Important Dates to Remember

Important dates to remember:

Please remind your child to bring his or her recorder and book in on Wednesdays for music class.  Thanks to everyone who remembered this week. 
 

Wednesday, May 28^th - We will be leaving promptly at 9:05 for our field trip to the Barre Opera House for a performance about the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Please help your child arrive on time to school on Wednesday.

Friday, May 30th- Four Winds field trip to the Liebermann’s frog pond from 1:30 to 3:30 pm. We will return in time for the buses.

Friday, June 13^th   field trip
Field trip permission slips will come home next week.  Thank you to all parents who signed up to drive on this field trip.  If you are interested in helping out by riding with a Level 2 driver or being a "tour guide" at one of the sites, please let me know. 

 

Classroom News

We started the week with an exciting visit from several U-32 students, including Cara’s sister, Lilly. They filmed our morning meeting and P.E. classes and interviewed a few students to learn more about the PBIS program.

We have been working on our schoolhouse research as part of our East Montpelier history and geography unit. This week, we also had a chance to start reading some biographies as part of our new literacy unit.

The second grade math classes have been working together again this week to practice our basic addition and subtraction facts. We are also working on using a variety of strategies to solve addition and subtraction number stories with multi-digit numbers.

Mrs. Fitch’s third grade math class has been working in our classroom this week since the library is in the process of moving. Starting next week, they will be in Mrs. Christy and Mrs. Fitch’s new classroom space.

Students have been doing an amazing job being flexible with all of the exciting changes going on in our school. It is fun to study about the schoolhouses of the past and present while looking forward to the future of our own building!

Classroom News

This week, we have lots of reminders, information, and upcoming events!

Please remind your child to bring his or her recorder on Wednesdays for music class.  This week, only about one-third of our class brought their instruments, which makes it very challenging for them to practice for the upcoming concert on June 5th.  It would be wonderful for us to participate in this special event, but we need to practice during class times in order to be prepared.  Thanks!

A permission slip is coming home today for an upcoming performance about the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder at the Barre Opera House on Wednesday, May 28th.  Please sign and return the form as soon as possible.

Our East Montpelier Scavenger Hunt field trip is scheduled for Friday, June 13th.  Thank you to all of the parents who signed up to drive on this field trip.  If you are not a level 2 volunteer, but would like to participate, we are looking for several parents to be "tour guides" at some of the sites around town or to accompany level 2 drivers who have larger groups.   Please let me know if you are interested.

You will notice that the student placement forms for next year are in today's Friday Folder.  Please complete and return this form by the due date.  Our team appreciates parent input as we make placement decisions for next year.  You will notice that there have been some changes to our team for next year.

I will be teaching 2nd grade next year as part of the K/1/2 team.  Christine Christiano will be teaching a single grade 3rd grade class.  Kathy Christy and Jennifer Fitch will be teaching the multi-age 3rd/4th grade class.  Dave Willard will teach a single grade 4th grade class.

Kathy Christy and Jennifer Fitch will be teaching the multi-age 3/4 next year.  They will continue a model similar to this year.  Mrs. Christy will be in the classroom in the morning and Mrs. Fitch will be in the classroom in the afternoon.  When they are not in the classroom, they will have other responsibilities.  Mrs. Christy will be leading professional development and Mrs. Fitch will be working as the Reading Specialist.  

We kicked off our East Montpelier:  Past, Present, and Future unit with a visit from Michael Duane (Ms. Knoedler's husband).  Mr. Duane is a member of the East Montpelier Historical Society.  He shared an amazing amount of important information about the geography and history of East Montpelier.  Throughout this unit, we will have several other guest speakers visit the second and third grade classes.

3rd Grade Math

We have continued our work on basic facts and begun to explore the relationship between multiplication and division.  It is crucial that students are able to automatically solve basic addition, subtraction and multiplication facts by the end of third grade.  If they do not have these facts mastered, they will be at a disadvantage entering fourth grade.  It may even prevent them from acquiring higher level, more complex math understandings.  If you would like suggestions or ideas on how to help your child practice his/her facts, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs. Fitch. 

Classroom News

I am always amazed by the energy that students bring back from vacation!  We came back working hard and making great progress in all areas this week! 

In second grade math, we have been working with Mrs. Christiano's class on measurement activities.  We have been learning about why it is important to have standard units of measurement.  Students have learned about the two different systems of measurement and how to measure accurately in inches and centimeters.  Students also shared stories about times that they have used measurement, such as being measured for a costume or working on a building project.  If you use measurement in your work or at home, please share your experiences with your child. 

I have been impressed with the thoughtful reading group discussions we had this week.  Students are working on stating their opinions and supporting their opinions with evidence from the text.  In these groups, we also practice speaking and listening skills. 

On Thursday, we participated in a states of matter experiment in which we observed what happened when we put plain water, salt water, and sugar water in the freezer.  Ask your student about what they saw in each cup and the different rates at which the water froze.  On Friday, we are looking forward to watching the process in reverse as we take the cups out of the freezer and watch what happens as they melt.

Homework packets are due back next Friday, May 9th. 

Four Winds: Animal Defenses

This month in Four Winds, we learned about a variety of animal defenses, such as camouflage, disruptive coloration, countershading, and warning coloration.  We watched a fun puppet show and also saw an interesting slide show with great examples of the different defenses.

We participated in exciting indoor and outdoor activities.  We cut out shapes and tried hide them on a wrapping paper background.  Using our fingers as beaks, we picked up different colored rubber bands on a background that matched one of the colors.  Then, we counted how many bands of each color we picked up and noticed which colors were easier or harder to see.  We also participated in a scavenger hunt, in which we had to find various objects.  Some were very challenging to find!  It was also fun to make creatures with pipe cleaners and tissue paper that we could hide in our classroom when we returned.

Thanks again to our amazing Four Winds volunteers, Amanda, Michelle, and Flor!