Newsletter 12/11/19
Thank you
- James Clarke for getting the wreaths for decorating the school.
Food Drive
The 7/8 class is collecting non-perishable food for the Tree of Life Food Pantry. Please bring donations to school by 12/18, and let’s try to fill up the boat in front of the gym!
Lost and Found
We have a bunch of clothes in the lost and found. If possible, label your children’s clothing so it will be returned to them. Thank you!
Winter Concert and Open House–Save the date
The Winter Concert and Open House will be December 19th. The Open House starts at 5:30 PM with the concert to follow at 6:00 PM. PTF will be supplying small snacks for the open house.
Mittens and Gloves
We are looking for mittens and gloves for kids to wear out to the playground if they forget theirs at home. If you can help, please drop those off in the office. Thank you in advance.
Pre-K and Kindergarten Snowflakes and Gingerbread Men
PTF News
Upcoming Events:
- Friday, December 13th @ 7:30 AM Coffee Social. Come have a cup of coffee and a snack.
- Saturday, December 14th, Annual Holiday Craft Show 10-2. Great place to get unique holiday gifts. Mark your calendars now! If you are interested in participating in the Craft Show, please email brooklinschoolptf@gmail.com or call 207-266-1298. If you are interested in participating in the Craft Show please register https://forms.gle/JJfH3gWP3dYqu4QX7
Warm Clothes Swap
Our winter clothes rack is set up and ready to go! Please feel free to bring in warm, clean, winter gear in and take anything you may need. There is SO much good clothing! Come in and take a look or drop some things off.
Instructional Updates
1-2 Writing-This week, first and second graders have been working on narrative writing. Narrative writing can be real or made up/imagined, and has a beginning, middle, and end. We learned about how narrative writing has a subject and wrote with a subject of either an elephant or a humpback whale. We practiced writing stories about the elephant and humpback whale, and learned a little bit about each animal along the way! Finally, we talked about adjectives, how adjectives describe nouns, and how they can help our writing to be more interesting by giving more details.
1-2 Reading- The first and second graders are excellent readers and continue every day to become stronger readers and to build a love of reading. We do this by reading as much as we can throughout the school day, and the reading continues at home as well. Each student brings a book home with them every night to read to a sibling, parent, grandparent, guest, pet, or favorite stuffed animal! The key to becoming a strong reader who enjoys reading is simply to read, and that is what we are doing.
1-2 Math- Our first-grade mathematicians have been working very hard on understanding addition and subtraction sentences. They are studying how when thinking about addition, they can simultaneously think about subtraction, as it is the same numbers, just in a different order, as long as they keep in mind which number the “whole” is (3+5=8, therefore 8-5=3). Second-grade mathematicians have begun work on place value within hundreds. They know that any number in the hundreds has three digits and that there is a hundreds place, tens place, and ones place. Along with this, they have been working on how the number 423 has 4 hundreds, 2 tens, and 3 ones.
3/4 ELA: This week students investigated character development as it pertains to Wilbur in Charlotte’s Web and in their own lives as they learn and grow. We also started reading Brave and the Fox which is a short story full of great vocabulary and onomatopoeia (sound words – like “shush shushed” describing the sound of a dog sled going over the snow). We suspended spelling for the week, as there was a snow day Tuesday and a field trip on Wed. We will start this next week out with a new spelling list.
5/6 ELA: This week students started their new novel, Bud, Not Buddy, by doing a quick 5-minute internet search on The Great Depression and discussing what this time period was like. We then launched into the book, and read the first three chapters.
7/8 ELA: This week students began reading the book, The Disappearing Spoon And Other True Tales of Madness, Love and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements, by Sam Kean. They have begun individual projects to research one of the elements discussed in the book and to develop a final product that will be shared with others.
3/4 Math: 3rd-grade mathematicians continued to explore the metric system, solving problems with grams and kilograms and then exploring liters and milliliters. 4th-grade mathematicians connected what they understanding about place value to multiplying larger numbers. They multiplied 3 digits by one digit, using place value models, the area model, and the standard algorithm.
5/6 Math: 5th-grade mathematicians learned the division algorithm. They began dividing with larger numbers in the divisor and the dividend. They also applied their estimating skills to assist them in the division process. 6th-grade mathematicians continued to expand their understanding of division of fractions in real-world contexts. They created tape diagrams and number lines to represent division and expanded their work to dividing with mixed numbers.
7/8: 7th-grade mathematicians demonstrated their understanding of rational numbers in an assessment. They then began applying their understanding of rational numbers to the exciting world of algebra by solving problems using expressions and equations. 8th-grade mathematicians began the module on similarity by working with dilations. They used mathematical tools such as compasses and protractors to dilate polygons and prove the Fundamental Theorem of Similarity.
This week, our 3/4 botanists looked closely at how seeds are constructed and how seeds are dispersed. They wrote stories to illustrate how a seed can be transported from one place to another. On Monday, we’ll be excited to see if their bean seeds germinated over the weekend so we can examine the parts of the seedling.
The 5/6 class is nearing the end of their Industrial Revolution unit. They read about Robert Owen and his role in improving working conditions in the early 1800s in the United Kingdom. The students are also making good progress on all of the new vocabulary associated with this topic.
The 7/8 class visited the other classrooms to share information about how collecting food donations for their food drive helps their community. To prepare for these visits, the students read about local and global statistics on hunger and access to food. The students also started their next unit on chemistry. This week they read some background information about the periodic table and they have been doing research on their projects about elements for ELA class.
The Puffins Class Enjoying Their Reading Corner
Community News
Blue Hill Public Library
Dec 13 DIY Cards & Ornaments with Digital Cutting Machine 3:30 PM Howard Room
James Rutter of the Haystack Fab Lab will teach how to use a digital cutting machine & design software to create holiday decorations, pop-up cards, & ornaments. Ages 10+.
Dec 14 Friends of the Library Holiday Party 2:30-5:30 PM
The library will be closing at 2:00 to set up. Join us for refreshments, entertainment, and holiday cheer! Music & stories with Noel Paul Stookey, GSA jazz combo, a juggler for kids, a reading of A Christmas Carol, singing, and more.
Dec 18 Wreath-Making for Kids 3:30 PM Howard Room
A wreath-making workshop led by Landere Naisbitt of Blue Hill Heritage Trust. Space limited – advance registration required at www.bhpl.net or 374-5515.
Dec 24 Closing at 2:00 PM for Christmas Eve
Dec 25 Library closed all day for Christmas holiday
Dec 28 Blue Hill Synth Club 1:00-3:00 PM Howard Room
Sam Lothrop will teach programming and sequencing beats & melodies. Ages 8+.
Dec 31 Closing at 2:00 PM for New Year’s Eve
December
12/12 4:00 PM Game at DISES (boys first)
12/13 9:00 AM Field Trip the The Grand
1:00 PM Early Release
12/14 10-2:00 PM PTF Craft Fair
12/15 3-4:15 PM Voluntary Practice for Boys and Girls
12/16 3-4:00 PM Grades 1/2 Pee Wee Practice
4:00 PM Game at Sedgwick (boys first)
12/17 3-4:00 PM Grades 1/2 Pee Wee Practice
4-5:30 PM Boys and Girls Combined Practice
12/18 4:00 PM Game at Surry (girls first)
12/19 5:30 PM Open House
6:00 PM Winter Concert
12/20 Classroom Celebrations
3-4:00 PM Pre-K/K Pee Wee Practice
12/22 3-4:15 PM Voluntary Practice for Boys and Girls
12/23—1/1 Holiday Break—NO School
12/23 3-4:15 PM Voluntary Practice for Boys and Girls
12/26 3-4:15 PM Voluntary Practice for Boys and Girls
Calendar Change 
