Welcome back to school! We’re off to a wonderful start, and it’s such a joy to have all of the students back together. This year, our weekly newsletters will be emailed to parents and also posted to our new website. You’ll be able to find archived 5/6 newsletters here: brooklinschool.org/mrs-bebell. 

Upcoming Events:

• Week of September 9th-13th: NWEA testing
• Tuesday, September 10th: Brooklin School Committee meeting at 6:00
• Wednesday, September 11th: Back to School BBQ at 5 PM
• Monday, September 23rd: School Picture Day
• Friday, September 27th: Early Release at 1:00
• October 16th-18th: Schoodic Education Adventure

5/6 ELA – Mrs. Thoner

This week we focused on how to engage in classroom discussions and how to be considered trustworthy.  We also explored how to engage productively in classroom discussions. We began our first lessons with some background information, such as what were some of the laws regarding slaves in NYC pre-Revolutionary War and what NYC looked like in that time period. this served as an introduction to the book: Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson.  This is a novel about slavery in Rhode Island and New York just before and during the Revolutionary War.  This ties into their studies in Super Studies, which will be about the Revolutionary War. I recommend that each parent read this text along with their child, as parts can be heavy and disturbing for some students.  Please let me know how I can support your child through this novel.

5/6 Super Studies – Mrs. Bebell

We spent a lot of time establishing routines and working on some teambuilding activities this week. We also introduced our first unit about the American Revolution. After a brief discussion about what taxes are and how they are used, I managed to convince the class that I was enacting a paper tax and sending most of the money to the 7/8 class, they spontaneously revolted and staged a walk out! They were relieved to learn that there wasn’t really a paper tax, and I was proud of their understanding of the topic and their ability to organize a peaceful protest.

We also starting talking a bit about a wonderful opportunity the 5/6 class will have to attend the Schoodic Education Adventure next month. Downeast Audubon has provided a scholarship for our students to spend October 16-18 at Acadia National Park for this program. Watch for more detailed information coming home early next week, and you can read more about the program here: https://www.nps.gov/teachers/classrooms/schoodic-education-adventure-residential-program.htm. 

5/6 Math – Mrs. Tapley

We had a wonderful first week of school in 5th and 6th grade math! Together, we discussed expectations for our classroom community. We also completed a team-building exercise based on the quote by Aristotle, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” These incredible mathematicians worked hard to find a way to make this work mathematically (to no avail), but then discovered that this applies well to our work as members of a team.  Students exercised their math brains by taking part in estimation activities that they thoroughly enjoyed, along with an activity called Four Fours. Students began exploring the concepts of place value, going both to the thousands place as well as the thousandths place. We will be beginning our first modules on Monday, where 5th grade math will be exploring place value with decimals, and 6th grade math will focus on ratios.