Classroom News

Dear Families,

The students are writing personal essays during Writing Workshop. We studied student samples of personal essays and read some published essays.  If you are looking for personal essays to listen to with your child, please visit https://thisibelieve.org

In Reading Workshop, we are reading biographies for our current non-fiction reading unit. Students have read non-fiction texts and studied the text structures. Students have also read fiction stories and thought deeply about characters. Now the children are combining these skills while reading biographies.

Enjoy your week,

Mrs. Carter

Classroom News

Dear Families,

Wednesday is Pajama Day! The class earned a celebration!

The current reading unit is the study of biographies and our writing unit is personal essays. 

In social studies, we are working on 3D maps of Vermont to learn about the regions of Vermont.

We are continuing our study of the maple sugaring industries and it's uses of energy and impact on the environment. We visited Purinton's Maple Farm and had maple syrup on snow. We also learned about reverse osmosis and the steam away process to make the sugaring operation more efficient. We toured the Running Saps sugaring operation and Tim Brown's sugaring operation in Hinesburg. 

On Thursday, we will go to the Audubon sugar house. 

A sample of some of the questions we asked:

• How many taps do you have?
• How much syrup did you produce last year?
• What fuel do you use to heat the sap?
• What other efficiencies do you have in place? What energy do those use?
• What other methods have you added to make it easier or use less energy?
• Do you use tubing or buckets?
• Do you walk, use a vehicle, or a horse to work on your sugarbush?
• Did you change the woods?
• Has a forester helped you with your sugarbush? And if so, how?

Classroom News

Dear Families,

There will not be a book project this month. Instead, the children will need to respond to their pen pals at home and return the letters by the end of the month. The pen pal letters will go home on Monday. Our pen pals are the 3rd and 4th graders at Underhill Central School. At the end of the school year, we will go on a field trip with them so the students have the opportunity to meet in person.

Report cards will go home on Wednesday and parent teacher conferences will follow.

The students will make leprechaun traps with their kinderbuddies and read their fairy tales to the preschoolers on Wednesday.

Thursday is a field trip, so please respond to the e-permission slip. I will also send home a hard copy.

Enjoy your week,

Mrs. Carter