Panther Press
Memory Tree Assembly
On Friday, December 1st, kindergarten students hosted our all school morning meeting. Mrs. Blanchard read the book, The Memory Tree by Britta Teckenrup. At the end of the meeting the entire school went outside to light up our own memory tree in memory of all our friends and family who are no longer with us.
What is Happening in Spanish Class?
Lothrop Spanish students have been busy these last several weeks, enriching their Spanish comprehension practice with cultural studies and thematic arts and crafts. Students in third through sixth grades pivoted from their various units to a study of Día de los Muertos traditions in Mexico, comparing and contrasting these with Halloween celebrations in the U.S. (which occur around the same time but are very different). This cultural unit culminated in a challenging, “origami-inspired” craft project: students created a Día de los Muertos Ofrenda altar (pictured) dedicated to someone/something they love, adorned it with traditional Día de Muertos decorations, like candles, pan de muerto, portraits, etc., and detailed all of the components of their altar in Spanish (practicing their presentational writing standard). The 3-dimensional aspect of the project proved challenging for many students and required extra class time to complete, but that extra effort only added to students’ satisfaction with their finished project. I was very pleased with the care and the personal touches students added to their Ofrendas.
Lothrop middle schoolers have now resumed their study of Spanish-speaking countries, and are embarking on a multi-stage research project with a creative twist—I look forward to sharing more of their work in our next Spanish letter. Our younger students are hard at work expanding their conversational vocabulary and enhancing their Spanish comprehension through games, interviews, songs, and more. My fourth graders have made huge strides in their understanding of complex Spanish sentences, and third graders are not far behind.
Mrs. Bruce is looking for volunteers, with building experience, who would be willing to help build sets for this year's 3/4 musical, James and the Giant Peach. We are also looking for donations of materials (lumber, hardware, paint, etc) to help build the set. Please contact her if interested at cbruce@rnesu.org. Thank you!
Sora: Audiobooks & Ebooks for All Students
Sora is an online shared digital library that provides audiobooks and ebooks. RNESU subscribes to this resource and every student can access it with their school email account. The Sora app can be downloaded to almost every type of device (unfortunately not Kindle tablets). To access this resource;
- Download app or go to https://soraapp.com/welcome
- Use location finder or search for Vermont Schools Shared Digital Collection
- After clicking on the button for Vermont Schools Shared Digital Collection. Scroll through the list of schools and locate "Rutland Northeast SU 36"-click on that button.
- Click on the button "Sign in using Rutland Northeast SU 36"
- Sign-in with Google using your student's RNESU email address.
Email: ewilliamsharryman@rnesu.org
Website: https://lothrop.rnesu.org/
Location: US Route 7, Pittsford, VT, 05763
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LothropSchool/