Week of October 25

While learning about rocks on the summit, an eagle flew by where we were sitting.
A rare sight to see upclose.

On Monday, we had our trip to JA Skinner State Park.  Our hike to the summit started on Rt 47, where we took the Taylor Notch trail to the Metacomet-Monadnock trail.  It was about 1.5 miles to the summit.   We had a beautiful day for a hike and the views from the summit were "awesome" , "incredible", "I'm stupified" as described by some students.  While on the summit, Ms Gini Traub, Regional Environmental Education Coordinator, taught the us about the formation of the area, types of rocks and where they came from.  We were not able to enter the Summit House because it is under construction and will open next month.

The kickoff to the Springfield Armour reading program was Thursday.  Students will keep a reading log which can lead to winning prizes.  Also, we had a visit from Mike Recycle of the West Springfield Public works.   He taught us about how we can reduce, reuse and recycle.  We will visit the MRF recycling plant next Tuesday. 

Reminders:

Tuesday,  October 30, Field Trip to MRF
Wednesday,  October 31, Half day, Parent Teacher Conferences

"I wish that the place be a thing of beauty and a source of joy to the people of the Commonwealth."      
Joseph Allen Skinner at the dedication ceremony of the 375 acres and hotel he donated to the state now called JA Skinner State Park.

Week of October 19

In the beginning of the week we continued our study of the author's purpose, what makes a leader and the civil rights movement.  We read a song, Birmingham Sunday, by Joan Baez and viewed the video.  We researched about the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963 which was a meeting place for civil rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King.  
Later in the week, we read an article about the JA Skinnner State Park where we will travel to on Monday.  We had many questions about JA Skinner so we researched Who is Joseph Allen Skinner?   We also looked at a map of the park to get background on our trip to Skinner Park.   In science, students formed groups to perform the rock cycle song which was a great way for us to learn the three types of rocks and how they are formed.

Reminder:  Monday, October 22 Field Trip:  Skinner State Park
                   Tuesday, October 23 Picture Day
                   Thursday, October 25 Half Day Parent Teacher Conferences
                   Tuesday, October 30 Field Trip:  MRF Springfield
                   Wednesday, October 31 Half Day Parent Teacher Conferences

"I am not a good writer, I am a great reviser."        Ralph Fletcher


Week of Oct. 5
This week we started our study of rocks and minerals.  We explored different types of rocks and hypothesized on how they were formed.  Students brought in rocks to share.  In math we completed the September assessment.  In reading, we continued our study of the elements of a story: character, setting and plot.  While in writing, students learned how to revise their stories by adding details to characters. We connected our empathy training in Second Step to make the characters come alive.   We learned to recognize a person's emotions by describing their facial expressions and physical gestures.  Students used this lesson to show, not tell, in their writing.  For example, instead of writing, he was sad (tell), we wrote, his eyes filled with tears as he put his head down (show). 

" Hold Fast to Dreams"     Langston Hughes

Week of Oct. 12
The magazine drive kicked off this week.  Students received a packet to bring home.  The money raised will be used for our school.  We continued our study of rocks.  Students researched types of rocks and their uses.  In writing we used a graphic organizer to help organize our stories and to add more detail.   Our focus in reading was to understand the author's message and what it takes to be a leader.  We read stories about Dr. Martin Luther King, Langston Hughes and Nelson Mandela.  We read poems by Langston Hughes and we memorized one of his poems.  In social studies we continued map skills and we will begin to research the Northeast region. 

Reminders: 

Students need to bring back a completed and signed by parent or guardian computer use agreement (yellow paper) and field trip form (green paper)

October 22  Field trip to Skinner State Park in Hadley
October 30  Field trip  to MRF in Springfield

RIP Praying Mantis

The praying mantis died this week.  Some students did close up observations and drew it in their science notebooks.  In computer class, after reading an article about deadliest predators with the praying mantis being part of the article, we had many questions about other predators so we researched animals and shared our learning.  In reading we started the new Journeys reading book that was purchased last year for the district.  Students love the new book with the colorful pictures and high interest stories.  In math we began multiplication.  Students should study their math facts daily.

Reminders:  Field Trip:  Skinner State Park, Monday, October 22
                                        MRF recycling plant, Tuesday, October 30