Kinderbuddy Time

This past week we got together with our Kinderbuddies to make some pretty special May Flowers!  They're proudly displayed outside the Makerspace Room - along with the Kindergartners' plans for how they should look!  Our little buddies designed them earlier in the day, and in the afternoon they called upon their big buddies to help them make a lifesized version of their vision!  Such fun!  Hopefully the beauty and happiness of these flowers will help us to push Spring along its way......we sure home it comes soon! (for real!)

More pictures to come soon!  Such a busy time it was hard to get everyone's pics before our little buddies flew back to their classroom! haha!

The Spitfire......

Our class has started reading an exciting story about some young people who found themselves wrapped up in the Battle of Valcour Island in 1776.....  and these two silly classmates stumbled upon the treasures from these events at the Vermont Historical Museum in Montpelier recently.....pretty exciting to start making the connections and knowing that we've been in the company of the genuine artifacts from these men and their adventures.....all of which were an important part of the history of Vermont and the entire United States!

Did you know that Benedict Arnold's cane is right behind you?  ....and musket balls from the Spitfire?  Cool!

Thank you, Miss Rewinsky!

Today in our classroom we said goodbye to our friend and St. Michaels's undergrad, Miss Rewinsky, who has worked in our classroom each Tuesday during our math block for the past few months.  We have been grateful for her time, her caring, and her skills!  Best to you, Miss Rewinsky, and we wish you well in your future educational adventures!  It's been wonderful to get to know you!

Some GREAT Eco-Friendly Ideas for Earth Day 2017

Our class did some pretty fancy and thoughtful homework this week!  They came up with some great ideas for our school and local community to help protect the Earth and keep our environment healthy!  Everyone chose a way to share and it was pretty exciting to see and hear about things that matter to them....
Here are pictures from our presentations!

Lila shared the power and benefits of buying in BULK!

Carter talked to us about the benefits of putting solar panels on RES!

Great idea from Hannah --- recycle crayons and make them new again!

Finn told us some excellent ideas about how to reduce our use of paper!

Eben shared ideas about light sensors and saving energy! 

Ben reminded us to not litter and showed us pictures of his OWN Green Up efforts in town!

Malia created a flow chart explaining how we can plant trees after having a bottle drive to raise money!

Solar Panels are on Miles' mind and he thinks they would be a great addition to RES!

Zander explained how kindness can lead to positive behaviors.

Aurora shared her thoughts about how important it is to reuse plastic bags.

Sarah had some great ideas about how to reuse paper and use it with care at RES!

Jordan believes that hydropower should be used more in Richmond and built a model to help talk about it!

Here's Our School Song!

Fourth graders had the honor of working with Jon Gailmor.  Jon Gailmor is a talented songwriter, singer and educator.  We invited Jon Gailmor to RES to help us write a new school song!  Fourth graders focused on our core beliefs: Respect Yourself, Respect Others and Respect Your Environment. They thought about how these words that we live by make Richmond Elementary School such an incredible community and place.

Jon Gailmor Day at RES

Thank you to Jon Gailmor for a very fun day at RES!  The 4th graders worked all day on a new school song!  It's called "The RES Quest"  Have your student sing it to you!
Here's some student feedback about the day:

• "It was fun to meet Jon Gailmor and write a song with him! I feel special." - Aurora
• "It was exciting to be writing, learning, and performing a song for the whole school!" - Ben
• "It was cool to learn about songwriting!" -Lila
• "I liked performing, it was just fun! It felt good!" -Sarah
• "Thank you, Jon Gailmor!  I liked the songs you sang!  It was really fun to write and sing the new school song!" - Jordan
• "Learning how to write songs was fun!" - Malia
• "(Jon Gailmor) You're the best!" - Eben
• "Writing lyrics was my favorite part!" - Zander
• "It was amazing and exciting!" - Carter
• "I'm proud that we made the song because it's a good one!" - Miles
• "I didn't know we were actually going to make a song!" - Ethan
• "It was incredible that I got to meet Jon Gailmor!" - Finn
• "The day was awesome!" - Malachai
• "When we say the lunches are legit, we mean it! Thanks Jon Gailmor for coming to help us write a new school song!" - Haley
• "I'm excited that we all got to see Jon Gailmor! It was cool to see him!" - Hannah

Good Morning, Jon!

Writing our verses......and chorus....

Rehearsal.....

Sharing with the whole school!

Enjoying an afternoon concert!!!

Audubon "Untapped"

So, what happens when your Audubon Sugaring Trip gets postponed and happens a full month after it was originally scheduled? Well, of course you learn an awful lot, as we always to at the Audubon (thanks, instructors!) but you ALSO get to take the taps and buckets OFF of the trees! haha!  The kids had a wonderful time yesterday, learning about lots of things....the bird friendly environment at the Audubon, climate change, tapping trees, forest & sugarbush diversity, and how syrup is made.  Of course, we also did some taste testing.....yummy!

All in a full day's work!  Nice job, 4th graders!