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

The kids did an amazing job on our field trip last Friday! It was cold, but sunny, and so many problem-solving conversations happened between them.

Academics

Math

We wrapped up out October Number Corner activities. We will begin the November Number corner activities next week.

 

This week we began Unit 2. Students were put into small groups based on their pre-assessments. They spent the majority of this week learning skills and concepts they need in order to complete the activities in Bridges. Fourth graders focused on place value and number forms which will lead into building “The Great Wall of Base Ten”. Fifth graders did work with magnitude and comparing fractions. They will then work on adding and subtracting fractions with like denominators.

 

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.  

 

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 focus (for now) before Thanksgiving break.

 

Reading

Students have started 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.

This week in Stranded, Buzz, Vanessa, Carter and Jane decided that they needed to do more than just wait to be rescued. Realizing that they needed water, and to find a way to communicate with the outside world, they decided to split up to work on both goals. Carter and Jane went into the island in search of fresh water, while Vanessa and Buzz stayed on the sailboat, trying to get the solar panel back up and running in order to charge the satellite phone. Carter and Jane ran into some trouble as the tide came in on their journey to reach a waterfall they could see in the distance. Although both survived the almost-drowning, they quickly realized that the oncoming storm might bring with it its own set of challenges. Buzz and Vanessa began to get worried about their siblings and set off into the island in search of them.

 

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

Amy Anne has started collecting the banned books to create a banned book library in her locker. Mrs. Spencer is trying to get even more books banned. Amy Anne took the list Mrs. Spencer made and is going to try to get those books for her banned library. Amy Anne got called into the principal’s office. The principle said that the banned book list hanging on her locker needs to say “removed” not “banned” but that she also needed to take it down. The secretive nature of banning these books got Amy Anne thinking about whether or not her Banned Book Locker Library ought to be kept a secret at all.

Amy Anne and Trey (Mrs. Spencer’s son) are starting work on a project about the First Amendment. We are wondering if this project will play into Amy Anne’s Banned Book Locker Library.

 

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

Joey Pigza struggles to control himself in and out of school.  He shouts out in class and pretends to be the Tasmanian Devil in the hallway.  His teacher, Mrs. Maxy is ill prepared to help Joey with his struggles. He is diagnosed with ADHD but the medication he takes wears off by the middle of the day.  Another struggle for Joey is his family life. His dad left when he was in kindergarten and his mom went after him. She has only recently returned to be part of Joey’s life.  He has been raised by his grandmother who has significant problems of her own. The book is told from Joey’s perspective in a humorous way but it also teaches the reader a great deal of empathy.  Joey is very likeable but you can’t help but feel bad for him.

 

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

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.

 

Pumpkin Day

Thank you to everyone who came and volunteered for pumpkin day. The kids had a great time and we could not do that without you.

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, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22

S. Mead: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 21

K. Mead: 1, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 18, 20  

 

 

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:  14

S. Mead: 4

K. Mead: 5

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

Thanksgiving Break      November 19-23

 

So many things have been going on in our classrooms over the past week! We hope your children are sharing about finding theme and summarizing in reading, and learning about changes in matter in science!

Academics

Math

We continued our October Number Corner activities. Fifth graders are working on identifying shapes based on different views of the object, order of operations, and observing the changes in the mass of two carrots. Fourth graders are connecting money to fractions, and continuing work with place value.  They are playing a fun game called Race to the Millions which is the Calendar Collector activity for this month.

 

We wrapped up Unit 1 instruction, and this past week we have focused primarily on whole number computation. Next week we will begin Unit 2, and the structure of our math block will shift to being more small groups. These groups will be determined by what students showed they needed on the pre-assessment for Unit 2. Students showing proficiency already with skills on the pre-assessment will be working on math concepts they need 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.  

 

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.

 

Reading

Students finished the first round of book groups. Next week they will begin their first round of guided partner groups. For this next round of novels, teachers will be choosing books for students based on assessment data. Students will be responding both in writing as well as in discussions to their books, and will be in partners or small groups.  We will be calling these book clubs.

 

Read Aloud

Mrs. S. Mead: Stranded by Jeff Probst.

We started the second read aloud book of the year! This book follows 4 siblings, Jane, Vanessa, Buzz and Carter, as they begin a sailing journey with their uncle Dexter. The four are actually step siblings, with Buzz and Vanessa’s father marrying Jane and Carter’s mother. The four kids are on the sailboat for the week while their parents are on their honeymoon in Hawaii. A few days into the trip, they hit a severe storm, and lose their uncle overboard as he tries to launch the life raft. The sailboard ends up crashing on a rocky shore, and in the morning when the sea is calm again, the foursome head out onto the beach to see if they can find any sign of human life. They are able to get a quick phone call to their parents and the Coast Guard using the satellite phone before its battery dies, but not before they can figure out exactly where they are.

 

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

This is a Dorothy’s List book from this year. Amy Anne’s favorite book got banned from the Shelbourne Elementary School Library. Amy Anne agrees to speak at a school board meeting about why she loves the book that got banned. She really wants to run away from her terrible sisters like the main characters in her favorite book From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Life in Amy Anne’s house is very hectic due to her two sisters and two dogs, all of whom misbehave frequently.

Amy Anne finally spoke up to her parents to go to the meeting but when she got there she didn’t speak up and her book stayed banned. After the school board meeting, Amy Anne’s dad takes her to the bookstore to get her favorite book but she still was not happy.

Ms. Jeffrey: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling

We finished the book and the students greatly enjoyed the ending of the book.  Aven fit in on her soccer team and made up with her friend, Connor. She learned that Josephine was her grandmother.  At first she was resistant to having a relationship with her but she realized that her grandmother put her for adoption because she thought it was best for Aven.  We had some great discussions at the conclusion of the book, including possible themes. The students stretched their thinking to include how the title connected to the characters, the theme and the setting.  

Important Information/Happenings

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, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

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

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

 

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:  9

S. Mead: 10

K. Mead: 11

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.  

 

Pumpkin Day

We are planning this fun-filled autumn celebration for Wednesday, October 31st. A short letter about Pumpkin Day was sent home on Friday, October 5th. We are asking each child to bring in a 4-7 lb. pumpkin. If families would like to send in an extra pumpkin to donate, that would be great!

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

Pumpkin Day October 31

October 8 - 12

We have wrapped up our assessment window!  The students were very flexible as we worked our way through new reading assessments with them.  We are all glad to be done and can now focus on teaching and learning.

Academics

Math

We continued our October Number Corner activities. Fifth graders are working on identifying shapes based on different views of the object, order of operations, and observing the changes in the mass of two carrots. Fourth graders are connecting money to fractions, and continuing work with place value.  They are playing a fun game called Race to the Millions which is the Calendar Collector activity for this month.

 

We are wrapping up Unit 1 instruction and will begin Unit 2 next week.  

 

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.  

 

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.

 

Reading

We continued our first round of book groups this week. Book groups meet Wednesdays and Fridays with teacher led discussions. In this week’s discussions students talked about the characters of their books, the narrator and point of view, as well as some figurative language. These books groups last approximately three weeks.

 

Read Aloud

Mrs. S. Mead: Restart by Gordan Korman

We came to the end of this book! Chase was able to remember many things from his past, for better or worse. He was able to make right on the crime of stealing Mr. Solway’s medal, by returning it and confessing to what his former self had done. The lessons and themes of this book were complicated, and the students did a nice job discussing the balance between the importance of second chances, and the need to take responsibility for your actions even if you feel remorseful.

 

Mrs. K. Mead:  The Terrible Two by Jory John and Mac Barnett.

Miles has been losing the prank war dramatically. Everytime he tried to prank Niles, Niles was one step ahead of him thwarting his pranks before they even got started. Miles called Niles out for only reacting to pranks- not actually doing any pranks himself. Niles pranked Miles back by framing him for catapulting a pie in another students face. Miles received detention before and after school everyday for the rest of his time at Yawnee Valley Science and Letters academy. He was devastated so he didn’t see any other option when Niles said he could get Miles out of this mess if he agrees to team up with him and be his friend.  Miles went over to Niles’ house and he and Niles officially formed the Terrible Two. They began devising their first prank immediately. We are comparing this book to Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus to determine the characteristics of the realistic fiction genre.

 

Ms. Jeffrey: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling

Connor went to a store to get Aven gummy bears, which is one of her favorite snacks.  While he was at the store he caught someone filming him because of his tics. As a result when Connor got to Aven’s house he was in a very bad mood.  When she pushed him about what was wrong they had a big argument. Connor called himself a freak and was angry when Aven tried to console him. He left and Aven yelled at him that he should never come back.  Later she regretted what she said. She realized that this all happened because he had pushed himself to go to a public place to get gummy bears for her. The next day Aven wrote a top twenty list of bad things about not having arms.  Some of them were humorous but the last three were very serious and seemed to be a direct result of her argument with Connor.

Important Information/Happenings

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, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22

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

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

 

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: 12

S. Mead: 22

K. Mead: 6

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.  

 

Pumpkin Day

We are planning this fun-filled autumn celebration for Wednesday, October 31st. A short letter about Pumpkin Day was sent home on Friday, October 5th. We are asking each child to bring in a 4-7 lb. pumpkin. If families would like to send in an extra pumpkin to donate, that would be great!

Field Trip to UVM Ropes Course

We are planning to take the team to the UVM Ropes Course on Friday October 26th. A letter about this went home with your child on Friday, October 5th.

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 next week that outlines the itinerary as well as projected cost of this trip.

 

Upcoming Events

Parent Conferences (no school for students) October 18

School Holiday October 19

UVM Ropes Course October 26

Pumpkin Day October 31

 

October 1st - 5th

Academics are fully up and running with the first week of book groups. Students have been working hard and are engaged in their work!  

Academics

Math

Fourth graders continue to work on multiplication, factors and multiples.  Fifth graders continue to learn about volume and multiplication. We have started our October Number Corner Activities. Fifth graders are working on identifying shapes based on different views of the object, order of operations, and observing the changes in the mass of two carrots. Fourth graders are connecting money to fractions, and continuing work with place value.

 

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.  

 

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.

 

Reading

We started our first round of book groups this week. Book groups meet Wednesdays and Fridays with teacher led discussions. In this week’s discussions students talked about the characters of their books, the narrator and point of view, as well as some figurative language. These books groups last approximately three weeks.

 

Read Aloud

Mrs. S. Mead: Restart by Gordan Korman

We’ve learned by hearing a few chapters through Chase’s eyes that he was in deed framed by Aaron and Bear for the incident that happened in the band room. Unfortunately for Chase, he doesn’t see a way out of it, other than to go along with Bear and Aaron’s story about seeing smoke and needing to use the extinguishers. However, sticking to this lie to keep himself out of trouble, ends up isolating himself from his new friends in the video club, not to mention Shoshanna who was just starting to trust him again. Chase is feeling lost, without any true friends, when the final blow to his self-esteem comes in the form of a memory, brought on by Bear and Aaron. Chase learns that it was in fact him who stole the Medal of Honor from his good friend, Mr. Solway at the retirement home. The worst part is, that Chase has no idea what he did with it.

 

Mrs. K. Mead:  The Terrible Two by Jory John and Mac Barnett.

This book is about a student named Miles who prided himself on being the prankster of his old school and has every intention of making a name for himself as a prankster at his new school. However, he learns quickly that this school already has a prankster and that prankster is good. Miles is been trying to outdo the school prankster but keeps failing. Miles then finds out that the prankster is really Niles- the School Welcoming Buddy who seems to be the principal's right hand man. Niles wants to form an alliance, which he has named The Terrible Two, but Miles has no interest and instead has started a prank war with Niles. This is a funny book from a previous year’s Dorothy’s List. We will be comparing and contrasting how both this book and Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus are realistic fiction.  

 

Ms. Jeffrey: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling

Aven meets Connor’s mom who is surprised to learn that Connor has attended support group meetings without her knowledge.  Connor gets upset with Aven for telling her mom and tells her to stop trying to fix him. It is becoming apparent that Connor has very low self esteem and blames himself for this disability.  Meanwhile, Aven has an idea to try to save the theme park. She encourages her parents to host an art festival at the theme park to try to encourage vendors to open up shop at Stagecoach Pass. Aven is very excited and is trying to encourage Connor to attend the festival but he is hesitant because of his tics.

Assessments

Most district fall assessments are complete, although we are continuing to administer the Fountas and Pinnell reading assessment. We have to find three levels for each child, and each time a child reads a book it takes an average of 25 minutes to complete the assessment.

 

Important Information/Happenings

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, 3, 4, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22

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

K.Mead: 1, 5, 6, 10, 11, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20

 

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: 16

S. Mead:

K. Mead: Mrs. Mead’s class will start Model Citizen next week.

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.  

 

Pumpkin Day

We are planning this fun-filled autumn celebration for Wednesday, October 31st. A short letter about Pumpkin Day was sent home on Friday, October 5th. We are asking each child to bring in a 4-7 lb. pumpkin. If families would like to send in an extra pumpkin to donate, that would be great!

 

Field Trip to UVM Ropes Course

We are planning to take the team to the UVM Ropes Course on Friday October 26th. A letter about this went home with your child on Friday, October 5th.

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 next week that outlines the itinerary as well as projected cost of this trip.

 

Upcoming Events

UVM Permission Slip Due October 12

Parent Conferences October 18

School Holiday October 19

UVM Ropes Course October 26

Pumpkin Day October 31

 

September 24-28

This was our first full week with team rules up and running! The students have done a fantastic job of reminding each other about the things we’ve agreed to do.

Academics

Math

Fourth graders continue to work on multiplication, factors and multiples.  Fifth graders continue to learn about volume and multiplication. Number Corner has continued with conversations around equivalent fractions, volume, patterns and our number system. As this was the last week in September, we will be starting new Number Corner routines with our groups in October.

 

Word Study

Students completed their first week of official word study groups. 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.  

 

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.  

 

Reading

The students continued building stamina with independent reading, and with finding books that will sustain them over multiple reading sessions. In addition, our first round of realistic fiction book groups will start on October 1st.

 

Read Aloud

Mrs. S. Mead: Restart by Gordan Korman

Chase has started to gain back favor with the Weber family, although that has been slow-going. Joel has returned from Melton Academy, but is still leary of Chase, which Chase understands. Everyone thinks the video project Shoshanna and Chase are working on with Mr. Solway is amazing, which angers Aaron and Bear even more than Chase simply hanging out with the video club. These seemingly small conflicts in Chase’s life all start to come to a head when a video Brendan and Kimbery are filming together in the music room is foiled by Aaron and Bear spraying fire extinguishers all over the room, and then acting as if it was Chase’s idea all along. We are now wondering whether Chase was in on this the whole time, or if he was set up...

 

Mrs. K. Mead: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling

While Aven and Connor were arguing, Aven’s dad found the missing key to the desk hidden in the storage shed. When Aven opened the desk, she found the picture that had been missing from the museum. She realized that the picture was of her birth mother and a woman who worked at the diner, Josephine. Josephine turned out to be Aven’s grandmother and Joe Cavanaugh. Aven wasn’t sure how she felt about her grandmother putting her up for adoption after her mother passed away but in the end decided to get to know her grandmother. Overall, students enjoyed this book. We are now reading The Terrible Two by Jory John and Mac Barnett.   

 

Ms. Jeffrey: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling

Aven and Connor went to a support group for kids with Tourette’s Syndrome.  They met several other kids who struggle with tics like Connor. While there is definitely an element of humor to this book it also does a great job of teaching kids empathy for others.  The next day Aven was hiking behind Stagecoach Pass and found a necklace caked in the dirt that looked familiar to her. The students predicted it is somehow connected to the Cavanaughs and Aven.  

Assessments

Most district fall assessments are complete, although we are continuing to administer the Fountas and Pinnell reading assessment. We have to find three levels for each child, and each time a child reads a book it takes an average of 25 minutes to complete the assessment.

 

Important Information/Happenings

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, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22

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

K. Mead: Mrs. K. Mead’s class will start homework superstars next week

 

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: 8

S. Mead: 22

K. Mead: Mrs. K. Mead’s class will start Model Citizen next week

 

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

We are planning to take the team to the UVM Ropes Course on Friday October 26th. A letter about this will be coming home with your child by Friday, October 5th.

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 next week that outlines the itinerary as well as projected cost of this trip.

 

Upcoming Events

 

Parent Conferences October 18

School Holiday October 19

UVM Ropes Course October 26

September 17 - 21

The students continue to learn more classroom routines as we weave in more academics.  In addition, they finalized the team rules and they were very collaborative throughout the process.  

Academics

Math

Fourth graders are working on multiplication, factors and multiples.  Fifth graders continue to learn about volume. Number Corner has continued with conversations around equivalent fractions, volume, patterns and our number system.

 

Word Study

The students completed the practice week.  Next week we will have our first week of instruction. Students have been grouped based on their needs as shown on the assessments we administered.  Completed word study sorts and extra forms can be found on the team website.

 

Writing

Our first writing genre is informational.  The students have been doing a variety of brainstorming and writing about topics on which they have some expertise.  

 

Reading

The students have been working on building stamina with independent reading.  We will start the first round of book groups in a few weeks. The first genre will be realistic fiction.  

 

Read Aloud

Mrs. S. Mead: Restart by Gordan Korman

As Chase becomes more and more comfortable around his new friends in the video club, he becomes more distant from his former football buddies. Chase has also befriended an old man at the senior home named Mr. Solway, who once won the medal of honor during the Korean War. We have also discovered that Bear, Aaron and Chase once stole something very valuable, and that Bear and Aaron believe Chase has it in his possession, even if he doesn’t remember. Additionally, Mr. Solway’s medal of honor seems to be missing, and he believes he misplaced it.

 

Mrs. K. Mead: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling

Aven has an idea to try to save the theme park. She encourages her parents to host an art festival at the theme park to try to encourage vendors to open up shop at Stagecoach Pass. Aven is very excited and is trying to encourage Connor to attend the festival but he is hesitant because of his tics. As Aven tries to convince Connor to go, Connor is feeling more and more like a freak. This is due in part to someone who took a video of him at a store while he was buying Aven gummy worms. Connor doesn’t typically try to go to the store so this was a large gesture of his friendship. While trying to cheer him up, Aven and Connor get into a big fight about what they each think Connor can do. The fight ends with Aven yelling at Connor to leave her apartment and Connor walking out the door. We are wondering if/how their friendship will get repaired.

 

Ms. Jeffrey: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling

Aven met a boy named Zion who also feels like an outsider.  He feels left out because he is overweight so he eats his lunch outside.  Aven invited Connor over for dinner but he was reluctant because his tics sometimes cause him to spit food out of his mouth.  Aven’s mom convinced Connor it would be fine. Both Aven’s parents tried to make Connor feel better. In fact, Aven’s dad wore ski goggles to the dinner table!

Assessments

We continue to work through the assessment window with students.  If they have not already they will complete the Words Their Way assessment, the Fountas & Pinnell reading assessment, and our district fall math screener.   

Important Information/Happenings

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

Each week we will recognize individual students who have turned in all of their practice on time during the previous week. As this will be listed online, we will use student classroom numbers rather than names. If you would prefer that your child not participate in this, please let us know.  We will let you know when we start to assign practice assignments.

 

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.

 

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 a trip to Boston on June 6 and 7.  We are unable to reserve programs at the New England Aquarium until October 1.  Once we have done that we will send information and a survey about the entire trip home to families.    

Upcoming Events

 

Open House          September 27 (Multi-Age Times 6:15 - 7:15 p.m.)

PTO Fun Run September 28

Parent Conferences October 18

School Holiday October 19

September 10th-14th

Students are settling into routines nicely. This week they did a lot of work around what we need in order to reach our hopes and goals for the year. This will lead into the creation of our team rules that we will refer to throughout the year. When we have agreed upon those rules, we will post them here!  

 

Some Games and Activities we've Played:

• Coseeki
• Copy Cat
• Alphabet Aerobics
• Number Freeze
• The Product Game
• Elevens

Academics

Math is now fully up and running in our classrooms. Students have been working on topics such as volume, models of multiplication, multiples, and factors. Number Corner has continued with conversations around equivalent fractions, volume, and our number system.

 

Next week, we will begin a practice week of word study. For this week all students will be completing the same work with the same words to learn the routine of word study. Students have been taking the Word Journey’s assessments this week. We will use this data to group kids by what they need for word study. Next week we will have a practice week of word study where everyone will work on the same words. This is to help build the routine and familiarity with assignments for students. Word study instruction will begin officially the week of September 24th.

Read Aloud

Mrs. S. Mead: Restart by Gordan Korman

Chase is starting to find a niche with a new group of friends, the video club. However, he is finding out that this group of kids is the last that he would have been seen with before his amnesia. His so-called football friends are not pleased that he is now hanging out with these “losers,” and Chase is feeling completely torn. He doesn’t want to betray the people everyone says were his former best friends, but he can’t for the life of himself figure out why he was friends with them in the first place.

 

Mrs. K. Mead: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling

Aven and Connor have become friends with Zion, the boy Aven sat with at lunch one day. Zion struggles with his weight and is often made fun of for being overweight. Aven asked Connor to go with him to a support group for kids with Tourette Syndrome. They meet many people and Aven finds herself feeling like she fit in somewhere. It is unclear if Connor was feeling the same way. Meanwhile the mystery of where the Cavanaughs are continues. After getting into the locked shed, Aven, Connor, and Zion found many drawings and objects marked ABC. The kids have many predictions about this including that the initials stand for Aven B. Cavanaugh.

 

Ms. Jeffrey: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling

Aven and Connor explored an old shed Aven had found at Stagecoach Pass. In it they found boxes of old papers, pictures and drawings.  One of the papers was labeled with the letters A, V, and N. There were also many pictures of tarantulas. The students predicted there is some connection between Aven and the Cavanaughs, the owners of Stagecoach Pass.  There have been a few different clues to support that prediction such as Aven being adopted from Arizona to Kansas. Henry, the old man working in the ice cream shop, talks to Aven about her love of tarantulas and being in rodeos.  However, she doesn’t like tarantulas and has never been in a rodeo. The students think Henry is confusing her for someone that looked like her.

Assessments

This week we gave the Word Journeys assessments to kids. During this assessment window they will also complete the Words Their Way assessment, the Fountas & Pinnell reading assessment, and our district fall math screener.   

 

Parent Hopes and Goals

If you still have this and would like your hope displayed alongside your child’s for the year, please send that in.  

 

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.

 

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.  

Upcoming Events

 

Open House          September 27 (Multi-Age Times 6:15 - 7:15 p.m.)

PTO Fun Run September 28

Parent Conferences October 18

School Holiday October 19