Multiage Team Blog
January 2 - 10
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 use and reflect upon guidelines for behavior daily to make sure those rights are protected for everyone. This week some of the things we did included pairs n' chairs, hand stack and bead exchange.
Math
Students continued a calendar grid focusing on either quadrilaterals or triangles. They are talking about what characteristics certain quadrilaterals have as well as parallel lines, congruent lines, and congruent angles. Students are also learning about the movement of shapes over a coordinate plane, using the terms translation, rotation and reflection.
We are now a week into our new math units. Fifth graders are working in unit 3, and fourth graders, are in Unit 2. Fourth graders are learning more about multiplication and division while fifth graders are learning division and measurement, including work with decimals. Unit overviews for each grade level are shown below.
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/ Word Study
Mrs. S. Mead's class is in the beginning stages of opinion writing. We began brainstorming some possible topics that students feel strongly about, and we will be writing a piece together as a class about the cafeteria.
Mrs. K. Mead's class began working on opinion writing. This week we started brainstorming criteria for what makes a good mascot. This will lead us to choosing a mascot for a fictional school and having to convince "the board" that the mascot we propose is the best. Students also finished up their informational writing about Canada and we are getting ready to assemble our book!
Reading
We began a round of book groups. Students are reading books by Andrew Clements and Carl Hiaasen. They will have assignments due every Wednesday and Friday, which will include reading as well as 2 entries from their choice boards in their reader's notebooks.
Read Aloud
Mrs. S. Mead's Class started reading: Space Case. This book follows a crew of Lunarnauts (people who are living on the moon), as they try to survive in an experimental base set up by the US government. 12-year-old Dash Gibson and his family are up on the moon for the next 3 years, with a group of other scientists, doctors and military personnel. Dash starts out the story by explaining the terrible things about living on the moon that no one back on earth knows about, especially the awful bathrooms! However, the bathrooms prove to be the least of Dash's problems when he inadvertently overhears a doctor having what he believes to be a very private phone conversation. This doctor then turns up dead on the surface of the moon only a few hours after and Dash is left with the only information that might help the investigation, but he isn't sure who to trust.
Ms. Jeffrey's class is reading The One and Only Ivan. This was a Dorothy's List book and Newbery Aware winner from a few years ago. Now that we have seen the play at the Flynn Theatre we are comparing the book to the onstage performance. Most recently we read about Ivan making the pictures in an effort to get Ruby a home in a local zoo. He got very upset when Julia and her father couldn't figure out the message in his letters and pictures. He was much relieved when Julia put all the pieces together.
Mrs. K Mead's class is putting The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle by Leslie Connor on pause. We wanted to read The One and Only Ivan before heading to the Flynn in January. Unfortunately, Stella passed away from the infection in her foot. Before passing away, Ivan promised Stella he would get Ruby out of the Big Top Mall. He has started going about doing that by making pictures to show she should be in a zoo. After George and Julia figured out what Ivan was doing, they posted his paintings on the billboard outside of the mall. Initially his plan did not work out because it just brought more attention to the mall. He was patient though and now there are protesters protesting Ruby and Ivan's confinement. We are having discussion comparing the book to the play and discussing how the choices the people in the play made affected our view of the characters.
Social Studies
PTO Presentation
How Mindfulness can Support Parents and Families
Tuesday, January 14, 2020
7:00 - 8:30 pm, Essex Elementary School
Paula Palermo, M.Ed.
Join us for an informational session in which we will discuss the following...
- What is Mindfulness and why is it important?
Will Mindfulness make my child “behave”?
What are some strategies I can use at home?
Resources to support your practice and your child’s!
How do/can schools support Mindfulness?
Participate in a practice session, see how you feel and how Mindfulness can support you in being the best caregiver you can be, enriching your relationship with yourself AND your child.
Winter Assessments
FMs Spirit Week
Report Cards
Ski Vermont - Fifth Grade Passport
Davis Center Youth Business Fair
Check out this link for more information.
Lunch Bunches
Book Fair!
The FMS Book Fair Jungle is Coming Your Way!
Why We Do It
The annual FMS Book Fair will take place from February 5-10, 2020. The book fair is an essential fundraiser for our school library program. Each year, the book fair provides our library with hundreds of exciting new books. In addition, funds raised are used to purchase new library materials, including audiobooks, digital subscriptions, fresh reads and curriculum materials. It is also a chance for students to add new books to their home libraries, and for classroom teachers to enrich their classroom libraries. It brings excitement about new books into our school, and that is palpable!
A Few Changes
This year, you will notice some changes to the book fair. This year's fair is a books only fair, with just a few exceptions. The school supplies and toy-like items sold in the past will NOT be available at this year's fair. We will have a huge selection of paperback and hardcover books, which is the primary focus of the fair. For those who are interested, there will be a small collection of non-book items such as journals, posters and bookmarks.
Book Coupons
This year, we will again provide a $2 book coupon for every single FMS student to be used to purchase a book at the fair. We will have many current titles available at a great discount - many popular titles cost just $1 or $2! The PTO is helping support the book coupon program this year through an enrichment grant - so thank you!
Volunteers Needed
We need your help to make this terrific event happen. Volunteers are needed to help set-up, run the cash register, and to help break down the fair as well. Please visit the Volunteer Signup Form to sign up for a slot (or two)! The form will require you to login with or create a Scholastic ID. This takes very little time, but keeps our volunteer signup form private, and has many great benefits like being completely ad-free and offering a chance to sign up for text message reminders for your slot. Volunteers are needed on the following dates: 2/4, 2/6, 2/7, 2/8, 2/10 (before and during the Family Dance) and 2/11.
Contact
Please contact Sara Jablonski with any questions sjablonski@ewsd.org or 857-6306.
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, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22
K. Mead: 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22
S. Mead: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 18, 19, 21, 22
Important Dates
January 24 - Progress Reports go Home
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