Posted by MrLynch | Posted in Weekly Newsletter | Posted on May 14, 2016
Every day students sit on our carpet at the front of the classroom. At the end of the day, they take turns vacuuming it. (The custodians don’t vacuum so if a class has a carpet, cleaning is on them.) We started off the year with a vacuum the kids named Beethoven. About a month ago, Beethoven met his untimely demise. I dug around in my basement and produced Beethoven II. Despite numerous operations by a team of dedicated student technicians, he only lasted 48-hours. For reasons unknown, I had another vacuum in my basement (because apparently I hoard vacuums), and he arrived a couple weeks ago. Beethoven III sounds great (with that hearty vacuumy rumble), but doesn’t actually pick up dirt, which of course is the only point of a vacuum’s existence. I am pleased to report that last week a parent donated a shiny new (and working) vacuum, which we will name Beethoven IV. This may sound weird, but the students were super excited. Yes, they were excited about a vacuum.
Students finished up Smarter Balanced testing last week, and life goes back to normal. Actually, with about 3 1/2 weeks of school left, nothing is normal from this day forward. Our trip to the Nathan Hale Homestead is on Friday. They should bring a lunch that day. There isn’t a lot of walking and the lunches get stored right when we get off the bus, so a disposable bag is not necessary. They could bring one of those lunch bags or 1950s lead lunch boxes.
Students were introduced to the Controversial Issue Project 2016 five weeks ago. They have their own copy of the packet, but you could check it out on here as well. You could also see all the details on the website – www.controversialproject.weebly.com. They already decided on a topic, and spent a good amount of time researching/working each week. Their next step is that they will create/produce either a website, a documentary, or a research paper. Each student will also create a tri-fold poster (visual) of their topic. The entire project is due on May 24.
Upcoming Events
Nathan Hale Field Trip – Friday, May 20
Grade 5 Open House (evening) – Tuesday, May 24
Last Day of School – Thursday, June 9 (with two snow days)
