Mrs. Golesworthy

I hope you enjoyed the Mother's Day books.  The children worked like Trojans all week to get them done in time! 

Upcoming for us:
Monday = Day 4 (Music)
Friday 24th  = Mismatch Day/Toiletries Drive
Friday 31st = Open House & Last Brown Bag Lunch*

Writing = We are practicing writing "how to" books.  Mrs Patch inspired us with her pictorial slideshow and the children then wrote the steps to go along with their drawings.  This week they will work some more on their Organisms Research, and write a final report into their own version of Scholastic News.
* You are invited to come to the classroom earlier than usual on Friday, 31st May so that you can see the latest written work.  The children will have all of their work from the year to show you, and we will finish up with the brown bag lunch at 12:20 pm - 12:50 pm.  If you are unable to make that day/time, you are welcome to drop by before school one day during that week.  Just let me know which day, so that I can check that it's not a day where I have to go to a meeting.

Math = The children made their own paper clock faces last week, then cut and glued reams of construction paper to turn them into all kinds of clocks, from grandfather clocks to pocket watches.  They are using them to learn/review how to tell the time, how to calculate lapsed time, and how to solve problems relating to time.  

Reading = We have been reading a lot of non-fiction books, as part of our study of Organisms.  Some children find that they prefer non-fiction to fiction, especially if they have a strong interest in a particular topic.  Others, though, are very attracted to series of books that they can get 'stuck into' for a long period of time.  Some recommended authors are:  Jenny Nimmo (The Red King series), Erin Hunter (Cat Warriors series), Lois Lowry (The Giver series), and Lissa Evans (Horton series).  Please let me know of other books/series of books that your child has discovered, and I'll post them on this blog for you all to check out.  If you're like me, not much beats the feeling of finding a book you love, and not wanting to put it down. 

Homework = Remember to pick and choose from the assignments that come home, since some children are beginners and others are older or more experienced.  For example, some children need to use the word list to practice handwriting, others are working on learning to spell the words. Must-do's are to work on mastering some spelling words each week, practicing math facts (addition/subtraction first, then multiplication/division if ready for more), and reading every day.

Have a great week,
Ann

What a wonderful, warm weekend.  

In school this week:
Monday = Day 6 (Library and Computer Lab)

Field Trip forms to Chinatown (June 6th) will come home this week, I promise.  There will be no charge for the bus ride into Boston, as this will come out of a school grant fund.  We will only have to pay for the dim sum at Hei La Moon Restaurant.  Some parents will be able to ride the bus with us, and other parents will be able to carpool and meet us there.  More details to follow.

Curriculum:
Math ~ mental math strategies
Writing ~ learning to write an information report on an animal of our choice
Reading ~ non-fiction texts
Science ~ organisms

Thanks to the Smith Family for sending in large containers of fish food for our guppies and beta fish.  Some of our pickle-jar guppy couples have started having babies, so we need to keep them all well fed.

Thanks also to the Jenkins family for donating a Kindle HD Fire to the classroom as well as a gift certificate to spend on books to get our collection started.  I have spent several days getting familiar with this device, and feel in a position now to start ordering e-books and audible books.  My goal is to build up a library of audible books to replace the aged books-on-tape cassette player.  (This malfunctions regularly and is not an attractive option for our Daily 5 time.  No-one ever chooses to listen to a book on tape these days, even if it were in good working order!) The Kindle may be used by 1 - 4 students at any one time, and my plan is to order a 'seed' book by an author whose other books I have in the classroom,  as well as Book # 1 in a series, so that students will be inspired to read more by that author/series from the classroom books.  It will take time to build up the audible books collection, but I am very excited to be able to begin this project, and I know the students will be highly motivated to read and listen on the Kindle too.  Thanks Jenkins's.

A low-key week ahead,
Take care,
Ann

Welcome back.  It certainly was quite a week.  I hope you had the chance for some R & R with your children. We will be jumping back into the routine, and focusing on working hard these last few weeks of the school year. 

Coming up this week:

Monday ~ Day 1, Earth Day.

Wednesday ~ DASH speaker, Mr. Andrew LaPointe, will address the students on how he lives with his visual impairment, helped in no small part by his seeing-eye dog.

Friday ~ Cole School Cares Day (Food Drive/Crazy Hat Day); BROWN BAG LUNCH 12:20 - 12:50 PM.

Coming up soon:

May 3rd - Early release day at 1:15 PM.

June 6 - Field trip to Chinatown.  Permission slips will be coming home this week.

June 18 - EXPO for multiage and second grade.

Spelling ~ I am noticing a steady improvement in the children's spelling, so thank you for the efforts you are making at home to help them practice and learn their spelling words.  In this week's homework folder, you will find updated lists of their progress to date.  Please keep these spelling lists handy, and use them for ongoing practice as they work towards mastery of up to 150 words by the end of grade two.

         Some of our experienced spellers have mastered the words at this point, so they should work on 'content' words such as those they come across in the science and social studies lessons.  They can also make a running list of challenge words that they'd like to learn to spell, and keep working on those.

ELA ~ We will continue reading non-fiction books, and begin to do some research for a report on a living organism.

Math ~ We will do more problem solving with multiplication bar models (gr.2 ), double digit addition and subtraction (gr. 1).

Books in Bloom ~  I hope you were able to visit the Boxford Town Library to see our Books in Bloom work of art!  Many thanks are due to Mrs. Panagos and Mrs. Delfino for helping the children with their Jack in the Beanstalk project.

DASH - Disability Awareness Starts Here

The children learned to walk the hallway while blindfolded using a cane, and how to walk with the help of a guide; how to sit and eat a cup of jello and pour a cup of water blindfolded without spilling a single drop, and how to act as a guide for a blind person.  They learned about braille, and typed their own initials in Braille.  Thanks to parents Mrs. Scheirey, Mrs. Novack, Mrs. Traveis and Mrs. Andrews for helping with this program.

Have a good week everyone,

Ann

 Thank you for sending in treats for the Goodbye to Miss Reid Ice-Cream Party.  We all had a lovely time eating, then we wrote letters and made cards for Miss Reid to send her on to her next challenge.   We are glad that she will be in school for another month before leaving us for good!  On Monday, she has promised to come back to see us so that we can have a "photo-op"!

This week:
Monday - Day 2 (Library)

Math ~ Double-digit addition and subtraction (Gr. 1);  Multiplication and Bar Models (Gr. 2)
Writing ~ How to write a non-fiction report.
Reading ~ Review:  How to pick a "just-right" book"; How to put books back on the shelf correctly
Science ~ Observing and researching information related to raising our guppies
Social Studies ~ DASH (Disability Awareness Starts Here) present the last session on Thursday.  Last week we learned how to walk with a blind person and be a good guide. This week we will learn more about that, as well as learn about adaptive materials such as Braille machines.

Have a good week everyone,
Ann

Monday - Day 3 (not Day 4)
This is Miss Reid's last week in our classroom.  We have all enjoyed getting to know her, and we will all miss her.  Fortunately, we will still be able to see her at Cole School, as she begins working in a special education classroom next week. 

Books in Bloom
Thanks to Mrs. Panagos and Mrs. Delfino for their help with this project.  The children are working together to make a project based on Jack and the Beanstalk.  Their finished work will be on display at the East Boxford Library next weekend.

Math - Grade 1 will be learning to add double digit numbers, with regrouping.  Grade 2 will continue with multiplication.

Have a great week,
Ann

 Last week the children enjoyed the nutrition assembly, Eat Like a Rainbow.  They sang along to songs that taught them about the benefits of eating healthy foods.

Here's a quick glance at what's coming this week.
Monday:  Field trip to the Newburyport Firehouse Theater. BROWN BAG LUNCH REQUIRED.  Chaperones are Mrs. DiDonato, Mrs. McGee and Mrs. O'Brien. 
Thursday:  The DASH program begins and will take place over the next three Thursdays.  The children will learn about the disability of impaired sight.

Math - The multiagers will continue working with multiplication and division, and will begin learning Times Tables for 2, 5 and 10.  First graders will also begin working on building and writing numbers to 40, comparing numbers and recognizing patterns in number sequences.

Reading - Non-fiction books continue to be our focus this week.  Tumblebooks.com continues to be a popular choice during Independent Reading time.

Writing - The students will learn how to write an opinion of a favorite book. 

Science - We have set up the guppy jars, as I am sure you have heard.  Each jar has a male and female guppy, and we will continue to observe and care for them until the end of the year.  The students are drawing labeled diagrams and writing notes about what they observe, and we will discuss changes and reasons for these, as the year progresses. The children may bring home their guppies in June, with your permission.

Homework - Please drop me a line if Book Buddy Bags are surplus to requirements.  Some children are avid readers at home, and have a wide selection of 'home' books that they are reading.  In this case, bringing home a weekly book from the classroom may be unnecessary.  Just let me know, and I'll stop sending them. 


Have a good week,
Ann

Books in Bloom

Is anyone available to help with this crafty, hands-on project?  It will involve helping the multiagers make a beanstalk, magic beans, flowers and assembling these into a "flower-box", ready for display at the Boxford Library.  Melissa Panagos is running solo with this at the moment, but she would appreciate some help I'm sure.   The first three parents to contact her to offer their help might qualify for a free cruise to the Galapogos Islands.

Conferences
It was a pleasure to have some time with you last week to discuss your child's progress and set some goals for the remainder of the year.
I will put together some common themes/talkpoints and include them on next week's blog.  Watch this space!

Have a good week everyone,
Ann

The best laid plans....!  The Fairy Tale Plays will now take place:
Monday at 10 A.M.  Please be seated in the cafeteria by about 9:50 A.M.
Afterwards, you are all invited back to the classrooms for brunch (as previously planned).

Other news this week:
Math ~ multiplication and division
Grade One students are using counters and making drawings to represent these operations.  Grade Two students are moving towards solving equations using the symbolic representations. 

Reading ~ non-fiction will be our focus this month.  We will be identifying topics that interest us, and noticing the features of non-fiction books such as captions, index and glossary.

Writing ~ opinion
The children have had some practice writing their opinion about a topic, and providing supporting details.  We will continue this for the remainder of the month, moving towards writing opinions about books that we have read.

Science ~ life cycles
We will be setting up the guppy jars this week, and attempting to raise a guppy family in each jar. This tradition was started by Ms. Cook and Mrs. Mahoney, and is a something that the multiagers have been looking forward to all year.  Ironically, the guppies in the 'mother tank' started dropping like flies last week, for what reason I can't tell.  It could be age, since some of them have been around for up to four years.  We will keep you posted!

Science ~ water cycle
This week, we have a former Cole School student coming to make a presentation about rain barrels.  Later in the week, the Boston Aquarium staff will also be visiting the second grades and multiage classes, teaching us about the properties of water.

Upcoming:
DASH ~ end of this month and early April. 

Have a good week, and see you tomorrow if you can make it!
Ann

Happy March to all,

This is the week we've all been waiting for.  The scripts are finalized, rehearsals are underway, and the big day approaches. 
Please come to the cafeteria around 9:50 am on Friday.  The curtain rises at 10:00 am!

Mrs. Salisbury, the multiage children and I will be brainstorming ideas for costumes and props this week.  This is a home-spun production, and there will be no need for store bought rentals.    After the play, friends and family are invited back to the classrooms for a light brunch. (Room parents, thank you for organizing this!).

Other matters:
Reading ~ We are beginning a unit on non-fiction texts.  We will be learning about the features of non-fiction compared to fiction, and will practice some new reading strategies to help us scan for information and search for details.

Writing ~ We are finishing up writing our own fairy tales.  We are also learning how to write an Opinion piece, providing reasons and supporting details.

Math ~ We are beginning a unit on multiplication and division. 

Next Thursday and Friday (14th and 15th) are early dismissal days, as you know, for parent conferences.  Please send a note to clarify dismissal plans if your regularly-schedule pick up is to take the bus home.  If you haven't signed up for a conference yet, please check the sidebar and email me with your preferred day/time. 

DASH begins at the end of the month.  If any of you are able to offer some time to help present this program to the students, I would encourage you to do so.  It's a great program, and the children always enjoy the activities. 

Looking forward to seeing you on Friday!
Ann

Hello Everyone,

I hope you all had a recuperative and fun-filled vacation week!  I got away for a few days to Washington, DC to catch up with eldest daughter, Carys.  She gave us a tour of the White House and the West Wing, and we peeked out from her office window over the grounds of the Presidential pool and basketball court!  Very cool. 

How proud we all were to see our little-uns run around the gym 100 times.  Thanks, Mrs. Mugge, for the popsicles.  They went down a treat.

Tomorrow is back-to-school, and a busy few weeks we have in store.  Here's the rundown:

Monday 25th Feb:  Day 3 (Gym) ** The audobon program will be held inside due to the snow. **

March 8th: Fairy Tale Play and Brunch.

Make sure you have signed up for a parent conference in March (see side-bar).  And check out the Calendar (field trip to Chinatown has been booked!!!)

Have a great week,
Ann