During my "snowday" today, I rode Mr. Abbott's stationary bike while talking to my sister who is also a teacher. I went for a walk through Whipple Hill. I can get their pretty easily from my house. While I was there I took a video and a few pictures. Do you think the bridge the ducks are going under is safe? Is it stable? Why or why not? What could you do to make it safe and stable? Think about things from the woods you could use. I'm going to go draw some ideas. | |
I have not used my site for updates and information this year. I think it will be a good resource and way for me to share during the school closure. We will see! Please comment on any questions I ask. I took pictures of the first signs of Spring! I started to wonder why some plants are growing faster than others. I am going to pick a plant, tree and/or flower in my yard and take a picture and watch it change. You might want to try that too! One last thing... I brought the fish back to my house! Mr. Abbott and I are planning to prepare the pond this weekend. Hopefully they will be back in their warm weather habitat next weekend!
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Dear Families,
Please tell your children I miss them! If you can, give them a hug from me. I am only able to hug Mr. Abbott right now, but have had some great virtual gatherings with my two daughters, friends and extended family. I didn't know until now you can FaceTime and use WhatsApp for video calls with multiple people! In regards to work, I have had five meetings on-line. Although they were productive and informative, the children know this is the least favorite part of my job. My favorite part is being with them. There is a lot I don't know about how to connect virtually, but I am excited to learn. I am doing a lot of research on that now and will be sending some ideas next week! Until then, please send me photos, videos, updates on what you are doing and any ideas you have about ways to keep our classroom connected. It takes a village. Send them anytime! I will be checking my email every day. Tell your children the bunnies are eating my flowers again this year! I have covered some of my tulips with cages and sprinkled them with spicy Cayenne pepper. This will probably work better than me chasing them around like Mr. McGregor in The Tales of Peter Rabbit! Ask your child what I mean... Stay in touch and let me know if I can help you in any way. Most importantly stay healthy and happy! Dear Families,
We hope this email finds you well during this unusual time. First and foremost, we want you to know that we miss seeing your child everyday as well as miss being in the classroom. Teaching for the three of us is a major part of our lives; we are thinking about all of you and we want you to know that we are here for you. We have been working online with administrators and curriculum leaders this week. We will be available online from 8:20-2:30 most days. We will be off for the next three Fridays as they have been designated as “snow days” for most classroom teachers at Stratton. We hope you have had a chance to take a look at the enrichment site that was sent out to families. We want to help you navigate the site, answer any questions or suggest specific practice activities for your child. So please do email us these questions! Together, as a Stratton community, we will get through this challenging time. Please take time to take care of your social emotional health as well. We are happy to support this area as well. We would love to hear how you are spending your time. Please pass along fun antidotes or pictures of some of the things you have been doing at home! As Bono from U2 says in the song One, “We have to carry each other.” Best, The Second Grade Team Dear Families, I want to update you on what a great week we had in spite of all the media, decreased staffing and general concerns about what is happening in our world right now. Thank you for sending your children in happy, rested and prepared for each day. We had many conversations about the "virus", however most of our time was spent on task and persevering. In regards to discussion about the virus, we focused on the fact that most people are experiencing cold like symptoms and the importance of not spreading germs. We have a 'no touching' without asking policy anyway and this week we practiced 'no touching' as a safe way to stop germs from spreading. During these discussions, often student initiated, students seemed informed and worked hard to follow this expectation. Thank you! Your home conversations were evident in their behaviors and comments. Unfortunately, I did not know about the school closing until after school. So, I am feeling a bit sad that I did not get to say a few things. Please tell your child I will miss them. They are are a very important part of my life. They knew I was going to be out on Friday because I had appointments and then was heading on a ski weekend with Mr. Abbott. Let them know I will tell them about my weekend and look forward to hearing about theirs. Tell them I said to keep reading and talking about books at a 'just right level' and spend time researching things they are interested in. Remind them they have accounts on RazKids, SpellCity, and Dreambox and they can access BrainPop, Pearson Realize (Math) and Foss Science. Don't tell them if they do all of this they don't need me! Haha! Maybe your child will want to write an opinion letter about whether cancelling school for two weeks was a good idea or a bad idea. As you already saw in the GoogleDoc from Monday, we are in our opinion writing unit right now. I would love to get opinion letters during this break or upon our return. Opinions about anything! Please email me anytime during the school closure with any questions about your child's social and emotional needs, access to on-line activities or general questions that you have after reading Arlington Public School district communications. I wish you happiness and health during this challenging time. Best, September 3, 2019
Dear Room 107 Families, We had a great first day in second grade! Today we spent our day getting to know each other. Ask your child what they learned about a friend, their classroom or the teacher today. Below is some important information about second grade.
Dear families, I’m thrilled to hear that I’ll be working with your family this school year. This is my eleventh year teaching at Stratton. I have taught first, kindergarten, fourth and second grade. Before that, I ran the library at Dallin for two years. I have enjoyed many learning experiences across the elementary grades. On a more personal note, I live in Arlington with my husband Bobby. I have two adult daughters. Although they currently live quite far away, they are sometimes seen doing some substitute teaching when they are home. I feel the experiences I have had with my own children have enhanced my vision for what students can do and be supported to do in order to be successful in their learning. We all enjoy seeing Stratton families around town and in our neighborhood! During the first weeks of school we will spend many moments getting to know each other and creating a classroom community that fosters a safe and academically stimulating environment that reaches every child. I have been trained in the Responsive Classroom approach to teaching. One of the main goals of this approach is to spend time at the beginning of the year building strong routines and a safe community for all learners. I continue to focus my professional goal on deepening my practice around supporting students socially and emotionally with an emphasis on cultural awareness. We are fortunate to have a diverse population and it is important to be inclusive and understanding of differences. I am excited to learn about what your family and individual student learning goals are. To help me get a head start, I have attached a Family Questionnaire and a Student Questionnaire. This feedback will help facilitate early connections to you and your child. You may email these questionnaires back to me, drop them off at the front office or send them with your child the first day of school. Please send back the Family Contact Sheet as well. Communication is a very important part of our developing relationship. I will create a group email list for communication from me. As soon as possible, please send an email to [email protected] from any addresses you would like included. Please include your child’s name and state: “Add me to the group list.” I usually communicate on-line, so let me know if you would rather paper correspondence. Additional information is also available on my website. At this point, you should have heard about the school supply program organized by the PTO. Therefore, I am not sending a supply list. Children may bring their own labeled home/school folder; otherwise, I will provide one. The only other important item is headphones. If possible, it would be great if students had their own labeled headphones on the first day of school. Please email me any time after you receive this letter with any questions or concerns. I am looking forward to a spectacular year! See complete Summer Mailing below...
Dear Room 107 Families,
We had a great first day in second grade! We are very fortunate to have have Analicia Ruggie as a second teacher in our class this year. She finished her teaching coursework at Lesley last year and will support our class as she finishes her practicum work this year. She also worked in Ms. Tassone’s Kindergarten class for part of last year. Today we spent our day getting to know each other. Ask your child what they learned about a friend, their classroom or the teacher today. Below is some more important information about second grade.
Dear families, I’m thrilled to hear that I’ll be working with your family this school year. This will be my tenth year teaching at Stratton. I have taught first, kindergarten, fourth and second grade. Before that, I ran the library at Dallin for two years. I have enjoyed many learning experiences across the elementary grades. On a more personal note, I live in Arlington with my husband Bobby. I have two daughters that recently graduated college! I feel the experiences I have had with my own children have enhanced my vision for what students can do and be supported to do in order to be successful in their learning. We all enjoy seeing Stratton families around town and in our neighborhood! During the first weeks of school we will spend many moments getting to know each other and creating a classroom community that fosters a safe and academically stimulating environment that reaches every child. Three years ago, I was trained in and part of a cohort of Stratton teachers that have implemented the Responsive Classroom approach to teaching. One of the main goals is to spend time at the beginning of the year building strong routines and a safe community for all learners. Last year, I focused my professional goal on deepening my practice around supporting students socially and emotionally with an emphasis on cultural awareness. We are fortunate to have a diverse population and it is important to be inclusive and understanding of differences. I am excited to learn about what your family and individual student learning goals are. To help me get a head start, I have attached a Family Questionnaire and a Student Questionnaire. This feedback will help facilitate early connections to you and your child. You can email these questionnaires back to me, drop them off at the front office or send them with your child the first day of school. These documents are just a template. Feel free to pass along information, in any format you prefer, that you think would be helpful. Please send back the Family Contact Sheet as well. Communication is a very important part of our developing relationship. I will create a group e-mail list for communication from me. As soon as possible, please send an e-mail to [email protected] from any addresses you would like included. Please state: “Add me to the group list.” I usually communicate on-line, so let me know if you would rather paper correspondence. Additional information is also available on my website. At this point, you should have heard about the school supply program organized by the PTO. Therefore, I am not sending a supply list. Children may bring their own labeled home/school folder; otherwise, I will provide one. The only other important item is headphones. If possible, please send labeled headphones for your child’s personal use. Please email me any time after you receive this letter if you have questions or concerns. I am also happy to meet in person. I’m looking forward to a spectacular year!
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