Vista Families Rock the Jammie Jam

Friday was our day to count up and deliver our pajama donations. We were very excited to find out that our final number was 51 pairs of pajamas. Mr. Terko visited Vista House to express his appreciation and pride for what we accomplished together. We can't thank you enough for your generosity and participation. Ms. Rogers and I delivered the pajamas to Maple Tree Place on Friday and they will soon be delivered to children in need who live in our community.

Kiva Share and Pennies for Peace

At Kiva Share this past Friday, Kaitlyn and Camille shared books that the kids had created together in small groups entitled Where In The World Does Amira Live? We have been working with Ms. Rogers' class on projects that help kids understand how their lives are similar to and different than the lives of children in Pakistan. These activities are part of our Pennies for Peace project. The kids have been showing a lot of interest in our activities and their generosity in donating coins has been outstanding!

Open House Photos

As I had mentioned in an e-mail, it was really great to see so many of you at our Open House at the end of November. The kids enjoyed researching different states in the United States and it was their pleasure to share all of their hard work. Enjoy these images courtesy of Lori Mele.

To further practice and extend their research skills, kids are currently picking their own topics and finding resources to do some independent research.

Four Winds

Four Winds is a wonderful nature program that kids get to participate in each month thanks to super Vista parent volunteers. Thanks to Kim Jennings and Shakun Malhotra for volunteering for our class each month. We're always looking for more volunteers. You can volunteer for one or more months. It's a great way to get involved with your child's class. If you need more information, please let me know. Below is a video of our Four Winds activities in October.

Bridges and More About Math

As you know, we are currently piloting two new math programs in our district. Our class has been piloting the Bridges in Mathematics program since September and will be using the program at least through December. As part of the piloting process, I am serving on a district committee that is visiting schools in Vermont who are using the programs we are considering. On November 3rd, I was at Moretown Elementary observing the Investigations 2 program. On Friday the 13th, I'll be visiting Orchard School in South Burlington to observe Bridges in action. The kids and I wrote an article for the Blue and the Gold, our school newspaper, about what they think about Bridges. I thought you might enjoy reading what they have to say.

The photo included in this post is Sam showing us a growing pattern made with pattern blocks.

Here's the article...Fun with Bridges, Math, and Bugs

"Do you know what beetles and ants have to do with math? If you were trying out the 2nd grade math program called Bridges in Mathematics like we are, you would see the connections. We just finished our first unit on sorting and patterns and now we are studying ants and problem solving. In our first unit, we learned about growing patterns and repeating patterns. Our class used beetles and other bugs to make patterns. We made paper beetles that showed information about us like our favorite seasons. You could tell the information by looking at the key. For example, the number of stripes showed how many people are in our families. All of us also sorted beetles and lots of other things in many different ways. During math, we did Work Places which were really cool! Some Work Places are stations with games that you have to think about. There are also problem solving, building, and invention Work Places. In Bridges, we don’t have workbooks like we did in Everyday Math, but we do have papers. We spend a lot of time talking about our math thinking. We really like all of the games, stations, and different kinds of activities in this program. Mrs. Bianchi’s mathematicians think Bridges is fantastic and very fun!"

Our Mount Philo Trip

We had a fantastic field trip to Mount Philo on October 7! It was a gorgeous day and we all enjoyed our hike and the vista from the top of the mountain. Below are two brief videos - one with some snapshots of the trip and one with some kids talking about the trip.

What Happens During Morning Meeting

Every morning we have a morning meeting. This is a chance to bring the class together and get ready for our day. We always start with some type of greeting. In this video, kids are participating in the Koosh greeting. After the greeting, we read the morning message while the morning meeting leader points to the words. The kids edit the message by telling the leader how to fix the mistakes that I purposely make each morning. Then we do some calendar work and we're on to the rest of the day.

Sign Up for Fall Conferences

Please use the link at the top left of the blog to go to our wiki where you can sign up for a fall conference. If you haven't created a pbwiki/pbworks account before, you will have to do so in order to sign up for a conference. Once you get to the wiki, the directions about how to sign up are there. When you are on the edit page, it is easier to view if you change it to the full screen. To do this, click on the icon with the arrows in the upper right hand corner. We went ahead and put time slots in for families who have more than one child on our team. Feel free to change those times if you need to. Thanks!

Math Work Places

We are piloting a new math program called Bridges in Mathematics this fall. One of the components of the program is called Work Places. Work Places are stations where students explore mathematical concepts using a variety of materials. The students in the above pictures are working on our first set of Work Places. Our current unit focuses on patterns, functions, and algebraic thinking. So far the kids and I are enjoying and learning a lot from the program.

Morning Routines 2009

Make a Smilebox greeting

What's Ethan Up To - The Chocolate Factory and Swimming Lessons

Ethan checked in to tell us about his summer. He took swimming lessons for two weeks this summer. He learned back swim, front swim, and swimming without a noodle. He really liked doing the back swim and free swim. He also took a delicious trip to the Lake Champlain Chocolate Factory with his grandmother and sister. He tried white, milk, and dark chocolate (he thought one kind of dark chocolate was really bitter!). He learned how chocolate is made from the cocoa bean and that the cocoa bean can be as long as 1 foot! His favorite part was tasting the chocolate. Sounds like he's been having some good times!

What's Mrs. Bianchi Up To - Soccer

My family has enjoyed a lot of soccer playing this summer. Paul, who is 16, plays on the Essex High School varsity team and a club team called Synergy.(He's the one in the front of the photo.) Francesca started her first soccer league this summer. My husband Eric and I really like going to soccer games.

What's Kaitlyn Up To - Maine, Biking, and Summer Fun!

Kaitlyn and her family recently got in touch with me to let me know what they have been up to. They took a fun trip to Maine this summer. While they were there, they went on Kaitlyn's grandpa's sailboat and they had a delicious lobster dinner(pictured here). Kaitlyn, her sister, and her parents also went camping with friends. They went hiking and to the beach. Kaitlyn has also been doing some biking this summer as you can see from the picture.

What's Sam B. Up To? Camping, Tall Ships, and More

I heard from Sam B. who is having a busy summer. He turned 7 on July 16th and was excited to receive a Star Wars light saber. He's gone camping in his new camper a few times in Lake George. He also climbed French Mountain while in New York. Sam and his dad traveled to Boston to see the Tall Ships. These pictures are of Sam climbing French Mountain and visiting the Tall Ships. It sounds like Sam has had some great trips!

What's Mrs. Bianchi Up To? Swimming Lessons

This rainy weather has really been getting to me! Luckily it didn't stop my daughter, Francesca, from learning a lot and having fun during her swimming lessons. This picture shows her working with her instructor. It was so fantastic for me to see the progress that she made on her swimming skills. I hope all of you have managed to find at least a few opportunities to go swimming this summer!

What's Mrs. Bianchi Up To? July 4th Festivities

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Since my stepson, Paul, and husband, Eric, were in West Virginia at a soccer tournament, my daughter, Francesca, and I decided to spend the 4th of July in Westport, New York with my parents. We watched some cool fireworks on the 3rd of July from my parents' porch. On the 4th, my sister and her family joined us for the festivities which included a parade. In addition to some fun things to look at, one of the highlights of the parade is that they throw a ton of candy out to the spectators. It was a very festive 4th of July weekend!

What's Mrs. Bianchi Up To? A Trip To Atlanta, Georgia

Ms. Rogers and I traveled to Atlanta, Georgia at the end of June for the Model Schools Conference. We stayed on the 27th (yes, 27 floors up) floor of the Hilton Hotel. In addition to attending the conference where we learned a lot about how schools have achieved success and what we can do to help ABS be even better, we had a chance to see some interesting sites in Atlanta. One of the places that I was able to visit was Centennial Olympic Park which is pictured here. It's pretty hot in Atlanta, so kids cool off in these fountains which were built when Atlanta hosted the Olympics back in 1996. I also visited Stone Mountain, CNN, and the World of Coca-Cola. It was a fun and educational trip. (The photo is from flickr and belongs to a photo collection by FLC.)

What's Mrs. Bianchi Up To?

My family loves to swim in the summertime. We've already been swimming in Lake Champlain and at two different friends' pools. Here's a picture of my daughter Francesca and I at a friend's pool in June.