Thank you
- Neal Kennerk for helping the kids make crafts for the Craft Fair. Great Job!!
- Priscilla Grant for making mittens for the kids.
Instructional Updates
Super Studies
The 7/8 class started 2020 with a bang… literally! They experimented with the chemical reaction that occurs when you combine acids with bases. When mixing vinegar and baking soda in a film canister, enough carbon dioxide builds up inside to force the cap off the container with enough force that it bounces off the ceiling! The students read about chemical changes and were introduced to the idea of balancing chemical equations in preparation for Slime Week next week, during which they will make a new slime every day to demonstrate different chemistry concepts.
This week the 7/8 students also completed the first lesson of the Brooklin to Brooklyn project, by identifying different stereotypes that people have about a variety of groups. There will be a parent meeting about Brooklin to Brooklyn on Monday, January 13, at 5:30. Connie Carter, the director of Operation Breaking Stereotypes and our leader in this project, will be there to share information about the project and the trip to New York City in May. Please join us… I know that people have a lot of questions about this project and the trip, and this is your best opportunity to have them answered!
Math: We started our short week with a fun activity, making Happy 2020 signs for our bulletin board. However, students came up with different, complex mathematical ways of writing this! It was a great chance for them to push their thinking and get a bit creative. On Friday, our 7th-grade mathematicians worked on the distributive property while our 8th-grade mathematicians reviewed the Pythagorean Theorem.
ELA: Students continued to wrap up their projects on a specific element based on The Disappearing Spoon and outside research. They also worked on completing the book (due by Friday, Jan. 10). This has been a short unit focused on nonfiction text and connected with their current science unit.
3/4 ELA: Students continued to work on reading and spelling two-syllable words with double consonants (rabbit, kitten, pattern, etc.) and words that end with the -gle syllable (jungle, angle). We started a new short book called “Previously” and started to learn about affixes (prefixes and suffixes). We continued with our Charlotte’s Web read aloud.
5/6 ELA: This week we worked on proper punctuation of possessive singular and plural nouns. We also continued our work on Bud, Not Buddy and continued comparing Bud to Steve Jobs, based on his commencement address from March 2005 at Stanford University. The common core standard being addressed is comparing and contrasting a fictional character with a real person. Students also continued with their creative writing time with Ellen Booraem (every Friday at 1:15)
7/8 ELA: Students continued to wrap up their projects on a specific element based on The Disappearing Spoon and outside research. They also worked on completing the book (due by Friday, Jan. 10). This has been a short unit focused on nonfiction text and connected with their current science unit.
3/4 Math: We started our short week with a fun activity, making Happy 2020 signs for our bulletin board. However, students came up with different, complex mathematical ways of writing this! It was a great chance for them to push their thinking and get a bit creative. We then continued with 3rd graders starting a new module where they will be working on learning the rest of their multiplication facts and 4th graders were continuing to learn about long division. Our mathematicians are making great progress!
5/6 Math: We started our short week with a fun activity, making Happy 2020 signs for our bulletin board. However, students came up with different, complex mathematical ways of writing this! It was a great chance for them to push their thinking and get a bit creative. On Friday, our 5th-grade mathematicians refreshed their skills in adding fractions with unlike denominators while our 6th-grade mathematicians worked on an assessment from the previous module.
7/8 Math: We started our short week with a fun activity, making Happy 2020 signs for our bulletin board. However, students came up with different, complex mathematical ways of writing this! It was a great chance for them to push their thinking and get a bit creative. On Friday, our 7th grade mathematicians worked on the distributive property while our 8th-grade mathematicians reviewed the Pythagorean Theorem.
PK-K- Happy New Year! Sometimes coming back to school after a vacation can be a challenge for our youngest learners, but Pre-K and Kindergarten students returned to school with great enthusiasm and gusto! During our first morning meeting of 2020, we celebrated the arrival of a new month, but even more significantly the new year! Students were eager to share their holiday vacation adventures and listened intently while others were sharing.
This week Kindergarten students will participate in Math and Literacy computer-based NWEA testing, while Pre-K students demonstrate their abilities on paper and with manipulatives. We will continue to strengthen our story re-telling and sequencing skills with activities inspired by the works of Jan Brett; we will be exploring ordinal numbers with activities also inspired by Jan Brett.
Boat Building RC Boats Progress
PTF News
Upcoming Events:
- Friday, January 17th @ 7:30 AM Coffee Social. Come have a cup of coffee and a snack.
Warm Clothes Swap
There are still plenty of warm clothes on the rack in the front entrance of the school. Please search through and take some warm items or drop off things that your family has outgrown. This has been an extremely valuable resource and thank you to everyone that has dropped off clothes!
Community News
Youth Programs @ BHPL January 2020 Schedule
Jan 8 & 22 Lego Club 3:00 PM Larchwood Room
Come build with Legos! Create from your imagination, or a special challenge. Ages 5+.
Jan 14 Wild Sun Catchers Storytime 10:30 AM Larchwood Room
Landere Naisbitt of Blue Hill Heritage Trust will read Thanks to the Animals, written by Allen Sockabasin and illustrated by Rebekah Raye, and we will make native plant bird feeders with white pine cones, peanut butter, winter berries, sumac berries, rose hips and sunflower seeds.
Jan 16 Pajama Story Time 4:30 PM Larchwood Room
Wear your pajamas, bring a stuffed animal and join us for a story, songs, and coloring.
Jan 20 Closed for Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Jan 21 Explore Outdoors!: Tracking Wildlife 4:00 PM Howard Room
Walk, gallop, and pace your way through the library identifying tracks and test your knowledge while we adventure outside to spot some signs of our wildlife friends. After our adventure, make your own wildlife tracks out of clay to bring home. Ages 4+. Registration required at www.bhpl.net or 374-5515.
Jan 24 National Geographic Bee 10:30 AM Howard Room
The National Geographic Bee is an annual competition organized by the National Geographic Society, designed to inspire and reward students’ curiosity about the world. Winners at this Bee continue on to compete at the district level. 4th to 8th grade homeschoolers can register at www.bhpl.net or by calling 374-5515 to participate.
Jan 25 Crafternoons! 1:00 PM Bass Room
Kids of all ages are invited to work on a craft project the last Saturday of every month. This month’s craft will be weaving friendship bracelets with local artist Susan Merrill.
ALL PROGRAMS ARE FREE AND DO NOT REQUIRE REGISTRATION UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.
Middle School Appreciation Night at GSA
Come watch GSA vs Bucksport on Friday, January 10th. JV Boys at 5:30 pm/Varsity Boys at 7:00 pm. We will have 1) Free Admissions, Pizza & Drink for 7th & 8th Grader, 2) Giveaways & Contests, and 3) The GSA Band will be Rocking the House. Mark your calendar for February 5th when we do it again for the GSA Girls Teams vs. Mattawanacook.
January
1/9 3-4:30 PM Girls Practice
4:30-6 PM Boys Practice
1/10 3-5:00 PM Rube Goldberg Challenge
1/13 3-4 PM Grade ½ Pee Wee Practice
4:00 Pm B team game at Penobscot
5:30 PM Parent Meeting on Brooklin to Brooklyn Trip
1/14 3-4 PM Grade ½ Pee Wee Practice
3-4 PM B Team Practice
4-5:30 PM Combined Boys and Girls Practice
6:00 PM School Board Meeting
1/15 4:00 PM Home A Team Game vs Penbrook
1/16 4:00 PM B team game at Blue Hill
3-4:30 PM Girls Practice
4:30-6 PM Boys Practice
1/17 3-5:00 PM Rube Goldberg Challenge
1/20 NO School Holiday
1/21 4:00 PM Home A Team Game vs Bay School
1/22 4:00 PM B team game at DISES
3-4:30 PM Boys Practice
4:30-6 PM Girls Practice
1/23 4:00 PM Home A Team game vs DISES
6:00 PM Budget Meeting
1/27 3-4 PM Grade ½ Pee Wee Practice
3-4 PM B Team Practice
4-5:30 PM Combined Boys and Girls Practice
1/28 4:00 PM Home A Team game vs Castine
5:15 PM B team game at Home vs Surry
1/29 4:00 PM Home A Team game vs Blue Hill
1/30 10:00 AM 8th grade visits GSA
1/31 1:00 PM Early Release
