Greetings families,
It's been another fantastic and busy week! Our young scientists have been creating intricate models of various landforms and bodies of water. The ingenuity in use of our materials is impressive! Thanks to everyone who sent in modeling clay--having so much and such variety has made our experience much more enjoyable! We presented our models (so far) to our 6th grade buddies on Friday. We also did some writing about our experiences visiting different landforms of bodies of water during Writer's Workshop this week.
We finished reading a few more science related read aloud books this week, Volcanoes by Franklyn M. Branley and The Magic School Bus Blows Its Top. Next week we'll begin a new chapter book series together!
In Literacy students have been more focused on using comprehension strategies as they read. Understanding the literal message as well as inferring between the lines are very important as you progress as a reader. Students continue to do more writing about their reading, either responding to prompts or completing a "Book of the Week" booklet.
We had a great 4 Winds on Tuesday about animal tracks. There was even enough snow left on the playground to go out and find some examples right in our yard! We'll have another 4 Winds on Tuesday the 29th--let Honi know if you'd like to help out!
Second grade mathematicians have been working in stations for the past two weeks, having small group instruction about "efficient addition" -- teaching the standard algorithm for addition with concrete models (cuisenaire rods), pictorial models (base ten drawings), and then moving into the abstract and demonstrating understanding of the concepts by completing standard algorithm equations on paper (while showing work, explaining the steps, saying what everything means, and telling why you do that). However we still continue to do addition on a number line too, since manipulating numbers and doing mental math require flexibility with the number line strategy, composing and decomposing numbers! We also learned a new game on Friday, Math Tic Tac Toe!
On Thursday we were excited to see our new cubbies installed in the classroom. There are finally enough for all of us! We also visited the Rumney Sugar House after lunch to take in the sweet smell of sap boiling. We finished off the day with an All School Meeting.
If you haven't yet signed up for a conference, and need to, please see the post below this one for the information!
Have a great weekend and enjoy the Pie Breakfast if you make it to Rumney for this great PTO event tomorrow morning!
Dates to Remember
Tuesday March 29 -- 4 Winds 2:30-3:20 p.m.
Parent/Teacher Conferences: Thursday 3/31 and Friday 4/1
Friday April 1 -- No School for Students; Parent/Teacher conferences all day
Thursday April 14 -- All School Meeting 2:30 p.m.
Monday April 18 - Friday April 22 -- SPRING BREAK
Monday April 25 -- School resumes
Friday May 13th -- Field Trip to the Flynn Theater to see Henry and Mudge
Friday, March 18, 2016
Friday, March 11, 2016
Parent/Teacher Conference Information - April 2016
March 11, 2016
Dear Families,
It’s time to check in about your child’s progress. Friday April 1st there is no school for students. Parent/Teacher conferences will be held all day at Rumney. Conferences run for 20 minutes. Please be on time because conferences are scheduled back-to-back.
It’s time to check in about your child’s progress. Friday April 1st there is no school for students. Parent/Teacher conferences will be held all day at Rumney. Conferences run for 20 minutes. Please be on time because conferences are scheduled back-to-back.
Please sign up for a 20 minute conference slot so we can review your child's progress and work in school together. (If we already have a meeting
scheduled to review your child’s progress in March or April please consider
that your conference time. Do not sign up for an additional meeting time.)
Thursday 3/31 conference times with me are between 3:40 pm and 5:20 pm.
Friday 4/1 conference times with me are between 8:00 am and 2:20 pm.
Please sign up for one conference time at this link: http://www.rumney.org/conference
Click on “Mrs. Fox” to check out which times are still available.
Any questions, please contact me directly!
Highlights March 11, 2016
Hello families,
Wow, what a busy and exciting week we've had! It's hard to believe we packed so much into just 5 days!
We read a funny book, Boss for a Week by Libby Handy and dreamt up ideas about the rules we'd make and the things we'd do if we were the boss of our homes for a week. This is opinion writing and response to literature at its best! We had so many creative responses. Check them out on the boards outside our room!
We also began planning and building our models to demonstrate what we've learned about landforms and bodies of water on Earth. We actually got to start our building and making on Friday afternoon and will continue next Monday and Tuesday. Again student creativity is running wild and its fantastic to see the energy they are putting into their ideas and how well they can explain all they've learned! Thanks to everyone who sent in modeling clay. If you still wanted to contribute some for class consumption please send it in on Monday!
Here are a few pictures of the models students began making Friday afternoon.
We've also continued our study of the Earth and it's layers through our read alouds. We read Planet Earth/Inside Out by Gail Gibbons. This book has incredible diagrams and easy to comprehend descriptions to explain some of these hard vocabulary words and science concepts. We also compared the Earth to an orange and to a peach when talking about the layers. We then dove headfirst into the Earth while reading How to Dig a Hole to the Other Side of the World by Faith McNulty. This is a fantastic science fiction adventure story chock full of real details about the layers of the Earth.
On Wednesday we went sugaring with our 6th grade buddies. It was a wet walk to the Rumney Sugarbush but so exciting to see how much sap had accumulated overnight. (Ben's class with their 5th grade buddies had just emptied buckets at the end of school on Tuesday--but the trees kept producing overnight!) Many students also enjoyed putting their fingers under the dripping spiles to catch a taste of the sweet sap.
Of course, it was also Circus Week! We had 2 circus classes this week with Troy Wonderle in which we practiced our act and learned a few more circus skills like balancing peacock feathers on our bodies, spinning plates, using devil sticks and diablos. On Friday morning we had a dress rehearsal with the whole school before our audience came in the afternoon to enjoy our show. Thanks to everyone who was able to attend. If anyone took a video of our performance and can share that with me I'd be happy to post it here on our blog so any parents or family members (near or far) who weren't able to attend can still see our amazing, Mischievous Monkeys.
We were thrilled this week that mud season truly began and coats were optional most days! Please do keep sending in boots and snowpants for outdoor wear--our playground is extremely wet and icy. This is also the most important time of year for indoor shoes so we don't track mud all over the school or get the rugs and carpets muddy. Pete, Paul, and Nate have their hands full keeping our school clean!
Enjoy the warm weather this weekend!
Dates to Remember
Tuesday March 15 -- 4 Winds 2:30-3:20
Tuesday March 29 -- 4 Winds Again! 2:30-3:20
**If you can help with either of these 4 Winds times please contact Honi!
Wow, what a busy and exciting week we've had! It's hard to believe we packed so much into just 5 days!
We read a funny book, Boss for a Week by Libby Handy and dreamt up ideas about the rules we'd make and the things we'd do if we were the boss of our homes for a week. This is opinion writing and response to literature at its best! We had so many creative responses. Check them out on the boards outside our room!
We also began planning and building our models to demonstrate what we've learned about landforms and bodies of water on Earth. We actually got to start our building and making on Friday afternoon and will continue next Monday and Tuesday. Again student creativity is running wild and its fantastic to see the energy they are putting into their ideas and how well they can explain all they've learned! Thanks to everyone who sent in modeling clay. If you still wanted to contribute some for class consumption please send it in on Monday!
Here are a few pictures of the models students began making Friday afternoon.
We've also continued our study of the Earth and it's layers through our read alouds. We read Planet Earth/Inside Out by Gail Gibbons. This book has incredible diagrams and easy to comprehend descriptions to explain some of these hard vocabulary words and science concepts. We also compared the Earth to an orange and to a peach when talking about the layers. We then dove headfirst into the Earth while reading How to Dig a Hole to the Other Side of the World by Faith McNulty. This is a fantastic science fiction adventure story chock full of real details about the layers of the Earth.
On Wednesday we went sugaring with our 6th grade buddies. It was a wet walk to the Rumney Sugarbush but so exciting to see how much sap had accumulated overnight. (Ben's class with their 5th grade buddies had just emptied buckets at the end of school on Tuesday--but the trees kept producing overnight!) Many students also enjoyed putting their fingers under the dripping spiles to catch a taste of the sweet sap.
Of course, it was also Circus Week! We had 2 circus classes this week with Troy Wonderle in which we practiced our act and learned a few more circus skills like balancing peacock feathers on our bodies, spinning plates, using devil sticks and diablos. On Friday morning we had a dress rehearsal with the whole school before our audience came in the afternoon to enjoy our show. Thanks to everyone who was able to attend. If anyone took a video of our performance and can share that with me I'd be happy to post it here on our blog so any parents or family members (near or far) who weren't able to attend can still see our amazing, Mischievous Monkeys.
We were thrilled this week that mud season truly began and coats were optional most days! Please do keep sending in boots and snowpants for outdoor wear--our playground is extremely wet and icy. This is also the most important time of year for indoor shoes so we don't track mud all over the school or get the rugs and carpets muddy. Pete, Paul, and Nate have their hands full keeping our school clean!
Enjoy the warm weather this weekend!
Dates to Remember
Tuesday March 15 -- 4 Winds 2:30-3:20
Tuesday March 29 -- 4 Winds Again! 2:30-3:20
**If you can help with either of these 4 Winds times please contact Honi!
Friday, March 4, 2016
Highlights of the Week March 4, 2016
Hello families,
Just a short note from our short week back together. On Wednesday we had an amazing show put on by Troy Wonderle of Wonderle's Big Top Adventures. On Thursday and Friday we had our first circus classes to practice skills for our Monkey Act for the circus next Friday March 11th. (We will also have 2 more circus classes next Tuesday and Thursday.) We hope you'll be able to come see our show here at Rumney!
Troy asked for our/your help in getting costumes together for our monkeys. He says not to go out and buy new clothes but with your child check out what options you have. He has requested children in our class have matching or close to matching top/bottoms colors in dark colors--but we don't all have to have the same colors. (For example your child could wear: black pants/black shirts, brown pants/brown shirts, dark blue pants/dark blue shirts, dark gray pants/dark gray shirts, or tan pants/tan shirts.) It's okay if a shirt has a design or picture on it--we can easily turn it inside out for a solid color. Please let me know by Monday if you don't have clothes options for your child and I can check our dress up supply here in my magical school closet!
We continued reading books related to our science topic of Landforms and Bodies of Water. We also read The Foot Book and Oh, the Places You'll Go to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday on Wednesday.
We learned about a new kind of writing we will be doing more frequently--responding to literature. It's a type of opinion writing that connects your ideas, experiences, and feelings to a book you have read. We did our first one ever on Thursday. Did you see it come home?
Dates to Remember
Friday March 11 -- Rumney's Wunderle Big Top Show (in our gym) with the show beginning at 2:15 pm! Come one, come all--and enjoy our show!
Just a short note from our short week back together. On Wednesday we had an amazing show put on by Troy Wonderle of Wonderle's Big Top Adventures. On Thursday and Friday we had our first circus classes to practice skills for our Monkey Act for the circus next Friday March 11th. (We will also have 2 more circus classes next Tuesday and Thursday.) We hope you'll be able to come see our show here at Rumney!
Troy asked for our/your help in getting costumes together for our monkeys. He says not to go out and buy new clothes but with your child check out what options you have. He has requested children in our class have matching or close to matching top/bottoms colors in dark colors--but we don't all have to have the same colors. (For example your child could wear: black pants/black shirts, brown pants/brown shirts, dark blue pants/dark blue shirts, dark gray pants/dark gray shirts, or tan pants/tan shirts.) It's okay if a shirt has a design or picture on it--we can easily turn it inside out for a solid color. Please let me know by Monday if you don't have clothes options for your child and I can check our dress up supply here in my magical school closet!
We continued reading books related to our science topic of Landforms and Bodies of Water. We also read The Foot Book and Oh, the Places You'll Go to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday on Wednesday.
We learned about a new kind of writing we will be doing more frequently--responding to literature. It's a type of opinion writing that connects your ideas, experiences, and feelings to a book you have read. We did our first one ever on Thursday. Did you see it come home?
Dates to Remember
Friday March 11 -- Rumney's Wunderle Big Top Show (in our gym) with the show beginning at 2:15 pm! Come one, come all--and enjoy our show!
Thursday, February 18, 2016
A Happy Week Before Vacation!
Hello families,
We've enjoyed each other immensely this week. Our Valentine Exchange was a huge hit! No school on Tuesday made Wednesday feel like Monday again--what a crazy week! Luckily everyone was super excited to be back at school and got right into the learning spirit.
This week we worked on an opinion piece to show to Mr. Rosen. Students chose from 3 possible topics -- choosing to write about one they had a strong feeling or opinion for:
1) What lunch meal should be added to the menu? 2) What is your favorite P.E. activity? or 3) Which do you prefer to swim in: a pool, the ocean, a pond, or a river? Students worked diligently to plan and write these opinion pieces to show all they've learned about this genre of writing.
Second grade mathematicians finished up the measurement unit. They measured things and compared lengths, widths, and heights using both the standard and metric systems. They estimated lengths and decided what the best unit of measure or tool for measuring would be appropriate in varied opportunities. They also did a fun measurement scavenger hunt around the classroom! First grade mathematicians have been discussing many strategies for adding. They have also been doing A TON of number line work. This is important work so they can internalize where numbers are in relation to each other, thinking about the order of numbers as well as how they are related to each other.
We finished reading our chapter book, Voyage to the Volcano on Thursday. We have all been really interested in learning about volcanoes so will begin to read some non-fiction books about volcanoes after winter break.
We've continued looking at and reading about landforms and bodies of water in science. This week we played a fun, interactive game identifying them on the SMARTboard. Here are links to two science games for this unit in case you want to play at home!
- High Point Lookout - Spot the Landforms and Bodies of Water
- Landform and Bodies of Water Concentration
Our Friday schedule this week is pretty awesome and exciting for our last day before vacation. Since we missed Art on Tuesday we'll have a special art time after our snack tomorrow so students can finish their clay work and their pots can dry over vacation--ready for the next step of glazing after break!
Friday's Schedule
Arrival/Morning Meeting
P.E.
Spanish
Snack
Art
Lunch
Community Cleaning
Sharing
Pack-Up and Free Read
Fitness Friday
Dismissal
I won't be in tomorrow since I have an appointment in the morning. I wish you all a happy, safe, and healthy winter break. See you in March!
Dates to Remember:
Friday February 19th -- Final Fitness Friday
Monday Feb. 22nd - Tues. March 1st -- Winter Vacation - NO SCHOOL
Wednesday March 2nd -- School resumes
Wednesday March 2nd -- Wunderle's Big Top Adventures Circus Residency begins! - All School Introduction 9:30 a.m.
We've enjoyed each other immensely this week. Our Valentine Exchange was a huge hit! No school on Tuesday made Wednesday feel like Monday again--what a crazy week! Luckily everyone was super excited to be back at school and got right into the learning spirit.
This week we worked on an opinion piece to show to Mr. Rosen. Students chose from 3 possible topics -- choosing to write about one they had a strong feeling or opinion for:
1) What lunch meal should be added to the menu? 2) What is your favorite P.E. activity? or 3) Which do you prefer to swim in: a pool, the ocean, a pond, or a river? Students worked diligently to plan and write these opinion pieces to show all they've learned about this genre of writing.
Second grade mathematicians finished up the measurement unit. They measured things and compared lengths, widths, and heights using both the standard and metric systems. They estimated lengths and decided what the best unit of measure or tool for measuring would be appropriate in varied opportunities. They also did a fun measurement scavenger hunt around the classroom! First grade mathematicians have been discussing many strategies for adding. They have also been doing A TON of number line work. This is important work so they can internalize where numbers are in relation to each other, thinking about the order of numbers as well as how they are related to each other.
We finished reading our chapter book, Voyage to the Volcano on Thursday. We have all been really interested in learning about volcanoes so will begin to read some non-fiction books about volcanoes after winter break.
We've continued looking at and reading about landforms and bodies of water in science. This week we played a fun, interactive game identifying them on the SMARTboard. Here are links to two science games for this unit in case you want to play at home!
- High Point Lookout - Spot the Landforms and Bodies of Water
- Landform and Bodies of Water Concentration
Our Friday schedule this week is pretty awesome and exciting for our last day before vacation. Since we missed Art on Tuesday we'll have a special art time after our snack tomorrow so students can finish their clay work and their pots can dry over vacation--ready for the next step of glazing after break!
Friday's Schedule
Arrival/Morning Meeting
P.E.
Spanish
Snack
Art
Lunch
Community Cleaning
Sharing
Pack-Up and Free Read
Fitness Friday
Dismissal
I won't be in tomorrow since I have an appointment in the morning. I wish you all a happy, safe, and healthy winter break. See you in March!
Dates to Remember:
Friday February 19th -- Final Fitness Friday
Monday Feb. 22nd - Tues. March 1st -- Winter Vacation - NO SCHOOL
Wednesday March 2nd -- School resumes
Wednesday March 2nd -- Wunderle's Big Top Adventures Circus Residency begins! - All School Introduction 9:30 a.m.
Friday, February 12, 2016
Highlights - February 12, 2016
Hello families,
This week we read a ton more in our Magic School Bus Chapter Book: Voyage to the Volcano. We are learning a lot about volcanoes and how they shape and change the Earth. We also reviewed the 4 stages in the water cycle (condensation, precipitation, collection, evaporation) and made little cycle books that are now out in the hall. We began to talk about how water also shapes and changes the Earth.
On Thursday we were all excited for the All School Meeting. A few brave first and second graders chose one of their opinion papers to read to the whole school! I wish there were time for each of my students to do this--they have all learned so much and grown as opinion writers over the past few weeks. Hopefuly you saw their progress in the writing samples that came home this week! We also got to sing for the school in our Primary Singers group!
I wanted to remind you all that we will be having a small, classroom Valentine's Day celebration in the morning of Monday February 15th. I sent home a list of the students in our class 2 weeks ago, but I'll email it out to you again in case you misplaced it. Giving valentines is a choice, not a requirement. Please note though that if your child would like to hand out valentines at our celebration they must give one to each student (not just a few). This is important so feelings are not hurt. Thanks!
Dates to Remember:
Monday February 15th -- Classroom Valentine's Day Celebration 11 - 11:30 a.m.
Friday February 19th -- Final Fitness Friday
Monday Feb. 22nd - Tues. March 1st -- Winter Vacation - NO SCHOOL
Wednesday March 2nd -- School resumes
Wednesday March 2nd -- Wunderle's Big Top Adventures Circus Residency begins! - All School Introduction 9:30 a.m.
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Highlights of the Week 2-4-16
Hello families,
This week we celebrated our 100th day of school! We made the exciting trade of all our coins for a giant magnetic dollar on our Penny-a-Day job board. We also traded our 10 groups of 10 for a 100 flat on our Counting the Days job board. Together we read a poem that had 100 words. In second grade math we also did some skip counting to and from 100 as well as a 100 Name Game.
We also did a very funny opinion writing connected to the number 100. We imagined what we would be like..."When I'm 100!" Students thought of what they might do, wear, and say when they are 100 years old. When we finished this writing we posted our opinion papers on our hallway bulletin boards. Check them out if you're ever in the building! Our skills in writing opinion papers have really been improving!
We had a variety of read aloud this week. We read Snowflake Bentley in connection to our 4 Winds about snowflakes. Ms. Israel came in for a special read aloud, Taking Diabetes to School, to help us learn about what diabetes is, what it means, and why some people need a special plan to stay healthy. (We also saw what really happens when someone gets their blood sugar tested.) Finally we began a new chapter book, The Magic School Bus: Voyage to the Volcano. This is in a chapter book series based on the picture books but written by different authors. We'll be reading this chapter book for a few weeks and connecting the story to our science study of landforms, bodies of water, and processes that shape the Earth.
Second grade mathematicians began a new unit on measurement. This week we focused on the Standard System of measurement (inches and feet). Some students are working on measuring with whole and half inches. Others are taking on a challenge and measuring with quarter and eighth inches!
Dates to Remember:
Friday February 5th -- Teacher Inservice -- NO SCHOOL for students
Thursday February 11th -- All School Meeting 2:30 p.m.
Monday February 15th -- Classroom Valentine's Day Celebration 11 - 11:30 a.m.
Monday Feb. 22nd - Tues. March 1st -- Winter Vacation - NO SCHOOL
Wednesday March 2nd -- School resumes
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