Community Visit-North Branch Nature Center

We climbed aboard the GMTA Montpelier  Circulator bus for our trip to the nature center in early February. Although the center is just a milebaway, the bus took us all around our little city before arriving at North Branch Nature Center.

Riding in the back of the bus was very exciting!

Our day was full of inquiry as we explored the grounds and developed many questions. "Why is the snow so dirty?"

"What is this snow wall for?"

"Why are some trees brown?"

"Why can't we climb on the igloo?"

"Why is the igloo so small this year?"

Who made this scat?

"Why are the seeds still here? Why didn't they fly away?"

UPP Fundraiser This Weekend!

Come join us at this fundraiser! An evening out for adults~benefits the playground project at UES!

Celebrating Literacy with Mystery Readers

We have been so excited about reading! Our mystery readers have fostered thus enthusiasm by bringing in some of their favorite books to share with the class.We are so lucky to share these experiences each week.

In January, Emily shared "Silver Threads", a folk take from the Ukraine about the power of love, and a spiders magical web.

Later in January, Aubrey and Gavin came in to share a "Sylvester and the Magic Pebble". In this story, a families live is displayed. For this special visit, the little ones from Aybrey's daycare also enjoyed story time!

Last week Christina came in to share " Jimmy Zangwow's Out of This World Moonpie Adventure".This silly, fun and exciting story really livened up our morning.

Please let me know if you would like to help our class celebrate literacy, by sharing a book with the class!!

 

Excited about Education

I had the privilege of representing The educators of Vermont at the CCSSO Conference in San Antonio in January. 56 STOYs( state teachers of the year) gathered for 4 days of sessions. It was very exciting to be with teacher leaders from each state and territory as we explored initiatives in education, attended media workshops, and shared our stories! 

We even had a bit of time to visit the Alamo( across the street from our hotel)

San Antonio, Texas

I am heading to San Antonio for a few days this week to attend the National State Teachers of the Year Conference! Shannon Miller will be the guest teacher, with some fun learning planned. I can't wait to share this adventure with all of you!

January Birthday Breakfast

Please join us for our January birthday breakfast this Friday, the 15th. We welcome all families as we snack and celebrate all born in January. At 8:20 we will have a brief morning meeting, and will enjoy a snack together. Hope to see you there- even if you have a birthday in a different month!!

Welcoming a New Friend

Our class welcomes a new student. His official first day will be on January 5th, but our friend stopped in for a visit in pajama day! 

Thanks for bringing a snack to share too!

Helping

Thank you for sending in so many non- perishable food items!

Our class delivered all of the food items to the Montpelier Food Pantry. Liz and Kristen we're thankful for the donations and showed first graders how to sort items and stock shelves. The food pantry is open to all Montpelier families. It is  located at Trinity Church- next to the library.

Day in the Dark

On December 22nd we recognized the winter solstice, and had our annual" Day in the Dark". We tried to block all the daylight, and used flashlights, headlMps and battery candles for light sources. We had some glow sticks too!

Our mystery readers, Amanda's grandparents,Jo-Jo and Boom-Boom, even read a story about cooperation using flashlights!

What a special way to welcome winter! 

Snow

We met with third grade buddies from Mrs. Slesar's class to beckon the snow. Crafters used  and q-tips to create snowflakes. We even added some glitter!!

A Vermont Story

What a fun story last Friday!Our mystery reader, Ken, brought a holiday story about our state and our community in the capital. What fun! Thanks McGibney family!

Burton Snowboarding Workshop

Burton snowboards visited with an excellent workshop for first graders.

Everyone warmed up with Olympian Kelly Clark via video, then headed to stations.