Science!

Students imagined they were stranded on a desert island and only had a few materials to make a hat.  They tried to make their hats soft, absorbent, and with a stiff brim to block the sun.  Here are some photos of their hats!

Shelburne Museum

Thank you to all of our amazing chaperones for our trip to Shelburne Museum!  We had a wonderful sunny day and everyone seemed to have a great time.  Here are some pictures from the day!

Newsletter 5/12/17

Hello everyone!  Here is the link to our latest grade 1/2 newsletter!  Link

We also wanted to thank you all again for the kind and thoughtful things you have done for us in honor of teacher appreciation week!  We are so lucky to have such great families in our community!

Finally, we'd like to wish all the mothers a very happy Mother's Day!  You are all amazing and we appreciate all that you do for us and your children!  Have a great weekend!

Vermont Symphony Orchestra

Last Friday, a brass trio from the Vermont Symphony Orchestra played for the Smilie students. They were AMAZING! They started the show by playing the Star Wars theme, and wowed us with hose instruments, cool facts, songs, and many other instruments. We were so lucky to have them come!

Click on the link to view the April Newsletter...

April Newsletter

Outdoor Education

Wednesday, two special guests came from the Audubon to teach us in an outdoor classroom. We learned about how scientists test bodies of water, and tested our own stream in the backyard! We tested the PH level (the acidity), the turbidity (how clear the water is), and the temperature. We used a Kick Net to collect macroinvertebrates and identified what they were. After studying the stream we played a "Guess What I Am" game with photos of Vermont wildlife. The kids had a blast asking one another questions and figuring out what they were. We then collected creatures from the woods and explored our natural world. Despite the rain, we had a great time getting dirty!

Welcome back!

Welcome back! I hope that you all had a wonderful break; what wacky weather we had!

We jumped right back into school with both feet and are hard at work. We have started new units in reading, writing, and science. We will be working on building our reading fluency/stamina/comprehension, opinion writing, and learning about sound with the help of Artist in Residence, Buddy Dubay.

For our sound unit we are in need of some materials. If you have any at home, please send them our way!
-milk jugs
-clementine boxes
-tissue boxes
-paper towel rolls
-toilet paper rolls
-plastic bottles
-PVC piping
-metal pie pans
-coffee cans
-oatmeal cylinders

Thanks so much!
Mrs. Bristol and Mrs. Delphia

Happy vacation!

Our amazing Culture Unit culminated on Tuesday with a Project Based Learning whole school presentation. The preschool shared a digital presentation of them singing a song from another country, the Kindergarten shared their adorable class book on homes around the world, the two 1/2 classrooms shared a digital recording of their class books, and the 3/4 did a very cool video presentation in front of a green screen. The presentation ended with the whole school singing "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing".

For our class books, the first and second graders chose the cultural topic that they wanted to research. The students researched their topic through both print and digital books, and took notes accordingly. The students then had to type their notes and find photos to match their writing. This process was a huge learning experience for all!

Happy vacation to all of you! Enjoy the break, get some rest, and play outside! We look forward to seeing you all in March!

*Click on the link below for the latest newsletter, and to hear the class books if you missed it!*

February 24th Newsletter

100th Day

We had a fabulous day celebrating our 100th day of school on Tuesday! We kicked off this special day with an assembly and did many classroom activities.

Here is a peak at what the first and second grade mathematicians did for the 100th day! We had stations where we built 100 using: unifix cubes, popsicle sticks, coins, cups, legos,
 and pattern blocks. We also read a book about 100, did 100 exercises, and truly celebrated this wonderful number!

At the bottom you will see pictures of Mrs. Delphia's class making artwork with the number 100.  Some made the numbers into trees, cars, and even people! There is also a group photo of the class in our 100th day crowns!