Cluster 6 Newsletter
January 22nd, 2023
Hello families and caregivers!
Cluster 6 will have an “organization reset” day on January 30. We will remind students of the supplies we need for each class. Some of those notebooks from September are getting filled up so your child might ask you to find or buy a new one. We also ask students to charge their Chromebooks at night and bring a pencil or pen every day. Please help your child come to class prepared.
We are also asking for donations! If your family has extra notebooks, tissues, or pencils, we would appreciate those donations.
Best,
Cluster 6 Team
English
Well, we are several weeks into January, and I’ve got to admit, it's been a pretty mild winter thus far. At this point, students have started their Dystopian (speculative) fiction novel unit- choosing their book and being placed into groups. The groups created a reading calendar so they could plan to finish the book by February 1st. By the look of their calendars, many kids seem to be falling a bit behind in their reading. Any encouragement from home to read would be tremendously appreciated.
As students are reading their novels, they are working on an individual and group piece to the unit. The individual piece involved students choosing their own path- either journaling or challenges, and completing a series of activities based on their choice. This is done without the help of their group members. The other component of the unit involves a digital workbook that asks the students to collectively work through a series of literary moves and devices that helps to track the plot of the story. Students seem to be enjoying each piece of the work and the collaboration is so pleasant to witness.
On February 1st, students will (hopefully) be done with their reading so that they can begin their “Final Project” for the dystopian novel. We will be giving groups choice activities to complete and present to the class. The choices will include options like- create a comic book…, record a podcast…, film a movie trailer…- options that will be fun and engaging to complete.
Just a reminder that the end of Quarter 2 (which also marks the ½ way point of the school year) is Thursday, January 26th.
Please reach out with any questions or concerns about your student.
Civics
In Civics, we have a strong start on our “Founding Documents” unit. Students have been reviewing and learning about Colonial American history and geography. Ask them about why the colonists were angry with the British Government (the answer is that the British Parliament began taking away self-government and passing taxes without giving the colonists representation in the Parliament, just in case you need a refresher!). Now, the American Revolution has begun in our classes and students are interpreting the Declaration of Independence, including the most famous quote from the Declaration, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Since our 8th grade class focuses on government, we only have a bit of time for American history, so your child will learn much more detail about the Revolution next year in 9th grade history class. Wow, only one more semester of middle school! You’ve almost made it, middle school families!
The Constitution is coming up by the end of January. We will learn about the Native Americans who were here before the European colonists and learn how the democratic practices of the Iroquois Confederacy provided a real life model for the writers of the Constitution.
The end of the term is coming up, so be sure to review your child’s powerschool and ask them to finish up retakes and complete missing or incomplete work. Thank you!
Math
As we wrap up Term 2 and head into the 2nd half of the school year, our focus is not only covering the 8th Grade Math or Algebra standards, but also getting ourselves ready for high school. Believe it or not, we have just around 4.5 months until we are high-schoolers. All math classes will spend our days continuing to develop strong, sound habits for math. Work will be done on paper most often, even though we use technology on a nearly day-to-day basis. We will learn conceptually, but procedure and organization of math is absolutely essential and we will make that a point each day. Completing homework and classwork each day, even when not graded, is crucial.
8th Grade Math classes are solving equations algebraically, and many of these students have made incredible strides in their organization, clarity, and precision of math. Algebra classes are heading into some challenging work with solving, manipulating, and comparing equations. “A train leaves Boston, and 80 minutes later a train leaves Austin, TX. They pass each other exactly halfway through their trips. If the distance between Boston and Austin is 1900 miles, how fast was each train traveling?” We will work on strategies for solving these problems efficiently, with algebra as the foundation.
Science
The end of Term 2 is approaching and students are busy preparing for the Reproduction and Genetics Unit Test on Monday, Jan 23, 2023. The dragon project and review materials posted on Google Classroom are designed to review all of the concepts covered in this unit. Additional review materials can be found here: Review Materials for Reproduction & Genetics Unit (and in Google Classroom and on the MasterDoc). Students have the option to create a reference sheet for themselves on an 8.5"x11" piece of paper to use during the test. If need be, students will be able to retake up to 3 sections of the unit test at the end of the week. Additional review work will be required to qualify for retakes.
When Term 3 begins, we will start our study of evolution which will last through most of Term 3. The Evolution Unit learning objectives are linked here: Evolution Unit Learning Objectives.
Links to other Smores
Specialist Smore
Use this link to see updates from your students' specialist teachers on their classes!
Reading Smore
Use this link to see updates from the reading teachers on their classes!
Wilson Reading Smore
Here is the link for the Wilson Reading Smore with Ms. Sorenson
English Learner Smore
Check here for updates from our English Language Development teachers Ms. Rix, Ms. Gilmartin, Ms. Campos, and Ms. Schoenbeck.
Contact Info
Mr Cloherty, Guidance: thomas.cloherty@watertown.k12.ma.us
Ms Kiernan, Special Education: kathleen.kiernan@watertown.k12.ma.us
Mr Manoukian, Math: aram.manoukian@watertown.k12.ma.us
Ms P-K, Science: katherine.poulinkerstien@watertown.k12.ma.us
Ms Rix, English Language Development: zara.rix@watertown.k12.ma.us
Ms Shock, Civics: laura.shock@watertown.k12.ma.us