MKG Messenger February 7, 2020
The Principal's Office
Our teacher book room is a crucial piece to the literacy instruction at MKG. Our Instructional Coaches, Mrs. LeBlanc and Mrs. Randall have worked very hard to organize and arrange this space for the entire staff. The book room provides high quality books and materials for students that are necessary to support rich literacy learning in all classrooms so that teachers can implement the language and literacy framework as designed. We continue to work to add to our collection of both student and professional resources.
Character Strong: Word of the month: Kindness
Conversation Starters for families:
- What does Kindness look like in our home? What does it look like in our neighborhood? What does Kindness look like in our extended family, our faith or spiritual practices, our community centers, our sports teams, etc.?
- Why is it important to show Kindness to people who aren’t kind to you?
- What acts of Kindness have others shown you lately and how did you respond? How did it make you feel? How does random acts of Kindness help you grow?
Upcoming Events:
2/10/2020 - 100th Day of School
2/11/20 - 2/13/20 - Book Fair
2/11/20 - PTA meeting, 6:00 PM
2/12/20 - Parent/Teacher Conferences
2/13/20 - Parent/Teacher Conferences
2/14/20 - Half Day Hat Day - $1.00 contribution will go to the Middleborough Family Resources Center in honor of Mark Mobley, Technology Director
2/14 /20 - Early Release, 1:00 Dismissal
Grade 1
In first grade we will begin our unit on Patriotic Symbols. Students will learn how nonfiction text features and structure help us learn information. They will notice and find information in a text. Students will write informative pieces that are organized. Their work will name the topic, supply facts and have a sense of closure. In math, we will work with money. They will learn to identify coins, know their value and be able to count coins. We are looking forward to celebrating the 100th day of school and Valentine's Day. It will be a busy week!
Grade 2
Brrrr! Grade 2 students are in Antarctica right now! We are learning all about the coldest and iciest Continent. Did you know that 7 kinds of penguins live in Antarctica? Students are amazed at all the facts we are learning about Antarctica. We are also learning to distinguish between customs and traditions. Students are reading about 3 families and how their families live in America, weaving in the customs of the home of their ancestors, and the traditions the families follow here in America! We are learning about different landforms. Did you know that landforms include bodies of water? Next week, we will be heading to the “land down under”.
Grade 3
This week, third grade students were lucky to be visited by Lyn Littlefield Hoopes, a poet and writer. The students read poetry written by Mrs. Littlefield Hoopes and discussed what they noticed in her writing. They also wrote their own poems inspired by her photography. Ms. Littlefield Hoopes provided guided writing instruction over the week. She was able to meet individually with students to coach them through the poetry writing process. Our students were excited and proud to share their poems with classmates. We also look forward to creating illustrations to pair with the poetry with Mrs. Newell, our art teacher. Thank you to the MKG PTA for providing the funding for this amazing literacy experience!
Grade 4
As we approach February vacation, our fourth graders are digging in to wrap up our first unit on fractions. We are assessing our strengths and challenges as we head into the second half of our academic year. We will be applying all the skills and strategies we have learned, as well as using our resources, to demonstrate our growth since the beginning of fourth grade! We were lucky to have Big Ryan, a writer and storyteller, visit our classrooms this week to work with us on writing. He did an amazing job of engaging and motivating students with suggestions, anecdotes, and advice about writing!
Grade 5
This week, the MKG 5th graders are continuing to enjoy reading and writing from different points of view. As they read they are noticing what they enjoy about the writing and thinking of ways to incorporate these elements into their own writing.
Adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers are providing challenges in math. All classes continue to make progress in STMath. The visual examples in STMath are being used as number talks during math class with great success.
In Science, classes are either discovering different forms of energy and how this impacts ecosystems or learning about the ways matter can change.