April News
ATC Principal's Newsletter
Important Dates
Please note the following important dates:
April 2 - MCAS begins for Grades 4 and 7 (Long Composition)
April 3 - Early Release (Parent / Teacher Conferences)
April 3 - FUN FRIDAY - Birthday Party Theme
April 7,8 - MCAS Grades 4,7 ELA
April 9,10 - MCAS Grades 5,6 ELA
April 12 - Wellness Week 5K (Sign-up link on website)
April 14 - PTO Meeting 6:30PM
April 15 - Family Yoga Night
April 16 - Full Court Frenzy (High School) 6-8PM
April 17 - Early Release (Parent / Teacher Conferences)
April 20-24 - Spring Vacation
April 28 - Site Council Meeting 3PM
Full Court Frenzy!
Starting on February 13th, we challenged our students to read more than ever. With our Scholastic Reading Counts assessment system, we have closely tracked the reading habits of our students. In this short time period, fifth grade has read over 16 million words and 500 books! Fourth grade has read over 11 million words and 700 books! Sixth and seventh grade have also been reading voraciously.
On April 16th at 6PM, students will be playing the teachers in a Full Court Frenzy in the high school gymnasium to celebrate our literacy achievements! Please come out and support our students and community. Tickets will be sold at the door for $3 / person with a $10 limit for families. Proceeds will go towards our commitment to building classroom libraries. A HUGE thank you goes out to the PTO for their support of this event!
Below: Students gathered in February to learn the rules of the literacy event.
Our PTO is the best!
Yearbooks on Sale
Band Competition
Congratulations to our band on an excellent performance at King Philip Regional High School in the MICCA Competition. The students performed three pieces and then participated in a clinic to receive feedback in a positive and supportive way. Our students represented the ATC with a great deal of class and pride and came home with a beautiful plaque that will be displayed proudly in our school.
Below: A lot of hard work went into the band's performance including a mock concert which included feedback from guest judges.
Teacher Spotlight
This month we celebrate Mrs. McGunigle! As a strong teacher-leader and motivator, Mrs. McGunigle was one of driving forces behind our literacy initiative over the past two months. She is a passionate advocate for children and expert in literacy. These attributes, combined with a positive outlook on life, make her a tremendous asset to our school.
I had the opportunity to ask Mrs. McGunigle a few questions:
How many years have you been in the classroom and what subjects have you taught?
This is my 26th year teaching in Winthrop. I was a third grade teacher for 20 years and a have spent the last 6 as a reading specialist.
What interesting things should people know about Mrs. McGunigle?
I grew up in Winthrop. I went to the Willis Elementary School (which was torn down and is now the Cummings) the middle school, and graduated from Winthrop High School. Arthur T. Cummings was my principal in elementary school and he was my first principal when I started teaching.
What advice do you have for new / aspiring teachers?
I would tell new teachers that teaching can be an exhausting but rewarding job. Always find a way to connect with each individual student in your class. When you take the time to get to know them as people as well as students you build a strong relationship of trust and respect.
What do you like to do for fun / enjoyment outside of school?
For fun, I love to read. I always like to be reading something that helps me to be a better teacher. I also belong to a book club with some friends which introduces me to new books and authors I may have never known. I also like to run. I run early in the morning. I find it helps me to clear my head and prepare for the day. I'm looking forward to a warm sunny Spring and Summer.
On the weekends I like spending time with friends and family. Lately, my husband Paul and have been spending a lot of time watching our teenage sons, Paul and Brian, participate in many different sports.
CORE Values Postcards
Curriculum Updates
Grade 4
ELA - Students recently completed their narrative essays and have been using dialogue, descriptive language, sensory details, and strong sequencing strategies to improve their writing. In reading, students are focusing on close reading to refer to text explicitly when describing what is said. Students are also working hard on character analysis and summarizing key events and details.
Math - Students are looking for and making use of structure as they apply and extend their previous understanding of multiplication to multiply fractions by whole numbers. They are also drawing and identifying lines and angles, and classifying shapes by properties of these lines and angles.
Science - Students are continuing their exploration of plants and animals.
Social Studies - Students are continuing their study of North America.
Grade 5
ELA - Students have been enjoying reading two great novels,
Tuck Everlasting and Loser as well as excerpts from StoryTown.
Math - Students are working hard on measurement and conversions in mathematics class. Decimals are next.
Science - Science from Scientists capped off the weather unit with some great hands-on lessons and we are beginning exploration of the water cycle.
Social Studies -
Grade 6
ELA - Students have been working on test-taking skills and techniques for the upcoming MCAS. They are also reading The Egypt Game in conjunction with the social studies unit on ancient Egypt.
Math - Math classes will be focusing on Area of quadrilaterals, triangles, & polygons. They will also be exploring nets, surface area & volume.
Science - Students are finishing their study of Earth Science, including volcanoes and geologic time periods. The next unit will be: classification.
Social Studies - Ancient Egypt is the foundation for current study. This unit will culminate with the annual Egypt Day which will be held on April 15th. On this day, students will dress like ancient Egyptians and bring in their Egyptian artifact projects. Egypt Day is one of the most memorable events of sixth grade!
Grade 7
ELA - Students are continuing their study of several novels while developing their persuasive and narrative writing skills. Students are becoming clear and coherent writers that develop work that is appropriate for their audience while integrating strong transitions and citing evidence.
Math - In seventh grade mathematics classes, students are in the depths of Geometry and all it has to offer. Teachers are targeting surface area and volume of three dimensional solids, such as prisms and cylinders. Students will also be looking into angle relationships and properties of different polygons and then move into statistics and probability. Here, students will be looking at data sets and samples and experimental and theoretical probability. They are simultaneously preparing for the math portion of the MCAS and teaching the students helpful testing strategies.
Science - Students will be involved in a microscope lab to view plant and animal cells. On April 10th two Whitehead Institute partners are coming in to give students presentations on their research on fruit flies and viruses. On April 25, a group of students will be heading to Kendall Square for Science Week activities. Genetics will be the next unit of study.
Social Studies - Geography classes will continue to travel the globe learning about physical and political geography, people, and culture from around the planet. The ATC 7th grade geography department just recently had the opportunity to rent a giant 35ftX25ft National Geographic floor map of the Pacific Ocean from Bridgewater State University's geography department to really enhance their curriculum!
Below: Khalil, one of our hardworking seventh grade students, explores the gigantic map in the music room.