End of the year accomplishments

We have had a wonderful year together.  I have really enjoyed getting to coach, encourage, and guide your children as they made step-by-step progress throughout the year.


Below is a list of improvements I have seen. It is not meant to include everything; it just highlights the dynamic, complicated, and diverse nature of life in the classroom.


The students can now:
• Write longer stories
• Show their classmates they are listening
• Slow down to complete work more thoroughly
• Use a variety of reading strategies
• Offer and ask for help politely
• Read independently for an extended time period
• Explain problem solving strategies to a classmate
• Make eye contact when greeting someone
• Apologize for mistakes
• Stay focused on an activity
• Be more patient
• Work with anyone in the class
• Feel comfortable speaking in front of a group
• Include more details when telling a story
• Use technology to share ideas and practice skills
• Communicate feelings and resolve conflicts with peers
• Demonstrate what we know to different audiences
• Follow directions the first time they are given
• Make a choice and stick with it


Thank you for all of your support and reinforcement of these skills and many more. It has been an honor to be your partner in your children’s education.


Have a wonderful summer and stay in touch. I’ll be visiting Ithaca in mid-December, if not sooner!


Love,
Ms. Provan

June 15 - 19

Next Wednesday (June 24) is our last day of school!  We will be at Stewart Park from about 10:00 - 12:15 that day.  All family members are invited to join us there.  If you want your child to play in the sprinklers at the park, please send him/her to school wearing a swimsuit under his/her clothes and pack some underwear for him/her to change into afterwards.  Please apply sunscreen at home and pack a towel, too.  Keep your fingers crossed for sunny weather!


All report cards were sent home on Monday in a 4x6 brown envelope.  Let me know if you did not receive your child's report card and if you have any questions or concerns.


This week we took a tour of the big school and saw an imovie all about what reading is like in second grade made by Ms. Thompson's second grade class.  We learned that in second grade you spend a lot of time learning how to pick books that are not too hard and not too easy.  We also saw that they study many of the same reading strategies that we have learned this year.  The video is not online yet but here is the video (in two parts) that they made last year:







We got to ask the second graders a lot of questions like what lunch is like in the gym with all the second and third grade classes in there, what choice time is like, what they are studying in math, and how much homework you get.  We learned that many things are the same between first and second grade, and that the second grade teachers will spend a lot of time explaining the parts that are different.  One of the most exciting parts was learning about making the morning announcements from the office.  Many students expressed interest doing that next year.


We have been working on writing and illustrating our First Grade Memory Books that should be ready to take home on Monday or Tuesday.  We have also been playing a lot of math and literacy games in small groups and on the Smartboard, practicing our best handwriting, reading science books and answering questions about the information we read, and reviewing our word wall words.

Thank you so much for the amazing good-bye party and gifts on Thursday!  I was really touched to see and hear from so many families.  I have really loved working with each and every one of you and your children this year.  You are making it very hard for me to leave....  I plan to keep this website up next year so you can continue to use these links and view the pictures in older posts.  Please keep in touch: alisonprovan @ gmail.com

Next week I'll post a list of accomplishments we have achieved this year and

some ideas about summer enrichment activities.  

June 8 - 12

We had a busy week between end of the year assessments and two field trips!

On Wednesday we went to Taughannock Falls State Park with our Kids Discover the Trail partner class from Northeast Elementary School. Thanks to all the family members who volunteered at the park that day! We hiked the trail to the falls, noting many caterpillars and even a snake. We had lunch by the lake and then played on the playground and enjoyed bubbles and fruit.

On Thursday we went with the Pre-K, K and first grade classes to the Hangar Theater to see their production of Really Rosie.  There were many other elementary classes there and we even saw our buddies from NE!  We got to see some of the backstage area as we exited the theater and we got to meet some of the characters outside after the show.  The students were a very polite audience and they really enjoyed it.

 

In math we continued to study place value, story problems with coins, and adding double digit numbers (without carrying).  In writing we worked on more pages for our book about first grade, including a map of the playground.  In reading we practiced picking books that are just right (not too easy or too hard), building our stamina to read independently for 15-20 minutes, and reading a nonfiction (science) text for information.  We also got in some handwriting practice and played a variety of educational games (linked to the right) on the Smartboard.

We introduced the new sight words of the week: day, zoo, how, sister, favorite

Please look around your house for any Belle Sherman Library books and send them back to school. 

Next week we will take a tour of the big school and get to learn more about second grade.  Ms. Thompson's class will also show us a project they made using iMovie in exchange for teaching them about Voicethread. 

Please remember that Wednesday, June 24th is the last day of school. We will go to Stewart Park for most of the day and all family members are invited to join us. 

Students will have the option of playing in the fountains at Stewart Park.  Please pack/bring a bathing suit, towel and sunscreen for your child if you'd like them to play in the fountains that day.

June 1 - 5

*** Spring Fair is this Friday (June 5th) 

from 6:00-8:00 at the main school ***

Last Friday we had a visit from Crossroads the clown who showed the kindergarteners and first graders how he transforms from a normal looking guy into a real clown!  He entertained them with jokes and balloon animals.  Sophia then brought in some balloons and we had a special choice where she helped people try to make balloon animals.   Thank you to Jill for organizing this special event!

We had to say good-bye to Ryan this week.  We made him a class book about things we enjoyed doing with him and questions we had about Japan and China.  We wish his family safe travels this summer and we look forward to seeing him in second grade!

We have been reviewing many concepts in math this week, including place value in 3-digit numbers, making change with coins, and showing fractions in different ways.  Next week students will get to take home their math journal (or workbook).

Our concert was a big success! 

In writing we began working on a book about first grade that we will continue to develop until the last day of school.  This will be a real treasure for you and your family to enjoy!  We also began studying the following word wall words: why, can't, school, his, people.  The class has really gotten into playing games with these words on www.spellingcity.com (especially "hangmouse").

Special thanks to Cindy, who let us borrow a National Geographic video about endangered animals and who came in to help Seneca make a presentation to the class about cheetahs.  He showed us many pictures of cheetahs and talked about why cheetahs are endangered.  He also talked about the Cheetah Conservation and we saw videos of cheetahs on www.cheetah.org.  Cindy stayed during choice to help capture what students had learned about cheetahs on voicethread:

This Friday afternoon Mary Jo will be coming in to help the class make some nature-based craft projects that she and Sophia picked out of a craft book from our own Annex library.  I will post pictures of the creations here next week and you can look for them to come home on Friday or Monday.

Last Friday our field trip to Taughannock Falls State Park was rained out and we took a (muddy) nature walk behind the school in the afternoon to practice writing about interesting things we noticed in our explorer notebooks.  Please let me know if you can join us at Taughannock on Wednesday, June 10th, and be sure your child is wearing good walking shoes that day!  All families are also welcome to attend the end of year picnic at Stewart Park on Wednesday, June 24th.

Next week:

• Monday: Jay will be with the class as I'll be in northern VA filling out HR paperwork for my new job and house hunting - wish me luck!  
• Tuesday: Richie will be with the class while I will continue the end of year math and reading assessments.
• Wednesday: We go to Taughannock Falls State Park with our partner class from NE.
• Thursday: Pre-K, K and 1st grade classes from Belle Sherman will all be going to the Hangar Theater to see their production of Really Rosie.
• Friday: Amy will be with the class while I complete the end of year assessments.