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

Spring?

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a terrific March break. On Monday, the children all eagerly shared about the adventures they had over the two weeks. It sounds like fun was had by all!

This week we began two new units of study. In social studies we are traveling to the continent of Africa. We are studying about the geography of the continent and it's placement on the world map. We will be focusing most of our attention on the country of Egypt. This week we explored the importance of the Nile river in Egyptian life, both modern and ancient. We learned about ancient Egyptian culture including pharaohs and gods and goddesses. Students have been enjoying drawing the important gods and goddesses and decorating our room with them. We need your help with some upcoming projects. Each child needs an empty checkbox as well as a box of sugar cubes (NOT sugar dots) by the Wednesday, April 6th. Thank you!

We spent the beginning of the week talking about the tragedy in Japan. It is still amazing to me that on our last day of Japan study the country experienced such a devastating earthquake and tsunami. Naturally, the children have had a lot of questions regarding the Japan situation, and are astutely drawing parallels between Japan and Haiti. Mr. Felix has helped to put us in contact with a program through which we can send letters and pictures of love and hope to children affected by the natural disasters in Japan. We will be working on that next week.

In reading, we have started reading Helen Keller by Margaret Davidson. The story of Helen Keller is so powerful! The kids have been fascinated by learning about her childhood and her differences. As part of this study, we will visit the Perkins School for the Blind on April 19th. We can take one chaperone with us! Let me know if you would like to join us. Preference will go to those who have not yet been able to chaperone.

In other news, we are looking forward to Arts & Poetry Night on April 28th. The evening will begin at 6pm in classrooms, where students will read their own poetry. Then everyone will move to the hallways to view art work. Also on May 5th at 6pm we will have our Spring Concert for grades 3 and up. More details to come.

Have a great weekend!

Fondly,

Lee

Asian Banquet

Wow! It's difficult to believe that we are heading off on our March vacation! In some ways it feels as though the school year just began. Today we say goodbye to our beloved teacher and friend, Mrs. Tukman, who will soon be having her baby and moving to California with her family. Best of luck, Mrs Tukman! You will be missed! At the same time we welcome Ms. Scholl, who has worked alongside Mrs. Tukman for the past two weeks. She will be a wonderful addition to our community. Welcome Ms. Scholl!

Thank you for your help and support throughout our study of Japan. The Asian Banquet on Wednesday proved to be a wonderful culmination of all the children's learning and work. I was so proud of them! It was a joy to share their excitement as they showcased their research with their iMovies and papers. I hope you enjoyed learning from them.

This week we also finished reading Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. This is a beautiful, yet haunting, story of a young girl who develops leukemia in the aftermath of the atom bomb that destroyed Hiroshima. We have had some wonderful conversations about war, life and death, and peace. I want you to be aware that your child may continue to have questions and need to process these topics with you in the weeks to come. Please let me know it anything surfaces that you would like me to address further.

I hope you enjoy these photos from the Asian Banquet. Have a WONDERFUL March vacation!

Be well,

Lee

Japan

From Mrs. MacGregor:

The past two weeks, third graders have been heavily involved in their Japan research projects. This week, students began writing the rough drafts of their research papers. This has involved learning how to write organized paragraphs. They are doing a wonderful job!

We are looking forward to our Asian Banquet on Wednesday, March 9th @ 11AM. Today I am sending home an invitation to this event. Please RSVP as soon as possible with the number of people attending so that we can plan for the amount of food that we will need. Thank you in advance for this!

DRESS for the Asian Banquet: We have kimonos in our school dress up supply that children are welcome to wear for the banquet. If your child has some clothes that are asian-inspired, they are welcome to wear them. Please DO NOT feel obligated to purchase any clothing for this event!

Kokeshi Dolls: Next week we will be making Kokeshi Dolls in class. For this project each child will need an empty paper towel roll. Please send them in ASAP. And if you happen to have an extra, we could certainly use it! Thank you.

Have a great weekend!

Lee

This is from Sascha:

Dear parents,

I am working on Japan in Social Studies. I am studying the Japanese Bobtail Cat and the Japanese Macaque. It is fun doing the work for it. My favorite part is nothing! I like every bit of it! Did you know that a Japanese Bobtail can eat a deer? Or did you know that a Macaque can throw a snowball at people? To learn more come to the Asian Banquet.

Love, Sascha

Poetry

This week in Third Grade we:

*Enjoyed a wonderful workshop with poet Lyn Hoopes. We learned about our "poet's voice", how to string words like beads and make patterns with sounds, and how to honor our imagination with words.

*Got our SmartBoard installed! We had fun using it for our morning message, and playing math games on it. Ask your child how it works!

*Had a fabulous trip to the Boston Children's Museum. We visited a traditional Japanese home and found things that were the same as and different from our own homes. We learned the art of suminagashi, ancient Japanese paper marbling.

* Learned about "remote control reading." Ask your child what this is all about!

*Continued to research our topics about Japan.

Coming up:

Friday, 2/11: Pasta Supper @ 5:30

Friday, 2/18: Parent/Teacher Conferences (No School for kids)

Monday, 2/21: Presidents' Day (No School)

Monday, 3/14: Spring Break begins (Classes resume on 3/28)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Time Capsule

I got a replacement computer just in time to have the kids post this video they made for All School Meeting this week! Enjoy learning about what the third graders think they'll be doing in 25 years. This work was done for the school's time capsule which will be opened in 25 years.

Enjoy!

Learning, stretching, growing

We have been working hard this week!

In reading, we continue to read and analyze the classic novel, Anne of Green Gables. We have been looking carefully at what the characters say, do, and think in order to learn more about their personalities.

In writing, students have worked diligently to publish their fiction stories! This week, this involved finishing their rough drafts, sharing their stories with a friend and getting feedback, and completing a self-assessment rubric and reflecting on their work. Students were asked to think about what they liked about their story, what they learned about writing, what they could add or change about their story in order to make it better, and how they can improve as a writer.

In math, we continue to learn about multiplication and practice our facts. Students now are working on committing the 2's and 3's facts to memory. Each night, they will bring home their self-made flashcards to practice. Please help your child with this! It is important to internalize these facts for more efficient computational work. We also spent a lot of time focusing on "model drawing" as a way to solve math word problems. Each child has the model drawing steps in their math folder and should use them from now on when completing word problems.

In social studies, we continue to learn about Japan. In integrated groups, children have been exploring the asian continent and making maps of Japan. In addition, we have been working with Mr. Felix and Mrs. Donahue to learn about iMovie, which we will use for our culminating research projects. News Flash: On Wednesday, February 9th, the third grade will take a field trip to the Boston Children's Museum. There, we will visit a traditional Japanese home and practice a traditional Japanese art.

In SBS news, we have begun working during our Buddy time on ROBOTICS! This is a lego-computer programming program. The kids are really excited! Ask your child about it.

Upcoming Dates and Events

Wednesday, 2/9: Field Trip to The Boston Children's Museum

Friday, 2/11: Pasta Supper @ 5:30

Friday, 2/18: Parent/Teacher Conferences (No School for kids)

Monday, 2/21: Presidents' Day (No School)

Monday, 3/14: Spring Break begins (Classes resume on 3/28)

Be well!

Writing Fiction

This week SBS 3rd graders have been immersed in the planning of their fiction stories. Each student developed a main character, thinking carefully about the character's physical characteristics, personality traits, wish, and problem. Once this character development was complete, children mapped their story using a "story mountain" board. This was comprised of five scenes, including the problem, turning point, and resolution. It is inspiring to see the investment each child has in their story and the excitement with which they are greeting this work. At the end of the week, children met with writing partners to share their work. In these partnerships, they were asked to share one compliment, one question, and one suggestion they had about their partner's story. This collaboration helped to strengthen each students' ideas before we move on to the next stage of the writing process.

Another exciting aspect of our work this week has been the exploration of multiplication facts.

We have begun with the 2's table. Students made the connection that you can count by 2's in order to use the 2's facts. We made fact cards and students worked together to begin committing them to memory.

In technology this week, we continued learning about, and experimenting with, iMovie. This tool will be used to create movies about our Japanese research next month.

Upcoming Dates and Events

Monday, 1/17: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (No School)

Tuesday, 1/18: Sub Day!

Friday, 2/11: Pasta Supper @ 5:30

Friday, 2/18: Parent/Teacher Conferences (No School for kids)

Monday, 2/21: Presidents' Day (No School)

Monday, 3/14: Spring Break begins (Classes resume on 3/28)

Have a wonderful, long weekend!