I hope that you’re all enjoying this gorgeous spring weather.  I also hope that you enjoyed having your child home yesterday, and that it wasn’t an inconvenience to have an extra “home day.”

There’s a lot going on in the next five weeks, and I’ll do my best to keep you up to date on all the happenings.  Here’s a list of dates and events:
-Friday, May 16, 10:45: Paper Feelings poetry reading—K & Jr. High.
-Wednesday, May 21: Early release—dismissal at 11:45
-Friday, May 23: Kindergarten field trip to the Retreat Farm
-Wednesday, May 28:  Kindergarten field trip to the Montshire Museum—all day.
-Monday, June 9: Field trip to Twinkle Town Miniature Golf in Keene—K & 3/4

Last week, we were thrilled to have Ellen stop in for a visit!  We got to give her hugs, sing a song with her, fill her in on what we’ve been up to, and ask her about her encounters with alligators and javelinas.  The children knew that she would be in at some point during the week, so they made signs and cards to welcome her back.  They are such a thoughtful group.

We are having fun with our study of farming and food.  The beans that we sprouted are growing at a remarkable rate, and the Kindergarteners have been doing careful observations and drawings of the growth of their beans.  The Kindergarteners are also continuing to take excellent care of the plants that are growing in the classroom.  In addition to watering them, some of the students have taken to talking and singing to the plants.

Today we put our chicken eggs in our classroom incubator!  Ellen has incubated eggs in the classroom for many years, and I am excited to give it a try!  The eggs that we are incubating are from Adaylia’s family’s chickens, which came from last year’s Kindergarten hatching.  I have lots of experience with livestock, but this is my first time incubating and attempting to hatch eggs.  The students are excited to undertake this endeavor, and I am striving to balance our enthusiasm with an awareness of the reality that sometimes these things do not go as planned.  The students seem to be embracing the attitude that if the eggs hatch, that will be wonderful, but that we should also be prepared for disappointment.  Please let me know soon if you are interested in taking home some of the chicks.

In math, we are continuing with our “grocery store math.”  This week, we practiced using different combinations of coins to purchase items.  For example, students discovered that they could use 13 pennies, or a dime and three pennies, or two nickels and three pennies, to purchase a 13-cent banana.  This activity works well because students can engage with it at different levels.  All of them understand that 13 pennies works in this example, and some of them choose to challenge themselves to find other combinations.  They are also using their “sharp eyes” to discover the many similarities and differences among the different coins.

On Monday, we went for a walk in the woods and explored life under logs.  We carefully rolled over rotting logs and investigated the microhabitat underneath.  We discovered spiders, ants, fungi, decomposing wood, millipedes, and many other insects.  We discussed the idea that many of these organisms help to break down the rotting log, which then goes back to the soil from which it originally grew.  Our most exciting discovery was a log filled with Red-backed Salamanders!  Chunks of the log broke off as we rolled it over, and we found that there were many salamanders living inside the log.

If you are interested, please feel free to join us for the Paper Feelings reading on Friday.  Paper Feelings is a school-wide poetry anthology containing one poem written by each student in the school, with the support of Ann Gengarelly.  Our reading will be at 10:45, with the Jr. High, in the library.

Also, please feel free to borrow books from the classroom.  We received a donation of books intended to enhance our classroom “lending library.”  A selection of those books is on the shelf near the computer.  Additionally, you are welcome to borrow books from the block corner.  Please sign them out on the clipboard and limit yourself to two at a time.  As soon as you bring them back, you are welcome to take out two more.

Sincerely,
Sarah

We continued our Wetland study both in the classroom and in the field. We watched as hundreds of tadpoles hatched and grew hind legs in our tank in the classroom. Everyone took time to observe water striders and a back swimmer in the classroom. In small groups we spent time observing and identifying the various critters in our tank. We had to relocate at least two hundred tadpoles back to their original home as they all started to grow fast. On Friday we continued our research with a field trip to Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center. We went “ponding” at the Vernal Pool and each group collected several interesting species of pond life. The most fascinating by far was the Fairy Shrimp. We looked at several of them under the microscope. We were able to identify the females by finding their egg sacs. It was a great trip and the weather was perfect. Elaine  has been so fascinated with this unit that she is ready to volunteer with Bonnyvale to sponsor a Salamander Crossing in Dover, VT.
This week the 4th grade will complete three science NECAP assessments. The tests will consist of three sessions up to 90 minutes long. The last session includes a hands-on science investigation and questions.
Charlene was impressed that so many students remembered to bring in recorders. Not all students played the recorder. Some students played the keyboard, while others played the piano. Charlene orchestrated the whole class combining all the instruments. Please remember to bring in your recorder for class this week.

Homework
1)     Read for 30 Minutes: Fill in the reading sheet and bring in on Friday
2)     Complete the Math Packet
3)    Study for the Spelling quiz on Friday
4)    Read the Activity Sheet about Beavers and Canadian Geese. Then, Answer the Questions in complete sentences.

Homework for Week of May 12, 2008

Notes Home

We had some great debates this week, ask your kids how they think they did or how they voted and why.  They all argued intelligently and with conviction.   We do have them on film so if we have time perhaps we can show clips at our Costa Rica night this Tuesday at 7:00PM.  See you there!

Homework for Week of May 12, 2008

Due for Mon. May 12:  Writing, Costa Rica Article: final!? Draft if you haven’t already handed it in.
Literature:  Read 10th  assignment in Lit. books,  Miracles through chap. 8, The Crossing half of chapter 9, The Bean Trees  chapters 10 & 11.   Maddie, Alex and Audrey please be prepared to give a brief plot summary.  You should have note cards or a flow map to aid in being succinct and to the point.

Due forTue. May 13: Costa Rica Night for parents & others tonight. We will be doing a number of things to get ready.  We are hoping to have the finished articles in the google drop box so we can make a paper copy and Pam can post an electronic one.   Mandy, we need to have something to show them from the film!

Due for Wed. May 14:    Math: Monday (Tuesday) night math?
Drama:  Off Book

Due for Thur. May 15: Drama .  Blocking

Due for Fri. May 16: (Formal Day) Literature: 11th assignment in Lit. books, Miracles through chap. 9, The Crossing through chapter 9, The Bean Trees through chapter 12.   Write or draw a response of your choice.   Don’t forget your interpretive question.
.

Homework for Week of May 12, 2008

Due for Mon. May 12:  Writing, Costa Rica Article: final!? Draft if you haven’t already handed it in.
Literature:  Read 10th  assignment in Lit. books,  Miracles through chap. 8, The Crossing half of chapter 9, The Bean Trees  chapters 10 & 11.   Maddie, Alex and Audrey please be prepared to give a brief plot summary.  You should have note cards or a flow map to aid in being succinct and to the point.

Due forTue. May 13: Costa Rica Night for parents & others tonight. We will be doing a number of things to get ready.  We are hoping to have the finished articles in the google drop box so we can make a paper copy and Pam can post an electronic one.   Mandy, we need to have something to show them from the film!

Due for Wed. May 14:    Math: Monday (Tuesday) night math?
Drama:  Off Book

Due for Thur. May 15: Drama .  Blocking

Due for Fri. May 16: (Formal Day) Literature: 11th assignment in Lit. books, Miracles through chap. 9, The Crossing through chapter 9, The Bean Trees through chapter 12.   Write or draw a response of your choice.   Don’t forget your interpretive question.
.

Reading – Try to spend 5 or 10 minutes a day listening to your child read.

Spelling words for olders…
walk    talk    small   fall    chalk
today   myself   yesterday   morning   because

On Friday, May 16th the Primary students will be sharing their Paper Feelings poem in class at 1:45. Each student will get a Paper Feelings book which has a poem from every student in the school. You are invited!
Have a great week!   Judy and Liz

Meanwhile, the 3rd-4th grade is conducting its own field research on wetlands and ponds by observing the amazing changes that take place in pond water collected in an aquarium and then traveling to the Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center to deepen their learning.

MES teachers are learning, too!  Tomorrow is the second annual gathering of the New England Coalition of Progressive Educators, a regional branch of the Coalition of Essential Schools.  Many of us will attend in order to experience and learn more about the importance of “personalization” and “depth over breadth”, two guiding principles in our work with your children.  This meeting also provides a good opportunity to meet with other educators who are excited and knowledgeable about the craft of teaching.  As a pre-conference day, we will have six such educators, one from Williamstown, MA and five from Maryland, visiting MES today to learn more about how we “do school”.

There are several parent/family opportunities coming up!!  Don’t forget Family Bingo Night tonight at 7pm!  P&F has organized this fun event to celebrate TV/Screen Turnoff Week.  Refreshments and prizes are promised!  Then, be sure to send in your child’s completed pledge, signed by you, on Monday.  Next Friday, at All School Sing names will be drawn for gift certificates.

Saturday morning, 9-12, is Playground Workday.  Izzie’s dad, Dave Snyder, has organized the materials and figured out next steps on the plans.  Please join us for the next phase of construction.  The kids are eager to play on the new structure!

Next Wednesday and Friday classes will be sharing their favorite poems from their work with Ann Gengarelly this year.  We will publish the 2008 edition of Paper Feelings for them to read from and then it will go home.  We hope that many of you can join us for these special readings!  Please check the schedule below.

Over the next few weeks 4th and 8th graders will be taking the Science part of the NECAP assessment.  This test is given in 3 sessions of 45-90 minutes.  The last session includes a hands-on exploration and should be interesting!  If you have any questions, please give me a call.

We will continue to sell fresh Mocha Joe’s Costa Rican coffee until the end of this academic year, and a few bench raffle tickets are still available, (drawing on May 22nd.) Many thanks to everyone who has supported this effort!

Contact pam (at) marlboroschool.net with any offers or questions. Thanks!

For more information contact Gail Chaine at 254-2668

We’re back, well rested and plenty busy. Here are some notes from the Junior High:

Graduation  We have picked a Monday night for this year’s Graduation—June 16—two days before the last day of school. As you may know, it’s the Marlboro tradition that the 7th grade families create the celebration for their departing peers, and we need a 7th grade parent volunteer or two to head this effort. Rachel and I will do a lot of the organizing at school, but we still very much need your help, especially with decorations and food. Please call us ASAP.

Costa Rica Night Don’t forget about our slide show presentation coming up on the 13th of May, 7 p.m. The students are currently working on articles that will be read that night and posted on the web page. We are also working on debates that will happen next Wednesday and Thursday, May 7 & 8. You are most welcome to attend. Check with your child about the times. The topics:
o    Should we continue to sell Mocha Joe’s coffee when it isn’t Fair Trade certified?
o    Is tourism good for Costa Rica?
o    Should we accept the $750 donation from Vermont Yankee?

Cabaret  The spring performance will be on Thursday evening, May 22, 7p.m. at Whitemore Theater.  We will present the play we performed in Costa Rica—“Footprints”—as well as a selection of scenes and one-acts.

See you soon.

Tim & Rachel

Homework for Week of May 5, 2008

Due for Mon. May 5: (Fictional Character Day)) Writing, Costa Rica Article: second draft.
Literature:  Read 8th  assignment in Lit. books,  Miracles through chap. 6, The Crossing through chapter 7, The Bean Trees through chapter 8.   Colby, Mandy & Zoe, please be prepared to give a brief plot summary.  You should have note cards or a flow map to aid in being succinct and to the point.
Poetry: Final draft if you didn’t give it to Rachel on Friday.

Due forTue. May 6: (Career Day) Spanish: Final draft of thank-you letter if you didn’t finish it in class on Thursday.

Due for Wed. May 7:  (Pajama Day) Debates: Emma, Tim, & Skylar; Colby, Ashleigh & Mandy be ready to go.
Math: Monday (Tuesday) night math

Due for Thur. May 8: (Bad Hair Day) Writing, Costa Rica Article: Third draft (if you need one)
Debates:  Rest of the class, be ready to go.

Due for Fri. May 9: (Formal Day) Literature:  Read 9th assignment in Lit. books, Miracles through chap. 7, The Crossing through chapter 8, The Bean Trees through chapter 9.   Write or draw a response of your choice.   Don’t forget your interpretive question.
.

I hope that you got to taste the bread and butter that we made.  The bread-making process was a big highlight of last week.  After reading The Little Red Hen, we started with wheat berries and ground them into flour.  The children took turns turning the crank to grind the seeds and putting the flour through the sifter.  Then on Thursday, we mixed our flour up with water, oil, yeast, salt and a bit of our class-made syrup, and took turns kneading our dough.  While our dough was rising, we made some butter.  The children were excited to learn how simple it is to make butter (just put some heavy cream in a jar and shake!).  Each child got a few balls of dough to make into rolls in shapes of their choosing, and at lunch we got to taste our warm bread with butter!

Another note on the food topic—I finally finished boiling off the last of our sap into syrup, and am sending home a small jar with each student today.  A friend of mine offered his woodstove and in early April, he boiled our last ten gallons of sap down and canned a quart of thick, syrup-like liquid.  (Thanks, Aaron!)  This weekend, we finished it off.  It’s still a little bit watery, but it sure tastes good!  I hope that you enjoy it.

Last week, in addition to our bread-baking project, we opened our grocery store, and did math in conjunction with our store.  We focused on pennies and nickels, and the students came up with different combinations of coins that they could use to buy certain items.  We’ll continue to expand on this lesson in the coming days and weeks.

As we were making our bread, we also planted some wheat seeds.  We will observe them as they grow.  Yesterday, we began recording observations of beans that we have sprouted.  We will be learning about how seeds grow and what plants need to help them grow.

Last week, for our outside time, we picked up trash in the woods around the school.  The students have noticed and been bothered by this garbage in the past, and they were proud that they were able to make a difference in cleaning up our school’s woods.  Yesterday, when we went for our “hike” in our newly greened-up woods, we did an activity that I like because it requires that the students slow down and look closely at their surroundings.  The Kindergarteners have great observation skills, and I am often amazed at their ability to notice subtle details.  However, they also love to run, and are often eager to keep moving when we explore in the woods.  Yesterday, I handed out paint chip samples from the hardware store and asked the students to find things that matched the colors.  They were surprised to realize how many different shades of green and brown there are, and were shocked to find that they were successful in finding bright yellows, oranges, reds, and purples in the woods as well.  They found tiny fungi, lichen, bud scales and bits of leaves and bark with unexpected colors on them.  And they slowed down enough to notice and admire the trout lilies and fiddleheads.

Some dates that you should know about, if they’re not already on your calendar:
May 13:  Kindergarten Registration—NO SCHOOL for Kindergarten
May 21:  Early dismissal, 11:45
May 28:  Field trip to Montshire Museum (all day)
June 18:  Last day of school, half-day

Ellen has finished her bike trip, and I imagine that we will get a visit from her soon!

As always, I encourage you to be in touch with me if you have questions or concerns.  Thanks for sharing your wonderful children with me; I’m really enjoying getting to know them.

Sincerely,

Sarah

We launched our study of Wetlands last week by setting up two tanks in the classroom. We observed a salamander, and found a caddis fly larva. The other tank holds two clusters of frog eggs which are slowly changing. By Friday we saw flutters of  movement in the tank as the tadpoles prepare to hatch. As  weather permits, we will continue to have wetland visitors.
On Friday, May 9th, we will go to the Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center (West Brattleboro) for the Vernal Pool Discovery program. We will leave at 9:00am and return in time for lunch. The field trip will happen rain or shine. Students should be prepared to get slightly wet but mud boots are not necessary.
We welcomed Elaine at All School Sing on Friday. She has thirtysix-years experience teaching fourth grade in Connecticut. She is going to lead a whole class math unit called Hands-On Equations.
Charlene is going to teach the children how to play the recorder. Several students mentioned that they had recorders at home and could bring them in to school. The school doesn’t have enough recorders for each student. If your child owns a recorder it would be great if they could bring it into school this week (music class is Thursday)

Homework
1)     Read for 30 Minutes-NEW: Fill in the reading sheet and bring in on Friday
2)     Complete the Math Packet
3)    Study for the Spelling quiz on Friday
4)    Read the Activity Sheet about Snapping Turtles, Coots and Arrowheads. Then, Answer the Questions in complete sentences.

Our week…
Routines went on as usual even though I was out for two days! Many thanks to Sara Rosoe and Joslyn for subbing. And special thanks to Liz for “holding down the fort”. I will also be out on Tuesday for another personal day. Joslyn will be subbing in the morning and Maria, who works in the after school program, will be subbing in the afternoon.
Ask your child the following questions to find out more!

➢    Who was the V.I.P. this week? What did you learn about her?
➢    What Primary students shared at All School Sing?
➢    What new math games did you learn? (“Capture 5” olders)
➢    What did you learn about the 100 chart? (youngers)
➢    How do you play Missing Numbers? (youngers)
➢    What kind of clouds did you sketch in your cloud book?
➢    What kind of maps did you look at with Liz?
➢    What kind of map did you draw?
➢    How has your writing improved?
Math triangle flash cards will be coming home this week.
Spelling words for older students…
car   hard   start   part   sharp
bird   chirp   dirt   third   shirt

We are still looking for small blocks of wood. Irregular shapes are fine.

Don’t forget about Spirit Week!
Monday-Fictional character day
Tuesday-career day
Wednesday-pajama day
Thursday-bad or wacky hair day
Friday-formal day
Have a great week! Judy and Liz

(continued…)

Screen/TV-Turnoff Week is about taking a healthy break from TV and all media screens to focus on activities that are more academically, socially and physically rewarding. It is also about having more fun. More than 24 million people have participated nationwide. This success demonstrates that a solid one-week recess from television allows more time to converse, read, exercise, play, think, create and do.

This event is important to curb excessive screen & TV watching. Upon high school graduation the average student has spent more time watching television than in the classroom. Children who watch little or no TV tend to have higher grades, read more books, and exercise regularly.  Please help your child(ren) succeed in this effort by providing positive alternatives to “screen time”.

Students that participate in Screen/TV-Turnoff Week should return the following form to school the week of May 12th to be entered in a raffle of gift certificates.

Screen/TV-Turnoff Week    May 3 – 9, 2008

I,  ________________________  have participated in Screen/TV Turnoff Week. Instead of screen time (Computer games, game-boys, videos, etc.) or watching television, I enjoyed these alternatives activities:
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

Student or Parent/Guardian signature:

____________________________

(continued…)

By now you’ve received the School Survey in the mail along with my plea to fill it out and return it as soon as possible. As the Action Plan Committee works to revise our Action Plan, these surveys will provide very helpful information. Thanks for completing this.

Several weeks ago I sent home a letter about a drill we’ll be participating in as part of our emergency preparedness plan. This will be an unannounced drill and will take place sometime in May. Teachers are preparing your children by talking with them about what we will do in a situation which requires leaving the school. Many of us remember participating in drills as children and sometimes these made us fearful. Our hope is to do exactly the opposite by giving children a clear and simple plan which will build their confidence.

Stop by to check out the notebook of summer activities which Gail has put together. There are camps of every stripe – music, crafts, sports, environmental. Once again, KROKA, an Earth Living Skills School, is offering a half-price camp to one MES student. Please call me if you’re interested.

Are you ready to play games or take an evening walk? Next week is Turn Off the Screen Week – time to turn off the TV and video games. Thanks to P&F for putting this together! To shift your children’s attention away from the screen, the Junior High has organized Spirit Week. Check the calendar for the schedule.

At the show, a wide range of images will be exhibited –from traditional black and white silver gelatin prints to inkjet prints from digital students- each print as unique as the student who made it.  With so many gifted students, In-Sight is proud to share their work with the largest audience possible.

Please go to the following link for more information: www.insight-photography.org/1/student_show_08.shtml
We hope to see you there.        Eric Maxen, Program Director

I hope that you all enjoyed having your children home last week.  It sounds like everyone had some good adventures, whether you went out of town or stayed home.  We heard fun stories yesterday about visiting local farms and faraway friends and family.

The week before vacation ended up being busier than I had anticipated, and we did not end up finishing our bodies, as I had hoped we would.  This week, we are making the last additions to our body models—our hearts and circulatory systems.  Then we will just need to attach our outsides and they will be done!

During the week before vacation, we wrote our goodbye letters to Jodi, we added our leg and arm bones and muscles, complete with knee and elbow joints.  We had extra playtime outside at the ends of those beautiful sunny days.  On Thursday, we had math time outside.  We searched for shapes on the playground and in the woods, and recorded what we found on our data sheets on clipboards.  The students not only found a wide variety of shapes, but they also began discovering letters—a Y in a tree, an A in the swing set, and so on.

This week, we are beginning our study of food and farms, which will carry us through until the end of the year.  Our fantasy play area is now a grocery store.  Yesterday, the whole class jumped right in and took turns donning aprons and being the butcher or grocer, loading up shopping baskets and purchasing food, restocking shelves, making change, and so on.

On Mondays, Francie comes in to read a story to our class.  Yesterday, she read Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Cooney.  This story led us into a lively discussion of what we might be able to do to “make the world more beautiful,” as Miss Rumphius strives to do.  The students mentioned planting flowers and picking up trash.  Some students knew about “Green-up Day,” and I told them that Earth Day occurred during our vacation week.  On our Monday hikes, the students have often commented on the abundance of trash in the woods.  We decided that our Earth Day activity, to be postponed until a less rainy day, would be to pick up some of that garbage.  Alice suggested that every day should be Earth Day.  The students had lots of ideas about why we might have a specific day to celebrate the earth—the earth gives us “care and kindness”, “protection and courage,” “air to breathe,” “dogs,” “food” and more.  With no prompting from me, the students transitioned from a discussion of reasons to celebrate and be thankful for the earth, to a conversation about environmental protection.  I was impressed by their collective environmental ethic and sense of stewardship for their planet and the land around them.  Olivia brought up the story of The Lorax, which bridged into a discussion of the need to think of the future, and to be careful in our use of natural resources.  I would not have brought up such heavy topics with kindergarteners, but they went there on their own yesterday.  With young children, I try to avoid weighing them down with worries about big issues that are out of their control.  Any “environmental education” that I initiate focuses on directly engaging with the natural world (for example, rolling over rotting logs and seeing what we can find), deepening our understanding of our connection to the land (i.e. “where does our food come from?”), or empowering children to “make the world more beautiful” (i.e. picking up trash and planting flowers).

Today, we read The Little Red Hen and began grinding our own wheat flour, which we will turn into bread by the end of the week.  After two days of being kept inside by the rain, they have plenty of energy for turning that crank!

Check out the photo slideshow that Pam helped me set up on the Kindergarten section of the MES website!  I’ll continue adding to it over the course of the spring.

Sincerely,

Sarah

http://education.vermont.gov/new/html/pgm_nutrition/school_nutrition/program_info.html

You’ll be hearing more about the Junior High trip to Costa Rica, so for now I’ll say it’s good to be home! We all learned so much and, as we traveled from Monteverde to San Luis to Playa Hermosa, we received many compliments on the students’ knowledge, their interest and attention, and their good behavior. Good job, Junior High! And thank you to everyone here who kept school running smoothly.

The process for hiring a new 3rd-4th grade teacher is underway. The committee undertaking this important work consists of P’tricia Wyse, Tim Hayes, Pam Burke, Lauren Poster and me. We’ve received many applications from well qualified candidates and hope to select someone by the end of May.

And now it’s time for Spring Vacation! May this wonderful weather continue so that your children and you can enjoy each other’s company as you watch the trees bud and the flowers bloom. We’ll all return relaxed and ready for many exciting end of year activities. See you on April 28th.

-Gail