Discovery Museum Field Trip

Last Friday our class visited the Discovery Museum in Acton! We had a blast exploring the various exhibits. The children participated in a Sink and Float Design Challenge. They had to work in small groups to design a "boat" that would be able to carry their "treasure" and various supplies safely over a body of water. First they were given different materials to test in water. After that they had to use this new knowledge to build their structure. Some groups were more successful than others but they all persevered and did a great job applying what they learned to problem solve. Below are some pictures from our trip!

WE ARE CELEBRATING 

MRS. BABAJTIS' RETIREMENT!

You’re invited to a retirement celebration for Elaine Babajtis! All of Elaine’s colleagues, parents and students are welcome to stop by the Pine Glen Cafeteria on Wednesday, October 21 at 3:30 to say hello and catch up with Elaine. Treats and drinks will be served! RSVP to gordon@bpsk12.org by October 14th. 

Welcome Back!

August 31, 2015

Dear Parents,

Hello and welcome back to another exciting school year!  We had a great first day in Room 210!  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 Wednesday, September 16th at 6:00 PM. 
• Our Lunch/Recess break is at 11:35 – 12:25 as follows:

          11:35 – 12:00 – Lunch
          12:00 – 12:25 - 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-NUT FREE-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, especially during these hot days.
• 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 has purchased for school 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 that remain at home and the inside-right is for homework and notices that need to be returned to school.  This folder MUST be checked and returned to school each day.  Please place any communication to me in the right side of the folder if possible. 
• At this point, Homework will consist of reading for 20 minutes each day.  Your child should also be practicing +/- math facts on a daily basis as part of their homework routine.  More structured homework expectations (written homework) 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 afternoon from 1:40-2:25 at which time your child will be engaged in Art, P.E., Music, and library/technology.  The tentative schedule is as follows:

                                          Monday – P.E. (Sneakers required)

                                          Tuesday – Art (Art Smock recommended)/Library

                                          Wednesday – Music

                                          Thursday – P.E. (Sneakers required)

                                          Friday – Music

• Sneakers should be worn on Mondays and Thursdays for P.E.

Pine Glen School uses a reading incentive program we call Reading Corps. Information about Reading Corps should be found in your child’s Homework Folder today.  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 he/she 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 may also check our blog for upcoming information, which I plan to have up and running (updated) by the end of the week at pineglenanderson.blogspot.com.  

Thank you for filling out the student questionnaire that was sent home last month.  It really helps me to get to know your child and helps me in the case of an emergency. If you need a new one please let me know and I can send another one home.

I look forward to meeting you at Open House on September 16th!

Sincerely,

Krystel Anderson

Blizzard Bags

Today you will be receiving information about Blizzard Bags via email and/or paper copy. Below is information about the Blizzard Bags copied from Dr. Conti's Blog.You can also find more information on Mr. Lyons' Blog. If you need to access the Epic! book site for any part of the Blizzard Bag go to Epic! Books for Kids and enter the username and password that was sent to your email address. Please have your child click on Guest when he/she uses the site. 

Blizzard Bag Site is Live WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015

 Our Blizzard Bag Site Is Live We are excited to have the opportunity to pilot learning projects for school day cancellations. We will be the first district in the state of Massachusetts to try this with the assigned “Blizzard Bag” work that is available on this BPS Blizzard Bag site. As with any pilot, we expect that there will be a lot of questions and that not everything will proceed exactly as planned. However, we are committed to offering multiple methods to support students so that they can complete their work successfully.

Questions will be answered live on our Blizzard Bag phone line at 1 (512) SNOWDAY (1-512-766-9329) on Tuesday, April 28 from 4-7 p.m. Voice messages and texts can also be sent to this number during the duration of the assignment and will be responded to daily. In the meantime, we have also created an e-mail address where you can send questions (blizzardbags@bpsk12.org). We will share all of the questions asked on a “Frequently Asked Questions” section that will be added on this Blizzard Bag site. 

Of course, your student’s classroom teachers are also a great resource for questions and we will be adding support opportunities that are available at individual schools in the days ahead as well on the website. Teachers will be checking in with their students during the week of May 4, which is the midpoint of the projects, to make sure that students are making progress. It is our hope that at least half of the assignment will be completed at this time. If students have any questions about expectations or length of assignments, they should ask their teachers. 

Our final due date for the assignments is June 1, 2015. If students complete their work prior to that date, they are welcome to turn them in early to their teachers. Since the work is meant to be substituted for two days of school, all students who do not complete the work will be marked absent for two days. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding as we work through this pilot. We look forward to your feedback along the way. 

Please visit this site for information and details about student work that must be completed to ensure learning goals are met. Student assignments are posted by grade levels at the top of the Blizzard Bag Website. High school teachers will be giving students their assignments this week.

Secret Pal Activity

     Before winter break the children participated in a Secret Pal Activity.  The students "pulled" the name of a classmate as their Secret Pal.  For homework each night they had to write a compliment to their Secret Pal and deliver it without being seen the next day. Each afternoon the children were so excited to read their compliments.  It was a great activity to promote being kind to others. The culminating activity was to create a homemade gift for their Secret Pal.  The children were given information about their Secret Pal such as favorite color, book, movie, food, etc. to help them come up with creative ideas for a thoughtful gift. This was the best part of the activity!  It was nice to see all of the hard work that students put into their gifts and it was even better to see the smiles of the students receiving the gifts. They were so thankful for each other.  The children learned that the holidays aren't just about presents. It is about being thoughtful, kind and caring towards others.  Below are their fantastic homemade gifts!