Dear Families

  The week has flown by and I'm sure the rest of the month will too!  Today we celebrated filling the classroom "Catcoin" container with a reading party.  The kids were so excited and engaged!  The rest of our day was filled with Geography quizzes and Genius Hour presentations, so we did not get to SeeSaw. 

Our World Geography studies started after Thanksgiving Break and kids are off to a great start!  They're learning the location of major cities, countries, and bodies of water through various activities (including the weekly quizzes) and are reading non-fiction texts about the continents. (Reminder that Geography quizzes happen each Friday.  Students have some time to practice at school, but should also be studying at home.) We use this work to not only learn about topics related to our world, but also to teach non-fiction reading strategies to students.  This non-fiction reading work will continue as we learn a bit about immigration and into the new year when we learn more about specific cultures and countries.  

With our focus on non-fiction reading and world geography, we are not currently working on a writing piece.  Students will be regularly writing in response to reading however, and will be completing quick writes daily.  In January, we will begin research on a country, which will lead to an informative writing piece. 

A reminder that students have a "Country 4-Door Share" this month too.  Additionally, we hope to do a book swap similar to what we did last year before the December break.  We are also planning (actually the students will do the planning...) on celebrating winter holidays around the world the Thursday before break.  Keep your eyes out for more information next week.  

As students complete their Genius Hour projects, I am trying to post the video to SeeSaw.  For some reason, this is tricky and time consuming for me, so please be patient.  I'm finding the best way to share their presentation video is a YouTube link.  The last round of Genius Hour presentations will happen on Monday 12/18.  I sure hope you're hearing about this from your children!  (some students will need parent support in delivering final projects....)  If you would like to come in for your child's presentation, you are certainly welcome to.  2nd cycle of Genius Hour projects are already in action or will start in January.  

I hope to see most of you at the holiday fair tomorrow!  Thank you all for your support!

Today we did a map quiz, some kids did 25 countries, others did mountains, rivers and oceans. Also today there were 3 Genius Hour presentations, And we finished Truflix North America. Also this whole week there was hour of code, where there are tons of different projects and games to choose from all involve coding and a scientist/coder came in. Hour Of Code

This is a Genius Hour project.

Malina Kirn Is A Scientist.

Today we looked at world atlases and did a green worksheet. The worksheet focused on North America but also had world questions such as "whats the largest waterfall" or "whats the highest mountain in North America.

October = Walking Wednesdays

Please join us for Walking Wednesdays!

October 2017

October has arrived, and you know what that means...Walking Wednesdays!  This year we thought we’d continue an opportunity for more students to participate in this wellness activity.  

Beginning October 4th, all K-8 SCS students and families are invited to meet at the “parade” green on the corner of Church Street and Route 7 (Farmer’s Market location).  We will meet up with buses D, G and H at about  7:45-7:50.  Any students who want to get off the bus and walk to school are encouraged to do so.  There will be cones set up on the right (north) side of Church St. with the Shelburne Police there to assist.  Teachers, staff, and community members will supervise students as they cross Route 7, walk down the sidewalk by the library and coffee shop, and head west on Harbor Road.

• October 11th, Bus D,    Driver~Diane
• October 18th, Bus G,    Driver~Damian
• October 25th, Bus H,    Driver~Lucy

Although, we would love to have everyone participate, this is an optional activity.  Any students remaining on the bus will continue on to the school.

A visit from Vermont Author Natalie Kinsey-Warnock

Hello Families!

We had an exciting morning here in 5th grade because we got to meet Natalie Kinsey Warnock!!  She is a Vermont author and she has many great stories to tell.  We enjoyed learning about her life, hearing some of her stories, and LEARNING from her about how to write and where to get inspiration!

One of her primary messages is that we ALL have great stories right in our families!  She very much encourages students to go out and find great stories right in their own families or family histories!!  

So.... I have asked all students to come home tonight and gather a family story.  They can record it with a voice or video recorder, write it on paper, etc.  This assignment is more for them than it is for me, so please support them in this.  If they have a digital version or addition of/to their story, it can be emailed to their email address (or mine).  

I did share questions that they might ask as a way to prompt for specifics (for example, How did you celebrate holidays when you were growing up?  or What was school like for you?), but they can gather any story that wants to be told.  

I hope that you all enjoy going on this journey with your child!  

Cara :)

Hello Families, 

We've had so much fun over the last week with our field trip to Shelburne Farms and our special visit from Vermont author Natalie Kinsey-Warnock!

The students have also been diving deeper into the curriculum starting a narrative writing piece,  literature circles (using Natalie Kinsey Warnock books), and cooking with their Solar Ovens in science!  We also started word study this week!

Make sure to check out SeeSaw this weekend for posts from both me and your kids about some of their work.  

Also, please remember to sign off on the reading on your child's goal sheet before it comes in tomorrow (they're due Friday this year)
.  It seems as though many people forgot last week.  

And finally, don't forget to sign up for a conference if you haven' t yet. 

Thanks!  Enjoy the weekend. 

Cara

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Day 2= rearrange the classroom!

Today students took on the design challenge of rearranging our furniture. It was an exciting task and I love what the students came up with!