ATC October Newsletter
2015
Upcoming Important Dates
October 20th - Picture Day!
October 22nd - Grade 7 Challenge 6PM (All families invited)
October 23rd - Wear Blue for ATC pride / Kindness March
October 23rd - Second Round of Parent Conferences (Early Release)
October 27th - Site Council Meeting
October 29th - Progress Reports Issued for grades 6/7
October 30th - Final Round of Fall Parent Conferences (Early Release)
November 3rd - No School (Teacher Professional Development)
November 11th - No School (Veteran's Day)
November 20-22 - Seussical the Musical
November 25th - Early Release
November 26th, 27th - No School (Thanksgiving)
Kindness Week
On Wednesday, Jackie Lamont from the District Attorney's office will be speaking to the students as part of a preventative outreach program focused on cyber-bullying and internet awareness. Students will learn ways to ensure they are safe online and will also be educated on how to report and identify any negative behavior they see while using social media or various websites. Over 60% of our fourth grade students reported they spent at least 1-3 hours online each night and we are hopeful a proactive approach to ensuring students do so in a safe manner will have long-lasting, positive effects.
Below: Students participated in a mix-it-up lunch today and enjoyed interacting with new friends. Each child was given a number and sat at that table. Topics of discussion were provided and students learned a little more about their peers.
Student Council
The new student council members are as follows:
Grade 4 representatives: Devin Barnett, Lillian Sullivan, and Sage Calinda.
Grade 5 representatives: Joel Johnson, Kaylin Barry, Emma Holmes.
Grade 6: Secretary, Hunter Kennedy; Treasurer, Sean Montgomery; Vice President, Ty Calinda; President, Daniel Tracy.
Grade 7: Secretary, Nick Drevos, Treasurer, Grace Galuris; Vice President, Ava Alioto; President, Bobby Hubert.
Curriculum Updates
Grade 4
The fourth grade students are currently using place value to look for and make sense of structure while comparing, adding, subtracting, and estimating with whole numbers. In Writer’s Workshop, the students are continuing their work on the personal narrative and will be publishing their first piece! English Language arts / reading lessons have been targeted towards literary elements and plot. Science / social studies lessons have been focused on studying landforms and United States geography.
Grade 5
The fifth grade students are currently learning place value and multi-digit multiplication in math; adaptations and classification for science; conflict and resolution with Storytown; personal narratives for Writer’s Workshop.
Grade 6
The sixth grade students are currently learning how to perform operations with fractions, including multiplication, division and addition. They are also working on how to answer open response questions in mathematics. In ELA and Social Studies students are concluding their interdisciplinary study of the Stone Age. This will include finishing the historical fiction novel
Maroo of the Winter Caves, culminating activities and assessments for comprehension and vocabulary, journal writing and text-based character analysis. In science, students are continuing their exploration of the geology and processes that shape our Earth.
Grade 7
The seventh grade students are…learning about physical, political, and human geography from all around the world in the social studies classes.
ELA:
Ms. Sarnelli and Ms. Dunn are focusing on Standards 1-4 of the Common Core this trimester, so we are practicing using evidence from the reading to support analysis, summarizing, and using context clues to determine the meaning of unknown words. Ms. Sarnelli’s classes are practicing these standards through reading Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, and Mrs. Dunn’s classes are reading Gone (periods 3 and 5) and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (period 4). Lots of interesting discussions are happening!
Math:
Mr. Barrett and Ms. Hinrichs are working on adding and subtracting rational numbers and then moving on to multiplying and dividing rational numbers. By the beginning of November, we will be finishing up our module on rational number operations and applications and moving on to proportional relationships and percent, which is where the accelerated class currently is.Teacher Spotlight - Mrs. Grayson
Overcoming cancer last year, Mrs. Grayson was a true inspiration to our community as she modeled the hope and resilience we strive to instill in our students. Read her interview HERE as highlighted on the Dana Farber blog. She is recognized this month during Kindness Week for her lifelong commitment to learning and her dedication to always making decisions based on what is best for kids.
Below: Mrs. Grayson and one of her students having a blast last year during field day.
The Arthur T. Cummings School
Where Learning Has No Limit!
Principal Ryan Heraty
Email: rheraty@winthrop.k12.ma.us
Website: www.cummings.winthrop.k12.ma.us
Location: 40 Hermon Street, Winthrop, MA, United States
Phone: 617-846-5543