St Mary Star of the Sea Catholic School

St. Mary Star of the Sea School

March 2010 Curriculum Newsletter

Dear Parents,

Rejoice, spring cometh!  How pleasurable it is to get up in the morning and come home from work when it’s still light outside.  I can feel the renewal spring brings in my bones…course, at my age, I feel a lot of things in my bones.  I admit that I am keenly observing buds on trees and our tulip beds with the certainty of premature knowledge that soon, Mother Nature will once again reward us for our winter patience and bring the smells, sounds and color of yet another detonation of spring in all its magnificence. Not sure about you, but it can’t come soon enough for me!

We’ve added and changed a couple of things around the school…some with notice and some without. One of these is a sign in the window of the front door indicating whether to gather in the school or outside on the playground.  My hope is that this will make it easier on everyone.  The sign simply indicates Inside or Outside and it is plainly visible from the sidewalk.  The other has been advertised; it’s our Mini courses.  We are currently offering Rockets, Girl’s Science, Cooking, Computer animation and cartooning/ illustration.  I am very excited about these courses.  I think each of them offers something to our students they don’t normally get in school.  I hope and invite parents to join us next fall when we offer a similar invitation.

I am both pleased and proud to announce that no less than eight of our teachers will be taking a graduate course on differentiated instruction course beginning this summer. Differentiated instruction is the new bar by which all education processes are now judged.  Incorporating new and ever changing topics is a matter of course for professional teachers; our staff is moving beyond this measure to incorporate a research based approach to the actual delivery of any subject matter. 

Our staff begins their work on our latest project; the spiraling of mathematics instruction throughout our grades.  As all of you are aware, St. Mary’s staff have worked assiduously to codify reading, writing, technology, science and religion. We are closing in on social studies.  Once we complete all curricula areas, we will then begin the continual revision cycle, focusing on one curricula area every year.

Just a reminder about our annual upcoming testing that is fast approaching.  We begin testing all children in grades second through eighth on Monday March 22^nd.  The testing will last for the entire week.  I ask that parents really try to ensure their child(ren) get enough rest at night and all children function better in school on a full stomach.  Many of our older students may balk at this but I believe their testing results will reflect how much rest they get.

God Bless,

Kevin

3 Y.O. Class

The three year old class ended February by learning how to properly care for their teeth. We learned teeth are for chewing and that we get only two sets of teeth so we must take excellent care of them. We need to brush and floss them daily to keep them clean and healthy. We need to visit a dentist to get a "tooth" check up. When you visit the dentist he will count your teeth, brush your teeth and maybe even take pictures called x-rays of your teeth.  You might even get a FREE toothbrush from him/her. We only use toothbrushes at home for keeping our teeth clean but at school we used them to scrub different toys such as cars, little people, animals and blocks. We also got to use them to paint at the easel where we learned if you scrub too hard you can make a big hole in your paper...OOPS!

As March blows in, we begin by celebrating Dr. Seuss' Birthday. We read a few of my favorite books - Green Eggs & Ham, I Wish That I Had Duck Feet, Put Me In The Zoo and of course The Cat In The Hat, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and Lillian's favorite, Go Dog Go! We had great fun doing art projects such as balloon painting, bubble painting and creating silly Birthday Birds. Our week ended by cooking green scrambled eggs - mmm…mmm - good!!

March also brings with it a gust of spring (hopefully) so we will be doing a unit on weather learning why it is said that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. Some of the letters of the week we will do in March are Z for zoo, U for umbrella and R for rain. We will learn that rain is water that falls from clouds and while we may not love rain, it can be good for watering plants, lawns and trees. Farmers need rain to water their crops to grow fresh fruits and vegetables. R is also for rainbows so we will be painting a huge raindrop and dobbing a super sized sunshine to hang together in our classroom, as a rainbow sometimes appears when it rains and the sun is out. Of course we will make a unique rainbow for our room!!

Easter falls at the very beginning of April so we will be finishing the month of March by learning the various symbols of Easter and how some families celebrate the Easter holiday.

4 YEAR OLD CLASS: 

February has been an extremely short but busy month in the four year old classroom. We started the month by celebrating Catholic School’s Week. We completed various activities such as, star painting at the easel, star cookie cutter stamping and wearing clothes that included the school’s colors of blue and gold. We created a gold star with blue glitter and inserted each child’s picture in a piece of the star. Our class joined Ms. V and the fourth graders on Thursday of Catholic School’s Week and visited the Star Lab. Thank-you Ms. V and fourth grade class! We all enjoyed being part of this.

Art activities are always fun. We used coffee cans to marble paint on heart shapes. Bingo dobbers were used to decorate a Valentine’s Day bag for our cards. PJ day was on two days so all of the children could enjoy coming to school in their favorite nightwear. PJs were collected and sent over to the big school to Mrs. B. The Title 1 teacher came over and read to the class along with their families and friends. The children love selecting a book to take home.

Science projects for this month included: how big our viper would grow in our jar filled with water.  Did it get as big as our jar?  No, but we watched and measured it all week and it grew 3 ½ in.  Making a Tornado was quite interesting. Using two soda bottles, a tornado tube, water and a few drops of food color is all you need. Straws were used to see how hard the wind could blow. Drops of paint were put on paper, then with the straw it was blown over the paper. How far did it go? How hard do you have to blow?

The letters of the week were V for valentine and vase, N for name and number, and K for kite and kitten.

We look forward to March when the upcoming units will be Nursery Rhymes, St Patrick’s Day, Owls and Birds, and Easter. The letters for March are, Y, G, O, E and B.

First Grade

February was a very busy month in first grade!  As the month began, we celebrated Catholic Schools Week.  This wonderful week was especially exciting because the first graders (and the third graders) proudly led the school-wide prayer service.  They did an outstanding job!

The first graders continue to advance in reading and writing.  Over the past month, we have studied the “magic e” long vowels (i.e. cake, he, rope, kite, and huge).  Students can now distinguish the difference between short and long vowels sounds.  Currently, the first graders have begun to recognize and learn additional ways to spell long a.  Most recently, we have examined the digraphs: ay and ai.  We will continue with this focus next month studying the long vowel e: ea and ee; long vowel i: ie and igh; and long vowel o: oa, oe, and ow.  Please continue to read 15 minutes each night.    

On February 5^th, we had our hundredth day of school!  Since September, the first graders have used a place value pocket chart to record each school day.  In math, we celebrated this special occasion by sorting and graphing 100 Smarties.  We also collaborated to make 100 in a variety of ways; we used an assortment of coins, equations, tallies, and pictures to show our knowledge.  This month, we also studied how to interpret graphs.  As students learned about picture graphs, bar graphs, and tables they compared and contrasted data.  Next, we examine place value and patterns. 

In science, we continue to investigate liquids and solids.  Through experimentation, we have learned that solids have a definite shape.  Liquids however do not; they flow.  Students have discovered that a liquid differs from solid because it will take the shape of any container into which it is placed.  Cooperatively, students have worked in pairs to identify and sort solids into five different properties.  The first graders classified objects using the following characteristics: weight, hardness, shape, color, and type of material.  In the coming month, we will focus on the buoyancy and magnetism of solids, as well as, observe and describe different kinds of liquids. 

This month in social studies, we began our American symbols unit.  Students read and wrote about the following symbols: Lincoln Memorial, White House, American Flag, and Statue of Liberty.  Also, we studied and discussed President’s Day and Chinese New Year.  We will continue our study of American symbols next month, focusing on the following symbols: Bald Eagle, Washington Monument, Capitol, and Uncle Sam. 

Through religion studies, students have learned about the Holy Spirit and the Holy Trinity.  We believe that there is one God in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  We understand that the Holy Spirit is our helper, always with us, guiding us as followers of Jesus.  Also, we have studied what is means to be a Christian.  Praying together, caring for one another, and learning about Jesus, we show our love for God.  Next month, we will continue our discussions of Lent and the seasons of the Church year. 

Grade Two February 2010 Curriculum News

During the month of February the second grade had 100 exciting things (maybe more) going on! Celebration of the 100^th day of school on February 5^th included counting the canned goods before they went to Beverly Bootstraps (total 118), reading a 100^th day story, making 100 paper airplanes and paper hearts, and building a paper chain with 100 links.  Students also shared their combinations for making 100 cents using a variety of coin combinations and practiced skip counting to 100.  It certainly was an exciting day and Mr. Cushman even shared some strategies for building paper airplanes. This led to a great activity, as students then measured the distances the airplanes flew. Many math skills were applied as students used rulers to calculate the distance.

Time flew by this month in Math! Students learned telling time on the analog clock to the five minute, elapsed time, and calendars.  Time Bingo, clock question cards, and Judy clocks were used to teach and practice these new skills.  We have moved on to learning about graphing and are busy collecting data, tallying, making pictographs and bar graphs. Students will be creating a Fast Food graph at home and then using the data to complete a project in Computer Lab.  Second graders continue to practice basic addition and subtraction facts by playing games such as Quizmo, Shutter, Battleship, Hi-Lo, Race to and From 100, and Ten Turns.

 In Religion we have been examining our consciences and focusing our learning on the 10 Commandments as the students prepared for First Reconciliation.  Students have been practicing the Act of Contrition and learning words like: Absolution, penance, confession, and contrition.  Students were both excited and nervous to receive the sacrament on Saturday, March 6, 2010.   Thank you to Mrs. Christine O’Brien and Father Barnes for a beautiful experience.

Language Arts is a large block of time every day in the second grade.  Students have been working with words and their patterns using both hands-on and written practice for skills such as: contractions, plurals, prefixes, and suffixes. In writing the focus has been on writing a paragraph about a topic using an opening sentence, three supporting details, and a concluding sentence.  We call these “hamburger paragraphs” because you have the opening and closing “bun” which are similar but not identical sentences. Then you have meat and other condiments (ketchup, pickles, & cheese) to support the topic. Students have written about their favorite food, dessert, movie, and trip, as well as ways to be healthy and exercise.  In Reading students have been reading short chapter books and answering comprehension questions. Students discuss and write about the characters, setting, problem, solution, sequence, and main idea of the story. Students pursue higher level thinking by answering questions that ask Why, What led up to that, How is the character feeling, How was that event connected to your life or a book you have read, and What do you think will happen next? 

What do Valentine’s Day and Science Lab have in common?  In the second grade we combined a lab of blowing up balloons (with the reaction from baking soda and vinegar) with a Valentine’s celebration of cards and food.  It was an afternoon of fun science- color filters, balloon races, and “explosions” as we mixed and poured. Thank you to the parent volunteers for helping make this a success!  The Changes kit is almost complete and will finish with students building a recipe for change using the materials from the unit including baking soda, sugar, salt, lemon juice, water, vinegar, baking powder, fizz tabs, pennies, and steel wool.

I hope that all those who attended the Catholic Schools Week Open House enjoyed their visit to our classroom.  We had many parents and grandparents come to share some classroom time with their child.  Students presented their “All About Me” Power Point presentations, read a rain forest story, wrote an imaginative tree frog story, and sampled Rain Forest foods with their guests.  It looks like chocolate chips is the favorite Rain Forest food with banana chips and mangos tied for second.  In March students will put together passports and suitcases as they prepare for a “trip” to Japan.  Students will read about and experience Japanese music, legend, school, geography, and food.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day………Mrs. Maria Cunningham

Grade Three Curriculum News Letter

In February, students learned about the Industrial Revolution.  The focus of the unit was to learn how communities changed from farm life to factory life.  As a culminating activity students enjoyed a visit from a park ranger from the Lowell National Historical Park.  He demonstrated and taught the class how to card sheep wool and spin the wool by hand.  Students then used a loom to weave thread into a piece of cloth.  Next, the class visited the Lowell National Historical Park and toured the Boott Mill and boardinghouses.

Students are reading chapter books in class that focus on the skill of cause and effect, recognizing author’s tone, character’s feelings, and making inferences.  Finally, students will be reading Cinderella stories from around the world.  The Cinderella unit focuses on skills like understanding story elements, appreciation of different cultures, and comparing and contrasting.

In math, students continue to learn and memorize multiplication.  In addition, students studied equivalent fractions, adding fractions, and comparing fractions.  Division has been introduced and will continue to be practiced.  In March, geometry will be reintroduced.  Students will study and learn about two and three dimensional figures, lines, polygons, area, and perimeter. 

In Science, students finished experimenting with chemicals.  Each pair of students had five white “mystery” substances to experiment with.  Students predicted, observed, described, and recorded results of the tests.  Through the chemical testing kit, students recognized the guidelines for experimentation, developed an awareness of the importance of chemicals in their lives, and an appreciation for the safe handling of chemicals.  In March students will study how organisms interact with and depend upon one another and their physical environment.  These interactions include the flow of energy within the ecosystem. 

In social studies, students continued to study communities and landforms.  Communities usually develop near water or where routes intersect, and people interact with resources to build up communities.  Students are learning social studies concepts and ideas through reading, discussing key objectives, using clay to create landforms, and watching educational videos that teach more about map skills and communities.  In March, the major objectives that will be taught are how communities grow and change.

In religion students have been learning how Jesus teaches us to love; the Ten Commandments; and how we should love and respect one another.  Students continue to pray a decade of the Rosary each day and listen to a brief story of the Saint of the Day.  In March, student will learn more about how God shares his life with us and teaches us to pray.  During this season of Lent students reflect upon what they can do to grow closer to God through giving of themselves to others in many different ways.

4^th Grade

Although February was a short month, with a vacation smack in the middle, the fourth graders were able to accomplish a great deal. In language arts, to correlate with the science unit on the solar system, the children randomly chose a planet, and using a minimum of three reference sources, they researched and wrote a 2-3 page essay which they presented with accurate and picturesque diagrams.  To accompany the arrival of the Olympics, after reading articles in our Weekly Reader, and daily animated discussions about our medals and competition (especially with Canada), they then wrote essays about the history of the Olympics and shared what they’d “wanna be” if they were ever able to participate in such a prestigious arena.

In reading, after completing the comical book, Frindle the children are moving onto a more serious novel by Claire Hutchet Bishop entitled, Twenty and Ten. It is based upon a true story about an incident during German occupied France. Twenty French children, sent to a mountain refuge to be cared for by a wise nun, are asked to conceal ten Jewish children from the Nazi soldiers. The narrator, Janet Joly, is actually one of the main characters about whom the story is told.  The fourth graders have been quite sympathetic to the issues portrayed, and some insightful, caring, dialog has evolved. As the Lenten season is upon us, this lends itself to an easy transition into our review of the celebration of the liturgy, and works of our church. The boys and girls continue to study, learn, and practice our daily prayer, blessings, forgiveness and virtues during this special “springtime” of our liturgical year.

Catholic Schools Week was an exciting time, filled with many wonderful activities and experiences!  One of these activities was a portable planetarium, Starlab.  Using this as a launching point, the children reviewed the solar system, its movements, its place in the universe, and certain characteristics (such as size and color) of other significant stars. Just ask them how big Betelgeuse is! Then, they learned the names and locations of all the individual planets, as well as many interesting facts about each. This was accomplished as a result of their language arts research/writing projects mentioned above. They all did an awesome job on these essays.

Social Studies finds us traveling throughout our six New England states, as we embark upon our studies of the five regions in this glorious country.  What better place to begin than at home. Map booklets, full of wonderful information about the six states, were completed over vacation, and we’ve begun an overhead scavenger hunt to begin learning about the other five states in our Northeastern region.  The children marvel at the fact that practically everything one could want, can be found right here on the East coast; everything except February sunshine that is!

Finally, in math this past month, the fourth graders have been working diligently on ‘two digit multiples, times multiple digit multiplicands’. Although this may seem a bit of a mouthful, it is essential as well as meaningful to the children, as they master this skill.  For Valentines Day, to sweeten the workload, all the boys and girls finally were able to put into practice certain skills they have been developing all along, using candy hearts. Nobody seemed to mind: measuring, estimating, graphing, building towers, or even eating the manipulatives!  As March begins, we are looking forward to the division unit.

Happy springJ.

News from Mrs. Johnson’s classroom

5^th grade

Math – In the 5^th grade we have learned all about prime and composite numbers.  Ask your fifth grader what to do when encountering a composite number and you want to factor it into prime numbers.  I am sure that they’ll tell you to “break it down” and do “the prime number dance” move.  Fifth graders have learned to find the common factors of a series of numbers, and to find the Greatest Common Factor (GCF).  We’ve also learned how to find the Least Common Multiple (LCM) for a series of numbers.  This has set us up to be able to find the Least Common Denominator, as we begin to look at fractions, and how we can reduce fractions to their lowest terms.

Science- 5^th grade kicked off this month by doing a lab on density, as we begin our Museum of Science project on Ocean Engineering and submersibles.  We’ve also completed reading the book “Despina Makes a Splash: An Ocean Engineering Story” to help us relate to the world of work encompassing engineering.   We’ve talked about how ocean engineers help us learn about the deep ocean, a place we can’t see.

At the same time the class is studying cycles in nature.   In the lab this month, 5th graders learned about the density of liquids, and how to make an object (clay) less dense so that it will float.  We’ve also examined the carbon dioxide-oxygen cycle by looking at soot (carbon) left behind from a burning candle on a pie plate, and we watched as boiling water evaporated and condensed on a glass plate. 5^th graders also used the scientific method to predict how much water would evaporate when they placed 100 milliliters in a bag for 5 days. Finally this month, we learned about surface tension, and tested how many drops of water could fit on penny versus drops of soapy water.

Religion 

This month in religion, we’ve talked about the Kingdom of God, the communion of Saints, and the four essential characteristics of the Church: One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.   We have focused on the work of the laity and what makes us a Catholic community.  We have also covered the liturgical year, and the liturgical seasons.  Finally, we have reviewed each of the seven sacraments, and 5^th graders created a “7 Sacraments” booklet.

6^th Grade

Math –6^th graders have been working to master using number patterns, fractions and ratios.  We have covered Greatest Common Factors (GCF), Least Common Multiple (LCM), Least Common Denominator (LCD), and divisibility patterns.  We have also spent a lot of time relating fractions and ratios to decimals and being able to convert fractions to decimals.  The everyday use of these concepts was illustrated by showing students how a fraction can changed to a decimal and then a percentage to calculate grades!

Science The sixth grade began the month with a fun (and gross!) squid dissection lab.  The lab was a great end to our topic on invertebrates, and a perfect segue into our studies of the deep ocean, and the ocean engineering project we are undertaking. We also had a fun lab right before February vacation in which we experimented with “space sand” which is coated with silicone and does not get wet, unlike the grains of sand in our oceans.  We looked at its hydrophobic properties, and experimented with chemicals that would break down the silicone coating, making the sand be just like uncoated, everyday sand.

 Both 5^th and 6^th grade students are participating in a Museum of Science Engineering Is Elementary Curriculum unit, in which we will focus on ocean engineering and submersibles.  We have completed reading the book “Despina Makes a Splash” in which a young girl learns how to engineer a submersible to recover a friend’s lost goggles.  As we move through the unit, kids will become familiar with engineering terms and real world applications.  We have also studied density in the lab, a concept related to the ocean engineering curriculum.  Students had to calculate the densities of liquids and layer them according to their densities. 

5^th Grade ELA and S.S.

The fifth graders continue their exploration of American History.  They are currently studying the establishment and development of the 13 original colonies.  They were fascinated by the fact the Maine once belonged to Massachusetts and that Vermont was divided between New Hampshire and New York.  They are also learning about the different men who have held office by completing a five paragraph research project on an assigned President. They are really enjoying learning about presidents they have not necessarily heard of before.   The study of American History is being carried out in their E.L.A. classes as well.  Students are learning about the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s through magazines, newspapers, film, music, and historical fiction.  They are currently working on learning how to outline properly and reinforcing their non-fiction reading skills.

Fifth graders are also experts on the parts of a sentence; they are really enjoying applying what they have been learning all year through diagramming sentences.  To know that every word has a purpose and how to tell if a sentence is grammatically correct will really help to improve their reading and writing skills.

6^th Grade ELA, S.S., and Religion

The sixth graders are embarking on the biggest research project they have been assigned—Mini-Culturama.  This is very similar to the projects done by the 7^th and 8^th graders but it is a 5 page paper and they will not be judged by outside sources.  Every Thursday is “Mini-Culturama Day” and the students will work on specific research and writing skills to help with this project.  They have picked some very fascinating topics and are working each day towards to the presentation day, April 16^th.

The sixth graders continue their world geography studies in the continent of Africa.  They are completing a map with over 50 countries, creating an “Almanac Page” in computer class, learning about the culture and economics through readings and worksheets, being test on the countries and capitals, and watching film about this continent.  They have really loved being able to stump adults with names and locations of countries.

In the study of historical and non-fiction the students continue to work in literature groups.  Each group is reading a different text based on World War II or Afghanistan.  They are learning to pull major facts, note take, answer comprehension questions, and to connect different events in history to each other and their own lives.

Religious studies take us into understanding a deeper meaning of the seven sacraments.  The rituals, symbols, and importance of each sacrament has been discussed.  Plus the 6^th graders are learning how each sacrament is pre-figured in the Old Testament.  It is amazing how well they understand this concept and can readily describe examples of how this applies to our lives today.

Grade 7

The seventh grade class has been studying Protists and Fungi. We have observed members of the Protist kingdom under microscopes and most recently we examined the conditions necessary for yeast reproduction. We are looking forward to our next topic – the Animal Kingdom.

Our math class has consisted of working with rational numbers, calculating measures of central tendency and writing numbers in scientific notation. Soon we will tackle more complex equations and inequalities.

The topic this month in Religion has been the symbols in the Liturgy. We will soon be moving on to take a look at Sacraments.

Grade 8

Our study of Chemistry is nearing an end. We have studied the Periodic Table of Elements and chemical bonding. We know how to draw models of atoms and electron dot diagrams. We will finish our study by exploring chemical formulas and chemical reactions.

In our math class we are learning about slope and linear equations. We now know how to find the slope of a line given 2 points, we can identify a coordinate if give the other coordinate and the slope. We also know 3 forms of equations for lines and can move from one form of the equation to another. Now we will concentrate on graphing equations and systems of equations.

Grade 8

RELIGION      

     One of the general objectives of the eighth grade religion course is to comprehend, as young Catholic men and women, the history, the basic beliefs, and the social customs of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. As the month of February drew to a close, we completed our journey through Judaism. It is with this foundation we now proceed to the early development of our early Christian faith. Rapid progress should be the order of the day since we learned about the rise of the Christian faith earlier in the school year in our history class. In the introduction to this phase of our course, the class has become aware of some of the obvious characteristics which differentiate the three major branches of Christianity: Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and Protestantism. A deeper investigation will follow during the month of March.

HISTORY

     February has witnessed the eighth grade discovering the factors which led to the reappearance of cities and towns in medieval Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. The end of barbarian migrations (and the accompanying safety), the return of coinage, the numerous trade fairs, and the rise of strong monarchies in France and England provided the impetus for an urban revival after the year 1000 A.D. A partial viewing of the award winning film A Lion in Winter aided the class in their understanding of the role of strong monarchs in the formation of a new Europe in the later half of the Middle Ages. The students enjoyed viewing slides of one of the greatest commercial centers during this period of history- Venice, the Queen of the Adriatic.

LANGUAGE ARTS

     Catholic Schools Week opened the month of February with great fanfare, and of course, a long-standing tradition at St. Mary Star of the Sea: Culturama. The culmination of student projects was enthusiastically enjoyed by all. Their intense labor came to fruition. We congratulate all participants. The curriculum continued throughout the month, however, as we focused on the improvement of writing skills through the use of specific nouns, colorful adjectives, vivid verbs, and animated adverbs. We will continue to work on our writing skills in the few remaining months we share at St. Mary’s School.

An excellent Sherlock Holmes’s mystery intrigued the class as we read Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Scarlett Band. Members of the class were not only amazed by Mr. Holmes’s mental powers of investigation, but also by the serpentine solution to the story.

Grade 7

HISTORY

     Our inquiry into the world of ancient Greece continued during the month of February. An appreciation of the Greek mind was developed as we examined the lives and contributions of the philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. We also included two authors who provide us with essential information regarding the lives of the ancient Greeks: the historians Herodotus and Thucydides. The class gained a visual insight into the past as we enjoyed watching the film, The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. We are now preparing team reports on the daily lives of the ancient Greeks.

LANGUAGE ARTS

     Along with their eighth grade counterparts, the seventh grade students participated during the first week of February in the long-standing tradition at St. Mary Star of the Sea School: Culturama. We congratulate all who participated. As the month proceeded, attention was focused on the improvement of writing skills through the use of specific nouns, colorful adjectives, vivid verbs, and animated adverbs. Several activities in the form of charades assisted in the creative process to bring this lesson to life. Work will continue to make our writing as rich and exciting as some of the authors who inspire us. We are presently reading a wonderful book by Gary Paulsen, The Winter Room.  It is a work that not only returns us to a simpler day and age (seventy years ago), but also elevates sensory images of life on a farm with intensely descriptive language of sound, smell, and light. It will be our goal to write a final chapter guided by the inspiration of this extraordinary author.

Computer Lab

          Kindergarten continues with the Reader Rabbit series.  Many of the children are moving into Reader Rabbit 1.  It is amazing how the children’s reading skills have improved.  The next software will be Reader Rabbit Math.

During February most classes have been working with Excel.  In First grade templates were created for the children by Mrs. O’Donnell.  Miss O’Mahoney gathered data for Smarties candy. The children added it to the template along with titles and labels. This use of templates introduces the children to a spreadsheet and how it works.  It also introduces the vocabulary necessary for the children to create spreadsheets in the future.  Miss O’Mahoney will continue with graphing in class and the children will input some of their data on future templates.

           Second grade counted Skittles (from Halloween), surveyed Favorite Rainforest Animal, and rolled dice for their Excel spreadsheets.  A template created by Mrs. O’Donnell was used for these projects.  Mrs. Cunningham has assigned a Fast Food Survey which will be the next project in March.

          Third grade gathered data for Favorite Colors and Favorite Sports. The children will create these spreadsheets from scratch using their data.   In conjunction with the field trip to Lowell Mills in March, the children will create a graph that shows what things cost in 1840 and today. 

           Fourth grade created a spreadsheet using the data gathered during their Science lessons on weather.  In March, they will produce a spreadsheet that compares items such as the price of bread and milk fifty years ago and today.  Final publish of creative writing has also been done during class in February.

          Fifth grade created a spreadsheet on probability and rolling dice.  In March the class will work with Olympic statistics assigned by Mrs. Johnson.

          Sixth grade has been studying Africa.   Mrs. Boudreault had the children collect data on the longest river, the highest elevations, the largest countries and the smallest countries.  The children are entering this information into Excel and graphic each category. In March they will graph the countries and the number of medals they won in the Olympics.

          Seventh grade is working with formulas in Excel.  Next they will go on a shopping spree.  They have won $1000 and should spend it on merchandise from one online store.  The catch is that their total has to be between $995 and $1000 including tax.  If they go over or under they will loose the prize.

           Eighth grade has been working on their “School Years” Power Point presentations which have taken longer than planned because the students have put extra effort into their work.  The presentations are awesome.  We will share the presentations next week.  In March, the class will begin work on the Graduation Power Point.  They will also work with formulas in Excel.    

          As you can see the children are busy in the computer lab.  They continue to be amazing with what they can do.  The first and second graders grasp the use of Excel easily.  Grades 3 through 8 are even more adept at Excel.  The more skills introduced the more they seem to grasp and use the skill.  Many times they will share hints and tricks with the teachers.  If you are in the school, please come and check out the computer work that is hanging in the halls.

Greetings from the Science Lab!

March has certainly “come in like a lion!” I trust wind damage to your property was at a minimum. Those of us who live in Cape Ann had devastating evergreen damage as well as huge beach erosion. We also had no electricity for quite some time. Our weather patterns have been so erratic this winter. I must admit that I look forward to green trees and warm temperatures.

This month the kindergarten class has studied manatees, cheetahs, raccoons, and bald eagles. The children learn some facts about the animal in question, observe some beautiful pictures, watch some footage of said animal on the Smartboard, sing a song or recite a poem, do a craft with Nurse Mary, and color some pictures of their animal. I wonder what our next “critter” will be?

First grade visited the lab to make “gak” with Mrs. Johnson. “Gak” is actually a non-Newtonian fluid whose viscosity changes with both temperature and pressure. They students colored their “gak” red and blue, and were able to both pull it apart and bounce it on the lab tables. Many thanks to Mrs. Johnson for such a fun lesson!

Second grade used the lab to combine substances such as baking powder and baking soda, pennies and steel wool with liquids such as vinegar, water, and lemon juice (citric acid) in order to observe any changes that might occur. In the classroom they made colored suspensions using oil and vinegar, and learned that the two liquids separate due to density differences.

Third grade came up to the lab to demonstrate how well they remembered specific chemical and physical tests in order to identify five unknown substances. Red cabbage juice, iodine and heat were several of the indicators used by the children to assess their mystery substances. I was frankly amazed by how well they all did. Next, they will be making crystals in the form of rock candy as well as using lemon juice and light to write secret messages.

Fourth grade has begun studying both static and current electricity. In the lab the children constructed series circuits and tested various objects in order to determine whether or not they conduct electricity (i.e. are these materials conductors or insulators?). Many more experiments using electricity as a source of energy are yet to come!

Grade five has been experimenting with matter and density and, using this knowledge, made beautiful five-layered liquids. They observed how the water cycle actually works, and discussed the oxygen-carbon dioxide cycle. Surface tension was tested by heaping water drops on pennies using tap water and then changing to soapy water. The students were amazed at how many drops of tap water could fit on the surface of a penny!

Grade six performed a squid dissection in the lab, followed by eating some calamari. Yummy mantles and tentacles! They then experimented with Crane Beach sand and “space sand,” which simulates the closest thing to soil on Mars. The students observed how the two types of sand react with water, vinegar, and oil. They all loved this activity; unfortunately the lab sink didn't, and has not drained well since some space sand accidentally spilled into it. The students have begun their study of earth science by taking core colored clay samples of the earth's layers using straws.

Grade seven observed slides of different types of protists under the microscope, making accurate sketches of each. The students next designed adorable scientific cartoons using amoebas, euglena, or paramecia as their main characters. Recently they experimented with yeast cells in varying mixtures of sugar water, salt water, and sugar-salt water in order to observe which medium promoted fermentation best. Some balloons filled up with carbon dioxide gas which, when poured over lit candles, extinguished the flames.

Grade eight students have studied the Periodic Chart of Elements, atomic structure, element symbols, ionic and covalent bonds, formulas, and balancing equations. In the lab, they have run flame tests of specific elements using butane burners, and equated their colors to the making of fireworks. They also performed single and double replacement reactions as well as oxidation-reduction reactions. Chemistry is challenging, but can be very fun as well!

My favorite quotation for the month:

“The things that are important-such as courage, integrity, loyalty, luck, determination, kindness- those things are not distributed on your chromosomes. They must be acquired.....”

Rhonda Cornum

The spring concert to be held on Wednesday, May 26 will be "A Disney Celebration" featuring songs from great Disney movies and covering a wide span of years.  Songs chosen thus far are:

Kindergarten:  Heigh Ho, Whistle While You Work (Snow White, 1937)
Grade One:  You've Got a Friend in Me (Toy Story, 1995)
Grade Two:  Let's Get Together (The Parent Trap, 1961)
Grade Three:  Supercalifragislisticexpialidocious (Mary Poppins, 1964)
Grade Four:  If I Didn't Have You (Monsters, Inc., 2001)
Grade Five:  Old Yeller (Old Yeller, 1957)
Grade Six:  Under the Sea (The Little Mermaid, 1989) 
Grade Seven:  To Be Decided
Grade Eight:  Send it On (Disney channel)
Finale: We’ll let you know at the concert!!!

Thanks to Micro Support Group for hosting our site.