Weeks in Review

I'm a little late with my postings so here's a look at what we've been up to lately! We continued our sound waves unit with several experiments including one where students drop an object in water and see the waves. Since sounds waves are invisible, we tried to imagine what they would look like with this experiment. We also experimented with sound vibrations by investigating a rubber band experiment. Can you see the vibrations when you strum the rubber band? Can you make the sound change? For each experiment, we have focused on the scientific method and named each part of the method using our own experiments as a reference. We celebrated the 100th Day of School and Valentine's Day and took a community field trip to the Montpelier Post Office. Did you enjoy your letters? We have been working hard on completing our non-fiction "teaching books" and are eager to share them with you on the 7th!

ECO day at North Branch Nature Center

We enjoyed a beautiful winter day at North Branch last Thursday. We joined Mrs. Koch and Mrs. Wrigley's classes for the afternoon to explore an igloo, play in the snow, sat around a campfire, and learn about Vermont animals. North Branches naturalist, Larry, tended the fire and told a story while the children roasted bread on a stick and munched on apples. Liam's grandpa, Bill, and Sara's mom, Laury, joined us too! Since we mixed the classes into different groups, you can check out more pictures on Mrs. Koch and Mrs. Wrigley's blogs.

Music Celebration Day

After earning a total of 770+ hoots with a focus on responsibility, the class enjoyed a "Music Day". I loved that the class came up with the idea on their own, and were super excited about it! It also happened to connect really well with our Light and Sound Waves unit! We had two "jam sessions" and had an amazing time trying different rhythms, learning about different instruments and the sounds they make, and discussing sound waves.

Community Field Trip: Doctor's Office

We joined Dr. Carlson at the Montpelier Integrative Family Health Center on Thursday to learn more about working in a doctor's office. Dr. Carlson showed us around some of the different offices such as the rooms for physical therapy and ear exams, then walked us through what it's like for a patient having a check-up. She taught us about different tools doctor's use, and we all left with a fun sticker! Thank you Rima for hosting us!

Waves: Light and Sound

The first graders began a new unit this week on light and sound waves. We started by making connections between what we learned about the sun, to the energy that is made from the sun, electricity, and fire. We made observations about how light helps things become illuminated, and that sometimes that light comes from a direct source and other times it is reflected. We also discussed the scientific method and then planned and conducted an experiment where we predicted then tested what would happen when an object is placed in a beam of light. Check it out!

UES Delayed Opening Procedures

Please see the information below from the UES Website: With the snowfall and low temperatures this week, we wanted to be sure members of the UES community were aware of the UES schedule in the event of a delayed opening. Please note the 10:00 am time for the open of School. There will be NO coverage for students prior to that time, so please make backup plans. Thanks! Snow 9:30 Teachers arrive 10:00 UES doors open; IAs arrive; buses begin to arrive; we're open for business! 10:00-10:25 Students will begin arriving to class; transition time; Morning Meeting. 10:25 UES schedule officially starts.

Upcoming Events

Hello Families! Here is the ECO schedule for the rest of the year. We will not be having ECO in January. On Thursday, January 9th we will have a community walking field trip to the Montpelier Health Center. We will be leaving school following lunch at 12:05 pm. Rima Carlson, MD (Anya’s mom) practices family medicine there and will be giving us a tour of the office. Please let me know if you can join us on any of these days! Thanks! ECO Schedule February 6th: Dostie/Bates February 20th: Dostie/Wrigley March 27th: Dostie/Koch April 17th: Dostie/Closter May 8th: Dostie/Bates