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Thursday, March 27, 2014
Monday, March 17, 2014
Hands on Nature and Walls
On Tuesday we had Hands on Nature. I'd like to thank my parent volunteers, Lynn, Trish and Roxanne, for coming in and teaching us about bird nests. We had a puppet show about the different kinds of nests that various birds have. They were able to look at actual nests and identify the bird that went with each kind of nest. They also talked about the types of materials that birds use to make their nests. Then they built there own nests and tested them to make sure that they could hold some eggs (chocolate of course!). Check out the photos from this experience.
We have now wrapped up our 1st Engineering Unit where we learned what it was like to be a Material Engineer. This week we planned out and built a wall with our own mortar recipe. Each group got to create their own mortar and decided what materials to use. They got to use 3 scoops and could choose between sand, soil and clay. Most groups used 2 scoops of clay and 1 scoop of soil. After the wall was built, we let it dry for a few days. On Friday they got to see how well their wall could withstand a wrecking ball (golf ball on a string). All of the walls eventually gave in. Some turned out to be stronger than others. What we discovered was that most mortars had too much clay in them and they cracked. This caused the walls to come down quicker. We also discovered that the rocks should have been staggered instead of being put one on top of the other. Today, groups met and came up with a plan on how they would improve their walls. Unfortunately we will not have the opportunity to test out their new improved plans but they at least got to experience all of the steps involved in the Engineering Process. Our next Unit we will learn about being a Mechanical Engineer.
Have a great evening,
Nancy
We have now wrapped up our 1st Engineering Unit where we learned what it was like to be a Material Engineer. This week we planned out and built a wall with our own mortar recipe. Each group got to create their own mortar and decided what materials to use. They got to use 3 scoops and could choose between sand, soil and clay. Most groups used 2 scoops of clay and 1 scoop of soil. After the wall was built, we let it dry for a few days. On Friday they got to see how well their wall could withstand a wrecking ball (golf ball on a string). All of the walls eventually gave in. Some turned out to be stronger than others. What we discovered was that most mortars had too much clay in them and they cracked. This caused the walls to come down quicker. We also discovered that the rocks should have been staggered instead of being put one on top of the other. Today, groups met and came up with a plan on how they would improve their walls. Unfortunately we will not have the opportunity to test out their new improved plans but they at least got to experience all of the steps involved in the Engineering Process. Our next Unit we will learn about being a Mechanical Engineer.
Have a great evening,
Nancy
Concert Date Change
The first and second grade concert has been changed
from Tues,. April 8th, to Thurs., April 10th, at 6:30pm.
Please note this is different from the date on the school calendar. Your
child will be bringing home their song pack this week, which includes a letter
with the concert details.
March PTO Notes
Join the PTO List Serve - think of this as Front Porch Forum
specific to Shelburne Community School, a periodic digest of announcements,
help wanted and other topics. It can allow for more timely, easy managed
communication within the school and parent community, for key subjects such as
upcoming happenings (budget forum, school play, soccer tryouts, get out the
vote, etc.), as well as help wanted (‘we could use a hand with
International Pot Luck cleanup’, mentoring volunteers wanted, etc.), among
other relevant topics.
If you would like to be added to the List Serve, please e-mail Courtney Tharpe at ctharpe25@gmail.com.
Fundraising Update
▪ “Like” Shelburne Community School Facebook Page
Highlights from Principals Report
▪ Spelling Bee 2014 - after 3 hours and 45 minutes and going 42 rounds without misspelling a word, Thomas Daley prevailed as the winner and will represent SCS in the Statewide Bee to be held next month at St. Michael’s College.
▪ Fiddler on the Roof - congratulations to the 32 middle school performers who provided four great performances in front of crowds in excess of 200 each night!
March 19th – Red Barn Pick Up
May 9th – Comedy Night Fundraiser at the Old Lantern
If you would like to be added to the List Serve, please e-mail Courtney Tharpe at ctharpe25@gmail.com.
Fundraising Update
▪
Dynamic Dates – the information went home
this week. If you didn’t get the forms
and the tickets, you can download them here:
Because of the snow days we've
postponed the Dynamic Dates drawing from Monday, 3/17 to
Wednesday, 3/19. This means that tickets will be
due on Tuesday, 3/18.
▪
New Spring Fundraiser - Red Wagon Plants –
we will be selling vegetable plants and herbs for your garden along with
flowers all from this local company in Hinesburg. Look for your order packets to come home on
March 28th, with orders due back April 11th and pick up on May 22nd.
▪ Amazon – the PTO has made almost $500 so far this
year. So please remember, if you shop on
AMAZON please take an extra step and enter the site through the link on the PTO
page. The PTO will earn up to 15% of
your purchases! Please remember that you
need to use this link each time you shop for the PTO to benefit.
Fund Spending
Fund Spending
▪
March Grant Meeting – will take place on
April 2nd from 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm. Anyone
interested in participating in this committee meeting, which awards grants to
teachers and staff, is welcome to come.
Help Wanted
Help Wanted
▪
Red Barn Delivery – help with unloading
and distributing the Red Barn delivery on March 19th. Contact Randy Sweeney at sweeneyrs@gmail.com if you are able to help anytime between 1:00
pm and 6:00 pm
▪
PTO Board Positions – the PTO is looking
for a new Secretary that would start next school year (2014/2015). Also, if anyone is interested in being
Treasurer or Co-Chair starting during the 2015/2016 school year, please let us
know as we would love to have an apprentice program in place for next year with
these positions.
Other Business
▪
Bruegger’s Fundraiser for the Choir and Wind Ensemble
– Sunday, March 16th from 7:00 am – 3:00 pm if you bring in the
flyer below, 15% of your purchase will go back to the Choir and Wind Ensemble.Other Business
▪ “Like” Shelburne Community School Facebook Page
Highlights from Principals Report
▪ Spelling Bee 2014 - after 3 hours and 45 minutes and going 42 rounds without misspelling a word, Thomas Daley prevailed as the winner and will represent SCS in the Statewide Bee to be held next month at St. Michael’s College.
▪ Fiddler on the Roof - congratulations to the 32 middle school performers who provided four great performances in front of crowds in excess of 200 each night!
▪
Read Across America – a big thank you to Nancy Nakhleh, Jenn Niles, Shannon
Baird, Natalie Watson and the cafeteria staff for organizing the annual Dr.
Seuss celebration.
▪
Arts and Citizenship Gallery II – the latest round of eight grade student work
from the Arts & Citizenship Project is on display in the C wing hallways of
SCS. It is a great culmination of the
work celebrating the skills and interests that students have been practicing
throughout their time at SCS.
Mark Your Calendars
March
19th – Dynamic Dates DrawingMark Your Calendars
March 19th – Red Barn Pick Up
May 9th – Comedy Night Fundraiser at the Old Lantern
**The Parent Education Night on “The Library’s Many Online
Resources” will be rescheduled and will not be held on March 19th**
We look forward to seeing you next month at
the PTO meeting on April 8th at 6:00 pm in the Alpha Space. Pizza and Babysitting are provided!
Friday, March 7, 2014
This week we celebrated "Read Across America". I am sure your child may have told you it was the best day ever! We had a great assembly where we read a Reader's Oath as a school, listened to many teachers and staff read "Horton Hears a Who", got to sing and dance to the song "Gotta Keep Reading" and got to display the hats we made. We also had a lot of Guest Readers throughout the day who shared and read some of their favorite books. In our class we had Patty Spagnolo, Vasanthi Meyette, Elissa Best, Kim Berghan, Alice Brown and Carol Specht read to us. There was a special lunch of green macaroni and ham and in the afternoon we had a special treat of Green Eggs and ham (green yogurt with a vanilla wafer and ham). We also had pictures taken in a cut-out of Dr. Seuss and a a fish. Check them out in the slide show. Overall it was a very fun day.
In writing we are getting ready to wrap up our non-fiction stories. We hope to have these wrapped up next week. We will hopefully have the opportunity to share them with some Kindergarten classes. Students are very excited about their work.
In Science this week we worked on the "Asking" and "Planning" stages of the Engineering Process. We looked at data to ask what materials might make the best mortar. Then we planned out how we will mix the materials to make the best mortar and use it to make a wall to withstand a wrecking ball (golf ball tied to a piece of string). Next week we will build our walls, test how strong and stable they are and then come up with a plan on how we might have improved our mortar to make a stronger more stable wall.
In math we continue to learn strategies for addition and subtraction using penguin problems.
Today was Vicky's last day with us so we had a little celebration for her. Students signed a card and some made individual cards for her. We also had a little treat to help send her off and let her know how much we will miss having her in our class. We wished her all the best at her new school.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Nancy
In writing we are getting ready to wrap up our non-fiction stories. We hope to have these wrapped up next week. We will hopefully have the opportunity to share them with some Kindergarten classes. Students are very excited about their work.
In Science this week we worked on the "Asking" and "Planning" stages of the Engineering Process. We looked at data to ask what materials might make the best mortar. Then we planned out how we will mix the materials to make the best mortar and use it to make a wall to withstand a wrecking ball (golf ball tied to a piece of string). Next week we will build our walls, test how strong and stable they are and then come up with a plan on how we might have improved our mortar to make a stronger more stable wall.
In math we continue to learn strategies for addition and subtraction using penguin problems.
Today was Vicky's last day with us so we had a little celebration for her. Students signed a card and some made individual cards for her. We also had a little treat to help send her off and let her know how much we will miss having her in our class. We wished her all the best at her new school.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Nancy
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