Pen Pals Visit From East Montpelier

Our pen pals from East Montpelier Elementary School will visit us here at UES on Friday, June 1st. We will spend some time together at school, then take a tour of Montpelier. We will head to the Montpelier Fire Station at 9:30, then to Bear Pond books at 11:00. We plan to zip back to school to grab lunches, then head to the State House for a picnic, and some fun and games.

Next week, we will get to see what life is like in East Montpelier. We will take a bus to visit our pen pals...

Birthday Breakfast Tomorrow

We will celebrate all May birthdays tomorrow at our birthday breakfast. Please feel free to join us from 8:30-9:00 as we enjoy a morning snack together.

First Grade Independent Projects

Please help your child choose a topic to explore independently. We had discussed possible topics in March at our conferences, and your child might still want to pursue that topic, or may choose a new topic to explore. Please help your child plan a project to share the new learning about this topic.

We will be devoting Writer’s Workshop time in the afternoons, to independent project work time after the Memorial Day weekend.

Please complete the lower portion of this sheet, and return to school by Tuesday, May 29^th( or earlier).

Remember, there will be time at school to work on the projects!

Please help your child be sending in any supplemental materials to school to assist with exploration and research.

Name:

Topic:

How I plan to explore: (books, computer research, interviews, consult experts, videos,  etc.)

How I plan to share my learning: (poster, song, presentation, diorama, dance, skit, report, poem, etc.)

 

SPIRIT WEEK

Mrs. Parker's fifth graders have designated next week as "Spirit Week".

Each day has a theme:
Monday- Super Hero Day- Dress as your favorite- real or made up
Tuesday- Inspiration Day-Dress as someone who inspires you
Wednesday- Mismatch Day
Thursday- Crazy Hair Day
Friday- Stripes Versus Polka Dots Day- Wear all stripes or all polka dots, not both

ECO needs you!

Please help us support Educating Children Outdoors, formerly known as Nature Adventure. This incredible program is partially funded through donations and fundraisers. We need your help with a fundraiser at NBNC on June 8th. Your chance to support this program is here!

 

When: Friday, June 8, 2012   5:00-8:00pm

Where: North Branch Nature Center

What: A Family Picnic with Live Entertainment

Pack a picnic and a blanket and come join us for an evening of family time.  

We still need:

1. Volunteers (yourself, friends, family) who would like to perform (music, magic or something else)? 

2. Donations for a silent auction

3. Baked goods for a bake sale

4. People who can help out at North Branch Nature Center before and after the event 4:00-5:00 and 8:00-8:30.

Thank you!!!

Lettuce Planting Field Trip

Our class will be traveling with Ms. Closter's class to the high school for the annual lettuce planting event.  If you are to join us (we'll be walking over), please let me know or meet us around 9:30 on Wednesday! We should be back to school by 11:00.

ECO

Our next Nature Adventure/ECO outing in Hubbard park is coming right up on  MONDAY,May 7th.
We will be merging Mrs. Koch’s and Ms. Closter’s first grade classes for a whole day learning experience. (9:00-1:00)
We will be spending most of the day outside  Please make sure your child is prepared for the outdoors with the following:
·         Sturdy Shoes- no flip flops
·         Layers
·         A sun hat/sunscreen
·         Lunch
·         Water bottle


We will be bringing backpacks with lunches from home (unless we hear you would like us to order a school lunch- let us know ASAP)
Chaperones are welcome for the whole day, or even a portion. Please let us know if you are planning to join us for this adventure. We will be in a  variety of locations, with a variety of stations.

Ways to help:
Walk with class
Help at a station
Be a lunch angel
Bring extra water

Thanks for all you do to support this outdoor learning experience.

Birthday Breakfast and Four Winds

On Monday morning, we will celebrate all April birthdays with a birthday breakfast. At 9:00 we will have our Four Winds lesson on Birds, Bird Calls, and Sound Mapping. What a lovely way to return to school after a vacation week!



We found each other on the bike path on Sanibel Island in Florida! What a coincidence!



Thanking Mr. Keller

Union School appreciates all of the hard work done by Mr. Keller. At Friday's assembly, Mr. Keller is honored by the school! Click on this photo for a larger version. Our class has many reasons to be thankful to Mr. Keller.

A Visit from an Author

Jessie visited our class today to share a draft of a book she has been working on. She was able to describe the process she uses in developing a story. We all enjoyed listening to her story, told from the perspective of her grandchild, Ian! The story is realistic fiction because it is based on Jessie's house sitting experiences, and Ian's visits with her. We all tried to determine which parts were fiction though. The class listened to create images in their heads, and used their schema to create illustrations for Jessie's story. 

 The class listened to create images in their heads, and used their schema to create illustrations for Jessie's story. Everyone shared their illustrations, and we got to hear another story about Azair and her Hair.

Thanks so much to Jessie for a wonderful morning which inspired the first graders to spend the afternoon writing!

Pre- Kindergarten Screening Days

Several days this week will be devoted to pre-kindergarten screening. On these days, Tuesday, April 17th and Wednesday, April 18th I will be working with all first grade teachers to conduct these screenings for each incoming child (we will all be K teachers again next year). While we are 
working with these pre-k students, the current K team will be the guest 
teachers for the first graders (K's have 2 days off).Our class will have a guest teacher since we have an uneven number of classes.  The guest teacher  will be working with our class, following the routines of the day and continuing our study of geometry, reading groups, writer's workshop, etc.  
I will check in periodically throughout the day.
If you are willing to volunteer for an hour or 2 to answer 
questions, chat, help ease the stress of new Kindergarten 
families during these days, please contact me. We are looking 
for parent volunteers to guide discussions/answer questions 
while their children work with us. 
If you'd like to help, please let me know ASAP!

NAP/ ECO in Hubbard Park on Monday

We will be using MAPS to navigate our way to new parts of Hubbard Park. We will create sound maps, have a quest, and will also explore new sections of the park. Please help your child to wear sturdy shoes(no sandals or flip flops) and to dress in layers. We will bring lunches and water bottles with us. We plan to leave UES  with MS. Dostie's class around 9:00 and return by 12:50 to make it to music class. Please let me know if you would like to join us. We will be moving throughout the park, and will have lunch at the shelter. We will be taking the Course street route into the park.