12/9/11

December 9, 2011

“Hey, Mr. Bolger, I already picked up 49 pieces of paper from the floor.”

“Alright. See if you can pick up 100. How many more would that be?”

“Let’s see… 1…and then 50 more --that’s 51 -- ‘cause once you get to fifty, you just need 50 more ‘cause 5 + 5 = 10.”

Dear Parents,

We have been firing on all cylinders this week…

Reading: Ms. Ward and Ms. Bakshi have joined us starting this week to help with reading groups. For at-home reading, especially with the younger students and the older, struggling readers, it’s so important to have them read out loud to you for 10 minutes or so every day. I know that can be hard to fit into our busy evenings, but reading experts tell us that having your child read to you out loud (a book they have already read and can move through pretty easily) is the single best thing you can do to ensure future reading success. It builds confidence, it builds their ability to get beyond reading word-by-word, and if you are hearing them read, you can correct them. It takes four or five times of seeing a new word and saying it correctly for our brains to create the neural model of that word in our brains.. If you can help your child get solid with knowing that when means when and not one or won or win, they will be able to store the correct neural representation of that word, and from then on, they will recognize it automatically.

So, whether your child is bringing home a book each night from his or her guided reading group, or whether your child is reading, quite independently, a book from the school library, please think about getting into the habit of having your child read out loud to you for ten minutes or so each day. Thanks!

Writing : in writing, we are working on our handwriting (!) and our grammar at the same time as we are finalizing our “special moments” stories. Students have also chosen topics for their ILPs (Independent learning Projects). I will have more info for you in the coming week about the ILPs, but, in short, they are mini-research projects your child will be completing (about one every two weeks) on a topic of his or her choice. Ask your child what his or her ILP topic is!

Read-Aloud: ask your child which character he or she is most like (Lumphy the buffalo is nice, but kind-of grumpy, the Shark is the new kid on the block and was misunderstood by the others. The Stingray is bossy. Plastic the ball is friendly. The Washing Machine likes everyone to join him in the basement for rock-n-roll dances!)

Ask Your Child About The Sneetches: We read The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss today, as part of our World of Difference Unit. Dr. Seuss is brilliant in the way he writes about important social issues in a way that kids can understand. You’ll remember that The Sneetches is a story about Star-Bellied Sneetches who have stars on them being snobby towards the non-Star-Bellied Sneetches. A shrewd salesman comes along and sells stars to the non-Star-Bellied Sneetches. Then, to help the Star-Bellied Sneetches be different again, he removes their stars – for a price.

It goes back and forth like that in frantic see-saw until in the end, all the Sneetches are broke, the salesman leaves town a rich man, and the Sneetches realize that stars are irrelevant; it’s being accepting and kind to each other that counts.

Upcoming Polar Express Day: On December 22^nd, (we have December 23rd off) remember that students should come to school dressed in their pajamas. We will be watching The Polar Express, we’ll drinking hot chocolate, and we’ll be doing a series of holiday crafts.

A Word About Gifts: Dear Parents, I have spent this entire fall being the lucky recipient of countless, overwhelming gifts -- both material and emotional – in the wake of the flood my family and I experienced in Moretown. I have always loved my job, but this year, I have felt, with a sharper perspective, a gratitude at being part of this wonderful community. It’s fun to give and receive gifts at this time of year, but know that I hope you will take a break and a breather and take a pass on giving me yet something else. If your child would feel better giving me something, I will certainly oblige, but know that I have a special fondness for toilet-paper-roll napkin holders and anything made out of coat hangers. I love paper snowflakes. I love log cabins make out of pretzels. I would love for your child to look in your recycling bin and think of something cool and weird and funny and thoughtful (and quick!) to make me for a holiday gift. Something that’s long on inspiration and short on details is just fine.

Have a great weekend, Everyone. Easy on the eggnog.

Mr. Bolger

Nov. 11, 2011

11:11 a.m. on 11/11/11

Dear Parents,

I am holding on to your child’s work from this week (not putting it in the Friday Folder) because I want to be able to show it to you all during conferences. I will have it back in the Friday Folders next week.

We had a great day. We counted down in the cafeteria to 11:10, and we celebrated that it was 11:11 a.m. on 11/11/11.

We also worked more this week on our short stories, and we did a fun lesson on alphabetizing (to the second, third, and fourth letters.) Students also extended their understanding of similes and metaphors when Ms. Cobb asked them to describe Mr. Bolger:

“Mr. Bolger’s voice is scratchy as pavement.” / “His watch is round as a rug,”/ Mr. Bolger is short as a weiner dog.”/ His ears are as big as an elephant’s”/ “His shoes are as green as frogs.” Thanks, kids.

Douglas Schmidt, a former student, came back from WCS as a WISH student this week. he will be coming each week to work with students in the classroom. Douglas described doing the Penguin Plunge last winter (to raise money for the Special Olympics.) Great to have you back, Doug!

Kid-Report-Cards: students filled out report cards on themselves this week. They thought about whether they were RG (real good at …),OK (OK at…), or GB (needing to get better at…) twenty-one things from reading and writing to letting others go first to listening carefully or “using my strong words when I have to…) It is surprising how self-aware many kids are at this age. Ask your child about what it means to “take initiative” or show “stamina and perseverance.” We talked a lot about these things this week.

Three posters students made for the classroom today are: “Listening carefully is kind,” “Try even when it’s hard; you will grow,” and “Ignore people who are distracting you.”

Ask your child what is going on right now in our read-aloud, Top Secret.

It has been a pleasure to conference with you, Parents, and to share our thoughts about your children. If you have any follow-up comments or thoughts, please email me.

Mr. B.

Oct. 27, 2011

Hello Parents!

What a great time we had a Shelburne Farms. So good to get outside, and walk in the woods. The kids were mesmerized by the worms and snakes and salamanders. ("I saw a monkee!" "No you didn't" "Yup I did.") Thank you to Matt Wood, Jessica LaMorey, Wendy Ward, Shelley Forrest, Kim Van Buren, and Jodi Bakshi for coming along as chaperones.

Conferences are coming up, and I will send you the link to the conference sign-up sheet tomorrow.

Take care, everyone.

David

October 17, 2011

Hello Parents.

1) Today during Tech Lab, the kids typed this week's journal entry. This is instead of writing, tomorrow, in their Home-School Journals. Please respond by email, and we will print out your child's email as well as your response, on Thursday; then, we'll glue them both into the HSJ.

2) Tomorrow, as you know, we are having "Stone Soup" for lunch. There is always plenty for everyone. There will not be any "hot" lunch available tomorrow besides what the school creates for this Harvest Festival Stone Soup. If your child is sure he or she does not want to eat the soup, etc, your should be sure to pack an alternative lunch.

3) Remember: our class will be attending the Scholastic Book Fair this Wednesday. Most students come with something like $3.00 or $4.00 or $5.00 to buy a book. Please let me know if buying a book this year is a hardship. There are some funds available to help out. Also, I love it when I can tell students, "Your mom emailed me, and she wants you to spend the $5.00 only on a good book -- not on that slinky pen." Just let me know. Glad to be the enforcer :)

4) Remember: no school this Friday.

5) Your child brought home a couple of books today in his/her blue reading folder. Please take a look, and enjoy! Also, please help to find and return any books from last week or before that your child has not yet turned back in.

Thanks.

Take care,

David

October 14, 2011

Congratulations, Ananya, Anna VB, Diego, James, Julia, Leo, Luna, Mitchell, Olivia R., Sean, and Tyler for reaching your 200-minute or 300-minute goals . I loved looking at everyone's reading log to share what your are all reading :) The rest of you are close!

Hello Parents.

I am attaching here a copy of the Reading Log so you will be able to print it up on your own. Feel free to change the bottom-line-question to something engaging for your child to answer. It currently asks, "Where do you like to read?" Other questions you could cut and paste there might be:

Which character from this week is most like you and why?

Does one of your characters remind you of someone you know? Tell why.

What do you like about the way your mom or dad reads to you?

What is hard about reading?

What is fun about reading?

Does one of this week's books remind you of another book you have read? Explain.

Did you read a book this week that one of your school friends would like? What is it called? Who do you think would like it?

If you could magically enter into one of your books from this week, who would you like to spend time with and why?

Think of the characters you have come across this week in your reading. Which one is most like your Dad or your Mom? Why? ...etc.

Notes from this week:

Just an hour ago, we Skyped with Mrs. Hartshorn's First and Second Grade class from Moretown Elementary School. We watched as they opened their Care Package we had sent. It included a picture of all the Horizon kids. They enthusiastically thanked us, and we gave them a hearty Moretown Cheer. One of the second-grade girls named Anlou told us how the river had risen up (her house sits next to the Mad River) so high that debris had smashed her roof. She still is not yet back in the house. Students in my class also wrote "Good luck!" letters to our Moretown friends. I copied them and they are in your child's Friday Folder today.

Please post the What is Due -- When? schedule I emailed a couple of days ago. Some parents and kids put it on the fridge or right next to where the child hangs his backpack. That way, the kids can have a visual reminder and learn to be responsible for getting the folders and notebooks and reading logs handed in. Generally, if students occasionally don't hand in their things that are due on time, I give them a pass. If it happens frequently, I have the student stay in for recess to complete the work -- not as a punishment, but simply as a way to get the work completed and as a way to begin to teach these youngsters that it matters if they are asked to complete a task and they don't complete it. It matters if they do!

In second grade math, we sorted ourselves in a big class-wide Venn Diagram: ex: "stand in this circle, everyone who has played frisbee. Now stand in this circle, everyone who has a dog -- Now, where should you stand if you don't have a dog and you've never played frisbee? Where should you stand if you have a dog and you also have played frisbee?"

We have a no-school day coming up. Look on the WSD website for this and other calendar questions you might have.

Have a nice weekend, everyone.

David

June 7, 2011

Dear Parents and Families,

End-of-Year Events:
Tuesday, 6/7: Step-up Day: 2nd-graders visit WCS (during school day)
Weds. 6/8: WCS Band Performance: 2nd graders only – to WCS (during school day).
Thursday, 6/9: Fun Day @ WCS (during school day).
Friday, 6/10: Fun Day Rain Date
Weds., 6/15: Horizon’s End-of-Year Picnic at Maple Street Park.
Friday, 6/17: Last Day/half day. Report cards go out.

In Second-Grade Math, students are continuing their work with place value – working on really understanding how you regroup and why you regroup when you are dealing with problems like 183-48.
In Writing, students finished up their I Am… poems. Most kid shave brought them home to you already. Just a couple still need to do a final edit. If you haven’t seen your child’s yet, please let me know. I thought they were quite poignant and perceptive for 7 and 8-year-olds.

Read-Aloud: Mrs. Frisby is finding out how the Rats of NIMH became so smart. Nicodemus, the leader, we find, had once lived in the city. He and his friends were captured one night in the marketplace and brought to a laboratory. They got injections that doubled their life span and made them so smart they learned to read and problem-solve. When we left them today, they had just sneaked out of their cages for the first time, and they were preparing to head down the air ducts to escape!

Bolger Summer Book Club Reading Blog: I will be hosting a Summer Book Club again this summer. Last year a half-dozen students participated. We met once every two weeks at the Dorothy Alling Library, to eat potato chips and talk about our books. I ran a Summer Book Club reading blog, and posted questions for students to answer. They wrote to me and responded to each other’s comments. It was a lot of fun, and kept kids linked in to each other and to a common reading experience in the midst of their many differing summer activities. I have to charge a fee to pay for gas and for the work involved in working with the kids via email, phone, and the blog, but I think parents found it reasonable. I will be sending out a flyer giving more details early next week. Visit the blog using the following link:
http://bolgerbookclub.blogspot.com/2010/07/july-2-2010.html

Former Students: We were paid a visit by former students, Mark Lang, Doug Schmidt, and Emma Lieberman. They read memoirs they’d written – memoirs about facing difficult situations and gaining strength from them: the Penguin Plunge, an audition with a national theater company, or a run down a very difficult ski trail.
Harmony House’s Reading Restaurant: We all walked over to Harmony House at the end of the week and were treated to their Reading Restaurant dress rehearsal. Our kids were excited to read other kids’ writing; they were happy to be “old hands”, and gladly offered suggestions to their Harmony friends as they prepared for their Reading Restaurant that night.

The Sylvia Love Benefit: Last week, students made posters and did problem-solving problems related to Sylvia Love’s upcoming benefit. On Saturday Night, as you know, friends and family held the spaghetti dinner at the Federated Church to benefit Sylvia. Many parents, kids, teachers, and community members were able to contribute by attending, getting take-out, or simply donating. Sylvia was there with family; she spoke about having received a cut-off notice from the electric company and the cable company just that day, so the proceeds from the dinner (more than $3000.00) could not have come at a better time. Sylvia especially thanked the kids of Allen Brook who have been so loving and solicitous towards her over the recent weeks.

Report Cards will be going home on the last day of school. I will be in school through Wednesday, June 7th if you have any questions.

Thank you again to the parents and kids for the wonderful cards and goodies and the Kindle you gave me for Teacher Appreciation Day. I look forward to being able to try out the Kindle with our next Read-Aloud book.

Take care, everyone
(And, um, where has the time gone?)
David