Weekly Newsletter
October 28, 2021
News from Principal Emma Liebowitz
On Thursday, November 4 and Friday, November 5 we will dismiss at 12:30 for parent-teacher conferences. Pick-up time will be 12:25 and buses will load at 12:30. If you have not scheduled a conference with your child(ren)'s teacher please contact her to set up a time.
Events/Calendar:
Thursday, October 28 - Sugar Rush 5K in the morning (gather at 9:45 for a 10:00 start)
Thursday, October 28 - Costume Parade (Outside at 2:00) and Celebrations
Monday, November 1 - No School for Students - Staff Professional Development Day
Tuesday, November 2 - Picture Retakes
Thursday, November 4 - 12:30 Dismissal for Caregiver-Teacher Conferences
Friday, November 5 - 12:30 Dismissal for Caregiver-Teacher Conferences
Thursday, November 11 - No School
Saturday, November 13 - Local Goods Distribution Day
Wednesday, November 17 - 1:50 Dismissal
Wednesday, November 24 - 12:30 Dismissal
Thursday, November 25 and Friday, November 26 - No School
Wednesday, December 1 - 1:50 Dismissal
Link to Sanderson Academy calendar.
News from the Office
G&B Photography will be at school on Tuesday Nov 2, 2021 from 9:30 - 11:00 for picture retakes.
NEWS FROM THE CAFETERIA: FOOS SUPPLY SHORTAGE
As you may be aware, Sanderson Academy is currently faced with unprecedented shortages of food and packaging materials, massive delays/cancellations of deliveries, and department labor shortages. Nationwide shortages and delays have affected availability of certain food items, leading to substitutions of menu items we’ve been able to offer regularly in the past. These supply issues are occurring throughout the country and are especially challenging for school systems, due to the quantity of meals we serve and the nutrition standards we follow.
All of this means that we may need to make quick substitutions to our menu based upon what we are able to acquire. We know that this affects students, and we are doing our best to provide updates about menu changes when possible as soon as we identify an issue.
With that all being said, a lot of the days there will not be enough for students to have seconds. So I suggest maybe sending in an extra snack with your child.
Health Office News from Nurse Loranna
We have launched our pool testing program with great success! We have 2 lovely retired nurses who will be coming in to help do the testing with the Medical Reserve Corp. This week they even dressed in funny costumes inspired by Halloween around the corner and both have commented how nice it is to see the kiddos and be helping out our community. We will be doing pooled testing on Tuesday mornings from now on. "Pooled testing involves mixing several test samples together in a “batch” or “pool,” and then testing the pooled sample with a diagnostic PCR test for detection of SARS-CoV-2. This approach increases the number of individuals that can be tested using the same amount of laboratory resources as a single PCR test." (mass.gov) Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions at all. I am happy to help. If you would like to sign your child up you still can- here is the link- https://www.cic-health.com/consent/ma?district=Mohawk%20Trail Click on Consent Now. Choose your student’s school in the drop down menu. Click on Sign Consent Form For a Minor
***The online consent also includes the test and stay program for any school close contacts as well as symptomatic testing in the event someone has symptoms develop while in school (which then may need follow up with a pcr test)- we are still asking to please keep your child home if they are unwell and reach out to me for guidance at lalmeida@mtrsd.org. We must work as a team to keep our school and community healthy and thriving. Thank you! ***
Library News from Ms. Robin Wilson
In the Library This Week
Students in Pre-K and Kindergarten read The Biggest Pumpkin Ever, by Steven Kroll. It was about two mice who unknowingly care for the same pumpkin until it grows to the size of a house! We had fun talking about problems the mice would have with a pumpkin that big. In 1-3 grade, we read Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds (a decidedly NOT-creepy story) and students created their own creepy carrots to bring home. In 4-6 grade, we read Funny Bones by Duncan Tonatiuh, a book about Guadalupe Posada, the Mexican artist responsible for creating the Calaveras (skulls) that are often seen during Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations.
Scholastic Book Fair 2021
The Sanderson Library will be hosting a Scholastic Book Fair this year, both in-person and online. The Scholastic Book Fair is a fundraiser for our school that gives back a percentage of all Fair sales to be used for new books or supplies. The in-person Book Fair will be held in the Library from November 2 - 5. During this week, your student will have two chances to browse the Fair with their class. During the first visit, students will create “wish lists” of their favorite books from the Fair, which they will bring home to share with families. On their second visit to the Fair, students will be able to purchase books with money brought from home. Check your student’s backpack on Thursday for more information.
The Book Fair will also be open during Parent-Teacher Conferences:
Thursday, 11/4 from 12:30 - 8:00
Friday, 11/4 from 12:30 - 5:00.
Online shopping will take place from 11/2 - 11/14.
Cash, check, credit card, or eWallet funds will be accepted at the Fair.Scholarships are also available, so please contact the office or Robin Wilson if you would like one for your student.
To set up an eWallet or shop online, please visit www.scholastic.com/fair.
If you are interested in volunteering to help with the book fair, please contact Robin Wilson at rwilson@mtrsd.org. Thanks for your consideration!
Preschool News from Mrs. Freeman
In October, there is always Halloween excitement in preschool! This week preschoolers have been talking about their experiences at home decorating pumpkins, carving jack-o-lanterns, and the costumes they will wear on Halloween. Our classroom projects and activities kept with this theme. We practiced using scissors to cut out pumpkin shapes, learned a rhyme about 5 little pumpkins, and read many related books. Even our dramatic play area was transformed into a costume shop where preschoolers learned about the roles of shopkeepers and customers, as well as practiced sharing and turn taking. The photo shows some costume shop fun!
Preschool News from Ms. Melanie
Halloween is definitely in the air! Our apple dolls are done and on display for a few days in the lobby. What a festive bunch they are, all dressed up in their costumes! We have enjoyed a variety of pumpkin themed activities—from decorating a glitter “Fairy Pumpkin” to take home, reading many Halloween-inspired books, and guessing how many tiny pumpkins were in a big glass pumpkin jar (our answers ranged from 3 to 16!). We made a graph to chart our results and three of us guessed the correct number—there were eight. On another day, we carved a real pumpkin and dug out all the seeds. We took turns guessing how many seeds were in the gooey pile we made. We counted them together—putting them in piles of ten to make it easier--and there were 285! What a lot of seeds for a little sugar pumpkin!
Kindergarten News from Ms. Sarah
We did a Halloween poem this week:
“Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate. First one said, “Oh my, it’s getting late.” Second one said, “There are witches in the air.” Third one said, “But we don’t care.” Fourth one said, “Let’s run and run and run.” Fifth one said, “Let’s have some Halloween fun.” Then swoosh went the wind and out went the lights, And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.”
We practiced retelling the poem with puppets. We then made an illustration for our favorite part of the poem. To celebrate Halloween, we are making Jello spiders with pretzel stick legs and raisin eyes after the costume parade! And our Fun Friday craft will be a shape and counting review as we make Mystery Pumpkin Faces.
First Grade News from Mrs. Wyckoff
Over the next two weeks we will use the story How to Make an Apple Pie and See The World by Marjorie Priceman for our mentor text. We will use this book to help us identify the setting and how it can change throughout a story. Our mentor text will also guide us in learning about nouns and some new vocabulary such as ingredients, churn, spoiled, orchard and harvest. To add some fun to our day, first graders worked together to make an apple pie! First graders peeled, cored, sliced and mixed ingredients to prepare our pie. The apple pie will be enjoyed just after our parade on Thursday! Of course, the apple pie isn’t complete without ice cream!
Second Grade News from Ms. Robertson
In anticipation of the 5K Sugar Rush and our Halloween costume parade and celebration on Thursday, the fall theme of pumpkins has been interwoven into our lessons during the past week. We read aloud the book Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell and then compared how apples and pumpkins are alike and different using a Venn diagram. We also read an autumn poem called “Pumpkin” and used this poem to review rhyming words and the silent e rule. We discussed how the silent e at the end of a word has the important job of making the first vowel in the word say its name and then made a list of words that belong to the -ine word family, such as pine, vine, and twine. The life cycle of the pumpkin and what happens to a pumpkin as it decomposes were the focus as we read and discussed October issues of Scholastic News entitled “Giant Pumpkin” and “Rotten Science”.
Third Grade News from Ms. Carole
During our afternoon reading group times, we have recently been working on fluency. We do this through a program called “Reader’s Theater,” which is a series of short plays the students read through in small groups. After a number of seated readings, they loosely block it out on our classroom stage, and then they do a live reading in front of their classmates. This approach to fluency has been very helpful so far since students need to read their parts over many times. We know that repeated reading leads to more fluent reading, and this is a fun way to do it. Ask your third grader if he/she has seen a play put on by other third graders recently!
We have also been working on our cursive this year, and we have a number of letters figured out so far. This skill is a fun challenge for the kids, and most of them are enjoying practicing their cursive in other places as well.
This Monday we enjoyed making Halloween bats, pumpkins, and ghosts with our preschool buddies. It is wonderful to see the third graders being helpful and thoughtful when given the opportunity to take care of younger friends.
Last Friday we had a super trip to the Quabbin Reservoir. We learned about both the history and the present-day of the area, and we toured a number of different places. If you’re looking for a fun, outdoorsy family day trip, there are a lot more sites on the north-eastern side of the reservoir we weren’t able to see that your third grader would probably enjoy. It’s super for picnics, walks, and bike rides.
Fourth Grade News From Mrs. Lagoy
As our study of the Northeast Region gets underway, we are learning so much about the land and water of the region. This week we learned all about the two Great Lakes that border our region. Be sure to ask your kiddo to tell you which lakes those are and anything we learned about them. Hopefully they’ll be able to tell you all about the Erie Canal and Niagara Falls. Throughout this unit, students will be reading an informational packet, identifying main ideas and supporting details, taking two-column notes, and then showing what they have learned in a scrapbook. The students seem engaged, not only in the content of what they’re reading, but also in the process of how we are learning.
Ffith Grade News from Ms. Johnson
Fifth grade students have been wrapping up some units. In social studies, students have been orally presenting what they have learned about the formation of the thirteen colonies, including a visual they created to represent an aspect of what they have learned. They finished the first theme in ELA that was titled Nature’s Fury and tied to our science unit about the water cycle which is also wrapping up shortly. Students did the final project which was a water filtration challenge. In writing, students are meeting with the teachers to do some final edits and revisions on their free-verse poems. And in math, we recently finished our first unit about expressions, equations, and volume.
Sixth Grade News from Mrs. Schreiber
Sixth grade has been learning about the paleolithic and neolithic eras. Part of this study has been a look at evidence that social scientists use to learn about the past. One approach is to look at cave art. We looked at the types of images that were represented in the art as well as photographs of those animals. We then tried to create the art ourselves to create theories of the purpose of the art (religious, ceremonial, entertainment, etc.). Many examples of cave art are found in the dark depths of caves away from areas used for daily living according to other evidence. So we have discussed how the cave paintings may have looked by fire light. Students then tried to draw the animals looking at the photographs on white paper. We then tried to paint them on crumpled paper to represent the cave walls.
News from Ms. Prew
Within math learning there are two important kinds of standards: content and math practice. Content-based standards are about things like addition, subtraction, area, and exponents. Math practice standards are about the characteristics of a math learner. Take a look at the image below which describes the 8 math practice standards and gives you a sense of what they mean. In the coming weeks I will explain the math practices with more detail and let you know how our very own Sanderson students are applying these practices!
News from Ms. Sue
Hello & Happy Halloween!!! This week in Mindful Movement it was all about the parts of our bodies! Can you name a part of your body with the 1st letter of your first and/or last name? (Sue Fuller) S for skin and F for foot! Well I can tell you that I surely appreciate my skin and without my feet I would not be able to get from one place to another. Being grateful and thankful for ALL of our body parts is a great way to begin and end the day! Have a safe and fun Halloween night...
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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