Cluster 6 Newsletter
May 14, 2023
Greeting families and caregivers!
8th graders are getting ready for some end of the year celebrations. Our 8th Grade Party is the night of Thursday, June 15 and our graduation ceremony and awards are on Friday, June 16 in the morning.
Thank you to the PTO for the kind and thoughtful Teacher Appreciation Week goodies!
English
Students are well-into their book groups for our final unit in ELA. They have created reading calendars and contracts, examined character traits and developments, and charted plot moments as they prep for their final presentation. The book groups will be working on a video “Book Trailer” to culminate their reading of the novel. Ask your student about their progress.
For the next few weeks, students will be taking Math MCAS, Science MCAS, Reading I-ready, and Math I-ready testing. So many tests! We’re hopeful that students will come to school well-rested and with a confident, positive mind. A message we like to share with students in school that you may wish to share with them at home is to, “Show what you know. Let these tests represent your TRUE ACADEMIC-SELF.”
We are so excited as the end of the school year ends- 24 days and counting. It is our goal to have our students make the most of their waning days of middle school!
Please reach out with any questions or concerns. And be on the lookout for LOTS of information regarding end-of-year activities.
Civics
Our Civics students are continuing their work on their Civic Action Projects. 8th graders are writing emails to people who have the power to make the change they want to see. We will start creating our slideshows highlighting our background research, email results and action plans for the future. Your student has the chance to inform and empower their classmates to take action to make our communities strong. Students will make their CAP presentations May 30-June 2.
CAP learning targets:
- I can choose a group of people who want to make the same change as me, and who will help me to achieve my goal
- I can write a professional email to request action.
- I can create an informative and inspirational presentation.
We took a break from Civic Action Projects this past week for our Justice in Action mini-unit. Students reviewed their knowledge of the Supreme Court and the Judicial Branch, then learned about landmark government actions including Supreme Court cases, laws and Constitutional Amendments. Students practiced their slideshow creation and speaking skills, getting ready for their bigger CAP presentations later this month.
Justice in Action Learning Targets:
- I can read and understand text about Supreme Court cases and legislation.
- I can share information with my classmates.
- I can understand how government decisions expanded or restricted rights throughout American history.
Math
Both the 8th Grade Math and Algebra classes have been mixing in practice MCAS problems over the last month or so. We believe we have covered all of our bases on every standard required, and we are ready to go for math MCAS on Monday and Tuesday! Please encourage your 8th-grader to get some good sleep Saturday, Sunday, and Monday nights, and to absolutely be sure to eat breakfast each morning. These are essential for having good focus and clarity as they work through MCAS testing.
Aside from the MCAS practice, the 8th grade math class just yesterday completed their final standard to be covered for the year - two-way tables and percents. After MCAS we will work on a couple of projects to highlight what we've learned.
The Algebra class has completed the vast majority of standards, and will wrap up with factoring and graphing quadratics. These students are in a great position to move on to Geometry next year, and Algebra 2 for 10th grade!
Science
We are working at a fast pace through our Physics Unit. Next week we will wrap up our final topic of the unit: Newton’s Laws of Motion. After we quiz on Newton’s Laws, we’ll have some review time to prepare for the Physics Unit Test, scheduled for Tuesday, May 30. The unit test will cover all the content from this unit, starting with how to measure and describe motion and ending with Newton’s Laws of Motion. The content we have covered this term should give students a strong foundation to help make their transition to 9th grade physics a successful one.
Extra study materials for the unit test can be found linked here: Review Materials for Physics Unit
Links to other Smores
Specialist Smore
Use this link to see updates from your students' specialist teachers on their classes!
Reading Smore
Use this link to see updates from the reading teachers on their classes!
Wilson Reading Smore
Here is the link for the Wilson Reading Smore with Ms. Sorenson
English Learner Smore
Check here for updates from our English Language Development teachers Ms. Rix, Ms. Gilmartin, Ms. Campos, and Ms. Schoenbeck.
Contact Info
Mr Cloherty, Guidance: thomas.cloherty@watertown.k12.ma.us
Ms Kiernan, Special Education: kathleen.kiernan@watertown.k12.ma.us
Mr Manoukian, Math: aram.manoukian@watertown.k12.ma.us
Ms P-K, Science: katherine.poulinkerstien@watertown.k12.ma.us
Ms Rix, English Language Development: zara.rix@watertown.k12.ma.us
Ms Shock, Civics: laura.shock@watertown.k12.ma.us