DECEMBER 2005

Volume 25, No. 05, DECEMBER 14, 2005

TEAM NEWS

Blue Team

by M. D. and V. G.

Now that they’re back in the school classroom from Nature’s Classroom, Blue Team science students are beginning an in-depth study on the Earth’s core and how Earth’s layers are divided up into smaller layers. Furthermore, students will be looking at different rocks and minerals.

“Nature’s Classroom was fabulous,” said Samantha Genier, Blue Team’s Science Teacher, “The students learned about science, but more about themselves.” She is impressed with the students’ personal memoirs (a writing task about Nature’s Classroom which was assigned to all of the students). The acronym IALAC was a good example for the students to learn from. It can stand for many different things; for example, “I am learning and caring.” Genier thinks that so far the year has been, “Good stuff, good stuff.”

Term 2 of English will be broken into two units. The two units will be a memoir unit and then a drama unit. In the memoir unit Blue Team students will be writing personal memoirs and sharing them with other students. Blue Team will be starting this after finishing the Utopia project and learning about becoming a teacher by looking at other writing samples and grading them. The second unit will be a drama unit although it probably won’t be finished by the end of term 2. Nicholas Bacigalupi said that term 1 was easy and term 2 will be a time to buckle down. According to Bacigalupi, the Chinese proverb, “1,000 mile journey always begins with one step,” represents the team’s year.

Steve Ford is very pleased with how Nature’s Classroom went. The slave reenactment incorporated learning into experience. In December, Blue Team will be learning about the road to the Revolution and events that happened around Boston, Lexington, and Concord. Blue Team will be doing a big project, by choosing one person or event from the Revolution and studying it. Blue Team students will either put together a project or write a paper. “I’m loving this year on Blue Team,” said Ford.

Heidi Weber was not impressed with the work ethic during first term. Weber says, “It was a wake up call for some students.” She thinks work done outside of school needs to improve. She advises most students to get extra help because it will prepare them for high school. Pre-algebra is finishing its statistics unit while the algebra class is working with equations. For term 2 the accelerated class is rating problems and then starting inequalities.

Green Team

by A. T. and M. Z.

Team focus: to improve the team’s behavior after the all-team meeting before Thanksgiving break.

December will prove to be a very busy month for Green Team students as they prepare for the new year. In science, taught by John Hart, students will continue their topographic map unit as they create fictional islands out of foam board. At the end of the month, students will create several graphs using weather information gathered from the throughout the month.

In mid-November, Green held a meeting to discuss the overall behavior of the team. Teachers used the “IALAC” poster from the Nature’s Classroom trip as a chief example of how poorly behaved students are. On the trip, students were asked to write on the poster if they saw classmates performing altruistic deeds; unlike Blue and Orange, Green’s poster was sparse.

Some students see this as a flawed example; that is, even though good deeds were not reported, one cannot be sure they did not occur.

Hart thinks the behavior is definitely improving, but “...sometimes we all need to be reminded on proper behavior and how we react to adults,” says Hart.

Nancy Cohen, social studies teacher, agrees. “Some students have really heard our concerns, but others have a way to go,” Cohen says. “However, I’m happy with the little steps we’ve made.”

At the beginning of the month, students will be participating in an interactive mercantilism game called “Empire,” which deals with colonial trade during the 1700s. The game will involve teams of students trying to smuggle goods across the ocean and to avoid the British Sea Police, the goal is to play by the rules and increase their worth by a large percentage. After the simulation, students will be required to write an essay and construct projects dealing with what they have learned.

English class, taught by Matt Stepnowsky, will begin reading the book THE OUTSIDERS, by S. E. Hinton, and delving into their diagramming sentences unit. Every Thursday and Friday will be dedicated to a graffiti project. The goal of the project is to fill a wall with student ideas. On the team’s behavior, Stepnowsky says, “I think the students are more caring and considerate to one another, but we still have to work on talking out in class.”

In math, the accelerated class is studying a new chapter which will be covering inequalities, chapter five. The algebra class will continue to study two-step equations and the distributive property. The pre-algebra class is still working on statistics.

Orange Team

by L. F.

This month, Orange Team will be continuing the “Earth Inside Out” unit in science. A study of what the Earth is made will follow after the Earth’s interior. The unit will be focus in-depth on mineral chemistry and identification. Students will be using Bunsen burners. There will be a hands-on mineral identification quiz; this test will be timed. The test will be called “Not so much fun.” Teacher Mark Murphy is extremely excited about this new unit and working with hands-on materials in the class.

This month, each level of Tracy Stewart’s math classes will work on a range of problems. Stewart said, “ Orange team will be developing our problem-solving skills. Try this one,” says Stewart: the number of different hand shakes that would occur if 10 strangers in a room all shook each other’s hands? Tune in next month for the answer. These are the types of problems that students will be using problem-solving skills to solve throughout each level.

Empire and Merchants: the Orange Team social studies class will be working on a special game called “Empire.” It is a game of bartering and working with the different balances of trade between England and the American colonies. Different groups throughout the class have made posters about the game of Empire. Tim Matthews is excited about the upcoming game. Also they will be working on 4-3-2-1s, which are interesting papers with 4 facts, 3 people or places, 2 questions, and 1 paragraph on how an article is newsworthy or how it affects you. Students will take many small quizzes and keep the team focused and excited about term 2.

English class on the Orange Team will be doing ongoing literature circles with a reading of 4 different books. There are 4 books to choose from all with the same theme of multiple perspectives. The books are called, SUNFLOWER, THE COLOR OF THE WATER, FLIPPED, and WHAT’S IN A NAME? The first two books are nonfiction while the other two are fiction. Small groups of kids who are all reading the same book have literature discussions. Jennifer Sanders is excited and ready to read!

Jade Team

by A. L. and W. H.

Jade Team students can look forward to a busy but fun second term. They are done with several projects, including a cell project for Amy Richard Jade Team science teacher. The project was an assignment in which students had to build a cell out of 3-D materials or build an electric board showing all cell organelles. Richard also plans on heading into the exploration of how a cell reproduces and how organisms get their individuality.

The longest unit of the year, Greece, will be started in Jack O’Connor’s social studies class. He will have his students study the rising of democracy. Students can also expect to meet “Sparty the Spartan,” a class icon for O’Connor. He also had his students play a cooperative game called “Crossing the Nile.” L. E., Jade Team student, said the game was “...really fun and I would like to play more [cooperative] games.”

In English, Daryl Scott also plans on starting a new unit. He will start a short stories unit. Scott also announced another Independent Reading Project (IRP). However, the project has changed into a book report. The project will be due later this term.

Students can be expecting a fun term in Brian Marks’s class. He will be having a showdown between two class icons, “the Claw and the BK Big Fish.” The winner will rule his class. Marks hopes that his students can continue doing well in second term.

Coral Team

by D. B. and J. S.

Team Focus: students should continue to excel

Coral Team students wish their English teacher, Susan Spiro, well as she prepares to undergo total knee replacement surgery. Substituting for her will be Hilary Stillwell. Spiro is expected back in May.

“Drama,” says Susan Spiro, Coral Team English teacher. Students are beginning a unit on drama. First they will read the play “Miracle Worker” and learn other helpful tips on acting and drama. Students will then switch over to learning about biographies and autobiographies by writing an autobiography themselves, writing a biography of somebody they know, and by writing small in-class, or homework assignment on the topic.

In math class, intro to pre-algebra is working with the book on 3-D block patterns and structure’s volume. Pre-algebra is working on 3-D block patterns, volume, and surface area. Accelerated pre-algebra is finishing with block patterns and volumes, and beginning proportions and ratios.

Cells, cells, cells, and more cells. Students are continuing to learn about cell transport and reproduction in science as well as starting to learn about genetics and how diseases are inherited. Students will be starting a DNA project and will be shown past projects to help them to consider whether or not they will want to work with partners or individually.

The focus of social studies class this month is starting and continuing the Egyptian unit. Students have finished with their flip books of Mesopotamia and will be starting a project on Egyptian mythology. Kids will also be creating a skit about the legend of Osiris, the Egyptian god of judgment and the dead.

Red Team

by A. G. and E. M.

Math classes on the Red Team will be starting Chapter 3 in their IMPACT: MATH books. The classes will be working through December on exploring exponents. The chapter includes multiplying and dividing expressions with the same base or the same exponents. They’ll be examining exponential growth and looking at large, as well as small, numbers through scientific notation.

In science, James Chin’s classes have been learning about how cells grow and duplicate. They are moving on to genetics and learning about how traits are passed on from parents to children. They’ll be doing a couple projects, two of which are poster work on cell division in groups of three and models of the DNA in small groups during class.

In Victoria Goldman’s English class students will be reading ROLL OF THUNDER HEAR MY CRY, by Mildred D. Taylor. They will also be studying the historical context and cultural context of black culture in and after the 1930’s. They will be having a black culture feast. Part of the unit will be looking at literary elements in the novel, such as foreshadowing, characterization, character motivations, and symbolism. Throughout the unit, Red Team students are keeping reader-response journals for reading comprehension. There will be culminating tests and writing assignments at the end of the unit, and there will be a lot of dynamic reading and acting out passages from the book.

This month in social studies, students will be “officially” launching their Egypt unit, though students have been writing essays on Egyptian gods and royalty for quite some time. The test on Egypt will be combined with Israel’s in January.

Platinum Team

by M. D. and A. N.

The month of December is going to be a busy one, getting as much work done as possible so students can go home for the winter holidays. Term two has begun and students are noticing a change in the difficulty level. Students will slowly get used to term two and the teachers’ expectations.

In language arts this month students will be working on creativity lessons. This creativity will be incorporated into their TUCK EVERLASTING timelines. The timelines have to be different; they cannot be average timelines. All must have a creative twist. Platinum Team’s student teacher Jessica Kram wants to become a middle school English teacher because she wants to change people’s lives by her teaching abilities. Kram works closely with Jamie Demarest to be sure her lessons are effective.

In math this month students are working on using the textbook BITS AND PIECES II. Students will continue to work with percentages, divisibility, and real-world connections to math. At the end of this month students will begin working on the unit “Accentuate the Negative.” In this unit students will explore the wonders of the world of negative numbers.

In social studies this month students will continue a unit on the rain forest. They will be learning how humans are affecting the rain forest, how this hurts the animals and plants that live there, and how people can help. This unit will be concluded by a rain forest conference where students will take on different roles to debate for, or against, rain forest protection laws. After this unit is a unit on the people and places of Africa.

In science this month the Platinum Team will be connecting with the scientist Benjamin Pope, who has been sent on an expedition to Antarctica. Pope is an assistant scoutmaster here in Newton and currently a student at M. I. T. With this, students will be learning about what scientists do there. This will be followed by a unit on ground water its properties and chemistry.

Copper Team

by W. B. and A. D.

Focus:

Copper Team has been doing activities about leaders, and listing what good qualities a leader has. Furthermore, Copper Team has finished distributing apples to students. This is a tradition of giving students apples as a way of recognizing good traits or qualities. On an unspecified date in December, students on the Copper Team will bring in cookies their cookies representing their ethnicities.

In English, students will be building on the work they did with BEOWULF. Later they’ll start a mythology unit which will focus on Greek gods. Students will also learn about some folk tales and myths from China and Africa. In addition, Michael Pfaff will start a storytelling unit.

In social studies with Monica Crowley, students will start to learn about Africa. The Copper Team kids will focus on the Sahara Desert as a huge geographical feature, and learn all the countries in Africa. Copper Team will also compare life between Northern Africa and sub-Saharan Africa.

“We also focus on the standards of living as a way to learn about the great disparities among the world’s population, focusing on Africa,” states Crowley. “Another thing that students will learn about is the disease AIDS and how the disease is ravaging Africa.”

Science classes this month with Jennifer Reese are focusing on matter. Copper Team kids will study matter through a series of labs. “They will study chemical and physical changes or as well as the different phases of matter.” After the first snow fall Copper will also study the snowflakes, a unique form of matter. There will be no major test or quizzes, which Copper Teamers should know.

Jennifer Riesenberger continues to teach Copper Team about patterns. Pascal’s Triangle is one of the patterns Copper Team will be doing, along with other advanced patterns. No books will be distributed during the patterns unit. After the patterns unit, Riesenberger will review basic math, such as division, place value, and working with decimals [Assisting in the preparation of this article is K. R.].

Silver Team

by M. A. and C. B.

The Silver Team students are anxious to realize the benefits of block scheduling.

Pasquale Puleo’s science class employs fresh air and sunlight. Puleo says, “I (will) take the kids outside.” The Silver Team science students will also be exploring the problem of underground water pollution. “As a project the kids will [also] design a perfect futuristic town.” Silver Team students look forward to a fun and interesting second term in science.

In Jennifer Campbell’s English class the students will finally, after much anticipation, start TUCK EVERLASTING. “We will also continue working on reading and writing strategies.” Silver Teamers are anticipating a fun and reading-filled month in English.

In social studies the students will be starting the unit on Africa. They will have to memorize 52 countries. The students will learn about demographic issues.

“We are about to begin a unit in understanding and working with fractions, decimals, and percentages,” says Ellen Baker, Silver Team math teacher. “I hope to see my students using percentages to find discounts, sale prices, taxes, and tips as they shop, and go out to eat this holiday season.”

The Silver Team is looking forward to an action-packed month [Assisting in the preparation of this article were L. R. and M. W.].