March was a cold and long month. The students all worked extremely hard to stay focused. I am very proud of each and every one of them!
Math: All students finished the fraction unit that included simplifying fractions, making equivalent fractions, comparing fractions and understanding fractions of a set. Everyone was determined to comprehend and demonstrate their understanding of fractions. They did a great job! In addition to fractions, they worked on their problem solving skills, using all four operations as well as creating their own word problems for the class. Higher level thinking strategies were exercised to achieve these goals.
Social Studies: In Social Studies, we finished comparing the Pilgrims and the Puritans and are now in the beginning stages of the American Revolution. The Boston Massacre, and The Boston Tea Party have been introduced and the students have been busy creating interactive learning tools.
ELA – English Language Arts
All the students were excited about figurative language. We discussed similes, metaphors, hyperboles, and idioms. Non-literal language in comparison to literal language was taught with a little help from Amelia Bedelia. She is a character in a series of children’s books that does not understand the difference. They had a ball, locating and depicting the figurative language. MCAS begins on Monday, April 3rd. They are all prepared, as we have been working all year. An all-school pep rally was held on Friday and we had multiple discussions as to what to expect. They will shine!
Science Our class has been working hard with Forces and Interactions. They have been using spring scales to propel an object. They had to calculate the Newton and predict how far the object would travel. In addition, they learned that friction impacts how the object will travel. Magnetism is another force they are experimenting with. Learning that magnets have two poles and that they can either repel or attract to one another was a fun experiment. The students love going into the Science lab and working with hands on curriculum.
STEM NIGHT: STEM Night, sponsored by the Whitin PTO will be held this Friday, April 7th. Please register beforehand to ensure everyone will have their “Spy Badge” ready for admission. This should prove to be an exciting and enjoyable family night. Thank you PTO, you are the best! Making learning fun even outside of school hours!!
Wee Deliver: We have new postal workers. The second group of workers are “retired” for the year and giving other students the opportunity to be employed. The school has sent over 2,000 letters. This program not only promotes letter writing, it is a Whitin community outreach. Just another example why Whitin Elementary School is a great place to learn.
REVISED: MCAS 2.0 DATES:
READING – April 3-5
Make up – April 7
Math –May 4 & 8 Make-Up May 9
REMINDER: Toys are only allowed to be brought in on Spirit Days. They are allowed to play with them during Recess only.