What's Happening in Cluster 5?
------JANUARY 2024---- Monthly S'more
Cluster Announcements
Term 2 Progress reports are updated in Powerschool. Please reach out to teachers or advisors with any questions or concerns.
I-Ready Mid-year assessments are scheduled for Monday, January 29th (math) and Tuesday, January 30th (ELA). Please encourage your student to "Show what they know" and make sure that the I-Ready scores "Represent their TRUE academic- self."
Here is a link for our YEARLONG SCHOOL CALENDAR
Cluster 5 and 6 WISHLIST for classroom supplies
How to support your child in 8th grade...
-Work on ways to get organized- created routines and expectations for the day.
-Make sure the chromebook is charging each evening.
-Email teachers with any concerns (you can find email addresses at bottom of this S'More).
Science with Ms. Elissa Willoughby
Jan 26, 2024
We are wrapping up our genetics unit in the next few weeks and are learning our last bits of new content now. Our last quiz will be on sections 3.3/3.4/4.1 and will take place on Friday, January 26. We will complete a short project about dragon genetics that will help us review the entire term's content. The unit test is scheduled for Thursday, February 1, and Friday, February 2. Our last learning objectives for this unit are below. Please remind and encourage your child to continue reviewing and studying during the week before the test.
Pedigrees
I can explain how genetic disorders are caused by DNA mutations and can be passed to offspring.
- I can use and create pedigrees to follow the inheritance of a trait through a family.
English/Language Arts with Mr. Daniel Skop
JANUARY
We are well into the month of January and students have managed the cold weather, short daylight hours, and slippery conditions like champions. However, personally, I cannot wait for spring.
In ELA class, we are really impressed with our students' Narrative Writing Unit. For several weeks, we will be asking students to read mentor texts, complete prewriting activities (as a means to brainstorm for their own writing), draft a short writing piece, and share our work with others. This process has been working well and students are building their skills around narrative writing components. Please ask your child about their “mini-writes.” There is so much to be proud of in the google drive!
The mini-write unit will last for the next few weeks- culminating in a “Cross-Cluster ShareOut” in the library. Students crushed this format with our Mini-Sagas last month so we are thrilled to have the opportunity to do it again with our narratives.
Just a reminder about the ELA policy regarding the method by which grades are tracked through the semester. All assignments are assigned through google classroom. Each student is a member of a specific (class color) ELA roster in the classroom. The assignments are all graded on a scale of 0-4 and the grades are represented as follows in GOOGLE CLASSROOM:
4.0= Mastery/Exceeds Expectations
3.0= Proficient/ Meets Expectations
2.0= Approaching Proficiency/Partially Meets Expectations
1.0= Developing/ Some Understanding (with support)
0 Not Meeting Expectation (often an assignment that hasn’t been completed).
-When the grades are transferred into the powerschool portal and calculated into an overall grade, the “Marzano” grade conversion is used to turn the 0- 4 into a percentage. This is not simply changing the fraction into a decimal (not ¾= .75), but rather assigning a percentage to each number. The conversions are as follows: 4.0= 100%, 3.5= 95%, 3.0= 90%, 2.5= 80%, 2.0= 70%, 1.5= 65%, 1.0=60%, 0= 50%.
***In this grading policy, a student will not receive a grade less than a 50% on any assignment- thus making the grade ranges more level in value.
-As always, if you have any questions or concerns about your 8th grader in ELA, please initiate a conversation by emailing me at daniel.skop@watertown.k12.ma.us
Take care.
Math with Mr. Eddie Cafua
Algebra 1: We have been discussing slopes and how to find the slope of a line. In addition, students have been working on graphing equations. We have graphed parabolas, linear equations, absolute value equations and square root functions. We have also been relating slope to speed and how speed can be represented as the slope of a line. As we continue through this chapter we will be working on systems of equations. This is when two linear equations interact with each other on a coordinate grid.
8th Grade Math: We have been spending a lot of time on solving equations. At this point all students have solved one-step, two-step and multi-step equations. We have also been working on solving equations that have one solution, no solutions and infinite solutions. As we continue through this unit we will be working on systems of equations. This is when two linear equations interact with each other on a coordinate grid. The students will also learn how to solve systems of equations using substitution.
Civics with Ms. Karen Kline (and Ms. Ascrizzi)
January 24, 2024
Congratulations to the winners of our Martin Luther King, Jr. essay contest! We’re so proud of the work that students did to share their stories. Here are our top five finishers:
1st place: Marie Toure
2nd place: Athena Crespo
3rd place: Aideen O’Mahony
Honorable Mentions: Manha Rahman and Daphne Goldstein
Our top three finishers had the opportunity to share their essays with the WMS community during our wonderful MLK Assemblies, led and organized by Ms. Shock’s Kingian Principles WIN class. In addition, Marie Toure was asked to share her essay at the World in Watertown’s Unity Breakfast on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. If you’d like to read more about the Unity Breakfast that celebrated the values and legacy of Dr. King in our beloved Watertown community, here’s an excellent article from the Watertown News: https://www.watertownmanews.com/2024/01/18/unity-breakfast-honors-refugee-support-group-local-activists-during-2024-mlk-day-event/.
In Civics, we’ve had a strong start to our “Founding Documents” unit. Students started the unit by reviewing and learning about Colonial American history and geography. Ask them about why the colonists were angry with the British Government (the answer is that the British Parliament began taking away self-government and passing taxes without giving the colonists representation in the Parliament, just in case you need a refresher!). Students interpreted the Declaration of Independence, including the most famous quote from the Declaration, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Since our 8th grade class focuses on government, we only have a bit of time for American history, so your child will learn much more detail about the Revolution next year in 9th grade history class.
The Constitution is the next document we’ll focus on. We’ll do a close reading and annotation of its text, compare it to the Massachusetts state constitution, and learn about the rights given to us in the amendments to the Constitution, especially the Bill of Rights. We will also learn about the Native Americans who were here before the European colonists and learn how the democratic practices of the Iroquois Confederacy provided a real life model for the writers of the Constitution.
Current learning targets:
I can name and explain the purposes of government listed in the Preamble to the Constitution
I can closely read the US Constitution to name its important articles and sections, and identify the structures of government it sets up.
I can closely read a section of the U.S. Constitution, and teach my classmates about its key ideas by creating annotations.
I can compare the United States Constitution to the Massachusetts state constitution to find similarities and differences.
FROM Ms. Ascrizzi-
Meg G- Special Education Liaison and Language-Based English
Hello WMS families,
My name is Megan Griffin, and I am the Special Education Liaison and Language-Based English Teacher for Cluster 5 this school year. I have been working in the district for twelve years. I have a love for teaching 8th grade, as I find joy in witnessing the significant growth of the students throughout the year and helping them foster independence before they transition to high school. Beyond the classroom, I enjoy spending my free time with my 11-year-old shepherd, retriever, and hound mix named Chance. My other passions are cooking, travel, and my love-hate relationship with the game of golf. Falmouth, Massachusetts, particularly during the summers, holds a special place in my heart where I’ve shared many cherished family memories at the beach.
I look forward to coaching my fifth outdoor track season this spring and spending the second week of June with some of the 8th graders in Washington, D.C.
Go Eagles!
English Language Development (ELD) S'more page
Click this link for more information on the English Language Development classes.
Reading Specialist S'more page
Special classes S'more page
World Language Dept. S'more page
Contact staff directly
Edward.Cafua@watertown.k12.ma.us - MATH
Karen.Kline@watertown.k12.ma.us - CIVICS
Sheila.Gilmartin@watertown.k12.ma.us - EL
Brian.Donato@watertown.k12.ma.us - SPECIAL EDUCATION / MATH
Megan.Griffin@watertown.k12.ma.us - SPECIAL EDUCATION/ELA
Daniel.Skop@watertown.k12.ma.us - ENGLISH
Christine.Sorenson@watertown.k12.ma.us - READING
Elissa.Willoughby@watertown.k12.ma.us - SCIENCE
Amanda.Skypeck@watertown.k12.ma.us - GUIDANCE COUNSELOR
Website: https://wms.watertown.k12.ma.us/