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Friday, March 30, 2018

Classroom News

Visit from Liz Stephen
We will have a special assembly on Monday to honor Olympic athlete 
and former EMES student, Liz Stephen.  To help celebrate, students 
are invited to wear red, white, and blue on Monday.


Food Drive
The Student Leadership Team is having a food drive.  The food drive 
started this week and will continue until April 12th.  If you would like 
to donate food, please send in non-perishable food items, such as 
canned beans or vegetables, pasta, cereal, and peanut butter.


Student Led Conferences
Please see the conference schedule in this Friday Folder.  In most 
cases, we will host 2 to 4 families at during each time slot. This 
provides positive peer support for all students.  Each student will have 
a separate space in the classroom to present his or her work privately. 
I will rotate between families to join the conversation and answer 
any questions. The conference times are scheduled for 30 minutes, 
but you are welcome to spend additional time as needed.  I look 
forward to seeing you all at conferences!

Have a fantastic weekend!

Over and Under the Snow

In our classroom, we listened to the book, Over and Under the Snow by Vermont author, Kate Messner.  We talked about the different animals that look for food over and under the snow.  We also learned about the subnivean layer, which is located above the ground but under the snow.

In art class, we worked with Mrs. Morse to create the background papers using sponge painting and brush techniques.  In following weeks, we created detailed drawings of the various animals that live above the snow, in the subnivean layer, and underground.  Finally, we decided where to place our animals on the final mural on the bulletin board outside our door.

Thanks to Mrs. Morse for working with me on this art, literacy, and science integration project!  We wish her well as she begins her maternity leave!

We are also excited to welcome Ms. Holmes-Heiss back to EMES.  She is the long term substitute art teacher during Mrs. Morse's maternity leave.


Monday, March 19, 2018

E.C.O. Date Change (again!!!)

Due to the U32 chorus concert at EMES this Wednesday morning, we will be switching our E.C.O. time to Wednesday, March 28th.

Friday, March 16, 2018

Reading Time with Mrs. Pastore and Cuddles

On Thursday afternoons, Mrs. Pastore and Cuddles visit our classroom during literacy times to read with us.  On their first visit, we had the opportunity to learn a bit about Cuddles and find out how Mrs. Pastore trained her to become a therapy dog.  Students asked lots of great questions!

When they visit, students often work in pairs to read aloud from their reading group or independent reading books.  On other days, students share their own writing pieces from writing workshop.









Classroom News

We have been very busy in second grade!  In writing, students have been working 
with partners, using checklists to help them set goals to improve their own writing.  
They have also been helping each other edit their work, checking for capital 
letters, punctuation, and spelling. In literacy, we have been reading non-fiction 
Scholastic News articles, paying close attention to the the main idea and details 
in each article.  We have also been listening to a variety of read aloud books that 
teach us lots of interesting information about animal adaptations. Speaking of 
adaptations, in our discovery/science time, we participated in a Bird Beak 
Investigation. Ask your child about the different tools that we tried out and how 
they worked like various types of beaks.  My math class has been expanding our 
understanding of two-dimensional shapes. We have been creating and solving 
each other’s Rectangle Riddles with clues about rows, columns, and area. I will 
post photos on our classroom blog very soon!


In Technology, we have been working on keyboarding skills.  It would be wonderful 
if students could practice keyboarding at home.  In the fall, Ms. Arlyn sent out an 
email with the log-on information for the Keyboarding without Tears program.  
(It was sent from “Technology”.) Please let Arlyn know if you need her to send 
the information to you again. You can email her at abruccoli@u32.org.


Our classmate Dylan moved back to Florida over the vacation break.  We already 
miss him, but hope to keep in touch with his family throughout the rest of the 
school year.


Important Info and Upcoming Events:


Easter Egg Hunt Preparation Info:  
Here is a message from Dana Howe, Ethan’s mom:
Spring is in the air and the East Montpelier Easter Egg hunt is around the corner! 
I am having people over to fill the eggs before the big hunt. We are trying to 
decide between Thursday, March 22nd and Friday, March 23rd at 6pm. It 
should take about 1 1/2 hours to fill the eggs. If you are able to help, please 
let me know which time would work best for your schedule. Thanks for your 
help!  Dana’s email address is:  dhowe@u32.org


Wednesday, March 21st:  E.C.O. :  Please remind your child to dress 
in warm layers and to wear/bring a warm jacket, snowpants, gloves, and hat.

Friday, April 6th:  Student-led Conferences:  A sign-up sheet and more 
information will be coming home soon.  For our April conferences, EMES 
students will share their accomplishments and goals with their family.  

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Peter and the Wolf

Before the February break, students wrapped up their Peter and the Wolf music unit with a fun performance.  Check out these great photos from Ms. Gelfon!




Celebration of Learning

A big thanks to everyone who was able to join us for our EMES Celebration of Learning!  Students did an amazing job sharing their animal group and Book Creator projects with families and friends!