Weekly Update

Dear Families,

Time flies! Parent-teacher conferences are scheduled for next week and we are already in our 4th quarter of the school year. Report cards will be distributed at conference times but the students will have a chance to sit down and chat with me beforehand as we go over the grades together. We already started talking this week about writing and we will continue next week with science and math, primarily. Student involvement in this process is important as academic engagement and accountability go hand in hand. I am very proud of their hard work in class and at home. I am also very proud of their genuine interest in their own learning. This interest shows real maturity!!

This week, two separate letters went home regarding our Science Fair in May. The letters have already been posted in the Link Library on the wiki and in the sidebar of the HCS Parent Community page, but please let me know if your child did not bring these two letters home so I can send home additional copies (Click here for direct link). In an effort to support the students as they explore physical sciences through constructivist learning, I have updated my Search Engines links on the wiki (Click here for direct link). The students will have the opportunity to use these on Monday in our Computer Lab but I also encourage that they utilize these resources at home as they formulate their own hypothesis and testable question. Please let me know if you need any additional help and resources for the home. I will gladly assist you.

Speaking of technology-HCS has transferred to gmail. All faculty, staff and students are now on gmail accounts. These accounts are not regular gmail accounts as CSSU has a domain within gmail. My new email address is mmccormack@cssu.org
Please note that although all emails have changed, my old email address at hcsvt.org still works until early June. It is preferred that all correspondence through email now goes to mmccormack@cssu.org
Thank you!

In the students’ homework folders this week, I have enclosed a "free and reduced lunch" form in case your family’s status has changed since the beginning of the year. Feel free to contact Deb Bissonette at 482-6241 if you have any questions or need any help with the form. Thank you.

We received a very special package from Sweden this week, filled with postcards written by our pen-pals. The students also received a large Spring card with a newspaper article and photograph of our Swedish friends. As you might recall, they had a very cold and snowy winter in Sweden and our pen-pals made it into the local newspaper as they were playing on a VERY large snow-bank! We have already started writing our responses; some students integrate technology, some write cards by hand and some draw lovely pictures. In addition, each student will make a Warm Fuzzy for his/her pen-pal. We hope to do a Warm Fuzzy greeting with them through Skype!! We will keep you posted.

Our unit on Explorers and Colonial America is in full swing. The students finished their imaginative diary entries or letters as explorers earlier this week. They had the opportunity to record these letters into photostories. Some letters are already posted on the HCS Parent Community site, under Student Celebrations (Click here). I will post them shortly on the Classroom Digital Portfolio. Please visit our classroom to see the hard copies which are hanging from our ceiling! The students did an amazing job assuming the role of these explorers so long ago. We are very eager to share these letters with you at conference time next week.

Have a great weekend!
Regards,

Maria McCormack