Curriculum & Instruction Newsletter
Fair Haven Public Schools
April 2020 - Volume 2, Issue 8
I hope this newsletter finds you and your families well. April marks a full month (plus a few weeks) of virtual learning and in this issue I wanted to highlight two things. First, I wanted to share images of our amazing students working hard at home. This is a testament to our phenomenal families! We are all in this together and are so appreciative of all you do for your children. I also want to thank our teachers and staff who have transitioned to a new way of teaching and who have shared these beautiful photos with me.
One other thing I would like to highlight in this newsletter is National Poetry Month. This is celebrated each year in April and I wanted to share samples of student work with you. This created a problem, but a good problem! There were so many fantastic poems that students submitted to their teachers and I couldn't leave any out. This month's newsletter will read like a literary magazine, so feel free to make a cup of tea or coffee, get cozy, and enjoy!
Sincerely,
Cheryl Romano
Director of Curriculum & Instruction
Twitter: @FHCurriculum
“Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.” – Robert Frost
Students Working From Home
6th Grade Science - Fossils
Cole did a fantastic job, so if you want to get moving and try his workout, you can watch it here: Cole's Workout
Student Voice - National Poetry Month
Isabella Mazzucca, Mr. Talmage's 4th Grade Class
Work
Why play
What will get you farther
Logic
Why
Imagination
This is what fun is.
This is what fun is
Imagination
Why
Logic
What will get you farther
Why play
Work.
Books
Books chatter
Whispering wonderful words in my ear
Gifting knowledge to anyone who opens the pages
Telling stories passed down from generations
And all you have to do is dare to look past the cover!
And all you have to do is dare to look past the cover
Telling stories passed down from generations
Gifting knowledge to anyone who opens the pages
Whispering wonderful words in my ear
Books chatter.
Love
Louise and my father are in love.
Ma and Franklin’s bones are just okay with that.
I know this because when they said their “I do’s” it was right above their graves.
And Ma knew that was for the best, for my 16 year old self.
By Amelie Munger
Dust Rising
Me and father go for a walk,
We didn’t say much.
We walked all the way across town.
Past the school,
past Arley’s house,
past Mad Dog’s house.
As we start to walk back,
A cloud of dust emerges
I don’t run
I watch.
I watch as the dust swallows everything
Cars
Houses
Fields
And when it gets to me and father,
I run.
By Annie Lachanski
Ma
Every time I look out
Over to her grave.
I want apples.
Apples remind me of her.
I pick the apples.
Red as the sun.
They soothe the pain I feel
Of me missing her.
By Ava Flanagan
The Recipe
Daddy told me to get his shoes from the closet.
He was going to the store with Louise to buy some food.
Thanksgiving is a week away.
As I go to get his shoes from his closet, I come across a box with Ma’s name on it.
When Daddy and Louise left, I went back into Daddy’s closet to see what was inside the box.
I open the box.
There were several pictures of Ma and Daddy as a young couple.
There is a picture of me as a baby.
I think to myself what life would have been like if Ma and Franklin had survived.
I look in the box for more pictures of Ma.
Right before my eyes, I see the words on a piece of paper.
Cranberry Sauce Recipe.
November 1936
By Christian Koutouzakis
Courted
He finally did it.
Maddog finally asked
me on a date. It went
splendidly. We went
to the Amarillo Hotel.
We sat at the bar. His
voice, smooth as marble.
He put his hand on top of mine,
no acknowledgement of the
burns. I felt accepted.
We sang together, united as one.
By Gavin Mcmanus
Potatoes, Clover, and Blackberries
Research was found
That the crops we had planted
Were destroying our soil
Causing dust to fly with the wind
They told us not to plant wheat
Instead weeds, or other plants
So dad decided to plant clover, potatoes,
And sweet plump blackberries
Good for pies
I wish mama were here
By Isabel Ross
Piano
I play
until the sun sets
until the stars dawn
until the crickets speak,
I play.
My hands are not just dust
they are gifts,
gifts from Ma
hitting every note
my hands are not just dust.
By Jack Gyimesi
*two years later* Dust - Summer 1937
We never left.
The dust was a part of us,
a part of our life.
Daddy grew wheat.
His pond filled to the very top
with water
clear as day.
We planted flowers
on Ma and Franklin’s graves.
They grew.
Roses were always Ma’s favorite
Daddy couldn’t leave them,
and although I tried
I couldn’t leave him or them.
The dust went away.
It just
stopped.
No more taping the windows,
or chewing dusty milk.
We had our lives back.
No more dust.
By Morgan Tilly
January 1936
Hands
My fingers
Have healed
From ashes
From burns
From a pail of kerosene
And I think
My heart has
Too.
By Sean Sharkey
God’s Greatest Gift
The rain came today.
It filled Daddy’s pond
and washed away the dust that stuck to the house like parasites.
This is God’s greatest gift,
the water washing down the window panes,
me, Daddy, and Louise running around outside and splashing water on each other.
I still remember the day when the rain came and Ma stood outside thanking God for this gift,
but today is much better because we are together dancing with our happiness.
We sing and laugh not caring who hears because we are happy,
we are happy with this gift.
The plants dance with us as they point their green leaves to the sky and grow.
We are making good use of this gift,
everyone is making good use of this gift.
Life is good.
By Zoë Arhanic
What Hope Is
Hailey Blum, Mrs. O'Grady's 8th Grade Literacy Class
Hope is having wings.
Hope is the kindness of a random stranger.
Hope is the first bloom of spring.
Hope is a bubble floating in the air.
Hope is waking up to the birds chirping.
Hope is those days when the sun begins to set a little later.
Hope is being without burden.
Hope is in the air we breathe.
Hope is knowing the future is uncertain.
Hope is living day by day.
James Culbert, Mrs. O'Grady's 8th Grade Literacy Class
Hope is seeing people keep their distance.
Hope is seeing other people even from a distance.
Hope is seeing other people being healthy themselves.
Hope is a hug from your parents.
Hope is having a connection to your friends.
Hope is time together with your family.
Hope is seeing that your elderly doctor is still healthy.
Hope is seeing the world staying united during this.
Hope is seeing the flowers bloom.
Hope
Aidan Morris, Mrs. O'Grady's 8th Grade Literacy Class
Hope is knowing you have people that care for you.
Hope is helping my grandmother with stuff around her house, while she tells me stories.
Hope is playing baseball with my dad,
Hope can be simple, but give you the power to do something great.
Hope is the strength inside you that you did not know you had.
Hope is reaching that finish line on a goal that you did not think you could do.
My brother Liam thinks that hope is helping people that need you the most.
My mom thinks hope is capturing the right moment.
My dad thinks hope is seeing his kids grow up, and go into the world.
Nick Harvey, Mrs. O'Grady's 8th Grade Literacy Class
The kids were outside cheering
And weren’t inside fearing
About getting sick
Very, very quick
Then it had struck
That people would be out of luck
When the reports were out
That sports were out
People began to fear
And it was quite clear
That this wasn’t a joke
And chaos had broke
While we should stick together
And try to enjoy the weather
It was quite hard
To go out in your yard
As the virus spread in joy
And was planning to destroy
We shouldn’t buy things that we don’t need
For instead we should sit down and instead read
So just sit on the couch
And don’t be a grouch
While it may take until October
This virus will surely be over
Just have hope
And use a lot of soap
For this virus will end
If we defend
Ms. Lanza's 7th grade Accelerated Literacy class read an article from the New York Times about what people are doing to adapt, especially with holidays and birthdays, during the pandemic. They created found poetry by highlighted keywords from the article and created a poem using some of those keywords.