Upcoming Events

Here are a couple important dates as we head into the last couple months of school!  Please check with our June calendar for some of the fun events to come!

Mon-Fri, April 28-May 2 - SLS Library book swap, bring in a book and swap for another book

May 7 - Mid trimester closes, reports to follow

Wednesday, June 4th - 4:00, 1st grade spring concert

Thursday, June 5th - Field trip to Crescent beach (rain date June 6th)

Friday, June 13th - Field Day

Friday, June 20th - Last day of school

Egg-celelent!!

I'm sure a number of you heard of how we closed out our week before vacation, but just in case you didn't, I thought I would give you the info on our egg drop experience.   This activity started in the beginning of the week with a Learning Lane assembly.  During this assembly Mrs. Scorza talked about what a problem and solution are, and then proceeded with the problem being about creating a container to hold an egg so it wouldn't break.  We then worked as a whole group to brain storm what materials we may need to create this container.  Mrs. Scorza then revealed the things that her and Ms. Johnson had picked up at Ruths, http://www.ruths.org/. 

Students were then teamed up in multi-aged groups and sent off to the different classrooms on Learning Lane.  It was a furry of excitement as students were transformed into creative engineers!  One of the important lessons we were trying to teach students was to work cooperatively with their teammates.  They were not allowed to create their own thing, but they were to collaborate with others to come up with the best way to make their egg holder.  Unfortunately, we ran out of time that day so, we gave students 20 minutes before the egg drop to rework their creation.  They were then given a piece of chalk to try out their holder, this was to see if the chalk would fly out or break, therefore showing them the need to revamp their engineering and work on problem solving skills.

Finally, before recess time, it was time to put our work to the real test!! We all walked out to the lower playground, where on the foot bridge we would drop our egg.   Everyone cheered and counted down the teams on as they dropped their eggs and anxiously awaited the results of SPLAT or a whole egg raised to show everyone their success!! 

This was a very exciting and fun activity for everyone involved, including us teachers.  I was so excited through the whole process to hear the creative and higher level thinking conversations of students, to see them really grow as collaborators, and to once again bond students as a community of learners.  Below are a few pictures of our egg-celent experience.

Hoping and waiting to see the results

Everyone cheering on the other teams

Here we go!

A creation up close

Did it break?

YAY, it worked!

Ready or not!

Maps

Over the last couple weeks we have been learning about maps.  We have learned some of the different parts of a map such as; the compass, the map key, symbols, and title.  After we studied these different parts of a map, it was our turn to create our own maps.  The requirement of the map was that it have a title, compass rose, and a map key.  The students were allowed to create their own make believe town, and then they planned the town map out.  Finally, they took their plan and created a bigger map by using scraps of construction paper.  It has been a lot of fun going through this process!  Here are a few examples of our created towns.

Our map plans, and on the table our finished product

Recreating our maps

Adding details

Report Cards

Dear Families,
I would just like to remind you that report cards came home Friday, April 4th.  If you no longer have a paper form, please do not forget to log into infinite campus for you child's 2nd trimester scores. I am looking forward to meeting with each of you at parent-teacher conferences to discuss any questions you may have concerning your child's report cards.  Parent-teacher conferences will be the week of April 14th.  If you have not sign up yet please make sure and send in the conference form with you 3 best times for conferences.  I will try my best to accommodate these times.  I will be sending home your confirmation time for conferences this week in your child's folder.  Thank you again for all your support this year, I look forward to meeting!

Mrs. Saunders

Collection Writing

Dear families,

In writing we have been working on narrative pieces and also on opinion pieces.  Over the next few weeks we will be working in more depth on opinion pieces.  In order to help with this, I am asking the students to bring in a favorite collection from home.  The collection should have 5-6 items.  Also, if it is small enough to fit in a shoe box that would be ideal.  Some examples of a collection they may want to bring in are rocks, shells,  or small toy cars.  Please help your child organize and bring in this collection for Monday, March 31st.  I will have them keep it here at school until we finish our writing around this collection.  Thank you for your help with this project!

Sincerely,

  Mrs. Saunders

Report Cards

Due to the snow days report cards have been pushed back.  Look for them to be open on Infinite Campus or in your child's folder Friday, April 4th.  Also, in a few weeks I will be sending home parent-teacher conference sign up sheets.  Conferences will be held April 17th in the afternoon/evening and April 18th in the morning.  I am looking forward to meeting and talking about all the growth and progress your child has make this trimester!

Our Favorite Mo Willems Book?

Over the past few weeks we have been doing an author's study about Mo Willems.  First, we started out by reading through a number of his books.   As we read through them I told them that they were to be on the look out for their favorite Mo Willems book.  During this time in writing we started to talk about a different type of writing, opinion writing.  Students learned about what an opinion is, how to state it in their writing, and then how they need to come up with good reasons to back their opinions.

Once we had finished reading through a number of Mo Willems books, it was time to pick which one they thought to be his best book!  We then started the writing process by planning out our opinion pieces, then we took our planning and created what we call our slopping copy.  After this students met with me to revise and edit their piece so that they could finally publish it for the hallway.

This was a very long process, but students really learned to love a new found author, state their opinion, and write good reasons to back their opinion.  I am very proud of all of their work, and I'm even more excited to see how much fun they had reading and rereading Mo Willems books.  There is nothing more enjoyable then seeing a student love reading and enjoy a good book!

Mo Willems is great for teaching students how to read with expression, ask your kids about one of their favorite characters, Pigeon!

Buddy reading one of the 3 Knuffle Bunny books.

"Banana!" - This one got a laugh every time, read We are in a Book to find out what that is all about.

The Duckling Get's a Cookie, a new, cute character is introduced into Pigeons life.

Our published opinion pieces, we can't wait to share them with you at Parent-Teacher Conferences, April 17th and 18th

Rocking Reading Challenge

Rocking Reader's Board

     The teachers of Learning Lane are very excited to announce that the students of Learning Lane read over 500 hours during our Olympic Challenge.  We know that reading outside of school improves learning.

     So, we are excited to announce our new Rocking Reading Challenge.  Students will bring home a reading log every Friday.  Please help your child fill these out and sign them.  Return the logs to school each Friday morning for the teachers to tally our class reading time.  Students will earn beads for each 100 minutes of reading and the class will receive a Ribbon on the bulletin board in the hall for 1,000 minutes.  We are challenging the students to read 4 days a week; kindergarten 10 minutes, first graders 15 minutes, and second graders 20 minutes.  If we can read 50,000 minutes (833 hours) in Learning Lane, we will have a large celebration.  The final tally will be taken on Friday, May 23.  

   Read to self, read together, or have someone read to you: it all counts!  Reading Ferret in the Bedroom, Lizard in the Fridge as a family; it counts!  Lets READ, READ, READ!

Thank you for your support with our reading challenge.

Kim Flanagin

Danielle Johnson

Kristen Saunders

Akaila Scorza

Janice Shanks

Sue Shea

PJ DAY!!

Dear families,

We have just finished filling our marble jar!  The students decided that as their reward they would like to have a pajama day.  Along with this they asked if they could bring in a small blanket and stuffy for our special movie time.  Please remember that we will still be going outside for recess so, they may want to bring a change of clothes in their bag.  We have worked very hard towards this goal, and we are very excited!  PJ day will be on Friday, March 21st.

Kristen Saunders

Making olympic medals

As one of our last Olympic activities, Ms. Johnson and I got our classes together to make their very own Olympic medal. We buddied a 1st grader with a 2nd grader, gave them some directions,  gave them some clay, and let them go to work creating and painting.  The teachers of Learning Lane are all so very proud of everyone's work at being Olympic readers and their participation during our activities. They have definitely earned a medal!! Below are a few pictures of us working on our medals.

Painting our medals

Working together!

One Book Schedule

Songo Locks School

One Book,

One Community

2014 Study Plan

Monday, March 10^th Chapter 1 10 pages Boys Are Yucky

Tuesday, March 11^th Chapter 2 9 pages “Liz-ard”

Wednesday, March 12^th Chapter 3 10 pages “Stinking Little Varmint”

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Monday, March 17^th Chapter 4 10 pages “Do They Eat Dead Stuff?”

Tuesday, March 18^th Chapter 5 12 pages “Get Rid of Them”

Wednesday, March 19^th Chapter 6 5 pages Daddy

Chapter 7 7 pages The Big Black Oldsmobile

Thursday, March 20^th Chapter 8 8 pages The Town Freaks

Chapter 9 5 pages “It’s Not My Fault”

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Monday, March 24^th Chapter 10 8 pages Vote for Robbins

Tuesday, March 25^th Chapter 11 10 pages Lizard-Busters

Wednesday, March 26^th Chapter 12 10 pages A Total Disaster

Thursday, March 27^th Chapter 13 7 pages A Rotten Day at School

Chapter 14 7 pages Just Like Fred

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Monday, March 31^st Chapter 15 5 pages The Speech

     Chapter 16 7 pages Shane the Snake

One book, one community

On Friday we had the privilege of having a guest speaker come to visit Songo Locks, Sparks Ark! Mr. Spark is a gentlemen that goes around the area helping animals that have been hurt or they are stuck in people's homes. He cares for these animals until they are well enough to be released into the wild. He also goes around to different schools teaching students about the local wildlife, how they adapt, their special features, and how to be safe if one comes across the path of such an animal.  Because of the number of animals he encounters in his profession, he has come to acquire quite a few animals that he brings into schools to teach with. On Friday, he brought an owl, a snake, a opossum, a chinchilla, and a ferret (just to name a few). 

At the end of the exciting presentation, Mrs. Conley mentioned that their was clue in that presentation for our new one book, one community book! Of course today the book was revealed!  We will be reading Ferret in the Bedroom, Lizard in the Fridge by Bill Wallace.  This is a wonderful opportunity to sit down as a family at night and enjoy this book together.  Everyone in the school, including all of the staff will be enjoying the book together over the next few weeks.  Each morning Mr. Dickerson will be asking a question about the previous nights chapter.  So, grab a cocoa and a blanket, and cozy up with the book we will all be reading and taking about, Ferret in the Bedroom, Lizard in the Fridge!

                        

Water Bottles

Dear Families, 

We are now back to having students using the water bubblers in the hall.  In order to help with transitions, please have your child bring in a water bottle to fill in the morning and have in the classroom to use throughout the day.  Thank you for you help with this!

Mrs. Saunders

Winter in Maine

This has been quite the winter here in Maine this year.  If anyone has been here long enough, they know that this can be a pretty typical winter.  I think we have been pretty spoiled the last few winders with mild temperatures, little snow, and a quick spring.  This year we have been having to pull out our hardy Maine selves and face old man winter!  Although I have not enjoyed the many indoor recess days, I have enjoyed the outdoor ones.  I have loved watching students create their own winter worlds and games.  Also, it has been refreshing to see the excitement in their faces when the snow is sticky enough to build huge snowballs, or their has been enough snow to sled down hills on their bottoms, or just having them dig mega holes into the walls of snow.  Although I would be more then happy to see those 50+ degree days arrive, while they are not here I am trying to enjoy the winter activities that I can do now.  So, I encourage you to try to make the most out of the last weeks (I hope) of winter.  There are great things to see and enjoy out their with your kids, who may I say have a joy for the outdoors and winter fun!  Here are some pictures of our playground winter fun!!

Here is a great site for kids and winter activity ideashttp://www.mainethingstodo.com/maine/30-be-a-winterkid/

Climbing the banks is a new found love for everyone

Some soccer and in the background climbing!

Woods in Winter

By: Longfellow

Woods in Winter

When winter winds are piercing chill,
  And through the hawthorn blows the gale,
With solemn feet I tread the hill,
  That overbrows the lonely vale.

O'er the bare upland, and away
  Through the long reach of desert woods,
The embracing sunbeams chastely play,
  And gladden these deep solitudes.

Where, twisted round the barren oak,
  The summer vine in beauty clung,
And summer winds the stillness broke,
  The crystal icicle is hung.

Where, from their frozen urns, mute springs
  Pour out the river's gradual tide,
Shrilly the skater's iron rings,
  And voices fill the woodland side.

Alas! how changed from the fair scene,
  When birds sang out their mellow lay,
And winds were soft, and woods were green,
  And the song ceased not with the day!

But still wild music is abroad,
  Pale, desert woods! within your crowd;
And gathering winds, in hoarse accord,
  Amid the vocal reeds pipe loud.

Chill airs and wintry winds! my ear
  Has grown familiar with your song;
I hear it in the opening year,
  I listen, and it cheers me long. 

Math Changes

Starting this week Mrs. Scorza and I are trying something new on Learning Lane for math!  In order to help your child better receive what they need in both math and writing Mrs. Scorza and I will be block teaching these subjects.  Mrs. Scorza will be teaching all of the math, and I will be teaching all of the writing.  This is yet another great opportunity for your child to learn at their pace and grow in both areas of math and writing.  If you have any questions about how we are doing this please do not hesitate to email or call me.
I will continue to send homework and quick checks home in their flyers.  Once we have this up and running more smoothly we will be back to having homework 2-3 times a week again.  Thank you again for all your support as we in Learning Lane look to meet your child's needs and further their education.

This Weeks Library

Because of our special's time being in the afternoon, we will not be having library on Mondays through our early release dates.  In order to have this special we will have it on alternating days over the early release schedule.  This week we will be having library on Wednesday instead of art.  Students may keep their books through the following week, because next week we will not be having library.  I will be reminding students of this change on Thursday to help them remember to bring in their library books to exchange.

Happy Valentine's Day and 100th Day of School

Because of the weather a bunch of us at school decided to move our Valentine's celebrations up a day, and am I ever glad that we did!!  Thank you to everyone for sending in goodies and valentines a day early, we had a wonderful day of celebrating.  The day was a combination of Valentine's activities and 100 day activities.  Here are a few highlights of our day.  Have a very safe and wonderful February break!!

Our Valentine's day bag creations

I gave them an idea, but pretty much told them to just have fun and create their own thing!

Hearts, hearts everywhere!!

Ninja Valentine's bag

Mini heart person inside of the big heart person

Happy 100th day of school, we are having a super year!

And the search is on!  100 hearts are hidden in the room, can we find them all?

The search continues

There's heart #100

Hmmm, where are they?

Olympics on Learning Lane

We have currently had two Olympic sessions on learning lane.  The Olympics are one of my favorite things to watch so, it has been so much fun to teach the kids of learning lane a little more about this event.  Here are a few things that have been happening down our Lane!

Our Learning Lane Olympic readers!  Thank you for supporting your child as they read to earn medals for the classroom!

The many Olympic athlete articles that students have brought, and the maps showing where the Olympic winter and summer games have been hosted.

Here is a close up of some of the athletes.

In my classroom, as our activity we have been working on creating a Learning Lane Olympic mural.  Each student chooses what sport they would like to be featured as then, they cut, color, and glue their faces on!

Of course, what are the Olympics without fans!  Here are the teachers and principals, ready to cheer on the Olympians!

Valentine's Day!!

This next week will be a very busy and fun week.  First, student council has something special planned every day!  Please see Spirit Week post for more details.  Also, we will continue with our Olympic activities on Learning Lane on Monday.  At the end of the week, it will be our 100th day of school!  We will celebrate that day by doing lots of different 100 type things.  

Finally, at the end of the week is Valentine's Day on Friday, February 14th.  On this day we will be having our Valentine’s Day celebration.  I will be sending home a list of kids names for Valentines. Our celebration will close out our week and lead us into the week of February 17th, which is winter break!  

If you are able to help with our Valentine's Day celebration, I have placed a sign up sheet below.  If you could please send this back letting me know what you can send in that day it would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you for all your help and support this school year!

Mrs. Saunders



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Valentines Party

Plates _________________                                                  Juice Boxes (14)______________

Veggies ________________                                                 Fruit ________________

Goodies  ________________                                               Popcorn ________________

Cheese and Crackers ________________

      

Spirit Week

Student Council  is sponsoring a School Spirit Week the week of February 10 - 14.  Students can show their school spirit by dressing up to our fun themes!  Please remember to follow school rules and dress code.  We have:

Fun Day Monday - Have fun with your appearance today!  Create a crazy hair style or wear your clothes in an unusual way!

Tuesday - Be your favorite character!  You can be book, television or movie character!  Please make sure the character is appropriate for school, can behave like a ROCK star and does not wear a mask!

Wednesday-  Show your spirit by wearing school colors (blue and gold/yellow)

Thursday - Career Day  - dress up as your dream job OR dress for SUCCESS!

Friday - Pajama day  (school appropriate shoes must be worn - NO slippers)

We hope that you have fun and we look forward to seeing everyone’s school pride and spirit!