Books for the Library: In the library, students are often asking for the next book in a series. It can be challenging for the library to keep up with these requests! This week during Caregiver Conferences, caregivers have the opportunity to help. Displayed in front of the library is a poster with take-home bookmarks that indicate the requested books. Each bookmark has a QR code that will lead you to a website where you can purchase the book. Books cost $6 - $20 each. Thanks for your consideration and for your help to keep Sanderson kids reading!

Friday, November 3 - 12:30 Release for Conferences

Tuesday, November 7 - No School for Students

Friday, November 10 - No School

Wednesday, November 15 - PICTURE RETAKES

Wednesday, November 15 - All School Meeting at 2:15 (Fourth Grade)

Wednesday, November 15 - School Committee Meeting at 6:00

Saturday, November 18 - Local Goods Distribution - 9:00-11:00

Monday, November 20 - Local Education Council Meeting at 3:30

Wednesday, November 22 - 12:30 Release

Thursday/Friday, November 23/24 - No School

Wednesday, November 29 - All School Meeting at 2:15 (Third Grade)

Link to Sanderson Academy calendar.

During Caregiver Conferences, please stop by the front lobby to peruse the winter clothing and boots. Please take whatever you need! Thanks to all who brought in their gently-used items.

This week starts the Original Works fundraiser for the PTO. This program prints student art on various keepsakes and gift items such as magnets, mugs, mouse pads, notecards, tote bags, etc. We have timed this fundraiser so that gift items will be delivered for the winter holidays. Students have completed artwork that will be sent home with the catalog and order form starting on Friday, November 3th. Order forms MUST be returned WITH THE ARTWORK by Monday, November 13th. There is one order form per artwork and multiple item orders for the same student should be on the same order form. To learn more about this program, please visit their website at originalworks.com/parents. You can substitute other artwork if you wish however it MUST meet the requirements listed on their website and it has to be labeled in pencil on the back with a T indicating the top, and student name, grade, and school. All student artwork will be returned after printing. If you do not wish to place an order, please keep and celebrate your student’s artwork. Any questions can be directed to Carolyn Hawthorne chawthorne@mtrsd.org.

It has been a very busy week so far at Sanderson! Our annual sugar rush 5 K went very well; while it was chilly, the sun was shining and everyone was filled with positivity. I was so impressed by the endurance and kindness that was shown during the sugar rush, seeing the smiles on everyone's faces was amazing and many students cheered on their classmates and helped me with passing out water at the finish line. The winter weather snuck up on us!

Please be aware that the health office has a limited supply of winter gear for students who may have forgotten something at home. During the colder and wintry months students should have daily for recess: snowpants, coat, boots, hat and mittens/gloves. Don’t forget to check out the winter gear here at school for the winter clothing drive put on by our wonderful librarian- there is a lot of great stuff already! Thank you for sending in gently used winter clothing for our community! If you find yourself needing more support with winter clothing- please don’t hesitate to ask- I can help provide resources to keep your child(ren) warm and toasty!

Preschoolers monitor the weather on a daily basis. The weather helper marks a chart to help document the conditions each morning. Preschoolers love to count the tally marks on the chart and share the results. They are beginning to understand one-to-one correspondence and are becoming amazing counters! They are also comparing amounts on the chart. They noticed October was a very sunny month, having the most amount of marks!

The first day of November provided exciting weather conditions, snow! Preschoolers could not wait to talk about the weather and mark our chart that day. The photos show us enjoying the first snowfall of this school year. We wonder what the weather will be like for the remainder of the month?

The children are continuing to enjoy learning about the fall harvest. They participated in making applesauce by cutting up different kinds of apples. They were able to identify the various parts of the apple that we have been talking about (skin, flesh, core, seeds, stem). The applesauce simmered all day and the sweet smell was mouthwatering. The children couldn’t wait to taste the applesauce and many asked for seconds. They loved being chefs!

Preschoolers also enjoyed the unexpected accumulating snow on Wednesday. They delighted in catching snowflakes in their mouths, making tiny snowmen and snow angels, and going extra fast down the twisty slide. It was truly magical, as the first snowfall of the season usually is.

In our literacy program, our latest challenge is to learn more about how toys have changed throughout history. We have read books and learned a song with sign language to help build our knowledge about what kinds of toys kids used long ago. We also tried out two old-fashioned games: Hot & Cold and Who Has The Ring? After learning that many toys long ago were handmade, we started exploring our recycled materials collection to see what toys we could make. (A huge thank you to all who donated materials!) We will work on our handmade toy project over the next couple weeks.

A portion of our EL curriculum includes a section called labs. These give children the opportunity to be creative by using a variety of art materials. This week first graders tried out the first lab which was to imagine and create something magnificent! They had fun taking everyday art materials such as cloth scraps, boxes, toilet paper tubes, string and magazine clippings to create a work of art! This week also has us moving into our final unit of our first module of our EL curriculum. In this final unit students will begin to brainstorm a “magnificent thing” to create for our first grade classroom. First graders will learn the process of planning, working and revising until the thing is truly “magnificent”.

Second grade has been enjoying all the fall activities lately! We spent the end of last week exploring outside for supplies to make our local goods product. In reading, we used pumpkins to build trick words. During Number Corner, we spent the month of October studying different types of leaves and discovering about pinnate and palmate leaves. Finally, we spent time learning about different crops that are harvested in our area during the fall. We also read a book about when and how different people all around the world harvest crops and celebrate their hard work. To celebrate the fall harvest, we used apples picked locally and made apple crisp as a class. It was delicious!

Third grade has had an exciting and unusual week these past seven days! Last Thursday we spent a beautiful day at the Quabbin Reservoir. We started the day learning about the history of the reservoir with a park ranger. Then we walked across the Winsor Dam and back. Next we went to the tower for a great view and lunch. Finally we went to Hank’s Meadow to check out some house ruins and walk down to the water’s edge. It was a fabulous day, and we are so grateful to Everett’s mom and Juniper’s dad for making that special day possible.

On Friday we cleaned out a section of our garden bed and planted next year’s garlic, which turned out to be just in time. We are still in need of a bale of hay or straw to insulate our garlic for the winter months. Please let me know if you can bring one by for us.

On Monday we had a fairly normal day, with the exception of cleaning out one of our pumpkins and baking it in preparation for the next day’s pumpkin cookies. Tuesday was the Sugar Rush, which all of the third graders completed. Afterwards we also baked our pumpkin cookies and enjoyed them at the end of the day. Yesterday we had to do some emergency gardening as the snow was coming down and we still had herbs and root vegetables to bring in. We also made sweet owls with our little buddies to liven up our classroom walls. Finally, today, third grade is welcoming Firefighter Mike into the room to teach us about fire safety in the home. This will include a homework packet from Mike that needs to be completed at home and brought back to school by next Friday. Phew! Enjoy the photos:

We got back from the Sugar Rush and finally got to do our October STEM Project: Building Pumpkin Launchers. Students showed SO much perseverance in this challenge. Two-thirds of the class engaged in the process of modifying their design to try to achieve a better launch. Some students made modifications to their design more than four times in an attempt to get their pumpkin (candy) further each time. Our winner, Ariana, went from launching the pumpkin 20” to over 600”! All in all, this was a very successful launch, with half the class launching over 200” and four students launching over 500”!

Fifth grade has finished the book, Esperanza Rising, that goes with the reading and writing curriculum, EL Education. Currently, students are writing essays comparing how different characters reacted to the same situation. We also made yarn dolls on Wednesday afternoon because there are a few scenes in the book that involve yarn dolls. In math, students have been learning a variety of strategies to find common denominators in order to add, subtract, and compare fractions. They have been working on story problems to apply the skill to different situations.

During math class here at Sanderson, you are going to see and hear students engaged in meaningful mathematical problem solving and discourse. One activity that promotes deep thinking is called What Comes Next? Check out the example below. :) aprew@mtrsd.org

In the library, students are having their first lessons in Digital Citizenship. Digital Citizenship is the responsible use of technology to learn, create, and participate. All students in grades K-6 get to participate in Digital Citizenship lessons this year as part of our library curriculum. Throughout the year, students will work through 3 - 6 lessons that are guided by research and aligned to state standards. In the library, students are having their first lesson, following the theme of ‘Media Balance and Well-Being’ and focusing on making healthy media choices. Keep your eye out for more information in Thursday folders!

Winter is fast approaching. The Friends of the Belding Memorial Library is organizing an emergency collection drive for essential items to help people living at the St. Joe's Emergency Shelter in Pittsfield. There is an urgent need for warm winter coats (adult sizes), gloves, hats, hand warmers, socks, twin bed sheets, pillows and pillowcases etc. The collection drive will be from November 6th to the 22nd. Collection boxes will be at the Belding Memorial Library, Sanderson Academy and the Ashfield Post Office.

We appreciate your donations. If you have questions contact Tiertza-leah Schwartz tschwart@smith.edu, 413-214-8022.