Alligator News

September 4, 2012

        

We’ve gotten off to an enthusiastic, energy-filled beginning to the school year.  Thanks to all of you who completed the forms required at the start of the school year for all students.  If you haven’t yet sent them in, please take the time to finish them so our records will be complete.

Attached you will find a copy of our general weekly schedule.  This schedule may also be viewed (in a different format) at my page on the new school web site (www.waitsfieldschool.org).  I will also post this and future newsletters on my blog (http://mralligators34.blogspot.com).  If you want to continue receiving a hard copy of the newsletter, please let me know.

Homework:  As we all try to transition our way from summer to school days while taking advantage of these last opportunities to enjoy evening daylight, I will try to ease us into the homework routine.

v There is always the expectation that each student will read a minimum of 20 minutes of self-selected material outside of school each day. This may include any combination of silent reading, reading aloud or being read to.  Reading charts are going home today and are due back Friday.  In the future a new reading chart will be sent home each Friday.

v Each student will also have ten spelling words to study each week—5 in common with his or her spelling group and five selected specifically for each student.  A spelling quiz will be given each Friday.

v Each student is also working toward fluency in basic math facts (addition and subtraction facts through 20; multiplication and division through 12).  Students will be assigned a math facts group to work on each week in preparation for a timed quiz on Friday.

v The Investigations math program sometimes requires short homework assignments that will be sent home by our child’s math teacher (either me or Ms Hale).

v For now I will also be sending home optional math and/or writing assignments, so if you or your child feel the need or desire to take on a greater challenge, these will be available.

v Reading charts will go home today; all other homework assignments will begin next week.

Book Orders:  I am sending home a selection of book order pamphlets from Scholastic.  There are two ways to order:

v Fill out the relevant order forms (including your child’s name on each form) and return them to me with a single check made to Scholastic Book Clubs to cover the total of all the items ordered.  Orders should be returned by next Friday, September 14.

v You may also order online by going to http://orders.scholastic.com/KR2C8, setting up an account and placing your order with a credit card.  The link to this site is also available on my classroom web page.

Please continue to watch for more information about upcoming events and my efforts to create some more interactive communication between home and school.  I will also be sending out a form in the coming week for anyone willing and able to offer some volunteer time on either a regular or occasional basis.

I hope your child has been sharing with you some of the things we’ve done and discussed so far this year.  If you haven’t already heard, ask about chess, Gregor the Overlander, logic number puzzles, Humpa-Dumpa, theater games, marble ramps, things we care about, subjects and predicates, magnets, Wollygoggles and skipping. 

It’s been an exciting start to a new year and I’m looking forward to a year of great growth in a wide range of areas for all the students in this class.  Thanks again for entrusting them to me each day.

So it goes,

Thom McAllister

         

Alligator News

June 12, 2012

         A Midsummer Night’s Dream

to be performed this Friday, June 15

at 8:00 a.m. in the Waitsfield

Elementary School gymnasium.

All are welcome!

         

Alligator News

May 29, 2012

        

It’s been a busy month and there’s still a lot to do in the few weeks remaining in this school year.  Here’s a brief update on a few of the things we’ve been doing and planning recently:

Cylinder Racers:

Students have completed competitions in drag racing (speed), distance racing and uphill racing.  Still to come are a break dancing competition and the ever-popular demolition derby.

Shakespeare:

Our examination of Shakespeare and his times have included a look at London in the late 16^th century (great theater and interesting clothes, but a fairly disgusting sanitary system and fairly harsh judicial system).  Students also listened to Susan Cooper’s historical time travel novel, King of Shadows, in which a young man travels back to Elizabethan England and gets to act on stage at the Globe Theater with William Shakespeare.  Besides being a great read, this book held added interest as the play being performed is A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the same play we’ve been rehearsing in class.  Students are getting into their roles, growing accustomed to the beautiful but unfamiliar language in this abridged script, and working to learn their lines so they can focus on becoming better actors.

Our hope is to get to the point where we feel comfortable performing this version of the play before a live audience.  More information about this will be sent home soon.

Keynote Presentations:

As part of our study of Vermont, each student chose and researched a topic of interest with a Vermont connection.  Under the guidance of Kay Marcelle, students then used the Keynote program to put together a slide show on the computer, then presented their shows to the rest of the class.  Topics covered a wide range, from dairy farms and maple syrup to Abenakis and Vermont veterans.  This was an excellent opportunity for students to practice both research and presentation skills.

Roman Numerals:

As students read through their scripts for A Midsummer Night’s Dream and I began to hear questions such as, “Am I in Act eye-eye-eye or Act eye-vee?” I realized most students had, at best, only a passing familiarity with Roman numerals.  So we’ve played around with the basics, and by now most students can figure out what act we’re in (and many will be able to look at the credits in a movie and tell when it was produced).

Auction:

In anticipation of an end of year auction, students have been earning “Auction Points”—awarded for bringing in reading charts and home/school folders, completing assignments in a timely manner, performing a.m. and p.m. classroom duties, showing courtesy and kindness to peers and adults, scoring well on weekly quizzes (math facts, spelling, geography) and attempting optional weekly math problems. 

During the last week of school students will be asked to bring in donated items for the auction.  These may be gently used toys, games, stuffed animals, books, CDs, etc. that are no longer used in your home but might be of interest to another child.  Students may also bring in baked goods or other homemade items—or any other items that might be attractive to 3^rd and 4^th grade students.  Please no live animals (including siblings)!  More information about the exact date of this event will be sent home soon.

A lot more has been happening, but hopefully your child is filling you in on some of that.

So it goes,

Thom McAllister

         

Cylinder Racers

Students used cylindrical bottles and cans, rubber bands, paper clips and various "drive shafts" (pencils, popsicle sticks, chop sticks, etc.) to create self-propelled cylinder racers.  Each group is working to overcome problems related to friction, power (too little or too much), imperfect cylinders and "blown engines".  Eventually groups will compete in drag races, distance races, uphill races and the ever-popular demolition derby.

Bread & Puppet

Bread & Puppet

Bread & Puppet Video?

Bread And Puppet

Excitement has been at a high level as we have had two opportunities this week to work with the 4 marvelous puppeteers (Susie, Katherine, Ali & Lili) from Bread and Puppet.  Your child's descriptions and comments will cover more than I can ever say, but I'm posting a few photos so you can see every at work (and at fun!).

Getting Slimed

Following up on our discussions and investigations into various states of matter, students today combined a liquid (white glue), another liquid (tap water) and a solid (borax) to create a substance ("Slime") that seemed to have the characteristics sometimes of a liquid and sometimes of a solid.  It gave us a great opportunity to discuss solids and liquids (including a spirited discussion about whether borax powder was a solid or a liquid--finally using an example of marbles in a jar to decide that borax was probably a collection of thousands of tiny solids).  We also touched on the difference between physical changes and chemical changes before exploring the differences observed among the various batches as well as the attributes of each individual's slime.  Along the way I think some students had a bit of fun playing with their slime.

Citizens of the Month

Due to a glitch somewhere between the back of my chair and the keyboard of my computer, I've fallen behind in posting our Citizens of the Month.

So, congratulations to our Citizens of the Month for December, Anda and Jakob, and as well to our Citizens of the Month for January, Julia and Isabelle!