February 4-11

Academics

Math

For Number Corner, students have remained in the same groups, but the content has shifted. Fourth graders are currently learning about some geometry terms, including lines, line segments, points and angles. They are also starting to classify angles and will eventually learn to measure angle degrees with a protractor. In fifth grade number corner, students are learning about some metric units of capacity and are leading up to some work with multiplying fractions.  

 

Students completed their Unit 3 post assessments, and this past week we focused on whole number computation in homerooms. Students were in small groups with instruction and practice based on skills they needed. Next week we will be moving on to Unit 4 in Bridges.  

Word Study

Students continue to work in their groups on a variety of spelling patterns.  They have a schedule with choice activities. That schedule is posted on the team website as well as copies of the choices, and a link to the completed sorts so families can see how the words are sorted as well as the rule for each group.

Writing

We continue to work on opinion writing.  Students are writing about a variety of topics on which they can take a personal stance and support their claim with reasonable details.  In the past students have written about food choices in the cafeteria, flip flopping lunch and recess times, year round schools, the benefits of homework, school uniforms and more.   Ms. Jeffrey’s class began a guided research opinion piece on year round schooling. Mrs. K Mead’s class is working on a guided piece about wearing hats in school. Most recently, students in Mrs. S. Mead’s class wrote about the biggest challenge(s) facing parents today.

 

Reading

The students are participating in a unit on nonfiction or informational text.  Students are reading about a variety of topics including United States regions and colonial history.  Students will also be learning about non-fiction text structures, using text features to increase comprehension, and identifying main ideas in non-fiction texts.

 

Read Aloud

Mrs. S. Mead: We continued reading The House on the Gulf.

Most recently, Mrs. Stuldy, their next door neighbor, got word that Mr. Marcus had died unexpectedly back in Chicago. Britt had many mixed emotions about hearing this. The grandfather that she had never known, and who had mistreated her mother terribly, was gone, and she was sad. Britt found herself spending lots of time in the card section of the drug store, trying to find just the right card to express her confusing emotions.

 

Mrs. K. Mead:  The Courage Test by James Preller

We finished up When You Reach Me and started The Courage Test. William Merriweather Miller is going on a road trip with his father. He is missing his All Star Baseball season so he is pretty bummed about the trip. He is also upset with his father who divorced his mother and has started a new life with a new girlfriend. He is doing everything he can to avoid enjoying the trip which follows the same path as Lewis and Clark. He is unable to hide his enjoyment however, when he sees his first grizzly bear. We are collecting questions about the book to ask James Preller when he comes to visit FMS this spring!   

 

Ms. Jeffrey: The Girl From Felony Bay

When Bee is out of town for some doctor’s appointments, Abbey continues pursuing the case. She heads to the local newspaper to see if she can get a reporter interested in the goings on at Felony Bay. He explains there isn’t enough mystery for a story. Abbey tries a local environment agency, but they are unable to help because it’s happening on private land.

Social Studies

Students are learning about the United States regions as well as early history including colonial times and the American Revolution. The students in Mrs. K. Mead’s class is wrapping up their documentaries this week. We have also been focusing on early colonial times which will lead us into the American Revolution.  Students in Mrs. S. Mead’s classroom are learning about early colonial times and will be moving on to the start of the Revolution next week. Ms. Jeffrey’s class learned about the Southwest. The quiz on the Southwest states and capitals will be Friday, February 15. Next up is the Pacific Northwest.

Important Information/Happenings

FMS Book Fair

The FMS Dino-Mite Book Fair was a huge success! Thank you to all who volunteered and purchased books.

Ski Program for 5th Graders

Click on the link below to learn about ski program being offered to Vermont 5th graders.  

Ski Vermont

Student Teachers

Miss Walsh and Miss Bissonnette have settled right into Ms. Jeffrey’s classroom and Mrs. S. Mead’s classroom!  They have started some instruction with students in small groups and will work with everyone on the team. We are excited to have them on board.  

Birthday Celebrations

This year the school is discouraging food celebrations, which includes sending in whole class snacks for birthdays. We will still be recognizing and celebrating students on their birthdays in other ways. We have generated a list of ideas for celebrating student birthday. You can see it here. If you have suggestions for your child's celebration please let us know.

Lunch Bunches

David Hoppe is the guidance counselor for our team this year. In an effort to get to know our students he will be running weekly lunch bunches in his office. If this is something you are not comfortable with having your child participate in, please let us know.

 

Practice Superstars

The following students completed all their practice on time and handed it in when they arrived in the morning.  Parents should check with their child about his/her classroom number.

 

Jeffrey: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22

S Mead:   1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22

K Mead: 1, 3, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 18, 19, 21, 22  

 

 

 

 

Model Citizen

In addition to Practice Superstars we will select one student as Model Citizen each week from each of our classrooms.  We are always looking for students who demonstrate good character as well as work hard with school assignments. As recognition for being Model Citizen, students will receive a practice pass which can be used on one practice assignment. The practice passes do not have expiration dates. In addition, the Model Citizen may choose to have lunch in the classroom one day with 3 friends. Again, if you would prefer that your child’s number not be in the blog for this recognition please let us know.

 

 

Jeffrey:  6

S Mead:  3

K Mead: 21

Team Wish List

Any donations of the following items would be greatly appreciated!

DCF books (click on this link for titles) Ziploc bags (snack, quart or gallon) colored Sharpie markers Vis a Vis markers Post It Notes

Expo markers Kleenex paper plates paper bowls plastic spoons

Parent Volunteers

There is information posted on the EWSD website for parents interested in volunteering.  Here is the direct link.  

Boston Updates

We sent home a letter with deposit due dates.  Please return those as soon as possible. The first deposit due date is February 15th.  Families may pay the full amount on the 15th or divide their total amount equally due over the three deposit dates.  Checks should be made payable to EWSD or FMS.

 

Deposit Dates:  February 15, March 15 and April 19

 

A few parents have expressed interest in fundraising for this trip.  All ideas will need to be approved by Wendy Cobb. If you are interested in spearheading the fundraising efforts let us know.  

The dates of the trip are Thursday, June 6 and Friday, June 7.  Students will need to be at FMS by 7:00 a.m. on Thursday morning.  Parents will need to make arrangements to drop students off at FMS that morning.  In addition, parents will need to be available to pick their child up at FMS Friday evening between 8:00 - 9:00 p.m.

 

Upcoming Events

First Boston Deposit Due February 15

NAEP testing for 4th grade February 20

February Vacation February 25 - March 1

Family Reading Night March 20

Parent Conference Day March 22

April break April 22 - 26

 

January 28th - February 1st

Academics

Math

We wrapped up January Number Corner. Fourth graders found the patterns for our January Calendar, continued their fractions work and did some work with division.   Fifth graders also wrapped up their work with their Calendar Grid. They have done some great thinking around the pattern which involves equations.

 

This week we wrapped up Unit 3. Fourth graders continued working with equivalent fractions, relating fractions to decimals, and adding/subtracting fractions with like and unlike denominators. Fifth graders continued practicing conversions in the metric system and did some work around division with two digit divisors, as well as story problems. Next week, we will take some time to focus on computation and problem solving before jumping into Unit 4.

Word Study

Students continue to work in their groups on a variety of spelling patterns.  They have a schedule with choice activities. That schedule is posted on the team website as well as copies of the choices, and a link to the completed sorts so families can see how the words are sorted as well as the rule for each group.

Writing

We continue to work on opinion writing.  Students are writing about a variety of topics on which they can take a personal stance and support their claim with reasonable details.  In the past students have written about food choices in the cafeteria, flip flopping lunch and recess times, year round schools, the benefits of homework, school uniforms and more.   Ms. Jeffrey’s class began a guided research opinion piece on year round schooling. Mrs. K Mead’s class is working on a guided piece about wearing hats in school.

 

Reading

The students are participating in a unit on nonfiction or informational text.  Students are reading about a variety of topics including United States regions and colonial history.  Students will also be learning about non-fiction text structures, using text features to increase comprehension, and identifying main ideas in non-fiction texts.

 

Mrs. S. Mead’s students are also participating in historical fiction book clubs around colonial America and the American Revolution.

Read Aloud

We continued reading, The House on the Gulf.

Britt finally confronted Bran with the truth about what was going on with his mysterious behavior. He admitted that the real reason he approached this couple to mow their lawn and house sit was because he believed them to be their mother’s astranged parents. Bran felt that they way they treated their mother was horrible, and they owed his family this much. Britt was astounded, and although she didn’t like it, she agreed to keep Bran’s secret from their mom so they could remain in the house for the rest of the summer. However, now knowing that they really WEREN’T supposed to be there made it even harder for Britt to enjoy herself.

 

Mrs. K. Mead:  When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Over Christmas break, Miranda found the second proof when she was given a first edition of her favorite book A Wrinkle in Time. She thinks whoever is writing her notes can somehow know what is going to happen before it actually does. When they went back to school, Miranda was walking home behind Sal when Marcus came out of his building. Sal is afraid of Marcus and started running from him. Not realizing why he was running, Marcus chased after him and led to Sal running into the street. He was almost hit by a truck but the laughing man kicked him out of the way and was the one who got him. Miranda figured out it was the laughing man who writing the notes. She is still working on how he knew everything he knew.

 

Ms. Jeffrey: The Girl From Felony Bay

Abbey and Bee met with Custis, one of the lawyers, at Mr. Force’s law firm.  The girls asked him lots of questions about how and why the land at Felony Bay was separated from Reward Plantation.  Due to client confidentiality Custis was not able to tell the girls very much. Given that Uncle Charlie was the real estate agent involved in the sale they believe he is involved in the splitting of the land.  When they were leaving the law form they saw Jimmy Simmons in a physical altercation with his father. The students all agreed that this explains Jimmy’s physical aggression toward others.

Social Studies

Students are learning about the United States regions as well as early history including colonial times and the American Revolution. The students in Mrs. K. Mead’s class is wrapping up their documentaries this week. We have also been focusing on early colonial times which will lead us into the American Revolution.  Students in Mrs. S. Mead’s classroom are learning about early colonial times. Ms. Jeffrey’s class continued to learn about the Midwest. Next up is the Southwest.

Important Information/Happenings

FMS Book Fair

The FMS Dino-Mite Book Fair is coming from February 6-11, 2019.  This is an essential fundraiser for our school library program.  Your help is needed to make this awesome event happen. Please consider volunteering an hour or more of your time!  Click here to view the volunteer sign-up.  All FMS students receive a $2 book coupon to be used at the book fair toward the cost of a book.  This is part of our fair give-back program, and we encourage your child to use it!  Also, did you know that a book fair e-wallet is a safe way for your child to shop at the book fair?  Please contact Sara Jablonski at sjablonski@ewsd.orgor 857-6306 with any book fair-related questions!

Ski Program for 5th Graders

Click on the link below to learn about ski program being offered to Vermont 5th graders.  

Ski Vermont

Student Teachers

Miss Walsh and Miss Bissonnette have settle right into Ms. Jeffrey’s classroom and Mrs. S. Mead’s classroom!  They have started some instruction with students in small groups and will work with everyone on the team and we are excited to have them on board.  

Birthday Celebrations

This year the school is discouraging food celebrations, which includes sending in whole class snacks for birthdays. We will still be recognizing and celebrating students on their birthdays in other ways. We have generated a list of ideas for celebrating student birthday. You can see it here. If you have suggestions for your child's celebration please let us know.

Lunch Bunches

David Hoppe is the guidance counselor for our team this year. In an effort to get to know our students he will be running weekly lunch bunches in his office. If this is something you are not comfortable with having your child participate in, please let us know.

 

Practice Superstars

The following students completed all their practice on time and handed it in when they arrived in the morning.  Parents should check with their child about his/her classroom number.

 

Jeffrey: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22

S Mead:  2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 16, 18, 21, 22

K Mead:  4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22

 

 

 

 

Model Citizen

In addition to Practice Superstars we will select one student as Model Citizen each week from each of our classrooms.  We are always looking for students who demonstrate good character as well as work hard with school assignments. As recognition for being Model Citizen, students will receive a practice pass which can be used on one practice assignment. The practice passes do not have expiration dates. In addition, the Model Citizen may choose to have lunch in the classroom one day with 3 friends. Again, if you would prefer that your child’s number not be in the blog for this recognition please let us know.

 

Jeffrey:  18

S Mead:  8

K Mead: 21

Team Wish List

Any donations of the following items would be greatly appreciated!

DCF books (click on this link for titles) Ziploc bags (snack, quart or gallon) colored Sharpie markers Vis a Vis markers Post It Notes

Expo markers Kleenex paper plates paper bowls plastic spoons

Parent Volunteers

There is information posted on the EWSD website for parents interested in volunteering.  Here is the direct link.  

 

Boston Updates

We sent home a letter with deposit due dates.  Please return those as soon as possible.

 

A few parents have expressed interest in fundraising for this trip.  All ideas will need to be approved by Wendy Cobb. If you are interested in spearheading the fundraising efforts let us know.  

 

Upcoming Events

FMS Book Fair February 6 - 11

NAEP testing for 4th grade February 20

February Vacation February 25 - March 1

Family Reading Night March 20

Parent Conference Day March 22

April break April 22 - 26

 

Academics

Math

We continued January Number Corner.  Fourth graders are learning about money and fractions of money as well as similar figures on their Calendar Grid. They are also doing some work with area.  Fifth graders are doing more work with volume well as time and money. They have done some great thinking around the pattern which involves equations.

 

During the rest of math, students are continuing to work on concepts in Unit 3.  Fourth graders are learning how to generate equivalent fractions as well how to relate the values of fractions and decimals. They are also learning how to use models to show equivalency. Fifth graders continue to work with decimals  and have begun converting different units such as megabytes and gigabytes which is a lead into metric conversions.

 

Word Study

Students continue to work in their groups on a variety of spelling patterns.  They have a schedule with choice activities. That schedule is posted on the team website as well as copies of the choices, and a link to the completed sorts so families can see how the words are sorted as well as the rule for each group.

Writing

We continue to work on opinion writing.  Students are writing about a variety of topics on which they can take a personal stance and support their claim with reasonable details.  In the past students have written about food choices in the cafeteria, flip flopping lunch and recess times, year round schools, the benefits of homework, school uniforms and more.   Ms. Jeffrey’s class began a guided research opinion piece on year round schooling.

 

Reading

The students are participating in a unit on nonfiction or informational text.  Students are reading about a variety of topics including United States regions and colonial history.  Students will also be learning about non-fiction text structures, using text features to increase comprehension, and identifying main ideas in non-fiction texts.

 

Mrs. S. Mead’s students are also participating in historical fiction book clubs around colonial America and the American Revolution.

Read Aloud

We continued reading, The House on the Gulf.

Brit has quickly discovered that life in a retirement part of town is not as fun as she thought it might be. She went out while her mother was at school and Bran was at work to try to find some baby-sitting jobs. Instead, she met a neighbor names Mrs. Stuldy, who was lonely and nice to chat with. Brit ended up spending some time with her and finding out that baby-sitting was not going to be a possibility. However, she did learn that Mrs. Stuldy had seen Bran moving boxes into the shed. She expressed a concern about the heat rotting the things.

 

Mrs. K. Mead:  When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Miranda found out that Annemarie has epilepsy which is usually controlled by her diet but while she has been working at the sandwich shop she has been cheating on her diet. She had a seizure while at school and Julia helped Miranda get Annemarie through it. Jimmy’s Fred Flintstone bank got stolen and he blamed Miranda, Annemarie, and Colin for it so he wouldn’t let them keep working at his store. When they finally convinced him to let them come back to work, Jimmy made a derogatory remark about Julia which upset Annemarie and caused the kids to quit. Miranda never got to talk to Annemarie before Christmas Break came. Miranda is supposed to get the second proof from whoever is writing the notes on Christmas.

 

Ms. Jeffrey: The Girl From Felony Bay

Abbey and Bee visited Abbey’s dad at the hospital.  Abbey continues to wonder what was so bothersome to Bee as they were at the hospital.  The students are convinced it has to do with Bee’s mother. As the girls were leaving the hospital they saw Mr. Barrett, Mr. Force’s law partner.  They also saw Lydia Jenkins, the victim of Mr. Force’s supposed theft. She had a stroke and is confined to a wheelchair. Mrs. Jenkins cannot speak but it seemed like she was trying to tell Abbey something.  

Social Studies

Students are learning about the United States regions as well as early history including colonial times and the American Revolution. The students in Mrs. K. Mead’s class are making informational documentaries about each region. Students in Mrs. S. Mead’s classroom are learning about early colonial times.  Ms. Jeffrey’s class continued to learn about the Southeast. Next up is the Midwest.

Important Information/Happenings

FMS Book Fair

The FMS Dino-Mite Book Fair is coming from February 6-11, 2019.  This is an essential fundraiser for our school library program.  Your help is needed to make this awesome event happen. Please consider volunteering an hour or more of your time!  Click here to view the volunteer sign-up.  All FMS students receive a $2 book coupon to be used at the book fair toward the cost of a book.  This is part of our fair give-back program, and we encourage your child to use it!  Also, did you know that a book fair e-wallet is a safe way for your child to shop at the book fair?  Please contact Sara Jablonski at sjablonski@ewsd.orgor 857-6306 with any book fair-related questions!

Ski Program for 5th Graders

Click on the link below to learn about ski program being offered to Vermont 5th graders.  

Ski Vermont

Student Teachers

Miss Walsh and Miss Bissonnette have settle right into Ms. Jeffrey’s classroom and Mrs. S. Mead’s classroom!  They have started some instruction with students in small groups and will work with everyone on the team and we are excited to have them on board.  

Birthday Celebrations

This year the school is discouraging food celebrations, which includes sending in whole class snacks for birthdays. We will still be recognizing and celebrating students on their birthdays in other ways. We have generated a list of ideas for celebrating student birthday. You can see it here. If you have suggestions for your child's celebration please let us know.

Lunch Bunches

David Hoppe is the guidance counselor for our team this year. In an effort to get to know our students he will be running weekly lunch bunches in his office. If this is something you are not comfortable with having your child participate in, please let us know.

 

Practice Superstars

The following students completed all their practice on time and handed it in when they arrived in the morning.  Parents should check with their child about his/her classroom number.

 

Jeffrey: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22

S Mead:  1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22

K Mead:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22

 

 

Model Citizen

In addition to Practice Superstars we will select one student as Model Citizen each week from each of our classrooms.  We are always looking for students who demonstrate good character as well as work hard with school assignments. As recognition for being Model Citizen, students will receive a practice pass which can be used on one practice assignment. The practice passes do not have expiration dates. In addition, the Model Citizen may choose to have lunch in the classroom one day with 3 friends. Again, if you would prefer that your child’s number not be in the blog for this recognition please let us know.

 

Jeffrey:  5

S Mead:  7

K Mead: 13

Team Wish List

Any donations of the following items would be greatly appreciated!

DCF books (click on this link for titles) Ziploc bags (snack, quart or gallon) colored Sharpie markers Vis a Vis markers Post It Notes

Expo markers Kleenex paper plates paper bowls plastic spoons

Parent Volunteers

There is information posted on the EWSD website for parents interested in volunteering.  Here is the direct link.  

 

Boston Updates

We sent home a letter with deposit due dates.  Please return those as soon as possible.

 

A few parents have expressed interest in fundraising for this trip.  All ideas will need to be approved by Wendy Cobb. If you are interested in spearheading the fundraising efforts let us know.  

 

Upcoming Events

FMS Book Fair February 6 - 11

NAEP testing for 4th grade February 20

February Vacation February 25 - March 1

Family Reading Night March 20

Parent Conference Day March 22

April break April 22 - 26

January 14-18th

Academics

Math

We continued January Number Corner.  Fourth graders are learning about money and fractions of money as well as similar figures on their Calendar Grid. They are also doing some work with equivalent fractions on number lines, as well as showing fractions using set models. Fifth graders are doing more work with volume well as time and money.  

 

During the rest of math, students are continuing to work on concepts in Unit 3.  Fourth graders are learning how to compare fractions and generate equivalent fractions. They are also learning how to use models to show equivalency. Fifth graders continue to work with decimals including how to add and subtract them and round them to the nearest whole number.

 

Word Study

Students continue to work in their groups on a variety of spelling patterns.  They have a schedule with choice activities. That schedule is posted on the team website as well as copies of the choices, and a link to the completed sorts so families can see how the words are sorted as well as the rule for each group.

Writing

We continue to work on opinion writing.  Students are writing about a variety of topics on which they can take a personal stance and support their claim with reasonable details.  In the past students have written about food choices in the cafeteria, flip flopping lunch and recess times, year round schools, the benefits of homework, school uniforms and more.  

 

Reading

The students are participating in a unit on nonfiction or informational text.  Students are reading about a variety of topics including United States regions and colonial history.  Students will also be learning about non-fiction text structures, using text features to increase comprehension, and identifying main ideas in non-fiction texts.

 

Mrs. S. Mead’s students are also participating in historical fiction book clubs around colonial America and the American Revolution.

Read Aloud

We switched over to a new book, The House on the Gulf, so that students could read The First Shot for a book club book. This book takes place in Florida, where two siblings, Britt and Bran live with their mother. It always feels like they are trying to scrape by, until one day when Bran (who is 16), comes home with a summer house-sitting gig that seems too good to be true. The three of them will live in an elderly couple’s home while they spend their summer with family in Chicago. This seems like just the leg up they were hoping for, until Bran begins to act very strange.

 

Mrs. K. Mead:  House on the Gulf by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Miranda puts the first letter in the back of her mind and just continues on with her life. She and her mom keep practicing for the $20,000 pyramid and she goes to school. Sal still won’t speak to her but she found out that the boy who punched him goes to her school! When she starts talking to him, he doesn’t seem to recognize her though. She starts becoming good friends with Annemarie and Colin and the three of them get jobs working at a corner store for the owner Jimmy. Jimmy is a bit strange and has made it very clear that the kids should never touch his Fred Flintstone piggy bank. One day Miranda and Colin decide to sneak a peek anyway and find a collection of $2 bills. Miranda found the second note which stated her name so she could no longer pretend that the letter was not for her.  

 

Ms. Jeffrey: The Girl From Felony Bay

Abbey and Bee continue to wonder about what is going on at Felony Bay.  The girls are determined to investigate and get to the bottom of the mystery.  Now Abbey has 2 challenges on her hands - proving her father’s innocence and figuring out who owns the land at Felony Bay.  She discovered Uncle Charlie was the real estate agent when Reward Plantation sold. She asked him about it and he was very defensive.  Abbey (and the students) think that Uncle Charlie is up to no good.

Social Studies

Students are learning about the United States regions as well as early history including colonial times and the American Revolution. The students in Mrs. K. Mead’s class are making informational documentaries about each region. Students in Mrs. S. Mead’s classroom are learning about early colonial times.  Ms. Jeffrey’s class finished their study of the Northeast and have begun learning about the Southeast. The quiz on the states and capitals in that region is scheduled for Wednesday, January 23.

Important Information/Happenings

FMS Book Fair

The FMS Dino-Mite Book Fair is coming from February 6-11, 2019.  This is an essential fundraiser for our school library program.  Your help is needed to make this awesome event happen. Please consider volunteering an hour or more of your time!  Click here to view the volunteer sign-up.  All FMS students receive a $2 book coupon to be used at the book fair toward the cost of a book.  This is part of our fair give-back program, and we encourage your child to use it!  Also, did you know that a book fair e-wallet is a safe way for your child to shop at the book fair?  Please contact Sara Jablonski at sjablonski@ewsd.orgor 857-6306 with any book fair-related questions!

Ski Program for 5th Graders

Click on the link below to learn about ski program being offered to Vermont 5th graders.  

Ski Vermont

Student Teachers

Miss Walsh and Miss Bissonnette have settle right into Ms. Jeffrey’s classroom and Mrs. S. Mead’s classroom!  They have started some instruction with students in small groups and will work with everyone on the team and we are excited to have them on board.  

Birthday Celebrations

This year the school is discouraging food celebrations, which includes sending in whole class snacks for birthdays. We will still be recognizing and celebrating students on their birthdays in other ways. We have generated a list of ideas for celebrating student birthday. You can see it here. If you have suggestions for your child's celebration please let us know.

Lunch Bunches

David Hoppe is the guidance counselor for our team this year. In an effort to get to know our students he will be running weekly lunch bunches in his office. If this is something you are not comfortable with having your child participate in, please let us know.

 

Practice Superstars

The following students completed all their practice on time and handed it in when they arrived in the morning.  Parents should check with their child about his/her classroom number.

 

Jeffrey: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22

S Mead:  1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22

K Mead:  1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 20, 21, 22

 

 

 

Model Citizen

In addition to Practice Superstars we will select one student as Model Citizen each week from each of our classrooms.  We are always looking for students who demonstrate good character as well as work hard with school assignments. As recognition for being Model Citizen, students will receive a practice pass which can be used on one practice assignment. The practice passes do not have expiration dates. In addition, the Model Citizen may choose to have lunch in the classroom one day with 3 friends. Again, if you would prefer that your child’s number not be in the blog for this recognition please let us know.

 

Jeffrey:  19

S Mead:  17

K Mead: 15

Team Wish List

Any donations of the following items would be greatly appreciated!

DCF books (click on this link for titles) Ziploc bags (snack, quart or gallon) colored Sharpie markers Vis a Vis markers Post It Notes

Expo markers Kleenex paper plates paper bowls plastic spoons

Parent Volunteers

There is information posted on the EWSD website for parents interested in volunteering.  Here is the direct link.  

 

Boston Updates

Thank you to chaperons. We have now received confirmation from everyone.   

 

Upcoming Events

Martin Luther King Jr Day (no school for students)          January 21

Progress Reports go home January 25

January 7-11th

Academics

Math

We continued January Number Corner.  Fourth graders are learning about money and fractions of money as well as similar figures on their Calendar Grid. Fifth graders are doing more work with volume well as time and money.  This week they began looking at patterns in coordinate points and how to graph ordered pairs.

 

During math students are working on concepts in Unit 3.  Fourth graders are learning how to compare fractions and generate equivalent fractions.  Fifth graders continue to work with decimals including how to add and subtract them and round them to the nearest whole number.

 

Word Study

Students continue to work in their groups on a variety of spelling patterns.  THey have a schedule with choice activities. That schedule is posted on the team website as well as copies of the choices.  

Writing

We continue to work on opinion writing.  Students are writing about a variety of topics on which they can take a personal stance and support their claim with reasonable details.  In the past students have written about food choices in the cafeteria, flip flopping lunch and recess times, year round schools, the benefits of homework, school uniforms and more.  

 

Reading

The students are participating in a unit on nonfiction or informational text.  Students are reading about a variety of topics including United States regions and colonial history.  Students will also be learning about non-fiction text structures, using text features to increase comprehension, and identifying main ideas in non-fiction texts.

 

Mrs. S. Mead’s students are also participating in historical fiction book clubs around colonial America and the American Revolution.

Read Aloud

Mrs. S. Mead: The Girl from Felony Bay

We finished the book! Although there were some close moments, especially with Green Alice the territorial alligator, the girls escaped the clutches of Abbey’s Uncle Charlie, and proved her father’s innocence!

We have started our new read aloud book, The First Shot, to coincide with our new focus on historical fiction in literacy. This book takes place both in modern times, and in the late 1700s, when tensions were high between Colonists and Great Britain.

 

Mrs. K. Mead:  House on the Gulf by Margaret Peterson Haddix

We finished House on the Gulf early last week. Britt and her mom were getting ready to head to the beach when the door opened and Mrs. Marcus arrived. Mrs. Marcus was shaken to find strangers living in her house and Britt was confused when she didn’t recognize her daughter. She didn’t recognize her daughter because Bran had found the wrong Marcus’- they were not their grandparents. Mrs Stuldy was able to convince Mrs. Marcus not to call the police and Britt and her family moved in with Mrs. Stuldy. We were drawn in by all the twists and turns in this book! We have now started When You Reach Me, a Newberry Medal Winning book. This book tells the story of Miranda who has been receiving mysterious notes that seem to predict the future.

Ms. Jeffrey: The Girl From Felony Bay

Abbey met Bee Force, a girl about her age living on the plantation.  Bee is African American and the girls realize their families may have had a connection during slavery.  Bee suffered injuries in a car accident and gets very sad when talking about the accident. She lives with her grandmother because her father is a successful businessman who travels a lot.  Bee was very secretive about her mother and the students are predicting that she was killed in the car accident. The girls hit it off right away and have already gotten into a bit of trouble by swimming in the river without permission. After meeting Grandma Em, Bee’s grandmother, Abbey offers to take Bee on a tour of the plantation grounds.

Social Studies

Students are learning about the United States regions as well as early history including colonial times and the American Revolution. The students in Mrs. K. Mead’s class are making informational documentaries about each region.  Students in Ms. Jeffrey’s classroom are learning about the regions as well as the states and capitals.

Important Information/Happenings

FMS Book Fair

The FMS Dino-Mite Book Fair is coming from February 6-11, 2019.  This is an essential fundraiser for our school library program.  Your help is needed to make this awesome event happen. Please consider volunteering an hour or more of your time!  Click here to view the volunteer sign-up.  All FMS students receive a $2 book coupon to be used at the book fair toward the cost of a book.  This is part of our fair give-back program, and we encourage your child to use it!  Also, did you know that a book fair e-wallet is a safe way for your child to shop at the book fair?  Please contact Sara Jablonski at sjablonski@ewsd.orgor 857-6306 with any book fair-related questions!

Ski Program for 5th Graders

Click on the link below to learn about ski program being offered to Vermont 5th graders.  

Ski Vermont

Student Teachers

Two student teachers will be joining the team from January 2 until April break.  Samara Bissonette will be working in Ms. Jeffrey’s classroom and Abi Walsh will be working in Mrs. S. Mead’s classroom.  They will work with all students on the team and we are excited to have them on board.

Birthday Celebrations

This year the school is discouraging food celebrations, which includes sending in whole class snacks for birthdays. We will still be recognizing and celebrating students on their birthdays in other ways. We have generated a list of ideas for celebrating student birthday. You can see it here. If you have suggestions for your child's celebration please let us know.

 

Lunch Bunches

David Hoppe is the guidance counselor for our team this year. In an effort to get to know our students he will be running weekly lunch bunches in his office. If this is something you are not comfortable with having your child participate in, please let us know.

 

Practice Superstars

The following students completed all their practice on time and handed it in when they arrived in the morning.  Parents should check with their child about his/her classroom number.

 

Jeffrey: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22

S Mead:  2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22

K Mead:  1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22

 

 

 

Model Citizen

In addition to Practice Superstars we will select one student as Model Citizen each week from each of our classrooms.  We are always looking for students who demonstrate good character as well as work hard with school assignments. As recognition for being Model Citizen, students will receive a practice pass which can be used on one practice assignment. The practice passes do not have expiration dates. In addition, the Model Citizen may choose to have lunch in the classroom one day with 3 friends. Again, if you would prefer that your child’s number not be in the blog for this recognition please let us know.

 

Jeffrey:  10

S Mead:  11

K Mead: 14

 

Team Wish List

Any donations of the following items would be greatly appreciated!

DCF books (click on this link for titles) Ziploc bags (snack, quart or gallon) colored Sharpie markers Vis a Vis markers Post It Notes

Expo markers Kleenex paper plates paper bowls plastic spoons

Parent Volunteers

There is information posted on the EWSD website for parents interested in volunteering.  Here is the direct link.  

 

Proposed Field Trip to Boston

We are finalizing chaperone commitments and as soon as we do that we will send permission slips home with students.  In addition, we will be able to calculate a total cost of the trip and set up deposit dates. Thank you very much for your support of this great learning experience.   

 

Upcoming Events

Martin Luther King Jr Day (no school for students)          January 21

Progress Reports go home January 25

December 17 - January 2-4th

Academics

Math

We wrapped up December Number Corner before break and started January Number Corner when we got back. Fourth graders are learning about money and fractions of money as well as similar figures on their Calendar Grid. Fifth graders are doing more work with volume well as time and money.

 

Before and after break fourth graders started focusing on benchmark fractions on different model types. They will work with area, linear, and set models in Unit 3. Fifth graders started their decimal work. They focused on forms of decimals, comparing, ordering and rounding.

 

Word Study

Based on the results of the word study assessments we regrouped students for instruction.  The new instruction will begin the week of January 7. The students will have a new schedule in which they will have choice.  

Writing

Our instructional focus will be opinion writing.  Students will write about a variety of topics on which they can take a personal stance and support their claim with reasonable details.  In the past students have written about food choices in the cafeteria, flip flopping lunch and recess times, year round schools, school uniforms and more.  

 

Reading

Students finished mystery literature circles.  We are turning our attention to nonfiction or informational text.  Students will be reading about a variety of topics including United States regions and colonial history.  Students will also be learning about non-fiction text structures, using text features to increase comprehension, and identifying main ideas in non-fiction texts.

Read Aloud

Mrs. S. Mead: The Girl from Felony Bay

Abbey lucked out and happened to see Bee on her way back into town with Grandma Em. She caught a right with them back to Reward, and on the way, quietly spilled the beans to Bee about what she’d been up to. Of course, Bee wanted to be a part of any investigation happening, and the two decided to sneak out to Felony Bay at night to try and figure out what Uncle Charlie, Ruth and Bubba Simmons were really up to. They discovered something terrible. It appears that the trio were behind the robbery of Ms. Jenkins’ jewelry, and they had an operation to tarnish and melt it, making it unrecognizable. Bee and Abbey found a ring that had been missed, and held onto it for evidence. Unfortunately, the girls were discovered and had to flee for their lives! They rode out of Reward on horseback, narrowly missing both Uncle Charlie and Bubba Simmons’ pursuits. They made it to the hospital where Abbey’s father is still in a coma, but on their way out, Uncle Charlie found them and dragged them both out.

 

Mrs. K. Mead:  House on the Gulf by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Britt found out Bran’s big secret- the house they are staying in belongs to their grandparents AND they don’t know they are staying there. Britt has been struggling with what to do with this information. She very desperately wants a relationship with estranged grandparents and wants to relieve the weight of the burden of knowing this secret. At the same time, telling her mom could ruin everything. Her mom would have to drop out of school, their family would need to leave the house and they would struggle financially. We are holding on tight to find out how Britt will handle this dilemma.  

Ms. Jeffrey: The Girl From Felony Bay

This is the story of Abbey Force, a young girl, whose life had been turned upside down.  She lost her mother to cancer at a very young age. Within the past year her father was accused of stealing from an elderly client and he had a terrible accident which left in a coma.  Due to the accusations Abbey’s family home was sold and she was forced to live with her uncle and aunt. Charlie and Ruth do not act like they care for Abbey and treat her like hired help.  Her uncle is obsessed with get rich schemes and Abbey suspects he is up to something. This book is a suspenseful mystery and the students are very engaged in the plot.

Science

The students continue learning about matter in the Physical Science unit.  Be sure to ask them about the fun learning opportunities in which they have participated. Currently students in Mrs. S. Mead’s class are working on combining their writing and science learning into online books in book creator. This work wrapped up before vacation.

 

Social Studies

Following vacation, the students will be learning about the United States regions as well as early history including colonial times and the American Revolution. The students in Mrs. K. Mead’s class are making informational documentaries about each region.  Students in Ms. Jeffrey’s classroom are learning about the regions as well as the states and capitals.

Important Information/Happenings

Student Teachers

Two student teachers will be joining the team from January 2 until April break.  Samara Bissonette will be working in Ms. Jeffrey’s classroom and Abi Walsh will be working in Mrs. S. Mead’s classroom.  They will work with all students on the team and we are excited to have them on board.

Birthday Celebrations

This year the school is discouraging food celebrations, which includes sending in whole class snacks for birthdays. We will still be recognizing and celebrating students on their birthdays in other ways. We have generated a list of ideas for celebrating student birthday. You can see it here. If you have suggestions for your child's celebration please let us know.

 

Lunch Bunches

David Hoppe is the guidance counselor for our team this year. In an effort to get to know our students he will be running weekly lunch bunches in his office. If this is something you are not comfortable with having your child participate in, please let us know.

 

Practice Superstars

The following students completed all their practice on time and handed it in when they arrived in the morning.  Parents should check with their child about his/her classroom number.

 

Jeffrey: 1, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22

S Mead:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22

K Mead: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 20, 21,

 

Model Citizen

In addition to Practice Superstars we will select one student as Model Citizen each week from each of our classrooms.  We are always looking for students who demonstrate good character as well as work hard with school assignments. As recognition for being Model Citizen, students will receive a practice pass which can be used on one practice assignment. The practice passes do not have expiration dates. In addition, the Model Citizen may choose to have lunch in the classroom one day with 3 friends. Again, if you would prefer that your child’s number not be in the blog for this recognition please let us know.

 

Jeffrey:  4

S Mead:  5

K Mead: 12

 

Team Wish List

Any donations of the following items would be greatly appreciated!

DCF books (click on this link for titles) Ziploc bags (snack, quart or gallon) colored Sharpie markers Vis a Vis markers Post It Notes

Expo markers Kleenex paper plates paper bowls plastic spoons

Parent Volunteers

There is information posted on the EWSD website for parents interested in volunteering.  Here is the direct link.  

 

Proposed Field Trip to Boston

We are finalizing chaperone commitments and as soon as we do that we will send permission slips home with students.  In addition, we will be able to calculate a total cost of the trip and set up deposit dates. Thank you very much for your support of this great learning experience.   

 

Upcoming Events

Martin Luther King Jr Day (no school for students)          January 21

Progress Reports go home January 25

December 10-14

Academics

Math

December Number corner has continued. The fourth graders are learning about some geometry concepts such as parallel and perpendicular as well as continuing their work with subtraction strategies. They are connecting their work with parallel and perpendicular to the understandings of area that came in the previous unit. The fifth graders are learning about quadrilaterals and data collection, and are now focusing on making statements about the data on line plots. In addition, fifth graders are reviewing addition and subtraction of benchmark fractions and decimals.

 

Outside of Number Corner, fourth graders continued their learning about the connection between multiplication and division.  The fifth graders finished their unit on adding and subtracting fractions as well as ratios and finding the better deal. Students completed the Unit 2 post assessment this week. Up next for fourth graders is fractions while fifth graders will be working with decimals.

 

Word Study

Work study work is continuing. Along with learning how to spell their words,  students are required to learn the meanings. In addition, they learn the rule or pattern associated with their words. Weekly spelling tests incorporate all three of these aspects of word study instruction. Completed word study sorts and extra forms can be found on the team website.  We administered Form B of the Developmental Spelling Assessment and are currently working to regroup students starting in the new year.

Writing

Students are both publishing information pieces and adding opinion entries to their writer’s notebooks. We will continue with opinion writing after the holiday break.

 

Reading

Students continued mystery literature circles.  Some of the titles include Harriet the Spy, Closed for the Season, Book Scavenger, The Brixton Brothers and The Boxcar Children.  Students have a menu of engaging tasks to complete as they read their books, and will meet twice a week with group members to discuss their books. Students will be expected to complete two assignments from this choice board for each literature circle meeting. The choice board is linked here for parents’ reference.  The final assignment is due next Wednesday, December 19th.

Read Aloud

Mrs. S. Mead: The Girl from Felony Bay

Even with Bee out of town for some doctor’s appointments, Abbey is determined to continue pursuing the case. She heads to the local newspaper to see if she can get a reporter interested in the goings on at Felony Bay. He explains there isn’t enough mystery for a story. Abbey tries a local environment agency, but they are unable to help because it’s happening on private land. Finally, she heads back to Force and Barrett, her father’s law firm, to see if her father’s friend, Custis has found anything that could help her. She is instead met by Mr. Barrett, who is less than pleased at her persistent digging. He explains curtly to Abbey that she is to stop trespassing on land that does not belong to her, AND she is no longer welcome to bother anyone at the firm about it.

 

Mrs. K. Mead:  House on the Gulf by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Britt has found herself a summer job running errands for her elderly neighbors. She has also befriended her elderly neighbor, Early Stuldy. Bran has reacted suspiciously to both Britt’s job and her new friend but can’t find a good reason to tell Britt she can’t have her job or her friend. Britt has continued to try to figure out what is causing him to act so strange. Britt and Mrs. Stuldy spent time getting to know each other and Mrs. Stuldy shared that her son was in prison which made Britt worry about Bran even more. Britt is planning to open up to her mom about her worries but we don’t know if her mom is going to be able to hear her given how much the family has relied on Bran in the past.  

Ms. Jeffrey: Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos

Joey went to Pittsburgh to have some tests done at the Children’s Hospital.  He hoped to his dad while he was there but that didn’t work out. The test results showed that Joey was fine and the his doctor gave him a patch to help better control his ADHD.  Joey was able to return to his regular school and he was thrilled to be on the right track. Joey was even able to get a dog. Pablo is a Dachshund Chihuahua mix and according to Joey, “Pablo is yappy like me.”  We really enjoyed this book and it taught empathy and understanding. A few of the students are now reading the sequel entitled Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key.  

By the end of the week we started our new book, The Girl From Felony Bay.

Science

The students continue learning about matter in the Physical Science unit.  Be sure to ask them about the fun learning opportunities in which they have participated. Currently students in Mrs. S. Mead’s class are working on combining their writing and science learning into online books in book creator.

Important Information/Happenings

FMS Author Visit

On Thursday, December 20 Ray Perkins will be visiting FMS and will do a short session with students.  If families are interested they can purchase his books. Please see this order form.

Birthday Celebrations

This year the school is discouraging food celebrations, which includes sending in whole class snacks for birthdays. We will still be recognizing and celebrating students on their birthdays in other ways. We have generated a list of ideas for celebrating student birthday. You can see it here. If you have suggestions for your child's celebration please let us know.

 

Lunch Bunches

David Hoppe is the guidance counselor for our team this year. In an effort to get to know our students he will be running weekly lunch bunches in his office. If this is something you are not comfortable with having your child participate in, please let us know.

 

Practice Superstars

The following students completed all their practice on time and handed it in when they arrived in the morning.  Parents should check with their child about his/her classroom number.

 

Jeffrey: 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 20, 22

S. Mead:  1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 16, 18, 21, 22

K. Mead: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 18, 20, 21, 22

 

 

 

Model Citizen

In addition to Practice Superstars we will select one student as Model Citizen each week from each of our classrooms.  We are always looking for students who demonstrate good character as well as work hard with school assignments. As recognition for being Model Citizen, students will receive a practice pass which can be used on one practice assignment. The practice passes do not have expiration dates. In addition, the Model Citizen may choose to have lunch in the classroom one day with 3 friends. Again, if you would prefer that your child’s number not be in the blog for this recognition please let us know.

 

Jeffrey:   3

S. Mead: 2

K. Mead: 10

 

Team Wish List

Any donations of the following items would be greatly appreciated!

DCF books (click on this link for titles) Ziploc bags (snack, quart or gallon) colored Sharpie markers Vis a Vis markers Post It Notes

Expo markers Kleenex paper plates paper bowls plastic spoons

Parent Volunteers

There is information posted on the EWSD website for parents interested in volunteering.  Here is the direct link.  

 

Proposed Field Trip to Boston

We are finalizing chaperone commitments and as soon as we do that we will send permission slips home with students.  In addition, we will be able to calculate a total cost of the trip and set up deposit dates. Thank you very much for your support of this great learning experience.   

 

Upcoming Events

Ray Perkins visit December 20

Holiday Break December 24 - January 1

December 3-7

Academics

Math

We began December Number with both grade levels.  The fourth graders are learning about some geometry concepts such as parallel and perpendicular as well as continuing their work with subtraction strategies.  The fifth graders are learning about quadrilaterals and data collection.

 

Currently fourth graders are learning about the connection between multiplication and division.  The fifth graders are concluding their learning about adding and subtracting fractions as well as ratios.  We are wrapping up Unit 2 in Bridges and expect to being Unit 3 by the middle of next week. Up next for fourth graders is fractions while fifth graders will be working with decimals.

 

Word Study

Work study work is continuing. Along with learning how to spell their words,  students are required to learn the meanings. In addition, they learn the rule or pattern associated with their words. Weekly spelling tests incorporate all three of these aspects of word study instruction. Completed word study sorts and extra forms can be found on the team website.  We will reassess students with Form B of the Developmental Spelling Assessment over the next couple of weeks.

 

Writing

Over the next few weeks we will conclude our informational writing unit.  To wrap up that work students are working on research informational writing with a focus on science and social studies topics.

 

Reading

Students continued mystery literature circles.  Some of the titles include Harriet the Spy, Closed for the Season, Book Scavenger, The Brixton Brothers and The Boxcar Children.  Students have a menu of engaging tasks to complete as they read their books, and will meet twice a week with group members to discuss their books. Students will be expected to complete two assignments from this choice board for each literature circle meeting. The choice board is linked here for parents’ reference.  Those are due every Wednesday and Friday.

Read Aloud

Mrs. S. Mead: The Girl from Felony Bay.

Abbey and Bee have become thick as thieves as they work together to solve the mystery around Abbey’s wrongly accused father. They have discovered that a portion of Reward Plantation called, Felony Bay, was sold separately to a land development company. The interesting thing is that Bee’s Uncle Charlie and the county’s Sherriff, Bubba Simmons, seem to be wrapped up in the goings on at Felony Bay. Someone there is using construction equipment to dig holes all along the beach. The girls think it’s related to tales of treasure from Civil War ships, but they are continuing to search for clues about what’s really going on there.

 

Mrs. K. Mead:  House on the Gulf by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Britt and her family recently moved to Florida. They struggle financially and are all very excited when Britt’s older brother Bran tells them he has a house sitting job for the summer. Britt and her mother are happy to move out of their small apartment in a scary neighborhood but Britt has noticed that Bran is acting oddly. He is taking down the pictures in the house of the owners, storing away their breakables and refusing to the turn the air conditioning up. While Bran’s getting this house sitting job has opened doors for their family, Britt is wondering if it is all it seems to be.

Ms. Jeffrey: Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos

Joey continues to attend the school he was sent to after injuring his classmate.  He has made adjustments and is certainly feeling more confident that he can make changes and get back to his old school.  He met with a doctor who suggested he undergo some tests at the children's hospital in Pittsburgh. Joey was excited when he heard that because his dad lives there and he was hoping to see him.  His mother told him that would not happen. We continue to notice that the author is tackling some very serious topics but uses humor as a way to make the book enjoyable.

Science

The students continue learning about matter in the Physical Science unit.  Be sure to ask them about the fun learning opportunities in which they have participated. Lately, we focused on density, volume and buoyancy in our experiments.

Important Information/Happenings

FMS Author Visit

On Thursday, December 20 Ray Perkins will be visiting FMS and will do a short session with students.  If families are interested they can purchase his books. Please see this order form.

Birthday Celebrations

This year the school is discouraging food celebrations, which includes sending in whole class snacks for birthdays. We will still be recognizing and celebrating students on their birthdays in other ways. We have generated a list of ideas for celebrating student birthday. You can see it here. If you have suggestions for your child's celebration please let us know.

 

Lunch Bunches

David Hoppe is the guidance counselor for our team this year. In an effort to get to know our students he will be running weekly lunch bunches in his office. If this is something you are not comfortable with having your child participate in, please let us know.

 

Practice Superstars

The following students completed all their practice on time and handed it in when they arrived in the morning.  Parents should check with their child about his/her classroom number.

 

Jeffrey: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22

S. Mead:  4, 5, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22

K,. Mead: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

Model Citizen

In addition to Practice Superstars we will select one student as Model Citizen each week from each of our classrooms.  We are always looking for students who demonstrate good character as well as work hard with school assignments. As recognition for being Model Citizen, students will receive a practice pass which can be used on one practice assignment. The practice passes do not have expiration dates. In addition, the Model Citizen may choose to have lunch in the classroom one day with 3 friends. Again, if you would prefer that your child’s number not be in the blog for this recognition please let us know.

 

Jeffrey: 7

S. Mead: 21

K. Mead: 8

 

Team Wish List

Any donations of the following items would be greatly appreciated!

DCF books (click on this link for titles) Ziploc bags (snack, quart or gallon) colored Sharpie markers Vis a Vis markers Post It Notes

Expo markers Kleenex paper plates paper bowls plastic spoons

Parent Volunteers

There is information posted on the EWSD website for parents interested in volunteering.  Here is the direct link.  

 

Proposed Field Trip to Boston

We are finalizing chaperone commitments and as soon as we do that we will send permission slips home with students.  In addition, we will be able to calculate a total cost of the trip and set up deposit dates. Thank you very much for your support of this great learning experience.   

 

Upcoming Events

Ray Perkins visit December 20

Holiday Break December 24 - January 1

November 12 - 16 and 26th- 30th

This is combined post for the week before vacation and the week we came back! Students came back ready to jump right back into routines after vacation.

Academics

Math

We have continued November Number Corner with both grade levels.  The fourth graders are working on elapsed time, customary capacity and addition strategies.  The fifth graders are learning about triangles, metric length, fraction subtraction and are reviewing order of operations.

 

In addition, the fourth graders have continued their work with place value and number forms. Tied into those concepts, they have also learned about metric length, specifically centimeters, decimeters and meters. Fifth graders continued some review work with comparing fractions.

 

We will begin December Number Corner next week. Both fourth and fifth graders will continue their work in Unit 2 as well.

Word Study

Work study work is continuing. Along with learning how to spell their words,  students are required to learn the meanings. In addition, they learn the rule or pattern associated with their words. Weekly spelling tests incorporate all three of these aspects of word study instruction. Completed word study sorts and extra forms can be found on the team website.  We will reassess students with Form B of the Developmental Spelling Assessment in December.

 

Writing

Over the next few weeks we will conclude our informational writing unit.  To wrap up that work students are working on research informational writing with a focus on science and social studies topics.

 

Reading

Students finished their work in our first round of book clubs. Students have now started their new literature circle books. Everyone is reading a realistic mystery book. Some of the titles include Harriet the Spy, Closed for the Season, Book Scavenger, The Brixton Brothers and The Boxcar Children.  Students have a menu of engaging tasks to complete as they read their books, and will meet twice a week with group members to discuss their books. Students will be expected to complete two things from this choice board for each literature circle meeting. The choice board is linked here for parents’ reference.

Read Aloud

Mrs. S. Mead: The Girl from Felony Bay.

Abbey and Bea Force have hit it off right away, and the two girls have already gotten into a bit of trouble by swimming in the river without permission. After meeting Grandma Em, Bea’s grandmother, Abbey offers to take Bea on a tour of the plantation grounds. We also know that Abbey has made a solemn promise to herself and her father (who is in a coma and wrongly accused of a crime), to prove his innocence this summer.

 

Mrs. K. Mead:  Ban this Book by Alan Gratz.

Amy Anne ran into Trey holding new Request for Reconsideration forms. After exploding her thoughts on him, Trey told her he is trying to stop what is happening and decides to help him.   

Amy Anne, Trey, Rebecca and Danny work hard to make 500 Request for Reconsideration forms for the school board meeting. Amy Anne is feeling very prepared when her sister, Angelina, destroys all of her forms to make hay for “stable”. Amy Anne unloads and says everything that has been on her mind about living at home and runs away. Her mom gets her back and helps her make new copies of the Request for Reconsideration forms. Amy Anne and Trey make a plan to have the forms recreated by the school board meeting. They each hide in the bathroom at school for the day and have kids fill out Request for Reconsideration Forms. By the end of the day they have 5,000 forms filled out. Their goal is to show the school board that if you ban one book, you can come up with a reason to ban all books. The school board heard her and went back to the original procedure for considering books. Amy Anne’s parents also decided it was time Amy Anne had her own room,which would help her feel less overwhelmed at home. We are now working on determining the theme for this book!

Ms. Jeffrey: Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos

Joey and his class went on a field trip to an Amish farm and it was an absolute disaster.  First the students were all given a piece of yummy pie baked by the Amish. However, Mrs. Maxy told Joey he couldn’t have any because of the sugar and instead gave him a piece of apple.  Then the students were allowed to choose a pumpkin and carve it. Mrs. Maxy told Joey he needed to draw a face instead of carving as she was afraid he would hurt himself or someone else.  Joey got mad and Mrs. Macy sent him to sit on the bus by himself. Unfortunately Joey didn’t go there and instead snuck into the kitchen and ate an entire shoofly pie. He had so much energy, due to all the sugar, so he climbed to the top of the rafters in the barn.  The hay pile below looked appealing and he thought he would bounce like cartoon characters so he jumped. Joey ended up with a sprained ankle and had to wear bunny slippers at school because his ankle was swollen. The next day Joey snuck out of class to attend a gifted and talented students presentation.  Based on what he heard Joey was inspired to do good things for the world. He decided to make bumper stickers at recess but his scissors weren’t working so he took the sharp teacher scissors without permission. He was in a hurry and tripped on the bunny slippers and cut off the tip of Maria Dombrowski’s nose.  As a result Joey has been suspended for six weeks and will have to attend a special school downtown.

Science

The students continue learning about matter in the Physical Science unit.  Be sure to ask them about the fun learning opportunities in which they have participated. Lately, we focused on density, volume and buoyancy in our experiments.

Important Information/Happenings

FMS Author Visit

On Thursday, December 20 Ray Perkins will be visiting FMS and will do a short session with students.  If families are interested they can purchase his books. Please see this order form.

Birthday Celebrations

This year the school is discouraging food celebrations, which includes sending in whole class snacks for birthdays. We will still be recognizing and celebrating students on their birthdays in other ways. We have generated a list of ideas for celebrating student birthday. You can see it here. If you have suggestions for your child's celebration please let us know.

 

Lunch Bunches

David Hoppe is the guidance counselor for our team this year. In an effort to get to know our students he will be running weekly lunch bunches in his office. If this is something you are not comfortable with having your child participate in, please let us know.

 

Practice Superstars

The following students completed all their practice on time and handed it in when they arrived in the morning.  Parents should check with their child about his/her classroom number.

 

November 12-16th

Jeffrey: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22

S. Mead:  1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22

K. Mead:1, 4, 5, 6,7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

 

November 26th- 30th

Jeffrey: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22

S. Mead:  1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12, 15, 16, 18, 22

K. Mead:1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22

 

Model Citizen

In addition to Practice Superstars we will select one student as Model Citizen each week from each of our classrooms.  We are always looking for students who demonstrate good character as well as work hard with school assignments. As recognition for being Model Citizen, students will receive a practice pass which can be used on one practice assignment. The practice passes do not have expiration dates. In addition, the Model Citizen may choose to have lunch in the classroom one day with 3 friends. Again, if you would prefer that your child’s number not be in the blog for this recognition please let us know.

 

November 12th -16th

Jeffrey: 15

S. Mead: 18

K. Mead: --

 

November 26th - 30th

Jeffrey: 3

S. Mead: 12

K. Mead: 18

 

Team Wish List

Any donations of the following items would be greatly appreciated!

DCF books (click on this link for titles) Ziploc bags (snack, quart or gallon) colored Sharpie markers Vis a Vis markers Post It Notes

Expo markers Kleenex paper plates paper bowls plastic spoons

Parent Volunteers

There is information posted on the EWSD website for parents interested in volunteering.  Here is the direct link.  

 

Proposed Field Trip to Boston

We have made tentative plans for an overnight trip to Boston on June 6 and 7.  Surveys are due Monday, December 3.

 

Upcoming Events

Ray Perkins visit December 20

Holiday Break December 24 - January 1

 

 

Academics

Math

We began November Number Corner with both grade levels.  The fourth graders are working on elapsed time, customary capacity and addition strategies.  The fifth graders are learning about triangles, metric length, fraction subtraction and are reviewing order of operations.

 

The fourth graders are working on place value and number forms which will lead into building “The Great Wall of Base Ten”.   Tied into those concepts, they also began learning about metric length. Fifth graders reviewed comparing fractions strategies such as using models, benchmarks and common numerators and denominators.   This work will prepare them for Unit 2 which is adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers.

 

Word Study

Work study work is continuing. Along with learning how to spell their words,  students are required to learn the meanings. In addition, they learn the rule or pattern associated with their words. Weekly spelling tests incorporate all three of these aspects of word study instruction. Completed word study sorts and extra forms can be found on the team website.  We will reassess students with Form B of the Developmental Spelling Assessment in December.

 

Writing

Our first writing genre is informational.  The students have continued doing a variety of brainstorming and writing about topics on which they have some expertise.  Students have also been responding to their read alouds book through writing. We will be wrapping up our informational writing in the coming weeks.

 

Reading

Students continued their work in book clubs. In their book clubs, students have been matched to a text based on their assessment data. They will be focusing on summarizing, character analyses and change, as well as theme and author’s message.   

 

Read Aloud

Mrs. S. Mead: Stranded by Jeff Probst.

We finished Stranded, although the kids would like to find out what happens next with our castaways! There are two more books in the series and I wouldn’t be surprised to find book 2 being read by a few folks:)

We started our next read aloud book which is The Girl from Felony Bay.

This book is about two young girls, Abbey and Bee, who live down south in Louisiana. Both have connections to a large plantation called, Reward, where mysterious things are happening, especially down by the water in a place called Felony Bay. The girls fall into some of the suspicious circumstances by chance, and end up trying to solve a bigger mystery than they intended to.

 

Mrs. K. Mead:  Ban this Book by Alan Gratz.

Amy Anne overheard Mrs. Jones telling Mrs. Spencer that she is inviting the author of Captain Underpants to be a guest speaker at the school.

When Dav Pilkey visited the school for an author visit, Amy Anne asked him what he thought about the books being banned and asked him to sign her copy of Captain Underpants. Dav Pilkey gifted Amy Anne a collection of his books because he was impressed by her.

Mrs. Spencer and her friends continue to remove books from the library. Given the number of books they are removing, Amy Anne, Danny, and Rebecca realize they won’t be able to buy or acquire all of these books so they decide to “borrow” them from Mrs. Jones’ office.

 

Ms. Jeffrey: Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos

The students are certainly enjoying the humor in this realistic fiction book.  Joey continues to show that controlling himself is challenging throughout the day.  He tried to sharpen his fingernails in the classroom pencil sharpener. Days later he was playing with his house key and swallowed it on the dare of a classmate.  We have noticed that the adults at Joey’s school are not effective in helping him find ways to manage his behavior. Our thinking about the book has focused on seeds of possible themes, author’s craft with devices such as similes, flashbacks and foreshadowing.  

Science

The students continue learning about matter in the Physical Science unit.  Be sure to ask them about the fun learning opportunities in which they have participated.

Important Information/Happenings

FMS Author Visit

On Wednesday, November 28 Ray Perkins will be visiting FMS and will do a short session with students.  If families are interested they can purchase his books. Please see this order form.

 

Birthday Celebrations

Starting this year, the school is discouraging food celebrations, which includes sending in whole class snacks for birthdays. We will still be recognizing and celebrating students on their birthdays in other ways. We have generated a list of ideas for celebrating student birthday. You can see it here. If you have suggestions for your child's celebration please let us know.

 

Lunch Bunches

David Hoppe is the guidance counselor for our team this year. In an effort to get to know our students he will be running weekly lunch bunches in his office. If this is something you are not comfortable with having your child participate in, please let us know.

 

Practice Superstars

The following students completed all their practice on time and handed it in when they arrived in the morning.  Parents should check with their child about his/her classroom number.

 

Jeffrey: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22

S. Mead:  1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22

K. Mead: 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22

Model Citizen

In addition to Practice Superstars we will select one student as Model Citizen each week from each of our classrooms.  We are always looking for students who demonstrate good character as well as work hard with school assignments. As recognition for being Model Citizen, students will receive a practice pass which can be used on one practice assignment. The practice passes do not have expiration dates. In addition, the Model Citizen may choose to have lunch in the classroom one day with 3 friends. Again, if you would prefer that your child’s number not be in the blog for this recognition please let us know.

 

Jeffrey:  18

S. Mead: 9

K. Mead: 22

Team Wish List

Any donations of the following items would be greatly appreciated!

DCF books (click on this link for titles) Ziploc bags (snack, quart or gallon) colored Sharpie markers Vis a Vis markers Post It Notes

Expo markers Kleenex paper plates paper bowls plastic spoons

Parent Volunteers

There is information posted on the EWSD website for parents interested in volunteering.  Here is the direct link.  

 

Field Trip to UVM Ropes Course

Thank you very much for your support of this trip! The students had a great time and did an amazing job working together to complete challenges both low and high.

Proposed Field Trip to Boston

We have made tentative plans for an overnight trip to Boston on June 6 and 7.  We will be sending home a survey in the coming weeks that outlines the itinerary as well as projected cost of this trip.

 

Upcoming Events

Comfy Cozy Day November 16

Thanksgiving Break November 19-23

Ray Perkins author visit November 28

Holiday Break December 24 - January 1