March 7, 2017

Happy Town Meeting Day Parents,

Tomorrow we will be going by school bus out to the solar array a mile from the center of Woodstock on Rt. 12.  Eric Wegner, from Woodstock Aqueduct will be there to explain to us how the panels were assembled and where the power is used.  This trip ties into our study of energy and how renewable forms create sustainability.  PLEASE HAVE YOUR CHILD WEAR BOOTS, LONG PANTS AND A JACKET.

In STEM we are creating various devices that use a battery and complete circuits to do a job or perform a task.  Soon we will hear about an island off the coast of Denmark, where all of the energy used on the island is produced there.  Students will then create their own "Energy Island".

Yesterday, Monday, March 6th the official Iditarod race started in Fairbanks, Alaska, which is 350 miles to the north of Anchorage.  It was -15 degrees at the start and last night it got down to -40.  The dogs are bred to run in this cold but the snow is very deep, which means that 71 teams are making deep ruts until they spread out over the next 900+ miles.  There are lots of veteran mushers racing and contending for the championship.  The students picked a musher to follow and you can access their progress on www.iditarod.com.  Unfortunately, to see most of the videos, you have to pay to be an "Insider".  Mrs. Siegler is a member so she will be showing them during snack each day. There are other sites available like the Anchorage Dispatch News:  adn.com.  (Outdoor/adventure)

Back by popular demand...we started the Reading Iditarod on Friday, March 3rd.  You should have seen the sheets that were sent home and by signing them you acknowledge knowing your child should be reading and recording 1/2 hr. each school night and 1 hour on the weekend days.  The goal is shorter this year due to less checkpoints(just like the real race).  In 17 hours your child should finish.  We will have the celebration on either the 23rd or the 24th.

In Math we just completed our unit on addition and subtraction of numbers up to 10,000.  Children have several strategies for finding the answers to such problems.  Tomorrow we will begin a new unit on fractions and decimals.  This a great time for functional skills with recipes, money and time.

By next week every reading group will have finished reading an Asian book and will be reading a book with a dog theme.  We are working hard to see "beyond the text" and understand inferences.

Our Music Concert is at 6:00p.m. on Wed. March 22nd.  Art work will be displayed at this time.  We also hope to make two afternoons available for Student Led Curriculum Celebrations that week.  Rather than a student led conference, your child will take you to stations, where you will see activities he/she has been doing. A notice with exact times will be forth-coming.

Mush on,
Cindy & Kelley