Celebrating Susan Koch and Thanksgiving

We had a beautiful assembly Tuesday to honor Susan Koch, Vermont Teacher of the Year. Governor Peter Shumlin, Secretary Rebecca Holcombe, and the State Education Board Members joined us in the gym for heartfelt speeches, and beautiful music.  Music teacher, Samantha Funk led all of the school children as they sang and signed the Vermont State Song.  The first graders gave Mrs. Koch a surprise with our own song, written and composed by Susan Picking.  Here are the words:

MRS. KOCH

Joy shows in the smile she wears

We feel how much she cares

Learning is a gift we share

Breathing in Nature’s air

Vermont’s Teacher of the Year

Mrs. Koch from Montpelier

She teaches 1st grade right here

Let’s give her a great big cheer

Mrs. Koch likes outdoor  fun

Go out on the  playground and run

Plant seeds and watch em grow in the sun

and bloom when winter is done

Vermont’s Teacher of the Year

Mrs. Koch from Montpelier

She teaches 1st grade right here

Let’s give her a great big cheer

Celebrate our diversity 

work together in community

As we build our history 

At UNION ELEMENTARY

Vermont’s Teacher of the Year

Mrs. Koch from Montpelier

She teaches 1st grade right here

Let’s give her a great big cheer

Later on Tuesday, we had a great visit to the Montpelier Police Station.  We toured the holding cells, 911 call center, and were able to climb inside a police car!

Four Winds

We had great lesson today on coniferous trees! We examined, identifed, and sorted native evergreen branches and cones, and reflected on our learning by writing in our nature journals.

Writing site words on the boards

They are words that people want you to know in your heart and not on a piece of paper. - Tyler

There's three kinds of sight words. There are heart words and sight and snap words.- Parker

Veteran's Day Parade!

Today we joined Union students and local veterans in the Montpelier Verteran's Day Parade. Dispite the rain, our energy was high and our singing was loud and joyful! Several students repeated our beloved "Grand Old Flag" song for the entire parade. They definitely brought smiles to the parade watchers and veterans! Thank you to MJ and Cedric's mom, Brigitte for walking the parade route with us!

We're Bloggers Now!

To date, I've generally used our class blog to keep parents informed of what we're up to, and to showcase student work. We're stepping out from that to start including more student-created photos, videos, and text. Students will be learning with our Tech Teacher, Jeffrey Jarrad, how to take videos and write material for our blog. Our first post includes videos by students who interviewed each other about their favorite parts of our trip to the Montpelier Fire Station. The videos are on the Page named "We're Learning How to Video and to Interview Each Other".