Planting Bulbs

On Friday morning, the children worked with some parent volunteers to plant over 100 bulbs in the gardens outside of our classroom. We will look forward to seeing the flowers in the spring!

All School Meeting

On Wednesday, we attended our first all school meeting. The Dream Team presented about all of our new playground activities. The children were excited! Our thanks to the Hamilton-Wenham Ed Fund for supporting this project. The mud kitchens are very popular! During lunch recess, the students have been running a marked course to add miles to our race across America map. This week, we will explore the lego wall, hot wheels track and nature station materials.

Book Talks

Each of the students chose a favorite book and created a book banner. The children met in learning pairs to share their selections.

"I Can't Do It Yet"...Olweus Meeting

This week's Olweus meeting focused on growth mind set! We discussed the book, When Sophie Thinks She Can't and made our own yet cards. These cards are displayed in the room to remind us that we all have things that we are working to achieve in our learning community. This week, we will continue our discussion and make a list of strategies and traits that will help us learn new things. These will include persistence, focus  effort and use of time.

Here is a link to a Ted Talk by Carol Dweck that discusses fixed and growth mindsets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiiEeMN7vbQ

When Sophie can't solve a math puzzle, she feels upset and inadequate. "I CAN'T DO IT!" she shouts, expressing the frustration all of us feel when we try and fail. Will she ever be "smart" like her sister? Maybe she isn't smart at all. Luckily Sophie's teacher steps in. What does it mean to be smart? Using current, popular "mindset" techniques, Sophie's class is taught that we get smarter when we exercise our brains, such as when we work harder at solving a puzzle. Struggling to solve a problem doesn't mean "I can't do it!" Sophie and her classmates just can't do it... yet!
Readers will cheer when Sophie finally prevails, and at the end of the day, she's confident and optimistic. At home, Sophie uses her new technique to help her dad solve a carpentry puzzle. In this third book about Sophie, Molly Bang again helps children deal with a challenging everyday issue, providing an opening to ask: What do you do when you think, "I can't!"?

Enjoying Our Work Spaces

The children have been working in a variety of spaces in the classroom. We have settled into our routines and schedule. The children have been learning to complete their independent work and make activity choices while I am working with a group of learners.

A THANKFUL PUMPKIN

HERE'S A GREAT FAMILY ACTIVITY

https://www.today.com/parents/thankful-pumpkin-makes-it-easy-celebrate-fall-kids-t140031?cid=sm_npd_td_fb_m

Save the Date- March 22nd

Music Notes from Mrs. Clark 

All music students will have a special day to share some of the songs and dances they have learned in a Family Music Morning in the Cutler School Dining Hall. Please save your child's class date on your calendar for this fun musical event.

Thursday, November 29, 2018   Grades 2 & 3  8:45 - 9:35 AM

Friday, February 15, 2019   Grades 4 & 5    8:45 - 9:35 AM

Friday, March 22, 2019    Grades K & 1   8:45 - 9:35  AM

School Store

School Store:  The School Store will be open next week Monday, October 15^th – Friday, October 19^th.  Students may spend up to $3 – small bills and coins please!  Questions? Contact Nancy Waddell, nfwaddell@gmail.com

Cutler Cares

Cutler Coin Drive

Thousands of residents across the Merrimack Valley have been affected by the devastating fires and explosions. Dozens of homes have been completely destroyed and some have lost everything.  The Cutler community, lead by two 4th grade students, will be conducting a coin drive through the month of October to raise money for the families that have been affected by this disaster.  Please send in any spare change to help this cause through October.   Coins can be brought to the front office where there will be a collection jar. Every little bit can make a difference.  Many thanks!

Halloween Parade

Saturday, October 25, 2014

HALLOWEEN PARADE

Mark your calendars...our annual kindergarten-grade 2 Halloween parade will take place on October 31 at 9am! 

• Parents are invited to the front driveway to cheer on their costumed children. K-2 children should come dressed in as much of their costume as possible, with the rest in a labeled bag. Since costumes will not be worn for the remainder of the day, be sure your child has an appropriate change of clothing.  Please remember to emphasize non-violent costumes, with no weapons, gore or blood. Halloween School-Wide DEAM (Drop Everything and Move) will directly follow the parade outside on the hill
  

Math Workshop

In math, we have been working on patterns in additions ( +1 or +2) and story problems. The children are learning to show their work using words, numbers, equations and simple pictures. The children have been practicing their addition skills by playing a variety of games with partners. Our next Investigation, we focus on geometry.

Literacy Block

In Fundations, we continue to review letter formation and short vowel sounds. During our literacy block, we are learning how to complete our "Must Dos" and then select a literacy activity from a menu of choices. During this time, I have been meeting with small groups of readers to begin our work as readers. The children have enjoyed sharing their favorite books and reading and discussing our poems of the day. During Writers Workshop, we have been studying how illustrators design covers to invite a reader into a book. Each pair of  students chose a book from our class library and discussed why they thought it was a great cover. After our mini lesson, the students were encouraged to returned to a finished cover and make additions to improve they work. Also, we continue to think about and discuss the quality of our finished books versus the quantity of our finished books.