Goodbye Mrs. McCarthy

Hello Families,

What a wonderful week we've had here in room 17.  This week, we continued our study of subtraction, moving towards "spillover subtraction" facts. Some parents might know this strategy as regrouping. We've learned that, using a number line, you can decompose your number into tens and ones, and then jump backwards. You might first jump back to a decade number and then jump back the rest. Ask your child how they might solve the problem 43-17 on a number line. We practiced our subtraction in many ways, including dice games and equation work sheets. We even helped Mrs. McCarthy design her classroom library for next year by "spending" $50 on books from a Scholastic Book Order. The class loved getting to pick out their favorite books, and practiced subtraction, too! Here's a peek in:

 

We also said "Goodbye" to Mrs. McCarthy this week. She has completed her solo week and her internship experience at Rick Marcotte Central School. She will earn her teaching certificate in December and we hope to see her teaching in Vermont soon!

Other Things to Ask Your Child About:
- Our School-wide celebration of watching Frosty
- Our new science unit of earth changes that happen fast and slow
- Six Rolls
- Subtracting groups of 10 on a number line
- Writing nonfiction books

Have a wonderful weekend!
Kelly

Landforms and Bodies of Water Experts

Hello Families,

We had an exciting week of learning at RMCS concluding with our first snow day of the year.  This week in Writing Workshop we continued work on our landforms and bodies of water projects by making models based on the information we’ve learned.  Each student prepared a map of their landform and body of water, then molded their salt dough following their plans. Students also selected 5 labels that they believed were important for viewers to understand their model.

Once their flipbook, poster, or postcard was completed, each student shared with the class one thing they learned or found interesting about the project they researched on KidsInfoBits.

Then we had a gallery walk where students displayed their models together with their flipbook, poster, or postcard.  Students walked around the classroom and read about each others landforms or bodies of water.

In Reading Workshop we continued reading nonfiction books and expanding our knowledge on topics across books.  The “book fairy” visited each student bringing them 3 books on topics like animals, habitats, weather, food, and transportation. The class worked hard looking at books part by part, to find connections in keywords, pictures, and chapters, all while continuing to add to knowledge foundation we’ve built.  Then students shared their new knowledge like experts with their reading partners.

Other things to ask your child about:

-Thankful

-Appreciation Station

-Exploring maps

-Facts from our nonfiction read alouds: Volcanoes & Tigers

-Subtraction

Have a wonderful break!

Mrs. McCarthy

Collaborative Learners

Hello Families-

We have had a wonderful week of learning here in Room 17. This week, we have done a deep dive into our study of landforms and bodies of water. To gain a wide understanding of many different landforms and bodies of water, students worked in partnerships to study one type of landform or body of water, such as mountains, valleys, oceans, rivers and many more. Students then worked on a collaborative project to share their understanding. Students had the choice of either a google slide or a poster. It has been wonderful to see students show off their creative skills. Here is a sneak peek into our collaboration:

Then in writing workshop, we have taken a mini-break from our traditional writing workshop format to complete a short, focused research project on one landform or body of water from around the world. Students are able to access KidsInfoBits, an online resource aimed at elementary aged students, to help them get to know their specific research topic well. Now that research has been completed, students are going to have choice in the way they share their new learning by either creating a pull-out book or a post card. Students have loved getting to access their learning through many mediums.

This week, Miss Meg has brought us a new delicious recipe: Kale Smoothies! Believe it or not, it was a huge hit in our class. Students used the kid-powered food processor to break the kale down a bit, then added kale, blueberries, apple cider, ginger and bananas to the blender and watched the magic happen. Nearly all students voted for the green smiley "I loved it!" Yum!

Reminders:
- You will find a lime green sheet of paper in your child's Friday Folder that is your conference notification sheet. I look forward to bragging about your stellar students! Please sign and return at your earliest convenience.
- Next week is Mrs. McCarthy's solo week! This means that she will be the sole teacher for the entire week. I will be in the building, and in to teach small group instruction, but will be out of the room for most of the week. She is a wonderful teacher and will provide an enriching week of learning.

Other Things to Ask Your Child About:
- Tiger Terms
- Researchers using a graphic organizer
- Measuring items in popsicle sticks and unifix cubes
- Understanding keywords in nonfiction texts
- Harvest Lunch

Have a wonderful weekend!
Kelly

Harvest Fun!

Hello Families-

We've had a spook-tacular week here at Rick Marcotte Central School. We had a super time celebrating the season with some yummy snacks and fall crafts. A huge THANK YOU to all of those families who donated their time or supplies to our harvest festival. Here is a peek into our fun!

Although we had a lot of fun this week, we also did some serious learning! This week in math, we began a new unit on double digit addition. In this unit, we have practice adding ten and multiples of ten to a number using a 100's grid and an open number line. Then, we learned that when we are adding ones to a double digit number, one helpful strategy is to first add to the nearest decade number, then add the leftover ones. We are creating a strong foundation for double digit addition!

Other Things to Ask Your Child About:
- The Kingdom of Wrenly
- Using KidsInfoBits to start our new research unit
- Landforms and bodies of water
- Measuring in Popsicle sticks and unifix cubes
- Telling time on an analog and digital clock

Reminders:
Please send back your conference forms as soon as possible so I can notify families in plenty of time! I look forward to meeting with you to brag about your fabulous children!

Have a wonderful weekend!
Kelly