Landform & Bodies of Water Models

Our first and second grade scientists learned so much about different landforms, bodies of water, and processes that shape the Earth during our latest science unit. Today we presented our models to Ben's class to teach them about what we learned and show how we represented the different land and waterscapes. It was too hard to just choose a few photos, so here are a bunch! When your child brings home his/her model, ask about it!

Wonderle's Big Top Adventures Presents....The Mischievous Monkeys!!!

Here are a few photos I've received from our circus performance last week. Enjoy!

Here are a couple of "cast photos" we took before the circus.

Hooray for technology! Mrs. Joslyn took this video for us during the performance and Mr. Fox helped me upload the video. Here it is for anyone who didn't get to see it or who wants to see it again!

Mr. Hedler also put together a page of links to various videos from Rumney's Circus.

Highlights 3-18-16

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

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.

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!

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!