What's New?!

Sister Team Fun:
Working Together and Getting To Know Each Other

Our class has been working with Ms. Deforge's class on an e-mailing project. Each child had an e-mail buddy from the other class to e-mail back and forth with. The day before the December break, our two classes met to complete a "Wreath of Peace" project together and to visit with our buddies. In the above video, kids are helping each other trace the hands that went into the center of the "Wreaths of Peace." In the video below, kids share some of their thoughts about the project and being e-mail buddies.

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Before vacation we wrapped up our unit on magnets. Kids learned a lot about how magnets work. To prepare for this video, we brainstormed a list of 20 things that we knew about magnets. Then each child picked one thing to share in the video. This our first attempt at creating a Flip Camera movie. Enjoy!

What's New?!

We wrapped up our unit on sound by having kids demonstrate their understanding of how the experiments that we did showed that all sounds are caused by vibration. We've now moved on to a study of magnets. Kids have been doing a lot of hands-on exploration with many different kinds of magnets. We have some super scientists in our class!

In writing, we concluded our unit on revision and have moved into a study of paragraph structure. Our young writers are learning how to write topic sentences and support these sentences with proof sentences.

Vista 1st and 2nd grade readers are currently studying story elements. Characters, setting, movement through time, and problem and solution are the elements that we have been focusing on. I have been really impressed by the progress that the kids have made in reading so far this year.

Upcoming Events

During the month of December, we will be celebrating the season with a Winter Party on December 23rd. The wiki worked so well for signing up for the harvest party that I thought we'd try it again. Click on the link below to sign up for a contribution. You will need to start an account in order to edit the wiki if you don't already have one from last time. Let me know if you have questions. Thank you!
http://bianchiwinterparty.pbwiki.com/

Students and adults at Allen Brook School are currently participating in a Food Drive for the Williston Food Shelf. If you can send in a non-perishable food item this week we would appreciate it. In Vista we're keeping track of our donations by making a wreath out of paper hands. The wreath has been growing but still needs some more hands to be complete. Thank you!

Later this week, children will be participating in workshops that will help them to learn about how different countries and cultures celebrate winter holidays. We'll also be working on a special project with our buddies in Ms. Deforge's class before the break.

What's New?!

Greetings to all parents....
If you're like me, you're wondering where the time has gone lately. Time has flown by since I had the pleasure of meeting with all of the families in our class during parent-teacher conferences. It was really great to be able to spend time talking with you about the strengths of your children and the goals that we all have for them as the school year continues. Thanks for taking the time to come to meet with me. Remember that I am only an e-mail or phone call away if you have questions or concerns. Parent-teacher conferences are scheduled twice per school year but can be scheduled whenever we need to meet. Thanks! Caitlin

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Last week we started our science unit on sound. Through a series of experiments and discussions, the children learned that all sound is caused by vibrations, that sound travels through the air in sound waves, and that there are many different kinds of sounds. Ask your child about making the human sound wave and about experimenting with drums and other instruments. This video describes the different degrees of loudness that can be used to describe sounds.

Check This Out!

During our next science unit, we will be exploring the concept of sound.

Check out this quick video about sound!

What's New?!

The children and teachers greatly enjoyed being part of the Election Day excitement last week. Thank you to all of you who were able to volunteer to help with the voting.

Leading up to Election Day, we read related books including Otto Runs for President and Pete for President. (They're on the bookshelf below if you want a closer look.) Children also participated in activities that allowed them to explore concepts such as "What do leaders do?" and "What does it mean to be responsible?" Practicing voting on different topics and filling in voter registration cards were also part of our Election Day preparation. The children showed great interest in this unit of study!

On Election Day, children voted for which of four charities we will donate money to as a school community. The strong winner was The Humane Society. Children may bring in pennies and/or other coins to donate to this cause starting now and continuing through November 17th. Thanks!

Upcoming Events

Book Fair News and Clarifications

I need to make a clarification about the book fair coin collection. We will not be having a competition by house as to who can collect the most coins to be used to get books for needy children (as was originally stated in the note that went home last Monday). If you would like to donate coins to the cause, we will have one collection jar at ABS in the library and there will be a jar at the book fair. Sorry about the confusion!

Our class will be going to the book fair at WCS on Tuesday, November 11 from 8:30-9:00. If you would like your child to purchase books at the book fair, please send in money in an envelope labeled with his/her name and the words "book fair." That way I'll know that the money is intended for that purpose. Also, please encourage your child to look for books rather than the other items sold at this event. You are welcome to join us Tuesday morning and/or to return to the book fair with your child at another time and just let him/her look on Tuesday.

In addition to the book fair, I will be sending home a book order this week. Ordering from the book order gives you a bit more control over your child's choices. If you see books in the book order that you would like to order for holiday gifts I can arrange it so your child does not know what you purchased. Please return completed book orders to me by Monday, November 17. Thanks!

Upcoming Events

November 12 - will be a half day of school due to teacher inservice.

November 24 and 25 - will be half days due to parent teacher conferences. If you haven't confirmed your conference time with me, please do so as soon as possible. I e-mailed you a time early last week.

November 26 - 30 - will be days off of school for the Thanksgiving holiday.

What's New?!

We've had lots of reasons to smile during the past week....

Our Harvest Festival on Friday, October 31st was very successful. Vista and Esprit students enjoyed sharing songs, soup, and crafts together. The weather was beautiful and many joyful sounds filled the air. Thank you to everyone who was able to send in a vegetable for our community soup. Thank you also to our volunteers.

The Harvest Party in our classroom was also a huge success. Your food contributions were greatly appreciated by the children and by me. We all had fun continuing the harvest celebration with our class party.

We had a wonderful time on our field trip the Flynn Theater this week! The production of The Velveteen Rabbit was artfully done and definitely engaged the kids. All of the kids exhibited excellent behavior and seemed to really enjoy the experience. Thanks to all of our chaperones.

Upcoming Events

Parent Teacher Conferences
Parent teacher conferences are approaching. I will be e-mailing you a time for your conference during the next week. If you are unable to attend on that day and/or at that time, please let me know as soon as possible and we will reschedule. Unfortunately, the schedule is a bit tight so rescheduling may be tricky, but we'll find a workable time. We did attempt to schedule all Vista siblings back to back.

Harvest Party
We will be having a Harvest Party on October 31st. Click on the link below to see the details and sign up to contribute. If you are asked to join the wiki, click on the button that will allow you to do so.
http://bianchiharvestparty.pbwiki.com/Harvest+Party+Sign-Up

Kid Quotes

"Kid Quotes" is a place for kids to comment on different projects or activities that we are doing at school. Please feel free to read the kid comments, but don't add a comment unless you are a kid in Mrs. Bianchi's Class.

Today's Topic for Kid Quotes is.....

Tell us about the Williston Historic Buildings Painting Project that you worked on in teams this past month.


Be sure to check out the pictures of these paintings and artists in Mrs. Bianchi's Class Photo Gallery.

What's New?!

The Williston Schools Fun Run was a huge success! Thanks to all who participated in last weekend's Fun Run. We had a beautiful day and many enthusiastic participants. The event raised over $2,000.

Thanks for joining us at the Vista Open House Breakfast on Thursday. It was wonderful to see so many of you there. The kids were so proud to show you their work!

Upcoming Events

*No School on October 23 and 24 - Due to the annual Vermont Teachers' Convention there will not be school on these two days.

*November 3rd - 1st and 2nd grade Vista students will be traveling to the Flynn Theater to see the Velveteen Rabbit.

*November 4th, as you know, is Election Day. Students will be participating in voting here at Allen Brook. We will also be having visits from two Williston politicians prior to that date.

What's New?!

I would appreciate it if each family could respond to the blog survey about parent-teacher conferences by Monday 10/20. Before I schedule my fall conferences, I wanted to hear from you about what days/times would work well for folks. I will do my best to create a schedule that works for all of us. Also, feel free to post a comment about your conference needs/wants or e-mail me. Thanks! Caitlin

Upcoming Events

Vista Open House Breakfast
On Thursday, October 9, Vista House will be hosting an Open House Breakfast. Please bring a breakfast item to share. Student work will be on display for your viewing pleasure. We hope to see you there.

Upcoming Events

The Williston Schools Fun Run is fast approaching. It will be held on October 4. If you haven't already received a brochure, you will receive one soon. We're hoping to have as many families participate as possible. It should be a great time!

If you can't attend but would like to contribute to the event, we'd love to have some families donate either a bag of mini-bagels, a bag of oranges, or a box of granola bars to be put on the food table at the event. Please send donations into school with your child some day next week. Thanks!

What's New?!

We finally completed our mask making project. The kids really showed some great creativity and put a lot of work into these masterpieces. Check out the pictures below and/or stop by the classroom to check them out.

Upcoming Events

We have several upcoming events that you may want to mark on your calendars. More information either has been sent or will follow, but I wanted to give you the dates and times:

September 17 - Williston Village Field Trip for Esprit and Vista 1st and 2nd Graders - 8:20 - 10:20 am. We will be sending home the permission slip soon. Please sign and return it as soon as possible. There is no cost to students for this trip and we will be providing apples for snack that day. Do let me know if your child cannot eat apples.

September 17 - Vista Parent Information Night from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. Parents are invited to join us to learn more about curriculum and other important information.

October 4 - Fun Run

November 3 - Vista 1st/2nd grade Flynn Theater Field Trip to see the Velveteen Rabbit

What's New?!

Mr. Allen, one of our enrichment teachers, did a presentation for 1st and 2nd graders from Vista and Esprit Houses last Friday.
His presentation included photographs of old buildings and current buildings in Williston Village. It was really neat to spend time with our Esprit friends and to learn about the history of Williston. We will be meeting together again next Wednesday for a field trip to Williston Village where we will further explore our community.

What's New?!

We started off our related arts schedule today with phys. ed.
Phys. ed will be on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Tuesdays we will have art and also library. Music will be on Fridays. Thanks in advance for helping your child to remember to have sneakers and library books on the appropriate days.

What's New?!

Thank you for coming to our class gathering and individual first grade meetings! It was great to visit with you, get to know you, and do some activities. I hope you liked the book that I read to you called Moose's Loose Tooth. I'm looking forward to seeing you all work together this year just like Moose and his friends did in the story. I know many of you could not join us for the gathering because you were on vacation or at soccer camp. Luckily we'll be seeing all of you soon!

What's New?!

I've been having a lot of fun with my family this summer! My husband Eric, stepson Paul, daughter Francesca, and I all went to Maine in June. Francesca and I just went to Rhode Island where we visited the ocean and the Rogers Williams Park Zoo. I hope you have also been having fun with your family.

Upcoming Events

*We will be having a class gathering on Wednesday, August 20 from 10:30 - 11:30 a.m.

*School starts on Wednesday, August 27.