Greetings from Greenfield Middle School January 5, 2020 | |
From the Principal Greetings GMS Community, Happy New Year! As we return to school after some time away, we are eager to continue our learning together. In our December newsletter, I referred to the progress our school is making as part of our Turnaround Plan and the four turnaround practices that inform our work. I want to highlight some of what we are doing this month to support our ongoing progress with the Turnaround Plan. Beginning this week, students throughout our building will begin participating in the Second Step Social-Emotional Learning Program. Second Step is a research-based, teacher-informed, and classroom-tested program to promote the social-emotional development, safety, and well-being of children from Early Learning through Grade 8. Once a week classroom teachers will facilitate discussions and activities that are designed to help students develop skills that address bullying prevention and interpersonal skills. This shared experience and skill-building supports our work with School Climate and Culture, the Fourth Turnaround Practice. In the next few weeks we will be conducting our second round of NWEA MAP assessments. These assessments will provide our educators with valuable insights into student progress and needs, as part of our ongoing work with the Third Turnaround Practice, which is Student Support. Click the link to learn more about the NWEA MAP assessment. This month our math teachers will be participating in professional development workshops through the Math Recovery Council. The mission of the US Math Recovery Council® is:
The Second Turnaround Practice is Effective Instruction. The math workshops are just one of the many ways that our educators are enhancing their instructional skills. Please note that there will be no school for students on Friday, January 24, so that educators throughout the Greenfield Public Schools district can participate in professional development. The First Turnaround Practice is Shared Leadership, and at GMS this takes several forms, including the important role of the Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) of educators who meet every two weeks to guide professional development for our staff. Every day the administrative team of Principal Lynn Dole and Associate Principals Michelle Fenimore and Mike Browning meet to consult and coordinate our school leadership work. Every day grade-level teams of educators meet for Collab Time, to share strategies and plan together. Every week our counseling staff meet with these teams of educators during Collab Time. We are committed to working together to support the learning of all students at GMS. This edition of the GMS Newsletter features information about upcoming opportunities for students to have fun, engaging learning experiences together. Our fifth graders are raising trout, our sixth graders are gearing up for a movie excursion together, and our seventh graders will be going on a field trip to Boston’s Museum of Science together this spring. At Greenfield Middle School, we are doing great things as we learn together! Sincerely, Lynn R. Dole Principal Greenfield Middle School | |
Upcoming Events Monday, January 20 NO SCHOOL. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Friday, January 24 NO SCHOOL. Teacher In-Service Day for Professional Development. Monday, January 27 GMS School Council meeting at 5:00 pm in the GMS Library. | |
Helping students manage cell phone use responsibly This is a very important topic for all of us, and we want to establish a constructive partnership between school and home to help young people learn how to manage their appropriate use of devices. Our expectation is that cell phones are “off and away during the school day.” When we see students using their devices, we have students turn their phone in to the Front Office for the remainder of the day. If this is the first occasion where a phone has been confiscated, the student can pick up the phone at the end of the day. If this is a repeat occurrence, we will be contacting home to have the parent/guardian pick up the device. Please help us help your student stay focused on school by not texting or calling your student during school hours. Students who need to call home may do so from the Front Office. We understand that many families rely on students using cell phones outside of the school day, so students can check for messages on their devices at the end of the school day. Thank you. | |
From Our Health Office The dental hygiene program will be offered again in the Spring. The dental program is provided through the Community Health Center and offers preventative services including x-rays, cleanings, sealants, and fluoride treatment. Please contact the nurse, Hannah Powers, at hanpow1@gpsk12.org or (413)772-1360 ext. 2237 to request a registration form. Families of students who participated in the Fall dental program should expect a visit report in the mail within the next couple weeks. CAREER DAY is coming to GMS! On the half day of Thursday, March 26th, GMS will be hosting a CAREER DAY at the school. Students will have the opportunity to learn about a variety of career possibilities. We are in the process of finding prospective speakers to share their experiences in their given career. If you would be willing to volunteer your time as a guest speaker or if you know someone who would like to present, please email one of the following teachers: Cecile Campbell: ceccam1@gpsk12.org or Christine Stevens: chrste1@gpsk12.org. We are looking forward to inspiring the next generation of doctors, marine biologists, carpenters, or ??? Information for families of 6th and 7th grade students, from our Counseling Staff Dear parents/guardians of GMS 6th and 7th grade students, The adolescent years are marked by a roller-coaster of emotions – difficult for youths, their parents, and educators. It is easy to misread depression as normal adolescent turmoil; however depression appears to be occurring at a much earlier age. Depression -- which is treatable -- is a leading risk factor for suicide. In addition, self-injury has become a growing problem among youth. To proactively address these issues, Greenfield Middle School is offering a depression awareness and suicide prevention training as part of the SOS Signs of Suicide Prevention Program. The program has proven to be successful at increasing help-seeking by students about themselves or a friend. It is the only school-based suicide prevention program listed by the National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices that addresses suicide risk and depression, while reducing suicide attempts. Our goals in participating in this program are straightforward:
The SOS program will take place for GMS students in 6th and 7th grade next month on February 4 and February 5, with a snow date of February 6. The students will meet for a 30-45 minute presentation with GMS counselors and their classroom teacher. If you do NOT want your child participating in the SOS Greenfield Middle School program, please call one of us at the extensions below, 413-772-1360. If we do not hear from you, we will assume your child has permission to participate in the program. Thank you. Sincerely, Kate Marion Lapierre Ext. 2142 Nora Israeloff Ext. 2141 GMS School Adjustment Counselor GMS Guidance Counselor Here are links to this letter in English, Spanish, Russian, and Moldovan. Geography Bee at GMS The GMS Geography Bee is in full swing. Students have been showing off their geography knowledge in their Social Studies classes. We're wrapping up a few more individual classrooms before our grade-wide semifinals. Later in January, we'll have the top three scorers from the 5th, 6th, and 7th grade competing in the auditorium. If you'd like to learn more about the GeoBee, please visit https://www.nationalgeographic.org/education/student-experiences/geobee/study/ NEWS FROM OUR CLASSROOMS
Greetings from our 5th Grade Team! 5th Grade Trout Update! The trout are hatching! On January 2nd, we changed the temperature of the trout tank from 42℉ to 52℉, and within an hour, two eggs hatched. These newly hatched trout are called alevin and they will get all of their nutrients from the yolk sac that is attached to their body. In 14-20 days, these fish will begin feeding. We started with 200 trout eggs and 15 of these eggs have died. Our mortality rate is low, but as the fish begin feeding we will need to monitor the water quality two times a day to ensure that they stay healthy. Ms. Marchefka & Ms. Mulcahy’s 5th Grade Classes In Science, students completed a culminating project in our water unit. They designed communities that met the needs of humans while keeping in mind the protection of natural resources like water. Ask your child about the town they created! We are starting our unit on Earth’s systems and will then be moving on to space science. In math, we will be spending the next two months exploring fractions (adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions and mixed numbers with unlike denominators). Students will be working to bridge their concrete understanding of fractions (using manipulatives and objects) with a more abstract representation (writing down on paper). This is very challenging and you can support your child at home by pointing out how fractions are used outside of the classroom (cooking, measuring, discounts at stores, etc.) and asking them to show you what they are doing in class - teaching you how to add and subtract fractions! In ELA and social studies, students are studying for the Geography Bee competition, which will take place in early January. We’re starting our unit on the 13 colonies next week and we’ll be selecting a book for a novel study as well. Make sure to ask your child what book we pick! -Ms. Marchefka & Ms. Mulchay News from Ms. DiGiovanni's and Mrs. Hastings' 5th Grade Team This month Ms. DiGiovanni’s ELA classes will begin essay writing. Students will begin learning how to format and create a strong essay on a non-fiction topic. They will also be exploring biographies of artists and learning about how former artists from history have influenced what art is in today’s time. Greetings from our 6th Grade Team! Upcoming Field Trip to the Movies Our Grade 6 students have been gifted a unique and exciting experience from an anonymous community member! A generous donor approached the Greenfield Public Library to offer to pay for GMS students to see the latest movie in the Star Wars saga. GMS Grade 6 students will see the new Star Wars movie, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, at the Garden Cinemas on Tuesday, January 14th, 2020. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is a science-fiction, fantasy movie rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence and action. You can watch the trailer to find out more information by visiting www.commonsensemedia.org. Attached is a permission slip for your student to attend the movie. Please sign and return the permission slip by Tuesday, January 7, 2020. We expect our GMS students to represent our school community positively and follow our school-wide Social Contract while out in the community. For that reason, any student who is referred to the Resolution Room 3 times prior to the date of the trip, will not be permitted to attend the trip. We are looking forward to this special activity that helps foster our sense of school community and provides our students a chance to visit one of the pillars of their community, the Garden Cinemas! If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact Associate Principal Fenimore at micfen1@gpsk12.org or 772-1360 ext. 2138. News from Ms. Hill’s Classroom This week in grade 6 science with Ms. Hill, students were given a mixture to observe and separate into its separate parts. They are developed their own procedures and had to trouble shoot any challenges that came up along the way. Students who finished early used a triple beam balance to find the mass of the separate parts of their mixture and compared the total of the parts with their starting mass. Next up, students will be learning about the engineering design process and properties of matter that will help them to build penguin shelter models for miniature ice cube penguins! News from Ms. Squier’s Classroom We finished our unit on fractions (covering multiplication and division) before the holiday break. When we return from the break, we will be beginning our unit on rational numbers. Our first topic will be operations involving decimals (adding, subtraction, multiplication, and division). We will practice converting between decimals and fractions and ordering decimals and fractions on a number line. After decimals, we will be studying integers (positive and negative numbers). We will extend our skills in ordering decimals and fractions to include both positive and negative numbers. If you are looking to support your child at home, Khan Academy offers videos and practice problems using these skills here: https://www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-sixth-grade-math/cc-6th-arithmetic-operations (for Spanish version: https://es.khanacademy.org/math/cc-sixth-grade-math/cc-6th-arithmetic-operations) News from Mr. Bevacqua’s Classroom In Mr. Bevacqua’s Social Studies class students will start their study of Russia, its history, culture and geography. The study will include several videos including a major video about Russian culture entitled, Discovery Atlas; Russia Revealed. Toward the middle of this month our study will shift west into the rest of Europe. In Meteorology, students will continue to learn how to forecast the weather using several websites such as Model Analysis and Guidance, Pivotal Weather and various National Weather Service sites. Many of you have apps such as Accuweather and we will also use that site too. News from Ms. Roberts’s Classroom Ask your son/daughter how challenging their gravity lab is. Only one group has managed to find a solution so far. It requires a great amount of patience. Our microscope investigation has brought us to making our own plant cell slides. In math, we are covering graphs, inequalities, and just beginning division of fractions which is also being taught during skill blocks. January after school dates:7th,15th,21st, and 29th. News from Mr. Carlino’s Classroom This week in Mr. Carlino’s English class we concluded our study of Christopher Paul Curtis’s Bud, Not Buddy. Over the past few months we explored big questions like, what constitutes a home, what effects did the Great Depression have on children, and how do perseverance and truth play a part in our day-to-day survival? Our first round of book talks provided many students with their first opportunity to conduct an extended presentation. The results were relatively good; however, students should make an effort to prepare their talks in advance for round two talks scheduled for Wednesday, February 12th. Students should practice their talks at home, so they’re able to provide a succinct summary of their books, and speak fluently. We call them talks because rather than read a written report, students should internalize the book well enough to “pitch” the book to their peers. Crucial to their success with these talks is the careful selection of their two excerpts. As I’ve explained to them, and will continue to stress, these two passages provide entry points to their summaries and openings to discuss personal connections to the text. While we’re talking about the project, their visual component should reflect a deeper understanding of their novel. The most successful projects were ones in which the student was able to draw upon their knowledge of specific scenes or important ideas from their books and reflect them either visually or in writing. Starting sometime next week, we will be shifting gears and diving into Lois Lowry’s dystopian coming-of-age novel, The Giver. In addition to reading The Giver, this unit pulls in several nonfiction texts that bring the questions raised in the novel into the context of the present day. Students will have the opportunity to read about two hotly debated issues: taxing sugary beverages and euthanasia. Writing assignments include a newspaper article in which students summarize an issue for their readers, and an argumentative piece that will continue to reinforce our year-long focus of using evidence to support our writing and thinking. In social studies class, students are working with Prentice Hall’s Latin America textbook. We are just starting to explore the regions of Latin America, the varied climates and vegetation and how they influence the ways people live. Our next area of study will be the early civilizations of Middle and South America: the Mayas, the Aztec, and the Incas. In skills class, we will be continuing our work with grammar, punctuation, and sentence combining on our Quill platform. We will be working with short texts to reinforce different close-reading strategies, and we will be writing short, one to two class period writing assignments. This class is meant to provide students the opportunity to work on skills your student needs to improve. Though it is a pass/fail grade, and scheduled at the end of a very long day of school, students need to put forth the same effort and attention they do into English class. So far, student buy-in has been a challenge. Your support may be the tipping point we need to make this time even more productive. Thank you. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. Will Carlino Greetings from our 7th Grade Team 7th grade students are going to the Museum of Science in Boston for an overnight field trip! We are excited to announce that the Greenfield Middle School 7th grade will be spending a night at the Museum of Science in Boston this coming spring. Our 7th graders will have the opportunity to experience the museum exhibits, hands-on demonstrations and activities, as well as Omni and planetarium shows. Plus, students might get to sleep under a dinosaur! Students will be attending the field trip on two different nights depending on their advisories: Ms. Dunne, Mr. Prario, and Mr Tucker will go on Thursday, April 30th and Mrs. Carriveau, Mr. Carriveau, Ms. Cronen-Townsend, and Mrs. Ewart will go on Thursday, May 7th. We will leave from GMS around 2:30pm, spend the night at the Museum of Science, and return to GMS around 2pm on Friday. Thanks to our ELT grant as well as a generous donation from the GMS PTO, there is no cost to students for the museum or for transportation. Furthermore, the 7th grade will be putting on several fundraisers to help with the cost for meals, so the only cost to students will be $10. We also ask that students bring a sleeping bag. We realize that not everyone has sleeping bags, so we will do our best to provide them for students who need one. If you have any questions about the event, there is a wealth of information on the Museum of Science website: https://www.mos.org/explore/overnights. You can also email Mr. Tucker at brituc1@gpsk12.org. Expect more information to come home as we get closer to the field trip. READ 180 and SYSTEM 44 In Mrs. Herlihy’s READ 180 classes, we are in the middle of our first Workshop: Think Big. “In this workshop, students are learning that it takes big thinking to solve big problems—and small problems, too. These big thinkers may be scientists, inventors or just everyday people. Students are discovering that inventing takes serious imagination and resilience—even famed inventors have failed repeatedly. Other inventors have stumbled upon solutions by mistake. However they got there, their inventions have changed life as we know it.”
Our essential question that we are working on: How can one person’s idea change the world? Our foundational skill that the students are working on is identifying main idea and details in non-fiction texts. Mrs. Slowinski’s Read 180 Families: Happy New Year! *Equality *human rights *exploit * abusive *advocate *dignity *illiteracy *justice *rights *tolerance *activism *discrimination What do these words have in common? They are all words students are learning while they read multiple informational texts about three inspiring young people who overcame extreme hardship, danger, and prejudice when they were children. They went on to fight for the rights of children around the world. Ask your student to tell you about these incredible champions for children:
During our reading, we attempt to understand the essential question: Why is the fight for basic human rights so hard? Students recently wrote an informative paragraph to identify the central idea and details of a timeline entitled “Malala Yousafzai’s Amazing Journey”. Many found this to be a challenging assignment. However, the reality is that our students need more exposure to this higher level of thinking in order to be successful in their academic pursuits. Mrs. Slowinski’s System 44 Families: Happy New Year! Students are making incredible growth and are acquiring a better understanding of the 44 sounds of the English language. Students are encouraged to read every day. Congratulations to our 15-book champions! Our goal is for every student to read 25 books this year. Go! Go! Go! Thank you for your support at home. ~Mrs. Slowinski Greetings from Ms. Miller and the ACES Classroom Hello Families, It has been a beautiful two days of school; we welcomed back our students with excitement! As usual, the new calendar year provides impetus to reflect on the previous months and to consider what we have learned and what we will do differently to enhance our students' academic and social success.
That being said, we kicked off the new year in our program with a variety of activities; something new in math is our “Number Talk Time”. This is a powerful strategy that gets all students involved in expressing themselves and strengthen their fluency, intuition, and mental math strategies. Number talk also improves their ability to explain and critique solutions, and is beneficial for allowing teachers a valuable window into the students’ thinking. We continue to strengthen students’ skills by exploring integers and variables and how they are used with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The focus is to develop students' understanding of integers in the real world, comparing and ordering, adding and subtracting, one-step equations with fractions and decimals, and using inductive and deductive reasoning to solve word problems. Please ask your child about practicing the multiplication tables, reading, and doing light housework. We began our Life Science Unit; this unit covers the characteristics of living things, plant and animal cell structures, the characteristics of unicellular and multicellular life, genetics, classification of organisms, the structure and function of human cells, tissues, organs and organ systems, and the structure and function of plants. We have a variety of fun projects and possible field trips lined up for students to explore in this unit.
In Social and Life skills we continue to promote Assertiveness as a style of communication. We are helping our students to directly and confidently express their genuine opinion, feelings, or attitudes in ways that respect the rights and social circumstances of self and others. We will also be resuming our cooking skills class and teaching students how to set a table for everyday and elegant settings and many more! We will be keeping you in the loop as we make progress towards these goals. Thank you for your support and we look forward to a great 2020! Student Council Meeting Schedule We apologize for any confusion caused by recent electronic messages about Student Council meeting dates that are not accurate. These are the scheduled meeting dates: All meetings are held in the GMS Library from 3:40 - 4:40pm.
Our GMS Student Council members are actively engaged in cultivating a sense of community at our school, advocating for the student voice, and organizing activities that bring us together. | |
Opportunities of Potential Interest Greenfield Public Schools does not endorse these events or activities, but they are some of the many opportunities that are available locally. These are not school-sponsored events. Y Night on Saturday, February 29 The Y of Greenfield is having its first Y Night of the year! Students in grades 5-8 are welcome to come dance, play in the gym, and hangout in the Game Room. The cost is $5 per student. Pizza slices will be sold for .50¢ each. Please join us on Saturday, February 29th 6:30pm-9pm for a night full of fun! Although Ms. Ricketts will be there breaking it down and tearing it up on the dance floor, this event is not sponsored by Greenfield Public Schools. | |
