December 18, 2014 Issue 2

Mickle Hornet News Crew

East Greenwich

School District

Extra! Extra! The Hornet News Room, Studio, and News Crew are buzzing each morning as students continue to read, write, and film our daily morning news show. It's a virtual beehive as our Crew readers, writers, editors, directors, and designers brainstorm and produce our video news show. In November, more than 30 new fifth and sixth grade News Crew members joined the hive. We will complete our first rotation of all Crew members in December. More than 100 fifth and sixth grade students will have earned their Hornet News credentials by working to produce a series of shows. During the week of 11/10-11/14 Mrs. Capasso’s and Ms. Stuis’ classes joined The News Crew to present daily segments featuring different branches of the service each day: 11/10- Army, 11/11- Coast Guard, 11/12 & 11/13- Navy, 11/14- Marines. The students dressed the part, provided props for the set, and shared important information they researched about each branch. This was a great addition to our Veterans Day Activities! The Hornet News Crew continues to update the students and staff on all upcoming events daily.

Winter Concert– Mickle: The sixth grade band and fourth grade choir chimes, under the direction of Mr. Gary Stocker, did an excellent job at the annual Winter Concert last Thursday evening, December 18

th . The performance was well attended by staff members, family, and

friends.

Winter Concert– Clark: The Jeffrey Clark Winter Program was held on Friday, December 19th. Each grade level, under the direction of Mrs. Ann Marie Corradetti and Ms. Janice Nieves performed for their teachers, family and friends.

MAP Testing– Beginning Wednesday, January 7th, students in grades 1-6 will be taking the Measures of

Academic Progress (MAP) test. The testing window will be open for approximately four weeks to allow for

every student to be tested. The MAP test assists with determining each student’s instructional level and aca-

demic growth capacity in the areas of Reading and Mathematics throughout the school year as well as past

and upcoming school years. MAP tests are unique in that they are computer-based assessments pro-

grammed to adapt to each student’s learning level. The test questions become more difficult the more ques-

tions your child answers correctly, and if the student incorrectly answers a question, the test becomes easier.

As a result, each child’s score is based off a test that was individually generated for his or her learning level.

Music News!

Winter MAP Testing

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In science we are learning about night and

day. In Social Studies we learned about

Thanksgiving. During math we continue to

learn to read and write numbers 1-10, also 1

more or 1 less. During reading we are learn-

ing letters Pp and Ss, how to blend sounds

together and the “A” word family, (at, am,

ap, an etc.)

Beginners

2nd Grade

1st Grade

Pre-School

We have introduced a new topic of study, “trees.” Students have been learning about the parts of a tree, how a tree grows, how trees benefit the Earth and living things, how to care for trees, observing the changes of the season/leaves etc. mixed with various leaf-themed ac-tivities.

We have also been reviewing how to form verti-cal and horizontal lines, drawing "Mat Man" (HWT curriculum) and name writing.

We have introduced forming and extending ba-sic patterns, sorting by attribute, measuring and comparing items, number recognition, and learning the alphabet. Second grade is learning about animal clas-

sification. In writing we will be working on Opinion writing. Students will learn about persuasive writing and will be working in groups to come up with an opinion piece. Language arts students will continue work-ing on the author's purpose of a text and identifying what the author wants to explain. In math we are beginning Chapter 4 with ad-dition strategies using estimation and adding up to three two-digit numbers.

Spanish– Ms. Ianotti

Students have been working on the family unit. The students are in the middle of creating family portraits while practicing fam-ily members in Spanish. Ms. Ianotti can’t wait to see all your wonderful families that will be dis-played all over the classroom soon!

ELA- We will be working on “How to” writing, short vowel sounds, blends and digraphs. We have been working on retelling stories and find-ing the main idea of a selection.

Math- Students are working on solving addition and subtraction problems up to 20.

Science- We will be learning about magnets and force and motion.

Social Studies- We learned about events that led to the celebration of holidays such as Veter-ans Day and the First Thanksgiving.

The Buzz in the

Classrooms...

Jeffery Clark artists were busy creating “Masterpiece” landscapes that embrace the col-ors of fall. Students are remarkably enthusiastic for art! The artists have just completed self por-traits and family portraits. This was a great ex-perience for students to learn about each other. It is amazing to see the great detail that students begin to put in their work at this age level. Sixth graders are gearing up as tradition to draw drag-ons for the design of their class t-shirt.

Art– Ms. Benedetto

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The Buzz in the Classrooms...

The beginners created their own password and avatar on MoreStarfall.com! They have been busy exploring their letters, numbers, and colors. Grades 1 & 2 have been working on their Microsoft Word skills including changing the font size and color, and adding clip art. They also created wonderful pro-jects in honor of Veteran’s Day!

Computers– Clark Physical Education– Clark

The first marking period of health and physical education at Jeffrey Clark was

exciting. Students participated in tag games, soc-cer, cooperative activities, and playground activi-ties. For health, the first month consisted of re-spect, Halloween safety, and wellness. Upcoming physical education activities include battleship, line bowling, team bowling, and hula hut bowl-ing. In health students will study nutrition and continue to work on wellness.

Beginners– students painted fall trees using cool colors for the background in watercolor. Then they painted a tree using black tem-pera paint, and learned how to paint the branches by using the letters "Y" and "V" for a similar reference to how the branches are shaped. They used red, orange, and yellow tempera paint for the leaves which they dabbed on with their paint brush. These are the warm colors. They have been learning the color wheel along with the warm and cool colors. First grade - students painted apple trees. They painted a blue background in watercolor for their sky. They learned how to do lights and darks with the blue color. Next, they used brown oil pastel for their trees and also referenced the letters "Y" and "V" to draw the branches. They used dark and light green oil pastels for the grass and yellow and orange tempera paints to make the bunches of leaves covering the branches. They did this by using sponges to dab the paint. This was the warm colors for the tree. Last, they used red tempera paint and cotton swabs to make the apples. Second grade— students painted fall trees. First they painted a blue sky background using lights and darks with watercolor and yellow, orange, and green for the hills. Next, they used a painting technique called "blow painting" to make their trees. This is done by blowing diluted black tempera paint with a straw. Every tree is unique. Lastly, they used red, orange, and yellow tem-pera paint with cotton swabs to dab in their leaves cov-ering the branches and falling to the ground. These projects took at least 3 classes to complete due to the drying time for each step. They all mastered each step of their projects and completed beautiful art-work. Ms. Traini is very proud of each of her artists!!!

Library– Clark

Winter is a great time to curl up with

a good book! Here’s what we have

planned this winter:

2nd graders will focus on nonfiction books

and what you can learn from captions,

diagrams, graphs and other text features.

1st Graders will focus on picture books, spe-

cifically those that have won a Caldecott

Medal or a Caldecott Honor Medal. We’ll

look at some of the things the Caldecott

Committee considers when selecting a

winner, review books that have won

medals in the past, and pick our top

choice for the 2015 Caldecott Medal.

Beginners will focus on the roles of the au-

thor and illustrator. We’ll conduct author

studies on some of our favorite authors,

their characters, and the settings of their

stories.

Attention Clark Parents:

Mark your calendars for the Read to Suc-

ceed Challenge coming in January 2015!

Read 6 hours by the end of February and

earn a FREE ticket to Six Flags Great Ad-

venture in Jackson, NJ. (Last year, the ticket

was valid mid-June through mid-August.)

Art– Ms. Traini

News from Mrs. Gray~ In technology, the 2nd marking period started with all new

game-based learning opportunities for grades 3-6 at Samuel Mickle. In grades 3-4 the students learned and applied math skills, specifically investment, in-flation, and interest as they navigated through a vir-tual world by setting goals and using smart saving and spending strategies. In 5th grade we learned about emergency preparedness and navigated our way through 5 natural disasters in the game-based learning module Young Meteorologist. In 6th grade we used and evaluated the impact of technology on the environment by investigating global con-cerns. Again in a game-based learning module, we played, “What the Frack?” and learned about the pros and cons of Fracking on society and the envi-ronment. The 6th graders are about to begin online persuasive writing as they reflect and collaborate using Collaborize Classroom. Coming up is Hour of Code where Mickle students will learn the language of computer programming and use online sites such as Tynker and Scratch. We will also begin practic-ing skills to successfully navigate the PARCC As-sessment in January.

In second grade Mrs. Marano, Mr. Gabler, and Mrs. Mason’s classes used our technology tools to create Jack-O-Lanterns online. Each was unique and dif-ferent! Next up, Microsoft Word and Who Wants to Build a Snowman? We will create text boxes and label the parts of our snowmen as well as import graphics, change font and color and learn how to format text and graphics. Of course we practice key-boarding for the first 10 minutes of class and are making steady progress. Please have your children show you my website for all of the links to our cur-rent activities as well as parent resources.

For up-to-date information, don’t forget to check out the East Greenwich School District Website

www.eastgreenwich.k12.nj.us

Cheers and excitement have been heard throughout the gym as the students have been working hard dur-

ing Fitness Testing. This year we have switched from the Presidential Challenge to the Fitness Gram. The Fitness Gram tests students in the ar-eas of aerobic capacity, muscular strength, endur-ance, and flexibility. Health began on October 9th and is taught twice a month. Our topics included Bullying, Halloween safety, and Wellness. We are currently playing Hockey in PE. Please check out the Physical Education Depart-ment page for updated info about PE. http://www.eastgreenwich.k12.nj.us/Page/91

Page 4

Physical Education-Mickle

The Buzz in the Classrooms... Computers– Ms. Gray

Library– Mickle

Students in grades 4-6 will begin re-

searching topics in the library. Students

have been learning to pick appropriate level books,

and where to find books of interest.

Have a wonderful winter break!

from

The Staff at East Greenwich

School District!

All students are learning vocabulary related to our

Home, Sweet, Home Unit. We have been focusing

on learning the people in the family, rooms in the

house, and will be learning vocabulary for the vari-

ous furniture and household items located in the

rooms of the house. We completed two lessons in

the laptop lab, teaching students how to access the

websites that will give them an opportunity to prac-

tice their unit vocabulary in addition to their Spanish

class. Students are encouraged to visit the web-

sites that we are listed in my website to practice

their vocabulary.

Spanish– Ms. Morales

3rd Grade

Page 5

4th Grade

5th Grade

6th Grade

Social Studies: Students are learning

about the 13 Colonies, The First Thanksgiving, and

Colonial Life in North America.

Math: Students are adding, subtracting and multi-

plying decimals.

ELA: Students are using text evidence to identify

the themes in Bridge to Terabithia.

Science: Students have been learning about ani-

mal and plant cells. This past week, students com-

pleted a lab comparing and contrasting different

cells.

Writing: Students are working on Expository

Essays.

Social Studies: The sixth graders are finishing up their study of the Fertile Crescent (“The Cradle of Civilization”). In about a week or so we will be ven-turing to Africa to begin our study of the ancient civilization of Egypt. We will explore and discuss the importance of the Nile River and how it im-pacted this civilization.

Science: 6th grade science classes are starting to focus on the Rock and Fossil Records. They will be learning how scientists are able to figure out the age of not only the Earth, but the age of fossils us-ing absolute and relative dating. We will also look at how the Earth has changed as well as the crea-tures that inhabit it throughout its 4.5 billion year history. They will be completing labs on radioactive decay, puzzling rock sequences and geologic time.

ELA- As the second marking period begins, 6th grade language arts is focusing on finding the cen-tral idea of informational text. Students are begin-ning to learn how to annotate text, code text, and read with a question in mind. To practice, students have been using the resource, www.newsela.com. Here, students can chose from a wide variety of informational articles to practice these important CCSS skills. Interested in more practice? Students can log-in anytime from home! Please contact Miss Ayling or Miss Concordia for more information!

Math– Students are working on converting meas-urements between the customary and metric sys-tems, expressing ratios as a percent, and learning to convert freely between fractions, decimals, and percents.

Writing: Students are writing on informative/explanatory texts, using strategies such as defini-tions, classification, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect.

Social Studies: Students are learning the patterns and processes of early migration, why the first peo-ple came to New Jersey, the effect the land had on the first New Jerseyans, and the culture of the Lenni-Lenape people Math: students are multiplying by 2 digits -multiplying by tens -multiplying using partial products -multiplying using regrouping -estimate products -choose a multiplication method LA: Students are summarizing to find the se-quence of a story, writing an informative piece us-ing bold beginnings, mighty middles and sizzling vocabulary. Science: (Chapter 14-Magnetism and Electricity) students are learning about static and current elec-tricity, recognize how electricity moves in circuits, identifying and explaining magnetism

The Buzz in the Classrooms...

ELA- persuasive writing, summarizing, fantasy and realistic events within text, and fluency

Math- multiplication

Science- Some topics students are covering in sci-ence are rocks and minerals, forces and motions.

Social Studies- Types of Communities

Looking for some good books for your

children to read over winter break? Check out the Director of Curriculum’s

website:

(Under Books to Read!) http://eastgreenwich.schoolwires.net/Page/1358

Go Math!

Check out the Director of Curriculum tab for updates http://www.eastgreenwich.k12.nj.us/domain/175

Curriculum & Instruc-

Dear Parents,

You should have received this letter last week. Please contact your child’s teacher if you were not given

your child’s login or password.