Family Newsletter

 Dear Families,

What a fantastic week we had on Harmony and in our classroom!

On Monday, the students visited Williston Central School to see the play “Aladdin” that the students of Summit House performed.  They did an outstanding job and our students enjoyed the experience very much.

On Tuesday, we had our field-trip to Catamount.  We were lucky that the weather was a little warmer and the sun was out.  We spent a couple of hours together, learning about snowshoeing, trees and animal tracking.  It was fun to explore the outdoors in the snow.  Thank you parent chaperones who helped us and the students be successful.  We could not have done this without you!

On Wednesday, we added new movement activities to our math Number Talks and warm-ups.  The students showed their understanding of the concepts “greater than”, “less than”, and “equal to” by writing their equations and moving their bodies to different locations in the classroom representing these equations.  As a class, we collected the outcomes of these activities and equations.  We collected this data for the entire week in a game called “Race to the Finish” led by Ms. Addie.  On Friday, we had a special celebration and students had the opportunity to play their favorite math games..

On Thursday, we had 4 Winds.  Here is a message from the 4 Winds Institute: Sound is what we hear when something is vibrating. The vibrating object – whether a violin string, a singing bird, or a gurgling brook – creates a sound wave that travels to our ears, where we interpret its meaning. Sound waves need a medium like air, water, or a solid through which to move; they cannot pass through a vacuum. The Earth’s atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere provide a way for sounds to travel. Many animals depend on sound to learn about their surroundings and to communicate with others of their kind. The students learned more about sound through different stations.  They rotated between the classrooms and explored sound with different objects and they were encouraged to observe pitch, volume and the vibrations.  

If you and your child would like to learn more, please see this link for additional information on this month’s lesson.  Thank you parents for bringing hands-on science exploration to our students!

On Friday, we celebrated all day!  The students filled the classroom buzzy jar again this week.  As you know, the students celebrated with comfy clothes and hats at school.  They worked so hard this week and showed respect, responsibility and kindness to each other.  We played games in all classes and enjoyed some extra songs and dances too.  Ask your child to explain what the special surprise was at the end of the day! 

News and Reminders:

• It is Basket Raffle Time again!  This is one of FAP’s biggest fundraisers of the year.  The Big Basket Raffle is on Saturday, March 23rd. The event is held in the WCS cafeteria and old gym.  The event starts at 6:00 (with the first drawing at 6:45).  A Fun Night runs at the same time for students.  Our class theme this year is ‘A Day at the Beach”.  Please read the note from FAP to get some ideas for items to donate.  Thank you for helping this event be a success! Please see this link for information about this amazing fund-raiser.  Here is the link to Fun Night too.

• There will be no school 2/26-3/1 due to our Winter Break.  When we return, Ms. Addie will be our guest teacher for the first two days back due to my trip to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon.  I will return on Wednesday 3/6.

Have a great week off from school everyone!

Warm Regards,

Maria