Brain Breaks in 3rd Grade

Third graders presented an assembly today to all of RES sharing some of our favorite "brain break" activities in the classroom.  We're pretty proud of our work today...check it out!

Brain Breaks! -- An Assembly by 3rd Grade

The third grade classes will be leading a school-wide assembly on Brain Breaks! 

Friday, March 31st

RES Gym

1:30-1:50(ish)

Feel free to join us!

Mrs. Redford, RES's very own Superstar!

Mrs. Redford is being recognized as a Social Media Superstar by the American Association of School Librarians for the way that she shares the voices of her students via social media.  

Third graders can practice writing brave, bold opinions and help out Mrs. Redford by visiting the AASL website and sharing how Mrs. Redford has helped students share their voice with the world!  As a family, plan and draft a well-crafted opinion paragraph sharing ways that Mrs. Redford has helped students.  Then, post your opinion (testimonial) on the AASL website here to share RES' own superstar with the world!

Way to go, Mrs. Redford; we're soooo proud of you!

From the MMMUSD-CESU Blog:

Richmond Elementary School librarian Beth Redford has been recognized as a finalist by the American Association of School Librarians for her contributions in using social media to empower student voice. Here's an excerpt from the AASL post (to see the full article click here):

Beth Redford is the Teacher Librarian at Richmond Elementary School, in Richmond, Vermont. She is a regular on Twitter, with both personal and school accounts, and her library blog and Twitter feed include sensational library class happenings and student created book trailers. She even gets her Director of Curriculum, Communication, and Innovation involved! She has connected her students via online videos with students in China. She has also helped 2nd graders create blog posts about their animal research.

You can visit Beth online at any of the below:

@RESVTlibrary | RES Library Media Center News | @bethredford | Theconnectedlibrarian

Congratulations go out to Beth for her dedication to our scholars and contributions to student voice.

World Geography and Cultures

Our third grade team is immersed in learning about world geography.  During reading, writing, and theme times we are working to answer the following question: How do geography, climate, and natural resources affect the way people live?

Mrs. Ayer's students are so excited about everything they are learning about cultures in various countries that they created a movie to share.  Listen to some of what they've learned.

Miss Darby's class is working to teach others in their group about what they've learned about a culture.  They are using the teaching to help them make sense and synthesize all that they are learning!

More Landforms

Students in Mrs. Ankerson's class created landform slides to teach one another about various landforms and terminology. Check it out!

RES Ambassadors of STEM

A few months ago I blogged about an opportunity that Richmond Elementary School was part of through a grant from the Vermont After School Program and Montshire Science Museum. That Tinkering Grant award allowed us to have some awesome materials for engineering exploration both in school and in an after school class that I hosted.  The relationship that RES established with the Vermont After School program has led to excellent learning for students as well as professional development for myself as the RES enrichment teacher. It also led us to an opportunity to visit the Vermont State House in Montpelier last week and talk to state representatives about all of the great engineering activities, and the amazing makers and scientists that we have at RES. 

I was proud to bring six students to Montpelier to participate in a day that included engineering design challenges, a visit to floor of the State House (where our Richmond representative called out our students by name!) and time to engage representatives in making through our RES marble maze display (Students designed elements and created on the spot). 

It was great to share about the importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)---and to see RES students SHINE!  At RES this year we are on a journey to bring making, creating and engineering to all students through the creation of a Makerspace.  It is a journey as we figure out how this work fits into our curriculum as well as our after school programming.  Connecting to the Vermont Afterschool program has been an excellent way to engage in dialog about how we can provide multiple avenues for all students to access these skills and opportunities. 

post originally appeared on Mrs. Rankin's blog Enrichment at RES.  Reposted with permission.

Bold Opinions: Persuasive Speeches from Mrs. Ankerson's Class

Third graders recently wrapped up their opinion writing.  This week and last they finished recording VoiceThreads for their favorite piece. They worked hard to express their opinions and to be as convincing as possible! Some wrote speeches to raise awareness or to make a change, while others wrote to try to get people to recognize someone or something they feel is noteworthy. Please listen to what they have to say! You can also leave a comment for students at the bottom of this post. 

Brave, Bold Opinions from Miss Darby's Class

Third graders wrapped up their opinion writing unit prior to February break.  This week they finished recording a VoiceThread for their favorite piece.  I am so proud of the great work and risks they took in developing their opinions.  Please take the time to listen to their awesome writing and respond via a voice, video or text comment on their thread!  You can also leave a comment for students at the bottom of this post.

Learning about Landforms

This week, third graders at RES embarked on a new adventure that will be taking us around the world to study how the geography of a country's land impacts how the people in that country live and their culture.  But first, we had to refamiliarize ourselves with maps and geography...

After a quick refresher, students in each class created their collective Landform Dictionaries to use for future reference.  We'll be looking back at these in upcoming weeks as we travel around the globe.

Check them out:

Our Brave, Bold Opinions--Mrs. Ayer's Class

   Third graders wrapped up their opinion writing unit prior to February break.  This week they finished recording VoiceThreads for their favorite piece.  I am so proud of the great work and risks they took in developing their opinions.  Please take the time to listen to their awesome writing!  You can also leave a comment for students at the bottom of this post.

Coming Soon: RES Science Fair

RES SCIENCE FAIR

Thursday March 16th, 2017

Students in Grades K- 4 will be sharing their great science projects in the RES gym!  The Farm to School program will be offering a dinner during the event so that both participating families and those looking for a night out can grab a great meal!   Raffle prizes will be awarded to students who ask great science questions! Everyone is welcome!

RES Farm to School Dinner and RES PTO COOKIES

Time: 5-6:30pm

Location: RES Cafeteria

RES Science Fair

Time: 5:45 – 6:45 pm

(participants may set up projects any time after 5:15pm)

Location: RES Gym

We hope to see you on Thursday to support our awesome scientists!

Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences

Image from: http://www.clipartkid.com/parent-teacher-conference-cliparts/

Please be on the lookout for an email from Sign-Up Genius with a link to sign-up for spring conferences.  Scholars have made much progress this year and we are looking forward to sharing their accomplishments with you!