Final Newsletter of the Year!

Dear Parents,

The year flew by so quickly!  I can't believe it has come to an end!  The year has been filled with wonderful and memorable experiences for both the children and me.  My ninth year of teaching has proven to be a very special one thanks to all your support and all your children.  I enjoyed getting to know each student and watching them all grow and learn throughout the year.  They were all so enjoyable to work with and it is amazing to see how far they have come.

I would like to thank you all for your cooperation and support throughout the year.  I couldn't do this program without the help of our parent volunteers who I thank wholeheartedly.  I thank you for your help in the classroom (especially with the messy art projects), for chaperoning our field trips, for helping with our celebrations, for coming to our Kindergarten Museum, and for everything you did behind the scenes to make this year wonderful.  Learning is a collaborative experience and fostered through teamwork…teamwork between the teachers, children, and parents.  So thank you for being part of our team!

Just a reminder to continue reading to your child and have your child read to you.  It is so important that books remain a big part of their lives.  I would like to recommend a website that will be useful to you and your children while looking for summer literacy activities.  The site address is:  http://www.readwritethink.org/beyondtheclassroom/summer/

Mrs. Sullivan and I want to thank all of you for your very generous and thoughtful gifts as well as all your kind words. We have been overwhelmed by your kindness and support!

We would like to wish all of you, parents and children alike, the best of everything in the coming years.  We hope that exploration and learning will always be intriguing to you and your children.

Have a safe and happy summer!

Melanie Duncan

Patterns with the Temperature

We enjoyed keeping track of the temperature every school day as part of our daily calendar routine.  Students checked the temperature every day, used the color-coded thermometer to determine which color link to use, and made observations about temperature patterns.  The students got really into it and were even cheering when their predictions were correct, when we reached our first "white" day (below 32 degrees) and when the temperature finally reached the 80s again!  We even did some graphing and comparing at the end of the year.

Community Helpers

We were fortunate today to have visitors from four Burlington Police Officers!  Officer Carlson (Tommy's dad), Officer Schipelliti, Officer Papsedero, and Havoc the K9 all came to talk about how they help our community.  The students enjoyed sitting in the back of the police cruiser, exploring the mobile command truck, and meeting and petting Havoc the K9.  It was a lot of fun!  Thank you Officer Carlson for making it all possible and for being a community helper!

Our Walk to Simonds Park

We ended up having a beautiful day for our walk to Simonds Park!  The students had a lot of fun playing on the playground and in the field, eating pizza, and hanging out with their friends.  Thank you to all the parents who either walked with us or met us at the park.  It was a really fun way to celebrate the end of our Kindergarten year together!

A Visit From a Fire Fighter

We enjoyed a visit from Mr. Callahan (Addison's dad) today.  He is a fire fighter here in Burlington and talked about what he does every day at work and how he helps people.  The students enjoyed learning all about his uniform and equipment and hearing and sharing different stories.  Mr. Callahan gave the students homework too!

1.  Make sure students know their address in case they have to call 911 in an emergency.
2.  Make sure the house number is big and clear on your house so fire fighters and other emergency vehicles can find the house more easily.
3.  Determine a safe meeting spot outside your home in case of an emergency so that you can wait together for the emergency crew to arrive.  It's always important to have a plan in case of an emergency!

Thank you Mr. Callahan for coming into our classroom today and thank you for being a community helper!

June 16, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Parents,

We had a busy and exciting week!

On Monday, we participated in a science engineering project with Mr. Musselman where students were building structures to protect a Popsicle from melting in the sun.  They did a great job working together in groups to build different shade structures.

We had a wonderful trip to Boston on Wednesday and had a productive Cleaning Day on Thursday.  The rest of the week was filled with writing, reading books, and finishing up some of our projects.

We started learning about Community Helpers today and will continue into next week.  We were excited to have Sofia’s mom come in to talk about her job as a nurse at a rehab facility.  She also gave some great tips on general safety.  She reminded students to always wear a helmet when riding a bike, be careful crossing the street, wear a seat belt in the car, and don’t run near a pool.  We are looking forward to visits from a couple more community helpers next week!

We will be walking to Simonds Park on Tuesday.  More information about the trip will go home on Monday.  We will provide pizza and drinks and children will be dismissed from the park.  You are welcome to either walk with us or join us at the park.  We will be leaving the school around 9:30am.

Our last day of school will be next Friday, June 23rd.  Dismissal will be around 11:15am.  I sent a form home today.  Please be sure to fill it out and send it back as soon as possible.  Thanks!

I want to wish all of you wonderful fathers a very Happy Father’s Day.  Thank you for all you do every day for your children and families.

Have a great weekend!

Melanie

PS...If your child will not be here on the last day of school, please let me know so I can send some of their work home ahead of time.  Thanks!

Also, we are going to be going to the library one more time this week.  Please be sure to return any library books.  Children will be given the option of borrowing a book for the summer that will need to be returned in September.  If you would not like your child to borrow a book, please let me know.

Swan Boats

We had a great trip to Boston today!  We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day or for more enthusiastic children!  The students were very excited to see all the places we have been learning about and all the places we included on our own 3-D map of Boston.  I want to say a special thank you to Mrs. Tedesco, Ms. Murphy, Mrs. Carlson, Mrs. Jimenez, Mrs. Lacroix, Mrs. Trowbridge, Mr. Callahan, and Mr. Walker for coming with us.