Elizabeth's Classroom

Hi all,

The GeoBee was great. We are congratulating Rex as our Geography champion this year with Rose and Tucker coming in as runner ups.  Kids were focused and thoughtful as they attempted to answer the random questions shot at them when it was their turn.  Some are lucky and get the Vermont question or the question that deals with somewhere they’ve vacationed, otherwise general knowledge and the ability to use context clues in the question helped students attempt answers to the many questions about US and world geography.

This week both 5th and 6 grade math classes started new units.  5th graders are working on fractions including equivalent fractions as preparation for adding fractions with different denominators.  Please be sure to read over the Family Letter that went home with students early in the week.  6th graders are also working with fractions. We will begin a brief review and solidification of addition and subtraction beginning with estimation to insure the solid conceptual understanding that is not always evident when students have memorized procedures for standard algorithms.  The bulk of the unit will involve learning how and when to multiply or divide fractions.  The algorithms are not particularly challenging to learn but the understanding of the effect on numbers and when to use each operation is where the important and more challenging learning is. Again, estimation is an important component of mastering the concepts involved as this will help students reflect on the reasonableness of their answers in problem solving.

In science we are also at the end of our in depth study of our dynamic Earth.  The next unit will be the Human Body where our focus will be on the major systems including a quick study of bones and muscles, and more in depth study of the respiratory and circulatory systems.

In Literacy and Social Studies students continue working on reading Sign of the Beaver and completing a variety of assigned tasks including chapter summaries, vocabulary work, answering comprehension questions and staying prepared for quizzes. Please be aware that many of these tasks are handed out in a packet that contains directions and often due dates.  Kids’ assignment books should also have the due dates written. When asking your child about nightly homework completion be sure to ask about these assignments that have a longer completion window due to the number of tasks to do.  Leaving this work for the night before it’s due will be impossible and cause a lot of anguish for your child.

I hope everyone enjoyed our first “snow” day yesterday.  I found it a wonderful opportunity to catch up on some correcting and house work, as well as get some always needed rest. Perhaps everyone will show up energetic and ready to learn on Monday without the usual fatigue I tend to see in many after a busy weekend:)

Cheers!

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had a restful and healthy holiday break.  It was so nice to have time to enjoy family, never set the alarm clack, and fall asleep on the couch whenever I felt my eyes droop.

Now, we are 2 weeks back into our regular routine.  The ski program is in full swing as are all of the regular classes and expectations for work quality and completion including homework.  In the Upper Unit we see the ski program as a wonderful opportunity and privilege of our students.  Because of the cut in educational time during the ski season it is really important for students to stay caught up in their work.  If a student falls behind in classwork or homework completion we will ask the student to remain in school on Friday afternoon instead of going skiing in order to have time and support to get back on track.  We will notify a student on Thursday if it is likely s/he will need to stay at school on Friday. The missing work would be due by 8AM Friday in order for the student to be allowed to ski.

Some reminders about the ski program:  I encourage kids at this age to take responsibility  for packing their own ski gear so that they know what they brought and where everything is and what needs to go home at the end of the day.  If a student is staying at the mountain beyond 2:30 a note from you with your permission is required. You may write one note to cover the entire season.  It is often colder and windier on the mountain than at school so please remember to encourage packing extra layers and always packing dry ski socks to put on when boots go on.

Geo Bee is this week.  All students have been practicing answering questions in the various rounds of last year’s annual National Geographic Geo Bee.  This week they will participate in the actual Bee.  There will be one session for all students and a second round will be held for up to 10 finalist to determine the geography champion of the Upper Unit.  The winner of the Bee will take a written test to determine eligibility for participation at the state competition held later this year. Unfortunately it is not a spectator event so remember to ask you child about it.

That’s about it for the news.  Enjoy the return of winter.

Hi All,

Wow, what a whirl wind of activity over the last couple of weeks.  I apologize for the delay in getting out the news.

Currently we are quickly preparing for the holiday break.  The concert on Wednesday night was wonderful.  Your children sang, played and buddied with great skill and pride.  With our preschool buddies we made pinecone bird feeders which we hung on the tress around the school yard together.  Even our feathered friends deserve some special thought.  Buddy Time with our preschool friends is a highlight for both classes.  We had collected the cones together at another meeting.

Crafts:  As a special treat Heidi, Anne and I have amended the Friday afternoon schedule to offer some craft options. After some advertising students were able to sign up for the craft of their choice.  I am teaching kids to make paper mache containers, Heidi is teaching the art of Origami star making, and Anne is having kids learn to be creative with food items.

Cool School Tools:  In the spirit of fun and useful giving we are having a gift exchange in the Upper Unit on Thursday.  A notice went home last week with the UUWR to give kids time to prepare.  If you haven’t seen this notice please ask your child.  The gifts were due Friday but many have not turned them in assuring me that they will come in on Monday.  In order for all students to feel that this equally fun for all we are asking for the cool school tools cost about $5. Please help your child select something(s) new that they might want to receive assuring that the gift will be appreciated by whoever gets it, girl or boy. The gift should be wrapped with the name on the inside of the package.  As always, if this presents a financial hardship just let us know and we will help your child celebrate with his/her classmates.

Conferences: While conferences seem like ages ago I actually just wrapped them up.  It was such a pleasure to attend the meeting between you and your child as s/he told you about him/herself as a student.  It was clear that your children take pride in their budding independence and are learning to be honest with themselves about their strengths and areas where they could strive for more growth as well as develop strategies for this growth.  Thank you all for your support.

For all of us this is a season of trying to balance the importance of work with the hopes, dreams and expectations of family and friends. We are all looking forward to a productive week followed by a well earned holiday break. Adequate rest, good nutrition and a sense of humor will help us all complete this week cheerfully and peacefully.

Hi All,

Incredibly we have already wrapped up one trimester.  Students have worked hard, and while we have reported weekly with the UUWR on whether or not your child’s work is up to date, sent home tests to sign, handed back graded assignments,  it’s time to put all of the pieces together to get the full picture of how your child performs as a student. As you’ve seen, in the Upper Unit there is a step up in responsibility. As children mature and request more independence it is important to give them the opportunity to take on more responsibility and with this come increased accountability.  For this reason we have students report to parents on their performance as students. This can feel intimidating at first but usually we find that it is actually an empowering experience that builds self confidence, self respect, sincere motivation and communication skills as kids learn how to be honest and open about their skills as well as their short comings.  They learn that with honesty and openness we continue to love, respect and support them through their growth which further encourages self advocacy as they struggle through the challenges of becoming truly independent learners and citizens.  This week we will cut back on all academic subjects to give kids the opportunity to collect samples of work and reflect on this first trimester to prepare for student led parent conferences. Please make every effort to attend the prescheduled time assigned for your conference.  Report cards will come home before the conference and students are encouraged to let parents know how they are doing to celebrate accomplishments and deal with challenges long before report cards come out to avoid surprises.

I look forward to seeing all of you next week.

Elizabeth

Hi All,

Due to Heidi’s role on the Common Core Leadership team and as a literacy leader she will be out of school at workshops on both Thursday and Friday this week.  For this reason we will sign and send home UUWR notebooks for your review and signing on Monday next week.

I also want to remind you that the deadline for kids to bring in their money for wreath sales is this Friday.  All students are asked to sell 10 wreaths to do their part in fundraising for the great events all students enjoy. Please continue to encourage and support them in this endeavor.  Recent suggestions included selling in front of Mac’s, Paradise Deli, Mehuron’s, Shaw’s and the Warren Store with store permission and to go to local businesses.  The return of chilly weather will remind people that the holidays are coming:)

Best wishes,

Elizabeth

Hi All,

On Friday I had the opportunity of joining the 5th graders and our new 6th graders on the annual trip to Boston for an overnight camp in at the Museum of Science.  The greatest part of this trip is watching the students ask “what’s this?” “What does this do?” and then explore an answer by delving into a display.  While we traveled freely throughout the museum in small groups we also had the opportunity to re-converge for a hands on experience to learn about birds and their individual calls, dissect owl pellets to find and reconstruct skeletons of their prey to determine what was eaten, and then create new bird species with various art materials.  Despite the late hour the kids were engaged, eager and creative. After an exciting show in the Electricity room we hunkered down for a brief 6 hour rest on the floor of the lighthouse room.  We rose early for more exploration, a show in the Hayden Planetarium, followed by an IMAX movie on migrations.  Overall it was another great adventure of curiosity and discovery.

The upcoming week will feature 5 days of regular scheduling! Yippee:)

Next week students will begin the process of preparing their student led parent conferences.  I’ll send details on this in next week’s posting.  Please remember that conferences will take place in the afternoon and evening on Tuesday, Nov. 22 and Wednesday morning Nov. 23rd.

Enjoy the reappearance of sun while it lasts.

Peace,

Elizabeth

Well, I can’t believe that October ends and November begins this week.  I feel like we just started school and yet here we are.  Soccer season has ended, snow is beginning to fall.  We will be wrapping up the trimester in 2 weeks and will begin preparations for report cards and conferences.  Remember that the original schedule was changed back to what we’ve seen in the past with conferences right before Thanksgiving.

Your child was given an envelopes and order forms as well as directions for wreath selling on Thursday.  It was great to see a number of students come in on Friday having already sold a few wreaths.  We are asking each child to sell at least 10 wreathes over the next two weeks.

5th graders and new 6th graders will be heading to Boston this Friday for the annual overnight visit to the Boston Science Museum.  Kids were given forms with packing recommendations and some details about what the museum has to offer.  I always look forward to this trip as it is great to experience the enthusiastic curiosity the kids exhibit throughout their explorations.

Halloween is Monday. We will have our usual costume parade.  All are invited to be in costume but there is no requirement.  Complicated costumes and make up must be taken care of at home or left for the evening as we won’t have time at school to take care of extensive costume needs.

In closing, hats off to all the kids who worked hard on the UU play Porrigegate.  I enjoyed what I saw from backstage Thursday afternoon and I heard from Andreas the the evening show was very well done.  We have a lot of diverse talent among our students.  Thank you for your ongoing support of all of the activities we put forth for them.

Happy Halloween!

Elizabeth

Hi All,

Hats off to our students who persevered all week to show what they have learned in Reading and Math.  I had the 6th graders during the 6 sessions of NECAP testing while Heidi has been with the 5th graders through their 8 sessions which include writing.  The directions state that the test should take students about 45 minutes to complete each session but they may have more time if they wish and we schedule 90 minutes for each session. For each session 45 minutes was the minimum students used while most used at least 60 minutes and quite a few went to the 90 minute mark and beyond to make sure their work was thorough. I was very proud of their commitment to doing their best. 5th graders will finish their writing test on Monday and then we will patiently await the results .  It was great to wrap up the week of silent focus with a long healthy Hike for Hunger yesterday afternoon.

After an intense week of testing I am excited to be getting back to our regular routine of learning.  In Math 6th graders will be wrapping up our Prime Time unit on factors and multiples.  They have had a couple of “check ups”, quizzes along the way to monitor their understanding and skill acquisition.  Over all these have had good results. I ask students to bring home quizzes and tests for parents to look over and sign so that you know how your child is progressing.  We will likely have an end of unit test near the end of this week.  5th graders are working on a unit on place value, addition and subtraction with decimals, and multiplication.  We also continue to focus on mastering basic facts so that they have all the necessary tools to effectively learn new and more complex skills.

In Science we are completing our study of the structure of the Earth this week.  All students will have a TEST on Friday!  Students in group B were given a study guide at the end of the day on Friday and Group A will be given the guide in class on Monday.  It is important that students study a little bit every day, not wait until the last night. They have some details to memorize as well as concepts to review.  I find that the best way to help my children study for a test is to hold the study guide and ask them questions about its contents.  If there is an area of uncertainty I ask them to find the worksheets they worked on in class to review the material then re-quiz them when they feel ready.  If your child seems lost when asking questions about the study guide please direct him/her to me for clarification.

Next on the To Do List is wreath selling.  Please see the following letter going out to all Upper Unit families:

               Thursday, October 20, 2011

Dear Parents,

Believe it or not, it is time for the Upper Unit to begin their Holiday Wreath Fund raiser.  We know that it seems early to think about the holiday season, but we want everyone to be prepared with beautiful holiday wreaths.

This will be the fourteenth year we have held this fundraiser and the money made from it helps substantially with the Cape Cod trip for this year and next.  We need your help encouraging your child to understand that working together we can accomplish great things including making it possible for the classes to go to Cape Cod.  We are selling decorated Balsam wreaths for $20.00.  Each wreath is 22 inches (a 12 inch ring) and will come decorated with a bow, pinecones and red berries.  Undecorated wreathes can also be purchased for $18.

The wreaths will need to be picked up by the buyer in the Warren School gym on Wednesday, November 30, from 1:00-5:30 and Thursday and Friday, December 1 and 2 from 8:00 am – 5:30 pm.

The wreaths must be prepaid and all checks should be payable to the Warren School.  We cannot order the wreaths unless we have payment.

 Please review with your child the order forms and “safe selling” rules.

There are only two short weeks to sell these wreaths.  Orders are due back to your child’s homeroom teacher Friday, November 11 at the latest.

Thank you as always for your support!

If you have further questions, please give us a call at school.

Thanks again,

Elizabeth Tarno,

Anne Knight-Youlden,&

Heidi Ringer

Heidi, Anne and I will be going over all of this with the students on Thursday.  They will come home with an envelope with selling forms and directions.  In addition to the annual Cape Cod trip for 6th graders our 2 big fundraisers, Wreath Selling and the Mothers’ Day Follies fully fund trips such as our fabulous adventure at  Northern Lights and supplement the cost of the Boston Science Museum trip for 5th graders.

Thanks for your ongoing support of our programs.

Cheers,

Elizabeth

Hello Everyone,

Every year the harvest dinner reminds us all what a fine community we have.  It was great to have so much parent participation in the annual making of our yummy apple crisp.  Then to see so many turn out with delicious dishes to share, warm camaraderie and even some recent graduates who just had to come back for the fun.  Thank you for your contributions to this wonderful event.

With the switch of weather this is a great weekend to catch up on rest. And just in time for NECAP testing!  All of the 5th and 6th graders will be testing this week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from approximately 10-11:30 and 12:45-2:15. The first 3 sessions will test reading comprehension through short answer vocabulary questions and longer essay type responses to see how students respond to literature.  We look for children to respond to the text by including citations from the text to support their answers to various questions.  You can support them by encouraging them to be thorough in their answers as only a few sentences of opinion is never adequate. The next three sessions will test math. Again students answer multiple choice questions in addition to short and longer written out responses.  It is important for students to show all of their work and be thorough in the short and long answer questions.  They should be reminded to use solid reasoning, processes of elimination and to check over their work before deciding they are done with the test.  On Friday and Monday mornings 10-11:30 5th graders will be tested in writing.  They will need to show structured, organized writing with a focus and statements to support their focus.  All of these skills are taught and expected regularly in school but testing presents a unique situation where kids are asked to perform their best in a quiet, focused setting.  It is best if they come well rested, well fed and encouraged to do their best.  Please send you child to school with snacks for both morning and afternoon sessions as having food is a good “pick me up” when energy and focus wanes.  Due to testing the kids will not have much homework this weekend, however they should continue with independent reading and practicing math facts.

Reminders:  Picture day is MONDAY!  Also, we hope to reschedule the Hike for Hunger on Friday.  Friday evening 7-9 will be the first dance of the year.

The colors are beautiful, the weather cool, perfect for apple picking, soccer, hikes and outdoor chores.  Remember that fresh air, exercise and good nutrition help keep all of us physically and mentally strong.  Here’s to a very healthy fall.

Elizabeth

Well, fall is here in all its glory.  I hope you have been enjoying the gorgeous weather as much as I have.  With the fall we have some traditions coming up this week: Apples for the apple crisp were due today, we will baking for the masses and need all the sweetness we can get.  We are looking forward to seeing all of you who have volunteered to come in to peel, cut and mix.  If you are planning to join us we will be doing our preparations at 12:45 on Thursday.  Please come armed with vegetable peelers, paring knives and cutting boards.

On Friday we will be hiking for hunger.  The weather is due to be wet again so please send kids to school with good shoes/boots for wet conditions underfoot and warm waterproof layers for comfort.

Tomorrow we will be thinking about fire safety.  All students will have a class visit to the “house” provided by the fire department to give kids the opportunity to learn about safe practices  throughout the home and how to get out in case of an emergency.  Many students at our grade level are beginning to be home alone for short periods of time.  Sometimes they are even responsible for younger siblings or may even be starting to baby sit.  Many are learning to prepare simple meals using the microwave, toaster oven and the stove. They are plugging in all kinds of electronics and others have learned how to start a camp fire or help out with the wood stove that heats your house.  This is a critical time for them to take fire safety education even more seriously as they are in a greater position to be making decisions to avoid and/or escape emergency situations than ever before.  When they come home please take the opportunity to ask them about their safety session.  Tour them around your home to help them feel comfortable with decisions they may need to make at home.  If they babysit ask questions to test their readiness for responsible safety procedures in another home.  You and they will feel more secure knowing they know how to keep themselves and others safe.

Check out the following dates for more upcoming events.

10/13 Apple Crisp making and Harvest Dinner

10/14 Hike for Hunger

10/17 Picture Day

10/18-24 NECAPs

10/21 5/6 Dance

Thank you as always for your ongoing support.  It is such a pleasure working with you and your children.

Elizabeth