Family Notes: March 6, 2015

As we begin this year's third month, I looked up the origin of the name - the word 'March' comes from the Roman 'Martius'. This was originally the first month of the Roman calendar and was named after Mars, the god of war. The Anglo-Saxons called the month Hlyd monath which means stormy month, or Hraed monath which means rugged month. So, as we proceed to go through this squally month keep in mind this little rhyme:

The March wind roars

Like a lion in the sky,

And makes us shiver
As he passes by.

When winds are soft,
And the days are warm and clear,
Just like a gentle lamb,
Then spring is here.

-Author unknown

And remember, this coming Sunday we make our clocks spring forward one hour.

Have a delightful weekend.

Warmly,
Diana Lam

1st Graders Learning to be Scientists

Early this week, Ms. Buckmire's 1st grade class began to learn what it is like to work as a scientist. They conducted color experiments, working with milk and different food colorings to observe the interactions of those substances and then record them.

The first step of the Scientific Method is to observe and describe your observations. That's exactly what our budding experimentalists did as they recorded the changes they saw as one color interacted with another to create a third color, or more.

Later in the week they conducted a series of experiments scientifically, recording what they perceived with each of their senses. To test their sight, very close-up pictures of very familiar things, like their skin, were shown. A variety of items were shaken in a containers to have students discern what they were by their sound. Sweet, sour and spicy tastes were identified through their tongue. They smelled to identify vanilla, cinnamon, onions, curry powder and fabric softener sheets. And finally they touched soft, rough, bumpy and smooth objects with their hands.

All these experiments gave the 1st graders the experience of keenly observing and being specific in their description of what they observed, which are necessary for them to become accurate scientists!

The Dudamel Brass Headline at the Boston Foundation

The announcement of the establishment of the Free For All Concert Fund at the Boston Foundation was made a jovial musical celebration by the performances of The Dudamel Brass Ensemble and musicians from the Landmarks Orchestra. The Dudamel Brass impressed members of the gathering with their renditions of pieces by Brahms, Mozart, Dvorak as well as some other tuneful airs.

This important event was hosted by The Boston Foundation and chaired by the Free For All Concert Fund's Board Chairman, Reverend Ray Hammond. Chris Wilkins, Music Director of the Landmarks Orchestra and Ambassador Swanee Hunt, wife of the late Charles Ansbacher who founded the Landmarks Orchestra, also spoke about the importance of providing Free Concerts of classical music for everyone in the greater Boston Area.

It is a noteworthy fact that our students are noted to be excellent musicians and are increasingly requested to play at official events. Good work students!

5th Grade Begins to Define What It Means
to be an Immigrant

This week, Ms. Corning's 5th grade class began their Humanities expedition, "Define American," which is about immigration. They spent the week building background knowledge with a mystery image; a gallery walk of images, statistics, graphs, and quotes; a jigsaw of first-person immigration poetry; and an exploration of immigrant stories through picture books.

The second part of the week focused on push and pull factors for immigration. The students identified those factors in songs, taped interviews with immigrant children, and stories.

Next week they'll be delving into students' own histories and identities by reading, analyzing, and writing "I am From" poems. Later, they will focus on past immigration through a case study on the Irish potato famine, and then they'll learn about current immigration through a case study on Haitian immigration after the earthquake. Both the kids and teachers are really excited about the start of the expedition!

1st Grade Celebrates Dr. Seuss's Birthday

This past Monday, the first graders celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday by sharing Dr. Seuss's wonderful stories with Ms. Lawson and Ms. Tripp's K-1 class! Decked out in black and white with red bow ties and red striped hats, the 1st graders read classics like Oh, the Places You'll Go!, The Lorax, The Cat in the Hat, The Snitches, and Hop on Pop to the K-1 students, who were very eager to listen.

Two special guests also read books for all the classes: Deborah Bennett, Ben Klinman's mom, read Bartholomew and the Oobleck, and Mr. Kershner read Yertle the Turtle. Then, the 1st graders flexed their creative writing muscles by writing Dr. Seuss-inspired poems. They finished the day by practicing strategies for solving word problems with Dr. Seuss word problems. How exciting that our 1st graders had a truly interdisciplinary learning experience in their celebration of such a beloved author!

A Letter from Coach Kay

I am only 4 days away from the final day to donate to our campaign at Playworks to 'Share the Love of Play'. Thanks to several donations big and small I am more than halfway to my goal of $1,000, wohooo!! If you can continue to share this page with anyone & everyone, that would be amazing!!

https://www.fundraise.com/playworks/kaleigh-jacobson-shares-the-love-of-play-2015

The picture is of my Junior Coaches from 4th and 5th grade (Niko and Tess were off doing amazing things as always, and could not be present in our picture today) who were all smiles when I told them about these donations! If you have any shout-outs to give about any of these amazing Junior Coaches, please send them my way so I can share them with our group.

Hope everyone has a great Friday!

Thanks,

Coach Kay

You're Invited to a Free Concert!

This performance at Hibernian Hall on March 7 will be an excellent event for children and adults alike!

Take Note:

It has been decided that we will have school on March 17, June 17, and tentatively April 3 (depending on availability of transportation) to compensate for some of the days we've missed over the past three weeks due to snow. School will be in session through at least June 26. Depending on weather and make-up days, the last day of school could be as late as Tuesday, June 30.

Our first day of school next year will be August 24th. There will be family orientations beforehand and all families will be informed of those dates.

The admissions lottery will be held on March 11 at 10 am in the third floor conference room at 2120 Dorchester Ave. Over 600 applications for admission were received this year!

Thank you to all who have written letters of support for our building plans in Roxbury. Many more letters are requested. Please give us your signed letters of support ASAP, and we'll mail them for you!