Classroom News and Upcoming Dates

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend the Open House last week!  It was wonderful watching students share their work.  I look forward to sharing more information about your child's progress with you at our upcoming Parent/Teacher Conferences.

The weather has become chilly over the past few days.  Please help your child come prepared for recess, E.C.O., and other outdoor times with the following:

• Warm jacket/coat
• Gloves
• Hat
• Boots or other outdoor shoes 

Important Dates to Remember:

Tonight, Friday, October 28th at 6:00 pm:  Monster Mash

Friday, November 11th:  Parent/Teacher Conferences (No School for Students)

November 23rd to 25th:  Thanksgiving Break

Monday, December 19th:  Gifts for Giving

Friday, December 23rd at 1:45 (in the gym):  K-3 Winter Concert

E.C.O. Reminder

E.C.O. on Tuesday!

We have E.C.O. on Tuesday morning. Please help your child wear appropriate clothing and footwear for spending the morning outdoors.  Students should wear warm, waterproof layers to help them feel comfortable and dry. It looks like there could be rain or snow showers during our time outside.

Thanks for your help!

Upcoming Events: Open House and Field Trip

Just a reminder that the second and third grade classes will be attending the Jigsaw Jones performance at the Barre Opera House on Wednesday, October 19th.  Please help your child arrive at school on time, as our bus will be leaving by 9:05 am. 

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This Thursday, October 20th, from 6:00-7:00 pm, there will be an Open House at EMES.  Families are invited to join us for this special event.  Second grade students will be sharing their East Montpelier Village projects.

During our technology integration times, students have worked with Ms. Arlyn, Ms. Badger, and me to plan, write, and type an opinion writing piece that tells about something that they would like to have in our East Montpelier Village in the future.  It has been exciting to hear students share their reasons for their choices.

In art class, students worked with Ms. Holmes-Heiss to create illustrations that will accompany their writing pieces.  I was impressed with way students used color and line in their drawings, as well as including lots of details.

The East Montpelier Planning Commission and the EMES board will also have a presentations at the open house.  Please check the newsletter for more information and times.  I hope to see you on Thursday at the Open House!

Writing Workshop: Crafting "Small Moment" Narratives

Our first writing unit of the year focuses on creating "small moment" personal narratives.  Students are learning how to zoom in to describe important details to make our stories interesting for our readers.  We are focusing on all of our senses to help us describe what we saw, heard, felt, smelled, and tasted.   After E.C.O., students wrote a "small moment" story about what they saw in their small squares.

We have been reading the story Owl Moon, looking carefully at the way the author, Jane Yolen, stretches out her story about going "owling", using interesting words and figurative language.  We will continue to revisit this mentor text throughout our narrative writing unit to examine other choices that Ms. Yolen makes and to try out some of these "craft moves" in our own writing.

P.E. Photos

Here are some fun photos from P. E. in September!  (I forgot to post this a few weeks ago.)

E.C.O.: Exploring One Small Square of the Forest

Last week, I read aloud part of the book, One Small Square: Woods by Donald Silver and Patricia Wynne.  We discussed the exciting changes in the forest in autumn, learning about why leaves change color and fall from trees.  We also talked about the types of things that people could find if they examine one small square of space in a forest.

On Tuesday, we asked students to work with a partner or small group to find 4 sticks that were approximately 4 feet long.  With their partners, they used the sticks to mark a small square in the forest.  Next, we stepped back from our squares to make observations from a distance.  Then, we started to explore our squares.  Students used magnifying lenses to take an even closer look at objects in their squares.  We found ferns, trees (live, dead, and decomposing), insects, woodpecker holes, mushrooms, worms, and lots of leaves.  Students recorded their observations through drawing and writing, which they later used to help them write a "small moment" narrative in their E.C.O. journals about this experience.  Ask your student about what he/she found in his/her small square.