Friday, May 28, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Weekly Update
Dear Families,
What a wonderful Science Fair we had this week! Thank you all for coming and thank you all for taking such a great interest in our budding scientists! Once again, we had the opportunity to focus our discussions on scientific inquiry skills and the importance of observational and testable data collections. I hope you and your child find many and varied situations and experiences over the summer when you can explore science together. Observe the birds when you go on a hike, collect various rocks and closely observe their make-up, or test how fast your bathing suit dries in the sun. Science is all around us. Make it a part of your life and make it fun!
Since the school year is quickly coming to an end, there are many end-of-the-year things we must address. First of all, many students have expressed a desire to continue their relationships with their Swedish pen-pals. Since I will not be your child’s teacher next year, this letter writing will occur outside of school. If your child can provide his/her home address to his/her pen-pal, please indicate this on the attached sheet. If you already signed this in school, you do not have to do so again. Thank you.
Secondly, many students had hoped that we could start a personalized font for Word on the computers this year. We were never able to create these fonts as it was rather costly for a whole class to do. If you wish to do this on your own, the web site I used in the past was www.yourfonts.com (Click here for link) Keep me posted if you use it. Keep in mind that your own font will not appear in an email unless the recipient has the same font (unlikely unless you install it on the receiving computer). In order for your hand-writing to appear, save the file as a jpeg, print screen or pdf. More information is available at the web-site. Good Luck!
The students and I are hosting a “Colonial Times in the 21st Century Breakfast” gathering next Wednesday, June 2nd between 7:30am-8:30am. An electronic sign-up has already been mailed out (and a paper-based sign-up is attached to this letter) as we hope to have some traditional Colonial breakfast foods along with more modern-day breakfast foods. We will show our online newspaper. The students will show their contributions on 4 computers. I will not link this until after the breakfast. The students worked very hard on it and they should be very proud of their hard work. Other teachers and staff have also been invited. We hope you can join us. Thank you.
Our end-of-the-year barbeque sign-up is on-line this year. Please let me know if you did not receive the email invitation. For those without an email account, paper-based letters and invitations were sent out. Please let me know if you did not receive these. Thank you.
I am still missing some permission slips for our field trip to Billings Farm and Museum on June 15th. Your child brought home extra slips this wee3k. Please return these by early next week.
As many of you already know, I accepted a job at the Allen Brook School in Williston. I will teach a multi-age 1st and 2nd grade class. I am very excited about this new venture and look forward to the new school year already!! I hope we will all stay in touch next year….and something tells me we will through the wonders of technology (I have many ideas already!). I wish you and your family the best of luck next year and I will miss you all very much. Your support throughout this year has been greatly appreciated and your willingness to embrace technology across the curriculum has been amazing. Thank you for all that you have done, and still do, to help your child learn.
Have a wonderful long weekend!
Regards,
Maria McCormack
What a wonderful Science Fair we had this week! Thank you all for coming and thank you all for taking such a great interest in our budding scientists! Once again, we had the opportunity to focus our discussions on scientific inquiry skills and the importance of observational and testable data collections. I hope you and your child find many and varied situations and experiences over the summer when you can explore science together. Observe the birds when you go on a hike, collect various rocks and closely observe their make-up, or test how fast your bathing suit dries in the sun. Science is all around us. Make it a part of your life and make it fun!
Since the school year is quickly coming to an end, there are many end-of-the-year things we must address. First of all, many students have expressed a desire to continue their relationships with their Swedish pen-pals. Since I will not be your child’s teacher next year, this letter writing will occur outside of school. If your child can provide his/her home address to his/her pen-pal, please indicate this on the attached sheet. If you already signed this in school, you do not have to do so again. Thank you.
Secondly, many students had hoped that we could start a personalized font for Word on the computers this year. We were never able to create these fonts as it was rather costly for a whole class to do. If you wish to do this on your own, the web site I used in the past was www.yourfonts.com (Click here for link) Keep me posted if you use it. Keep in mind that your own font will not appear in an email unless the recipient has the same font (unlikely unless you install it on the receiving computer). In order for your hand-writing to appear, save the file as a jpeg, print screen or pdf. More information is available at the web-site. Good Luck!
The students and I are hosting a “Colonial Times in the 21st Century Breakfast” gathering next Wednesday, June 2nd between 7:30am-8:30am. An electronic sign-up has already been mailed out (and a paper-based sign-up is attached to this letter) as we hope to have some traditional Colonial breakfast foods along with more modern-day breakfast foods. We will show our online newspaper. The students will show their contributions on 4 computers. I will not link this until after the breakfast. The students worked very hard on it and they should be very proud of their hard work. Other teachers and staff have also been invited. We hope you can join us. Thank you.
Our end-of-the-year barbeque sign-up is on-line this year. Please let me know if you did not receive the email invitation. For those without an email account, paper-based letters and invitations were sent out. Please let me know if you did not receive these. Thank you.
I am still missing some permission slips for our field trip to Billings Farm and Museum on June 15th. Your child brought home extra slips this wee3k. Please return these by early next week.
As many of you already know, I accepted a job at the Allen Brook School in Williston. I will teach a multi-age 1st and 2nd grade class. I am very excited about this new venture and look forward to the new school year already!! I hope we will all stay in touch next year….and something tells me we will through the wonders of technology (I have many ideas already!). I wish you and your family the best of luck next year and I will miss you all very much. Your support throughout this year has been greatly appreciated and your willingness to embrace technology across the curriculum has been amazing. Thank you for all that you have done, and still do, to help your child learn.
Have a wonderful long weekend!
Regards,
Maria McCormack
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Weekly Update
Dear Families,
This has been a very busy and productive week in our classroom. To begin with, 4th graders finished three days of science NECAP assessments. They all did a great job. The results from these assessments will not be available for many weeks, and the school will notify parents and guardians when they will be sent out. 3rd graders were assessed in both probability and in math fact fluency. They also did a great job! I will share the assessment results with the students next week. Our new math unit in geometry is now underway and parents of 3rd graders should have received letters as well as Smartboard lesson print-out explaining our scope and sequence throughout this unit. If you did not receive these, please let me know and I will send extra ones home. Smartboard lessons are posted on the classroom digital portfolio page as well.
Our colonial newspaper is almost ready for publication. Students are making their final revisions and help each other edit writing pieces. We will not start a new unit next week (and we will not have any new vocabulary either) as we will wrap up our unit on Colonial Times. Next week, the students will also orally present their Science Fair Projects. These projects are due on Monday, May 24th! Our grade-level Science Fair is next Wednesday, May 26th between 5-6pm. Please note that students are encouraged to “stay” at their own tri-fold and be prepared to talk about their experiments for part of the Science Fair as we all celebrate in their scientific learning!
The students also had the opportunity to see Mrs. McGuire and Mrs. O’Brien’s first and second grade classes perform the play “How does your garden grow?” It was particularly special for some of the students in our class because they performed the same play when they were in 1st and 2nd grade! They remembered their part well and how nervous they were when they had to read (or sing) their lines! Some of our students recorded part of the show and we hope to share it with you shortly.
Lastly, David Rast, our school Guidance Counselor, will join our class weekly to teach lessons on harassment and bullying. These classes are part of the school-wide social curriculum initiatives. For the last few weeks, the students in grades 3-4 have focused on developing sportsmanship and positive communication and problem-solving skills. They reached the goal of 250 golden stars this week and enjoyed 20 minutes of extra recess! I am very proud of their choices!
Have a great weekend!
Regards,
Maria McCormack
This has been a very busy and productive week in our classroom. To begin with, 4th graders finished three days of science NECAP assessments. They all did a great job. The results from these assessments will not be available for many weeks, and the school will notify parents and guardians when they will be sent out. 3rd graders were assessed in both probability and in math fact fluency. They also did a great job! I will share the assessment results with the students next week. Our new math unit in geometry is now underway and parents of 3rd graders should have received letters as well as Smartboard lesson print-out explaining our scope and sequence throughout this unit. If you did not receive these, please let me know and I will send extra ones home. Smartboard lessons are posted on the classroom digital portfolio page as well.
Our colonial newspaper is almost ready for publication. Students are making their final revisions and help each other edit writing pieces. We will not start a new unit next week (and we will not have any new vocabulary either) as we will wrap up our unit on Colonial Times. Next week, the students will also orally present their Science Fair Projects. These projects are due on Monday, May 24th! Our grade-level Science Fair is next Wednesday, May 26th between 5-6pm. Please note that students are encouraged to “stay” at their own tri-fold and be prepared to talk about their experiments for part of the Science Fair as we all celebrate in their scientific learning!
The students also had the opportunity to see Mrs. McGuire and Mrs. O’Brien’s first and second grade classes perform the play “How does your garden grow?” It was particularly special for some of the students in our class because they performed the same play when they were in 1st and 2nd grade! They remembered their part well and how nervous they were when they had to read (or sing) their lines! Some of our students recorded part of the show and we hope to share it with you shortly.
Lastly, David Rast, our school Guidance Counselor, will join our class weekly to teach lessons on harassment and bullying. These classes are part of the school-wide social curriculum initiatives. For the last few weeks, the students in grades 3-4 have focused on developing sportsmanship and positive communication and problem-solving skills. They reached the goal of 250 golden stars this week and enjoyed 20 minutes of extra recess! I am very proud of their choices!
Have a great weekend!
Regards,
Maria McCormack
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Weekly Update
Dear Families,
This has been a very strange week for us in Summit’s 3rd and 4th grade classroom as I, unfortunately, have been out most of the week due to a bad back. I hurt my back earlier this week and was unable to recover as fast as I would have liked to, so I was forced to remain at home as it is very hard for me to walk and stand. Although I have not physically been in the classroom, I have been there with the help of technology as the students and I have e-mailed each other several times a day. The students have shared documents with me and they also shared their newly constructed google doc for our evolving Colonial Newspaper. I even received minute by minute updates from some students and I very much appreciate their dedication to academic endeavors (as well as keeping me in the loop!). Ms. Pivorotti joined the class in my stead and she and I have stayed in close contact throughout to ensure that our classroom routines and expectations remain intact. Thank you, Ms. Piv.; I don’t know what we would have done without you!
The students completed their Science NECAP practice test earlier this week and they will take the actual Science NECAP Assessment next week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning. This assessment next week is only for our 4th graders; 3rd graders will take it next year. Please make sure your child gets plenty of sleep and nutritious food before coming to school next week. Thank you.
3rd grade mathematicians joined the 7th and 8th grade probability fair this week as well. They learned many new concepts about this fascinating area of math as they had the opportunity to play games in various stations. 3rd graders will finish their study of probability in the next few classes. Our next, and last, unit will be on geometry. We are very excited to learn about perimeter, area and shapes.
News & Reminders:
• Science NECAP for 4th graders on 5/18, 5/19, and 5/20.
• HCS International Celebration, 5/25
• 3rd and 4th grade Science Fair, 5/26 between 5pm-6pm. Please note that projects and trifolds are due on Monday, 5/14/10.
• Library closed, 6/1. No more books can be taken out from the HCS school library as the construction of the primary wing starts.
• 3rd and 4th Grade End of the Year Celebration Picnic, 11:30-1:30pm. Please return the slip sent out earlier this week so we know how many people will be attending. Thank you!
• 3rd and 4th Grade End-of-the-Year Extended-Day Field Trip to Billings Farm and Museum, Woodstock, VT. Buses leave at 7:30 am and return to HCS at 4:00pm. Please return permission slips by Monday May 17th. Thank you!
Have a great weekend!
Regards,
Maria McCormack
This has been a very strange week for us in Summit’s 3rd and 4th grade classroom as I, unfortunately, have been out most of the week due to a bad back. I hurt my back earlier this week and was unable to recover as fast as I would have liked to, so I was forced to remain at home as it is very hard for me to walk and stand. Although I have not physically been in the classroom, I have been there with the help of technology as the students and I have e-mailed each other several times a day. The students have shared documents with me and they also shared their newly constructed google doc for our evolving Colonial Newspaper. I even received minute by minute updates from some students and I very much appreciate their dedication to academic endeavors (as well as keeping me in the loop!). Ms. Pivorotti joined the class in my stead and she and I have stayed in close contact throughout to ensure that our classroom routines and expectations remain intact. Thank you, Ms. Piv.; I don’t know what we would have done without you!
The students completed their Science NECAP practice test earlier this week and they will take the actual Science NECAP Assessment next week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning. This assessment next week is only for our 4th graders; 3rd graders will take it next year. Please make sure your child gets plenty of sleep and nutritious food before coming to school next week. Thank you.
3rd grade mathematicians joined the 7th and 8th grade probability fair this week as well. They learned many new concepts about this fascinating area of math as they had the opportunity to play games in various stations. 3rd graders will finish their study of probability in the next few classes. Our next, and last, unit will be on geometry. We are very excited to learn about perimeter, area and shapes.
News & Reminders:
• Science NECAP for 4th graders on 5/18, 5/19, and 5/20.
• HCS International Celebration, 5/25
• 3rd and 4th grade Science Fair, 5/26 between 5pm-6pm. Please note that projects and trifolds are due on Monday, 5/14/10.
• Library closed, 6/1. No more books can be taken out from the HCS school library as the construction of the primary wing starts.
• 3rd and 4th Grade End of the Year Celebration Picnic, 11:30-1:30pm. Please return the slip sent out earlier this week so we know how many people will be attending. Thank you!
• 3rd and 4th Grade End-of-the-Year Extended-Day Field Trip to Billings Farm and Museum, Woodstock, VT. Buses leave at 7:30 am and return to HCS at 4:00pm. Please return permission slips by Monday May 17th. Thank you!
Have a great weekend!
Regards,
Maria McCormack
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Farewell Party for Charlie Fortin
Please listen to the entire school singing for Charlie Fortin as he celebrated his birthday and retirement a little while ago. Enjoy!
Traveling around the world
Last week, we "traveled" to Australia again when we received another postcard from my sister. We learned more interesting details about kangaroos. We also received a postcard from Ms. Gillette, who traveled to North Carolina. She had much to share as she used to live there.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Weekly Update
Dear Families,
The students are making incredible progress in their research and information gathering phase of our Colonial America unit. The week before Spring vacation, we studied colonial education and this week we emphasized colonial houses and jobs. Please ask your child to describe what these houses looked like. Ask your child to describe what the keeping room was. Also ask your child to explain what a Dutch oven was used for and why blacksmiths were in such high demand. If you and your child wish to do additional research, please visit our classroom wiki for pre-linked educational sites on these topics (Click here). You can also conduct your own independent searches on the Search Engines site, also linked on our classroom wiki (Click here).
The students’ hard work in this unit was celebrated in a very special way this week. I had the privilege to present our classroom’s use of 21st century technology tools to all the School Boards of CSSU. In particular, I had the opportunity to highlight the students’ ability to utilize various technology tools to conduct research effectively as well as communicate and collaborate. As the students get more comfortable and self-reliant using technology tools in the academic setting, their ability and willingness to share information and knowledge amongst themselves have increased. Most casual observers of technology would perhaps argue that technology isolates individuals and discourages inter-personal interaction and collaboration. The outcome has been quite the opposite in our classroom, however. The more technology the students are exposed to, the more they share amongst themselves. They are invested in their own learning and know how to quickly and efficiently share resources with each other as they communicate by sharing urls and web-sites with each other. Please talk to your child about this development at home and discuss the benefits from sharing information. Next week, the students will continue this collaborative effort as they learn to use google docs and e-mails to send links to each other.
In math, 3rd graders continue their work on probability. Next week, we are invited to visit the 7th and 8th grade Probability Fair as we join Maria Duryea’s class. We are very excited about this opportunity. We will share more on this next week. 4th graders continued their work in geometry this week as they explored perimeter and area.
Have a great weekend!
Regards,
Maria McCormack
The students are making incredible progress in their research and information gathering phase of our Colonial America unit. The week before Spring vacation, we studied colonial education and this week we emphasized colonial houses and jobs. Please ask your child to describe what these houses looked like. Ask your child to describe what the keeping room was. Also ask your child to explain what a Dutch oven was used for and why blacksmiths were in such high demand. If you and your child wish to do additional research, please visit our classroom wiki for pre-linked educational sites on these topics (Click here). You can also conduct your own independent searches on the Search Engines site, also linked on our classroom wiki (Click here).
The students’ hard work in this unit was celebrated in a very special way this week. I had the privilege to present our classroom’s use of 21st century technology tools to all the School Boards of CSSU. In particular, I had the opportunity to highlight the students’ ability to utilize various technology tools to conduct research effectively as well as communicate and collaborate. As the students get more comfortable and self-reliant using technology tools in the academic setting, their ability and willingness to share information and knowledge amongst themselves have increased. Most casual observers of technology would perhaps argue that technology isolates individuals and discourages inter-personal interaction and collaboration. The outcome has been quite the opposite in our classroom, however. The more technology the students are exposed to, the more they share amongst themselves. They are invested in their own learning and know how to quickly and efficiently share resources with each other as they communicate by sharing urls and web-sites with each other. Please talk to your child about this development at home and discuss the benefits from sharing information. Next week, the students will continue this collaborative effort as they learn to use google docs and e-mails to send links to each other.
In math, 3rd graders continue their work on probability. Next week, we are invited to visit the 7th and 8th grade Probability Fair as we join Maria Duryea’s class. We are very excited about this opportunity. We will share more on this next week. 4th graders continued their work in geometry this week as they explored perimeter and area.
Have a great weekend!
Regards,
Maria McCormack
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