March 10 "Why waste time learning, when ignorance is instantaneous?" =} Calvin and Hobbs

Just keep saying to yourself, "We can do this..."

FINAL UPDATE:

Friday, March 12
7:35-7:55--Josh	1:25-1:45
8:00-8:20--Tyler	1:55-2:15
8:25-8:45	2:20-2:40--Zac? (phone)
8:50-9:10	2:45-3:05--Nicole
9:15-9:35	3:10-3:30--Brad
9:40-10:00	3:35-3:55
10:05-10:25	4:00- 4:20
10:30-10:50--Dylan	4:25- 4:45
10:55-11:15	4:50- 5:10
11:20-11:40	5:15- 5:35
11:45-12:05	5:40- 6:00--Britney
12:10-12:30	6:05- 6:25--Korbin
12:35-12:55	6:35- 6:55
1:00-1:20

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See you Friday, everyone!

Teri

March 9 "The afternoon is bright, with spring in the air, a mild March afternoon..." ~Antonio Machado, 1875-1939

Ahhh, Vermont in March....
beautiful picture by Michaela Harlow found at @ www.michaelaharlow.com/blog

Happy Tuesday! Here's an updated schedule for Friday:

Friday, March 12
7:35-7:55--Josh	1:25-1:45
8:00-8:20	1:55-2:15
8:25-8:45	2:20-2:40--Zac? (phone)
8:50-9:10	2:45-3:05--Nicole
9:15-9:35	3:10-3:30--Brad
9:40-10:00	3:35-3:55
10:05-10:25	4:00- 4:20
10:30-10:50--Dylan	4:25- 4:45
10:55-11:15	4:50- 5:10
11:20-11:40	5:15- 5:35
11:45-12:05	5:40- 6:00--Britney
12:10-12:30	6:05- 6:25--Korbin
12:35-12:55	6:35- 6:55
1:00-1:20

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Other news from the Cave:

Fifth grade had Social Studies today. Please refer to Sunday, March 7th's blog to find (really cool) web links in case your child brought the worksheet home to complete. It was a fun interactive exploration of Jamestown; you should check it out!

In writing, we're all finishing our responses to literature. Fifth grade is also working on a persuasive piece. My class will do this tomorrow. Gosh, we're busy! We DID take the time to get outside to enjoy some warm March sunshine this afternoon. Good for the body; good for the soul....

I hope you all have a restful evening. I'll be in touch tomorrow with more conference updates.

Teri

March 8 "Like an army defeated the snow hath retreated, and now doth fare ill on the top of the bare hill..." Longfellow

Hi everybody. The first of the conference forms have trickled in. Here's what we have so far:

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Friday, March 12
7:35-7:55--Josh	1:25-1:45
8:00-8:20	1:55-2:15
8:25-8:45	2:20-2:40
8:50-9:10	2:45-3:05
9:15-9:35	3:10-3:30--Brad
9:40-10:00	3:35-3:55
10:05-10:25	4:00- 4:20
10:30-10:50--Dylan	4:25- 4:45
10:55-11:15	4:50- 5:10
11:20-11:40	5:15- 5:35
11:45-12:05	5:40- 6:00--Britney
12:10-12:30	6:05- 6:25--Korbin
12:35-12:55	6:35- 6:55
1:00-1:20

~~~~~~

~

Responses to Literature should be completed and turned in no later than Wednesday. Your child should not bring this home to work on; it's so natural for us to offer support and assistance, but for writing portfolio pieces, it is vitally important that the work is done entirely by the student.

Check out yesterday's blog for the Social Studies assignment for grades 5 & 6; my class completed it today and thought it was fun and informative. That's the whole idea! Grade 5 will work on this tomorrow.

Remember, no GVS this week since we have a short week.

Enjoy this beautiful evening!

Teri

IMPORTANT: I know a lot of you are interested in knowing about potential placement for your son or daughter next year. Normally, much of conference time is given to these conversations; unfortunately, I will be unable to provide much of any information THIS year. There are lots of rumors circulating about ways in which the middle school intends to restructure for the 2010-2011 school year.... Middle School folks have been meeting and exploring different configurations, but as of this moment, no determinations have been made. I was informed via email that they will let everyone know as soon as decisions are finalized. I encourage you to contact Peter Reynolds (preynolds@anwsu.org) or Jay Stetzel (jstetzel@anwsu.org) by phone (802-877-2938) or email for more information. Parent letters/questionnaires will hopefully go out in the next few weeks, at which point they hope to have more concrete information for all of us. Sorry, everyone; I'm out of the loop! In the meantime, if you'd like to get a flavor for what's happening down the road, check out this copy of VUHS Middle School News.

March 7 "March is a tomboy with tousled hair, a mischievous smile, mud on her shoes and a laugh in her voice." - Hal Borland

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade."
- Charles Dickens

~

Hello families, did you wonder where I was? Sorry--I've been feeling pretty "under the weather" for the last week or so. I'm finally beginning to feel better. Whew!

(Belated) Welcome to March--the ebbing snowfields, the warming breezes , the running sap , the returning songbirds , the omnipresent frost heaves ... Have you noticed? It sounds different; it smells different. It feels different. I love this changing time.

~

Speaking of change, grades 5 and 6 are beginning a new Social Studies unit on Colonialism , which will occasionally include visiting this blog to access websites. This week we're going to embark on a cyber-journey through Jamestown by visiting an awesome site called "Jamestown Rediscovered". We'll visit tour stops and answer questions at each site. (Most of the text from this tour is taken directly from signs on the island of Jamestown.) The websites are as follows:

The Land

What did the land look like when the settlers first arrived?

James Fort

Excavations

Statue of John Smith

Pocahontas Statue

Glass House

Jamestown Church

Graveyard

Hunt Shrine

Memorial Cross

~

Visit these next sites and answer the questions for extra credit:

Name two things the early colonists ate.

Name three items you see, and use two sentences to describe each item.

~

Students will be given worksheets that will guide their journey and provide space to record their findings.

~

There will be no GSV this week since it's a short week. (Jacob, if you're reading this, you're welcome!) We always have lots to do when one trimester ends and another begins, so we're going to be busy organizing ourselves.

In writing, we completed a narrative prompt entitled, "It Was a Dark and Stormy Night." It will be included in the grades for the marking period that just ended. I'm scoring them now. We are finishing up Responses To Literature --another portfolio piece. Later this week, both the fifth and sixth grades will begin a persuasive writing piece. You will receive scoring rubrics and comments for your child's writing pieces and other assessments in report cards, which will be sent home on Thursday, March 11.

Well, that's about it for now. I hope you all have a good start to your week; we're in for a week of nice weather! (Did you notice I put the "7-Day Forecast " link on the blog? I added quite a few others that are excellent, too. Check them out with your kids!)

Good night, families-

Teri

P.S.--I'll keep an ongoing post of confirmed conference times as they come in, so keep checking here for your times. (Did your child give you the schedule??)

February 19 "Never do a wrong thing to make a friend or to keep one."

~

Dear Parents,

Today Mr. Wright and I had a talk with the fifth and sixth graders about internet use and safety, and I thought I'd pass some of that information on to you.

Much of what we're doing in our classes these days has a technology component, which is an integral aspect of learning in any 21st Century classroom, but with this increased access comes the potential for harm. In addition to the wealth of useful and educational information available to children, much content exists that is most certainly not appropriate for them.

Children are susceptible to a variety of dangers when using computers without supervision, including pornography, hate group or racist websites, promotional websites (advertising or promoting tobacco, alcohol, etc), graphic violence, as well as other information that children are ill equipped to handle. We all know the added danger of exploitation or enticement of children by internet predators. By its very nature, online interaction facilitates deception about the predator's identity, age, and intentions.

(This information taken, in part, from http://www.netsmartz.org/safety/risks.htm)

That being said, we assured the students (and reminded them, too) that the school filters are excellent, and that those sites that have the potential for harm are not accessable here. In fact, it is easy to detect who, when, and where someone might be trying (in vain) to access inappropriate information. (I will tell you that some of our students admitted to knowing how to erase the history on their computers at home so that their internet use is kept secret. This is definitely a red flag....)

I'm always looking for information to share with all of you, and found a quick and simple way to help you to make your children's internet experience safe, educational, and fun. Check out tips for parents or, for those of you who, like me, have a million questions, check out parent information. These wonderful kids are the responsibility of us all, and I assure you that I will continue to monitor and educate as we explore the internet's great potential.

Have a safe and enjoyable winter break. I'll be in touch soon.
Teri

PS: This short video was shown in a course I recently took, and I thought you might be intrigued. It sure does provide food for thought...

February 18 "There is a bit of insanity in dancing that does everybody a great deal of good." ~ Edwin Denby

“Vivid and reassuring… and sometimes extraordinarily brilliant.” —The Guardian

"Under the impetus of young Brazilian choreographer Bruno Beltrau, the nine hip-hop dancers of Grupo de Rua take the stage by storm. Like a powerful but fragile commando unit, the dancers overturn conventional codes, creating a remarkable fusion of hip-hop and contemporary dance. Accompanied by the sounds of the city, music, and rhythm, they dazzle with lightning-speed moves and high voltage energy as well as tender duets. In the process, the normal restrictions of the stage disintegrate and the audience becomes participants in a thrilling interaction. Winner of international championships and critical praise, Beltrau’s rigorous choreography dissects and jettisons hip-hop clichés creating a bold new direction for hip-hop."

~

This video captures much of what we saw today. (Of note is the "running backwards" and the high energy interactions...Whew!) Based on the review above (taken from the Flynn website) it sounded amazing, and much like one we really enjoyed last year in which the dancers conveyed to the kids that making positive choices and being healthy was cool. I think today's event met with mixed reviews... Lots of the dance was done without music, and a little "urban" for us. Still, on the positive side, it was athletic, energetic, and a cultural opportunity for everyone.

Don't forget the party tomorrow afternoon. Most Explorer Notebooks are in now, as are science projects for Alison. Boy, do we need a vacation!

Take care-
Teri

February 17 "Every job is a self portrait of the person who does it. Autograph your work with excellence."

Shot of Snake Mountain from across Dead Creek

December 25, 2007

7d.blogs.com/freyneland/2007/12/index.html

With only two days left before vacation, everyone is hard at work completing their Explorer Notebooks. What I thought would be a relaxing, creative end to our Explorers unit has turned into a high energy book-making extravaganza. Whew! I've appreciated the attention many have given to improving the quality of their work before final assessment.

Don't forget that tomorrow we'll be leaving school at 10:30 for the Flynn, so everyone will need a bag lunch. Please remember to include drinks in plastic screw-top bottles only. On Friday afternoon, we'll kick back and celebrate the culmination of lots of hard work.

When we return on March 1st, please look for a conference letter and schedule for March 12. I'd appreciate it if you could fill it out at your earliest convenience, since conference slots will fill up quickly, and will be determined on a first-come, first-served basis. I'd also appreciate it if you could sign and return the form even if you don't wish a for a conference at this time. Alison and I will not be conferencing together this go 'round; she will speak with fifth grade parents and I will be with all of you. (Time constraints simply made thirty-three conferences unmanageable.)

Time to close; I'll be in touch soon.

Teri

February 16 "The February sunshine steeps your boughs and tints the buds and swells the leaves within." William Cullen Bryant

Winter break--what a perfect way to end a topic that could most certainly go on forever... We, too, have been on a journey as we've learned about the [often infamous] people who made their mark during the Age of Discovery. It has been my intent to go beyond passive memorization of facts and engage the students in learning that is insightful and transferable. When students learn to interact critically with the content, question the facts, search for broader implications, and connect new information with prior knowledge and experiences, they develop a genuine understanding of the concepts and skills.

Anyway, the culminating activity for this unit, the "Explorers Notebook", is due before vacation. We'll begin a new unit upon their return in March!

Remember, there is no Grammar, Spelling, or Vocabulary packets this week since we'll be gone to the Flynn on Thursday and Friday is, well, the day before vacation... Language Arts is also being taken up by the associated writing activities for the notebook. It's been quite a busy place around here!

Reminder: We're planning to have a "Friendship Party" on Friday afternoon. It'll be a great way to kick back and celebrate the completion of a lot of hard work, too.

I sure do appreciate all your support. Have a great evening!
Teri

February 12 "Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning." -Author Unknown

"Friendship is a special kind of love."

~

“For a girl, she’s remarkably perceptive.”

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Teri

February 11, "In the coldest February, as in every other month in every other year, the best thing to hold on to in this world is each other."

"At the Dead Creek viewing area on New Year's Eve, 2007, two Short-eared Owls put on a show. The birds were observed coursing low over the fields, uttering their nasal bark-like calls as they foraged. Dead Creek is Vermont's most reliable area to find this medium-sized, pale brownish owl of open country, and winter is the best time to seek out the species." (VT Center for Ecostudies, 1/27/07 notes--http://vtecostudies.com/)

~

I want to thank Pam and Randy for coming in today. Their presentation for "Four Winds" this month was about animal tracks--SO cool!

In Social Studies today, the fifth grade finished up our study of explorers with a comparison of Cortes and Pizarro , and of Coronado and De Soto. Lots of stories of Conquistadors and gold fever. Next week we'll create our final products and be done, done, done.

Language Arts followed the theme as I introduced "Explorer Poems" (to the fifth grade only, since we had "Four Winds"). Basically these are biography poems, or gist poems, each of which tell the main events of an explorer's life. The class went into research mode, gathering information and trying to figure out how to tell their explorer's story in poetic prose. It was fun! (We'll finish these tomorrow.)

In 6th grade, We completed Day 4 of GVS today, and I urged them to complete Day 5 of Vocabulary (since that's the only one that HAS a Day 5...) Tomorrow is the Spelling test, of course.

We're continuing testing in Reading--we're doing QRIs instead of a DRAs. The basic difference--QRI is not contingent on written responses, which is where many kids seemed to be falling down--we wanted to test their READING/COMPREHENSION levels, not their ability to compose constructed responses. That's ANOTHER test...

Well, once again I apologize that this is late. I just can't get to it any earlier on Thursdays (class night). Those of you who are also enrolled in coursework know exactly what I mean...

I'll be in touch again tomorrow. Until then, good night, everybody--

Teri

February 9 "There seems to be so much more winter than we need this year." - Kathleen Norris

"Winter, a lingering season, is a time to gather golden moments,

embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour."

- John Boswell

~

Great Addison shot, huh?? What a beautiful place to live and work!

Airplane procedure pieces were exchanged today so that peers could critique them. It was fun to watch the kids communicate with each other about their work in such a creative way. For some, the directions were easy to follow; for others, the process was more involved. To the students' credit, though, some of the models were pretty complex and the steps to recreate them were understandably difficult. Patty (Vincent) and I eavesdropped on a number of those conversations and were truly impressed by the level of support--and constructive criticism--these kids provided to one another. I must say, however, that it would have been a lot more fun, and would have culminated in an enjoyable activity, if it hadn't been for the fact that many students still weren't done. This was most disappointing, particularly in light of the extensions and additional support that was provided. Please help me to impress upon your children the need to complete assignments and/or projects in a timely manner. Grades are certainly affected, but the greater harm comes from not holding themselves accountable --a critical skill as they move toward more independence in Middle School. It's time to move on.

We began Grammar a day late, so we only did page one today. We completed Day two, however, in Spelling and Vocabulary. We'll get back on track in Grammar tomorrow.

In Social Studies, everyone should be completing their explorer timelines. Grade 6 timelines are due tomorrow; Grade 5 will be collected on Thursday. Today in Grade 5 we did a short activity about the explorer, Ponce de Leon. You know, that "Fountain of Youth" thing was't completely bogus. Some mineral-rich springs fed into the ocean, which, when the tide was low, produced fresh-water pools that were said to have "curative powers"... I don't know, though; the strong sulfur smell would be a huge deterrent to me... Anyway, the assignment for this little stroll down explorer lane is to complete a recruitment brochure (you know, "Ponce de leon Wants YOU!). It wouldn't be a bad idea to leave out the part about the hostile natives, however...

~

F.Y.I.: Teachers are assessing student reading levels during Literacy time each afternoon this week. This and other assessments will be reviewed as we prepare for our first Transition meeting with Middle School personnel next Monday. This meeting marks the first of many discussions we'll have as we prepare for their eventual assimilation into VUMS. (Don't worry, your part is coming up...)

Tomorrow at 12:30 we'll have a 15 minute whole-school D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything And Read) time. Why don't you join us, wherever you may be? What a great way to celebrate reading.

In lieu of a traditional "Valentine's Day" party, next Friday, February 19, we'll have a "Friendship Party" in the afternoon. It seems that it would be the most opportune/least disruptive time. Thursday we'll be gone most of the day on our Flynn outing, and we really SHOULD finish up some activities and projects before vacation mode makes it impossible to do so... I'm sure you know what I mean.

~

I hope you're all staying warm and comfortable as winter wears on... Before you know it, the earth will warm, the sap will stir, and birds will wend their way home.

Talk to you later...

Teri