WOW!

I cannot believe that today is our final day of school! It has been a wonderful year--really two years with your children. Thank you so very much for sharing them with me! I have truly enjoyed working with you all. Getting to know your children and your families has been such a pleasure.

I have heard back from some of your regarding your summer plans. My recommendations for summer work for those who are not able to attend Jodi Lawless' summer class are as follows:

1). Keep a daily reading log. Have your child read for at least 25 minutes a day.

2). Keep a daily writing journal.

3). Practice phonics skills by ordering and completing the "Explode the Code" Workbook 6.

Website: http://eps.schoolspecialty.com/products/details.cfm?series=1460m

4). Practice math facts. Keep skills fresh by ordering and completing the Singapore "Extra Practice for Primary Mathematics 2" Workbook.

Website: http://www.singaporemath.com/Extra_Practice_for_Pri_2_p/epfpmus2.htm

I wish you all a fabulous summer filled with adventure, joy, and much family time!

Love,

Lee

End of Year

Wow! It has been a busy week, and it is only going to get BUSIER next week! On Wednesday, we had a wonderful presentation from two Dartmouth fire fighters, Fireman Andy and Fireman Anthony. We learned all about fire safety, practiced what to do in case of a fire, and got to explore a fire truck. It was a really fun and informative program.

Today the Rhythm Room group visited Friends Academy, doing workshops with each grade. As I write, they are practicing outside for their All School performance at 2:00! What a beautiful day for a show!

There is a lot coming up next week. When we return to school on Tuesday, SBS is having our annual "Step up" day. Our third graders will spend some time in the 4th grade classroom with Mrs. Lawless. This will be a great opportunity to get a sneak peak at what lies ahead. On Wednesday at All School Meeting we will present Myriam Jeanniss (from the UMASS Dartmouth Haitian-American Association) with the tuition money we raised earlier in the year to send three Haitian students to Ecole Mixte Albert Choubert. In addition, Mr Felix will talk about the laptops that we will be sending down to this school. Please join us if you can!

Thursday we will have our SBS End-of-Year Celebration in the Commons from 8:30-9:30. I am really looking forward to honoring each of our students and celebrating all their learning and hard work with you!

On Friday, we will head to the Mattapoisett YMCA for our class picnic. Please read the orange sheet I sent home yesterday for more details.

WHEW! It is hard to believe that we have reached this point in the year! I am certainly going to miss working with you and your children . . .but I will not focus on that yet!!

Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

Warmly,

Lee

Jamie Lard

This week we had two visitors from the Perkins School. Jamie Lard, a woman who is deaf-blind, and her assistant, Christine, spoke with us on Wednesday. Jamie shared about her experiences growing up without sight and hearing. She showed us photos taken at various points throughout her life, as well as a video of how she performs certain daily routines in her own home. The children had wonderful questions for her, and they all seemed quite inspired by her story.

We are finishing up our biography papers! This has been a long, yet rewarding process. Children used their laptops for this writing piece. Using the computer program Kidspiration, each student took notes and wrote drafts on the computer. Several students commented that the use of the laptop made the writing process much easier!

In math, we have been learning about telling time. This can be a tricky concept, but all students are doing extremely well with it. They are all very motivated to learn this skill!

The next several weeks will be extremely busy! Please mark your calendars with the dates below.

Monday, 5/23: Last Constellations (Celebration)

Wednesday, 5/25: In-school performance of Beauty and the Beast

Friday, 5/27: Rhythm Room Workshops

Monday, 5/30: No school (Memorial Day)

Friday, 6/3: YMCA picnic

Tuesday, 6/7: Last Day of School

Have a wonderful weekend!

:)Lee

Getting ready for Grandfriends!

Students in third grade have been busy working on their biography projects! Everyone did a wonderful job packing a bag for their biography person. It was such fun to listen to and watch each other as we unpacked the famous bags.

This week students have also been busy constructing posters that visually represent the information that they have learned through research about their biography person. We will share all of this work with our Grandfriends tomorrow on Grandfriends' Day. In addition, we have been practicing with the first and second grades to get ready for a special Grandfriends' Day concert that will take place at 11:15 tomorrow. A reminder that tomorrow is a "Dress Day" for all students.

We have also worked this week to choose a poem from our collection to illustrate for the Lower Division Poetry Anthology. These will be distributed to students towards the end of the year.

Upcoming Dates and Happenings:

Wednesday, May 5th: Jamie Lard (A woman who is blind-deaf) visits 3rd Grade

Wednesday, May25th: In-school performance of Beauty and the Beast

Friday, May 27th: Rhythm Room Workshops and Performance

Monday, May 30th: No School (Memorial Day)

Friday, June 3rd: Grades 3-5 to YMCA for end-of year picnic

Tuesday, June 7th: Last Day of School for PS-3rd Grade

Have a wonderful weekend!

:) Lee

Earth Day and Arts & Poetry

Hello!

It is so nice to end this week with a glorious, sunny spring-like day! It has been a busy week with our all school Earth Day celebration on Wednesday and Arts & Poetry night on Thursday. I was so proud of our children as they stood at the podium and shared the poetry that was inspired by their work with artist-in-residence, Lyn Hoopes. On Earth Day, our class pledged to REDUCE, REUSE, and RECYCLE. I am pleased to notice that our pledge from last year, to limit the amount of trash we create at snack and lunch times, has made a huge difference. Our class has been generating very little trash this year! Bravo to our students AND parents!

This week we began our Biography project. These are the people that our students are studying:

Ean: Barack Obama

Mira: Amelia Earhart

Ethan: Claude Monet

Sascha: Leonardo Da Vinci

We are utilizing the computer program Kidspiration to take notes as we read our biography books. This is a nice way to transition our writing and research skills to the computer, which is the main tool that students will use to research and write in later grades. Simultaneously, we are beefing up our typing skills through the use of the computer program Type to Learn.

Please remember that the Suitcase Project papers and props are due next Wednesday, May 4th. We will be sharing this project with our special visitors on Grandfriends' Day next Friday, May 6th.

This week we received an exciting trunk of materials from the Perkins School! Children explored writing in braille and were able to see some interesting materials designed for blind people. These included an edition of Harry Potter written in braille!

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Warmly,

Lee

Hello! This has been a really fun week of learning. I am so proud of your children and the wonderful progress that they are making in all areas.

We continue to read the story of Helen Keller's life. As we learn about the challenges she faced, and the tools that she and Annie Sullivan employed to help her communicate and read, we are having very rich conversations about our own learning. The kids are fascinated to learn more about sign language and braille. On Tuesday, we will visit The Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, MA. This is one of my FAVORITE field trips! It is such an amazing visit that really can have a huge impact on students as they stretch their understanding of, and perspective on, life.

This week, we began constructing sarcarphagi, pyramids, and mummies in our integrated social studies groups. In class, we also began writing hieroglyphics and making our own cartouches.

In math, we have turned our attention to money, as children count money, learn about money words, and utilize their multiplication facts to count and compare change.

In writing, we have two projects underway. First, we started a "potato project"! Students were asked to pick a potato out of a pile, look at it carefully, and then take careful notes about the details they noticed about their potato. Then, we mixed all the potatoes up and each child had to identify theirs! Now, the potatoes have gone home and children are making potato heads! (See assignment.) These potato heads will serve as inspiration for fiction stories next week. Secondly, kids are working on their "One Monday" story utilizing green screen technology.

In other exciting news, Mr Felix recieved a grant to send 5 computers to Ecole Mixte Albert Choubert (formerly Ecoil Soleil) in Haiti! He brought them in for us to play with! They are really neat. Ask your child about them.

NEXT WEEK is a short one. Remember, there is no school on Monday (for Patriots' Day) or Friday (Good Friday). On Tuesday, we will travel to The Perkins School. On Wednesday, we will celebrate Earth Day at All School Meeting.

Have a wonderful, long weekend!

One Monday

This week we have been hard at work and play! We are fully immersed in our study of Egypt and have been learning about its rich history. The children have been fascinated to learn about all the things that originated in Egypt, including paper, ovens, balls, and checkers! Next week we will begin constructing sarcorphagi out of check boxes, mummies out of clothespins, and pyramids out of oak tag! Children will write about what kinds of things would be important enough to them to bring to an afterlife, and include these in their pyramids. If you haven't already done so, please send in an empty checkbox in for your child to use. Also, I have been told that it is very difficult to find non-"Dots" sugar cubes. I will do some investigation this weekend and try to find the traditional sugar cubes!!:)

Students have been working with Mrs. Donahue in technology to bring our version of "One Monday" to life. (Remember the challenge Mrs. Gangi's Kindergarten class gave to the school to continue their work? If not, ask your child!) After writing about what happened on a farm on a very hot week, Mrs. Donahue is helping us to use "green screen" technology to tell the story. We will post the finished product soon!

In Math, students have been diligently practicing their multiplication facts. This can be very difficult. Please continue to support this learning at home. Also know that children have access to a multiplication board and blocks when working through these problems at school.

Next week we will begin a fun writing project using potatoes! Stay tuned . . .

Have a wonderful weekend!

:)Lee