Dear Families,
Every year around this time, I
remember why I call this month “No-school-vember”. I found myself exhausted this weekend after a
complete five-day week. Not only was it
a full week, but also it was a busy week in the classroom. The most exciting thing was that we welcomed
a new student into our class on Tuesday.
We are so happy to have Roland as a member of our class. Roland and his family moved here from
Vermont. As someone who knows little
about the state of Vermont and has visited the East Coast only once, I look
forward to gaining new knowledge from Roland.
Your children have done such a nice job helping him feel a part of our
class, and Roland has been a great role model to his peers by quickly learning
and modeling our class and school expectations.
It is because of your children, that despite being tired, I love coming
to work everyday!
We started a new math unit this
past week. Hopefully you all saw the
“Family Letter” that came home explaining this unit. We have begun the unit by focusing on
measurement, both in U.S. customary units and metric units. There has been a brief introduction into
fractions as we discussed measuring to the nearest ½ inch and centimeter, as
well as ¼ and 1/8 inch. You can support
your child’s learning of measurement at home by involving measuring and
estimation into everyday activities at.
Occasionally ask them to measure household objects or how many inches,
feet or centimeters they think something might be. The more we are exposed to math, the easier
and more routine it becomes for us!
Our Iroquois nation was in need of
a new chief. Our class decided that a
good chief was one who was honest, kind, and helpful and did what was best for
the people as a whole. After multiple
students in our class “interviewed” for the part, our clan mothers deliberated
and on Tuesday, named Trek as chief! We
look forward to Trek providing us with his wisdom as we continue to discuss
this week what we need to do as a nation to live in harmony.
Our school as a whole is focusing
on the theme of “gratitude” and on the writing trait of organization. Third grade came up with a meaningful and
integrated project to go along with this theme.
With harmonious Iroquois on our minds and Thanksgiving just a few days
away, each child has been making a book relating what they are thankful for to
what the Iroquois were grateful for.
Through this project, our goal is that the students will relate more and
gain more knowledge about the Iroquois, as well as develop their skills of
writing organized paragraphs. (Remember,
a paragraph has a strong topic sentence, detailed supporting sentences and ends
with a concluding sentence that ties back to the topic sentence.) Soon you will be able to see their finished
books displayed in the school’s hall along side their Sexton Mountain peers.
Lastly, the students were able to
get their artistic minds working this week as the created their own African
textiles. I won’t do their beautiful
work justice by trying to describe it here, so please stop by our classroom and
admire their work as it is displayed on the wall outside our room. Thank you again to our Art Lit volunteers.
Do you ever have those days where
you are just so incredibly happy and know that you are exactly where you are
supposed to be? Friday was that day for
me. I had a smile on my face from the
moment I walked through the school’s doors to the time I drove out of the
parking lot later that evening. Your children
and I spent the day not only learning, but doing one of my favorite things,
laughing! I was in utter bliss just
being in the classroom with your children, watching them work their hardest, sharing
stories with each other, and again, laughing with them. I feel so grateful to have a job that makes
me this happy. The families, staff, and
children at Sexton Mountain are simply amazing and we should all be thankful
that we are able to be a part of such a wonderful community!
I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend and Happy Thanksgiving
Week!
Yours truly,
Miss Jaques
P.S. No spelling this
week since it is a short week. There is
still weekly writing and math homework though!
