Newsletter 3/10/21

Mar 10, 2021 | 0 comments

Curriculum Updates

 Kindergarten and Pre-K students continue to work toward mastering an important foundational learning skill: helping themselves and others do their best listening and learning by not talking over a teacher or each other. We practice turn-taking, using our self-talk, giving a message one time (kindly), and seeking appropriate teacher support.

Our Gingerbread Baby Project has been a success! We have received Gingerbread Babies mailed back from Alaska, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Virginia, and Tennessee and will be opening more letters this week with returning “Gingies” from: South Carolina, Kentucky, New York, and Vermont. One of our tastiest discoveries is that the Moon Pie was invented in Tennessee; the Gingerbread Baby who “returned” from Tennessee was mailed back with enough moonpies for us all to try!
We celebrated the 100th day of school with graphing, filling in the missing numbers on a 100’s chart, placing fruit loops on the chart, and then making necklaces. Pre-K  explored different items in quantities of 100 during math, and we all made predictions about what we might be doing 100 days from now. Many students predicted it would be summer and that snow would be gone, and we checked our predictions with a calendar and looking at pictures of different seasonal activities.
Pre-K and K students have started doing group “Chill Drills” that help them identify how they are feeling and how to manage those feelings in a way that is respectful and kind to the classroom community. Children are learning how to do some of the breathing and refocus activities from Go Noodle!, many of which compliment the Second Step lessons about being a good learner. The “Learner Song” from Second Step is also very popular with the children and it helps us remember to: listen, focus and use self-talk. Self-talk is when we pause our talking voice and listen to the good choice voice in our brain.

Spring Flowers with the Puffins

Curriculum Updates

First and Second Grade
This week our first graders worked hard on a new spelling pattern, the magic E! Magic E, or king E, or Queen 👑E, makes the vowel say its name in words such as like, make, and tone. First graders also continued working on fluency while they read, and reviewing common sight words. In math, the first graders and the kindergartens practiced telling time to the hour. They also continued to practice their addition. 

In both first and second grade, we celebrated the hundredth day of school by seeing how many times we could write our name in one hundred seconds. Second-grade readers have been leveling up and practicing harder spelling patterns, and writing longer and longer words, breaking the words into smaller parts, such as the word fantastic! They know how to spell each smaller part of the word, fan, tas, and tic. Some of the second graders worked on addition and subtraction on their hundreds charts. One student worked on a camping trip activity that involved multiple steps with addition and subtraction.

Spring Flowers with the Pre-k  and Kindergarten

Curriculum Updates

Performing Arts

PK/K – This week we danced to three action songs. The first was a song called stomp to the beat which helped us to learn how to find the beat in music. We also listened to two songs that we will be learning to sing for a spring virtual concert! The first was a song called Dip and Sway by Elsie Gawler. This song is about being in a boat out on the water so we made waves with our arms to the beat of the music and we swayed side to side in our chairs like we were the waves. The second was a song called One Small Voice. We moved to the beat of this music in any way that we wanted to.

1/2 – This week we danced to three action songs. We also listened to two songs that we will be learning to sing for a spring virtual concert! The first was a song called Don’t Forget to Sing by Elsie Gawler. We talked about the lyrics to the song and what the song was about. We moved to the beat of the music. The second was a song called One Small Voice. We moved to the beat of this music in any way that we wanted to.

3/4 – This week we listened to a song that we will be learning for a spring virtual concert. The song is called Don’t Forget to Sing by Elsie Gawler. We took a good look at the lyrics and talked about the message we thought the song was trying to send. We agreed that this was a song to remind us to always remember the good times and to lean on our friends and family for support! We also listened to One Small voice which is another song that we will be learning for the virtual concert. We talked about how this song seems to say that no matter how small you are you can make a big difference!

5/6 – This week we were able to watch the first half of the video from my friends Richard and Gayle! They told us the story of Richard’s grandparents and all of the things they went through during the holocaust. We will be watching the last half of the video next week where Richard and Gayle will be answering questions we sent to them!

7/8 –  This week we were able to watch the first half of the video from my friends Richard and Gayle! They told us the story of Richard’s grandparents and all of the things they went through during the holocaust. We will be watching the last half of the video next week where Richard and Gayle will be answering questions we sent to them!

Weaving with Pre-k and Kindergarten

Curriculum Updates

Super Studies

3/4 Super Studies

This week, the students researched tree species and learned the difference between coniferous and deciduous trees. They made posters to show what they are learning. They also watched a National Geographic presentation from an ethnobotanist on how people interact with plants. On Forest Friday, the students made beautiful magic wands from sticks they found in the woods and yarn.
5/6 Super Studies
This week, the students presented their multimedia projects on Newton’s Laws of Motion. They also did a series of experiments to see how the rate of acceleration due to the gravity of falling objects on earth is a constant 9.8 m/s/s , even with different masses and horizontal motion. On Forest Friday, the students made beautiful magic wands from sticks they found in the woods and yarn.
7/8 Super Studies
This week, the students have been learning about how the different systems on earth (hydrosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere) function and interact. They made play-dough models of the earth show and label the layers and used a fascinating online model to explore what it’s like at different depths of the earth underground and underwater.

Weaving with 1/2

Curriculum Updates

ELA

3/4 ELA – Students learned more about the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and started their first assessment in this Module.  I am so pleased that most students are learning how to use part of the question in their answer and how to find specific details in the text to support their answers!!!  What a great group of students!

5/6 ELA – We completed the reading of Gilgamesh and the vocabulary and comprehension questions that went with the text.  Next week students will work in pairs or triads to create a play script to mirror 2 chapters of the book and to perform the play about those chapters.
7/8 ELA – Students have completed the groundwork to begin the novel: To Kill a Mockingbird

Haudenosaunee Map by 3/4

Curriculum Updates

Advanced ELA
Students in grade 6 are working on Greek and Latin roots, prefixes, and affixes; next week they will begin reading several short stories that align with the yearly theme of fate vs. free will. The stories include The Lady or the Tiger, The Necklace, Rules of the Game, The Most Dangerous Game, The Scarlet Ibis, and the Interlopers. The students in 7-8 just completed a 12-page thesis based on The Invisible Man and Native Son. This week they will begin ‘In Search of our Mothers’ Gardens’ by Alice Walker.

PE with 3/4 Bowling with a Twist

Coffee Socials

Coffee socials are the first Friday of every month via ZOOM.  Follow the reminders on Facebook and watch  for updates in the Newsletter.

Calendar

March

3/12                                                     Trimester #2 Ends

3/14                                                     Daylight Savings Time–Turn clocks ahead one hour

3/15                                                     7/8 Fitness time from 3-4 PM

3/17                                                    Community showing of movie- Angst (grades 5-8)

3/19                                                    Workshop Day/No School

3/22—3/26                                         Parent/Teacher Conferences

April

4/2                                                       Coffee Social via Zoom

4/15                                                     Town Public Hearing and Information Night  at 6PM in school gym

4/19—4/23                                          April Vacation

May

5/7                                                       Coffee Social via Zoom

5/15                                                     Town Meeting at 9AM in school gym

5/31                                                     Holiday/No school

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This