Welcome Back! September, 2011.

Labor Day weekend marks the end of summer and the start of school. While I hope it was a relaxing and enjoyable one, I really hope some of it was spent reading.
It was very nice to see many of you on Friday. I feel strongly that these visits before school starts can aleviate some of the anxiety students might be feeling about the first day. Hopefully they can chat with you about any thoughts or concerns they have about this year. Rest assured we will be there to support them.
As far as support goes for this year, I would like to share that we will have Ms. Gilbert, Ms. Gillis, and Mrs. Stromski working in 104. They were thrilled to have met some of you on Friday as well. We can't wait to see the kids on Wednesday!
As a reminder, our email service provider has switched so emails will now end in bpsk12.org, so feel free to contact me at schultz@bpsk12.org

Summer 2011

Hope everyone is having a fabulous summer so far. I just wanted to thank all of you for another year of success and for the tokens of appreciation. The best gift is just seeing the students progress all year and the notes of gratitude. Knowing that we have made a difference is a teacher's greatest reward.
I also wanted to let you all know that over the summer, school email will be changing its host. So if you are trying to contact me (I do check my email weekly), you will need to write to me at:
schultz@bpsk12.org
Starting in September, my schultz@burlington.mec.edu will no longer be in service. Keep this in mind as you begin to prepare for the fall and have questions for the upcoming school year.

Enjoy the rest of the summer and keep reading together!

May, 2011

Spring has finally arrived!

Along with spring, comes spring fever.  This tends to be a part of the year where students have made some remarkable improvement thus far and we start to see some regression.  In our class, the students tend to be influenced by the impending transition to summer.  What's more is the anxiety about the unknown for next year as the students begin to thinking about the new faces they will encounter next year, the different routines, the higher demands.  Please take time to talk to your child about any feelings of apprehension or excitement.  Luckily, if your student is in Kindergarten or 1st Grade, our staff in 104 will continue to work with your child again next year.  If your child is in 2nd Grade, we will begin discussing the transition to the  3-5 Learning Center Class with Mrs. Melanson.

While there is much to think about for next year, we have had a great spring so far.  Here are some highlights from April and May.

Kindergarten

Meteorologist Danielle Niles, from NECN, visited our K classroom and we made water tornadoes.

Kindergarten went on a nature walk field trip to the Fells Reservation in Winchester.

Mrs. Patrick found her very own salamander.

We spotted a blue heron flying through the sky here.  We also saw frogs and turtles in the water.

One of our chaparones was brave enough to hold this snake so we could get a closer look.

Grade 1

We performed the annual Dinosaur Show for the whole school and families.

Welcome to our Dinosaur Show!

When you hear the ROAR, shout for MORE!

Grade 2
Mrs. Foley's class finished our work on the last Investigations math unit about fractions- “Parts of a Whole, Parts of a Group.”
• They began working on their current social studies unit- Antarctica.
• Mr. Papadonis (Burlington Science Center) put on a fantastic show, giving us an exciting review of the basic concepts surrounding the relationship(s) between the earth, moon, and sun. This was one of his last “shows” for students as he will soon be retiring! We also heard a few clues about his very last science show at FW which will take place in a few weeks. The children are so excited to see his “science magic show!”
• The students have been using laptops and our portable computer station, accessing the program “Trudy’s Time and Place,” and writing important facts about each continent.


K-2 Assembly
The Rope Warrior came to visit our school.  He explained the importance of cardiovascular exercise and showed us some amazing tricks with his jump rope.  Thanks PTO for bringing him to Francis Wyman!  Play the video below to get an idea of his talent.

Important Dates Coming Up:
* June 2nd: Grade 2 music show at 9AM for K and 1, at 1:30 for parents
* June 6th: Grade 1 Field trip to Tide Pools
* June 7th: Kindergarten Field trip to Boston
* June 9th: Grade 2  Field trip to Harvard
* June 22nd: LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!
* June 10th:  Field Day (Rain Date June 13th)