Week 35

It is hard to believe it is already the Memorial Day and I'm writing about our 35th week of school! We were treated to some summer-like weather this week with temperatures flirting with 90 degree on Wednesday!  While things are winding down quickly, we are not done yet!  

First, I want to thank everyone who voted this week for the school budget!  50% of Elmore voters cast a vote and the EMUU budget was passed by nearly 2:1.  This assures that the Elmore School will continue serving the students of Elmore next year!  

This week during literacy, students worked on composing memory letters for their classmates,  and finished writing persuasive essays or letters.  First graders worked on compound words, while second and third graders spelled words with /o/ spelled au and aw (draw, fault).  On Thursday, we read a Scholastic New about poisonous plants.  Students also took the STAR Reading assessment this week.  I shared results with students and you should be able to find a plot graph in your Child's Friday folder that shows growth over the whole year  (with the exception of first graders who started taking the reading assessment later in the year).  

In math, each grade finished a math unit and had an end of unit assessment.  On Wednesday we kicked off a unit on fractions.  All students will be learning about fractions.  First grade will be identifying and naming fractions, while second graders will name and compare fractions, and third graders will work toward finding equivalent fractions.

We also began a new science unit this week with a focus on patterns in the sky.  This week students explored how shadow change as the position of the sun changes.  Then they learned about how the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

On Friday we traveled to Peoples Academy for the Memorial Day Observance.  I want to commend the children for the respect they exhibited during the ceremony.  We talked before hand about how the observance is NOT a celebration, rather it is a memorial ceremony.  As such they are expected to remain quiet and refrain from applauding during the ceremony (which can be difficult when watching a performance).  While much of the crowd applauded throughout the ceremony, the Elmore students remained quiet.  I had teachers approach me after the ceremony to tell me how respectful the Elmore Students were. 

When we returned from the Memorial Day Observance, we switched gears for our final ECO of the year in Elmore (next week we will travel to the North Branch Nature Center for our final ECO of the school year).  We Hiked to the Beaver Pond on Elmore Mountain, stopping at the base of the trail for a picnic lunch.  Once at the beaver pond, students explored the pond habitat looking for Macro-invertebrates as well as some amphibians (salamanders and tadpoles).  Students used nets to collect specimens and used Macro-invertebrate identifiers to identify their specimen.  By identifying the pond live, students can determine the pond quality and the level of pollution in the pond.  Thank you to Rob Bowen for volunteering!

Thank you to Mrs. Bellavance for the delicious Hot Lunch this week!  Students enjoyed spaghetti with or without meatballs, breadsticks, and Caesar salad with Ben and Jerry's ice cream for dessert!  I will prepare Hot Lunch next week.  We will have Breafast for lunch with pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage, and fruit.

For school lunch we will have hot lunch options for Tuesday (Tacos) and Wednesday (Pepperoni or Cheese Pizza).  On Thursday students can choose either a salad or sandwich.  Please email me your lunch orders by Monday at 6:00 pm.

Enjoy your Memorial Day Weekend!  See you on Tuesday!

Announcements 

• Library Tuesday - remember your books
• No School banking this week
• PE is Wednesday - Students NEED SNEAKERS!
• May 27th - No School - Memorial Day
• Thursday, May 30th- ECO @ NBNC (Volunteers:  Deidra Keith and Paige Bowen)
• Tuesday, June 4th - Field Trip to Stowe Performing Arts to see Ada Twist Scientist live production.
• June 12th - Lunch at Martha and George Twombly's house (Beach Road)
• Last day of School - TUESDAY, JUNE 18TH  - early dismissal
• End of year Celebration/3rd grade graduation/ family picnic - Tuesday, June 18th @ The Elmore School from 5:00 - 6:30 pm

Week 34

 

Students enjoyed learning about these fluffy Angora Rabbits during their field trip to the Shelburne Farms. We had another week packed with engaging learning opportunities.  The highlight of our week was definitely the field trip we took to the Shelburne Farms on Tuesday.  While there, students saw several farm animals and learned some interesting facts about them, they hand-milked a dairy cow, they learned about cheese making, and took a story walk through a wooded trail.  This was a culminating event after spending the year learning about dairy farming with the Discover Dairy Program.  A fun time was had by all.  When we returned to the school in the afternoon, students enjoyed ice cream for a treat in clelebration of their latest reading reward! During literacy this week, students worked on writing a closing or conclusion to their persuasive essays or letters and then began editing and revising.  They also began writing memory letters to their classmates.  These memory letters are one of the traditions we hold near and dear, as when 3rd graders graduate from the Elmore School, they will receive a bound book of letters written from every classmate they attended The Elmore School with over the (three) years they were here.   Rather than spelling words this week, students worked on some phonics practice.  First graders worked on compound words and multi syllable words; second graders practiced identifying words with hard g - /g/ and soft g -/j/ sounds and hard c - /k/ and soft c - /s/ sounds; and third graders identified words that have more than one meaning. During math first graders finished their unit adding two double digit numbers (adding within 100).  Second graders are adding within 1,000 with a focus on making extra 10 or 100 (regrouping).  Third graders used multiplications strategies to solve multiplication problems where one factor is over 20 [ex.  28 x 4 can be broken into (20 x 4) + ( 8 x 4)].

At ECO on Thursday our focus was on the order of survival (shelter, water, food).   We played a game where students had to capture the other teams survival medallions (like capture the flag) in the correct order.  There was a lot of team work, strategizing,  exercise, and fun involved.  Our next ECO will be a hike back to the Beaver Pond where we will explore and compare the habitat and macro-invertebrates found in the pond. We will have a picnic lunch before we hike back down the trail.  This will be an extended ECO and we will be out of the classroom for the majority of the day.  Students will need a snack, bag lunch, water, sneakers or hiking shoes.  They may also want sun screen, bug spray, and a hat.

On Friday we overhauled our shed.  Students worked together to empty it out, sweep it, organize the toys and put everything back.  Team work makes the Dream work!

Thank you to Jess Boutin for the Chicken Tenders and berries for hot lunch on Friday with cookies for dessert!  Mrs. Bellavance is planning Spaghetti and meatballs for Hot Lunch next Friday.

Please email  for your school lunch orders for the week.  You can find the menu here.

If you have not already done so, please remember to vote on the School Budget on May 21st!  We appreciate your suuport!

Announcements 

• Library Monday - remember your books
• School Banking is Monday - remember your deposits!
• PE is Tuesday and Wednesday next week 
• Tuesday, May 14th - Field trip to Shelburne Farms
• Tuesday, May 21st - School Budget Vote
• Thursday, May 23rd- ECO - let me know if you would like to Volunteer.
• Friday, May 24th - Memorial Day Observance @ Peoples Academy 10:00 am
• May 27th - No School - Memorial Day
• Thursday, May 30th - Field Trip to the NBNC for E.C.O.
• Tuesday, June 4th - Field Trip to Stowe Performing Arts to see Ada Twist Scientist live production.
• Last day of School - TUESDAY, JUNE 18TH  - early dismissal
• End of year Celebration/3rd grade graduation/ family picnic - Tuesday, June 18th @ The Elmore School from 5:00 - 6:30 pm

Week 33

We had another engaging week at The Elmore School!  Students have been busy learning about homophones and persuasive writing during literacy.  During reading groups two groups finished the chapter books they have been reading, and students are working on reading fluency and comprehension.  

During Math each grade is making progress with content.  Third graders began applying multiplication strategies to multiply bigger numbers by breaking apart bigger numbers into small numbers so they are more easily applied. Second and first graders and using addition and subtraction strategies to solve problems within 1,000 (2nd gr.) and 100 (1st gr.) respectively.   Students have also been learning about maps and geography.  This week we had a focus on identifying rural, suburban, and urban communities as well as various landforms and water forms.  Students are making connections between types and landforms and the development or land uses that are present.  

On Thursday we had another fun morning at ECO.  This week we had Carrie's co-worker, Ken join us and he led us in a activity called sound mapping.  During this activity students found a quiet sit spot where they listened to the sounds they heard (birds) and recorded them on a sound map in their journals.  We discovered that several different birds species can be found in our forests.  We ended the day with forest choice near the brook where students carved sticks, made boats, and built with sticks.  Thank you to our Volunteers, Ashley Reynolds and Tina Lyon. 

Students sound mapping during ECO.

Thank you to Ray Boutin for the delicious Hot Lunch on Friday.  Next Friday Jess Boutin will be providing Lunch (TBD).  

Please remember to email me you school lunch orders.  You can find the menu here.

We have our field trip to the Shelburne Farms on Tuesday, May 14th.  The bus will leave at 8:30 and will return to the Elmore school around 2:30.  Students should dress comfortably and remember a light jacket or sweatshirt as it may be cool.  We will eat a quick snack when we arrive at the farm and will have lunch before we leave.  Please plan to pack a cold bag lunch unless you ordered a school lunch, and a water bottle.  Students may want sunblock and bug spray as we will be outdoors a good part of the day. Please do NOT send money with your child on Tuesday. I intentionally did not ask for students to bring money as we will not be shopping at the gift shop.  Most items are well over $10 and I thought that was too much for students to spend.

I also want to encourage everyone, once, again, to make sure you get your school budget vote submitted on or before May 21st.  I hope that you will encourage others to vote in favor of the school budget too.  If you have questions about the budget, please attend the informational meeting at MES next week on June 14th at 6:00 pm, or contact a School Board Member or Superintendent, Ryan Heraty.  We need your support to pass the budget on May 21st!

 

Announcements 

• Library is Thursday next week - remember your books
• School Banking is Monday - remember your deposits!
• PE is Wednesday and Friday next week - send sneakers!
• Tuesday, May 14th - Field trip to Shelburne Farms
• Thursday, May 16th- ECO - let me know if you would like to Volunteer.
• Friday, May 24th - Memorial Day Observance @ Peoples Academy 10:00 am
• May 27th - No School - Memorial Day
• Thursday, May 30th - Field Trip to the NBNC for E.C.O.
• Tuesday, June 4th - Field Trip to Stowe Performing Arts to see Ada Twist Scientist live production.
• Last day of School - TUESDAY, JUNE 18TH  - early dismissal
• End of year Celebration/3rd grade graduation/ family picnic - Tuesday, June 18th @ The Elmore School from 5:00 - 6:30 pm