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Summit Street School
17 Summit Street, Essex Junction, Vermont 05452 | (802)-878-1377

Multiage News
November 7, 2008

This was an exciting week in the history of our country! Our children were
able to learn about the events by putting tally marks on Mrs. Hughes’ chart
stating their choice for the new president. Mr. Neil led a first grade
discussion about the qualities of a good leader. Mrs. Perkins’ group figured out
that children who are now six or older will be able to vote in their first
presidential election in the year 2020. Those who are five now will vote for the
first time in 2024. Classes talked about how the laws state that to be
president, a person must be at least 35 years old and has to have been born in
the United States. First graders read a booklet called “White House Pets.”
Ask your child about the unusual animals that presidents have had at their
home in Washington, D.C.
Important papers will be sent home today. Look in the Friday Folders for the
first report card of the school year and the yellow confirmation notice for
conferences. Please return the white envelopes next week.
The Words of the Day for this week are:
will each about how up
Most weeks, children go to the computer lab twice. Great sites that we have
gone to are: _www.ictgames_ (http://www.ictgames/) for math and
www.starfall.com for reading.
In reading, kindergarteners have been learning to read number words, and
they have been reading about counting pumpkins. First graders have begun to
read the books in the “Frog and Toad” series by Arnold Lobel. Using the
friendship theme, students are making booklets giving examples of when people were
good friends.
Last year, the classes made up a song that we often sing. It is to the tune
of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”
Read, read, read a book!
Read one right away
Picture books and chapter books,
Read a book today.
R-E-A-D! READ!

Mr. Neil and Mrs. Perkins

Friday Newsletter – Friday, October 31, 2008

 

Our words of the day for this week were:          which       their          if          said         do        

  When you come upon these words, please have the children read them, write them, and use

them in sentences.  Thanks.

 Math Notes:  Wow, what a great month of Math work we have had in October!  The Ks have

been working hard to build their number skills.  We are constantly working on the three parts

of the “Number Concept Triangle.”  That being “receptive number sense” (hearing a number

word or sounds representing a number and being able to reproduce that number), “expressive

number sense” (verbally being able to represent a number set) and “number representation

(being able to write numbers that they see or hear.  The children are doing a great job of really

getting to know numbers through these 3 areas.  In 1st grade, we are currently working

our way through Unit 3 of the EveryDay Math program, and are currently working with the

Frames and Arrows activities, which involve manipulating numbers along the number line. 

Included would be skip counting, subtracting, and seeing number patterns using the number line. 

We’re always busy in Math class, and we are certainly growing solid math skills.

 Happenings: 

* A reminder that we have ended the first marking period of this school year.  Wow that went fast! 

That means that report cards will be going home next Friday for the first graders, while a Skills

checklist will be going home for the Kindergartners.  Please use these to help you form any questions

about how your child is doing for the upcoming conferences.

* Please check your Friday Folders for the conference sign-up sheets.  We have enclosed

them this week, and will schedule folks as we receive them back.  Conferences are set

for Monday and Tuesday of the week of Thanksgiving, (11/24 and 11/25) 

Please call or e-mail with any schedule issues.  Thanks.

*We have an upcoming Field Trip, on Friday, December 12th to the Flynn Theatre.  We will

be leaving early in the morning, and coming back just around lunch time.  We will be seeing

the “Ant and the Elephant.”  Further information will be coming home next week.

 We hope that you have a great weekend, and that

you remember to read every chance that you get!  Thank-you. 

Mrs. Perkins and Mr. Neil

 

 Weekly News and Announcements from the Multi-Age Classes

                                

Friday, October 10, 2008

 

Our words of the day for this week were:

            one               had               not                  but                 what         

When you come upon these words, please have the children read them, write them, and use them in sentences.  Thanks.

 

Math Notes:  We are really working hard on our math skills.  We practice counting everyday, and that is starting to show.  Please continue this at home, by counting with your child whenever the opportunity exists.  Also, we have started our routine of “Problem Solving Thursdays.”  Every Thursday through the year, we will now be solving a math problem as part of our math routines.  The Ks are working on problems that require the “addition” of numbers, reinforcing counting skills.  The 1s are more focused on “Division” of numbers, taking things apart.  Watch for the problems your child has done in their Friday Folders, and talk with them about how they solved it.  And remember, “organization is the key!”

 

Writing Time:

We are getting heavy into our Writing time.  The 1st graders are writing every day, while the Ks continue to work on letter formation, and simple sentence formation.  They are making great progress, and whatever writing you can do with them at home will greatly help.  Thanks!

Happenings: 

* A reminder that we are still looking for classroom volunteers.  If we missed you with our first recruiting letter, you can still get in on this exciting offer!  Send us an e-mail or call us, and we’ll work out a time for you.  Our “Training Session” for volunteers is set for next Thursday evening,  October 16th, 6-6:45pm.  WE hope that you’ll join us.

* Cold mornings, warmer recess time, makes for hard choices when it comes to “what to wear” at recess.  To help your child out, please send along a light fleece or sweatshirt for recess so that they can stay warm, and not wear the heavy coat.  It will make everyone happier!  Thanks.

*With Parent Conferences not coming along until Thanksgiving week, we know many of you have questions about your children.  Please feel free to grab us for a quick conversation about any concerns you might have.  We may look mean, but we’re very approachable!  Our goal is always to work together with you to make your child’s educational experiences the best they can be.

We hope that you have a great weekend, and that you remember to read every chance that you get!  Thank-you.

 

Mrs. Perkins and Mr. Neil

 

 

October 3, 2008

The air is cooler, the leaves are turning, and we have been learning about
squirrels. We have read several books about the subject, both fiction and
nonfiction. Two of our favorites have been Scaredy Squirrel and Nuts to You.
We have learned a song about a grey squirrel, and it will be printed on the
back of this newsletter. Did you know that the squirrel’s tail is very useful
to him (or her!)? Ask your child what the big, bushy tail allows a squirrel
to do that we cannot do.
Thanks for sending in the cereal boxes. Kindergarteners have been using them
to find many of our words of the day, while first graders have been
discovering consonant blends, words with two vowels together, and word endings called
suffixes. Reading the cereal boxes in the morning is a good way to start
the day!
Picture Day was last Tuesday. Class pictures were taken outside on the
playground equipment. The individual pictures will show many empty spaces in the
toothy smiles of our students. We should have the pictures back at school in
a few weeks.
First graders have begun Word Study. This is a series of spelling and
vocabulary lessons using word family patterns. This week we worked on the “ice”
pattern. We started with a “What’s in the bag?” activity. The bag was
filled with ice cubes! We generated a list of words with “ice”---dice, mice,
rice, slice, spice. splice. Kindergarteners are starting to use our magnetic
letters and cookie sheets to identify beginning sounds of words.
Our Words of the Day for this week were:
from have I or by

Be sure to check out our website. There are several new items there. Have
fun this weekend reading a good book and playing in the leaves!

Mr. Neil and Mrs. Perkins

 

Grey Squirrel

Grey Squirrel, Grey Squirrel, Swish your bushy tail.
Grey Squirrel, Grey Squirrel, Swish your busy tail.
Wrinkle up your funny nose,
Hold a nut between your toes,
Grey Squirrel, Grey Squirrel, Swish your bushy tail.

Mrs. Perkins and Mr. Neil

Friday Newsletter – Friday, September 26, 2008

 

Our words of the day for this week were:

            his             they          at                  be              this         

When you come upon these words, please have the children read them, write them, and use them in sentences.  Thanks.

 

Math Notes:  We have had a very good week of math this week.  We are really working hard on learning all about “numbers.”  The 1st graders are counting, in a variety of ways (by 1s, 2s, 5s, 10s, 100s,), as well as backwards. And we have finished the 2nd Unit of our EveryDay Math Journals.  The Ks use our “Math Hands” to help us count, ask your child what that means.  We also had some great discoveries as we made “numbers” to decorate our room this week.  Thanks for a great week of Math.

 

Happenings: 

*  Mrs. Hutton, who teaches Mr. Neil’s class a health lesson every Thursday afternoon, is working on safety issues.  She has requested that every child spend some time with their families to learn their first and last names; their street number and name; and that they live in Essex Jct.  Mrs. Perkins class can work on this as well, as they will be doing this activity in the 2nd half of the year.  Thank you for your help with this.

* On Friday we said “good-Bye” to our good friend Joe whose family is moving to California.  Joe has been an awesome member of our class for over a year, and we will miss him.  Good luck Joe, we’ll be writing you soon!

*We are recruiting volunteers!!!!  If you are interested in being a volunteer in the classroom, and helping us out with our many learning activities, then we need you!  A letter with information, times, and dates is on the back of this letter.  Please read it, and return it ASAP, so that we get started soon.  Thanks.

 

We hope that you have a great weekend, and that you remember to read, read, and read every chance that you get!  Thank-you.

 

Mrs. Perkins and Mr. Neil

 


September 19, 2008

The children have gotten to know the daily routines, they metnew ?teachers, and they are making new friends.? It is nice for us to watch them come together as a unified group.

Kindergarteners have been singing "Old MacDonald" this week.? They cut out red barns and drew their favorite farm animals.? They are learning to match up the words for the animals and the words for the sounds that the animals make.? First graders are reading stories in small groups, and they have been making Word Ladders.? In the past, we have worked on changing the first letter of a word to make rhyming words.? We made it harder this week by changing the last letter of the word to make a new word.? Try this activity at home!

Our Words of the Day this week are : was? are? with? on? as
On the back of this newsletter are two peoms that we have read together.? Everyone is becoming a "Word Detective" by searching for the Words of the Day in everything
that we read.

Now that it is getting colder, we have found out that several children in our school have jackets that look the same.? It would be very helpful to have your family name written inside of your child's jacket.

We hope to see all of our families at Open House next Tuesday evening.? In the classrooms you will see the paper people that the children have made, the Monday journals, and the books that we read.? Children will be practicing making introductions.

Find a good book to read with your child this weekend!

Mr. Neil and Mrs. Perkins

With You

I will run with you.
I will play with you.
I will read with you,
and ride bikes with you.
I will be with you
to the very end,
all because I am your friend!

As Fast as a Cheetah

I can be as fast as a cheetah
I can be as busy as a bee.
I can be as slow as a turtle.
I can be anything
I want to be!

                        

                                            September 12, 2008
Multi-Agers Complete First Full Week
We are happy to announce that the multi-age classes have completed the first “full” week of the 2008/2009 school year. After the first 2 shorter weeks, it was great to get a chance to see how a whole week would unfold. And it did exactly as we expected, with the children doing a wonderful job of adapting and building their “school skills.” The children are already becoming “one big family” and really seem to enjoy each other in all aspects of our daily routines. We are proud of how much everyone has grown already!

It’s Assessment Time!
With another week, comes another round of assessments to help us get to know the children and their skills. During this week Mrs. Perkins did a spelling assessment with the first graders, and will use the information gathered to help develop her “word-building” activities. Mrs. Perkins also gave 1st graders a reading level assessment, to help plan future instruction. Combined with the Kindergarten assessments given to the Ks the week before by Mr. Neil, Mrs. Perkins has plenty of information to guide her instruction.

Count, Count, and Count Some More….
During the first 2 weeks of the school year, we concentrated on learning about patterns, and how they help us to solve math questions and problems. But with this week, we began our tasks of developing solid number skills. The first graders have very solid number skills that we are reviewing, strengthening, and learning how to use in other areas of math (time, money, problem solving, etc.) The Ks are really beginning to work at their understanding of counting, numbers, and developing a strong sense of the characteristics of number. We use a variety of activities, all with the intended outcome of developing a strong sense of number skills. Mr. Neil has been doing a variety of assessments to get to know what the Ks know, and now away we go!!!!!

Notes and Tidbits:
…Just a reminder, if your child has a birthday coming up, and you want to send in a treat, please make arrangements with either Mrs. Perkins or Mr. Neil so that we can make it a smooth and fun birthday celebration. We ask that you send treats for both classes which is 38 children.
…Keep an eye on our classroom website. We are in the process of updating it, and will have it working so that we can update it daily so that you are always informed. You can reach it by going to the Summit website, clicking on “classroom connections” and then clicking on “Neil/Perkins.”
Have a great weekend, remember to read with, and enjoy your children!!!!!!!!

September 5, 2008


The multiage classes are getting off to a great start! There are 38
wonderful children altogether in our two combined classes. We have spent a lot of
time meeting new people, exploring our rooms, learning the routines, doing
math and reading activities, and having fun.


Thank you to everyone who has returned the First Day of School packets. If
you have not sent the papers back yet, please do so soon.


All children have been to the Learning Center. Mrs. Blanchard, our
librarian, has been allowing the children to sign out one book. When that is
returned, another may be borrowed. First graders go on Wednesdays, and
kindergarteners go on Friday afternoon.


We are beginning to do our fall assessments. Children will meet individually
with one of the teachers so that we can find out what level they are in
reading. The testing will be done again in December and in the spring.
Every day children find a new Word of the Day. We use these words in
sentences, the Morning Message, and even find them in our reading. The Words of the
Day that we have had so far are:

                             the     of      and     a       to       in       is


We had our first assembly of the school year. The whole school gathered in
the gym and sang the new Summit Street School song. We reviewed the school
rules and met new teachers. We will be going to assembly every other
Thursday morning at 8:15.


We hope to have this newsletter printed on the school website each week. At
the present time, you can see a picture of our first graders by clicking on
_www.ccsuvt.com_ (http://www.ccsuvt.com/) , Summit, Classroom Connections, and
then Neil/Perkins.


If you have not visited our classrooms, please stop in. We love working with
your children and we hope to get to know all of our class families.


Mr. Neil and Mrs. Perkins