Multiage Team Blog
September 30th - October 1st
Responsive Classroom
As you know, our team uses Responsive Classroom. This is a research-based, developmental approach to teaching children of all ages. It is a part of the routines, academics and social/emotional skills we teach, the language we use, and the use of logical consequences as opportunities for children to learn. Follow the link above to learn more about this approach!
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. This week students did things like: greeting with "no teeth," and activities including hot/cold and have a ball.
Team Rules are signed and posted in each of our classrooms! We've been talking this week about what they look like in all situations, and how to fix mistakes that happen when rules are broken.
Math
This week we continued Number Corner, Number Talks and math warm ups/cool downs. Warm ups and Cool Downs require skills we feel kids should be practicing daily, such as mental computation, base ten understanding, and math facts. They also help get kids ready to really focus in on their math. Our October Calendar Grid focuses on identifying figures based on their side, top, and front views.
We continued our first unit of the year in Bridges. Fourth graders continued working with subtraction strategies and choosing which strategy is most efficient given a problem. They also started working on the subtraction algorithm. Fifth graders continued with Unit 1 which focuses on multiplication, expressions, equations and volume. This week fifth graders focused on different multiplication strategies and worked on the formula for volume.
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 students began informational writing as well. They have jotted about two topics: 1) Everything they know about being a student at Founders
2) Everything they know about being an expert on a topic of their choice.
Mrs. K. Mead's class is also working on informational writing. We have brainstormed everything we know about the gym at Founders and how it used. Students also independently brainstormed everything they knew about a topic of their choice. We will use our class piece to model organization, transitions and topic/concluding sentences. Students will then have a chance to try this on their own with their topic.
Reading
Read Aloud
Mrs. S. Mead's Class finished reading: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus. Aven, Connor and Zion figured out the mystery behind the photo of the woman who looked just like Aven: It was her birth mother. In addition, Josephine, the old woman who runs the steakhouse, is actually Aven's biological grandmother. The invited Aven's family to to Stagecoach Pass so that she could see how Aven was doing. Aven was happy to learn of this extended family she now had, but was saddened to find out that her birth mother, also named Aven, had passed away a few weeks after she was born, and was the reason Aven was put up for adoption.
Ms. Jeffrey's class is reading The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle. Mason and Calvin worked hard at digging a hole to the top of the root cellar so they could insert the sonotube which allows light into their secret getaway. Mason now has the idea that they should draw pictures on the walls of the root cellar so it resembles the Caves of Lascaux, which has been the inspiration for the creation of this private retreat. In addition, Mason continues to use dragon dictation on the computer at school to get his ideas on paper. He is hopeful that what he writes will finally convince Lieutenant Baird that he had nothing to do with the death of his best friend, Benny Kilmartin.
Mrs. K Mead's class is reading Space Case by Stuart Gibbs. While everyone was enjoying the fresh food from the rocket, Kira was working on finding the security footage of Dr. Holtz leaving MBA. She found out and showed Dash. They were shocked to see Dr. Holtz use sign language to let them know he was in fact being murdered but the translation of his sign language said by Earth. This left us with questions about what that meant. Dash tried to share this information with Zan but couldn't find her anywhere. He also spoke with his parents who let him know that people on the base were concerned that Dr. Holtz was starting to be mentally ill. They had seen him talking to himself in concerning ways. They think that may have played into his death. Dash is not convinced though this is making him second guess how sure he was that there was fool play involved.
Science
Ms. Jeffrey's class learned about stars and constellations. The focus of their learning was why we see certain constellations at only certain times of the year. Students have a stargazing chart and it would be great if they could observe the stars and constellations on a clear October night. They have resources such as the constellation guide and Universe in a Box to help them. Once they have completed the star gazing chart they can return it to school and share their findings. Both of those documents are linked below.
Mrs. K. Mead's class took a turn in the STEM lab completing a tennis ball challenge which required engineering, creativity, perseverance and team work. We also started working on Stars and constellations and how they change with the seasons.
Mrs. S. Mead's students completed a mystery science activity over the course of the week that examined how the rotation of the earth on its axis causes the sun to appear as if it moves through the sky. Students took turns acting as the earth, and rotating to show different times of day. They also discovered the point on the earth that is the exact opposite location of our home.
Parent Conferences
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
Strut your Stuff Day
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
We are having a special spirit day at Founders. We are inviting all students and staff to wear something that shows what they like to do outside of school. We are calling this day “Strut Your Stuff Day.”
Students are invited to wear clothing items that show their outside interests. Students were shown some faculty “samples” at our school-wide morning meeting on October 4.
Here are some guidelines for items that may be in question:
Students may wear/bring: hats, helmets, leotards, sports padding, books, signs, goggles, art supplies.
Please leave items at home such as: skates, cleats, electronics, fishing poles, hunting equipment, gaming devices, baseball bats and hockey sticks, etc.
Please think reasonably about what your child will wear on October 16 – we are looking forward to seeing everyone strut their stuff!
Music Blog for Mrs. Ferris
Important Dates
October 16 Strut your Stuff Day
October 17 Parent Conference Day (no school for students)
October 18 School holiday (no school for staff and students)
October 22 FMS Picture Retake Day
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