News from the School

by Middletown Springs on June 9, 2014

Middletown Springs Elementary School News for the June, 2014

The school was very fortunate to have the support of Middletown Springs Historical Society in learning opportunities for the students. Through MSHS’s contribution, the students in the upper grades had experiences to connect with Vermont and US history. The students in 5th and 6th grades visited Gettysburg and Philadelphia where they were able to visually connect with what they had learned about the Civil War and, specifically, the Battle at Gettysburg. The historical society also funded the field trip for the 3rd-6th graders to the Rokeby Museum in Ferrisburgh. Vermont had an important role in the Underground Railroad during the period of the Civil War. The visit to the Rokeby Museum provided an opportunity for the students to learn about slavery, the role of the Underground Railroad in helping slaves to freedom and how the people in Vermont supported the abolition of slavery. The school would like to thank the Middletown Springs Historical Society for writing the Stewart’s grants that helped fund these experiences.

MSES will host Tinmouth Elementary School for Field day on June 11th. The students come together for a picnic lunch and a fun afternoon of games. The culmination of the afternoon is a visit by the fire department with a fire truck with water to spray the students down. This has been a tradition between the two schools for many years and hopefully will continue even with Tinmouth moving to another supervisory union.

 

The third, fourth and sixth graders completed the Student Interaction Study for new the Smarter Balance Assessments (SBAC) assessments that will be given in the spring of 2015. MSES was the test team’s first opportunity to administer the study to students. The study had students respond to text and solve math application problems. After each question, the students were asked for their insight on how the questions were presented and what would make them clearer. The testers were very impressed how conscientious the students were in participating in the study. The student shared excellent insight to the testers on how the test format could be improved. Having our students participate in the study will help prepare them for next spring and hopefully, make the SBAC assessment less intimidating. I would like to share that Middletown Springs and Wells schools are the only schools in Vermont that volunteered to participate in the study. Our school is proud of how our students represented Rutland Southwest Supervisory Union and the State of Vermont.

The students enjoyed the CLiF storytelling presentation by poet Ted Scheu in May. Mr. Scheu is a local poet and former teacher from Middlebury who has published many books on poems that students can connect to. He shared his experiences on how he developed his passion for writing and the inspirations for his poems. Following the presentation, the students were able to select a book to keep. I would like to thank Mrs. Carr and Mrs. Mathewson for their efforts in bringing this program to our school.

The school would like to thank everyone from the community who volunteered and support our students over the past year. The school has been very fortunate to have people who gave their time, shared their expertise and knowledge with the students, and were willing to help out when needed. The community’s commitment to support the students with their time has had a positive impact on the students.

Rick Beal,  Principal

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