Elmore families,
Another week is in the books as we quickly approach the end of the school year. The next few weeks will be full with activities that will take us to our partnering schools MES and PA for an author visit, an assembly (TIGER), the Memorial Day Observance, and to see 4th graders perform Frozen. Additionally, we will be hiking to the Beaver Pond on Elmore Mountain next week during our last ECO of the school year, and to the Echo Center in Burlington on May 31st. In the classroom we will be finishing up our last science until on the work of water and how it shapes the earth, squeezing in a math unit on the units of money, and finalizing yearly assessments.
Last week third graders completed the VTCAP (Cognia test). They persevered through four days of testing as well as 2 days of practice prior to testing. Thank you to all the parents who assured students were at school and ready to focus. It’s a great feeling to have these tests behind of for the year. Congratulations to all the third graders for their hard work and persistence.
Last week was also our last week of spelling for the year. Students will not have to worry about studying /practicing words next week. This week our focus was on homophones – words that sound the same but have a different meaning and are spelled different. There are so many words in the English language like this, which can be very challenging for young learners!
I have completed reading assessments with students (reading levels). There was so much growth this year, which makes me so proud of the children. I am also reminded of this analogy: Even though we put all the popcorn in the pot at the same time, the kernels pops at different times in the pot. Similarly, not everyone learns to read at the same time or the same rate. Under the right conditions, and given the time needed, all children will “pop”. I love to see when this happens. I also know that the reading students have done at home this year has contributed greatly to their success, so thank you for setting time aside each day to make that happen.
The children have been writing reviews. They chose a book, a movie, or a toy for which they wrote review. This is another type of persuasive writing. On Friday, some students shared their persuasive writing with the class.
During math first graders focused on forward and backward counting sequences up to 120. Second graders persevered in solving two-part word problems involving one or two operations. And third graders began multiplying within 100 using 10 (6 x 14 can be converted into (6 x 10) + (6 x 4) = 60 + 24 = 84)
During science students discovered why beaches have sand and the role water plays in the process.
During ECO on Thursday, students enjoyed a brisk but sunny morning. They played a fun tag game called “Biologist”, listened to a story while enjoying their snack around the fire, sang a song, with a focus on gratitude they wrote what they are grateful for a birch bark which we sent down the stream. Then during forest choice, students roasted marshmallows for s’mores, used flint and steel to make fire, whittled sticks, and made tree cookie decorations and friendship bracelets. Some students enjoyed playing camouflage. This was our last ECO of the school year at the campsite. Thank you to all the parents who have donated snacks, wood, and volunteered their time this year. It is because of you that we have such a strong ECO program.
Friday morning we had six students from Peoples Academy join us for a morning of service work. Elmore students worked alongside them to weed, clean out dead plants, plant our gardens, and mulch our flower beds! We are appreciative for their time and all their hard work!
Friday afternoon we celebrated our PBIS success with Fun Friday, which included music selections, games, and crafts while students shopped at the school store with their tickets. Then we were rewarded with extra recess and ice cream on the playground!
Thank you to Shawn Smejkal for Hot Lunch on Friday! Students enjoyed homemade pasta with meat sauce and orange slices! The weather was perfect for eating outdoors together.
Paige Bowen has signed up for Hot Lunch next week (TBD)
Please EMAIL me your lunch orders for the week.
Thank you,
Diane Nicholls
