5th Grade Craft and Bake Sale

Tomorrow (Wednesday, December 19) we will attend the 5th grade fundraiser for their annual Boston trip.  They will sell items such as snacks, bracelets, books, wood carvings, origami, and more.

Items range between $.50 and $5.  Please send your child with a small amount of money to support the 5th graders if you are able.  Please let me know if you need assistance, as I would like for every child to be able buy something small.

Thank you.

1500 HOOT Reward Friday

Our class has earned over 1500 Hoots for using CARES!  The reward for using cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control was chosen by the class.

In the afternoon on Friday, December 21, the class will have a "sleepover" party with pjs, stuffed animals, snacks, games, and a movie.  The class has decided to watch the cartoon My Neighbor Totoro (rated G).

Kids are welcome to bring in snacks to share with the class, but please refrain from sending candy or soda.  Popcorn will be provided. 

If you have any questions, please call (225-8238) or email me (wendym@mpsvt.org).

ECO DECEMBER 14

Dress your child warmly tomorrow (December 14) for out ECO day.  We will head out to Harrison Field after lunch at 12:00. Your child will need:

• snowpants for waterproof insulation
• a winter coat
• a hat
• gloves or mittens
• boots
• thick (preferable wool) socks
  

I also recommend hand warmers and long underwear.  Let's be over-prepared in order to enjoy a comfortable day outdoors.

ENGINEERING WALLS

We have started a new science unit!  We are learning about materials engineering, the engineering design process, and will apply it (ask, imagine, plan, create, improve) to build walls in our classroom.  Students will experiment with various mortar mixtures and create walls that we will test for strength.  We will complete this unit before Winter Break.

READING

Last week we learned how to be member of a literature circle, or a group of people who come together to discuss books.  Students learned how to perform different roles within a literature circle, and we applied those strategies to our read-aloud There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom by Louis Sachar.

This week the students will try out the various literature circle roles in groups that are reading the same independent reading level books.  Student roles are Discussion Director, Literary Luminary, Vocabulary Enricher, and Checker.  Ask your child to tell you more. 

OUTDOOR DAY REMINDER

Dress your child warmly tomorrow (November 30) for out ECO day.  Your child will need:

• snowpants
• winter coat
• hat
• gloves or mittens
• boots
• thick (preferable wool) socks

I also recommend hot food in a thermos, hand warmers, and long underwear.  Let's be over-prepared!

EGG CARTONS NEEDED

Hi families,

We are starting a new math unit on fractions (a detailed information sheet will come home today), and as part of the unit we need almost 100 egg cartons!  Please bring in any empty egg cartons you can. 

Thank you!

THANKSGIVING LUNCH

Our annual Thanksgiving Lunch will be held on Wednesday, November 14th.  Families are invited to join their child for lunch on this day if possible.  Our regular lunch time is at 11:25.  I will let you know if it will be different for Thanksgiving Lunch. 

Hope to see you there!

ECO REMINDER for Friday, November 9

This Friday, November 9, we will head outside at 10:30 and spend the day in Hubbard Park. Unless you have indicated that you always want school lunch on ECO days, please remember to pack hearty snacks and a lunch. Hot food in a thermos is great to pack throughout the winter. Remember to also send your child with a water bottle.

Please send your child in clothing that will keep him/her comfortable all day long. This includes: comfortable, sturdy walking shoes or boots with (preferably wool) socks, long pants, a warm jacket, snow pants (for insulation), a hat, gloves or mittens. We are in for our first really cold outing of the year so let's be over-prepared! Your child can always leave extra layers in his/her bag when not needed.

ECO REMINDER: COME PREPARED FOR THE OUTDOORS

Tomorrow (Friday, October 26^th) we will head outside at 10:30 and spend the day in Hubbard Park. Unless you have indicated that you always want school lunch on ECO days, please remember to pack hearty snacks and a lunch. Remember to also send your child with a water bottle.

Please send your child in clothing that will keep him/her comfortable all day long. This includes: comfortable, sturdy walking shoes with (preferably wool) socks, long pants, and a warm jacket. Rain and snow pants can make sitting on the damp ground more enjoyable for some; your child can always leave them in his/her bag if not needed.

Field Trip to the Vermont History Museum

On Thursday, October 25 we will walk to the Vermont History Museum to enrich our understanding of Abenaki culture before European contact.  We will sit inside a wigwam, see and touch artifacts, and learn about Abenaki daily life.  We will head out around 11:55 (after lunch) and return before 1:30 (in time for FIT).

Chaperones are welcome to join us, the more the merrier.  Please let me know if you are able to accompany us by emailing me at wendym@mpsvt.org or calling me at 225-8238.  I hope you can join us!

A Note From School

Greetings,

Now that the morning weather is quite cold, our school's main location for Lost and Found items has grown exponentially. Our school's main Lost and Found area is at the top left side of the auditorium. Classrooms may also have their own Lost and Found bins. Please encourage your child(ren) to stop to find any lost item anytime between now and Wed. Oct 17. Then, on the days of Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences we will move the items out in the main lobby/ foyer in order that parents may also assist in finding items. Items range from lunch boxes, plastic-ware, water bottles, shirts, sweaters, fleeces, hats, gloves, scarves, boots and coats. Any recently found items will be separated from the items that have been accumulating since the beginning of the school year. Any of these older items that are not claimed will be bagged up and sent to various local agencies on Oct. 26th.

Thanks so much for your help!

ECO Friday

We will head outdoors on Friday after lunch for ECO.  We will leave school around 12 noon, and should return around 2pm.  We will focus on sensory awareness, journal writing, and Abenaki culture.

Please send your child to school prepared for any kind of weather.  Last time, many kids were cold in the woods.  Warm woolen layers that can be removed when active are best.

Thanks!

NECAPs

We will take NECAPs this week.  Here are a few tips to help your child feel relaxed and ready.  Your child can:

• Get plenty of exercise.
• Eat well.
• Be well-rested.
• Bring lots of extra snacks to school for extra brain power.
• Wear comfortable clothing and shoes for movement breaks at school.
• Practice yoga breathing and stretches that we've learned at school.
• Remember to have fun outside!

Please send your child with some favorite books to read during down-time.  Thanks!

Reading Logs

Hello Families!

I did not send home reading logs on Friday.  We were running late packing up to leave after an all-school assembly regarding the Parent's Group Fundraiser and did not have time to pass out mail before dismissal.  Reading logs this week will just be Monday-Thursday.  Thanks!

Orchestra

Orchestra for 4th graders begins tomorrow morning.  Every Friday, 4th graders in the orchestra will have lessons from 8-8:40am in the band and orchestra room (first floor near the upper playground entry). 

On Fridays, children in the orchestra will miss most of Morning Meeting.

Outdoor Day Tomorrow: Dress for the Weather

Remember that tomorrow is our first outdoor day!  We will head to Harrison Field around 10:30am and return to school around 2pm.

It MAY RAIN TOMORROW, so please send your child to school in clothes that will keep him/her dry and warm all day.  Wool, fleece, and waterproof layers are highly recommended.  Also, don't forget to send your child in comfortable sneakers or supportive boots.

THANK YOU, and please contact me with any questions or if you need to borrow clothing. 

-Wendy
 225-8238
wendym@mpsvt.org

Tunbridge World's Fair

At the fair we saw old machines, tools, and modes of transportation including this cart.

Here is a piece of farming equipment that's no longer used, but is still interesting for us to observe.

We experienced Vermont's culture through farm animals like this cow.

Scholastic Book Clubs

Check out the link on the sidebar to order books through Scholastic Book Clubs!  Every online order earns coupons for free books for you and for the class.  I will place the next order on Friday, October 12.  They generally take less than a full week to ship.  You can still select books from September's and October's catalogs. 

Class Meeting

We had our first class meeting on Friday, a weekly tradition in which the class discusses issues that are affecting us all, and together we brainstorm solutions.  The kids are really empowered to take the lead and develop discussion skills, problem-solving abilities, cooperation, and critical-thinking skills in the process.

This week the class discussed two problems:  we get distracted by the loud noises coming from the playground outside our windows, and also, it's too hot in our room.  The students came up with one solution to solve both issues, and we need help carrying out their idea.  The decided that a few fans throughout the room would mask sounds, and at the same time, cool us off.  If you have an extra floor fan or one that can go on a table, please consider donating or loaning it to our classroom.

I was so impressed with how well the children conducted their first class meeting, the first of many to come.

Picture Day

Picture Day will be on September 21st.  Ordering information will come home as soon as I receive it.

Field Trip Next Week!

The 4th grade will head to Tunbridge's World Fair on Thursday, September 13 for the Agricultural Education Day.  Permission slips went home today and are due no later than Monday.  Thank you for returning them promptly!

Cooperation

This week we focused on COOPERATION!  We read Swimmy by Leo Lionni, A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams, and tomorrow we will read The War Between the Vowels and the Consonants by Priscilla Turner to discuss the theme of cooperation in literature.  We played several cooperative games and focused on how to work successfully with a partner.

Next week we will focus on ASSERTION.

Our Class Rules

After forming goals to work on this year, we created class rules to help us all achieve our hopes.  The class came up with these four rules:

Follow C.A.R.E.S. (cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, self-control)
Listen
Try Your Best
Have Fun!

First Day

 We enjoyed a great first day of school together!  We played a lot of games to get to know one another better.  We learned a lot of routines, including how to take care of colored pencils and markers (right) and how to choose books in our class library to enjoy during reading time (below).  We will continue to play and work together in the next few weeks as we build our class community.

Please send your child with snack

The school's snack program will not begin until September 10, so for the first 2 weeks of school please send your child with snacks if you are able.  I will send home the snack form as soon as I receive it.  See you soon!

Getting ready for our first day!

Hi everyone!  I can't wait to see you tomorrow; I'm very excited to start 4th grade with you.  Here is our schedule for interactive arts (specials) so you can be prepared:

Mondays: PE with the new teacher MJ
Tuesdays:  Technology with Mr. Jarrad
Wednesdays: Art with Mrs. Kane (Miss Schultz got married this summer too!)
Thursdays:  PE with MJ
Fridays: Music with Ms. Sales

Please remember to wear sneakers on your PE days, and I will see you tomorrow morning on the big playground.  Look for the sign that says "Wendy."

Welcome to the blog!  I am brand new to blogging, and will update when I have classroom news or photos to share and announcements to make.

I'd like to take this opportunity to tell all of you more about myself.  This will be my second year teaching at Union Elementary, and as many of you know, I taught third grade last year.  I got married this summer, and my name has changed from Wendy Albert to Wendy McGuiggan (mick-GWIG-an).  I enjoy hiking, playing disc golf, spending time with my dog, baking, reading, and of course, teaching! I look forward to getting to know all of you this year.