Dear Parents,

Last week, fifth graders continued to read from Rhoda Blumberg's The Incredible Journey of Lewis and Clark and we watched a short segment of Ken Burns' Lewis and Clark film. As we read, students are discussing the text and writing short interpretative responses. Three of these responses have been revised in class. We'll continue this work and in the process complete the components of a basic research paper. Students are also working on maps depicting the major rivers of North America, the states of 1803, and and the various foreign land claims.

In science, students are working to construct mechanized vehicles in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) challenge that integrates our work with ratios, measurement, circuitry, principles of physical science, and precise drawing. The attached photos show a sample of student work from the concept and design stage to vehicle construction in progress.

In keeping with the school wide Maasai global education theme, our students worked with buddy partners to create toys from recycled and cast off items. The activity was the first of its kind here at TGS and the students couldn't have done a finer job of demonstrating cooperation and creative thinking. With limited materials and no glue guns, tape, or modern convenience, our students invented remarkable games, toys, and artistic creations.

Spring has come early to The Grammar School. This past Friday, I took the fifth and sixth grade for a walk in one of my favorite woods off Dusty Ridge Rd. I led the students to the site of a long forgotten rope tow engine. The students enjoyed visiting the woodsy hill and searching for the tow wheels still mounted to some of the stouter trees. The site is a testament to Southern Vermont's rich tradition of skiing and a step into what I consider one chapter of Vermont's most interesting history.

Charlie

Here is a note from Pauline O'Brien:

Dear Class Parents,

I attended this afternoon's Student Council meeting where it was announced that the skating/sliding/bonfire event scheduled for next Friday has been cancelled, due to the lack of snow and warm weather conditions. The council will look into scheduling a different event for later in the spring, which will feature out doorgames and activities, and some inside crafts.

So, the solo event on February 24th will be the parents' International Pot Luck at 5:30 PM. The Student Council is hopeful that the activities cancellation will not impact attendance at the pot luck.

Please share the contents of this message to the parents in your class.

Thanks,

Pauline

The past week marked the beginning of a mechanized vehicle project in science, an American history and geography project, and an investigation of ratios in math. We continued our work in grammar, wrote and revised several poems, reviewed the unit 5 math test, and visited the upper school science fair. We made our last trip to Okemo, and enjoyed several nice hikes on the melting margins of the fields and woods surrounding The Grammar School.

Next Tuesday, we may take an all school cross-country ski trip to Grafton Ponds in Grafton, VT. If the snow deteriorates, we may schedule ice time at Vermont Academy for the upper grades or look for natural ice.

Breaking News:

Eve McDermott (2nd grade teacher) and I are in the planning stage of a mixed grade production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. We have arranged to work with Juliet Avelin on this project. Juliet brings a lifetime of experience to theatrical production. She'll choreograph and direct the production with the delicate but deliberate hand of a professional. Our work will begin shortly after the March break with a performance tentatively scheduled for late May or early June.

Dates to Remember:

Tuesday, February 28 5th and 6th grade travel to NEYT to see Robin Hood production

Wednesday, March 21 5th grade to visit Rudyard Kipling's home (Naulakha) in Dummerston, VT.

Thursday, March 22 K-5 to Windham Children's Orchestra at Brattleboro's Latchis Theater

Thursday, May 31 5th grade to Museum of Science and MFA in Boston

Homework For Wednesday

Tonight, students should spend 15-20 minutes working to revise and edit a short in-class writing assignment. The entire school spent the first fifteen minutes of the day working with a single writing prompt. We'll share the student work at All School Buddy Meeting on Wednesday.

January Into February

It's been a busy week. We've launched into a new science project, continued our work in grammar, written a few drafts of preposition poems, and reviewed fractions, decimals, and percents. The snow conditions conspire against cross-country skiing but we had a good outing on Monday. We'll skate at Vermont Academy tomorrow (Friday) for PSD.

This morning, students visited an interactive grammar website. You and your child might like to visit the site together and race the clock in a helping verb challenge. http://www.sporcle.com/games/g/helpingverbs We also discussed identifying nouns. I stressed that a noun can be an abstract emotional idea as well as a person, place or thing. The next step is to recognize the subject of a sentence. With these skills rehearsed, students will begin to diagram simple sentences

In science, we've begun working on the initial part of a mechanized vehicle project. As a precursor to building, students are exploring electricity and electric circuits. In the classroom, we're building different kinds of circuits and switches. We're learning about conductors, insulators, and short circuits. Tomorrow, we'll experiment with partial conductors and resistors. Ultimately, students will design and build mechanized vehicles in a project that applies an understanding of circuitry. As we head into the vehicle planning process, each student will explain how his or her vehicle design minimizes friction and utilizes a specific drive ratio. Stay tuned to the blog to see pictures as vehicles begin to take form.