Sharing

Sharing

Sharing is an important part of our daily classroom morning meeting.  Through our sharing time, students develop a deeper sense of community as we learn more about the people, events, special talents, and objects that are important to members of our class.  It is also a wonderful way for students to practice speaking and listening skills in a meaningful way.

I encourage students to think carefully about what they bring and to be prepared to talk for about 3 to 5 minutes about their share.  They will also have time to answer a few questions from their classmates.  It is often helpful for students to practice their “share” at home with family members so they feel ready to speak about it in front of the group.

Some ideas for sharing are:

• Describe special moment or event
• Tell about an important person or pet
• Share about playing a sport or instrument or about another special talent
• Share or describe something found in nature (ex: finding a nest)
• Tell about a favorite book
• Share about a special toy or stuffed animal

E.C.O. Dates

Educating Children Outdoors (E.C.O.)

Our class will have E.C.O. on Tuesday mornings from 9:05 to 11:05 am.  We would love to have parent volunteers join us for lessons.  If you are interested in joining us, please let me know and see Karin in the office for the volunteer paperwork.  

Our E.C.O. dates:

September 13 and 27

October 11 and 25

November 8 and 22

December 6 and 20

February 7 and 21

March 21

April 4 and 25

May 9 and 23

These dates may change due to scheduling conflicts. Also, one of the spring dates will most likely include a field trip to a local pond, bog, or stream.  

Classroom News

We had another busy and productive week in second grade.  Students have been doing a great job staying focused on learning, even when it has been really warm.

It was wonderful to see everyone at the Parent Orientation Night.  I know that many of you were unable to attend, so I am including the key information in other blog posts.  I am also sending home a copy of our Sharing Calendar for September.  Please note that Sharing starts on Monday.

On Tuesday, we have our first E.C.O. lesson.  Please help your child come prepared to spend the morning outdoors.  Everyone should have sneakers or other footwear that is appropriate for running and being in the woods. 

If you have not completed and returned your E.C.O. and school hike forms, please return them on Monday. Thanks!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Classroom News

I have really enjoyed getting to know your children this week.  We have been busy practicing routines, discussing expectations, working on our All About Me books, and playing math games.  We filled our first classroom tree today and are celebrating with extra recess at the end of the day.  I hope everyone enjoys the long weekend!

Important Events and Reminders:

We do not have school on Labor Day, which is Monday, September 5th.

Tuesday, September 6th is Picture Day! Please remember to send in your picture orders and payment or pay online and send in your order confirmation number.

We are having a Parent Orientation Night on Tuesday, September 6th beginning at 6:00 pm.  We are asking that this is a parent-only event.  We will have a regular open house on Thursday, October 20th.  Teachers will be holding 20 minute information sessions starting at 6:00 pm and 6:30 pm.  At 7:00, there will be a school board presentation in the gym.  I hope you can join us for this event.

Our first ECO lesson will be on Tuesday, September 13th.  Please return the ECO forms by next Friday, September 9th.

The EMES School Hike will be on Friday, September 23rd.  (The raindate is September 30th.)  Hike forms are coming home today.  Please return the form by Friday, September 9th.

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

Welcome Back!

Welcome back to a new school year!  We had a very busy first day of school.  Our class played a familiar math game, started a classroom scavenger hunt, talked about classroom expectations, went to Art class with Ms. Holmes-Heiss, and had our Technology Integration class with Ms. Arlyn.  I look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow!

Classroom News

Green Up Day:

On Friday, our class we worked with our buddies from Mrs. Shedd's class to "green up" our school grounds.  We had fun working together on this special project!


Staff Appreciation Week:

A big thank you to everyone who sent in flowers, notes, and food for the staff breakfast!  You brightened my week!

Congratulations!
 
Congratulations to Edith!  She won a third place award in the PBS Go Writers Contest for her book, Poems: VT's Five Seasons.  Thanks for sharing your beautiful poems and illustrations with us, Edith!



Upcoming Events:

Thursday, May 12th:  K-3 Spring Concert 2:30 pm in the EMES gym
        You are welcome to join us for this special event!


Tuesdays, May 17th and 31st:  E.C.O. Lessons
         Please help your child come prepared for an afternoon outdoors.


Monday, May 30th:  Memorial Day (No School)

Friday, June 10th:  Field Day

Writing Update

Third grade writers will be wrapping up their opinion writing unit this week.  Students have been working on creating persuasive pieces that have a clear claim.  The claim is then supported with relevant details and evidence.  As a class, we have worked on convincing readers which book is the best in this year's Red Clover Award competition, and what Vermont tree is the most noteworthy: the apple, maple or fir.

During the last few weeks of school third grade writers will be working on a traditional literature reading/writing unit.  This work will be integrated into library and technology classes with Ms. Arlyn and Mrs. Christy.  Students will be writing either an original fairy tale, trickster tale or a "fractured" fairy tale in collaborative teams.  The final writing projects/stories will be done on iPads using a storybook creator app.  This promises to be a wonderful integrated project!

Second grade writers have continued to work on their opinion writing.  The focus for this week has been elaborating by adding specific details and examples for each reason.  Students have been thinking about their audience as they write and figuring out evidence that might convince their readers . For most of this opinion writing unit, second graders have focused on writing about books:  a favorite book or series, a favorite character, or a favorite part in a book.  This week, we started to write about our opinions on a wider variety of topics, such as:

               *  Which animal makes the best pet?

               *   If we could pick a super power, what would we chose? 

               *  What is our favorite sport?

               *  What time should we go to bed?

 It is exciting to share our opinions with each other!