for addition.  When students have a variety of strategies to use they become more flexible and fluent in their approach to mathematics.  Second graders have been working on shifting 10 and shifting 100 (regrouping) three digit numbers.  Later, they will use this skill to add and subtract when regrouping is necessary.  Third graders completed another unit with a focus on division and relating division to multiplication.  Students also did the STAR math Assessment this week.

Family Hot Lunch this week was provided by the Bowen family.  Students enjoyed Macaroni and Cheese, peas, and maple cookies for dessert!  Next week's Family Hot Lunch will be provided by the Glowiak / Mahoney family (TBD).

Please email your school lunch orders to me at this link.

Thank you to all the parent volunteers who joined us for skating this week.  Next week (2/25/23) parent volunteers are Shawn Smejkal (ski and transport equipment)), Sam Fuller (skate) and Caitlin Mahoney (ski or skate depending on the numbers).  Snacks are provided by the Van Anda/Hart family.  Please plan to be at the Elmore School by 11:20 to ride the bus.  We will return to school at 2:30.

Announcements:

• School Banking is Monday - bring your deposits!
• Library is Monday - remember to bring your books!
• Wednesday: Ski and Skate - brings your gear and a water bottle
• PE is Thursday - Students need their sneakers
• No School Friday, Feb. 3rd (teacher professional development)
• Field trip to the Vermont State House and Vermont Historical Museum - Tuesday, Feb. 21st
• Field trip to MES to see the Tiger Anti-bullying production - Thursday, Feb, 23rd
• Winter Break, February 27 - March 7 (school resumes Wed. March 8th)
• Second marking period ends Friday, March 10th.
• Elmore School Concert, Wednesday, March 15, 2023
• Early release day (12:10) March 16th
• No- School - Parent Conferences Friday, March 17th

Week 19

 Our first outdoor recreation day (ski and Skate) at Spruce Peak was a big success! The skies were blue and the spirits were high! Everyone enjoyed skating this week for lack of snow on the ground for nordic skiing.  Fingers crossed that next week there will be an option to ski as well!

This photo says it all!

We had a busy week at the Elmore School!  On Monday we had School Board Member/community member, Ann Marie Dryden visit our classroom to work alongside our school PoG representative, Evalyn Schoeberlein, as they talked to the class about the Portrait of a Graduate (PoG) process.  Then students spent some time reflecting on their school experience and what they are proud of, what they would like to see improved/changed, how to make improvements/changes and what that change would look/sound like in the future.

On Tuesday we had Farm to School (FTS) with Kyle Weatherhogg.  Kyle brought a book to share with the class titled SIT - IN How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney.  Before reading the book, Kyle had the students write what a doughnut and hot cocoa means to them.  Then she read the book and students reflected about the injustice the four friends experienced by not being served at the lunch counter when all they wanted was a simple doughnut and coffee with cream on the side. Kyle did a great lesson tying in the connection of food and the simple act of wanting to order a doughnut and coffee, and being refused service because of their skin color, and how these four friends peacefully protested by refusing to leave the lunch counter.  Then, she had students write again about what doughnuts and hot cocoa/coffee represented after hear the story.  It was a great way for us to reflect on the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement.

In Literacy, this week students have been working on drafting their informational text.  We have learned how to write a paragraph and organize our writing with subtopics that support our topic.  It has been demanding work but the students are working hard and things are coming together for them!

We also took the STAR reading assessment this week.  This is the second of three benchmarks we will do this year, with the last one in May.  Overall, students are showing steady growth!

This week we also read a biography about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. which we tied into our history unit about the past and how it has affected the present.  On Friday students wrote "I have a Dream..." statements about a dream they have for a better world in the future.

Students have been busy during math.  First graders have been learning make 10 strategies for adding two numbers whose sum is greater than 10.  Second graders have been learning how to shift (or regroup) 10's and 100's which they will use later when adding and subtraction 3 digit numbers.  Many of us grew up calling this "borrowing".  Third graders have been connecting multiplication to division and finally solving word problems involving division using a bar model to represent the problems.

We enjoyed a delicious Turkey Chili on Friday, brought to us by the Tartaglia/Smejkal Family.  A Huge thank you to all the families who have provided lunch so far this year! 

Please email your school lunch orders at this link.

Friday Family Hot Lunch next week will be Mac and Cheese provided by the Bowen Family!

Ski and Skate at Spruce Peak:We Plan to head to Spruce Peak again next Wednesday.  All kids will be able to skate, and hopefully we will have the option to nordic ski, too!  Chaperones next week are Tim Sargent, Shawn Smejkal (transporting ski equipment if needed), and Caitlin Mahoney.  A group snack next week is provided by the Gabaree's.  Thank you to all the volunteers.  Without you we would not be about to have this wonderful opportunity! 

Announcements:

• School Banking day is Monday.  Don't forget your deposits!
• Library is Monday!  Make sure you bring your books back!
• We have PE on Thursday - bring sneakers!!!
• No School Monday, Jan 16th - MLK Day / teacher PD
• No School Friday, Feb. 3rd - teacher PD
• Winter break: Feb. 27 - March 7 (school resumes on March 8)
• Elmore School Concert: Wednesday, March 15th @ 6:30-7:00

Thank you to our parent volunteers 

(we are missing one photo, but you are not forgotten Brittney Sanville!

Week 18

 

Happy New Year!

We have rolled over into a new calendar year and though I'm still getting used to writing 23, the students are embracing several new learning opportunities in the new year! We began new writing and reading units with a focus on informational text, in math each grade dove into some new concepts, we began a new Global Citizenship unit with a focus on History, we began learning some new songs for our concert (more information to come), and in art we decided to make our own snowflakes since mother-nature isn't giving us any.

We began the week with a focus on reading non-fiction text.  Students identified several text features found in non-fiction books and then worked with a partner to go on a text feature scavenger hunt.  We also began our next writing unit with a focus on writing informative text.  Students began with generating a list of expert topics they could write about to teach.  The next day, they chose a topic from their list and began planning their writing.  On Friday students learned how to write a good introduction and worked on writing their introductions.  This proved to be a challenging exercise for many, but students persevered through the process.  

In math this week first graders set out to solve word problems involving addition and subtraction using a number bond model, writing an equation to match the problem, and solving to find the answer.  Second graders began the week with comparing numbers within 100 and finding the difference between the numbers.  They ended the week with decomposing 3 digit numbers into expanded form.  Third graders began learning the concepts of division (sharing in equal groups).

We also began a new Global Citizenship unit this week with a focus on history.  We started by defining the terms "past", "present", and "future".  We had several discussion about how each of these moments in time influence or are influenced by each other.  Then we spent some time relating the past to our own lives and the lives of the people in our family.  Finally, students worked in a small group to sort pictures of items from the past and present and we did a museum walk to compare our groupings.  

I'm very excited to let you know we will be having our first concert in three years!  I have tentatively planned for the concert to take place the evening of Wednesday, March 15th at the Elmore Town Hall.  This is a quieter time of the year between sports seasons and after our winter break.  I'm excited about the songs we will be performing as they will have a very positive global message.  I will let you know more details as we get closer to the date.

We are beginning the new year with a focus on 3 dimensional art.  We may not have any snow outdoors, but that didn't stop us from making snowflakes in the classroom!  Students made snowflakes using cutout wooden shapes.  First we learned about a well-known, Vermonter, William Bentley (known by many as "Snowflake Bentley"). He spent his entire life living in Jericho, Vermont, where he photographed and studied snowflakes. We spent time this week designing and assembling the pieces.  Next week we will finish the project by painting and decorating them. 

Please email your lunch orders at this link

Family Hot Lunch will be turkey chilli with toppings and corn bread provided by the Tartaglia/ Semjkal family.

We are scheduled to begin our ice skating/nordic skiing winter recreation next week on Wednesday, January 11th.  All students should plan to ice skate next week as there is currently no snow.  If this changes I will let you know. Students should bring helmets and ice skates with them.  We have some skates and helmets for students who do not have their own.  We will eat lunch before we leave and will have a snack in the afternoon.  Volunteers please plan to be at the school by 11:20 as the bus will be leaving at 11:30. (or you can meet us there) We will park by the Clubhouse, but parking is very limited.  Students will return to the school at 2:30.

The school district has generously purchased 5 sets of nordic skies, boots, and poles for The Elmore School!  This will be a nice addition to our outdoor recreation program and will allow students without their own equipment a chance to ski.  If anyone has skis and boots that no longer fit, which you would like to donate, we will gladly add them to our collection.

A reminder that our school day begins at 8:00am.  Students who arrive after 8:00 are considered tardy.  While I know it can be hard to get out of the house in the morning, please try to arrive before 8:00, as it is disruptive to the group when students arrive late and we are having morning meeting.

Announcements:

• School Banking day is Monday.  Don't forget your deposits!
• Library is Monday!  Make sure you bring your books back!
• We have PE on Thursday - bring sneakers and a yoga mat if you have one
• No School December 23 - 30 - December Break (school resumes on Monday, Jan 2nd)
• No School Monday, Jan 16th - MLK Day / teacher PD
• No School Friday, Feb. 3rd - teacher PD
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