Learning To Go Mr. Avery's Class on the Web 

Update: A larger map of Shrewsbury water tanks is available in .png format via a link under the Parent Resources section on the sidebar.

Correction: the date of our End of Year celebration is Wednesday, June 15, now corrected below.

Our year wraps up with a bang! Or a series of them–read on:

The Olympics are coming! To honor the spirit of the games, Floral St.’s annual Field Days will take on an Olympic theme, including Opening Ceremonies on June 3 and second-grade games and sports on the morning of June 9 (rain date June 16). Volunteers are desperately needed for the 9th! It requires a time commitment of only 1 morning, 9:00-11:30. You’ll be assigned a game, often with help from other volunteers, that you will help set up and keep track of student scores (e.g. # of footballs thrown into rings), then clean up at the end–that’s it! Your help makes a big impact: students talk and write about their Field Day memories for years! To sign up, please go to: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0e44a5af2ca75-olympic

On Field Day, students in the same classroom wear similar t-shirts to identify them for purposes of safety and keeping track of scores. I will be customizing our class shirts by painting Olympic rings, and I need your help: please send in a plain, white t-shirt for your child to school by Friday, May 20. I will paint them on Tuesday, May 31 after school and I’d love help from a couple of people! If you can come in for an hour starting at 3:30, please call or email me!

Our class has the honor of representing Greece in the Opening Ceremonies! This month, students will learn about aspects of the country (geography; history; culture; economy) as well as learn the history and symbols behind the Olympics, plus research local heroes from Massachusetts and the US who will represent us in Brazil. What a great way to bring Social Studies to life. Go, World! The Olympic torch has been lit in Greece, and is making it’s way around the world. You can track its progress and follow much more news at the Olympic home site: http://www.olympic.org/

You’re invited! Our class End-of-Year Celebration will be held Wednesday, June 15, 9:30-10:15 in the Cafeteria. Your children will be performing on the stage, singing songs and reading pieces of original writing they have done this year! Please come and extend invitations to family and friends as you like. We will remain after for photo opportunities and congratulations.

Floral Goes Green will soon be here! This renowned annual event focuses student work on the environment, locally and globally, culminating in a day of exposition on Friday, May 27. Our class will be learning all about water, from resources to pollution to conservation. This week, students will learn how precious a commodity it is on earth (just 1% of ALL water on earth is potable). They will also learn how it used inside and outside our school and begin to understand its importance in our daily lives. In addition, we will learn how Shrewsbury gets its water, from aquifers to wells to tanks. Check out the map below (click on it for larger image). It reveals the location of 6 water tanks throughout town. Think of it as a treasure map, and drive/hike to find them all with your child! Take pictures of your child standing in front of each one, print them out, and send them in to school by Friday, May 20, and I will display them! Note: a few tanks are on hills; simply take the photo at the bottom of the hill where the fences are.

Math homework on Tuesday asks students to make at tally of all the places water is used in your home. Please help your child to find places they may not think of, especially if you live in an apartment or condominium community. Our other math this week involves calculating elapsed time; reviewing basic skills and applying them through problem-solving; and taking the chapter test. Here’s a great video from one of my favorite companies, Readeez, that we’ve been using in class:

Source: Readeez via Youtube.com

In science last week students set out answer the question, “Does a liquid spread out to fill any container it is in?” They invented and debated procedures, learned about control and variables, collected and analyzed data based on observations, and drew conclusions. Real research in action! They did an awesome job! Here are some pictures, along with some of students applying lessons in safe web-browsing and online learning in advance of our blogging endeavors coming up this week: