Winter Carnival 2014 at PAML

We had such a great day on Feb. 21st!  It was jammed packed, and rainy, but that didn't dampen the spirits of the students and teachers alike! Students were kind, safe, and respectful all day.  Judy Geer came and spoke with all of the students about her Olympic experience, her daughter Hannah's experience. and the importance of reading.  The connection she made about the difference in Hannah's world now with instant technology, news, etc. struck me in terms of the external pressures the Olympians face now.  Judy mentioned Hannah's blog, which many students had read.  You can learn a bit about Hannah Dreissigacker and see find a link to her blog here.  The ceremony was a wonderful ending for our Winter Olympic Reading Challenge.  We saw some great video, which Barbara Saxe created, depicting the hard work students did during the challenge and we enjoyed the Jamaica Bobsled dance, performed by the 5th grade students and teachers.

After the Olympic Ceremony we moved into the Talent Show.  All I can say, after seeing my first Talent Show is PAML HAS TALENT!  It was fantastic.  We saw student of all ages performing for their peers, which is not easy to do!  We had a nice mix of singing, dancing, instrumental and variety.  We even had a rap by our own Mr. Paige, of course it was about MATH!  (<-- view it here)

We made the best of the rainy time for Winter Carnival with students involved in indoor activities.  They could select from many, many options, including Trivia, Karaoke, Table Tennis, Team Building games, and much more.  We culminated the day with a short basketball game of the 8th grade boys playing the 7th and 8th grade girls.  It was a lot of fun to see the talent on those teams as well.  Mr. Maynard and Mr. Weiss wrapped it up with a school-wide Tug-of-War.  5th and 6th challenged each other, then 7th and 8th.  The winner of those two did another round.  8th graders were the overall winners this year, and they did a pull against the teachers, which was the best of 2 out of 3.  It took all three to declare the 8th graders the champions.  There was a lot of excitement in the gym, as the whole school looked on, I'm not sure who was rooting for which group, but everyone was in a great mood!!  I've heard rumbling of the teachers actually trying to strategize for the next encounter!

Feb 21st!

We have a lot planned for February 21st!

We'll start with our Reading Olympic Challenge Closing Ceremonies!  Our students have been excited to be "caught reading," guessing what teachers are reading and participating in DEAR Time (Drop Everything And Read). Students and Teachers have been blogging about what they read and commenting on other students are reading. We are halfway through our Challenge. 

After the Closing Ceremony, we will have our annual Talent Show. It was a difficult job for the audition committee as there was room for 16 acts and 23 acts auditioned. It's been narrowed down and there will be one winner determined for each of the 4 categories (singing, dancing, instrumental, variety) on the 21st. 

After lunch, we'll have a few hours of Winter Carnival fun. There will be outside options and a couple of inside options that afternoon. We'll end in the gym with some grade level competitions, led by our PE teacher, Stu Maynard. 

Yes, it's a lot packed into one day, but as a whole, it'll be fun and organized. It puts all of these special events into one day, which preserves our instructional time. Photos to follow! :-)

Reading Olympic Challenge at PAML!

We had a wonderful kick-off to our Reading Olympic Challenge today; ask your student about the event!!  We were fortunate to have Bobby Cochran, one of the famous Vermont Cochran Skiing Family, as our guest speaker.  The students were wonderful, completely attentive, and seem to be excited about the Reading Challenge.  Bobby brought his sister Barbara's Gold Medal in Slalom from 1972.  Not many people can say that they have seen an Olympic Gold Medal!!

A packed auditorium

Speaker Bobby Cochran

Barbara Cochran's Gold Medal!!

Senator Sanders at PAML

We were fortunate to have a US Senator drop in and visit with many 6th graders and a handful of 5th graders on Thursday, January 23rd.   The 6th grade team of teachers produced this video of the question and answer session he had with the students.

I was so impressed with the students' questions and attention during the visit.  The time was short so, unfortunately, Senator Sanders was unable to answer ALL the questions the students had, but they are working at finding the answers in other ways: email, checking his website, etc.

Our 8th grade students were invited to the high school assembly where they were able to listen to and ask questions of the senator with the 9th - 12th grade students.  Here is a view from the 8th grade seats:

It was an exciting day at school, and our students were engaged in authentic learning.

Upcoming Community Parent Event

Special Parent Event: How to Keep Children Safe & Prevent Underage Drinking

Tuesday 1/28/14,  6:00-7:30PM

Varnum Memorial Library, Jeffersonville

What parents think about alcohol impacts their children & their children's friends.  Join us for an engaging event to share resources and answer questions about issues related to Teen & Young Adult Substance Abuse, Protective Family Factors, Parental Monitoring Strategies, Facts & Consequences of Underage Drinking and Local Resources for Intervention, Treatment & Recovery.

Presenter:  Steve Waldo, Educator for the Department of Liquor Control

Who Should Attend:  Parents,  teens, educators, caregivers, town officials,

store and bar owners, and other interested community members.

Why should you attend?  We realize that parents’ knowledge and beliefs about alcohol’s impact influence how they connect with their children and teens around this topic.  Staying current, no matter your children’s age helps you be a better parent and community member.

RSVP:  Jessica Bickford, 802.730.6599 or by email: mailto:healthylamoille@gmail.com

Sponsored by: Healthy Lamoille Valley, Varnum Memorial Library and the Department of Liquor Control

Common Sense Media

Each grade level at PAML hosted 2 Family Technology nights over the course of the first semester.  I was struck by all the high praise given to the Common Sense Media site as a resource for families and teachers.  They review movies, online games, apps, and have Family Tip Sheets.  This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of all they have to offer.  Here is just a little photo from one section of the website.

 Please check out their website: Common Sense Media. 

Explore and enjoy!

Winter EXPOsition!

 We had a fantastic Winter EXPOsition on Wednesday, January 10th.  The turn-out was great and the students were excited and proud to share their learning.  In addition to these few photos, there was chorus for both 5/6 and 7/8.  After the concert families enjoyed seeing what the other Expos have been up to with demonstrations in the Cafeteria highlight Art, French-Consumer Science, Technology and Design as well as Physical Education.  It was a wonderful night at PAML!

~ Woodwind and Brass ~

~ A couple of Percussion students ~

~ Our only Tuba player! ~