ELMORE School News

Dear Elmore School Families,

We had a full week of learning, creativity and fun. The week started with a spring preview with temperatures reaching into the 60's. The snow melted from the field on the playground and students enjoyed playing soccer again! By the en of the week were back into full winter mode with light snow and cold temperatures in the teens and twenties. This week also brought daylight saving time giving us daylight into the evening. While we may not be entirely done with winter, we are ntocing signs of spring which officially arrives in just a week!

This week students embarked on a research journey! Over the next few weeks we will be learning about and writing about our nature name animals. Each students will have a final product that will be in the form of one of the following: a book, an informational sign, a poster, a digital slideshow, a presentation board, or a brochure. Students will also have a creative project to go along with their writing.

In math this week first graders learned strategies to add within 20. Second graders are comparing numbers using a number line, and third graders began learning about fractions.

The class is learning about the states of Matter (solids, liquides, and gases). as part of this unit we are learning about the maple sugaring process. During ECO this week students tapped a maple tree to collect maple sap. Before they could do that, though, they learned how to identify a sugar maple tree and used clued (bark, buds, and branches) to locate a sugar maple tree at our ECO site. ( see photos below). Thank you to those who contributed kindling this week! During forest choice students enjoyed roasting 'Lit Smokies (sausages), playing camouflage, and widdling wood.

All third graders will be taking the Vermont State assessment (VTCAP) in just a few short weeks. The assessment consists of two English Language Arts (ELA) sessions and two mathematics sessions. Each session takes approximately 45-90 minutes, although they are not times tests, so students can have a much time as they need to complete the test. We will have time to practice taking the test prior to administering. Our Practice days will be Monday, March 30th and Wednesday, april 1st. Testing days will be Tuesday, April 7th, Wednesday April 8th, Tuesday, April 14th, and Wednesday, April 15th between 10 - 11:30 each day. It is very important that students are present for this testing days. Please assure that our child does not have any scheduled appointments during these times. If your child must miss school due to an illness, a make day will be scheduled.

I;ve decided to postpone the concert until Wednesday April 8th to give us more time to prepare for this exciting event! All students are expected to participate in the concert. I now baseball will be starting soon, but I ask that you prioritize this event that day.

Thank you to Paige Bowen for the delicious lunch on Monday! Our next family hot lunch will be Monday March 23rd. Next week school Hot Lunch is available on Monday and Wednesday. Sandwiches and Salads are available Monday - Friday. Please Submit your lunch orders by 6:00 pm on Sunday.

Family/teacher conferences will take place on March 26th and 27th. Each conference will take about 20-30 minutes. Use the green button below to sign up for a conference.

In gratitude,

Diane Nicholls

Announcements:

Tuesday - Library this week

Tuesday - 3rd grade recorder lessons

Tuesday - School Banking - bring your deposits!

Thursday - PE - Bring sneakers!

Friday, March 20th - ECO

Thursday March 26th - Early release (12:15pm) family/ teacher conferences

March 27th - No School - family / teacher conferences.

April 8th - Annual School Concert at the Elmore Town Hall from 6:30 - 7:00

April Break - April 20 - 24. No School

Field Trip to Meg Witherbee's sheep farm

Annual Grandparents Breakfast - Wednesday, May 13th