Family Newsletter

This week's newsletter is from Mr. Matt, who finished his solo week yesterday. He will be in a supportive role until mid-April and I will return as the lead teacher next week.

Enjoy your long weekend,

Maria

This week I was leading the classroom while Mrs. McCormack was in a supporting role on Harmony or hosting parent-teacher conferences. All of the students did a wonderful job learning this week, and I’m so proud of them.

Social-Emotional Learning

-This week the students all had a word of the day that I revealed at the beginning of class. These words included SEL words such as “Kindness” and “Respect”. Students were given opportunities to share what these words meant to them and how it made them feel when they showed kindness or respect to their peers. They were also given opportunities to share a time they used kindness and respect, whether in the classroom or at home.

-Students continued to use their calming cards this week.The students used them effectively and appropriately when they needed a break or a calming tool.

-In our restorative circle, Ms. Nicole talked about something that may have been challenging this week, and something that students were proud of and did well. She also talked about the importance of honesty and accountability. I was impressed with the honesty most students showed with Ms. Nicole during this time.

-I tried to give the students an opportunity to share this week in our morning meetings. We learned about a vast range of fascinating things from the students such as: what Japan is like, a book two students wrote, and an object that meant a lot to students. It was terrific to see how respectful and thoughtful the questions that were asked to the sharer were. For those who didn’t get a chance this week, I hope to hear from you next week!

Reading

-This week we continued to learn about the Iditarod Trail. Students had the opportunity during independent reading time to continue Harmony’s optional Iditarod Reading Challenge. Many students participated in this, some even bringing these worksheets home because they were so interested in it. I was very impressed by the hard work, dedication, and perseverance these students showed when doing this. We will continue this reading challenge next week so there is still time for your child to join.

-This week we learned about two other dogs that were key players on the Iditarod Trail. These furry friends were Balto and Togo! We read The Bravest Dog Ever: The True Story of Balto by Natalie Standiford and Togo by Robert J. Blake. Through these two dog stories, the students learned about the heroic 1925 serum run to Nome, Alaska.

-I had the opportunity to listen in on a few students reading during independent reading, and I really enjoyed this! What a great group of engaged readers we have!

Writing

-This week in writing we filled out Venn Diagrams comparing Togo to Balto. We did this as a whole class and I was amazed by the input of students. Some students even presented comparisons/contrasts I hadn’t even thought about!

-Students were also given time for more creative writing. They all have such an abundance of creativity when they write.

Math

-This week students learned two new math games: Star Power and Steps & Leaps. They all had assigned partners for these math games, and I thought it was great how they got to learn more about other friends rather than the ones they are most comfortable with.

-We continued our Number Talks and learned about understanding patterns in addition that involved two-digit numbers. I even threw a three-digit number into the fray to challenge them because they are such strong mathematicians. They all had fantastically unique strategies. These involved isolating the ones place (or tens in three-digit number case) to solve the problem more efficiently; figuring out the ones place via rounding up to the tens place, and so much more!

Science

- The students picked out animals for a project they will be doing within the upcoming animal report writing unit.  These animals ranged from the curiously unheard to beloved fan-favorites. We had Axolotls, Dogs, Cats, Jaguars, Basking Sharks, American Shortbread Horses, Cuttlefish, and Tasmanian Tigers to name a few. I loved their diverse choices. The students picked these using an assortment of books and PebbleGo Online to see their options.

-Some students chose to get a head start in jotting down facts about their animals for the project they will be starting next week with Mrs. McCormack and Ms. Scott. I am impressed by their “go-getter” attitudes.

News and Reminders

-Mrs. McCormack will resume helming the ship next week. I know they’ve all missed her very much and she has certainly missed being in the classroom with them!.

Best,

Mr. Matt

Family Newsletter

 Dear Families,

Here is our week in review:

Social-Emotional Learning:

• This week the students assembled individualized calming cards to help them be more engaged learners, sustain attention and complete work more independently.  These calming cards will serve as a visual reminder for the students and hopefully help them make responsible decisions at school.  We also hope that these calming cards will lead to more self awareness, a sense of control and confidence. The students are so excited to use these strategies and are doing a wonderful job!

• In our restorative circle with Ms. Nicole this week, the students learned how they can be “Kindness Superheroes” at school and at home.  They learned that reaching out to other friends on Harmony to ask to play a game at recess together or sit together at lunch can be examples of how they can be “Kindness Superheroes”.  They can also use kind words and expressions to show kindness.  Ask your child to share more about their special Kindness Superhero powers.

Reading:

• We started learning about the Iditarod on Harmony.  The students will learn about the history of the race and about the equipment and training of the dogs as we explore this topic together.  The students will participate in different read alouds and have a variety of learning projects to work on.  The students listened to the book about Akiak, for example, and completed a character comparison, finding similarities between themselves and this amazing sled dog.  They discovered that they are all brave, kind and can show resilience and perseverance.

• The students also have the opportunity to participate in an Iditarod Reading Challenge on Harmony.  This is optional and the students can participate if they want to.  During independent reading times (or any other explore/choice times during our school day), the students can read a chapter (or book) and write a summary about what they read to “move” along the Iditarod Trail just like the mushers and the sled dogs. The students have their own trail maps and read along the trail.  When they reach the finish line, they will get a special certificate/prize.

• We had a special visit from the author Rebecca Rule this week.  She read her book “The Iciest, Diciest,, Scariest Sled Ride” to the students at ABS. The students enjoyed talking to a real author.

 

Writing:

• Mr. Matt continued to teach his creative writing unit this week.  The students were very engaged and eager to add more details to their words and pictures. This week, they learned to add suspense and a solution to the problem their characters adventures.

Math:

• Second grade mathematicians started learning more systematic ways to use a number line to show their math thinking, using both addition and subtraction. As you may recall, the students are very familiar with using number paths.  A number line is slightly different in that it allows the student to show their math thinking by indicating “jumps” along a number line that can represent any number sequence.

• Second grade mathematicians also continued working on fractions.  This week they learned about how to “extend” fractions in drawings/representations.  For example, if ⅓ was visible on a paper, how could they add to the drawing to show ⅔ or a whole.  They are fantastic math problem-solvers!

News and Reminders:

• If you have not signed up for a parent-teacher conference yet here is the link.  I look forward to the opportunity to chat with you again about your child’s learning at school.

• Mr. Matt started his solo week today and did a terrific job.  He will be the lead teacher all of next week too with me in a supporting role.  

Have a great weekend,

Maria

Family Newsletter

 Dear Families,

Here is our week in review:

Social-Emotional Learning:

• This week we started using writing journals for our mindfulness blocks.  The students did an outstanding job drawing and writing about their own strengths and unique talents and abilities this week.

• In our restorative circles this week, we talked about how we can show respect to other people at our school, specifically how the students can show respect to Mr. Matt since he is starting his solo week on the 17th of March.  The students had many great ideas.  Some students suggested they can be role models by following the group plan, model a calm and safe body and listen with respect.  Other students shared that they can help others and remind them of the expectations if needed.  They are an amazing group of kids.  Please talk to your child about the importance of showing respect to all adults/teachers at our school.  It can be challenging sometimes to have a new teacher and do things a little differently, but we will continue to work on these ideas next week too leading up to Mr. Matt’s first solo day. When Mr. Matt is the solo teacher (3/17-3/23), I will be in a supportive role to him and the class.  I will also host parent-teacher conferences.  You should receive an additional email with a sign up document later today or over the weekend.

• Today was National SEL Day!  We celebrated in many different ways today.  We did a zones greeting and checked in with each other to make sure our emotional needs were met in the morning.  Later in the day, we created individualized calming cards to encourage the students to find practical strategies for staying on task and learning throughout the day.  We hope this added resource will help our young learners identify their feelings while also creating a sense of responsible decision-making and accountability to foster self-reliance, independence and agency.

Reading:

• This week, we read and listened to many different books.  One of our favorites was “Interrupting Chicken” by David Ezra Stein.  The students enjoyed the story of the little chicken who constantly interrupted her papa as he tried to read her a bedtime story.  Using thinking bubbles and speech bubbles, the students shared their ideas about the different characters' perspectives and feelings.  The students also gave their own advice to the little chicken to help her stop interrupting.  They had great ideas.  

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Writing:

• Mr. Matt started his writing unit this week.  He will teach the students a creative writing unit.  He will encourage the students to develop their own voice as an author by creating fictional stories with characters, a plot and setting.  The students are very excited to use their imagination to create these stories.  

Math:

• Second grade mathematicians continued their work on fractions and number sense this week.  Mr. Rene Sanchez, our District Superintendent, and Ms. Filion came to visit our Number Talks.  They were so impressed with our incredible mathematicians who showed respectful math sharing and active engagement throughout the lesson as they shared different strategies for solving equations.

• This week, our Number Talks focused upon something called “Number Strings”.  Number strings encourage students to see connections between number relationships by introducing a set of mathematical expressions.  For example, if a child understands that 7+2 is 9, the child can use that skill to solve 87+2 and 70+20, etc

Science:

• This week, the students of Harmony had the opportunity to participate in another 4 Winds class.  This time, they learned about trees and twigs in winter times.  Our classes started with a puppet show and afterwards we went outside to match twigs to trees.  Enjoy the pictures:

News and Reminders:

• Please see this message from our Families as Partners group:

Williston Families as Partners is excited to be hosting Lucky U for the 6th year!  

Students will have the opportunity to enter individual raffles for a chance to win a special activity or experience with faculty or staff from one of the Williston Schools! 

Money raised will help support Williston School field trips, grants for teacher initiatives, and more! ALL students will receive one FREE ticket. Additional raffle tickets may be purchased for 25 cents.

Tickets will be sold the week of March 13th-17th! 

• Before school at ABS from 7:40am-8:10am

• During lunches at WCS 11:25am-12:05pm and 12:15pm-12:55pm                                           

Prize drawings will be held at the end of the week. All winners will be notified by the following Tuesday. 

Link to full list of 2023 Raffle Experiences HERE

Volunteers, please sign-up to help sell Raffle Tickets! HERE—> https://signup.com/go/gFiXsjM

Have a great weekend,

Maria

Family Newsletter

 Dear Families,

I hope you had a great snow day this week and had a chance to go outside and enjoy the new wintery weather we got.  I wish you all a great Winter Break next week.  I will see the kids when we return to school on Monday, March 6th.

Here is our week in review:

Social-Emotional Learning:

• This week, we have learned about the importance of mastering certain skills that can improve our sense of control and independence. Young children sometimes feel that there are few things they can control during the day.  This can be frustrating and overwhelming. Parents can help navigate these feelings by encouraging their children to take on some developmentally appropriate/age-appropriate tasks at home.  For example, parents can help their children develop a sense of control and independence by asking their  child to pack library books in preparation for library exchange days, or ask their child to pack and choose healthy snacks for school.  Selecting a lunch for the following school day also provides opportunities for young children to practice making responsible choices and develop a sense of control.  We have so many lunch options at ABS now that pre-viewing the menu at home with parents/guardians also helps young children manage anxieties related to selecting a healthy lunch option.  Learning how to navigate choices and making responsible decisions help children feel empowered and in control.  In our classroom, the students are learning to make responsible choices every day in a variety of settings so extending these opportunities to the home would help them develop these skills and accountability in another setting as well.

• Spirit Week was a huge success.  The students and the teachers loved the daily special activities.  Our favorite activity was the snowball activity.  Our classroom experienced a blizzard (and we did not even have a snow day!)

Reading:

• Mr. Matt has provided daily read alouds from different picture books this week.  Thank you Mr. Matt.  The students and I have enjoyed all of the books and the conversations that followed.

• The students accessed raz kids online as well this week.  There seems to be some technical issues with some students’ accounts.  If you encounter problems, please let the IT Desk know and open a ticket for assistance.  These technical problems are beyond my expertise as I tried everything I can to help solve them (Click here for IT Desk Tickets). Your child has access to raz kids from home and we encourage you to add it to your home platform options.  (Other options for at-home reading and math are all linked on the student portal).

• We are sending home an optional reading packet for your child to use over our Winter Break.  It is packed inside the Home Folder.  Please encourage your child to participate in the activities and return the packet when we return to school.  Thank you for considering.

Writing:

• This week the students finished a variety of writing pieces.  They had a chance to revise their pieces and add more details to their words and pictures. 

• We also spent time organizing writing pieces and the students decided which ones to add to their scrapbooks.  They did a great job managing multiple pieces and making responsible choices.

Math:

• In math this week, the students had the opportunity to develop their math fluency skills.  Math fluency is defined as understanding number relations and equations automatically and with ease.  Math fluency is not about speed.  It is about making sense of the numbers and seeing connections between a series of equations.  We call those connections Number Strings.  For example, if a child knows 8+7, then the child knows 18+7 and 28+7 fluently because groups of tens were added.

• The students continued to build their understanding of fractions this week too.  We primarily focused on the different ways in which wholes can be divided into smaller, equal parts and represented with mathematical symbols.

News and Reminders:

• We have no school next week.  We return to school again on Monday, March 6th.

• Here is a terrific family resource link from Heather Scandale, our fabulous school counselor Family Supports

Have a great weekend,

Maria