Our new Idiom of the Week is
"All ears"
This expression means that you are eager to listen and you are very attentive. In a sentence it could be: "Thanks for listening in class. You are all ears today!"
Monday, September 28, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Weekly Update
Dear Families,
We have so many new and exciting things to share with you from this week.
First of all, our first field-trip together to Waterbury for the “Science on the Green” workshops was a huge success. The students had the opportunity to work together in smaller groups while investigating and exploring various aspects of water. They learned about the importance of the Water Cycle in an interactive game as they “traveled” as water molecules between various stations. They also learned about invasive species and how scientists use the dichotomous key to not only assign attributes to animals and plants but also to quickly identify them from each other. They explored plants using this key and by checking their answers with a microscope! Lastly, the students saw a show with the marine educators “Mr. and Mrs. Fish” and learned about different sea creatures. Thank you all parent volunteers for joining us on this very special trip!
In Writer’s Workshop, we continue our work on how we can make our writing more interesting as part of our revision. We learned that we can add interesting details and even suspense and tension to our stories by adding details about our senses. We practiced how we can add details about what we see, what the characters of our stories hear, or what the narrator feels. Ask your child to share our exploration on this topic and how my own story about weeding suddenly became interesting when I added these details. We also learned how we can add details by using adjectives and interesting verbs. Ask your child to describe our group activity when we worked together to describe a pumpkin, a leaf, an apple and a sun!
In Reader’s Workshop, our work on reading strategies continues. We are almost ready to publish our first resource and reference guide, which will guide our reading comprehension as we move ahead. Students practice choosing “just right” books, while exploring many different genres. We continue using our Reading Pencils and practice many different ways to remember our reading using our own words. Ask your child about our growing Mailbox, filled with postcards, and “Hooked on Reading” center.
In math, our work on number sense and data collection continues as we prepare ourselves for the NECAPS next month. Please look for further details in the first week of October. As part of our math curriculum, I send home many interactive games as a way for students to practice math facts in a fun and engaging way. I also hope the students begin to view math as a social activity; something that is around us all the time and is fun to talk about!!
Ask your child about:
• Warm Fuzzies
• “Around the World”
• Postmaster
• Wigwassawigamig
• Wigwams and Longhouses
• Our new read aloud “The beginning, the Muddle, and the End” by Avi.
• Link
Once again, thanks for all of you support. Have a wonderful weekend!
Regards,
Maria McCormack
We have so many new and exciting things to share with you from this week.
First of all, our first field-trip together to Waterbury for the “Science on the Green” workshops was a huge success. The students had the opportunity to work together in smaller groups while investigating and exploring various aspects of water. They learned about the importance of the Water Cycle in an interactive game as they “traveled” as water molecules between various stations. They also learned about invasive species and how scientists use the dichotomous key to not only assign attributes to animals and plants but also to quickly identify them from each other. They explored plants using this key and by checking their answers with a microscope! Lastly, the students saw a show with the marine educators “Mr. and Mrs. Fish” and learned about different sea creatures. Thank you all parent volunteers for joining us on this very special trip!
In Writer’s Workshop, we continue our work on how we can make our writing more interesting as part of our revision. We learned that we can add interesting details and even suspense and tension to our stories by adding details about our senses. We practiced how we can add details about what we see, what the characters of our stories hear, or what the narrator feels. Ask your child to share our exploration on this topic and how my own story about weeding suddenly became interesting when I added these details. We also learned how we can add details by using adjectives and interesting verbs. Ask your child to describe our group activity when we worked together to describe a pumpkin, a leaf, an apple and a sun!
In Reader’s Workshop, our work on reading strategies continues. We are almost ready to publish our first resource and reference guide, which will guide our reading comprehension as we move ahead. Students practice choosing “just right” books, while exploring many different genres. We continue using our Reading Pencils and practice many different ways to remember our reading using our own words. Ask your child about our growing Mailbox, filled with postcards, and “Hooked on Reading” center.
In math, our work on number sense and data collection continues as we prepare ourselves for the NECAPS next month. Please look for further details in the first week of October. As part of our math curriculum, I send home many interactive games as a way for students to practice math facts in a fun and engaging way. I also hope the students begin to view math as a social activity; something that is around us all the time and is fun to talk about!!
Ask your child about:
• Warm Fuzzies
• “Around the World”
• Postmaster
• Wigwassawigamig
• Wigwams and Longhouses
• Our new read aloud “The beginning, the Muddle, and the End” by Avi.
• Link
Once again, thanks for all of you support. Have a wonderful weekend!
Regards,
Maria McCormack
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Idioom of the Week
Our new idiom of the week is:
"between a rock and a hard place"
It means that you are faced with a choice and both options are unsatisfactory, ie not so good. You are faced with two unpleasant alternatives.
"between a rock and a hard place"
It means that you are faced with a choice and both options are unsatisfactory, ie not so good. You are faced with two unpleasant alternatives.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Weekly Update
Team Summit Weekly Update
9/18/09
Dear Families,
What a fantastic week of learning we have had in 3rd and 4th grade! We started our Native American unit this week. We explored many books about the various tribes and geographic regions and started our project. We are making canoes and traditional Native American anklets. Throughout this unit, all 3rd and 4th grade students will study the Eastern Woodland tribes but in addition, each class will also study another tribe more in depth. We will study the Northwestern tribes. We are very excited about this. Ask your child why. The Northwestern tribes used totem poles, and we will make our own. For this project, we need empty paper towel rolls, so if you have any extras, please send them in with your child next week. Thank you for supporting our projects in school. As a grade level, we will host a Native American Open House, an evening event to which parents and other family members are invited. More information about this special event will follow.
Word Study started this week as well. Many students went home with their first spelling lists on Monday. The students are encouraged to practice their words every day and choose spelling activities from the green sheets inside their homework folders. Please remember these are only ideas and suggestions, if your child wants to show his/her understanding and spelling another way, please let me know. The parent signature sheet with the three spelling activities is due on Fridays, along with the Reading Log. Please keep the spelling lists at home for future practice. Thank you.
We visited the Computer Lab for the first time together this week too! Starting next week, we will go once a week to learn various computer skills.
We finished our first read aloud together and I have a feeling we will miss the wonderful stories the character Gooney Bird Greene shared with us!! We learned that we all have “invisible stories” to tell; we just have to recognize their value. The students worked very diligently this week collecting ideas for possible future stories and recognizing their own invisible stories. Ask your child to share with you some of the story ideas we came up with.
We started “Traveling around the World” this week as well. Throughout the year, we will learn about different countries and places as we track my sister as she travels around the world. First, we will visit Sweden, my native country. We have already learned that Sweden has a monarchy, which is different from the US republic. I shared the story how the Bernadottes became the royal family of Sweden in the 1800s. Ask your child if he/she can tell you this story (hint: it has something to do with France’s Emperor Napoleon).
Lastly, please remember that Picture Day is next Tuesday, 9/22/09. If you wish for your child to have his/her picture taken, please return the forms to the school.
Our first Field-trip is scheduled for next Wednesday, 9/23/09. If you have volunteered to join us, please arrive at the school at 8:00am as we will leave at 8:15am. Please do not forget to pack lunch and warm, weather-appropriate clothing as most activities will be outside.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Regards,
Maria McCormack
9/18/09
Dear Families,
What a fantastic week of learning we have had in 3rd and 4th grade! We started our Native American unit this week. We explored many books about the various tribes and geographic regions and started our project. We are making canoes and traditional Native American anklets. Throughout this unit, all 3rd and 4th grade students will study the Eastern Woodland tribes but in addition, each class will also study another tribe more in depth. We will study the Northwestern tribes. We are very excited about this. Ask your child why. The Northwestern tribes used totem poles, and we will make our own. For this project, we need empty paper towel rolls, so if you have any extras, please send them in with your child next week. Thank you for supporting our projects in school. As a grade level, we will host a Native American Open House, an evening event to which parents and other family members are invited. More information about this special event will follow.
Word Study started this week as well. Many students went home with their first spelling lists on Monday. The students are encouraged to practice their words every day and choose spelling activities from the green sheets inside their homework folders. Please remember these are only ideas and suggestions, if your child wants to show his/her understanding and spelling another way, please let me know. The parent signature sheet with the three spelling activities is due on Fridays, along with the Reading Log. Please keep the spelling lists at home for future practice. Thank you.
We visited the Computer Lab for the first time together this week too! Starting next week, we will go once a week to learn various computer skills.
We finished our first read aloud together and I have a feeling we will miss the wonderful stories the character Gooney Bird Greene shared with us!! We learned that we all have “invisible stories” to tell; we just have to recognize their value. The students worked very diligently this week collecting ideas for possible future stories and recognizing their own invisible stories. Ask your child to share with you some of the story ideas we came up with.
We started “Traveling around the World” this week as well. Throughout the year, we will learn about different countries and places as we track my sister as she travels around the world. First, we will visit Sweden, my native country. We have already learned that Sweden has a monarchy, which is different from the US republic. I shared the story how the Bernadottes became the royal family of Sweden in the 1800s. Ask your child if he/she can tell you this story (hint: it has something to do with France’s Emperor Napoleon).
Lastly, please remember that Picture Day is next Tuesday, 9/22/09. If you wish for your child to have his/her picture taken, please return the forms to the school.
Our first Field-trip is scheduled for next Wednesday, 9/23/09. If you have volunteered to join us, please arrive at the school at 8:00am as we will leave at 8:15am. Please do not forget to pack lunch and warm, weather-appropriate clothing as most activities will be outside.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Regards,
Maria McCormack
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Idiom of the week.
Our new idiom of the week is:
"pony up"
"Pony up" means to pay money, often reluctantly. In a sentence, it could be "The price of gas increased so my family had to "pony up" more money than before.
"Pony up" does not mean to saddle up!
"pony up"
"Pony up" means to pay money, often reluctantly. In a sentence, it could be "The price of gas increased so my family had to "pony up" more money than before.
"Pony up" does not mean to saddle up!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Weekly Update!
Team Summit Weekly Update
9/11/09
We have had a productive week in school. We are all settling in to our new routines and enjoy learning and spending time together. Our Classroom Contract is finished and it now adorns our wall. The students and I decided to establish classroom guidelines around the school’s “Be a Star” philosophy. Not only did we come up with many ideas, we also signed our names in stars which we hung around the contract. We are very proud of this document. Please visit our classroom.
We also started Reader’s Workshop this week. We learned that reading is synonymous with thinking. We learned that as engaged readers we must actively think about the words we read. While we quickly realized that we can do our best thinking in a quiet and relaxed spot, we also discovered that we also need time to read and fully comprehend the text. We will continue to explore reading comprehension strategies in the weeks to come. One strategy we already discussed is the use of a “Reading Pencil” which I use all the time. Ask your child to explain.
To help your child with his/her reading at home, I send home a weekly Reading Log. Our first Reading Log went home last week, and your child will bring one home every Friday. The Reading Log is due back on Fridays with a parent’s signature.
We also started Writer’s Workshop this week. Our first unit will be on writing small moment stories and personal narratives. We are currently reading “Gooney Bird Greene” by Lois Lowry as a read aloud. Ask your child to explain how this is an example of many small personal narratives and how we are in the process of showing our understanding with index cards and yarn!!!
Our first grade level field-trip is scheduled for September 23rd. We will visit “Science on the Green” in Waterbury. A note went home earlier this week with an attached permission form. If you did not receive this form, or if you would like to join us for this special day, please contact me (mmccormack@hcsvt.org or 482-2106). Thank you!
Please be advised that the HCS school pictures are taking place the same day as our field-trip. We will have our class pictures taken in the morning, before we leave for Waterbury. Please make sure your child arrives on time that day!! Thanks
Regards,
Maria McCormack.
9/11/09
We have had a productive week in school. We are all settling in to our new routines and enjoy learning and spending time together. Our Classroom Contract is finished and it now adorns our wall. The students and I decided to establish classroom guidelines around the school’s “Be a Star” philosophy. Not only did we come up with many ideas, we also signed our names in stars which we hung around the contract. We are very proud of this document. Please visit our classroom.
We also started Reader’s Workshop this week. We learned that reading is synonymous with thinking. We learned that as engaged readers we must actively think about the words we read. While we quickly realized that we can do our best thinking in a quiet and relaxed spot, we also discovered that we also need time to read and fully comprehend the text. We will continue to explore reading comprehension strategies in the weeks to come. One strategy we already discussed is the use of a “Reading Pencil” which I use all the time. Ask your child to explain.
To help your child with his/her reading at home, I send home a weekly Reading Log. Our first Reading Log went home last week, and your child will bring one home every Friday. The Reading Log is due back on Fridays with a parent’s signature.
We also started Writer’s Workshop this week. Our first unit will be on writing small moment stories and personal narratives. We are currently reading “Gooney Bird Greene” by Lois Lowry as a read aloud. Ask your child to explain how this is an example of many small personal narratives and how we are in the process of showing our understanding with index cards and yarn!!!
Our first grade level field-trip is scheduled for September 23rd. We will visit “Science on the Green” in Waterbury. A note went home earlier this week with an attached permission form. If you did not receive this form, or if you would like to join us for this special day, please contact me (mmccormack@hcsvt.org or 482-2106). Thank you!
Please be advised that the HCS school pictures are taking place the same day as our field-trip. We will have our class pictures taken in the morning, before we leave for Waterbury. Please make sure your child arrives on time that day!! Thanks
Regards,
Maria McCormack.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Our First Idiom of the Week!
Our first Idiom of the Week is:
"bury the hatchet"
It means making peace with someone you have quarreled with. You become friends, forgive each other, and move on...You bury the hatchet.
It comes from the Native American culture. The warriors had to actually bury the hatchet before they went to the peace conference after a war!
"bury the hatchet"
It means making peace with someone you have quarreled with. You become friends, forgive each other, and move on...You bury the hatchet.
It comes from the Native American culture. The warriors had to actually bury the hatchet before they went to the peace conference after a war!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Weekly Update
Team Summit Weekly Update
9/4/09
We have had a wonderful first week of school together! I hope your child have told you about all the exciting learning already taking place. We had our first library class and started exploring the books in the classroom as well. We have a wide variety of genres and educational magazines and I hope your child will read many different kinds of books this year as we read and discuss literature together. Your child’s first Reading Log is coming home today, and this Reading Log will come home on Fridays. As you might have noticed, each day has a different writing prompt to encourage critical thinking skills in literacy. I will change these writing prompts periodically as the school year progresses. The Reading Log is due on Fridays. Please sign the log and encourage your child to also talk about his or her reading at home.
We have had the opportunity to share about ourselves this week and our poster projects are well under way. Many times, we have even shared the creative process using the Smartboard, projecting art-work and pictures for all to see. We have also played many community-building with other classes. Ask your child to tell you about the “Silly Voice Greeting”, the “Favorite Dessert Greeting”.
There are many new routines to get used to in the beginning of the year and we are getting used to them together. Ask your child to tell you about our many new and exciting classroom jobs. For example, we have a Classroom Poet and a Postmaster. The Classroom Poet reads a poem of his/her choice every day and the discussion focuses on two parts: why this particular poem was chosen and what it means. We are already building our own poetry collections in our Personal Readers!
Your child will bring home a blue Homework Folder every day with homework assignments, letters and special notices from the school, etc. Your child will also bring home a personal Student Planner every day. Students are encouraged to record homework assignments inside this planner so families can plan their schedules accordingly. Soon, assignments will be larger and require several days worth of work, so knowing well in advance benefits everybody. We use the Student Planner as a due date book, ie we record our assignments on the day it is due, not when it is assigned!
Your child might also have brought home a Book Bag already. The book bags are used to carry and keep books as they travel back and forth. Please make sure your child return books to the school and the classroom when they are read. Thanks for your help!
Information regarding math homework and spelling will follow in next week’s letter.
If you have access to the internet at home, please visit my classroom Wiki and Blog sites. The Wiki is used as a web-site with many interactive games for your child to explore. The Blog hosts weekly updates and newsletters. Our weekly UA schedule is also posted there alongside special events and school functions. I have also added a new feature entitled “Reference Question”. I will pose a challenging question for students to solve outside the classroom. Sometimes, the question requires research, sometimes it requires mathematical problem solving and sometimes it is related to general wonderings we have in the classroom! I hope you get a chance to check it out!
This has been a great week and I am very excited about this school year! Have a great long weekend.
Regards,
Maria McCormack
9/4/09
We have had a wonderful first week of school together! I hope your child have told you about all the exciting learning already taking place. We had our first library class and started exploring the books in the classroom as well. We have a wide variety of genres and educational magazines and I hope your child will read many different kinds of books this year as we read and discuss literature together. Your child’s first Reading Log is coming home today, and this Reading Log will come home on Fridays. As you might have noticed, each day has a different writing prompt to encourage critical thinking skills in literacy. I will change these writing prompts periodically as the school year progresses. The Reading Log is due on Fridays. Please sign the log and encourage your child to also talk about his or her reading at home.
We have had the opportunity to share about ourselves this week and our poster projects are well under way. Many times, we have even shared the creative process using the Smartboard, projecting art-work and pictures for all to see. We have also played many community-building with other classes. Ask your child to tell you about the “Silly Voice Greeting”, the “Favorite Dessert Greeting”.
There are many new routines to get used to in the beginning of the year and we are getting used to them together. Ask your child to tell you about our many new and exciting classroom jobs. For example, we have a Classroom Poet and a Postmaster. The Classroom Poet reads a poem of his/her choice every day and the discussion focuses on two parts: why this particular poem was chosen and what it means. We are already building our own poetry collections in our Personal Readers!
Your child will bring home a blue Homework Folder every day with homework assignments, letters and special notices from the school, etc. Your child will also bring home a personal Student Planner every day. Students are encouraged to record homework assignments inside this planner so families can plan their schedules accordingly. Soon, assignments will be larger and require several days worth of work, so knowing well in advance benefits everybody. We use the Student Planner as a due date book, ie we record our assignments on the day it is due, not when it is assigned!
Your child might also have brought home a Book Bag already. The book bags are used to carry and keep books as they travel back and forth. Please make sure your child return books to the school and the classroom when they are read. Thanks for your help!
Information regarding math homework and spelling will follow in next week’s letter.
If you have access to the internet at home, please visit my classroom Wiki and Blog sites. The Wiki is used as a web-site with many interactive games for your child to explore. The Blog hosts weekly updates and newsletters. Our weekly UA schedule is also posted there alongside special events and school functions. I have also added a new feature entitled “Reference Question”. I will pose a challenging question for students to solve outside the classroom. Sometimes, the question requires research, sometimes it requires mathematical problem solving and sometimes it is related to general wonderings we have in the classroom! I hope you get a chance to check it out!
This has been a great week and I am very excited about this school year! Have a great long weekend.
Regards,
Maria McCormack
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
First day of school news!!
We had a wonderful first day of school in our classroom. I hope you had a chance to chat with your child about the many exciting things we did. Ask your child about Coo-see-kee, outside games with Mrs. D'Andrea's class and our first day in the library!
Below is a copy of a poem we read together on the Smartboard today. As many of you know, we will read poetry across the curriculum this year. Ask your child to tell you about our wonderful discussions about poetry format and connections to our own concerns before the first day of school.
I am very excited about this school year and look forward to tomorrow!
Regards,
Mrs. McCormack
The First Day of School
By Judith Viorst
Will they let me go when I need to go to the bathroom?
And what if I get lost on my way back to class?
And what if the other kids are a hundred, a thousand, times smarter than I am?
And what if we have a spelling test, or a reading test, or an...anything test, and I'm the only person who doesn't pass?
And what if my teacher decides she doesn't like me?
And what if, all of a sudden a tooth gets loose?
And what if I can't find lunch, or I sit on my lunch, or I (oops!) drop my lunch someplace like the toilet?
Will they let me starve or will somebody lend me a sandwich?
A cookie? A cracker? An apple? Some juice?
And what if they say, "Do this," and I don't understand them?
And what if there's teams and nobody picks me to play?
And what if I took off my sneakers, and also my socks, and my jeans, and my sweatshirt and T-shirt,
And started the first day of school on the second day?
Below is a copy of a poem we read together on the Smartboard today. As many of you know, we will read poetry across the curriculum this year. Ask your child to tell you about our wonderful discussions about poetry format and connections to our own concerns before the first day of school.
I am very excited about this school year and look forward to tomorrow!
Regards,
Mrs. McCormack
The First Day of School
By Judith Viorst
Will they let me go when I need to go to the bathroom?
And what if I get lost on my way back to class?
And what if the other kids are a hundred, a thousand, times smarter than I am?
And what if we have a spelling test, or a reading test, or an...anything test, and I'm the only person who doesn't pass?
And what if my teacher decides she doesn't like me?
And what if, all of a sudden a tooth gets loose?
And what if I can't find lunch, or I sit on my lunch, or I (oops!) drop my lunch someplace like the toilet?
Will they let me starve or will somebody lend me a sandwich?
A cookie? A cracker? An apple? Some juice?
And what if they say, "Do this," and I don't understand them?
And what if there's teams and nobody picks me to play?
And what if I took off my sneakers, and also my socks, and my jeans, and my sweatshirt and T-shirt,
And started the first day of school on the second day?
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