Cluster 3
There is no "I" in Cluster Three!
Bullying, Teasing, and Taunting are never ok!
To all Cluster Parents and Guardians,
We as teachers are having a hard time identifying who and when, but understand many of this behavior happens outside of school, independent times like lunch, via social media, and via their phones.
WE WOULD ALSO LIKE TO SAY STUDENT'S PHONES and WATCH DEVICES SHOULD REMAIN IN THEIR LOCKERS ALL DAY. This helps curb such dialogue between one to many students while in classes.
We are asking you to sit with you student (s) and talk about the effects and potential consequences of bullying in school and outside of school. We should be battling such behavior everyday! If you have any concerns regarding your student, please do not hesitate to reach out to any teacher in our cluster!
Thank you again and we hope everyone has a nice Winter Break!
Mr. Allegro (andrew.allegro@watertown.k12.ma.us) and Guidance Counselor Amanda Skypeck (amanda.skypeck@watertown.k12.ma.us)
Thank you to Mr. Bruno
Specialists Smores! Just click the link!
EDL & PHONICS CLASSROOMS - https://www.smore.com/1a8k7
SPECIALIST'S CLASSROOM - The Specialist S'more
READING CLASSROOMS - https://www.smore.com/5r0sb-reading-classes
MS. SORENSON'S CLASSROOM - https://www.smore.com/enhsa
Social Studies w/ Mr. Kirkaldy
Learning Targets:
I can describe how Prince Siddhartha became the Buddha
I can explain the central beliefs of Buddhism
This week, students are wrapping up our study of Buddhism by conducting mock interviews with Buddha. This is a fun, creative way for students to show what they learned by imagining they have the chance to speak to Buddha himself. Students are either working individually or with partners to create at least five questions to ask the Buddha about his life and teachings, and then they answer them in his voice. Students have the choice of writing up a transcript of the interview, creating a podcast, or recording a short video of the interview. Next we'll be looking at leadership qualities through one of the leaders from Ancient India, Ashoka the Great, as we wrap up our study of Ancient India. After winter vacation we'll be moving on to Ancient China.
ELA w/ Ms. Fitanides & Ms. Gordon
Standards:
I can determine themes in a text and identify evidence that supports the theme
I can write from the perspective of another character for a particular audience
I can read and understand a 7th grade text
English classes are finishing The Outsiders this week. We are honored to have three guest speakers joining us Friday to talk to us about their work as an introduction to our final project. Officer Magaryan, Kendall Donase, and John Vitti will talk about the work of a police officer/detective, a social worker and a reporter before kids will choose which role they want to take on as they produce a portfolio of material and a final written report/editorial to get across a major theme in the novel. The project combines comprehension, analysis, synthesis, creativity and writing skills to produce materials for a case file that is connected to their role. It should be a fun and productive week before we all take a break over winter holidays. Be well, and I wish you all the best for the end of the year.
Science w/ Ms. Smith
Learning Targets
I CAN Investigate how evidence of chemical reactions indicates that new substances with different properties are formed.
I CAN measure the physical properties of matter.
I CAN compare and contrast the physical properties of matter.
We are wrapping up the human body systems, we usually end with the frog dissection, unfortunately, the frogs are on backorder until February. We will be starting our chemistry unit by examining physical and chemical properties. The students were also introduced to elements and the Periodic Table.
Math w/ Mr. Casiano
Hello Cluster 3 Families!
We are almost finished with Unit 3 of Measuring Circles! Students have already completed a mid-unit quiz which focused on finding the circumference of a circle. After finishing the quiz, our focus shifted to finding the area of a circle.
Throughout this entire unit, vocabulary words like radius, diameter, and pi have helped students get a better understanding about the parts of a circle and how they relate to circumference and area. Students have also learned how to write and use equations to calculate the circumference and the area.
We will be having an end of unit test next week before winter break.
Here is a link to our Family Resource Information Sheet.
Below is a further breakdown on the second half of Unit 3: Measuring Circles:
Section 2: Area of a Circle (Lessons 5–9)
Students recognize that the relationships between the radius and area of a circle is not proportional. They explain and use the formula for the area of a circle to solve problems. Students will use this work to determine the volume of cylinders, cones, and spheres in Grade 8.
Lesson 5 surfaces strategies students may know from previous grades about determining the area of a complex polygon, such as counting whole and partial tiles, decomposing and rearranging, and surrounding and subtracting. This lesson also introduces students to the idea of estimating the area of shapes that have curved edges, which sets students up to estimate the area of a circle at the beginning of Lesson 6.
Lesson 6 is a two-day task that asks students to make sense of the relationship between the radius of a circle, the square of the radius, and the area of the circle. This lesson uses radius squares (a square whose side length is the radius of a circle) to help students visualize these relationships. At the end of the lesson, students should know a formula for the relationship between the radius of a circle and its area.
Lesson 7 digs deeper into why this formula makes sense, using the strategy from Lesson 5 to rearrange a circle into a triangle with the same area. This lesson also asks students to decide whether or not the relationship between the radius of a circle and its area is proportional.
Lesson 8 extends the work students did in Lesson 6 calculating the area of a circle. Students practice calculating the area of shapes composed of squares and parts of circles. This lesson is parallel to Lesson 4 in many ways.
Lesson 9 asks students to use what they have learned about circumference and area to solve a series of challenging tasks that explore the relationship between the perimeter and the area of both a circle and a square.
Best,
Mike Casciano