Sharon Elementary School News |
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Monday, 4/8- Solar Eclipse, See Mr. Haley's letter below
Tuesday, 4/9- Coffee with Mr. Haley, Maplefields 8-9 AM
Wednesday, 4/10- PTO Meeting, in person at school, 6 PM
Friday, 4/12- Early Release, 12 PM
Tuesday, 4/16- School Board Meeting, 5:30 PM. See Website for Agenda.
Wednesday, 4/17- Math Night. 5:30-6:30 More details soon!
Wednesday-Friday, 4/17-4/19- PTO sponsored Book Fest
4/22- 4/26 No School, April Break
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Links to Helpful Information |
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Letter from Principal Haley |
Families and Caregivers,
The interesting weather continues! Winter seems to want to hang on but spring seems to also want to make its presence felt. Please be aware of the weather when sending your child(ren) to school and help them be ready for whatever the weather throws at us, especially in terms of clothing.
The anticipation of the solar eclipse is finally coming to an end and the actual event is on the horizon. Communication from the Supervisory Union and Sharon Elementary has been sent out regarding how the school will operate. The basic gist is that Sharon will operate with its normal schedule, although we are offering an extended stay for students to view the eclipse if parents wish. A permission slip has been sent home and needs to be filled out for your child to stay at school until 4 pm on Monday, April 8th. One Planet students do not need to fill out the permission slip, as the program will operate its normal schedule. If your child is not attending One Planet or staying later that day, then our normal bussing and pick-up times are still in place. If you have any questions, please reach out and we can help you navigate this interesting day.
I hope everyone has a smooth transition into Spring. As we move into the next phase of the year, please feel free to reach out. I’m always happy to discuss anything relating to school and your child’s learning.
Respectfully,
Keenan Haley
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Each month, we highlight one of our amazing staff members. This month we are featuring our Preschool Director and Preschool Teacher, Blaise Smith. She will be moving on to teach Pre-K at JFK Elementary School in Winooski next school year and will be missed!
How long have you worked at SES?
I have been teaching PreK at SES for 9 years now.
What is your favorite thing about working at SES?
My absolute favorite thing about working at SES dwells in connection. I have enjoyed every single student that has come through my classroom and still feel connected to every single of one them. My first class graduates from 6th grade this year and I have enjoyed having them spend time in my classroom again this year as volunteers. The connections with the families have given me nine years of support from home to the classroom. The connections I have made with several of the staff have been comical, supportive, challenging, and life-changing.
What do you do to take care of yourself?
Movement is big in my family. Running, swimming and biking help me stay present. I also enjoy yoga and pilates. I have been training to compete in a series of triathlons this summer.
What brings you joy?
What brings me joy is hearing laughter and seeing people smile.
What do you want people to know about your job?
My evolution as a teacher came through many years of studying Reggio Emilia. My job isn’t a job so to speak, but who I am, a part of me, my values, and how I live life. My role is to be a co-learner alongside children, where I am a researcher, a resource, and a guide towards developing learning for young children. In my classroom the focus is on developing social skills independently and collaboratively, becoming a learner, and developing a sense of self and place, where academics become the bonus based on the needs and interests of the group. Nothing is ever done more than once because no two groups of children I have taught have ever been the same.
What is one fun fact about you?
My favorite place to be is on a surfboard catching a wave!
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Kindergarten has been super busy these last few weeks!! Check it out....
Math - We have started subtraction! We are working very hard switching our thinking from counting a large group of items to breaking things apart into smaller groups! We also did a week of Jelly Bean math that was super fun! There were more red and orange jelly beans in the bags!
Literacy - We have also been working hard to become readers!! The confidence that I have seen in the kindergarteners has been amazing. They are so proud that they are able to sound out and read words in a book!! Keep up the great work K's!
Outdoor Ed - We have been doing some journaling about our changing seasons as well as noticing and predicting the weather just like a meteorologist! We have also brought math in the woods!
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First-grade students are busy and working hard. In Literacy, we are applying our skills of blends, digraphs, vowel sounds, and vowel teams. We are identifying parts of words and open and closed syllables. We are incorporating this knowledge into our reading and writing. Also, in writing, we have sent off another correspondence to our Pen Pals in Lebanon. The first-grade students created joke books for their Pen Pals, complete with illustrations. They then bound them into little books and sent them off. This activity incorporated the current interest in jokes, reading with fluency and expression, handwriting, and illustrating. The students were very engaged and are excited to hear back from their Pen Pals. We are also enjoying our two series being read aloud, The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer and The Dragon Masters by Tracey West. I highly recommend that you check these out, especially the Land of Stories for those of you who remember the fairy tales from your childhood.
In Math, we just finished up some work with collecting data, creating different graphs to show that data, and asking and answering questions related to the data. We are working with larger numbers, in the hundreds, learning to read number names, build larger numbers, and apply our earlier learned skills of counting patterns. We will continue to work with time and money, reading and writing time, determining lapsed time, making sure we can recite, work with and spell the days of the week and know the months of the year and the seasons more in-depth. Our upcoming units will focus on geometry, measurement, and double-digit addition and subtraction.
As always, Science and Social Studies topics come from all around us and events in our daily lives. With the crazy weather, there has been a lot of discussion about the idea of a season and the weather, which often lately do not go hand in hand. Students are growing to become aware of their surroundings, notice what is happening, ask questions, explore, and generate conclusions.
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Kids Book Fest is coming to Sharon Elementary!
From April 17-19, the Sharon PTO is hosting an amazing Kids Book Fest at our school library - a community-based alternative to the Scholastic Book Fair where all money raised stays local!
Come and grab amazing deals and stock up on great reading for your kids. All books are $2 max: picture books, graphic novels, chapter books, and more!
We'll also have fun accessories at reasonable prices: pencils, journals, bookmarks - nothing over $10! Students can shop during the school day & the community and families are invited to shop during Math Night on Apr. 17, 5:30 - 6:30 pm.
Payment methods: Cash, checks (payable to Sharon PTO), and Venmo @SharonPTO. Don't want to send money to school? Send via Venmo in advance with your child's name in the note section so they can shop!
Venmo is perfect for spoiling grandkids, nieces & nephews! Share @SharonPTO with your family and friends.
********Book Donations Wanted*********
We are accepting gently used, elementary school-appropriate books in excellent condition for kids (picture books, early readers, chapter books, graphic novels, etc.). No dictionaries or encyclopedias, please. Donate April 8-12 during school hours. Ms. Hop will keep donated books in the library. Contact PTOSharonVT@gmail.com for an alternative drop-off.
Get ready for our awesome community Kids Book Fest! Help share the love of reading.
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