Start Time on The First Day: 8am

School will normally begin at 8:15 on Wednesdays, but on the first day, we will start at 8.  This is the only Wednesday that will have an 8am start time.  Between 7:30 and 8 your child can go to the library or cafeteria.  Also, though the playground is closed due to lack of supervision, students may spend time outside the front of the building before the school day begins.

Reminder: Open Classroom Visit 5:30-6:30 on 8/19

Our room is slowly transforming from a pile of furniture and boxes into a real classroom.  A small group of students came in on a nice summer day to help unpack our class library, which was a huge help!  I hope that you can make it this Wednesday evening to see the almost finished room.

Welcome To MSMS!

August 10, 2015

Hello 5th graders and families!

I hope you are enjoying your last few weeks of summer.  I can't wait to hear about all the exciting things you did over the break!  I spent a great deal of my summer hiking, camping, running with my dog, and planning for a challenging and engaging new year with you.  Also, I am very pleased to tell you that my husband and I are expecting our first child at the end of December!  I will keep you up to date with information regarding maternity leave as my due date approaches.

I am currently unpacking our new classroom, and I am thrilled with the quality of the new construction.  The 5th grade will host an informal tour of the new spaces on Wednesday, August 19th from 5:30-6:30pm.  I hope that you will attend to get a feel for our new learning spaces, to connect with classmates old and new, and to help ease the transition back to school.

I am very excited for 5th grade at Main Street Middle School, in which we will study geography, molecules and organisms, states of matter, ecosystems, decimals, multi-digit division, non-fiction, and historical fiction among many other things.  Just like last year, math will be with Mrs. Parker, and all other subjects will be taught by me.  We will delve deeply in Revolutionary War studies, integrating visual art, music, movement, and theater into our learning to produce an original musical theater production with the support of teaching artists.  At the end of the year, we will go on a field trip to Boston, Massachusetts, a long-standing 5th grade tradition.  I will give you more information about this as we begin the year.  

As you savor these last weeks of summer, you may also be thinking about how to get ready for another school year.  In our classroom some materials are shared to promote community.  Please consider purchasing pencils, erasers, wide-ruled lined paper, dry erase markers, and tissues for the classroom.  Additionally, each student will need 3 wide-ruled composition books and a 3 ring binder.

In addition to school supplies for learning indoors, we will continue to spend a day every other week outdoors for ECO (Educating Children Outdoors) integrating the natural world into science and literacy curriculum, and each 5th grader will need gear to stay comfortable and safe throughout the seasons.  You will need:  rain pants, a rain jacket with hood, and mud boots (or winter boots) for the fall.  By November 1st you will need:  long underwear bottoms, long underwear top, wool or fleece tops, snow pants, snow jacket, wool or fleece socks (not cotton), boots (insulated and warm), hat (wool or fleece), 2 pairs gloves or mittens (not cotton), neck warmer or scarf (not cotton).  Please let me know if you need help obtaining any of these items.

I maintain a class blog found at:  http://wendyswonderfulclass.blogspot.com/.  I will update the blog weekly during the year and keep families up to date with our learning in the classroom.  You will find important dates and events listed on the blog.  I can also print out updates and send them home if you would prefer, just let me know.

Please feel free to contact me by email at wendym@mpsvt.org.  I will let you know the new classroom phone number during the classroom tour next week, as the phone is not yet hooked up.  I look forward to working with all of you this year.  See you soon!

Your teacher,

Wendy McGuiggan

MSMS Transition Night

This Thursday, May 7th, Main Street Middle School is hosting a transition night for fourth graders and their families from 6-7pm.  You will have the opportunity to tour the school, see your child's new classroom (in various stages of ongoing construction), meet faculty, hear about life at MSMS, and ask questions.

I hope to see every family there!

Flynn Center and Shelburne Museum

The fourth grade has two exciting upcoming field trips this month!  

THE FLYNN CENTER:

On Monday, May 11th we will leave school by 9am, have a picnic at Oakledge Park in Burlington, then attend the performance of Cirque Mechanics: Pedal Punk! starting at noon.  The agile acrobats of Cirque Mechanics are veterans of renowned companies like Cirque du Soleil, and mesmerize audiences with a hybrid of circus arts and industrial-themed engineering. Jaw-dropping acrobatics meet mechanical wizardry with pedal-powered “Gantry Bike,” an enormous and ingenious machine in and around which unicycles fly, wheel acrobats hover, pole climbers soar, and trapeze artists float. This pulse-racing circus draws inspiration from the culture of steampunk, wherein a post-apocalyptic world of machines is powered by steam; only this time, the power comes not from steam, but from pedals, rotational force, and heart-stopping mid-air acrobatics!  This exciting performance connects to art, science, and physical education.

SHELBURNE MUSEUM:

On Friday, May 29th, we will visit the Shelburne Museum to tour the exhibits and participate in “Passport to Learning” workshops.  We will leave school by 8:45 and return at the end of the school day.  Passport to Learning is an exciting series of ten interactive workshops for students in grades K-8 that meet educational standards from Vermont’s Framework of Standards and Grade Expectations/Common Core State Standards and introduces students to concepts and themes in art, language arts, math, science, and social studies through a facilitated exploration of Shelburne Museum.  Visiting the Shelburne Museum supports our learning about Vermont’s history.  

The total cost of these trips for families will be $8.50, which covers the cost of admission for the Shelburne Museum, and a small portion of the bus fare to The Flynn.  This amount should be paid in cash and returned with the permission slip portionFlynn Center and Shelburne Museum

The fourth grade has two exciting upcoming field trips this month!  

THE FLYNN CENTER:

On Monday, May 11th we will leave school by 9am, have a picnic at Oakledge Park in Burlington, then attend the performance of Cirque Mechanics: Pedal Punk! starting at noon.  The agile acrobats of Cirque Mechanics are veterans of renowned companies like Cirque du Soleil, and mesmerize audiences with a hybrid of circus arts and industrial-themed engineering. Jaw-dropping acrobatics meet mechanical wizardry with pedal-powered “Gantry Bike,” an enormous and ingenious machine in and around which unicycles fly, wheel acrobats hover, pole climbers soar, and trapeze artists float. This pulse-racing circus draws inspiration from the culture of steampunk, wherein a post-apocalyptic world of machines is powered by steam; only this time, the power comes not from steam, but from pedals, rotational force, and heart-stopping mid-air acrobatics!  This exciting performance connects to art, science, and physical education.

SHELBURNE MUSEUM:

On Friday, May 29th, we will visit the Shelburne Museum to tour the exhibits and participate in “Passport to Learning” workshops.  We will leave school by 8:45 and return at the end of the school day.  Passport to Learning is an exciting series of ten interactive workshops for students in grades K-8 that meet educational standards from Vermont’s Framework of Standards and Grade Expectations/Common Core State Standards and introduces students to concepts and themes in art, language arts, math, science, and social studies through a facilitated exploration of Shelburne Museum.  Visiting the Shelburne Museum supports our learning about Vermont’s history.  

The total cost of these trips for families will be $8.50, which covers the cost of admission for the Shelburne Museum, and a small portion of the bus fare to The Flynn.  This amount should be paid in cash and returned with the permission slip portion

ECO DATES

Sorry about the confusion with ECO dates.  We did not have ECO today.

We will have ECO on May 4th, June 1st, and our final ECO will be June 8th.

Storykeepers Celebration

The celebration for Storykeepers will be next Wednesday night from 5:30-6:30.  I hope to see every family there!