Cluster 2 Newsletter
September 9, 2022
Hello Parents, Guardians, and Caregivers,
Welcome to Watertown Middle School! We have enjoyed getting to know your children this week and can’t wait for the year ahead. Be on the lookout every other Friday for our biweekly newsletter. A few notes for the upcoming weeks:
All students now have their Chromebooks! Please be sure they are being charged every evening so that your learner can access course materials and complete assignments.
Save the Date: Open house will be held on September 22nd
Picture day is September 19th
Students may bring a small snack to eat during advisory (please no candy/soda).
Here is a link to the specialist Smore.
Best,
ELA
Ms. Conceison ELA
Welcome to 6th grade! It has been lovely getting to know your children over the course of the past couple of days. They are friendly, happy, and ready to learn! Thank you for all you did to help prepare them for their transition to middle school. This week in ELA we spent time getting to know one another; students worked with a partner to introduce one another to the rest of the class using Google Slides. We have also been spending time building community, discussing expectations, and getting to know one another. Next week in English, all students school wide will be taking the iReady reading diagnostic. Please remind your child to bring an independent reading book to school next week and eat a nourishing breakfast; let's have an awesome year!
Ms. Murphy ELA
Hello! Welcome to ELA! It’s been a pleasure meeting each of your students! This week students have been spending time getting to know each other while also learning about Language Live. Language Live is an evidence-based program we will be utilizing in this class to continue building reading, reading comprehension and writing skills. This program combines an online component with non-digital formats integrating both a word study platform and text study platform. This week, students have been introduced to Language Live, received their login names and passwords, and have taken an assessment. Additionally, students are becoming familiar with classroom routines and procedures. We have a great group and I look forward to working with each of your students!
ELD
Welcome or welcome back middle school students! Expanding ELD is the last level we offer before students move on to general English classes. This week, ELD 4 students brainstormed classroom norms, introduced themselves to me and to each other, and reviewed class schedules and school norms. Next week, students will take the first of three i-Ready reading diagnostic tests they will take this year, and they will do a short writing assessment for me.
Math
Hello! Welcome to math class! Students have spent the first week orienting themselves in the school and math class. We’re going through expectations and routines and getting to know each other. Next week, students will be taking their first i-Ready diagnostic assessment. This helps us place students in the correct support or enrichment classes. Please encourage your students to try their best on i-Ready.
At WMS, we utilize the Desmos curriculum for math. The Desmos math curriculum helps students express their brilliance every day. Every student is brilliant, but not every student feels brilliant in math class. Desmos has designed their curriculum to put students’ ideas at its center. The lessons pose problems that invite a variety of approaches. The Desmos technology helps teachers celebrate and promote interesting thinking in their classrooms. As we progress through the Desmos curriculum, we will be posting a useful link to Family Resources which will enable families to preview our upcoming unit on Area and Surface Area.
Science
9/9/22 cluster 2
Sixth Grade Scientists are adjusting to their new laboratory (classroom). They played a variety of cooperative icebreakers like the Cup Challenge and made towers out of index cards. Ask them about it! We also discussed lab safety so we will be prepared for our first experiment next week involving the topic of metric volume! Students will need one folder dedicated to only Science class. They will keep the folder in the classroom. Any homework will be placed in the Homework Folder to be taken home. If a student wants to bring the Science Folder home, they may (but they must bring it to school the following day). I look forward to our year of learning together! Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
Social Studies
Welcome to Social Studies! This week we’ve started our study of the 7 continents and 5 oceans which will culminate with a labeling quiz on the 15th. Students can study by using an online labeling game on Google Classroom. Over the next couple weeks we’ll investigate the world’s imaginary lines, latitude and longitude, as well as how to interpret different map types.