What are Students Learning…
in Ms. Wilson’s Class?
Puffins and Pre-K students are becoming familiar and confident with the routines and transitions at school, and we sure do hate being called “the little kids”, especially since we all know only BIG kids can go to school! We have observed that there are bigger and even bigger or the biggest kids at school during fire safety drills. We have a young group with many fall birthdays in our classroom community this year. We have already celebrated two 4 year old birthdays; this week we will celebrate two 3 year old birthdays and next week we have two more students turning 4!
Last week Pre-K students discussed and practiced the learning rules: Focus, Listen, Use your self talk, Be assertive. We listened to the Learning Song and played the following directions game called: “Follow follow”. This week we will watch and listen to the Learner Song on our big screen. Here is a link to the Learner song:
We are learning to use our visual schedule to help us transition from activity to activity with grace, courtesy and an empty bladder (especially when it’s time to go outside with Ms. Russell). We have been “color detectives” inside our classroom and outside. Many of us can recognize colors (and color words) when we play color matching games at group time. A very fuzzy caterpillar was discovered in our sandbox area on Thursday, so we invited it to visit our classroom in a pop-up habitat for closer (and safer) observation. On Friday morning our caterpillar was all cozied up in a chrysallis, when it emerges we will find out if it will be a butterfly or a moth. Full disclosure: I know it will not be a monarch butterfly or a brown tail moth- those are the two caterpillars I recognize without Google!
in Ms. Baird’s Class?
In literacy, kindergarten and first grade began work on their handwriting. They worked on most of the uppercase letters, with “frog jump” capitals, “center starting” capitals, and some number handwriting as well. We continued reviewing all our letter sounds, focusing on solidifying the vowel sounds. We also did some phonemic awareness, breaking apart words aloud as a group. In math, Kindergarten and First Grade continued to work in their writing journals. Kindergarten worked on using different math tools and had fun working on building and exploring with them. The first grade learned some new math games with cards and dice. They worked on adding 1 and 2 and also worked on subtracting 1 or 2. The first grade explored
education.com , a new learning site. The first grade also listened to a story called Equal Shmequal. We talked about what it means to be equal.
in Mrs. Thoner’s Class?
ELA – 2/3:
Students worked on comprehension strategies at their instructional level. The emergent readers re-read a book about bats and worked on sight words. The beginning readers worked on identifying the main idea and on cause and effect as they read. The 3rd graders worked on cause and effect as they read a book about glaciers. It is nice to have Miss Liz Day with us to help some of the students with sight words, phonemic awareness and some other early reading skills.
ELA – 4/5
Students continued to learn about reading non-fiction text and about how to use the internet to deepen their understanding of the basic text that was presented. They produced their first major writing of the year which was a 4 paragraph essay about what makes a hurricane a natural disaster. We also started our study of how volcanoes form and what determines if they are a natural disaster. The next few weeks will be focused on what humanity – especially children – need to survive and how governments and international agencies help.
Miss Liz takes a group of students in the second half of our literacy block to work on an extended reading program, while I keep others to work on daily skills including completing work they had difficulty completing during the first session.
ELA – 6-8
Students have continued reading A Long Walk to Water along with excerpts from articles that explain the culture of the Dinka and Nuer tribes of South Sudan. Some conversations have included the fact that cattle were/are an important symbol of wealth and necessary to buy a bride. Students are engaging in discussions about how cultures vary and how some may see the “selling” of daughters as okay, where our culture would consider it abhorrent. The goal is for students to understand that not every culture in the world thinks as we do. We try not to judge their cultures, but do make judgments regarding our own morees.
in Mrs. Sproul’s Class?
2nd grade math
The students had their first assessment this week and overall did really well. We started working with picture graphs. We made some graphs and answered questions about the graphs. The students seem to be really enjoying this section. This week we will be continuing our graph work as well as working on fluency with our math facts in a more structured way.
3rd grade math
We have continued our work with graphs. They have been looking at the different scales in graphs and learning how to choose an appropriate scale when making a picture graph. Next week we will be spending some time reviewing adding and subtracting with regrouping. We also will be working on fluency with our math facts in a more structured way.
4th grade math
We finished our section on factors and multiples and started a unit with fractions. We have been reviewing what a fraction and unit fraction is. This week we will also be working on fluency with our math facts in a more structured way.
5th grade math
We continued our work with finding the volume of rectangular prisms. This week we are looking at more complex rectangular prisms where they have to decompose them before they can figure out the area. We also will be working on fluency with our math facts in a more structured way.
6th grade math
We continue our work with area looking specifically at parallelograms. We discussed the attributes of a parallelogram as well as how to find the base and the height. Next week we will continue with finding the volume of shapes. We also will be working on fluency with our math facts in a more structured way.
7th grade math
We continued our work with scale looking at scaled objects. We learned how to scale drawings and how to determine the scale factor. We will continue this work next week as well as working on fluency with our math facts in a more structured way.
8th grade
We continued our work with rigid transformations and spent time learning how to describe transformations accurately. We worked with rotations and learned how to do multi step transformations.
In Ms. Bebell’s Class?
6-8 Super Studies
To start the week, the students wrote reflections on what they have learned about the global water crisis. The posters they made to promote raising money for Water for South Sudan will be posted around the peninsula and online. You can donate here if you would like:
http://give.classy.org/BrooklinSchool. The students also began their next unit on animal adaptations and symbiotic relationships. They experienced what it would be like to not have the adaptation of opposable thumbs during a fun lab and have started creating mini documentaries about imaginary animals that they’ve invented to live in the desert.
4/5 Super Studies
This week, the students have been further exploring how feelings amongst the colonists led to the American Revolution. They read about the Boston Tea Party and then did an engineering challenge to create mini crates that could keep a tea bag dry in water (quite the opposite of Patriots smashing crates and throwing it all in Boston Harbor to be ruined, but it was a fun way to pull in some science!).
2/3 Super Studies
This week, the students did a wonderful job giving each other suggestions to help everyone make their drawings of critters they have found in the woods even more realistic. They also began writing descriptions of their animals. For Forest Friday (on Thursday this week!) the students continued working on their fairy houses from last week. They are making beautiful, creative structures from natural materials and practicing being supportive and respectful of each other’s work and the forest.
In Ms. Russell’s Class?
Pre-K We are learning about personal space and general space. We are learning how to move around safely. We have been practicing skipping and galloping in general space. We also have spent time hiking in the woods.
K-1 We are practicing moving safely in general space while playing lead up games and tag games.
2-3 We have been practicing sportsmanship and teamwork while playing lead up games such as capture the bean bag.
4-5 We have been practicing sportsmanship and teamwork while playing lead up games such as capture the bean bag.
6,7,8 We have been practicing sportsmanship and teamwork while playing lead up games such as capture the bean bag.
In Mrs. Hick’s Class?
PK – So far this year in Performing Arts classes we have learned some acting games and talked about what our role in the Holiday Performance will be. This year we are doing a musical called “A Musical Christmas Carol” each class will sing a different holiday song in between scene changes during the show. PreK will be singing “Jingle Bells!” This year I will be choosing a student each week as my Performer of the week! This student shows me that they are ready for class, they follow directions, they are kind to their peers and to me, they are helpful to their peers and to me. So far this year I have given this award to Cove Brown, Will Gielarowski, and Abrum Eaton, This week’s Performer of the Week is Haven Chapman!
K/1 – So far this year in Performing Arts classes we have learned some acting games and talked about what our role in the Holiday Performance will be. This year we are doing a musical called “A Musical Christmas Carol” each class will sing a different holiday song in between scene changes during the show. Kindergarten and First Grade will be signing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” This year I will be choosing a student each week as my Performer of the week! This student shows me that they are ready for class, they follow directions, they are kind to their peers and to me, they are helpful to their peers and to me. So far this year I have given this award to Watson Thalhauser, Asa Blake, and Alida Lewandowski. This week’s Performer of the Week is Scarlette Clark!
2/3 – So far this year in Performing Arts classes we have learned some acting games and talked about what our role in the Holiday Performance will be. This year we are doing a musical called “A Musical Christmas Carol” each class will sing a different holiday song in between scene changes during the show. The second and Third Grade will be learning a song on Ukulele. This week we learned about the parts of a Ukulele and how to properly care for your Ukulele. Next week I will assign instruments to students and send home Ukulele take-home contracts for students who wish to take their instruments home to practice. If your student has a Ukulele at home that they would like to use please start sending those with them Wednesday 9/29/21. This year I will be choosing a student each week as my Performer of the week! This student shows me that they are ready for class, they follow directions, they are kind to their peers and to me, they are helpful to their peers and to me. So far this year I have given this award to Lola Blake, Hawk Cowart, and Hayleigh Phillips. This week’s Performer of the Week is Luna Seeger!
4/5 – So far this year in Performing Arts classes we have learned some acting games and talked about what our role in the Holiday Performance will be. This year we are doing a musical called “A Musical Christmas Carol” each class will sing a different holiday song in between scene changes during the show. Students in Fourth and Fifth grade will make up most of the cast that has lines in the show or will be assisting me backstage with Tech work whichever they choose. We started auditions this week and will be continuing them for the next couple of weeks to make sure everyone gets a chance to audition. This year I will be choosing a student each week as my Performer of the week! This student shows me that they are ready for class, they follow directions, they are kind to their peers and to me, they are helpful to their peers and to me. So far this year I have given this award to Alden Tripp, Jordyn Nevells, and Fisher Thalhauser. This week’s Performer of the Week is Rowan Savage!
6/7/8 – So far this year in Performing Arts classes we have learned some acting games and talked about what our role in the Holiday Performance will be. This year we are doing a musical called “A Musical Christmas Carol” each class will sing a different holiday song in between scene changes during the show. Students in Fourth and Fifth grade will make up most of the cast that has lines in the show or will be assisting me backstage with Tech work whichever they choose. Although they do know that if I need a part filled I may ask them to play that they didn’t sign up for. We started auditions this week and will be continuing them for the next couple of weeks to make sure everyone gets a chance to audition. This year I will be choosing a student each week as my Performer of the week! This student shows me that they are ready for class, they follow directions, they are kind to their peers and to me, they are helpful to their peers and to me. So far this year I have given this award to Farrah Young, Amelia Watters, and Addisyn Tripp. This week’s Performer of the Week is Violet Woodmansee!
Calendar
9/27 4:00 PM Home soccer game vs Bay School
9/29 9:00 AM School Picture Day
October
10/1 4:00 PM Soccer game at DISES
10/4 4:00 PM Soccer game at Sedgwick
10/5 12:00 noon Flu Clinic (Details to TBA)
4:00 PM Soccer game at Surry
10/7 3:30 PM Home soccer game vs Castine
10/8 NO SCHOOL—TEACHER WORKSHOP DAY
10/11 NO SCHOOL—HOLIDAY
10/12 4:00 PM Home soccer game vs Penobscot
6:00 PM School Board Meeting
10/13 4:00 PM Home soccer game vs DISES
10/15 4:00 PM Soccer game at BH
10/29 12:30 PM Early release
Free/Reduced School Meal Application
