The Porters Point News: May/June
2017 edition
It’s hard to believe that we
are getting ready to wrap up the 2016-2017 school year. This is a busy time for us with many events,
project-based learning, end of year assessments, and celebrations of learning. Please read through this newsletter and mark your
calendars with important dates you’ll want to remember through the last day of
school, June 16th.
If you have any questions,
give us a call at 264-5920 or email me or your child’s teacher. We hope to see you soon at one or more of the
events listed below!
Carolyn Millham, PPS Principal
Project-Based
Learning at PPS
In just two short weeks, all PPS students will roll up their sleeves and
dig into exciting learning projects with their classmates and teachers. The focus will be on Project-Based Learning,
a hands-on, engaging approach where students apply their basic knowledge and to
solve a real-world problem. Through the
project, students learn to take initiative, be responsible, work together with
other students, communicate their ideas, and think critically about their
learning. The experience wraps up with a
PBL presentation – an open house – where students share their learning with you
and the rest of our school community.
Each grade-level team will work on a project that benefits our school
and links to the learning goals for either social studies or science this
trimester. Here is a list of information
– events and volunteer opportunities – for each grade-level project.
●
Underlined events are
ones where volunteers are needed.
●
Bolded
events are ones that family members are
welcome to attend.
Kindergarten: Community
Unity
Throughout the year, Kindergarten students are asked to think about
their role in our school community and how they can contribute to make our
school a positive place. Our focus during project-based learning is to improve
our playground to make it a more mindful and respectful place. We will use
community art to convey messages of kindness. The essential question we will
use to guide our projects is, “How can we make
our community a kinder place?” This year our projects will
transform our existing playground fence into an engaging boundary that inspires
all students to play more collaboratively and creatively.
Each student will participate in four different mini-projects during our
Mighty Maker sessions.
The four projects are:
1.
Fence Weaving with
Mr. Allbee
2.
Marble Mazes with
Mrs. Ryan
3.
Project Reporters with
Ms. Donnelly
4.
Affirmations of Kindness with
Mrs. Belaski
We will need two types of volunteers.
We will need volunteers that can help with finish painting and assemble
projects behind the scenes without students.
We will also need volunteers that are interested in supervising and
supporting small groups of students as they work with a teacher on specific
projects. Supervision Volunteers will be
in the same mini-project as their child, but also be prepared to support other
students as needed.
|
Date:
|
Supervision Volunteers
|
“Behind the Scenes” Volunteers
|
|
May 30
|
4-5 volunteers per mini- project
1:15-2:30
This
means we need 16-20 volunteers per day for this category of volunteer.
|
2-4 Volunteers for Letter Stencil Prep 10:15-10:55
|
|
May 31
|
4-5 volunteers per mini-project
1:15-2:30
|
6-10 Volunteers for Finish painting 10:15-10:55
|
|
June 2
|
4-5 volunteers mini-per project
1:15-2:30
|
4-5 Volunteers for Marble Maze Construction 10:55-11:45
2-4 Volunteers for Letter Stencil Prep 10:15-10:55
|
|
June 7
|
4-5 volunteers mini-per project
1:15-2:30
|
6-10 Volunteers for Finish painting 10:15-10:55
|
|
June 8
|
4-5 volunteers per mini-project
1:15-2:30
|
4-5 Volunteers for Marble Maze Construction 10:55-11:45
2-4 Volunteers for Letter Stencil Prep 10:15-10:55
|
|
June 9
|
4-5 volunteers per mini-project
1:15-2:30
|
6-10 Volunteers for Finish painting 10:15-10:55
|
|
June 12
|
4-5 volunteers per mini-project
1:15-2:30
|
4-5 Volunteers for Marble Maze Construction 10:55-11:45
2-4 Volunteers for Letter Stencil Prep 10:15-10:55
|
|
June 13
|
4-5 volunteers per mini-project
1:15-2:30
|
6-10 Volunteers for Finish painting 10:15-10:55
|
|
June 14
|
PBL presentation open house - 1:45 p.m. - families welcome
|
Grade 1: Chick
it Out
As an extension to our embryology unit, students will be involved in
activities which deepen their understanding of how chickens grow and change
over time. We will be exploring some essential questions such as: How are
chicks are alike and different from their parents? How are eggs, chicks, and
chickens built for survival? How can we solve human problems by learning from
animals in their environment? Students will answer these questions with
hands-on experience with these animals and will design safe environments to
suit their needs and lifestyle.
If you’re interested in volunteering, please contact your child’s
teacher.
o
May 22 – 26 – hatching chicks, returning chicks
to UVM farm on 5/26
o
May 26 – PBL kick off with students
o
June 2 – Egg drop for Mrs. Geibel and Mrs.
Silverberg, 12:30 p.m.
o
June 5 – Egg drop for Mrs. Plunkett and
Ms. Nuttall’s classes, 12:30 p.m.
o
June 6 – painting picnic tables
▪
One or two volunteers needed at 1:10 p.m.
o
June 8 & 9 – painting picnic tables
▪
2 to 4 volunteers needed both days from
Silverberg and Nuttall from 1:00 to 1:45
▪
2 to 4 parent/caregiver volunteers needed
both days from Geibel and Plunkett from 1:50 to 2:30
o
June 8 – Shelburne Farms presentation about
chickens at PPS
o
June 12 – clear coat seal for picnic
tables
▪
One to two volunteers needed
o
June
14 – PBL presentation open house, 1:45 p.m. - families are invited to attend
Grade 2: Dig a Little Deeper
This year’s project focuses on four main questions - How can we as
second graders help the bee population thrive? How can we as a school community
cut down on food waste and become more adventurous eaters? How can we as second
graders help our larger community have access to healthy food? How can we help
people plan gardens that are appropriate based on the space that they have
available? Our intention in asking these four questions is to help our students
see the connection between gardens and a healthy planet and lifestyle.
If you are interested in volunteering, please contact your
child’s teacher by email or phone (264-5920)
o
May 31 – garden planting (parent/caregiver
volunteers needed for all times on 5/31)
▪
Ms. Warren’s class – 8:45 to 9:30
▪
Mrs. Bissonnette’s class – 9:30 to 10:15
▪
Mr. Shepherd’s class – 10:15 to 11:00
▪
Ms. LaRose’s class – 11:00 to 11:45
o
June 1 – 8, 12 & 13 – parent/caregiver
volunteers needed from 10:15 to 11:15
o
June
14 – PBL presentation open house, 1:45 p.m. - families are invited to attend
Last Day of School
It’s hard to believe, but we
are quickly approaching the last day of school for students - Friday, June 16th
this year. We will begin the day with an
all-school meeting and some time in classrooms for closure, but at 9:00 we
start to rotate students through four fun activities:
●
A dance party with Mr. Pecor
●
BINGO
●
A craft with Ms. Vella
●
Concert with “Fiddlesticks” from the Vermont
Symphony Orchestra
Each activity takes 30-minutes
and all
PPS families are welcome to participate from 9:00 to 11:00 and stay
through to our school barbecue that starts at 11:30. You’ll need to make a reservation using a
form that students are bringing home with them on Thursday, 5/25.
IMPORTANT: The last
day of school is a half-day, so
students will be dismissed at 12:45
p.m. If you are here for the
barbecue, you can take your child home with you by signing them out with the
teacher at 12:45 p.m.
If you have any questions
about the details of the last day of school, give us a call at 264-5920 or
check in with your child’s teacher.
PPS Barbecue Lunch
We have a great barbecue lunch
planned for the last day of school.
Check the flier students are bringing home today - Thursday, 5/25 - for
the menu and the cost of the meal for adults and students. Please send the reservation form back to
school with your child by Friday, June 2nd so we have an accurate count for the
kitchen.
We’re asking families to pay
for the meals in advance. You can do
this one of two ways:
●
Send in a check for your child’s school meal
account OR
Accounts need to have enough
money on the day of the barbecue to cover all the meals ordered.
Preparations for Next Year
Step Up and Fly Up Days: June 9th is the day our PPS students met
their new teachers and classmates for next year. In grades K and 1, students stay at school
and “Step Up” from their current classroom to their new classroom. In grade 2, students will travel by bus and
“Fly Up” to Malletts Bay School in the morning.
They will meet their new teachers and new classmates - some from Porters
Point School and some from Union Memorial School.
That afternoon, students will
go home with placement letters that identify their new teacher for next
year.
Placement: We are
working on the final drafts of our placement lists. Thank you to everyone who sent back the
placement information form back in March.
I’ve read through each one and shared your insights with the placement
team. We’re working hard to make great
placement choices for all students!
Summer Reading
What is summer without a good
book to read? We want to support PPS
students in enjoying good books even when we’re closed for the summer
months.
One way to access books is to
visit the Burnham Library in Colchester.
On Thursday, June 15th, Hannah Peacock, the children’s librarian from
the Burnham, will visit PPS to share information about the summer reading
program at the library. Students will
come home with information about the program, but you can also visit the website
for more information: http://colchestervt.gov/158/Burnham-Memorial-Library
Students will also leave PPS
with a book that they can take home to keep, thanks to Mrs. Bochanski’s “Jump
Start for Summer Reading program. We’re
looking for donations of books that are in good condition that you’re no longer
using. You can place the books in one of
the two bins at school - one by the main office and one by the library. During the week of June 5th, students will be
invited to choose a book to take home with them. If you have questions about donations or
about the program, email Mrs. Bochanski at sandy.bochanski@colchestersd.org.
Last Day for Library Books
The last day for checking out
library books is Wednesday May 31st.
After that date, Mrs. Bochanski will start collecting all outstanding
books so she can return them to the shelves and determine what is here and what
is missing. If your child has a book
that hasn’t been returned, you will get a notice from Mrs. B.
PTO Lake Monsters Game in June
I hope you can join us for a
great summer family activity on June 29th - it’s Colchester night at the Lake
Monsters game! The Lake Monsters reserve
a section of the grandstands for each Colchester school, so we’ll get to see
each other again to say hello during the summer.
Students took home a packet
last week to sell Lake Monsters game tickets as a PTO fundraiser. The game is on Thursday night, June 29th and
starts at 7:05 p.m. at Centennial Field.
Tickets are $6.00 each and the Lake Monsters gives back part of the
proceeds to our PTO. Packets are due back tomorrow - Friday, May
26th.
Yearbooks
Yearbooks are being
distributed this week. If you didn’t
order one earlier, we still have about 40 books for sale. The cost is $12.00 per book. Checks can be sent in with your child or
dropped off in the main office. Please
make checks out to the PPS PTO.
Thank you’s
●
Thank you for supporting the PTO fundraisers
this year. PTO raised $12,000 this year
and spent $12,700 on activities and projects that benefited all students at
PPS.
●
Mrs. Bochanski’s GoFundMe project for the
library was funded by PPS friends and families who saw the listing and donated
generously. We’re looking forward to
students enjoying new makerspace items in the library next year.
●
Thank you to all our PTO members who worked on
the 2016-2017 yearbook: Moriah
McCullaugh, Margaret Brown, Mary Kate Canavan, Amelia Chapman, and Heidi
Igneri. We appreciate the hours you
spent taking photos and organizing them into the beautiful book we saw this
week!
●
The Grade 2 project started in February with
students planting seeds to germinate for our school gardens. Who was there to help get our seeds off to a
good start? James MacAuley, of
course! He also generously took the
seedlings on a “vacation” to Claussen’s greenhouses where they grew to be the
strong and healthy plants they are today.
Thank you, James for all your help!
Stay in touch by following us
on Twitter! You can see the Twitter feed
on our website http://www.csdvt.org/pps Our school account is run by our mascot,
Pearson the Panda, at this address:
@PPSPanda. We are only a phone
call away at (802) 264-5920 or an email with all email addresses available on
our home page (see link above).
