Solar System and Moon Journals

We're continuing our unit on the solar system.  This week, we're focusing on the moon.  The children tell me that they are doing their moon journals at home and they are excited to share them in class in a couple of weeks.
It has been really cloudy outside and I know it is hard to see the moon.  It is okay for your child to look online so he/she can still learn about its phase for that particular day. There are lots of web-sites or apps to use.  Here is one that might help.

We were hoping to celebrate our moon journals with oreo cookies when they are due, on Friday February 8th.  We plan to show the different phases using the frosting of the oreos, and then, of course, eat them!  Please let me know if you do not want your child to participate in this activity.  Thank you.

Winter Weather

This is what it looked like outside of Ms. Fisher's classroom window last week.  Great conversations...what happened?  Where did all the snow come from? How did it form this way?

Classroom celebration

We filled the classroom Buzzy Jar again.  This rime, we celebrated with lunch in the classroom!

Learning about geography using ipads

Last week, we had another opportunity to choose a postcard from somewhere in the world, read it with a partner and then find where it was from using google earth.  As a last step, we also went onto pebblego.com to learn some interesting facts about the country, which we shared in class.

Family Newsletter

Dear Families,

Thank you so much for making our Harmony Family Breakfast a success.  It was great to see those of you who could make it and we understand if you were unable to make it.  It certainly is tricky in the middle of the work week. 

Reading:
Students finished their mid-year reading assessments last week.  Ms. Sam was my substitute teacher and the students were great with her.  They were respectful and kind.  We also finished our read aloud book "The Magic School Bus gets lost in the Solar System", a book that we saw enacted at the Flynn a couple of weeks ago.
Next week, we hope to resume guided reading groups.  Students will also receive reading response journals and learn different strategies that active readers use when reading books.

Writing:
The students continued their opinion pieces last week.  They practiced adding details to their reasons and were encouraged to add interesting details to fill a whole paragraph for each reason.  They did a great job.  This upcoming week, we will wrap up with our concluding paragraphs.  We look forward to sharing these with you at our Reading Restaurant in May.

Science:
Our science unit on shadows and patterns in the sky is in full swing.  The students continued exploring shadows and they also made their own shadow puppets.  I hope their Moon Journals are going well at home.  Last night, I stayed up to see if I could see the Super Blood Wolf Moon, but it was too cloudy so I did not.  Perhaps you did?  We will use our handy online resources tomorrow to watch together in class and discuss the different phases of the moon.

Math:
First grade mathematicians also completed mid-year assessments last week.  They did great.  What a hard-working and dedicated group of mathematicians we have in our class!  The students also explored more data collection through a variety of tasks involving bar graphs.  Additionally, they explored number sense in small groups.

Upcoming Events & Reminders:

• Report cards will go home with students on Friday, January 25th.
• We have 4 Winds on 1/31 between 1:15-2:15.  Please plan on dressing for outdoor explorations.
• Winter Break is 2/25-3/1.  Students return to school on Monday 3/4.
• Parent-teacher conferences will be scheduled for the week of 3/18.  There will be no school for students on 3/22.

Letter from our new UVM Intern Ms. Sam

Dear Parents,

My name is Sam Guider and I will be student teaching in your child’s class. I am beyond delighted to be able to join Mrs. McCormack’s class and become a part of the Allen Brook School community!

I am studying Elementary and Special Education at the University of Vermont and plan to graduate this upcoming May. This past week has been my first week with the class, and I will be student teaching through May 3rd. During this time, I am required to conduct two “solo weeks” where I will be the primary teacher planning and giving instruction. I am also required to film myself teaching for other professors to critique, and so I will be sending home a Photo/Video/Student release form to either allow or not allow permission for your child to be in my video for my licensure portfolio. My portfolio will be reviewed by my professors at UVM.

I am so excited to be working alongside Mrs. McCormack and getting to know all of the students. I can already tell they are a great bunch to work with!

Best,

Miss Sam   

Family Newsletter

Dear Families,
It looks like winter came back in full force!  It also feels like it.  Brrrr. It is cold out there.  We had indoor recess yesterday because the temperatures were so low.  Stay warm this weekend.
It sure it beautiful out there.  Here is a picture from my evening commute yesterday. I love Vermont.

Our trip to the Flynn Theater was a huge success.  The students were so kind and respectful.  We all loved the Magic School Bus Lost in Space show.  The music was great.  We learned a lot too. We are reading the book in the classroom now. 

Moon Journals and Science:
We just started our new science unit on the solar system and patterns in the sky.  Your child brought home a Moon Journal in his/her Friday folder.  Your child is encouraged to observe the moon in the next few weeks at home and draw/sketch what is being observed.  Some nights, it might be too cloudy to see the moon in the night sky.  It is okay to show that.  Some days/nights, the moon will be very clear.  Your child is encouraged to see the different shapes of the moon.  We hope to understand why the moon looks like this and why we see different parts this way at the end of this unit.  The Moon Journal can stay home until it is completed.  Please keep this in a special place at home.  We would like to share these in class when they are completed and include them in our scrapbooks for Reading Restaurant.  Let me know if your child needs another copy. Have fun observing the sky!

Math:
First grade mathematicians continued their work on basic number facts, partners to 10 and 20 as well as comparing numbers.  We are using the language "greater than", "less than" and "equal to" when comparing numbers.  We also started data collection.  Data collection and graphing, however, will not be part of our report cards this time around.  We just started this unit and it will be reflected on your child's report card in June as this unit will continue sporadically for the remainder of the school year.
Your fist grader also completed the district-wide math assessments last week.  We will continue these assessments next week.

First grade mathematicians also continued work on story-problems.  We had "Peer Teachers"; students who modeled various strategies for us all to use.  This tangible approach made it fun for all as they were encouraged to use each others' strategies. Here are some examples of our different strategies for the story-problem: Mrs McC had 13 cookies. Ms. Sullivan ate 7 of these cookies.  How many cookies does Mrs. McC have left?

Harmony Family Breakfast:
Our Harmony Family Breakfast is scheduled for January 18th between 7:45-8:15.  Thank you to Michael Wayman and the FAP for providing a generous grant for the snacks needed.  Here is the link to the sign-up document for some additional items.  We hope you can make it.  I look forward to seeing you all!

Family Newsletter

Dear Families,
Happy New Year and welcome back to school!  I hope everyone had a nice relaxing holiday break.  It was great to see all the children again.  They had so much to tell!
We will have a busy couple of weeks ahead, so I hope you have a chance to read this post-hopefully containing all the important dates/times you will need!

Report Cards:
Report cards will go home with your child on Friday, January 25th.  I hope you have the time to read them with your child.  If you have any questions or concerns regarding the reports, please let me know.  I am happy to explain them to you and your family.

Field-trip:
Harmony House will see "The Magic School Bus and the Solar System" at the Flynn next week.  We will go on Thursday, January 10.  The bus will leave ABS around 8:45 and return around 11:45.  Permission slips came home today in your child's Friday folder.  Please fill out (two sides), sign and return as quickly as possible.

UVM Interns:
We are so fortunate to have another UVM intern join our classroom next week.  Ms. Sam will be with us full-time until April/May.  Some of you might have met her already because she worked with the Special Educators in Kindergarten last semester.
We will also have another UVM intern join us on Tuesdays and Thursdays, just like Mr Matt.

Harmony Family Breakfast:
Harmony House would love to try to host a family breakfast and we really hope the weather will cooperate this time around.  We are planning this event for January 18th between 7:45-8:30 am.  More information will soon follow.  Ms. Roberts will send out another invitation and sign-up document for donations.  Thank you in advance for your generosity and time.

Reading:
All students participate in mid-year reading assessments.  I hope to start next week and Ms. Sam will sub for me when I do this.  The children have worked so hard in reading.  I am excited to see all their growth!

Writing:
We will continue our unit on opinion writing for a few more weeks before starting our non-fiction animal reports.  This year, we will study ocean animals.  This will also be our theme for Reading Restaurant in May.

Science:
We started our new science unit on the solar system this week.  Since we follow the new NGSS standards in science, our focus will primarily be upon observable patterns in the sky and shadows.  The children started learning about shadows this week.  We discussed the science behind shadows and shared observations about the attributes of shadows at different times of the day, for example.  Your child brought home a little paper gnome today.  If your child wants to, he/she can put it on a white piece of paper in a sunny place and observe (sketch) the shadow at different times of the day.  What do you notice about the shadow?  Is it getting bigger? Smaller? Is it moving?  Why is it moving? Is the gnome moving? 

Mercy Watson celebration:
Here are some pictures from our buttered toast party when our unit on Mercy Watson, written by Kate DiCamillo ended.

Spreading Holiday Cheer:
Our class celebrated our wonderful bus-drivers and thanked them for their service before our holiday break as well.

Have a great weekend and get a lot of rest for next week of school!!

Maria