FIT Begins Today

For those of you who do not know, FIT stands for "focused instruction time," and it's an important part of our schedule.  For a half hour four times per week, students who need a double dose of instruction that has already been taught are able to work with teachers in small groups.  Meanwhile, students not needing interventions work with Instructional Assistants on enrichment work.

The focus of FIT for two weeks is place value and multi-digit addition with regrouping.  Students in the enrichment groups will focus on math problem-solving.

Please let me know if you have any questions about FIT.

Great Field Trip

We had a great field trip to Barre's Rock of Ages granite quarry and museum today.  Ask your child about what he/she has learned today.

Also, we explored the beautiful Hope Cemetery where we saw unique graves and sculptures made from granite and other stones.

This field trip links to our rocks science unit, and also to our social studies curriculum which focuses on all things Vermont.

ECO TODAY

This is a reminder that we have ECO today.  We will head out as close to 9am as possible, and will return to school by 12:45 in time for lunch.

Today we will head to Hubbard Park and apply what we know about the properties of rocks to build miniature rock walls.

Please make sure that your child has layered clothing to stay comfortable today.

A message from the school about playground fundraising

Our Union Elementary School/Community Playground Raising Begins----

But only with your help!

As anyone can see when they visit our school/city playground at Union Elementary, our two playgrounds are in dire need of repair and improvements. For the upper playground, building  a sun shelter and replacing our beloved, 20-year old amphitheater would be a terrific start.  As for the lower playground, our wish to build a Naturescape area for our younger children to engage in more imaginative, nature-based play, has been a dream waiting to happen.

We have just learned about the opportunity to receive matching funds, up to $25,000, from the state’s 2015 Recreational Facilities Grant Program. This means we have the potential to match dollar-for-dollar any funds we raise between now and Oct 10th. That’s right...Oct 10th, which doesn’t leave much time!

To make this happen, we need your help:

• People to work on completing the grant application.
• People to solicit letters of support (i.e from the City Council, School Board, community members)
• People to help develop a budget for the projects
• People to help get the word out about this fundraising event
• People to contact area agencies and donor organizations

We need donations in ANY amount from community members, friends, relatives ( payable to the UES Playground Improvement Fund)

If you are able to help out at all, please contact theresa@mpsvt.org

Grammar Videos

In order to reach visual and musical learners, we have learned about some parts of speech with the help of short musical videos.  Here are the links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byszemY8Pl8 (prepositions)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdUXxdmhIsw (subject and predicate)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koZFca8AkT0 (pronouns)

In addition, we have learned about nouns, verbs, adjective, and adverbs.  There are fun and helpful YouTube videos for those as well (all of Schoolhouse Rock is available).  If your child seems confused about a certain part of speech, I encourage you to show a video to him/her and to have a discussion to help him/her understand better.

We will practice grammar throughout the year starting in October with Daily Language Review, which will help your child develop a strong understanding of English grammar.

October 28th is Picture Retake Day

On Tuesday, October 28th we will take our class photo, as there was no time on the original date.  Also, children will be able to re-take individuals photos if needed.

First Assembly of the Year Coming Up

Next Monday, September 29th, we will have our first assembly of the year.  The goals of the assembly will be to reaffirm our commitment to our school-wide rules (C.A.R.E.S. or Cooperation, Assertion, Responsibility, Empathy, and Self-Control) and to have fun as a community.  The assembly for grades 3-5 will be at 8:30 on Monday morning in the auditorium.  While you may have to stand, families are very welcome to participate in all assemblies.