Wardsboro Update 09/11/09
Calendar
Monday, September 14 School Pictures
Tuesday, September 15 School Board meeting 6:30pm
Wednesday, September 16 Open house 6:30 pm
Monday, September 21 Connections Program begins
Reformer Christmas Stocking
Applications are available in the school office for this program which provides warm outer winter clothing for children ages 0-15. The completed applications must be sent in through the school. The deadline for applications is early October so please pick up and return applications as soon as possible. They will not accept late applications.
Band News
District Band (5th & 6th graders) and Jazz Band begin rehearsals on Monday, September 21st from 3-4:15 pm, in the Townshend Elementary School
Instrumental rental night: pick-up night is Monday, September 21st at 6:30 pm in the L&G music room(lower level)
The Principal’s Desk
Rosemary FitzSimons
Our school’s 2008-2010 action plan has the following three goals developed to meet student needs:
- Improve student performance in math
- Improve literacy skills across the content areas
- Use communication with students and families to improve student responsibility for learning.
We have made great strides towards achieving these goals. We believe that our PBS (positive behavior supports) will help us to further build skills. Our schoolwide focus, ROARS, will especially help us to achieve goal three of our plan. ROARS is an acronym for the positive behaviors of responsibility, own-it, achieve, respect and safety. Last Friday we began ROARS ticketing. Tickets are given out by all members of the school community when others are “caught” exhibiting one of our ROARS behaviors. These tickets are one of the strategies developed to better communicate positive behaviors noted with students, families and staff. Individual responsibility for learning is critical for student success. This was a focus of President Obama’s speech to American students. The following comments, that link directly to goal three of our action plan, were included in his speech to students:
“But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.
And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide. “ www.whitehouse.gov
As a school community, we will continue to help students (and adults) grow and learn in a positive supports environment - to encourage responsibility, learn to “own” behaviors, achieve short and long term goals, respect all members of our community and act safely.
Connections
Daily Connections and Enrichment Connections starts Monday September 21st!! I'm pleased to introduce Kerstin Kjellberg as the Wardsboro Site Director and Instructor for the Afterschool program. Kerstin comes to us with wonderful experiences working and teaching children. She’ll be helping organize day to day operations for Afterschool in Wardsboro as well as providing enrichment and academic help to students enrolled in the Daily Connections programs
Please note, due to low attendance, we’ve had to cancel K – 2 Digital Photography and 3 – 6 Chinese. If your children were enrolled in these classes, please contact Charlie Cummings if you’d like to sign up for a replacement activity.
Charlie Cummings
21st Century Grant Director
Arlington / Wardsboro School Districts
802.375.6409 Ext 217
Dear Pre K and Kindergarten Families,
Welcome back. I hope you were able to enjoy the beautiful weather over the long Labor Day weekend. At school this week, our class continues to practice and establish routines of the classroom. The importance of learning these routines will allow the rest of the school year to go smoothly and maximize learning time. We have also been focusing much of our time learning the letters in our names and practicing how to write our names. We have learned poems, sung songs and explored magnetic letters using our own names and the names of our classmates. This week during our word work time, we learned the song Down By the Bay. Students enjoyed making up silly rhymes to the song and then drawing a picture of their favorite rhyme. We will make these into a class book. Next week we will meet the first character from Letterland, Annie Apple.
On Tuesday, preschoolers met our school guidance counselor, Bill Scarlett. He will visit our classroom every Tuesday morning and work with us on many different social skills and how to get along with others. Many students had their first opportunity to “share” an item from home with the class. This proved to be an exciting activity. Please remember not to send in toys.
In the afternoon kindergarten students have been working on our first math unit, sorting and classifying. This week we continued to work with vocabulary to introduce the unit. We played a game, similar to musical chairs that helped us practice telling our left from our right and reviewed top, middle, bottom, over, under, below and above.
On Friday afternoons, we have been pairing up with Mrs. Bills third and fourth grade class for Buddy Reading. So far students have looked forward to thisopportunity.
Hope you have a great weekend.
Mrs. Bates
First and Second Grade
Mrs. Parker-Jennings (PJ)
Our ROARS notes have been coming in! First and second graders have been demonstrating Responsibility, Ownership, Achievement, Respect, and Safety.
HOMEWORK:
· First and second graders homework time should not take more than 30 minutes, including reading.
· First and second graders should read for 10 minutes or more.
· Math homework comes home a few nights a week.
· Next week second graders will begin spelling homework. Please be on the look out for it in your child’s folder. Spelling homework will be looking a little different this year. I will explain any changes as assignments go out. First graders will begin spelling after winter break.
I have started my Beginning of the Year assessments to show any changes is reading behaviors that were made over the summer. While I am completing these assessments students are learning and practicing new literacy activities at centers.
During Writer’s Workshop students continue to build on their writing fluency through Silent Sustained Writing (SSW.) First grade word work has been focused on rhyme. Students have been matching rhyming pictures to their word, and writing some of these rhymes. Second graders word work has been focused on noticing beginning and ending parts of words. They have discovered that many words have the same ending part (rime,) and just by changing the beginning part (onset) they can make a new word.
During our Math Workshop we have been exploring number sense and place value. We have explored vocabulary such as Ones, Tens, and digits. Students discovered that all numbers, no matter how large include only 10 digits: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9. However, we have also discovered that where the digit is placed changes its value. Having a solid understanding of number sense sets the stage for student’s success with math in the future.
Our Earth and Moon theme is going great! Students explored what a model is. We learned that a model is an object that looks just like the real thing, but it is much smaller, like a toy car or globe. This week we also discovered that if a tennis ball was the Moon, our classroom globe is the Earth, and then our school would be the Sun. Wow, that’s big. However, why does the moon and sun look about the same size in the sky?
I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe weekend!
A FEW REMINDERS:
· SNEAKERS need to be worn or brought to school on P.E. days.
· PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE if your child has a fever or is throwing up do not send them to school. Although medicine may take the fever away they are still contagious.
· Check HOME/SCHOOL FOLDERS every day.
· Any notes for school should be put in the folder
· Only ONE dessert for after lunch
Thank you for your help with this.
Yours Truly,
Cris PJ
Dear third and fourth grade families,
It seems like it was just yesterday that I was writing the last newsletter. We have continued to be very busy in class learning routines, and activities.
During our literacy time we have been learning to use SRA, practicing doing silent sustained writing, how to complete our science activities, and learning how to use a dictionary to find a definition of a word and write what it means in our own words. Thursday we played our first game of VOCABO, and practiced completing a vocabulary quiz. Students have also been working in groups to read a book and prepare to hold a book discussion about that book. Before working in our groups I modeled this by reading Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine aloud and holding a class book discussion.
In math we were busy this week practicing our problem solving skills including choosing a strategy, organizing our work, presenting what we have learned and using math vocabulary to explain our thinking. The strategy we focused on this week was using an organized list.
In social studies we have continued our presidential study. Ask your child if they know who the second president of the United States was. We have also begun some Vermont geography.
In science we have begun our unit on electricity. We will be building circuits using batteries, wires, and light bulbs. We will also be discussing electrical safety and important vocabulary terms such as insulators and conductors. I will be reminding students to be safe and not experiment with electricity on their own.
Don’t forget to review the homework expectations, and complete any weekend homework. If your child has weekend homework it means that they didn’t complete something during the week so it needs to be completed and turned in Monday or they will owe their recess time to get it completed.
Enjoy your weekend!
Mrs. Bills
Fifth and Sixth Grade Newsletter
Homework Heroes So far, so good! The 24 students in the fifth and sixth grade classroom have succeeded in completing 100 % of their homework assignments for 10 days! As a result, each member of the four winning teams will receive a free homework pass! Also, because 100% of the class managed to complete the challenge, a bonus pass is issued to each student! The free passes which will be issued on Friday, September 11th, must be used within the next two weeks. Usually a pass is good for use during the following week after winning, but since each student earned 2 passes, they have two weeks! Just to clarify: one pass is good for one night’s homework. It should be presented when I am checking homework in the morning.
Mathematics Students in the fifth grade are reviewing multiplication of two and three digit numbers as well as learning the steps to completing long division problems. Expect your child to be practicing the multiplication facts that he/she still has not mastered. Calculators are great for use when solving math problems, but a firm grasp of the basic multiplication facts is still a necessary skill. Sixth grade students are currently reviewing rounding of numbers. They will also be reviewing math facts as needed.
Social Studies Students should have completed the first map for their individual atlases. The first map is a physical map of North America. A write up about the physical geography of the continent will also be included in the completed atlases. We expect to complete the atlases by the end of October, if not sooner! In addition to completing physical maps of the continents, students will be expected to correctly identify: the continents, major bodies of water, the equator, etc. on a world map by the end of this unit of study.
The WCSU Spelling Bee is scheduled for October 6th! We have a group of 8 students currently working to be ready for the competition! Our team members and coaching crew are made up of the following students: Tyler Melis, Chaston Finaldi, Susan Francy, Kristen Perkins, Danielle Senn, Bryce Karg, Emma Densmore, and William Bush.
Assignment Folders will turn into Assignment Notebooks next Monday. Students will still receive the Homework for the Week on Mondays, but they will be expected to write in specific assignments in their Assignment Notebooks.
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Shakespeare
Dear Families,
Please consider checking your paper recyclables for books before emptying them into the dumpster/collection bin at the Town Transfer Station. Last week, Jill Dean, our Town Librarian, came to our school with some books in hand. I recognized the titles because we have them in our guided reading collection here at Wardsboro School. I asked Jill if the books were mistakenly deposited at the Town Library. On rare occasions, that has happened in the past, and likewise a book from the Town Library has appeared in our school library’s book return bin. However, to my dismay, Jill told me she found the books in the paper-recycling bin at the Town Transfer Station. I thanked Jill for rescuing the books and bringing them back to our school. I hope you will find an opportunity to thank Jill, also!
Most of the books in our school’s guided reading collection cost quite a lot of money and we need these multiple copies of each book in the collection so we have enough books for each child in each guided reading group. In the primary grades, after each guided reading book has been read in school with a teacher, each child takes their book home in a book bag to read the book at home, and then return it to school. This extra practice reading the same book again helps improve children’s reading skills and reading fluency. At the same time, it provides an opportunity to build responsibility and respect, which are part of our positive behavior system, or ROARS, of which you will be hearing more. Please help us in these efforts by ensuring your child returns Wardsboro School’s books to the school. We stamp the inside cover of each of our guided reading books with the school’s name.
Wardsboro School’s guided reading collection has been established with the help of a ten thousand dollar grant and taxpayers’ money. Additionally, some staff volunteered their own time (outside the workday week) to prepare, organize, and develop the school’s guided reading collection. We still have more genres and levels of books to add. This is an ongoing effort. Please help us retain the books we have so we don’t need to spend money, replacing books prematurely. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Donna Sebastian
Instructional Support Teacher