Multiage Team Blog
November 18 - 22
Responsive Classroom
Morning Meetings continued this week. During Morning Meeting everyone has the right to fun, feel like they belong, and feel that they are in important. Students created guidelines for behavior to make sure everyone has those rights.
Math
Students continued the calendar grid that focuses on the different types of triangles. Over the next couple of weeks they will talk about vocabulary words such as equilateral and scalene.
5th graders continued fraction work this week focusing on adding and subtracting mixed numbers. 4th graders continued working on multiplication, including learning strategies for learning multiplication facts. They also learned about multiples.
Math Stars
Students are working diligently to earn Math Stars. A reminder that students may not get help from others on Math Stars. We recognize that the problems can be challenging but it is important students learn perseverance skills.
Writing
Mrs. S. Mead's finsihed working on their science writing! Student pieces will be coming home the week after the Thanksgiving break!
Mrs. K. Mead's class finished up our work with informational writing, at least for now! We will be moving onto opinion writing when we return from break.
Reading
We continued some guided reading groups with all students using short texts. This work does not carry assignments that are due, rather the group work happens when students meet in group. Instead, all students are expected to be reading a novel of their choosing, and are entering their thinking periodically into their Reader's Notebooks.
Read Aloud
Mrs. S. Mead's Class continued reading: Chomp. The search is on now, both for Derek Badger and now also for Wahoo, Tuna and the injured Link! The two kids are doing their best to keep Link comfortable, but they know that time is going by quickly, and he doesn't have much time left before things get really bad. In addition, they are afraid that the air boat they hear approaching has Tuna's crazy father, still weilding a gun.
Ms. Jeffrey's class is reading The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle. Mason is excited to share with Lieutenant Baird what he has written on the Dragon. He is hoping he can finally convince the police officer that he had nothing to do with Benny's death. In addition, Mason greatly enjoyed taking take of Moonie the dog while the Drinkers were out of town.
Mrs. K Mead's class is The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle by Leslie Connor. This is from this year's Dorothy's List. Mason and Calvin worked very hard on the root cellar this week. They painted the walls and ceiling. They also installed the light shaft so they now can while they are in their hide away. They agree to never tell anyone about the root cellar and keep it between the two of them. Working on the root cellar also brought back a lot of memories for Mason about how he used to do projects with Benny Kilmartin and his dads. Mason's memories show what a big part of his life his friend really was.
Science
Ms. Jeffrey's class completed a Mystery Science on what gravity would be like on other planets. They determined how they can jump here on Earth and then calculated their jumps on other planets based on the gravity that exists there.
Mrs. K. Mead's class focused on gravity this week. We finished our science court of gravity and assessed our knowledge. We also had visitors come to share about how planes fly and had a paper airplane flying contest!
Mrs. S. Mead's students finished Earth and Space by doing the Science Court activity with gravity. This explored the idea that all objects have gravity, and that mass determines how much gravity.
Social Studies
Lunch Bunches
Allergy Free and Safe Settings
Allergy Free and Safe Settings
We have some students on our team with severe, life-threatening allergies to tree nuts, peanuts, and sesame seed and oil. That means foods containing those or foods processed in a facility with those ingredients will not be allowed in the classroom. Please read food labels, including the entire ingredient list, carefully. A safe snack list is posted on the team website for your convenience.
Please plan to pack your child's snack in a separate bag or container to keep the snack away from any lunch items containing tree nuts. Lunches do not have to be allergen-free, and may contain any foods. Everyday students will leave their lunch boxes in crates. Please let us know if you have any questions.
A note from the Odyssey of the Mind Coordinator:
Essex Town Odyssey of the Mind: Registration Open
This is our 9th year of Essex Town Odyssey. Odyssey of the Mind is an international STEAM based program that focuses on creative problem solving for students in kindergarten through college. Teams of 5-7 students work together to creatively solve a long term problem and to practice spontaneous problem solving. The team members must solve the problem--coaches facilitate and guide the group, but can not provide any answers or solutions. They present their solution in an 8 minute skit at the State Tournament in March. If you or your student is interested, please fill out the registration form.
Please follow the link to complete the registration form:
https://forms.gle/oM7dRCQtrdbCqhvn7
For more information about Odyssey, you can check out:
http://vt.odysseyofthemind.org/wp/ and https://www.odysseyofthemind.com
or contact Rachel Preston at preston6vt@gmail.com
Music Blog for Mrs. Ferris
Practice Superstars
Jeffrey: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22
K. Mead: 4, 5, 8, 9, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20
S. Mead: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22
Important Dates
November 25-29 No School for Students
December 23 - January 1 No School for Students
Contact Us
Karen Jeffrey: kjeffrey@ewsd.org
Kelsey Mead: kmead@ewsd.org
Stacey Mead: smead@ewsd.org
Kristi Goyette: kgoyette@ewsd.org
Website: https://www.ewsd.org/Domain/379
Location: Founders Memorial School, Founders Road, Essex Junction, VT, USA
Phone: 802-879-6326