Last Day of School and Summer Skills

Dear Families,

It's hard to believe that it's already the last day of school.  The year has flown by, and the students have all grown so much this year!  To help keep their brains growing this summer, I encourage students to challenge themselves.  Here are a few suggestions how:

The Sumdog website (www.sumdog.com) is a fun and simple way to practice math.  Kids can choose one skill to focus on (for example multiplication), or work on a range of skills.  Though the problems they will be presented with do not require many steps or deeper thinking, they are timed and push kids to work quickly and accurately.  With addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, it's important to be fluent with facts.

A student in our class recently showed me another website for practicing skills that also brings rice donations to help alleviate world hunger (freerice.com).  This site explores many subject areas, so you can choose what your child needs to work on, or just what he/she is interested in testing knowledge about.  Correct answers result in rice donations, and incorrect answers are taught to the game player.

Yesterday students took notes on book presentations given by other 4th graders to get ideas for books to read this summer.  One of the best ways to support your child this summer is to encourage him/her to read!  Read together, create a book discussion group, or bring your child to the library.

Those are just a few ideas.  Remember, the more fun you can make learning, the more your child will want to do.  You can study maps on road trips, cook together to have your child work with fractions and measurements, and visit enriching museums.  If you have questions about how to support your child's learning this summer, don't hesitate to email me at WendyM@mpsvt.org.  Though I may not check my email daily over the summer, I will get back to you within a few days.

Thank you for a wonderful school year.  I look forward to working with all of you again next year.

Sincerely,


Wendy McGuiggan
4th/5th Grade Teacher

Rain Date for Field Day

Because of the wet weather we will hold field day on Monday, June 17 in Hubbard Park.

Chaperones Wanted!

Our class would love to have more chaperones on upcoming field trips!  If you are able, please let me know if you can join us on any upcoming trips.  We have very few volunteers right now, and while I know not everyone can dedicate the time, please consider doing so if you are able.  Please look at the important dates list to the right of this post for field trip dates.

Thank you for your support!

-Wendy McGuiggan
 WendyM@mpsvt.org

Endangered Species Day: A SUCCESS!

Our assembly, fundraiser, and flash mob were all successful.  Thank you to the students for their hard work, parents for their support, and Mrs. Kane, Miss Closter, and MJ for integrating this project into their curriculum.

Check out today's Times Argus to see our class on the front page with Miss Closter's kindergartners! 

Endangered Animal Day TOMORROW

Hello Parents!

We are just about ready for tomorrow's activities.

We will be running the all-school assembly on the upper playground from 8:30-8:50.

The bake sale and craft fair will be in our classroom from 9-11 (set-up starts at 8).

One glitch in the plan is that so far, I have been unable to find battery-operated speakers to use for the flash mob (planned for about 12:30 on the State House lawn).  If you have speakers that we can use with an iPhone, please let me know.

The kids have worked extremely hard, and tomorrow's culmination will be very exciting!

A Message from MIT about SCRATCH

Scratch Day 2013

Do you know a kid who's excited about learning to program, or wants to meet others who do it?  Then bring a laptop and come explore Scratch, a fun, playful programming language designed for beginners.  Montpelier's Scratch Day meetup will offer activities, demonstrations, and suggestions for projects to get kids coding fast in this colorful drag-and-drop environment created at MIT's media lab. Again, note that we are NOT providing computers!

Join us for this informal hands-on workshop on Saturday, May 18 from 3-5 PM at Local 64.  For questions or to let us know you're coming, e-mail julie.robichaux@comcast.net.  For more information about worldwide Scratch Day, visit day.scratch.mit.edu.

ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR FRIDAY, MAY 17

Our class has worked hard to get ready for Endangered Species Day this Friday.  Though originally an ECO date, we are cancelling ECO in order to make way for our activities.  Families are encouraged to come if able.

8:00-8:20 Set up for bake sale in classroom.  Volunteers are VERY welcome to come help out.  We may also need help setting up for the assembly.

8:30-8:50 Assembly on Upper Playground.  Students in our class have planned and will lead the monthly school assembly.  The theme is centered on endangered animals.

9:00-11:00 Fundraiser in classroom.  We will sell baked goods, crafts, and jewelry to raise money for the World Wildlife Fund.

11:00-11:10 Clean up

11:10-11:50 Recess/ Lunch

12:10 Go to State House for Flash Mob (to the tune of "Help" by the Beatles) to raise awareness and money for Endangered animals.

If you are able to come help out at any time during the day, or able to contribute to the bake/ craft sale, we really appreciate it.  Every little bit helps.

Thanks!