Secret Pal

Today the children had a blast with their Secret Pal Activity!  They were so excited to reveal who their pals were.  The children made so many fantastic creative gifts.  Thank you for all of your help and support at home.  We truly had a great time and a very successful Secret Pal Swap this year.  Check out the pictures below!  I hope you have a happy and safe winter break with your family and friends.

Pajama Day!

Snoopy Pajama Day

FRIDAY

December 21, 2012

Mrs. Visocchi will be running the Boston Marathon in April 2013

in memory of Emma,

an amazing 3^rd grader, who lost her battle to cancer in August.

The Student Council would like to invite all students to wear their pajamas on December 21^st!

Your donations will help

Mrs. Visocchi along with SNOOPY and

Massachusetts General Hospital

to help find a cure for cancer

one step (or mile) at a time!

Donation: $1.00

If you have any questions please contact

Ms. Hayes or Mrs. Beaulieu

Thank You!

I would like to thank everyone for their help with the Hurricane Sandy Collection.  Many Pine Glen families, teachers, and friends donated to this great cause.  My father came today and filled his pick up truck with all of the donations.  Unfortunately I will not be able to make the trip to New Jersey with him due to a schedule change but he will be heading down with some other volunteers.  Thanks again  for making this a success!  

Pine Glen Collection for Hurricane Sandy Residents

At Pine Glen School we decided that it would be really kind to help the people who live in the areas that were hit hardest by Hurricane Sandy.  The Pine Glen Community is collecting items such as non-perishable foods, new blankets, new linens, new clothing, toiletries, cleaning supplies, etc. in the lobby area of Pine Glen School until Wednesday, November 21^st.  All the students at Pine Glen are excited to help and are extremely empathetic to the struggles people continue to endure on a daily basis.  In addition to donating needed supplies my class has written ideas on how you can help.  Please consider joining the efforts of the Pine Glen Community by donating to this worthy cause to help our fellow Americans who have experienced such devastation. 

 Here are the ideas that the amazing children in 210 thought of to help the people of New York and New Jersey!

• You can help the people who don’t have anything by giving them pillows and blankets -Grace
• You can give them food so that they can stay healthy and alive – Hannah
• I will give them some yummy food – Joseph D
• One way you can help is you can donate warm shirts and pants – Thomas
• You can give those people very warm velvet clothes – Seema
• You could donate socks to keep their feet warm – AJ
• We could donate money for the people who don’t have money – Jack
• I think we should send letters and make something they would like – Shreya
• You could give them money to build a home – Connor
• You could help by giving them new clothes to wear – Liam
• You could give them some food like cans of soup – Lera
• You can help by giving them non-perishable food – Caitlyn
• We can donate stuff for babies – Layla
• You can give them scarves to keep them warm – Joe C
• You can donate shoes to the people who don’t have shoes – Cecelia
• I will donate hats that will keep their heads warm and gloves to keep their hands warm -Tristan

Hurricane Sandy Collection

     Please help the Pine Glen Community collect items to help those who lost so much during Hurricane Sandy. We will be collecting items until next Friday, November 16th. Items can be placed in the appropriate bins in the lobby area of Pine Glen. These items will be driven to the Ocean City area of New Jersey by Paul (former Burlington Police/Dare Officer) and Brenda Anderson.

Items needed:
• dry milk
• baked beans and other non perishable food items
• bleach and other cleaning supplies
• dish washing detergent (small sizes)
• juice
• diapers
• baby wash
• laundry detergent (32 oz)
• new blankets and linens
• new clothing
• toiletries

* They are also in need of plastic tubs with lids to pack things in.
Monetary donations in the form of checks can be made payable to OCNJ Care. Please place any checks in an envelope and address the front to Krystel Anderson (Gr. 2).

For more information regarding the cleanup efforts and needs in this area visit: www.facebook.com/OCNJCARE

 http://www.ocnjcare.com/

 http://www.facebook.com/pages/Trail-Head/105141008356

Pine Glen Science Night!

This Thursday, October 25th from 7PM-8PM the Pine Glen PTO is sponsoring their first Pine Glen Science Night with the help and dedication of the Burlington Science Center!  Mr. Musselman and Ms. Pavlicek will be putting together lots of cool science activities.  There will be telescopes, crafts, and the giant Starlab Planetarium!  Check out their video below for more details!

Discovery Museum

On Friday the second grade went on their first field trip to the Children's Discovery Museum in Acton.  They had a blast!  Children were able to explore with the various activities on each floor of the museum.  They also participated in a Sink and Float Design Challenge.  The challenge was to build a boat that would float while carrying various supplies (treasure-hard boiled egg, people-pennies, sleeping bags-rolled felt, food-tea bag, tent poles-straws).  First the students were put in groups and they were given time to investigate with a variety materials to figure out which would sink and which would float.  Then it was time for the challenge!  Students learned quickly that teamwork was the most important aspect of this challenge.  They shared ideas, strategies, and solutions as they worked.  Many of the groups came close to building a boat that would carry the items safely.  Throughout this activity the children were taking part in the Design Process.  Below are many pictures taken at the Discovery Museum!

Leaf Project

I am extending the leaf project deadline until Monday, October 22nd.  This way children will have a little more time to collect leaves, research information, and press their leaves.  Below are some examples of past leaf projects.  Hopefully this will help answer any questions you may have regarding this project.

Welcome to Room 210!

Hello and welcome back to another exciting school year!  As your child transitions to a new grade, new teacher, new schedule, and different routines, don’t be alarmed if irritability and anxieties surface.  Please be patient as your child adjusts to his or her new environment.

Over the next few weeks we will be establishing classroom routines, rules, and hopes & dreams.  We will continue to reconnect to things learned last year and expand upon them in the upcoming months.  The following will explain some of our routines, schedules and things to know about Room 210:

• Open House is currently scheduled for Thursday, September 27^th from 6PM-7:30PM.
• Our Lunch/Recess break is at 11:25 – 12:15 as follows:

          11:25 – 11:50 – Lunch
          11:50 – 12:15 - Recess

• We will be having one snack break in the morning.  Please be mindful that your child eat a complete and healthy breakfast each morning, and pack a HEALTHY snack and drink each day (i.e., fruits, veggies, crackers, cheese, water and/or real fruit juice,etc).  Snacks containing high sugar content, while yummy, will give your child a sugar high and then they will crash and burn.  Empty tummies will not enable your child to reach his or her learning potential.  We would like all children ready for the challenges of learning each and every day.  Healthy snacks are the way to go!
• Feel free to send in bottled water (clearly labeled) for you child as well.
• I have supplied the students with pencils, crayons, colored pencils, markers, glue sticks, erasers, pencil boxes, and folders that should accommodate our needs for most of the school year.  Additional school supplies that your child brought to school today can be used during his or her Homework time at home. 
• A homework folder will go home with your child every night to facilitate communication between home and school.  On the inside-left is a section for parent notices and/or corrected papers and the inside-right is for homework.  This folder MUST be checked and returned to school each day.  Please place any communication to me in the parent side of the folder. 
• At this point, Homework will consist of reading for 20 minutes each day.  More structured homework expectations will begin soon.   While homework assignments may vary, I will try to keep the routine as consistent as possible.  In addition, your child may have mini projects to complete over time.

• Our “Specials Block” is each morning from 10:40-11:25 at which time your child will be engaged in Art, P.E., and Music as follows:

Monday – Art (Art Smock recommended)

                                    Tuesday – Music & Library
                                    Wednesday – P.E. (Sneakers required)
                                    Thursday – Music
                                     Friday – P.E. (Sneakers required)

• Computers have yet to be scheduled and will most likely be scheduled at various times throughout the year.
• For Art class you may send in an old shirt for your child to wear.  He or she will be able to keep it in their cubby for the year.  Please remember to put a name and room number on the shirt.
• Sneakers should be worn on Wednesday and Friday for P.E.

Thank you very much to those who have already donated baby/cleaning wipes and tissues to the classroom.  It is greatly appreciated.

 Pine Glen School uses a reading incentive program we call Reading Corps.  Information about Reading Corps will be sent home along with some Reading Corps slips later this week.  For each 15 minutes your child reads, he or she is able to fill in 1 box on a Reading Corps slip.  Once he or she completes 14 slips, the school celebrates your child’s accomplishment by announcing his/her name over the school PA system, and they will receive a prize.

 To help facilitate a successful and safe dismissal, it is extremely important that we know where your child is going at the beginning of each school day.  While emergencies do arise, we suggest that you send a note to school with your child each time he or she will be going home a different way, being picked up, or leaving early for an appointment.  The office needs this information by 10:00AM.  If there is a discrepancy as to where your child is going (i.e., your child says he or she is going home a different way, but there is no note to back it up), your child will be sent to the office at the end of the school day.  You will be called and will be responsible for picking up your child if necessary. 

I hope this letter answers some of your beginning of the year questions.  If you have additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.  My telephone number is 781-221-7773 and email address is anderson@bpsk12.org You will also be able to find class/school related information on our classroom blog page but please bear with me as I update the information. 

I look forward to meeting you at Open House on September 27th!

210 Updates

     We have been really busy in our classroom these past few months.  In science we concluded our study of trees and learned about the relationship of the earth, moon, and sun.  The students observed the moon's phases and documented what they observed.  They learned about the four main phases of the moon ~ new moon, first quarter, full moon, and last quarter.  Now we are on to learning about the water cycle, clouds, and weather.  The children learned a song about the water cycle and should be able to explain what evaporation, condensation, and precipitation mean.  Each child is illustrating their own cloud book and today they had to illustrate cirrus clouds.  Over the next few weeks they will also be illustrating cumulus, stratus, and cumulonimbus clouds.  Today we also began observing and recording the weather in Burlington.  The children are keeping track of outside temperature, precipitation, cloud cover (type), and wind.  After our data collection is complete we will be creating charts in the computer lab.
     The students have been busy writers also!  They created their own versions of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.  We are hoping to publish these stories into a class book.  I will update you as soon as all of the details are ironed out.  In addition to these stories children have written a variety of other independent/partner stories as well as an adaptation of the poem "If I Were in Charge of the World" by Judith Viorst.  They had a blast with this creative writing and are excited to share it with their families.
     In math we concluded our unit on measurement.  The children were introduced to metric measurement (centimeters and meters) as well as the US customary measurement (inches, feet, and yards).  We had a blast measuring objects around the room using various units.  Our next math unit is called How Many Floors? How Many Rooms?  The focus of this unit is to recognize growing patterns, repeating patterns, and number sequences.  Students will be reading, completing, and creating charts in this unit.  In addition to our Investigations Math program the students have also been logging into Xtra Math to practice math facts and have also started a new program called Ten Marks.  This program focuses on various mathematical common core standards.  We are still in the "trial run" phase since we just began last week but so far the children seem to enjoy it! 

**Reminder**
Next Tuesday, February 14 we have a field trip to the Discovery Museum in Acton.  The buses will be leaving at approximately 8:30 that morning so please be sure your child arrives to school on time.  Each child should have a "brown bag" lunch and snack since we will not be returning until after lunch.  You may want to provide two disposable drinks, one for lunch and one for snack.  I would like to thank everyone who volunteered to come on this trip with us.  Unfortunately we are only allowed 3 chaperones per trip this year.  Our chaperones for this trip are Mr. Bibbo, Mrs. Smith, and Mrs. Durkin.