Last newsletter for the year!

Classroom News

The last week of school was busy and fun! The schedule stayed the same for most of the day to keep things as normal as possible, but each day I planned a special activity to make the days fun and keep the children engaged. Here are some snapshots from our week! Your child will receive their last report card on June 18th, all of the contents are yours to keep. Each child has made lots of progress this year. I have really enjoyed working with these kiddos and have loved watching them grow. Have an awesome summer vacation! 

Summer Reading/Pen Pal Writing

Earlier in the week I sent home a summer reading bingo challenge. Please keep track of your child's reading over the summer and return the bingo sheet in the fall. I would love to write back and forth with children over the summer. Some students have already set this up, so please let me know if you are interested! 

Our last week together...
Monday began with...
Free choice time and Pajama Day! 
We also had a special concert put on by the 4-6 graders in Mrs. Towle's band! They did a great job sharing and telling us all about their instruments.

Tuesday

Extra Recess and snack under our classroom tree 




Wednesday 
River walk and extra recess!






























Thursday
Engineering and Classroom Clean up Day
Our last science activity of the year! Students engineered their own seed carrier. Students applied their prior knowledge about seed dispersal and designed a carrier which used wind power to move the seed away from the parent plant. Here are some great shots from the day. We measured the length each seed carrier traveled and took note at changes we could make to get our seeds to travel even further. We also worked to clean up the classroom and get it ready for summer.


                                                     


Friday
Carnival Day!
I was stationed at the  Log Mountain slide all day, but managed to get some great shots of the kids! Thank you to WESPO for funding this special day. This will be a special memory for many children and adults alike! 

Happy Forest Celebrations

Happy Forest Celebration

Tomorrow we will celebrate! The first and second graders have earned "fort day" as a way to celebrate using our PAWS rules in Art, Music, P.E., Library and Guidance class! Students may bring a sheet, blanket, pillow and some clothes pins. We will make our forts in the morning and use them to read and write! Thank you! 

The Week of May 29th

Upcoming Events 

Last Week of Spelling and Reading Homework

June 4, 2018 

Waterville Elementary School 6th Grade Graduation

June 14, 2018 @ 6:00

Carnival Day/End of Year Picnic Celebration - June 15

Waterville students will experience an amazing carnival set up right here at our school! WESPO will sponsor a day of games, fun and food! Ms. Debbie will be sending home food donation forms in the coming weeks.

Last Day of School/ Half Day

June 18, 2018 

Ms. Stephanie is preparing a special brunch for the last day of school! 

Trimester III Report Cards Go Home

June 18, 2018

Preview Day 

This time of year is exiting for teachers and students and this year was one of the best! Preview Day was a success and it was fun getting to see the "Super Second Grade Helpers" take the new members of our classroom under their wings and show them all around our room. The first and second graders who went next door had lots of fun too! Unfortunately, Ms. Caswell will not be returning next year so those children will meet their new teacher soon. 

 I would like all parents to know that class placement is important, and each child is thought about individually. Ms. Epstein, Ms. Abair, Ms. Caswell, Mrs. Slayton and I all work together to place students. We consider class make up, strengths, areas of improvement and social/emotional skills. We take great care to make sure each child is in a place where they will do their best learning. Every year, parents ask me, "is my child being held back in first grade if they stay with you?" The answer is absolutely not- retention or grade promotion is not the goal when placing students in either room. Besides Kindergarten, each classroom at Waterville Elementary School is a multi-age classroom.  This is what makes our school special and functional.

End of Year Benchmark Assessments

I am almost finished with my end of year benchmark assessments and I am so proud of each and every child! I have conducted the Fountas and Pinnell reading assessment, sight word assessment and the POA hearing and recording sounds assessment of writing. In math, we are working on our number corner assessment. We are working on a small portion each day to make it manageable and low stress for the kiddos. They were models of persistence and each child has grown so much from the beginning of the year. Your child's report card will be sent home in the same yellow manila envelope on June 18, so please look for it in their home folder. 

Readers' and Writers' Workshop

This last week has been fun! Students are becoming experts at working on their laptops. We worked on editing and revising our final drafts of our nonfiction books and began typing our books. The first graders helped insert pictures into their books, while the second grader created their own google doc and typed their books. We will continue to work on our books and when they are done, we will celebrate our learning with a WRITING CELEBRATION!! Students are also making lots of progress in their silent reading. We have been practicing each day for longer and longer. 

Last Homework Packet of the Year!

Thank you to all the first and second grade families for the awesome support you gave this year in reading and spelling! I was so impressed with the quality of the homework done and the great responsibility you all took to complete each assignment. It really does take a village and I am so glad to have you all! Please let me know if your child would like to take the Summer Reading Challenge or if your child would like to be pen pals with me over the summer! I love writing back and forth with my students and it really motivates kids to keep writing!