Week 28

 

Elmore students apply principles of force and motion in their outdoor classroom
as they explore with Mini Bows and Arrows during E.C.O. this week.

Week 28 came in like a lion with Strong winds and cool temperatures, but Wednesday brought us calmer weather and bright, sunny skies for E.C.O., providing us with a beautiful morning in our outdoor classroom.  Students constructed mini bows and arrows out of twigs and floss to explore and apply the principles of force and motion (pushes and pulls) as they shot their mini arrows at a target drawn in the snow.  At another station, students used force (a push) to throw spears.  Students also enjoyed a special treat, sugar on snow, during forest choice! Thank you to Mrs. Bellavance for bringing Maple Syrup from her family's sugaring operation!  I'd also like to thank our parent volunteers: Mike McCarthy for tending our fire and donating wood, Caitlin Mahoney for all your help, and donating wood, and Tim Sargent, for all your help!

Our big focus in the classroom this week was making posters (our culminating Informative writing project) to teach about our Nature Name animals.  Each students has a native Vermont animal they have researched.  After researching and collecting information, students planned a poster and then worked to create a poster which included several facts about their animals crafted in an interesting way, utilizing written text, images, diagrams, maps, and other test features.  Students reflected and revised their work using a learning scale, then they evaluated their projects.  After students evaluated their own projects, I used the learning scale to evaluate their work.  Posters were returned to students and they were given the opportunity to make additional revisions if needed.  Next week we will hang them in the Town Hall to have a "Museum" walk.  I will let you know when we open the "Museum" and will have the door unlocked at the end of the day for a few days so you can stop in to take a tour of the posters.  

During Math, level 2 and level 3 students are solving two part word problems using a bar model and equations to show their work.  This has proved to be a little challenging as students need to, first make sense of the word problem, understand how to set up their model, and then solve each part of the problem correctly.  Level 1 students worked to solve problems with 3 addends using arrays and graphs.  Then they started decomposing numbers to 100 into tens and ones using ten frames.  

We will have hot lunch on Monday AND Friday next week.  Monday the Dryden's are bringing burritos with options of beef and beans.  Friday's Hot Lunch is brought to us next week by the Sargent's.  Stay tuned for details on this Lunch.  Please EMAIL me your lunch orders for Tues - Thurs..

The playground continues to be pretty wet with melting snow, thawing ground, and rain.   Please make sure your child has indoor shoes (different from what they are wearing outdoors), and extra clothes.  If students have rain pants, I suggest bringing them.

This week we reviewed playground rules.  With safety in mind, students who are playing or being physically rough with one another (including: tackling, wrestling, pushing, pulling, hitting, kicking) will be asked to take a break.  If there is a second incident, their recess will be over and they will go inside.   

ECO

We have E.C.O. again this Wednesday.  Please let me know if you can volunteer, donate firewood, or donate hot dogs. 

Announcements:

• Library is Monday - remember your books and activity bags!
• Tue/ Fri are PE - you need your sneakers!  
• ECO - Wednesday, March 30
• Early release (noon) - April 8th
• Spring Break - April 18-22
• Field Trip to Montshire Museum- Monday, May 16th - bus leaves at 8:15 and returns at 2:30
• The last day of school is Tuesday, June 14th.

Weel 27

 

Our week was as short and sweet as this update will be!  We had a week of transition all around.  The weather went from winter, last weekend, to spring, this week!  We saw our warmest temperatures on Thursday since last October, and we transitioned from daylight savings time back to standard time giving us an extra hour of daylight at the end of the day!  With all of these transitions we are reminded that the final trimester of the school year is upon us and we are now in the final push for the end of the school year!  We still have so much to accomplish before we get there!

This week we spent much of our time preparing for our Student Led Conferences (SLC).  Although the LSUU schools have been having SLC for several years, the pandemic has put a halt to them the past two years, so this was basically new experience for all of the students (third graders had SLC in Kindergarten).  It was so nice to welcome you all into our classroom again! Being a witness to these conferences is such an honor as a teacher.  EVERY student rose to the occasion and presented their work and data with such pride.  When children have a SLC it is their chance to shine! Even if the data and work are not perfect, we look for the positive and focus on the growth.  In preparing for our conferences we did a lot of reflecting and goal setting.  It is not always easy to reflect on our work and look for areas to improve, but every student did this with integrity and grace!  One parent let me know that when their SLC was over their child expressed to them, "That was fun!".  Thank you all for taking the time to sit and listen to your child share their work and for all your encouraging words and thoughtful comments.  Mastery reports will be sent home sometime in the next week.  If you have questions or concerns, please reach out.

I will be sending home a parent survey next week so you can give me your feedback on SLC's.  Please take a moment to fill out the survey with your comments, suggestions, and observations and return it to school.  You do not need to include your name unless you want to.  

Next week we have ECO on Wednesday (March 23rd) from 9-12

I need one or two parents volunteers and firewood.  Please let me know if you can help.  

If your child has rain pants, please send them (even if it is not raining), as well as waterproof footwear.  This is the time of year the ground is very wet!

Please EMAIL me your school lunch orders for Monday - Thursday.

The Dryden's are on the Schedule for Hot Lunch next Friday.  

That is it for this week!

Week 26

 

Students Enjoyed the warmer temperatures and sun at the Spruce Peak skating rink on Thursday!

We started the week with blustery, freezing conditions and ended the week with early spring conditions.  As I write this update, the snow is coming down and winter is back!  Tonight we will set the clocks ahead on hour  which will make our mornings darker again for a while, but the sun won't be setting until nearly 7:00 pm!  With the warmer weather coming, the snow won't be sticking around too long this week, and hopefully the ice on the playground will be melting, too!  Thank you to Adam Audet who spread some sand on the ice last week so we could move more safely on the playground!

In the classroom, students finished their non-fiction writing unit and did an on demand writing assessment on Wednesday.  Students will have these to share with you at their conferences next week.  Students are now researching their nature name animals (assigned during ECO) and will be creating a teaching poster about their nature name animal.  Our next writing unit will be persuasive writing.  This week also did a spelling inventory and first graders took a phonemic awareness assessment.

During math level 1 students continue building math fluency as they shift from using ten frames to  number bonds when using make ten strategies to subtract within 20.  Level 2 students continue applying addition and subtraction strategies (with regrouping) to solve comparison word problems within 100.  Level 3 students  apply addition and subtraction strategies (with regrouping)  to solve comparison word problems within 1000.

Thursday we had our 2nd and final outing at Spruce Peak.  While the conditions were not favorable for nordic skiing or snow-showing, we were able to use the ice skating rink.  The warm temperatures and sun on Thursday, made for soft ice, but the students still enjoyed themselves.  While we had hoped for more opportunities to ski and skate this year, the weather just did not cooperate as well as we had hoped.  I am grateful for the time that we were able to spend on the trails and on the ice at Spruce Peak.  Thank you to the parents who took time out of their days to join us for these outings.  

Thank you to the Schoeberlein's for bringing Hot Lunch on Friday.  There is No School next Friday.  the Dryden's are on the schedule for Hot Lunch on Friday, March 25th.

Reminder that we have am early dismissal (noon) Thursday, March 17th.  We will have lunch prior to dismissal.

ECO has been Postponed until March 23rd.  Please let me know if you would like to join us for this engaging outing with a focus on Force and Motion.  We will also need fire wood and kindling.  

Student-Led Conferences: Friday March 18th

Friday we will have Conferences.  Please be sure to bring your student with you as these will be Student- Led Conferences.  Each conference will take about 30 minutes and they will overlap with other families.  This means that there will likely be one other family in the room.  Student-Led conferences are a chance for you child to shine!  Students will have a chance to show you some of their work and demonstrate some of the learning activities they participate in while at school, as well as time to reflect on their scholarly habits.  I will be in the room offering support to students and will be available to answer questions you may have.  

Week 25

 

Week 25 was short and sweet.  Wednesday, many students walked through the door for the first time in nearly 2 years without a mask!  It was so great to see their smiles and hear their voices clearly!  Understandably, we are not all comfortable going maskless quite yet, but this is a huge step in our return to "normal" (whatever that means).  

Wednesday morning also saw the return of ECO!  This week we our focus was Grouse Houses, where students learned about what the grouse does during the winter to adapt to the colder climate, then they worked to construct grouse houses in the snow.  We were lucky to have a fresh fluffy snowfall which provided the perfect conditions for this lesson.  Thanks to our parent Volunteers, Mike McCarthy, Caitlin, Mahoney, and Everett Dryden for taking time out of their day to join us!  We are very lucky to have so much family involvement!

Students were eager to get back to writing their non-fiction (informative text) books this week.  On Thursday, students used checklists to reflect on their work and make improvements.   To conclude this unit, all students will be researching their ECO Nature Name animal.  They will be create a teaching poster to tell all about their animal.  

During math this week, level one students worked on subtraction strategies using ten frames.  Level two students used subtraction to solve word problems involving comparisons.  Level three students used multiplication and division to solve word problems which involved finding the perimeter of various polygons.

During Science students explored with magnets to experience how magnets use force to push and pull metal objects (in this case, paperclips) made from (or containing) iron.  

Thursday, March 10th will be our last day going to Spruce Peak for outdoor winter recreation this year.  I will send an email early this week with details for volunteers.  Fingers crossed the weather will cooperate for us this week! 

Announcements:

• Monday: Library.  Remember to bring your books and activity bags!
• Tuesday / Friday:  PE - remember sneakers!
• Thursday: Ukuleles (2nd and 3rd grade)
• Thursday: Spruce Peak 11:30 - 2:30
• Friday:  Hot lunch provided by the Schoeberlein's
• Last day of the Marking Period- Wednesday, March 9th
• Early release (noon): Thursday, March 17th
• NO SCHOOL - Student Led Conferences - Friday, March 18th.

Week 24

 

Students decorated the Post Office boxes at the Elmore Store with handmade Valentines

We had a very busy week leading up to February break!  Monday we celebrated Valentine's Day and World Kindness week by decorating the post office boxes at the Elmore Store with over 160 handmade Valentine's.  Students spent much of their free time over the past couple of weeks crafting and creating the cards for the community, a 40+ year old tradition for the school.  We hope that we helped brighten the day of the patrons of the Elmore Store!

Tuesday,  journalist Chelsea Sheasley from The Christian Science Monitor, a national news outlet based in Boston, made her way north to Elmore to visit The Elmore School.  Ms. Sheasley became interested in the Elmore School when she learned it was the last one room schoolhouse in Vermont and wanted to write a "feature story about the role that the school plays in the community and why some residents are so passionate about ensuring it stays operating."  She spent about an hour and a half at the school where where she talked with Superintendent Heraty, several children, and me.  Before she departed she took the time to answer student questions about being a journalist.  

We ended the week with a celebratory School Dance and ice cream party!  Students have been prolific readers as of late, and have been summiting mountain after mountain with their reading minutes (each minute read = 1 vertical foot).  They reached the summit of Mount Abraham and Mount Mansfield over the past month and were rewarded with a Dance Party and Ice cream.  Students can log their reading minutes over vacation which will go toward our last Vermont mountain summit (Killington).  For the last trimester we will shoot for the biggest summit of the year as students read to climb Mount Everest!

During Literacy this week students worked on writing informational text.  Our focus this week was using text features to get the reader's attention and spelling strategies for independent writers.  With Ms. Bourne's (MES literacy coach) help, I was able to complete reading assessments to determine students reading levels, and Mrs. Bellavance assessed all first and second graders on reading sight words.  

We also finished out read aloud book. The Sign of the Beaver, by Elizabeth George Speare.  This book is a Newbery Honor book about a twelve year boy who struggles to survive on his own during eighteenth century Maine, while his father goes back to Massachusetts to retrieve the rest of the family.  

During Math, level 3 students used multiplication strategies to find the perimeter of 3, 4, and 5 sided shapes.  Level 2 students solved word problems using a tape diagram (linear model) to find the difference between a larger number and a smaller number to find how much fewer a number is, and level 1 students used ten frames and number bonds to solve subtraction equations by subtracting the ones to find the difference.

During Science this week students explored with the materials to discover which materials had more or less friction than other materials.  Students worked in small groups to test several materials to see which materials would make the best slides.  

Students tested various materials to compare friction

We will resume ECO the week we return from school.  Students need to be prepared to be outdoors for the morning on Wednesday, March 2nd ( the first day back).  I am still in need of one or two parents to join us for the morning (9-12).  

Fingers crossed that the weather will cooperate for us to go to Spruce Peak again on Thursday, March 10th.  

Wishing you all a wonderful week.  See you on March 2nd!

Here's a quick glimpse of our week!

Week 23

 

This snowperson sums up our week!

This week was an incredibly busy week.  The warmer temperatures were welcomed with cheers as students played outdoors building snow forts and sculpting this cheerful snowperson.  We celebrated our 100th day of the school year on Tuesday with all things 100 and Thursday we made our way to Spruce Peak for our first day of Nordic skiing and ice skating!  On Friday, with thanks to the DiMotta's, the students enjoyed ravioli and rolls for hot lunch with chocolate chip cookies for dessert!  

Some of the amazing 100th day Projects!

During literacy the class read several informative articles to identify the Main Idea.  During writing students wrote from the perspective of their 100 year old self and made portraits of their 100 year old self to accompany their story.  I began assessing students' reading level this week as well.  Next week I will continue these assessments as we near the end of the 2nd trimester on March 9th.  

During Math this week level 1 students learned how to use doubles + 1 or +2 and doubles -1 or -2 to solve additions problems.  Level 2 students worked on "take from" word problems involving change unknown with regrouping.  On Friday these students transitioned from using a number bond to using a linear model to compare larger and smaller quantities to find the difference.  Level 3 students have been working on solving word problems involving multiples of five using a linear bar model and number sentences to represent their work.

In science this week we learned about how bridge designs use forces (pushes and pulls) to make them stronger.  This culminated with students engaging in a STEM activity where they worked to design a model of a bridge that would hold as many pennies as possible using only two pieces of paper.  In this challenge students persevered by making adjustments to their bridge designs to make a stronger and stronger bridge.  

These students used a combination of pillars and folding paper to strengthen their bridge.

Our visit from Boston-based journalist, Chelsea Sheasley, was postponed until next Tuesday.  Students have prepared questions for Ms. Sheasley to learn more about what being a journalist entails.  In addition to this spotlight on The Elmore School, Jack Thurston from NBC Channel 5 news,  plans to come back to Elmore on Monday to do a story about students at The Elmore School making Valentines for the Elmore Post Office Patrons.  This is a 40+ year old tradition for The Elmore School and is our way for spreading kindness to others and giving back to the community.  If you do NOT wish to have your child be part of either of these news events (photos or film) please let me know by Monday morning.

We will be celebrating Valentine's Day / World Kindness week on Monday, February 14th.  Students are invited to bring traditional Valentine's Day cards or other notes/gestures of kindness for each classmate on Monday.  A class list can be found your child's Friday Folder (on the back of the letter)

Thursday, we had our first outing at Spruce Peak where students enjoyed nordic skiing and ice skating! Thank you to all the parents who volunteered to help on Thursday and to the Dryden's and Hill's for providing an apres ski/skate snack.  We will be heading back to Spruce Peak again on Thursday, February 17th for another day of outdoor winter recreation.  I will be asking students on Monday what they plan to do.  

We will be resuming ECO following our February break, on our first day back, Wednesday, March 2nd!  I need one or two parents who would like to volunteer for this outing.  Our focus will be Grouse Houses 

I just noticed that we are missing next Friday on our hot lunch calendar.  Given the late date,  I am going to reach out to the kitchen crew to see if we can arrange another pizza day.  If that is not possible, we will plan on regular school lunch options and home lunch for Friday.  

Announcements:

• Monday - Library
• Tue/Fri - PE - need sneakers!
• Thursday - 2nd and 3rd grade - Ukelele
• Ski/Skate/Snowshoe at Spruce Peak - Thur. 2/17 @ 11:30 - 2:30
• February Break - 2/21 - 3/1.  School resumes 3/2/22
• ECO 3/2/22 @ 9:00 - 12:00 - Parents volunteers needed
• End of second trimester: March 9
• Ski/Skate/ Snowshoe at Preuce Peak - Thur. 3/10
• ECO 3/16/22 @9:00 - 12:00 - Parent Volunteers needed
• Conferences - Friday Mar 18th - NO SCHOOL

Week 22

Due to adverse weather conditions on Thursday and a planned day off (for Teacher Professional Development) on Friday, we had a rather abbreviated week with just three days.  This now makes our highly anticipated 100th day of school Tuesday, February 8th, rather than Monday the 7th.  Therefore students have gained an extra day to complete their 100th day projects (now due on the 8th).  Remember these projects should creatively display 100 items (not a collection of 100 things).  Part of the process is in the counting of the objects (group by 5's, 10's, 20's 25's).  These do not need to cost a lot of money.  a piece of cardboard, 100 pieces of cereal or popcorn, and some glue could be the total expense).  

Thursday's closure also caused us to postpone the start of our first outdoor winter recreation event at Spruce Peak to next week.  I will see what I can do about rescheduling this day for later in March.  

We kicked off this week with a visit from Mr. Heraty who came to read the students a couple of stories! Students enjoyed hearing the the rhythmic tale of a circus ship that ran aground, winking off the coast of Maine causing all the animals aboard to find refuge on a nearby island.

This week we continued our reading and writing to inform unit.  This week we focused on structure.   Students learned how to write a "hamburger" paragraph.  In this model the top bun represents the "topic sentence".  The lettuce, cheese and burger represent the "supporting details", and the bottom bun represents the "conclusion".

In math level 1 students are working on adding to teen numbers using ten frames and number bonds, and Wednesday they practiced their doubles facts using ten frames.  Level 2 students are working take from word problems using a number bond and equations.  Level 3 students are solving 2,3, and 4 multiplication word problems using a linear model (tape diagram) and number sentences.  

During science, students are currently learning about forces and motion.  This week they explored how using pushes and pulls - forces- helps them accomplish extraordinary things.

Next week we have a special guest visiting our school on Tuesday.  A journalist who covers education stories for a national news outlet based in Boston is planning to write a story about The Elmore School.  As part of this visit, the students will prepare some questions for her about being a journalist.  This will prove to be an exciting day!

Announcements:

• due to our short week, spelling quizzes will be Monday next week.
• 100th day of School Tuesday, Feb. 8th
• Outdoor Winter Recreation at Spruce Peak - Thursday, Feb. 10
• Hot Lunch, Friday, Feb. 11 - Dimotta Family
• Scholastic Book Orders due, Feb. 11th
• February Break - No School - Feb 21st - March 1st.
• Town meeting day is Tuesday, March 1st