February Break is the best time to have off. Winter sports are at their peak and there is fun to be had everywhere.
I just love the cold wintery season. I’ve been told I’m a bit crazy when it comes to my love of the cold months…but hear me out.
Picture this: a cold blustery morning, the snow is falling and it looks like a glittery snow globe outside your window. Inside the woodstove is crackling away, warming your hearth and home. You are in your fuzzy pajamas and even fuzzier slippers. You look over and there tucked in a nook is a recipe book, worn and tattered. It is stuffed with extra bits of paper and held together by a rubber band or two. This hand me-down cookbook and the recipes inside came from Grandma or Grandpa, Mom or Dad, a great-uncle or family friend. You think to yourself, This is the perfect weather to cook. You remember how that special dish from back when you were young made you feel; the smell of the ingredients, the excitement of dropping them in the bowl or pan to create this special dish, brings those memories flooding back. It’s just like you are a kid again.
|
|
Suddenly the weather outside isn’t so bad, and you're enjoying a treasure and sharing that treasure the way it was shared with you those years ago.
For me, cooking can do that. It can bring back those memories of simpler times with less stress and hectic schedules. The memories made in your kitchen can be some of the most precious. Maybe for you it’s a place or a song or movie or a moment, whatever it is…sharing it can bring you so much joy…even when it’s cold and gray and blustery outside.
It would be wonderful to see what creations you make or bake over vacation. Send me some photos of your favorite family recipes you are able to make over the winter break! After break, I'll share those, and some of the recipes my family are able to make. Send photos to ghewes@wrvsu.org
|
|
Are you wondering what winter fun the PTA is planning for Newton students? Watch for information to come out later this week! |
|
The library has not sent overdue notices so far this year, recognizing the challenges of having library on a cart and self-checkout, and the many errors they incur. However, to help families look for and return books before the long winter break, I will be emailing notices home next week.
Please know that this notice is NOT A BILL. My library management system includes prices of overdue books on the notice, but I am in no way asking for any kind of payment--just a good faith effort in finding and returning them. Also, books that were checked out before the school closure last year and not returned have been marked as "lost" for my inventory purposes...but that doesn't mean I wouldn't like them back! If you see a book with a library barcode on the back, or a spine label, please send it this way, back to its home on the shelves.
|
|
|
|
Kindergarten learned more about tracking animals. They reviewed animal movements and acted out local animals moving. Their friends guessed whether they were walkers, waddlers, hoppers, or bounders along with what animal it was. Then they used what they know to solve track mysteries in a book, including differentiating dog and cat family tracks and noticing which way rabbits are moving. Finally they used stamps and drawings to make up their own track stories and shared them in partners. They had fun, worked hard, and were great listeners as their friends shared their track stories. |
|
|
|
|
First Grade
Mrs. Robinson
|
The first graders had a fun week of making valentines for each other! Whew! That’s a lot of cards!
On Friday during indoor recess, the kids used cardboard boxes and tubes to make whatever they wanted. There were many slides for cars, and some painting going on. Then came the party! We played valentine BINGO, gave out our valentines, read a book called Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch (a yearly favorite), played musical hearts (they had to do an activity at each heart when the music stopped), and a game where they held a valentine themed word over their heads and the class gave clues to help them guess it. A great time was had by all! What a great group of enthusiastic children!
|
|
|
|
|
On Friday we had our Valentine’s Day celebration and we listened to a book about the Chinese New Year. It was really nice to listen to students thank each other for their valentines.
Throughout the week, students have been hard at work contributing to a bulletin board outside our classroom. Ms. Donna created a bulletin board with the idea of “We Love.” Students created hearts using the sentence starter “I love when _____” or “I love how _____” and named an action. We certainly are a group of thoughtful and caring second graders!
|
|
|
|
|
Our students spent Wednesday afternoon sewing their own fidget toys. My Aunt Helen lovingly supplied everything we needed. I am so proud of how well our students sewed! They were patient and helpful. They enjoyed the activity. |
|
|
|
|
What a great week it has been in Alligator Alley! We have been collecting evidence on how we are responsible and involved citizens, working on improving our reading skills, learning more about world geography, and much more.
During our Caravan Game this week, one team was putting a presentation together on the country of Liberia. They asked if they could print out a copy of a Liberian five-dollar bill to include on their poster to which I said yes. As I handed it to one of the caravan members I said, "This piece of paper is probably worth more than an actual Liberian five-dollar bill." This led to the team looking up how much Liberian currency was worth compared to the U.S. dollar. They discovered that three cents in American money will get you five dollars in Liberian money.
This interesting fact led some of the 4th graders to a real-world math problem. During their math class, I posed this question to them: "Did you know that three American pennies will buy you five dollars in Liberian money? If Mr. Walker traveled to Liberia with 1000 dollars of American money, how much money would he have to spend in that country?
I'm proud to announce that these students figured it out. Do you know the answer? Oh yes, as I told the students, no computers or calculators involved.
|
|
|
|
|
Fifth & Sixth Grade
Ms. Tremblay
|
Fifth and 6th grade students are learning about character traits. Each student thought about the traits that reminded them of their classmates. We took pictures of the students and posted their words in the hallway.
Students have been enjoying getting outside!
The middle school had fun challenging themselves to write something they love about school on a heart for their bulletin board. They have written 315 hearts in only one week!
|
|
|
Middle School Social Studies and Literature
Mr. Breen
|
Seventh and 8th grade have been peer editing short stories, and knocking it out of the park.
Sixth grade is currently working on research projects on different inquiry questions they developed about South America, while 5th grade spent the week learning about the country of Chile. The kids developed inquiry questions on their own, which led to a lot of interesting answers!
|
|
|
|
|
The 7th and 8th graders saw that adding energy to different elements can produce different parts of the spectrum. Now we will try to determine the atmospheric composition of distant planets using this knowledge. Of course, we all had goggles on. The snow in the photo is only halfway up the window so far. |
|
|
Kindergarten through 5th grade have been working on cup stacking. We have some pretty fast hands out there!
Also, 5-8 have been sledding and working on our ski day, coming February 17th, by building some seats around the fire pit.
|
|
|
|
|
THE NEWTON SCHOOL
newtonschool.org
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
