Photos from Blue Gray Day, 8th grade carnival and the last day of school. Also our class "mummy" photo, Paul with a letter from J.K. Rowling, our genre wall of books, and the class playing senet.
Dear Parents, It is hard to believe that I am writing the last newsletter of the year. It seems like only yesterday that we were having the Halloween parade. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for all your support and help throughout the year. Having a wonderful parent partnership makes all the difference. I have enjoyed having your children in my class this year. They are funny, creative, and have lots of positive energy. I could not have asked for a better group of children to end my career at Friends Academy. I hope everyone has a relaxing and fun vacation. Thank you for a fabulous year. Sincerely, Gayle
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Dear Parents,
On Monday we had an amazing time at the Perkins School For The Blind. The grade divided into two homeroom groups to make the activities manageable. Our presentation with Jaimi Lard, and her interpreter Christine, gave us an opportunity to view her independent life as a blind/deaf person. Using the sense of touch, Jaimi navigates her way around the school, grocery stores, and the gym. At home, she prepares breakfast, pays bills, and gets together with friends for lunch at restaurants. Students had the chance to go up to Jaimi and "talk" with her using the manual alphabet. Jaimi also communicates with others using sign language. The other part of our program included a tour given to us by Kevin. While blindfolded, students used a guide rail on a walking track, touched real animals (stuffed) in the social science room, and had the chance to see many items that belonged to Laura. They also touched the giant globe used by Laura and Helen and saw braille writers and other devices used by the blind. This week, we did some activities using the braille alphabet. At Perkins, they use braille books as well as books on tape for students to read. My class was able to feel braille books and understand how difficult the reading process is for the blind. CURRICULUM Language Arts Our last unit in spelling will be using double consonants in the middle of words. Skills we used this week were letter patterns, dictionary, categories, and context clues. They will have their last spelling assessment next week. The class is in various stages of writing their biography reports. After gathering additional information on an outline, they began writing paragraphs. We are completing end-of-the-book activities for both Helen Keller and Laura Bridgman. Some of these include comparisons of their lives. Math Our last math unit is using bar graphs and plot lines. Students have been making vertical and horizontal bar graphs as well as interpreting bar graphs to answer questions. Social Studies We are finishing up a few Egyptian projects in class, such as their mummy masks and cartouches. Spring Concert Thursday On Thursday, students should be in our homeroom at 5:45 for Spring Concert. the concert should be over around 7:15. Students will return to homerooms, where parents may gather them to go home. Blue/Gray Day Friday Let's hope for great weather on Friday. Students are encouraged to wear their team colors. We will have snack and lunch in our classrooms. Parents are welcome to join us at 1:30 at the field. Over the next week and a half, students will be gradually bringing home art projects, books, and supplies. I like to do this in small increments so it does not overwhelm students. Expect some full backpacks! I hope everyone enjoys the spring weather this weekend. UPCOMING DATES Monday May 27- no school in honor of Memorial Day Tuesday June 4- Last day of school for grade 3 Sincerely, Gayle Dear Parents, This week we continue to explore the use of different senses. While bindfolded, students had to use the sense of smell to guess the items in containers. They were ordinary household products such as nutmeg, vinegar, soap, onion, honey, and lemon juice. Most items were fairly easy, but some took a little longer. We had a discussion about why it would be important for a visually impaired person to develop a strong sense of smaell. CURRICULUM
Math In math class the students created symmetrical shapes using different geometric shapes. Using squares, rhombuses, trapezoids, triangles, and hexagons they created a shape that was completely symmetrical. Students also found the area and perimeter of different shapes. Reading Both groups completed the books about Helen Keller and Laura Bridgman. Next week we will continue to do end-of-the-book activities. On Monday we will visit the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown. This unique experience will involve a tour of the school and library when there are many personal items belonging to Helen and Laura. We will also have a presentation by Jaimi Lard (who is blind and deaf). Jaimi will share her story and life experiences with the class. We will be LEAVING at 8:15 so it will be important that students arrive to FA on time. Students should have a snack, lunch, beverages, and quiet bus activity. Language Arts Students have been organizing their biography facts into sentences and paragraphs to write their reports. In spelling, they completed the unit on vowel sounds with r. Some of the word meaning skills they used were compound words, categories, and homophones. Students are bringing home their last spelling list for the year containing words with double consonants. Blue and Gray Day Next Friday (May 24th) will be Blue and Gry Day. Students are encouraged to get into the spirits of things by dressing up in their "colors". Some students spray paint their hair and decorate their faces. It is all in good fun and school spirit. Library We will continue to have library classes, but students will not be able to take out books so Ms. McCullough can organize the books. Also, PLEASE look around your house for any FA library books and return them as soon as possible. Spring Concert This coming Thursday night is the Lower School Spring Concert. Students are asked to be in their homerooms at 5:45, as the concert begins at 6:00. It is expected to last an hour and fifteen minutes. Students should dress in "dressy attire" for this event. The weather looks awesome for the upcoming weekend. I hope everyone enjoys time outside. Sincerely, Gayle Museum of Fine Arts Dear Parents,
This week in class we have been discovering what it is like to "lose" a sense. When blindfolded, students lost the sense of sight and had to use their hands to read raised letters on cards. Then objects were placed in their hands and they had to describe it and tell what it is. On another day, students listened to common sounds and tried to write down what they thought the sounds were. This excersize forced them to carefully use their sense of hearing to discriminate sounds. Next week we will continue to try more of these activites to better understand that when you lose one sense, the other senses become much stronger. When we go to the Perkins School on Monday May 20th, the students will have the opportunity to see the many different adaptations created for the visually impaired to help them live independently. At Perkins, students will have a presentation from Jaimi Lard, who is blind and deaf, as well as a tour of parts of the school. Book Buzz Congratulations last week to Paul on his nice job presenting his Book Buzz about Sadako And The Thousand Paper Cranes. This week, Elysia did a beautiful job presenting A Handful Of Stars. CURRICULUM Social Studies We continued reading Look What Came From Egypt and preparing for our trip to the MFA. In our mix-it-up groups, students are in various stages of completion of their mummies, sarcophagus, and pryramids. Math This week we explored different types of polygons. Students identifies right, acute, obtuse angles, vertices, and sides. They used what they had learned about parallel and perpendicular lines to make the polygons. When learning about congruent shapes, we used tracing paper to do flips, turns, and slides. Language Arts Students are working on either their biography outline or in the early phases of writing their biography report. This writing process will be somewhat similar to their research report whaen studying Japan. In spelling, they completed unit 21 and began work on unit 22 using words spelled with air, ear, are, ere, and eir. Some concepts they worked on were consonant digraphs, categories, and synonyms. MFA The third grade had a great time at the MFA. Each group did a scavenger hunt for shawabtis, lotus flowers, canopic jars and other ancient artifacts. They found hieroglyphs, mummy masks, mummies, and an entire room with the belongings of a governor named Djehutynakht and his wife. Spring Concert On Thursday, May 23rd at 6:00 p.m., we will be presenting our annual Spring Concert featuring performance by students in early childhood through grade five, plus our Band of Friends. The concert should last for about and hour and a quarter. Students should arrive at school by 5:45 and go directly to our classroom. This is a "dress event" for students. Dress pants and shirts with collars (no coat and tie required), dresses, skirts, and blouses, or comparable dress attire are required for this special performance. Students sitting on stage to play instruments should wear slacks or leggings. The weeks are quickly slipping by with many end of the year activities. Please check the list below! Have a nice weekend and Happy Mother's Day. Sincerely, Gayle UPCOMING EVENTS Wednesday May 15- Portfolio and biography share after All School Meeting Friday May 17- Blue and Grey Day Monday May 20- Field trip to Perkins School Thursday May 23- Spring Concert at 6:00 Monday May 27- no school in honor of Memorial Day Tuesday June 4- Last day of school for third grade Dear Parents,
This has been a very busy week as the students put their final touches on their biography posters. They also spent time rehearsing with Band of Friends for the Grandfriends. Dispite the gloomy weather, their spirits have never been higher! CURRICULUM Math This week we continued in geometry working on right angles, perpendicular and parallel lines. We looked around the classroom for signs of these concepts, then used tools to identify them in their books. Language Arts This week we worked with words spelled with or, ur, ear, and ir. Some of the concepts we used were categories, word meaning, context clues, homophones, and base words. Social Studies In our mix-it-up groups the students made their mummies with a mummy mask. Then they decorated the sarcophagus with the name of their person from the altar story on the lid, and Egyptians symbols on the sides. Next Friday, we will have a chance to see real mummies, coffins, sarcophaguses, and other authentic Egyptian artifacts. We will be leaving around 8:15 and return by the end of the day. Students should back a snack, lunch, and beverages for the bus. Everyone should have a quiet bus activity. (no electronics please) Please let me know by Wednesday if you are planning on coming with us on this trip. Perkins School On Monday May 20th we will have the chance to visit the Perkins School For The Blind in Watertown, Mass. We will have a presentation by Jaimi Lard, who is blind and deaf, along with her interpreter Christine. Students will also have a tour and a unique opportunity to see how students with limited vision learn. Everyone had a wonderful time on Grandfriends' Day. Students did a great job presenting their biography posters and suitcases. They also did an activity with their grandfriends that compared their lives as children. It is always a special time when different generations spend quality time together. I hope eveyone is enjoying their weekend. Sincerely, Gayle UPCOMING DATES Friday May 10- field trip to MFA Wednesday May 15- Portfolio Day 8:45-9:45 Friday May 17-Blue/Gray Day Monday May 20-trip to the Perkins School in Watertown Thursday May 23- Spring Concert 6:00 Monday May 27- no school (Memorial Day) Dear Parents,
The school looks amazing with all of the beautiful artwork hanging in the halls. As students travel by, they remark about beautiful pieces made by other grades. Many have said that they are looking forward to creating these projects in the coming years. Our poems hang near the dragons in the link outside the Commons for all to read. My class is busy constructing their biography posters for Grandfriends' Day. Their suitcase projects are due this Monday April 29. Next week, we will rehearse their oral presentations. This is always a special day when the students connect in a positive way to a grandparent or grandfriend. Just a reminder that on Grandfriends'Day we have a noon dismissal. The Diversity Committee would like to announce the last two parent diversity meetings for the year. They will be held on Wednesday May 1 at 3:00 (free after school care is available) and Friday May 10 at 8:15 a.m. I was told that ERB scores were mailed home to parents. If anyone has any questions or needs clarification, please e-mail Ms. Ross-Cory to make an appointment and she will be glad to go over your child's results. CURRICULUM Social Studies Last week we watched "Families From Egypt". This video shares the lives of two different families- one rural one urban from modern day Egypt. Students had the opportunity to see the cultural traditions practiced by the people of Egypt. In class some similarities and differences from our own culture. In our mix-it-up groups we looked at the different types of geography in Africa. Students worked on their maps identifying deserts, savannahs, rain forests, and bodies of water. In class, we have been reading "Look What Came From Egypt" to discover the many things that originated from Egypt. Reading Helen Keller In class we are learning the manual alphabet that Annie Sullivan taught Helen. Without the ability to communicate, Helen was frustrated, angry, and completely unmanageable. We watch some clips on You Tube showing dynamic scenes such as the famous "dinner scene" and another at the water pump when Helen makes her first connection between the word W-A-T-E-R and the actual water. These were from the original Miracle Worker (Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft) portraying the struggle between Annie and Helen. Child Of The Silent Night Laura Bridgman is able to do simple tasks around her home and farm, such as churning butter, sewing, and setting the table. She become increasingly difficult to manage as her frustration level rises as she is also unable to communicate. A professor from Dartmouth College contacts Dr. Howe from the Perkins School in Boston, and arrangements are made for Laura to become a student at Perkins. This opportunity will change Laura's life. Language Arts In spelling completed our unit using words with the or sound. Some concepts we worked on were sound and letter patterns, categories, context clues, homophones, and base words. We have also been finding adverbs in sentences and identifying if they tell when, where, or how. Math Over the last couple of weeks we have been working on addition and subtraction of fractions with like demoninators, fractions of a set, and simplifying fractions. This week we completed this chapter and will be moving into our next unit on geometry. Spanish Students have been working on vocabulary. In class, they practiced on quizlet in teams to prepare for their upcoming quiz on Monday April 29th. The next few weeks are packed with lots of events at Friends Academy. Mark your calendars! Have a great weekend. Sincerely, Gayle UPCOMING DATES Saturday April 27- 10-12 a.m. Touch A Truck at FA 1:00 Band Of Friends at Buttonwood Park Zoo (be there at 12:30) Wednesday May 1- Parent Diversity metting at 3:00 (after school care available) Friday May 3- Grandfriends' Day (Noon Dismissal) Thursday May 9- BOF at AHA Night in New Bedford Friday May 10- Parent Diversity Meeting at 8:15 a.m. Wednesday May 15- Portfolio Showcase (time TBA ) Friday May 17- Blue/Gray Day Thursday May 23- Spring Concert 6:00 (be here by 5:45) Monday May 27- no school (Memorial Day) Tuesday June 4- Last day of school for grade 3 Dear Parents,
Spring is always very busy. I would like to remind parents of some upcoming events. The Band Of Friends is taking it to the streets! Mr. Bean and Mr. Murdock have scheduled two performances. Both are optional. Please carefully read to learn about both opportunities: One Buttonwood Park Zoo - "Party for the Planet!" on April 27th. This is an Earth Day celebration. We will perform at 1pm. You will need to show up and meet us at 12:30 to warm up. Two AHA! (Art, History, and Architecture) night in New Bedford on May 9th, at 6pm at the Pilgrim United Church at 635 Purchase Street. Students are invited to stay after school where they will receive pizza at 4:30pm and a ride to the concert. We will have a bus leaving from school at 5:15pm. This is a one-way bus only, so you will need to bring your child home from the concert. Dress code is normal school attire. We will perform from about 6 - 6:30pm. Please come and bring folks. Help spread the word! For this performance, please let us know: -if your child is staying after school for pizza and riding the bus -if you will be taking your child to the Church -if you are not able to attend, who will be picking up your child from the performance Please respond to this email with answers for both concerts to either Mr. Bean or Mr. Murdock. Another event is the Touch A Truck on Saturday April 27th from 10-12 at Friends Academy. On Saturday April 27, we are holding a Touch-a-Truck and Summer Programs Extravaganza. It will be a fun community event for both Friends families and the general public. It will run from 10:00am-12 noon. There will be fire trucks, police and K-9 units, ambulances, construction vehicles, landscaping rigs, tankers, and much more. This will all be rounded out with fun camp activities and demonstrations, and a free smoothie truck (Cheryl Deane's "Sand Bar"!!) We would love for you to attend if you are able. It should be a wonderful time, rain or shine. CURRICULUM Math This week we have continued to work on equivalent fractions. Then students needed to use two fractions with different denominators and find a common denominator to help with less than and greater than. Language Arts We completed unit 19 in spelling using words spelled with aw, o, au, ough, and augh with the /aw/ sound. Some skills we worked on were open and closed syllables, patterns, analogies, antonyms, synoyms, and context clues. The class also began a new unit identifying adverbs in sentences. Once they locate the verb, they ask when, where, and how to find the adverb. Reading Helen Keller This week in our book, Annie Sullivan arrives from The Perkins School in Boston Mass. At a young age, Helen was a badly spoiled child who was rewarded (with sweets) for poor behavior, such as hitting, biting, and kicking. Her family never taught her self-control, so now it was up to Annie to teach her. Child Of The Silent Night Laura is a unique child in that she cannot see or hear, but is able to perform simple household chores, such as churning butter, setting the table, and weaving. Both reading groups have been learning the letters of the manual alphabet. This was the primary way that both Helen and Laura's teachers communicated with them. Social Studies On Tuesday the entire grade saw The Mysteries of Egypt. The film starts at the beginning of Nile River, winding its way into Egypt. There, we learned about the pyramids and the tomb of King Tut. On Friday, students used coordinates to locate countries in Africa. I hope everyone has a nice long weekend! Sincerely, Gayle HERE IS A LIST OF SOME UPCOMING IMPORTANT DATES: Monday April 15- no school (Patriot's Day) Friday April 19- no school (Good Friday) Monday April 22- no school (Professional Day) Thursday April 25- Arts and Poetry Night Saturday April 27- Touch A Truck from 10-12 Band of Friends 12:30 at Buttonwood Park Friday May 3- Grandfriends Day (noon dismissal) Thursday May 9- AHA Night in New Bedford (BOF perform) Wednesday May 15- Portfolio Showcase- (time to be announced) Friday May 17- Blue/Gray Day- more information to come Thursday May 23- Spring Concert Monday May 27- no school (Memorial Day) Dear Parents,
This has been an extremely busy week at Friends. Thank you for coming to our presentation on Tuesday morning. The students were very excited to demonstrate everything they had learned throughout the year about Mexico and Japan. On Wednesday, the students listened to Andrew Forsthoefel tell his story how he walked across America. During his year long trip, he spent time thinking, speaking to many people, and listening to the many stories of their lives. Guest poet Lyn Hoopes, spent time in our classroom on Thursday and Friday. Knowing that the students recently completed dragons in art, she combined beautiful landscape photographs with their imagination of dragons. Lyn is also a talented photographer and provided amazing pictures, particularly of New Zealand. The pictures provided inspiration as the students used similes, details, and alliterations to write their poems. All of the poems will be on display during Arts and Poetry Night on April 25th. CURRICULUM Reading Both the Helen Keller and Child Of The Silent Night groups began reading the first two chapters of their books this week. Since both women became blind and deaf due to scarlet fever, we had discussions of how that would be different today with modern medicine. Reading Log On Wednesday, students each chose a biography to read. On Monday they will receive their packets with specific details they will need to look for in their books. When they have completed reading the book, students will then go back and browse through sections to locate information. Packets may be brought in when they are completed, but all will be due by Thursday May 18th. We will be using the information they have gathered in class on a writing and physical project. Language Arts This unit in spelling uses the /aw/ sound spelled with o, ou, aw, al, and au. This can be tricky because there are only a couple of spelling rules that are helpful in deciding how to spell a word. Math We are continuing with eqivalent fractions using division facts to help reduce fractions to lowest (simpliest) terms. This is a challenging concept, but students seems to be grasping the idea. We are still using concrete manipulatives such as pictures and fraction tiles to help. Social Studies We will be starting our new social studies unit on the continent of Africa, with a focus on climate and geography. Our country of focus will be Egypt, both the ancient culture and modern-day Egypt. We will learn about the fascinating lives of the ancient Egyptian people, mummies, hieroglyphs, pryramids, and other amazing facts. Paul shared that he is going to an Egyptian Escape Room this weekend. We are all looking forward to hearing about that on Monday. Sharing Throughout the week all year long, students have had the opportunity to share. Some share about their sports teams (wins or losses), others about upcoming events, family occassions, and maybe special items (toys, awards). This week, Norah shared a beautiful table runner that she wove while visiting her grandmother. Norah explained about the different type of looms her grandmother uses for various weavings. Whatever students decide to share, it is always an insight into their personal world reflecting another dimension of their personality. Although they just think of it as sharing, I value this time because it has given me a peek into their lives outside of the classroom. Springtime is always a busy time at Friends Academy with so much going on, both on campus and in our classrooms. I will try to keep you updated on events, field trips, and special occassions as they come available. In addition to our class newsletter, please check the school calendar and the weekly Heads Up. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Sincerely, Gayle UPCOMING DATES Monday April 15- no school (Patriot's Day) Friday April 19- no school (Good Friday) Monday April 22- no school (Professional Day) Thursday April 25- Arts and Poetry Night Friday May 3- Grandfriends' Day (noon dismissal) Dear Parents,
Welcome back from spring break. Everyone returned refreshed and excited with stories to share about their break. This last trimester is always filled with events and activities as we begin new units of study. This week, we are putting the finishing touches on our projects in preparation for our Culminating Event next Tuesday in the Commons at 8:30. Thank you all for your flexibility concerning our change in date. CURRICULUM Reading This week in reading, we have started two new books- Helen Keller and Child of The Silent Night (the story of Laura Bridgman). Both women were blind and deaf from a very young age and were educated at the Perkins School. Their lives parallel each other in many ways. In the process, we will be learning the manual alphabet, braille, and some sign language. Math This week we begin a new chapter on fractions. Students worked with fraction tiles and number lines to find equivalent fractions. As with every math unit, vocabulary plays an important part in understanding math concepts. Words like equivalent, numerator, and demominator are key words in understranding fractions. Language Arts In our new unit spelling, students are using words containing two and three letter blends and digraphs. When using a digraph such as ch or th , the two letters work together to make one new sound. Blends such as br, spl, and fr, blend together to make more than one sound. Some concepts they did were analogies, context clues, compound words, and word building. We also worked on when to use quotation marks when writing conversations. To make writing more interesting, the class glanced through books to look for words to use instead of "said", such as replied, mentioned, and added. We also found question words like asked, questioned and wondered. Cultural Culmination This week, students worked in groups to organize specific "table talk" topics that they are presenting at the culmination on Tuesday. Students wrote short passages that will help them during the oral presentation. Band of Friends Mr. Bean and Mr. Murdock sent out an e-mail announcing two out of school performances involving the BOF. One is at Buttonwood Park Zoo on April 27 at 12:30. The other is on AHA! Night in New Bedford on May 9th at 6 p.m. at the Pilgrim United Church at 6:35. Please read their e-mail for more details. Arts Works Just a reminder that the Art Works orders are due on Monday, April 1st (no fooling). I hope everyone enjoys the warmer temps this weekend. Sincerely, Gayle UPCOMING DATES Tuesday April 2- 8:30 in the Commons-Cultural Culmination Monday April 15- no school (Patriot's Day) Friday April 19- no school (Good Friday) Monday April 22- no school (Professional Day) Thursday April 25- Arts and Poetry Night in the evening A special message from the art department: The Art Department is seeking volunteers to help prepare for the upcoming Arts and Poetry Night. The job entails displaying student art, in all shapes, sizes and forms, throughout the halls of Friends Academy. There is an encredible amount of work to exhibit, but with enough hands, we hope to accomplish this undertaking in one day. If you are willing and able to donate time on Thursday, April 18th, between 8 and 5, please contact Susan Cogliano or Wendy Goldsmith. Any amount of time is appreciated. No experience necessary! [email protected] [email protected] Dear Parents,
This week we completed our units in spelling and math, continued with report writing, created slide shows, and wrapped up other projects. Students visited the Zeiterion on Wednesday for the NBSO and saw Beauty and The Beast on Wednesday afternoon. Everyone is certainly ready for some well deserved time off. Whether you are traveling or doing a relaxing stay-cation (like me), I hope it is enjoyable. Please read the e-mail about our change in date for the Cultural Culmination, which will be on Tuesday April 2nd at 8:30 in the Commons. We will see everyone on Monday March 25th! Sincerely, Gayle |