Classroom News

During read aloud time, I have been sharing a wonderful story, Gooney Bird Greene, which connects well with our "small moments" narrative unit.  This story is about a girl who tells very creative and "absolutely true" stories.  As she tells her stories, Gooney Bird and her teacher give us some important reminders about what good stories should include.  For example, she teaches us how transition words like "suddenly" can grab your readers' interest.  Gooney Bird also shows her class that everyone has important and interesting stories to tell.  Ask your child about some of Gooney Bird's stories.  They have made us laugh!

Reminders and Important Events:

Our next ECO lesson is on the morning of Wednesday, October 29th.  Please remind your child to dress warmly for our extended time outdoors.

The October Homework Packets are due back on Friday, October 31st. If your child needs help on any pages, please remind him or her to bring the packet in for help.  Also, please remind students to read at least every other day for 20 minutes and to record what he or she has read on the reading log.

Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held on Monday, November 10th and Tuesday, November 11th. There will be a 12:30 dismissal for students on these days.  

I will send home a paper copy of this information today with your conference time.

Concert

Our class did an amazing job at the concert on Tuesday night!  It has been so much fun writing, practicing, recording, and performing our special song with Jon Gailmor.  It was also exciting to hear the other classes sing their songs.  What a fun evening!

Classroom News: History, Songwriting, and ECO!

On Tuesday, Ava's great-grandmother and aunt came in to visit us, bringing delicious cookies to share during our snack time. Then, Ava's great-grandmother told us about her important work during World War II in England and France.  She told us about the special airplanes used to transport injured soldiers that had stretchers stacked up inside, like bunk beds.  With her wonderful stories, she brought history alive for our class.  Our class asked terrific questions to learn even more from our special guest.   Thank you to Cordelia and Sandy for spending time with our class! 

Also on Tuesday, we had our first songwriting session with Jon Gailmor.  I was impressed with everyone's creative ideas throughout the process.  On Thursday, we set our lyrics to music.   It has been fun singing and writing with Jon.  Please note that there has been a change to the concert time next week.  The new date is next Tuesday, October 21st at 6:30 pm.  All EMES classes will be performing at this special event. 

On Wednesday, we participated in our second ECO lesson at the same frog pond that the class had visited in first grade.  It was interesting to see how much the pond had changed since the spring.  There was much less water, but we found an interesting variety of plants and animals.  This year, we are learning about various types of habitats and observing the same habitat during different seasons.  We also discussed different types of seed dispersal as we looked at the cattails, wild cucumber, and milkweed plants.  We have been writing about our observations in our ECO journals.  Thank you to Alex Rob for another wonderful ECO lesson!

Reminders and Important Events:

The concert with Jon Gailmor has been rescheduled.  The new date is Tuesday, October 21st at 6:30 pm.  All EMES classes will be performing  in this special event.

Picture Retake Day is on October 22nd.  Please contact Jane Badger if your child needs to retake his or her photo.

Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held on Monday, November 10th and Tuesday, November 11th. There will be a 12:30 dismissal for students on these days. 

The October Homework Packets are due back on Friday, October 31st. 

 

Classroom News

It has been another busy week!  In math, we have been sharing strategies for solving addition story problems, such as counting on, using an open number line, and breaking numbers into parts.  Students are also encouraged to use Cuisenaire rods and base 10 blocks as we explore ways to effectively and accurately solve addition problems.

During literacy, we have been reading with partners and practicing a variety of decoding strategies.  Students have worked hard at being good "reading coaches" for their partners, making thoughtful suggestions about which strategies to use or giving "wait time".  On Thursday, we watched a short video about Christopher Columbus and read a Scholastic News article about the ship that explorers think might be the Santa Maria.

Important Dates:

We do not have school tomorrow, Friday October 10th (Teacher In-Service Day) and on
Monday October 13th  (Columbus Day). 

On Wednesday, October 15th, we will be walking to the Liebermann's frog pond for our ECO lesson.  Please return the permission slip on Tuesday.

Our first session with singer-songwriter, Jon Gailmor is on Tuesday!  Students will be participating in a special musical performance on Wednesday, October 22nd at 6:30 pm.

 Picture Retake Day is on October 22nd.

Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held on Monday, November 10th and Tuesday, November 11th: There will be a 12:30 dismissal for students on these days.  I am sending home a conference sign up sheet.  Please return the form on Tuesday, if possible, so I can send confirmation letters home by Friday.

The October Homework Packets are due back on Friday, October 31st.  

Changes in ECO Dates

Greetings 2^nd Grade Parents,

We have ECO in October next week on 10/15 and also on 10/29.  We will leave the school right around 9am and stay out till 11:30.

We are planning on taking a walking field trip on 10/15.  I will send home a note and permission slip next week with the details.

 Please make sure your child has the proper clothes on these mornings.

 If you have any questions about ECO please call me at 272-4865 or email me at arob@u32.org.

 Best,

 Alex Rob

Teacher/Naturalist

 

North Branch Nature Center

713 Elm Street
Montpelier, VT 05602
802-229-6206

Upcoming Events and Reminders

It was wonderful to see so many families at the EMES Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony and Open House Night!  It was fun to celebrate our new building and to watch students sharing some of our classroom work with their families.  Thank you to everyone who was able to participate in this special event!

Important Dates and Reminders:

This Monday, October 6th, we will have a Comfy Cozy Day as a celebration for filling our classroom PBIS tree.  Students can wear pajamas or other comfy clothing.  They may also bring in a small stuffed animal.

Our next ECO lesson will be on Wednesday, October 8th in the morning.  Please remind your child to dress appropriately for an extended time outdoors. 

The September Homework Packet was due today.  New homework packets will be sent home next week.

There will not be school on Friday October 10th (Teacher In-Service Day) and
Monday October 13th  (Columbus Day).

School pictures were sent home this week.  Please contact the front office right away if you did not receive the picture package you ordered or if you would like your child to have his or her photo retaken.  Picture Retake Day is on October 22nd.

We are looking forward to our upcoming lessons with visiting singer-songwriter Jon Gailmor.  He will be working with all classes at EMES to create and record a song.  Classes will be participating in a special musical performance on Wednesday, October 22nd at 6:30 pm.

Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held on Monday, November 10th and Tuesday, November 11th: There will be a 12:30 dismissal for students on these days.  I will send home a conference sign up sheet early next week.

Have a great weekend!