Weekly Newsletter
December 8, 2022
Events/Calendar
Tuesday, December 13 - Mohawk Trail Musicians perform at 11:00
Wednesday, December 14 - 1:50 Dismissal
Tuesday, December 20 - Winter Boutique
Wednesday, December 21 - Winter Boutique
Wednesday, December 21 - All School Meeting at 2:15
Friday, December 23 - 12:30 Dismissal
December 26 - January 2 - School Vacation
Tuesday, January 3 - School Resumes
Link to Sanderson Academy calendar.
PTO News
The next PTO meeting will be virtually Tuesday, December 13th at 7:30pm. New members welcome! We will be discussing: the Movie Night, Winter Boutique, Mexican Exchange events, Local Goods, Original Works, Field Trips and Class Events, Treasurer Report, PTO past & future, next meeting and other ideas.
Here is the link: https://meet.google.com/cjm-gznx-pxn. If you have trouble logging in, please email lindi.russell@gmail.com.
Health Office News from Nurse Loranna
Unfortunately we have seen an uptick in illnesses at Sanderson, this was to be expected after the holidays. Please continue to keep your child(ren) home if they are feeling unwell and do an antigen test to rule out covid, don’t forget to do a follow up test in about 48 hours. Reach out to your child’s pediatrician for any lingering cough, fever, or symptoms of dehydration or trouble breathing. Check out the below chart for differences in symptoms for common respiratory illnesses. Influenza cases are rising in the area.
Get plenty of rest, drink extra water and wash hands frequently. Some good immune supports are vitamin c, zinc and elderberry. Do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns and stay well! Chart found at the below link, there are also other good tips there.
https://www.chla.org/blog/covid-19/covid-vs-flu-vs-common-cold-vs-rsv-what-you-need-know
Preschool News from Ms. Melanie
We have been talking about evergreen trees. At our meeting time, we took a moment to share what we already knew about them. We knew that they were trees, and we heard the color “green” in their name. We discovered that “evergreen” means “always green”. Then we went for a walk to find some evergreens and we found many! We spent some time collecting pine cones and small branches of evergreens that had blown down in the recent winds. We felt the silky smoothness of the needles and smelled the lovely scent of pine. Our fingers were sticky with sap. We collected a big pile of cones and we compared them. Some were very long and some were tiny. We brought some into our classroom to measure.
Preschool News from Ms. Freeman
Preschoolers were excited to be back at school and with each other. They talked about their Thanksgiving celebrations with family and friends. It was interesting to learn about different family traditions as well as favorite foods to eat. Preschoolers represented these special experiences and traditions through drawing and dictation.
Since we were talking about food, we learned a chant about making soup. Each preschooler named an ingredient to put in our soup. Our first soup was made with carrots, noodles, rice cakes, potatoes, grilled cheese, mashed potatoes, and turkey. Yum! Yum!
Have fun creating your own soup with your family.
Here is how the chant goes:
Chop chop
Chippity chop
Cut off the bottom and cut off the top
What we have left we put in the pot
Chop chop
Chippity chop
Kindergarten News from Ms. Sarah
For science this week, we focused on the concept that a collision between two objects causes a change in the motion of the objects. We did three experiments to test this out. One used a train set and we were testing to see what happened with different curves of tracks and different weights of trains. Another experiment used a toy wrecking ball set up to try to knock down a wall without harming the buildings nearby. And in the last experiment, we built marble rollers in the tub table to test how the motion of the marble changes when it collides with the sides of the roller tubes. We also read a book about Force & Motion called Move it! that sums up all we have been learning about in this fun action-filled science unit!
Second Grade News from Ms. Robertson
Now that December has arrived, we have changed out our Number Corner calendar. December’s calendar markers focus on two-dimensional shapes and we are currently identifying shapes by name and by how many sides and vertices (corners) they have. (See below.) Another focus during this month’s Number Corner is graphing. We are asked a survey question, such as “What color would you paint our classroom?” or “What is your favorite book?” We are given four choices to choose from and as we collect our data, we create a picture graph or a bar graph with it.
December also means the holiday season is approaching, so we are reading aloud books written and illustrated by Tomie dePaola, whose favorite holiday was Christmas. We are currently reading books that feature two of his best-known characters, Strega Nona and Big Anthony. December also means snow, so we are also reading and writing about snowmen. We have been brainstorming words that can be used to describe a snowman and actions they can do. We have also thought about places where we find snowmen and the times of the year when snowmen are built. Our next step will be to use our ideas to write descriptive sentences about snowmen.
Third Grade News from Ms. Carole
In Language Arts third graders have been learning how to write an informational paragraph. After reading a passage about how one group overcomes a challenge, the students have been practicing writing notes and planning what to write. Employing ideas such as a topic sentence, supporting details, and concluding sentences, the structure of their paragraphs is coming together. This is a new skill for many of the students, and it has been quite a point of growth for them.
In other Language Arts news, through recent assessments both formal and informal, we are seeing each third grader develop a love and joy of reading that we hope will last a lifetime. It is wonderful to hear about students who choose to do reading during free times at home as well as at school, and they love to get recommendations for books from their classmates.
Last week we happily welcomed a new student to our class. Each third grader has been helpful in making Vitai feel comfortable with our many routines and expectations. It is exciting to have a new friend in the room!
Fourth Grade News from Mrs. Lagoy
We have started a new unit in math. In this unit, students will compare fractions with like and unlike denominators, locate fractions on a number line, add and subtract fractions with like and unlike denominators, identify fractions and decimals, and compare decimals. Your child will learn and practice these skills by solving problems like those shown below:
Fifth Grade News from Ms. Johnson
In Fifth grade, we have been learning about The Articles of Confederation and Shays’ Rebellion. Soon, we will be wrapping up our studies of the American Revolution by watching Johnny Tremain. In ELA, students are doing peer critiques of each other’s literary essays and are making some final edits by including more linking words and phrases.
Sixth Grade News from Mrs. Lilly
Since the beginning of November, Sanderson Academy sixth graders have been learning Spanish. Each Monday morning, we have a visit from our district’s ELL teacher (English language learner teacher), Ms. Barbara. The students have been learning about the romance language and where they originated from. Ms. Barbara has also been teaching the students how to start a conversation in spanish. We have also been traveling our way through the solar system! The class was paired up and each pair was assigned a plant to research and create a slideshow to teach the class about their planet. Each group was responsible for researching on credible websites and making sure to include quality photographs with informative captions. We’ve really enjoyed learning about the different explorations or satellites that have studied each planet as well as learning how much a person would weigh on each planet.
Library News from Ms. Wilson
The “month of code” officially began in the Library this week! Coding is a list of step-by-step instructions that get computers to do what you want them to do. The month of code is one way that technology will be integrated into the library curriculum.
Students started their “Month of Code” with a few unplugged activities. First, students practiced “thinking like a coder” by using trial and error to figure out the code needed to get “Robot Ms.Wilson” across the room to shelve a book. Students also worked through a packet of coding challenges that included networking an imaginary neighborhood, encoding an emoji, and using code to send a secret message. It’s been a fun start and I look forward to exploring code.org with students next week as we work together to code an animated dance party! I also look forward to introducing younger students to some coding concepts with a few unplugged activities. Stay tuned!
News from Ms. Prew
Our math curriculum, Bridges in Mathematics, includes many components to engage children in math. Another component is: Work Places! Bridges Work Places include colorful card decks, spinners, and game boards that support over three dozen Work Places at each grade level. The Work Places provide an opportunity to practice skills and concepts in a fun, interesting way. Check out a sample Work Place Log below. :) aprew@mtrsd.org
MTRSD Elementary Libraries Newsletter
Grade 5 & 6 Interest in Participating in Spring Musical - May 5 & 6 2023
Students in grades 7-12 are currently in the final stage of preparing for the MTRS Winter Play which will be performed on December 9th and 10th. We are already looking forward to planning and preparing for the Spring Musical, a production of Guys and Dolls, to be performed on 5 & 6th May, 2023 and would love to involve students in Grades 5 & 6 in this show.
To help Director Eva with the planning and casting, we would like to invite care providers of students in grades 5 & 6 who might want to participate to complete this informational survey.
In January, Director Eva will schedule a student meeting for students in grades 5 & 6 at MTRS to see which roles students will take in the show. A parent information meeting will also be scheduled for early January with information about rehearsals at MTRS and an opportunity to ask Eva logistical questions.
Community Engagement and Enrichment Newsletter
About Us
Email: eliebowitz@mtrsd.org
Website: https://sanderson.mohawktrailschools.org/
Location: 808 Cape Street, Ashfield, MA, USA
Phone: (413) 628-4404
Facebook: facebook.com/SandersonAcademy