Please bring gently used winter clothing to the Sanderson Library next week between Monday (10/23) and Wednesday (11/1). The clothing will be organized and available for families to take during Parent Teacher Conferences on November 2nd and 3rd. We will accept hats, mittens, coats, snow boots, snowsuits, long underwear, and everyday winter wear. No used socks, please. Thank you!

Monday, October 23 - Virtual Principal Hour at 3:30 (meet.google.com/bde-sqed-mei)

Wednesday, October 25 - 1:50 Release

Thursday, October 26 - Third Grade Field Trip to the Quabbin

Tuesday, October 31 - Sugar Rush 5K

Thursday, November 2 - 12:30 Release for Conferences

Friday, November 3 - 12:30 Release for Conferences

Tuesday, November 7 - No School for Students

Friday, November 10 - No School

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

Wednesday, November 22 - 12:30 Release

Thursday/Friday, November 23/24 - No School

Link to Sanderson Academy calendar.

This week I have begun the state mandated hearing and vision screenings for the preschool and kindergarten classes. This is a basic screening at an age appropriate pace and will help determine if there is any further need for vision/hearing assessment with an outside provider. I very much enjoy having the opportunity to connect with our youngest students and it is a fun way to get to know them a little better, have a sweet connection and give them a sticker for their efforts. The screenings will be very quick/basic and will be done using a combination of the SPOT vision screener, wall chart/lap chart, and audiometer (pilot or pure tones) right next door to the pre k and K classes in the aftercare room. I will contact you if there is any further need for assessment and please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at lalmeida@mtrsd.org with any questions at all.

Reminder that physical examinations with a healthcare provider are required yearly in preschool and kindergarten. If your child has had a recent physical you may have their provider fax it to me at 413-628-4697 or you may email it or send in a paper copy. If you are not sure if you have sent it in, feel free to email me and I can let you know the last one that I have on record. Thank you!!

This week we are reading books by Eric Carle and are learning about his artwork. Preschoolers love the animals and bright illustrations made from collage. They also enjoy the repetition and pattern in his stories, and easily joined in to help read it. We created art projects and participated in activities related to the stories. We created spider webs after reading, The Very Busy Spider. After reading, 10 Little Rubber Ducks, we pretended we were rubber ducks and drew pictures of things we saw as we floated along on the water. We plan several activities after we read Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr and illustrated by Eric Carle. We will have fun with color scavenger hunts, color sorts, and illustrating our own book pages!

Preschoolers have been learning about harvesting fruits and vegetables in the fall. They have listened to many stories and they have made connections to their own lives. Many of our friends go apple picking and decorate with seasonal vegetables like pumpkins, gourds and colorful corn.

We have measured pumpkins with yarn and cubes. They observed the pumpkins and predicted which one would measure the biggest. We have a graph to compare the measurements and the children are excited to measure the pumpkins in different ways and with different instruments.

The children have also been excited to discover that there are carrots buried deep in the soil in our school garden. We have carefully harvested them to compare, measure and taste. The children have decided that our school carrots are crunchy and sweet!

New in our play centers: The dramatic play area is now set up like a fire station. The block area features community helper figurines and emergency vehicles. And the playdough center has fall themed cutters and toys.

Also this week, we had our annual fire safety presentation with Firefighter Mike! Students practiced procedures like the low crawl to get under smoke and stop-drop-and-roll if you get fire on your clothes. We also learned about how to call 911 for emergencies and got to see Firefighter Mike with his big suit on so it’s not so scary if we see a firefighter in real life.

The month of October sure has been a busy month for first graders! The month began with our all school hike! The day was spent with our 6th grade buddies who showed first graders so much kindness. Many first graders challenged themselves, persevered and made it to the overlook. This was an 8 plus mile hike!

Many classes have class pets such as fish, Guinea pigs or turtles, but in our class we adopted a cow! First graders are participating in the “Adopt a Cow” program put on by Discover dairy and the American dairy foundation. On October 17th we were introduced to our baby calf named Celestial. She is a Jersey calf born on September 9th on MacGlaflin Farm in Claremont, NH. Throughout the year we will be sent calf updates with pictures and videos as well as spend time learning about the dairy industry and writing letters to our host farm and calf! This will be a fun addition to our life science unit this year.

In our math number corner we are focusing on apples, leaves and pumpkins. First graders are learning all about number trees. Where we add two numbers together (the branches) and we get the total number at the top of the tree. Children are also writing story problems to match these pictures. For example some leaves fell from the tree. Three landed in the basket and 4 fell on the ground. How many leaves fell from the tree?

In our SEL (Second Step) program children have learned about self-talk and being assertive. Self-talk means talking to yourself out loud or quietly in your head to help you focus and maintain your attention. Being assertive is when you ask for what you need using a calm, firm, but respectful voice.

The month of October has brought the start of reading groups in second grade. In September, we learned about each station and spent some time with different teachers to find out exactly what we need help with to become strong readers. This month we have begun working on different skills and reading books in our reading groups. As we become more familiar with our books we take them to the library for independent reading. In science, we spent some time learning about different animals' needs in their environment. Our focus was on birds, we learned that different birds require different bird feeders and different food. We then used that knowledge to build some bird feeder prototypes. In ELA, we are learning about what makes a sentence. We learned that a sentence needs a naming part (a subject) and a telling part (a predicate). We then have used our knowledge of sentences to create strong sentences when we respond to our ELA texts. In our social emotional curriculum we have been working on expressing our needs and wants in a respectful way, especially using a kind tone of voice.

Third graders have been busy the past two weeks honoring the changing of the seasons. We harvested the squashes, beans, and corn out of our three-sisters garden and cleaned it out for the winter. We cooked some of the pumpkins and used them to make pumpkin bread. It was a big hit! We also made a large mural with our buddies for the school hallway celebrating the changes we see all around us this fall. If you have not had a chance to see it, stop in and check it out! This week we also made tree images with our preschool buddies using fallen leaves. Those are on display in the hallway as well.

Our Point of Interest this week is The Quabbin Reservoir, the largest freshwater source in Massachusetts. It is a fascinating place to learn about with an important message. We are hoping to go there next Thursday if we can get enough parent drivers to help chaperone.

We are wrapping up our study of the Northeast Region. You will be able to look at your child’s completed scrapbook during our upcoming conference. If you have not yet signed up for a conference, please send me an email and let me know when you’d like to come in. Conferences are being held on November 2nd and 3rd, beginning at 1:00.

We also finished reading Stella this week. Be sure to ask your child how they enjoyed the book. Throughout our reading, students have been asked to reflect in their journal about how the book is making them feel and what it is making them think about. This has been an opportunity for students to learn what will be expected of them when they begin reading books independently during ALL Block. Over the next several days, we will be exploring other prompts that students will use when reflecting on their independent reading. Having a shared book, Stella, will allow me to model my expectations and give students an opportunity to practice before they will be expected to do this work independently. Here are some examples of prompts we will be exploring over the next several days:

• What is the theme or main idea of the text? What are some of the key details, and how do they support the main idea?

• What questions do you now have after reading? What would you like to learn more about? Why? Ms. Wilson has arranged for us to “meet” the author of Stella in a Zoom Meeting next week so students will have an opportunity to ask her some questions directly. Thank you, thank you, thank you Ms. Wilson. We CAN’T wait to meet McCall Hoyle!

• What is the most interesting thing you read today? Why?

• How does what you read today connect to something you have learned in other lessons?

• Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in the text using details from the text.

• Choose one new word from your reading today and analyze:

• definition in your own words

• synonyms

• break up the word (prefix, root, suffix)

• words with the same affix or root

Please click here to view an updated version of the MTRSD Title I Family/Caregiver Information Letter. There is a section called Right to Know which has important information for you to review. As always, please email me with any questions. :) aprew@mtrsd.org

Playing games with sound manipulation is a great way to support your student’s literacy learning. Start by having them repeat a compound word like “cupcake” and see if they can say it without the “cup” or “sailboat” without the “boat.” You can get more advanced by having them say a word and then drop or change the beginning sound. Here are some examples from the book “Equipped for Reading Success” by David A. Kilpatrick, Ph.D.

Say: Fall don’t say /f/ all

Bad don’t say /b/ add

Here don’t say /h/ ear

About Mohawk Trail SEPAC

The Special Education Parent Advisory Council is an advisory group led by parents within our community. We are looking to support each other and help the school district to better serve its students. The SEPAC is open to all caregivers within the district with an IEP or 504 plan, and to interested members of the community. Please reach out to us to learn more!

SEPAC meetings

We meet monthly via Zoom. Upcoming meetings: Sept 28, Oct 23, Nov 27 at 6:30 pm

We welcome caregivers, staff, and interested members of the community to learn about SEPAC and meet local families. The public meeting will be followed by a private caregiver support discussion.

Email us to learn more: mohawksepac@gmail.com

Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MohawktrailSEPAC

Dear Community Members,

We need your help to shape future health priorities for West County. Please use the QR Code on the following page or the link below to take the Community Health Survey. To improve the health of everyone in West County, our voices need to be heard. Anyone aged fourteen and older can take the survey. It will only take 15minutes to complete and is confidential.

Taking the survey is voluntary and easy! Click on this link: www.mass.gov/healthsurvey, or use the QR code below.

Once you have completed the survey, use the QR code below to sign up for a $5.00 gift card to Mo’s Fudge Factor. This is the Mary Lyon Foundation’s way of saying thank you for ensuring that the voices and needs of our nine towns are heard loud and clear. If you have questions, don't hesitate to get in touch with us at kbaker@marylyonfoundation.org or call us at (413) 625-2555.