The students experienced another Moving Up Day on Wednesday after our long weekend break. The fifth years were so excited to visit the Middle School for a second time and the fourth years could not wait to guide our third year visitors. What added to the buzz this time was the opportunity for a full day visit where they could experience an entire day with new friends and classmates. The third years got to experience a new fraction lesson using Singapore Math. Although the fifth years cannot wait to move on to Middle School we are not ready to let go of them just yet.

Additionally, I wanted to say “thank you” for the birthday wishes, cards and cake that was made for my birthday! It was much appreciated.

With last week’s warm temperatures, ticks that were dormant became active.  Therefore, it is essential that parents begin checking their children for ticks at the end of the day.  Below is important information from the Center of Disease and Prevention about ticks.

 Check your clothing for ticks. Ticks may be carried into the house on clothing. Any ticks that are found should be removed. Tumble dry clothes in a dryer on high heat for 10 minutes to kill ticks on dry clothing after you come indoors. If the clothes are damp, additional time may be needed. If the clothes require washing first, hot water is recommended. Cold and medium temperature water will not kill ticks effectively.

Shower soon after being outdoors. Showering within two hours of coming indoors has been shown to reduce your risk of getting Lyme disease. Showering may help wash off unattached ticks and it is a good opportunity to do a tick check.

Check your body for ticks after being outdoors. Conduct a full body check upon return from potentially tick-infested areas, which even includes your back yard. Use a hand-held or full-length mirror to view all parts of your body. Check these parts of your body and your child’s body for ticks:

• Under the arms
• In and around the ears
• Inside belly button
• Back of the knees
• In and around the hair
• Between the legs
• Around the waist

 

Last Thursday evening the students presented their ancestry research to friends and family.  We alternate research projects during our two year cycle, focusing on ancient civilizations one year and family history the next year.  This project ties in nicely to the in-class lessons for history where we compare our closest living relatives and closest fossil relatives. What a joy it was to hear the family stories and see the family keepsakes that have been passed down!

On Wednesday, we celebrated Valentine’s Day with some snacks provided by parents. Students decorated their Valentine’s bags and in the morning we did a graphing lesson using Starburst candy.  We discovered that in a bag of Starburst you will most often choose a cherry flavored Starburst due to the disproportionate number.

When we return to school on Wednesday, February 21 the students will experience another moving up day. Third year students will visit us for the entire day while fifth year students will visit Middle School.

One of the expectations of students in the Upper Elementary is to complete reading responses each school year. These responses allow students to use their individual writing skills and creativity in order to express how they felt about a book they read.  We have a binder of activities students may choose from but sometimes they come up with their own unique ideas. Recently, Max did just that by using Minecraft on his computer to craft a scene from the book, The Witches.  His joy of reading and Minecraft shown through as he shared the creation with his classmates!

On Wednesday we enjoyed an educational, hands-on field trip to the Eli Whitney Museum in Hamden, CT. We learned about cameras and how our eye takes in light and projects an upside down image on the retina, similar to how a camera obscura functions. Students then made their own camera obscura to look at images and to project images. This was a great introduction to concepts we will study for our science fair later in the spring. Thanks again to Liz and Joanne for chaperoning.

Parent Teacher Conferences will be on February 15 (1 pm start – last conference at 7:30 pm) and February 16 (8:00 am start and last conference at 11:30 am). Please schedule your appointment by 5:00 pm on Wednesday, February 14^th.

If you would like to meet outside of the scheduled conference times, please email me  directly and we could set up a mutually convenient time.  In addition, if you would like to meet with one of our enrichment teachers, please email them directly to set up a time to meet. Enrichment teachers will be available for parent conferences on Thursday, February 15^th from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm and on Friday from 8:00 am to 11:30 am.

We look forward to talking with you about your child’s progress at school.

 

On Monday the students worked together with support from their teachers and a few parents to make sandwiches for the St. Vincent DePaul Mission located in Waterbury, CT.  This was a rewarding experience that was kick started about 8 years ago with help from Mrs. Zaums.  Our goal is to make sandwiches every month, so be on the lookout for opportunities to assist us in the classroom. Thanks for all of the food and supply donations from parents!

On Wednesday, Max’s mother, Jayne stopped in to share with us an exciting opportunity to do an art and cultural exchange with a children in Kenya and Rwanda, called “Kageno Kids.” We are in the beginning stages of how our class and possibly the larger school community can help out.  Here is a link to their website,  http://www.kagenokids.org/index.html .  Thanks again, Jayne for your enthusiasm and insight to this wonderful project!

Lastly, this is a friendly reminder that the Upper Elementary class coffee is scheduled for Monday after drop off. We also have a field trip planned to the New Canaan Nature Center on Wednesday.

The students were relieved to wrap up the CTP4 testing on Monday.  In between exams they took short breaks to enjoy a snack, stretch, socialize or play some quick group games. We are happy to be back to our normal work cycle and routine!

Before Monday testing got underway we celebrated the January birthdays of Miss Hope, Max and Zhariya with a birthday breakfast.  As I reflect on these celebrations I am so glad we decided on this new format this school year. It is a healthy, positive way to begin the day and recognize each student’s special day along with their family.

On Tuesday our Upper Elementary gray team won their first game of the season by defeating The Mead School, Stamford.  They played well as a team considering it was their first action of the season! A huge “thank you” to Michele, Liz and Amy for driving students to the game and an additional “thank you” to Leslie for the snack.

Our morning work cycle took on a different feel on Tuesday as we welcomed the 3rd Year students to our classroom and the 5th Year students visited Middle School. As you can see from the pictures the 4th Years were excellent guides as they assisted their 3rd Year friends in our classroom. We are looking forward to the 3rd Years joining us next fall, but we will miss our 5th Year friends.

 

Last summer I had a great experience learning about the Writing Project from Lucy Calkins and other professionals at the Teachers College: Columbia University.  This year is my first implementing the new Writer’s Workshop program and the students are learning new skills to become better writers.  Last week we kicked off our essay writing unit and continued that work into this week. Collaboration and sharing strategies are both huge parts of this program.  Enjoy the pictures!

It’s so nice to be back at school to kick off 2018 with snow, lessons and group fun!  Some students shared their favorite things from the holiday break. Others began writing their resolutions for the New Year.

Although our week was shortened by weather we packed in some engaging math lessons and cultural lessons. Fifth years worked on several fraction lessons while the fourth years wrapped up their second math unit.

In one of our cultural lessons we revisited the Long Black Line, which helped tell the story of the beginning of Earth. Next, we discussed the appearance of humans and how much time passed before they could make and use tools, eventually leading to recording history through their writing.

Lastly, we made sure to use a few minutes each day for some group games in class. Some of their favorites are Four Corners, 7-up and When the Wind Blows.

Miss Hope wants to extend a thank you to all of the students and their families for the beautiful flowers, decorative cards and the birthday snack! We celebrated her birthday on Monday to begin the week.

We look forward to a great second half of the year as we welcome 2018 in the Upper Elementary!

 

We have witnessed a lot of group work and collaboration in the classroom in the first half of the school year.  Students naturally reach out to help each other in follow up work or lessons during work cycle.  During large group lessons I encourage students to work in teams or pairs to solve problems. Then, through discussion the students learn different strategies to solve problems or approach a task.

1:1 student conferences are going very well. I meet with each student one time during the six day schedule rotation. We discuss long term planning, goals and form a closer relationship. I encourage students to bring their own items to discuss at this time too.

We are thrilled at the success of the monthly birthday breakfast!  It is such a great way to recognize birthdays and bring together our class community and their families. Our latest breakfast on Monday celebrated both Finn and Sienna for the month of December. We will celebrate January birthdays towards the end of January after the holiday break.