We would like to take this opportunity to wish you a happy and healthy February vacation week. We will send out COVID-19 updates over vacation week so you to be aware of any updates to our procedures and protocols. Please notice in the events below that Caregiver/Teacher conferences are at the end of the month.

February 21 - 25 - No School - Vacation

Monday, February 28 - Local Education Council Meeting at 3:15

Wednesday, March 2 - 1:50 Release

Wednesday, March 9 - 1:50 Release

Wednesday, March 9 - School Committee Meeting at 6:30

Wednesday, March 16 - 1:50 Release

Thursday, March 24 - 12:30 Release for Caregiver/Teacher Conferences

Friday, March 25 - 12:30 Release for Caregiver/Teacher Conferences

Wednesday, March 30 - 1:50 Release

Link to Sanderson Academy calendar.

Greetings from the health office!

We will be sending home the next round of test kits for students this week on either Thursday or Friday, so be sure to check those backpacks! . If you have not already enrolled your student into this program and would like to do so please use the link below. Opt-In to At Home Testing program. If you signed your child(ren) up but do not receive a test kit, please email myself and Donna Weber. Thank you!

Please continue to let me know of any out of school covid exposures and check in if your child is not feeling well, thank you! Have a safe and restful break!

We had a wonderful time with our third grade buddies on Valentine’s Day. We met in the gym and enjoyed four activities that our buddies had planned for us. We made beautiful Valentine flowers from tissue paper, played a bean bag toss game, a balloon game where buddies worked together to keep a balloon from hitting the floor, and “Pin the Heart on the Dragon”–what fun we had! At the end of our time together, our third grade buddies presented each preschool buddy with a beautiful gold medal! Thank you buddies–we loved every minute!

In our indoor classroom, we had fun working together on a new science experiment. We had two bottles, one with water and one with rubbing alcohol. We took some valentine heart candy and placed a few in each container. We made predictions about what we thought might happen. Some of us thought they would float, some thought they might melt, and some even thought they would explode! We observed what was happening and saw that they were floating. Then we saw that they were starting to melt. After three hours, we checked them again. We saw that the water was turning pink and the candies were smaller. Three days later, we looked again and compared the results. We saw that the candies in the water had dissolved almost completely, the water was scummy (like a swamp) and it was yellow. The other container, with the rubbing alcohol, had been closed during the whole experiment. We noticed that the pieces of candy had not dissolved as much as the ones in the water. One remarkable discovery was that the liquid in the alcohol container was still clear, while the water in the water container was cloudy. We had fun being scientists and are looking forward to our next experiment!

For social studies this week, we wrapped up our mini-unit on civics. We read a book about the history of and changes to the Pledge of Allegiance. The book also explained what the lines of the Pledge are talking about. And we listened to the National Anthem, as well as watched a video of the lyrics to the Anthem in sign language at a past Super Bowl game.

First graders had a very festive and fun Valentine’s Day this past Monday! We started our day by making valentine cards for many of the wonderful people who make up our school community. It was an opportunity to say thank you and to let these special individuals know we appreciate all their hard work! In writing, first graders wrote about what they love most about first grade. Many wrote about loving their teachers, loving math time, loving specials and loving EVERYTHING about first grade! During science we completed a candy heart experiment using vinegar, water and soda. First, kids made a prediction if the candy hearts would sink or float in the different liquids. While observing the changes to the candy hearts we enjoyed delicious treats, played some Valentine bingo and learned a new workplace in math called Drop the beans. Thank you to all the families who sent in a wonderful spread of festive treats!

This week we had cats, dogs, elephants, and several other animals visit our classroom, as our favorite stuffies came to school with us on Monday. Our stuffies were used as a springboard for this week’s writing activity, where we continued our use of the “sandwich method” of writing to write paragraphs about them. Our paragraphs included details about what our stuffies look like, what they like to do, and why they are our favorite stuffies. We ended our paragraphs with sentences that told how our stuffies make us feel. Here are some of the details we shared about our stuffies:

What Our Stuffies Look Like

• Taggy the Monkey always (and I mean always) has a smile on his face.

• Slushe the Dog has very soft ears and he also has very soft fur.

• My favorite stuffy has a light blue sweatshirt with silver stripes on the sleeves.

• Her fur is pink and her eye color is sparkly purple.

• My stuffy has white fur with brown spots everywhere.

What Our Stuffies Like to Do

• Bunny likes to hop and hang out with his friends.

• She likes to play with the yarn downstairs and puts it back when she is done.

• My stuffy likes to hug me and snuggle with me and eat with me.

• Cooki likes to climb windows and he likes to jump.

• My dragon likes to do back flips and front flips and he likes to watch TV.

Why Our Stuffies Are Our Favorite Stuffies

• My dog Carder is one of my favorite stuffies because I think he is cute and silly.

• My stuffy is my favorite stuffy because he does not have any holes and it’s my newest stuffy.

• Lamy is my favorite stuffy because he can move his arms and he jumps on me.

During our math block, we continue to use the story Jack and the Beanstalk as a springboard for our math lessons. This week in math we used number lines to practice the addition strategy of “skip count by 10s”. For example, if Jack sold beans from his beanstalk at the local farmer’s market, and he sold 3 black beans worth 30 cents and one white bean worth 16 cents, we can use the number line to add 30+16. We start at 0 and make three jumps of 10 and then make one jump of 10 and 6 jumps of 1, landing at 46.

Third graders had a lot of fun setting up a Valentine Buddies Olympics on Monday for our friends in Ms. Melanie’s preschool class. The third graders helped and cheered on their little buddies as they moved through the various activities, and they awarded each one with a gold medal at the end of the games. Later in the day we also enjoyed reading Valentine’s Day cards from each other and munching on corn bread we made from the dried corn we harvested last fall.

In math we are working on using our rounding skills to estimate whether or not the answers we get are feasible. When solving three-digit addition and subtraction problems, estimation is a very useful tool! Sending along best wishes for a fun and safe February vacation week!

Fourth graders got to do a fun and engaging STEM project this week. They were tasked with creating a bow and arrow for Cupid to use for target practice in anticipation of Valentine’s Day. Students were allowed to work alone or in small groups. They were able to use popsicle sticks, toothpicks, straws, plastic spoons, plastic knives, rubber bands, string, and tape to construct their bow and arrow. There was also a cotton ball to place on the end of the arrow for safety. A target was set up in Mrs. Upright’s classroom and students were able to try their creations, modify their designs, and try again.

Fifth grade students are wrapping up a few units this week. We finished our math unit about multiplication, students are finishing and playing their government themed games in social studies, and the final edits and revisions are going into their memoirs to be shared soon. We always do some sort of project or activity on full Wednesdays. This week, we made pillows, mostly out of old shirts, sweatshirts, sweaters, etc. Students cut the fabric in the shapes they wanted, used the sewing machine to stitch the edges, flipped them right side out, filled them with stuffing, and sewed the gap closed.

Sixth grade has continued to study different parts of cells over the last week. We have looked closely at plant and animal cells to understand the differences. We have also spent time digging deeper into the main organelles that allow cells to function and what each organelle’s specific job is. Later this week we will be using microscopes to look closely at real plant cells and our own human cells. Report cards go home this Thursday, If you have any questions about the grades or comments, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I am happy to help clarify anything. Also, please make sure to check out the spring conference sign-up document I shared and find a time that works best for you. I hope everyone has a fantastic February vacation.

Last week our amazing Sanderson students celebrated the 100th day of school! What an accomplishment! What do you know about the number 100? Check out these work places (games in our math curriculum) that focus on the number 100: Target One Hundred, Arrays to One Hundred, and Quotients Race to One Hundred. Enjoy! :) aprew@mtrsd.org

Winter literacy assessment is complete. Depending on your child’s grade level, they would have done different one minute fluency checks on subtests such as letter naming, segmenting sounds in words, nonsense word reading, regular word reading, oral reading (stories) and comprehension. Here is a parent guide to this assessment, DIBELS. If you have questions about these tests or have more specific questions about your child’s reading progress, please feel free to contact me at: kmorey@mtrsd.org

This week we have had so much fun creating and building cool Mandala’s using various heart shapes, pieces of wood, a tea light and a stone with an engraved word. Typically they are circle shaped, but with the amazing creative minds of our Sanderson children there were lots of beautiful creations and even some stacking that took skill. This activity proved to be a very mindful and fun way to end the school day!