Here are some pictures and a video from our last Kiva Singing this school year, singing one of our favorite songs, celebrating friendship. Enjoy.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Our Last Kiva Singing this year
Here are some pictures and a video from our last Kiva Singing this school year, singing one of our favorite songs, celebrating friendship. Enjoy.
Our Last Weekly Update for this school year
Dear Families,
I cannot believe that this is my last weekly update this academic school year. This year went by in a flash! Our last school day is Friday, and it is a half day, with dismissal at 11:35am. School starts again for students on August 31st.
We have had many special activities this week. Today, for example we had a special Team-wide gathering in our garden and had the chance to eat some bread that was made from our school clay oven. Ms. Tatlock and Ms. Sumner also put on a puppet show for us. We had a great time, spending time together outside in the sun. I hope you will scroll down on this blog to see some published pictures from this event.
This week,Kindergartners and 1st grade students also had "Step Up Day." On Tuesday, current Kindergarteners who will be joining us in the fall as 1st graders, visited our class and spend some time with us. It was great to welcome our new friends. We did a quick greeting to get to know each other, read the book "It's okay to be different" by Todd Parr, and created a puppet which represents each child, which will hang inside our classroom next year. Pictures of this special gathering will follow shortly.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Tomorrow is our team-wide pizza party. We will provide the pizza but we are asking that the students bring in a drink for the lunch. We will also have regular snack so please don't forget to pack a snack for your child. If your child wishes to eat something else, please feel free to pack a regular lunch, but remember that it must be peanut-free as we will all be eating together.
I hope you have all had a chance to carefully go through your child's writing pieces, math books and assorted school folders this week as we started to send things home to you. They have worked very hard all year long and created quite the collection of stories, journal entries and pictures. I am very proud of their progress, hard work and collaboration. It is a terrific group of children!
I am excited to announce a new technological collaboration for next year. Ms. Davison's Kindergarten class and my class will collaborate around blogging and we will start this summer. All returning 1st graders (and newhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif students for next year) are encouraged to visit our newly created Summer Reading Blog (Click here to access directly, link is the the right sidebar of blog as well). On this blog, we hope that students will share their thoughts and ideas about the books they read over the summer. They can post, write comments on friends' posts and even visit Ms. Davison's reading blog.
For all students, KidBlog will remain open and active for all students-all summer and even next year as many students have indicated that they wish to stay in touch through blogging. WOW, can you belive this group of kids-they have discovered that blogging is a very effective means of communication in the 21st century! I am so proud of them and look forward to reading many new posts.
Lastly, all students will receive a digital scrapbook of our learning together this year. The link is here, and the address is our digital portfolio www.digitalportfolio2010.pbworks.com. This address will be removed from the classroom blog before the start of the new school year, so you might want to create a short-cut to it on your own computer, jot down the url so you won't forget it, or link it to your own blog or web-site. Next year, we will start a new digital scrapbook together!
Thank you all for a fantastic school year. I wish everybody a fun-filled and safe summer and the best of luck next year. Stay in touch, through blogging and email. I look forward to seeing everybody (!) next year!
Regards and Happy Summer Blogging!
Mrs. McCormack
Thank you for a fantastic year.
I cannot believe that this is my last weekly update this academic school year. This year went by in a flash! Our last school day is Friday, and it is a half day, with dismissal at 11:35am. School starts again for students on August 31st.
We have had many special activities this week. Today, for example we had a special Team-wide gathering in our garden and had the chance to eat some bread that was made from our school clay oven. Ms. Tatlock and Ms. Sumner also put on a puppet show for us. We had a great time, spending time together outside in the sun. I hope you will scroll down on this blog to see some published pictures from this event.
This week,Kindergartners and 1st grade students also had "Step Up Day." On Tuesday, current Kindergarteners who will be joining us in the fall as 1st graders, visited our class and spend some time with us. It was great to welcome our new friends. We did a quick greeting to get to know each other, read the book "It's okay to be different" by Todd Parr, and created a puppet which represents each child, which will hang inside our classroom next year. Pictures of this special gathering will follow shortly.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Tomorrow is our team-wide pizza party. We will provide the pizza but we are asking that the students bring in a drink for the lunch. We will also have regular snack so please don't forget to pack a snack for your child. If your child wishes to eat something else, please feel free to pack a regular lunch, but remember that it must be peanut-free as we will all be eating together.
I hope you have all had a chance to carefully go through your child's writing pieces, math books and assorted school folders this week as we started to send things home to you. They have worked very hard all year long and created quite the collection of stories, journal entries and pictures. I am very proud of their progress, hard work and collaboration. It is a terrific group of children!
I am excited to announce a new technological collaboration for next year. Ms. Davison's Kindergarten class and my class will collaborate around blogging and we will start this summer. All returning 1st graders (and newhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif students for next year) are encouraged to visit our newly created Summer Reading Blog (Click here to access directly, link is the the right sidebar of blog as well). On this blog, we hope that students will share their thoughts and ideas about the books they read over the summer. They can post, write comments on friends' posts and even visit Ms. Davison's reading blog.
For all students, KidBlog will remain open and active for all students-all summer and even next year as many students have indicated that they wish to stay in touch through blogging. WOW, can you belive this group of kids-they have discovered that blogging is a very effective means of communication in the 21st century! I am so proud of them and look forward to reading many new posts.
Lastly, all students will receive a digital scrapbook of our learning together this year. The link is here, and the address is our digital portfolio www.digitalportfolio2010.pbworks.com. This address will be removed from the classroom blog before the start of the new school year, so you might want to create a short-cut to it on your own computer, jot down the url so you won't forget it, or link it to your own blog or web-site. Next year, we will start a new digital scrapbook together!
Thank you all for a fantastic school year. I wish everybody a fun-filled and safe summer and the best of luck next year. Stay in touch, through blogging and email. I look forward to seeing everybody (!) next year!
Regards and Happy Summer Blogging!
Mrs. McCormack
Thank you for a fantastic year.
A Special Gathering for Team Harmony
Today, Team Harmony had the opportunity to meet outside in our garden space and share some bread that had been made in our clay oven. Ms. Tatlock and Ms. Sumner also performed a puppet show for us. Here are some pictures.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Nature Artists at work
Today, we had the opportunity to go outside and act as "Nature Detectives" while doing art. Carefully observing our environment, we set out to represent what we noticed in detailed pictures or words. I hope the students shared their amazing creations at home; they were inspired by what they saw (such as the beautifully blooming flowers and the interesting clouds in the sky), they were inspired by what they heard (such as bumblebees in the flowers), and they were also inspired by simply sitting outside, in peace and relaxation, reflecting upon events of the last week. Enjoy these pictures.
Pictures from Fun Day
Today we had "Fun Day" at the Williston Central School with other classes and teams from the Allen Brook School. Different stations were set up for students to visit as collaboration, sportsmanship and physical excersise was celebrated. Thank you volunteers for helping us out!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
"The Scribe" has been published
Click here for the direct link to "The Scribe". it is also linked on the school web-site. Look for special pieces from our friends in our school community. Great job!
More Podcasting Publications
Weekly Update
The academic year is winding down. The students are in the process of cleaning up writing, art, and computer projects they have created throughout the year. We are creating a Team Harmony Memory Scrapbook, which will come home on the last day of school. It is so nice to reflect and look back at our year together, while simultaneously think about what next year will bring. Our KidBlog will remain live all through the summer, including next academic year as many students wish to chat and connect with their old friends from this year. The KidBlog link will remain in side my classroom blog, on the right sidebar so your child can easily access it. The username and password will remain the same as well.
I will create a new "Summer Reading Blog", however, for returning students and our new friends joining us from Kindergarten next year. I am very excited to announce that our class will collaborate and create digitally with Sharon Davison's Kindergarten class next year. This project will begin over the summer. All first and second graders will have access to our "Summer Reading Blog" and the hope is that we can stay connected and get to know each other through books we read over the summer. As soon as our new summer blog has been created, I will send you the link. I will also link it on the classroom blog sidebar. Click here to see an example from Ms. Davison's class. Thank you.
Our WCS Fun day has been cancelled on Thursday due to the weather. It will take place on Friday, June 10th instead, between 8am and 11am. If parents are interested in joining us, please let me know. Thank you. Please remember that we will be outside the entire morning, so dress accordingly. Please apply sun screen at home, pack a bottle of water and encourage your child to wear sneakers for this fun day!
The students will have no homework for the remainder of this school year. If your child still wishes to write about his/her reading, he/she can do that, but it is voluntary. As soon as our new "Summer Reading Blog" is ready, I look forward to reading and sharing ideas about the books you read at home. I always have a Book Club with my own children over the summer. We create a list at the beginning and we read all the books together and share our thoughts and ideas. Perhaps you want to do something similar and share your thoughts on the blog?
Have a great rest of the week!
Regards,
Maria McCormack
I will create a new "Summer Reading Blog", however, for returning students and our new friends joining us from Kindergarten next year. I am very excited to announce that our class will collaborate and create digitally with Sharon Davison's Kindergarten class next year. This project will begin over the summer. All first and second graders will have access to our "Summer Reading Blog" and the hope is that we can stay connected and get to know each other through books we read over the summer. As soon as our new summer blog has been created, I will send you the link. I will also link it on the classroom blog sidebar. Click here to see an example from Ms. Davison's class. Thank you.
Our WCS Fun day has been cancelled on Thursday due to the weather. It will take place on Friday, June 10th instead, between 8am and 11am. If parents are interested in joining us, please let me know. Thank you. Please remember that we will be outside the entire morning, so dress accordingly. Please apply sun screen at home, pack a bottle of water and encourage your child to wear sneakers for this fun day!
The students will have no homework for the remainder of this school year. If your child still wishes to write about his/her reading, he/she can do that, but it is voluntary. As soon as our new "Summer Reading Blog" is ready, I look forward to reading and sharing ideas about the books you read at home. I always have a Book Club with my own children over the summer. We create a list at the beginning and we read all the books together and share our thoughts and ideas. Perhaps you want to do something similar and share your thoughts on the blog?
Have a great rest of the week!
Regards,
Maria McCormack
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Guest Readers
We had guest readers from WCS last week. Students from 5th grade joined our classroom to read creative stories they had written. It was great. Thanks for coming!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Weekly Update
Dear families,
Can you believe this heat? First we have more rain than we can handle and now we have this heat....It is very warm inside our classroom, but we are staying cool with fans and lots of water!
The Reading Restaurant is scheduled for tomorrow night. The first session starts at 6pm and ends promptly at 6:40pm. The second session starts at 6;50pm and ends at 7:30pm. We are very excited about sharing our writing and learning with you all. The students have worked so hard this year and can't wait to proudly show their progress. Wait until you see our tropical classroom.....it is amazing!
We will "practice" our restaurant jobs tomorrow when two other teams from our school will be visiting as customers tomorrow. On our menu, we will offer more than 90 stories and we also have many groups/class books as specials.
Next week will be very busy with 2nd graders' "Step Up Day" on the 7th. Only 2nd graders will visit their new school in the morning. First graders will stay here at ABS. There will be a parent meeting for incoming 2nd graders at WCS at 6:30 in the evening. This is a great opportunity for families to meet the teachers and learn about the new school.
On Wednesday, June 8th, the chorus at WCS will perform for 2nd graders at ABS. Once again, 1st graders will stay at ABS. On Thursday, June 9th, we have our "Fun Day" in the morning at WCS.
I hope you have a great rest of the week. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow!
Regards,
Maria McCormack
Can you believe this heat? First we have more rain than we can handle and now we have this heat....It is very warm inside our classroom, but we are staying cool with fans and lots of water!
The Reading Restaurant is scheduled for tomorrow night. The first session starts at 6pm and ends promptly at 6:40pm. The second session starts at 6;50pm and ends at 7:30pm. We are very excited about sharing our writing and learning with you all. The students have worked so hard this year and can't wait to proudly show their progress. Wait until you see our tropical classroom.....it is amazing!
We will "practice" our restaurant jobs tomorrow when two other teams from our school will be visiting as customers tomorrow. On our menu, we will offer more than 90 stories and we also have many groups/class books as specials.
Next week will be very busy with 2nd graders' "Step Up Day" on the 7th. Only 2nd graders will visit their new school in the morning. First graders will stay here at ABS. There will be a parent meeting for incoming 2nd graders at WCS at 6:30 in the evening. This is a great opportunity for families to meet the teachers and learn about the new school.
On Wednesday, June 8th, the chorus at WCS will perform for 2nd graders at ABS. Once again, 1st graders will stay at ABS. On Thursday, June 9th, we have our "Fun Day" in the morning at WCS.
I hope you have a great rest of the week. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow!
Regards,
Maria McCormack
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