Family Newsletter

Dear Families,
What a crazy week with another snow day!  Will we ever get warmer, less snowy weather?  Tuesday is the first day of Spring, but I heard that we're in for another snow storm....well, I guess this is March in Vermont.  The kids are so excited about the snow.  Today, for example, we were able to offer sledding as a workshop!  What a treat!

Parent Teacher Conferences:
Conferences are scheduled for next week.  Thank you all for signing up, or getting in touch for other possible dates and times.  I am looking forward to talking to you about your child's progress at school.  If you wish to bring your child to this conference, you can.  Some parents prefer to meet without their children, others wish to bring them along.  I leave that decision up to you.  Please know that I respect your decision-whatever it is.  We will discuss your child's academic learning progress, choices and friendships here at ABS.  Second grade families will also discuss transitioning to WCS and 3rd grade.

Math:
First grade mathematicians continued working on number sense, telling time to the hour and half hour, as well as diving deeper into 2-and 3-dimensional shapes.  The students learn through small groups activities and hands-on learning opportunities.  Today for example, we were using ipads to deepen our understanding of multiple addends, days in school, off-decade counting and geometric shapes.

Science & Technology:
Due to the snow day on Wednesday, we had to shuffle our schedule around a bit so the children focused their science upon creating google slideshows for their animal reports.  They learned to insert pictures into their slides and add more words to their writing.  If you are interested in getting  a sneak-peek, or if your child wishes to work on these from home, simply go to your child's email and ask him/her to access the slides in it (we call it "the waffle" in gmail).  I also linked the free picture/photograph site we used in our google classroom.  It is pixabay.com

We will create volcanoes next week.  They will represent some of the landform changes that happen quickly.  The students will take them home so they can share what we learned in class.  Next, we will study earthquakes and land slides.

Writing:
We are wrapping up our animal research.  This week, we started our new unit on opinion writing.  The students learned to make a statement, an opinion in a cohesive introduction.  They also learned how to use transition words while they present (in writing) their reasons for that opinion.  They are doing great.  I will share these at our upcoming conferences next week.

Ms. Jess:
Ms Jess, our wonderful intern from St Michael's will conduct her "Solo Week" the week after next, starting on Monday March 26th and ending on Friday, March 30th.  During her solo week, she will be the main teacher in the classroom.  I will be at school and I will still be the contact person for all communication, dismissal changes and I will check my email like I always do.  I will also support Ms. Jess and the students in math and literacy.  Ms. Jess, however, will plan the lessons (with support from me) and conduct all the lessons.  This is part of her educational experience becoming a teacher.  We are so very excited to give her this opportunity.  She is fantastic and the kids respond very well to all she does.  Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about this.

Ms. Jess will leave our classroom to finish her studies at St. Michael's College shortly before the April vacation.  We are planning a celebration of learning before she leaves. We want to celebrate the children's non-fiction work, animal research and animal habitat building.  Stay tuned for more information in the next week of two.  Thank you.

News & Reminders:

• The children are doing a fantastic job on their Iditarod Reading Logs.  Thank you for supporting this at home.  Our last day to turn in reading logs for this is March 30th.  The children seem very motivated and I am very impressed with their hard work and dedication so far.  Let's keep it up.
• Peace Pups, a Vermont sled dog team, will visit our team on March 27th.  The owner of the dogs is a musher and he will visit us for a while in the morning.  Our studies of the Iditarod continues on house. Today, for example, we provided two workshops for the students to bake dog treats, so we can give them to the dogs.
• Please remember that we cannot celebrate your child's birthday with a food this year.  Due to different allergies on our team, we decided to celebrate students' birthdays in other ways this year.  Some parents come in and visit us for a special read aloud.  Others send special books or object in for a share/read aloud.  Some children choose the greeting, a song or a game.  All children get a special birthday balloon and covering on their chair for the day!  Thank you for adhering to the safety of all and understanding.