6 Purple Newsletter
Fall 2015
Welcome Back... or for the first time!
Table of Contents!
- NMS Info
- 6P pictures
- Meet the Teachers: (Mulligan, Weise, Scilingo, Cummings, Jensen, Bresnahan, Whapham, Wells, Sullivan, Fowler)
- Symbaloo, Google Classroom, & School Brains
- Parent Teacher Conferences
- What we've been up to!
- What's coming up!
- Students' Corner
NMS Info
Website: http://www.edline.net/pages/Norton_Middle_School
Location: 215 West Main Street, Norton, MA, United States
Phone: 5082850140
Twitter: @NortonMiddle
Welcome to 6P! There's "gnome" place like it!
Who are the teachers of 6P? Scroll to find out more!
Welcome!
Mrs. Mulligan (Science)
Email: cmulligan@norton.k12.ma.us
Twitter: @MulliganNMS
Mrs. Weise (Math)
Mrs. Weise is truly a 6th grade expert, as she is both a 6th grade teacher and a 6th grade parent this year. She likes to joke about the fact that while her students move on to 7th grade and beyond, she's stuck and can't graduate from 6th grade. This is her 7th year teaching math on 6 Purple, and her first teaching job was in 6th grade at F.L. Olmsted School in Easton, where she taught all subjects for 5 years. Math has always been a favorite topic for Mrs. Weise, and she used it quite a bit in her previous career as an auditor working for a public accounting firm in RI. She has a BS in Business Administration from Bryant University and a MA in Teaching from Rhode Island College.
Email: tweise@norton.k12.ma.us
Twitter: @MrsWeiseNMS
Miss Scilingo (Social Studies)
Miss Scilingo is in her 2nd year of teaching at NMS. A New Jersey native, she ventured up to Easton, Massachusetts to earn her BA in History from Stonehill College. Exploring new places and cultures is a passion of hers, as evidenced by her summer in Italy where she enjoyed all of the pizza, pasta, and gelato the country had to offer! (A gelato a day keeps the doctor away, right?!) When she isn’t reminiscing about all of those delicious foods, she loves spending her time with family and friends. She is especially fond of her tiniest and furriest family member, a Maltese named Jessie James.
Email: cscilingo@norton.k12.ma.us
Twitter: @MissScilingoNMS
Mr. Cummings (ELA)
Mr. Cummings is an avid reader and traveler - he attempted to read Romeo and Juliet while walking through the streets of Verona, but was nearly run over by a Vespa. He loves teaching creative writing and reading to his students. Mr. Cummings feels his class is at its best when the students are engaged through exciting games, dynamic technology, or a totally winning story. When asked about Mr. C's class a student (who was definitely not getting a piece of candy afterwards) said, "Mr. Cummings is the best. I've never learned better and you can really tell he cares about his students! I'll take a Jolly Ran..."
When asked about teaching, Mr, Cummings replied, "It's the best... what else is there to know. I love teaching and I just happen to teach on the raddest team this side of the Mississipp!" Mr. Cummings thinks this year's 6P students seem fun and energetic, and he cannot wait to learn and succeed with them.
Email: ccummings@norton.k12.ma.us
Twitter: @MrCummingsNMS
Mrs. Jensen (Learning Specialist)
Email: pjensen@norton.k12.ma.us
Twitter: @mrsjensenNMS
Mrs. Bresnahan (Learning Specialist)
Mrs. Bresnahan is in her 16th year of teaching in Norton! She was the Learning Specialist at the Yelle School for ten years before coming to NMS. Prior to Norton, she taught in Plymouth for 15 years. Mrs. Bresnahan grew up in Dorchester and received her BS in Regular and Special Education from Lesley College in Cambridge. She then continued on at Lesley College and received her Masters Degree in Computers in Education. Mrs. Bresnahan and her family live in Easton. She has been married to her husband Mark for 23 years and has two children, Thomas and Sarah. Thomas is currently a senior attending Northeastern University where he is majoring in Biology, and Sarah is a senior at Oliver Ames High School in Easton.
When not at school, Mrs. Bresnahan likes to spend time with her family. She loves going to the beach, reading, hiking or snowshoeing in Borderland State Park, and traveling.
Mrs. Bresnahan loves helping students succeed! She is looking forward to a great school year!
Email: cbresnahan@norton.k12.ma.us
Twitter: @cbresnahan1
Ms. Whapham (Learning Specialist)
I am so excited to start 6th grade at the Middle School! Some of you may remember me as a learning specialist in 5th grade. I have my Masters in Special Education from American International College. I love to read and find historical fiction to be a favorite (especially The Diplomat’s Wife by Pam Jenoff). Along with starting a new position, I am planning a wedding with my fiancee Harold for October 8th 2016! It has been an exciting last few months!
Email: ewhapham@norton.k12.ma.us
Mrs. Wells (ELA)
Rosanne
Caring, attentive, ambitious, and loyal
Mother of Greg and Corrinne, Wife of Dave
Lover of laughter, long walks, and linguine
Who feels excited about teaching and learning, thrilled for an upcoming family wedding, and awed by her amazing, adventurous children
Who needs coffee in the morning, a versatile collection of scarves, and at least one thing to look forward to each day
Who gives encouragement easily, effort consistently, and credit when it is due
Who fears traffic jams, vacuuming, and muzak
Who would like to see an opera in Italy, the stars on a clear night, and all of her kiddos’ dreams come true
Who lives in a light, airy house with big windows and high ceilings
Wells
Email: rwells@norton.k12.ma.us
Ms. Sullivan (Learning Specialist)
Mrs. Fowler (Guidance Counselor)
Mrs. Fowler was a guidance counselor for 15 years and spent some time at home with her family before returning back to work She is now starting her second year here at NMS and is so excited to be the Grade 6 Guidance Counselor! She went to Westfield State for her undergraduate studies and then earned her Masters at Bridgewater State. Never having studied Latin, she is still proud to be able to say that she graduated Magna Sum Laude! In Fourth Grade, she proclaimed at the dinner table that one day she would be a school counselor. Dreams do come true!
She is a Mom to three pretty amazing kids who give her over one hundred things to be proud of every single week and a 9 pound one eyed little Shitz Shu rescue pup, named Walle, who is spoiled rotten! She is an avid reader, practical joker extraordinaire , creative problem solver, scary movie watcher, and spicy food lover. She knows that her calling in life is to be a helper and what better place than NMS to support these wonderful 6th Graders. Mrs. Fowler is thrilled to be back on board here at NMS.
"Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them."
Lady Bird Johnson
Email: nfowler@norton.k12.ma.us
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Symbaloo!
Google Classroom!
School Brains
https://community.schoolbrains.com/norton_community/CMS/Home
Parent Teacher Conferences
Times: Wednesday (10/21) @ 6-8pm, Thursday (10/22) @ 1-3pm & 6-8pm.
Wednesday, Oct 21, 2015, 06:00 PM
215 West Main Street, Norton, MA, United States
What we've been up to so far!
Writing Open Responses using Chrome in ELA!
Getting ready for the Battle of the Books!
Bubble labs in Science!
Learning about map distortion in SS!
Getting enrolled in Google Classroom!
Short story analysis online!
The youngest cartographers around!
Creating Integer Pictures!
Ratio Problems with Virtual Manipulatives!
What to look forward to...
Science: In science, we are currently studying biology and the classification of organisms. Next will be introduced to the 6 Kingdoms of Life. We will be learning about bacteria and viruses first and how diseases are spread. Stay tuned……..
Math: Students using the Glencoe Math book will finish up chapter 1 on ratios and then learn to convert between decimals, fractions, and percents. Be ready to perform the decimal to percent dance move! With the conversion skill added to their math tool box, they will be able to continue using proportional thinking from the ratio chapter to solve percent problems in chapter 2. Students will demonstrate their understanding of percent use in the real world by creating their own Black Friday Advertisement. It can be a paper, electronic, or video advertisement. I can’t wait to see their creativity!
Students with the Pre-algebra book will continue mastering operations with integers and then use their knowledge of integers to plot points in all four quadrants of the coordinate plane. They’ll be challenged to plot over 50 points on a coordinate plane to reveal a mystery picture. After integers, students will learn to use the distributive property, and they’ll get on the chrome books and play a fun game to begin learning how to combine like terms for simplifying algebraic expressions.
Social Studies: Things to look forward to…
Africa Day: Wheaton College students who traveled to Africa come spend the day with us!
National Geographic Geography Bee: A school-wide competition that puts our geography skills to the test!
- Plan your own vacation: A project where you get to plan your own getaway around the world!
ELA: Your students are in the middle of a unit on short stories. We have been having a blast reading and discussing and imagining these little worlds that literature lets us into. Moving forward we will begin our first novel study and we will continue to discuss the virtues of heroism demonstrated by people like Eleanor Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Gandhi. Upcoming projects will include Pumpkin Poetry and Haunting Narratives. We will also continue to explore grammar and figurative language, such as idioms and proverbs.
Ms. W's Reading Class: In October and November we will focus on narrative writing. We will begin learning foreshadowing as well as character analysis. We will delve deeper into tone, plot and symbolism.
What the students have to say about starting the year on 6 Purple!
"My Sixth Grade experience has been a roller coaster so far. Before school started, I was already extremely anxious. First day came and went so fast. The teachers were amazing, and I already knew that this was going to be the best school year so far. Now I am into the groove of middle school, and I wake up every day excited for a day of learning, fun, and memories."
"The teachers have such a unique and fun way of teaching that they can make anyone feel at home here. We can have funny conversations with our teachers and learn at the same time."