Shelburne Museum Tomorrow!

Posted on May 16th, 2012 in Uncategorized by digrandes

A reminder that tomorrow is our Shelburne Museum field trip.  We will be leaving school  around 9:30 and will return to MBS by 2:45.  Please remember to send your child to school with a bag lunch to eat at the museum.  The weather is supposed to be beautiful!  Please remind your child to wear comfortable shoes as we will be doing A LOT of walking.  Thank you to all of the chaperones who will be volunteering to help us out.

Next Friday is our trip to Ft. Ticonderoga in New York.  We will be leaving school around 8:45, however we will not be returning until 4:30 or 5:00.  Please arrange for transportations home at this time.

Awesome Puppets!

Posted on April 24th, 2012 in Uncategorized by digrandes

Check out the incredible puppets the students created as the culminating project for our Greek Mythology reading unit!  They  also wrote wonderful ‘autobiographies’ from the perspective of their chosen Greek god or goddess. On Friday afternoon they all presented their hard work to the class in the form of a puppet show.

In addition to reading many of the great Greek myths throughout this unit, the students also learned a bit about ancient Greece.  We learned what school was like in ancient Greece (only boys went to school!).  We also learned about what great artisans the ancient Greeks were.   We learned about their written language, and a bit about the architecture of the time.

 

 

 

We Did It!!

Posted on April 17th, 2012 in Uncategorized by digrandes

Well, we reached our goal and filled the compliment chart once again.    The students have done a great job working hard on some specific goals both inside and outside of the classroom.   We plan on celebrating with an activity of their choice soon.

Solo Week!

Posted on April 9th, 2012 in Uncategorized by digrandes

Just to let everyone know that  after weeks of team teaching and planning, this week is Mr. Westergard’s solo teaching week.  I will be in the building all week, and will be checking in with him regularly.   If you have any questions or concerns about school this week, you could email Mr. Westergard at westergardj@csdvt.org, send in a note, or email me and I will get a message to him.  I also want to let you know that Mr. Westergard’s last day will be Friday, April 20th.  Stay tuned for information as to a small surprise we have planned…..shhhhh.

Greek Scrolls

Posted on April 5th, 2012 in Uncategorized by digrandes  Tagged

Check out some of the beautiful Greek scrolls the students created!

Ecosystems

Posted on March 27th, 2012 in Uncategorized by digrandes  Tagged

 

In science we are in the middle of our ecosystem unit.  The students created  ecocolumns which include a terrarium and an aquarium. During the last few weeks we have seen many changes in both.  In our aquarium we watched as our mosquito fish, snails, elodea, and duckweed grew, changed, and in many cases even died. In our terrariums, the rye grass, mustard, and alfalfa are thriving.  Our crickets for the most part, are doing well, and the isopods seem to be quite hardy, and are alive and well.   The students learned about the interdependence between these two ecosystems, and we compared our ‘mini-ecosystems’ to the real environment around us.    We learned about the importance of each and every living and non-living element of the ecocolumns, from decaying matter and unseen algae, to the rocks and the snails.  This week we will  discuss and write about how events in one ecosystem can affect the other.  In the next few weeks we will learn about what happens when an ecosystem becomes polluted.

Ice Cream Party

Posted on March 25th, 2012 in Uncategorized by digrandes

Here we are enjoying an ice cream party as a celebration for doing so well on our Unit 9 math test!  Thanks Mr. Westergard!!

Clear 2-Liter Bottles Needed!

Posted on March 8th, 2012 in Uncategorized by digrandes

Today we began our Ecosystem science unit.  In order to move ahead with creating our ecosystems, we are in need of clear 2-liter bottles.  Rinsed out seltzer, diet coke, or other soda bottles work great.  Please grab any you may have in your recycle bin, or even ask neighbors, and send them to school as soon as possible.  We hope to begin creating the terrarium part of the ecosystem on Monday.  Thanks so much…this is a really fun unit, and we’re all looking forward to it!

Design Technology

Posted on February 25th, 2012 in Uncategorized by digrandes

This past week our class and Mr. Galati’s class had a lot of fun designing sail powered cars.  Our goal was to design a car that would go at least 18 feet.  All week we planned, sawed, drilled, and glued.  Then on Friday we tested them out.  Most all went the 18 feet, with the exception of one minor blow up (Yes, Conner, that would be you!!).  Check out the pictures of all the cool cars!

 

Valentines and Conferences

Posted on February 10th, 2012 in Uncategorized by digrandes

Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching!  Our class is planning to have a short celebration on Tuesday, February 14th  at 2:15 pm.  We will be enjoying some goodies, making cards, and handing out Valentine cards (optional, but please include all students if participating).   Everyone is welcome to stop by and join us.  Wishing you a happy Valentine’s Day!  

Parent/teacher conferences will be held on Tuesday, March 6th from 12:00 – 8:00.  This is a non-student day.  I will also be holding additional conferences on Monday, March 5th from 3:30 – 5:00.  A sign-up sheet will go home today (Friday).  Please fill it out with your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choice and get it back to me by Monday.  After that, you may call  (or email: racicotj@csdvt.org) the office to schedule a time.

Next Page »