Point Webster Middle School
Trimester 2 Curriculum Newsletter
March 2016
Volume 3, Issue 2
P r i n c i p a l ’s M e s s a g e
Welcome to Point Webster Middle School’s Trimester 2 Curriculum Newsletter!
Again, this newsletter is designed to inform parents and guardians about the teaching and
learning that occurs here at Point Webster. In addition, as the school year progresses, we
have many events to share with you.
Special points of
interest:

General School
Information

Grade Specific
Information

Information from
Academic Programs

Upcoming Calendar of
Our students are currently in the beginning of MCAS Testing this week and we will
be testing again in May for Math and Science and Technology/Engineering. Point Webster’s
Great Race Fun Walk/Run will take place on Saturday, April 30th at 9 am right here at
Point. This Wellness Initiative will also serve as a Fundraiser for our school. The 5K family
friendly event is open to anyone and the cost is $10 per person or $20 per family.
Information has been sent home with your children and can be found on the school website
as well.
Events

Highlights from
Trimester 2

Guidance Information

Wellness Information
In this issue:
Grade 5 News
2-3
Grade 6 News
4-5
Grade 7 News
6
Grade 8 News
7-8
Academic Programs
9-11
STARS / Guidance /
Nurse’s Information
12
Students of the Month / 13
Upcoming Dates
Images of Trimester 2
14
The 7th Annual Science Fair will take place on Thursday, April 14th from 5-7 pm
showcasing the 7th and 8th grade students and their projects. Grade 5 will have Parent
Teacher Conferences again on Tuesday, April 26th. Our Drama presentation of Willy
Wonka, Jr. will take place on Thursday, May 5th at 7 pm, while our Spring Concert and Art
Show will take place on Monday, June 6th at 7 pm and our 8th Grade Recognition
Ceremony will take place on June 22nd. The last day of school is now scheduled for
Thursday, June 23rd which will be an early release day.
Lastly, we would like to remind you that you can access homework assignments
and student grades via Aspen, Class Jump site (Grade 6) and you can also check your child’s
agenda book for nightly assignments as well. (To access Aspen, visit: http://
aspen.quincypublicschools.com/aspen/logon.do) All students have received usernames (8digit local student id number) and a generic password at school. If you have not received
this information, please contact your student’s guidance counselor. Also, please feel free to
call the school with any additional questions you may have concerning your child’s
education.
Sincerely,
Ms. Christine Barrett
Principal
2
Grade 5
Mrs. Gilbert and Mr. Mullen
Mrs. Gilbert and Mr. Mullen
What more appropriate way to start the New Year, than with
some resolutions. Students posted their New Year’s resolutions on
their lockers to remind them each day what they chose to work on
for 2016. We have been exploring main idea, supporting details, and
gathering evidence to support our
writing on open response questions. Students have worked on a
variety of genres in Social Studies,
Reading, and Language Arts and
have shown significant improvement.
We are currently working on
different types of adjectives and
will be working on creating/
designing menus in class while
focusing on the proper use of
adjectives, creating slogans, and writing a descriptive/persuasive
writing piece to be included on their menu. Another writing piece
we are focusing on is a book review. Students will choose a recent
novel they have read or a story from Journeys as the topic of a review for their peers and will practice writing catchy intros to
“hook” their readers and get them to read their novel.
We continue to use our Storyworks magazines each week and explore a variety of genres, while improving reading/writing skills. We
are currently about halfway through our novel unit “Wonder” and
it has been a big hit!
Students in Language Arts class recently celebrated Read Across
America Day by honoring Dr. Seuss’s birthday. We read a short
biography of Dr. Seuss and completed some follow-up activities in
class. Throughout the year in class we have worked diligently on
answering open response questions in preparation for the MCAS
ELA Comprehension test. Through discussions, i-Ready, learning
reading strategies, and working with partners, students have shown
great progress and have done a tremendous job achieving success in
critical thinking and planning for open response writing!
plication and division.
We continue to focus on solving word problems which involve realworld situations. Students are not only expected to solve these
type of problems using numbers, they are expected to know why
these problems are solved the way they are. In order to understand the why, students make models and draw pictures and diagrams. It can be challenging for them,
but it gets them to better understand
the concepts behind solving the problems through visualization.
We also continue to use the i-Ready
program to help with making progress
in different areas of math. Next up, we
will be working on graphing and using
algebraic thinking to solve problems, as
well as focusing on customary and metric measurement and geometry.
In Science class students have learned
about how energy flows through ecosystems and how similar ecosystems compose the different types of biomes that are on our
planet. Ask them about the biome that we live in and how it is different from other biomes. Ask them how climate and weather are
different and how they are related to biomes.
Most recently, we began to study earth and space science. They
should be able to tell you about how the different seasons that we
experience connect with our planet, its movement around the sun,
and its tilted axis. We will continue to study earth science and then
move onto exploring the topic of physical science.
We were fortunate to be visited by our friends form Staples Energy. They shared the extremely important message with us about
how we all can save energy and reduce the carbon footprint that
we leave on earth. The kids enjoyed the presentation, and they
made an impressive quilt that showed their messages and ideas
about conserving energy.
Given the upcoming MCAS testing, including students taking the
Science MCAS for the first time, we will be working with students
We continue to use our Scholastic News in Social Studies to discuss to prepare them. We will focus on analyzing and answering different types of open-response problems. If students work hard precurrent events, while using close reading strategies to help with
comprehension of informational text. We are beginning our unit on paring and do their best while taking the test, that is all we can ask
of them. Our expectations regarding MCAS are the same as they
“Explorers” and the Age of Exploration.
are throughout the rest of the year: be prepared and do your best.
In Math we have been working with fractions and decimals. Specifically, we have been focusing on operations involving fractions and
decimals including addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
Special focus has been on stressing the connection between multi-
3
Grade 5
Mrs. Clancy and Mrs. Quigley, Ms. Brooks
Mrs. Clancy and Mrs. Quigley
Ms. Brooks
The grade five students started off 2016 with a ton of enthu- The 5th graders in Room 124 have been soaring through
content following our winter break! Whether it is learning
siasm for math. They finished up working with base ten
how to multiply and divide fracblocks to model addition,
tions and decimals, making insubtraction, multiplication and
Please encourage all Grade 5 students
quiries about weather, climate,
division of decimal numbers.
and global warming, or analyzing
to use the computer-based programs
Students are now able to
and recording the early explorachoose a strategy to help
i-Ready, xTra Math and Study Island
tions to North America on our
them solve decimal problems.
for additional practice.
classroom size timeline, we are
They have also finished workcertainly expanding our horizons
Logins/passwords are in student agenda
ing on addition and subtracthis spring.
books.
tion of fractions (including
In the fall, Ms. Brooks was able
mixed numbers) with unlike
to get a classroom set of the
denominators. We have
been using fractions bars to model and solve word problems popular young adult novel, “Wonder.” Students anxiously
awaited until after winter break to begin reading this compelso the students can visually see their answers. Students are
also able to use benchmark fractions to estimate mentally and ling story about a 5th grader starting middle school, who faces many challenges due to his physical appearance. Students
assess the reasonableness of their answers.
They are currently working on multiplication and division of worked hard to understand different point of views in this
unique story, as well as create a classroom culture of acfractions. For this unit the students will be modeling word
problems using rectangles as well as finding the area of a rec- ceptance and kindness, earning their Kindness Classroom
Certification from Penguin House Publishing Company
tangle with fractional side lengths. Students will be able to
through filling their marble jar! Students earned a marble for
solve real- world problems involving multiplication and divievery kind deed they witness at home or at school.
sion of unit fractions by a whole number.
The students in Room 124 are looking forward to the busy
months that are ahead in all of the four different subjects.
The student favorite seems to be continuing to fill out our
classroom size
timeline that we
have created for
our Early Explorations Unit. Students will continue
to read and inquire
about different exStudents are utilizing Study Island, and i-Ready computer proplorers and why
grams in and outside of school. We strongly encourage stuthey decided to
dents to continue to practice concepts on these computer
start their journey
programs. Happy Spring!
to America.
As we enter into the Spring months we are anticipating
warm, sunny days and blue skies! Hopefully, this will inspire
us to work even more diligently these next few weeks as we
prepare for MCAS testing. Students in ELA have been using
their detective skills to become active readers. As students
explore each genre, they are constantly checking their comprehension, making predictions, and looking for clues to find
the main idea. They have made a tremendous of amount of
progress thus far, and we will continue the rest of the year
on this momentum.
4
Grade 6
Math, Science
with open response problems that incorporate the concepts we have learned up to now. It will be here quickly
At the beginning of Term 2 the students were introduced
and there is still a lot of work to get done, but we will get
to formulas. The classes broke down formulas for trianthere. As long as there are no SNOW DAYS!! I hope the
gles, rectangles, parallelograms, and trapezoids. They were
kids keep working hard and finish strong.
able to understand where to find information within a given
shape and substitute the appropriate values into the formu- Science—Mrs. Rogers
las to answer a given question.
Sixth grade science students are currently finishing up their
Math—Mr. Roslonek & Ms Kenney
We then moved onto ratios. Ratios are a crucial topic in
understanding equivalency. There are patterns, tables, and
diagrams that help students compare two different items within a
given problem. The
classes created tape diagrams, double line
graphs, and ratio tables
to help model their evidence. They also simplified ratios to a unit rate
and orally described the
relationship of two
items in a cohesive sentence.
After developing patterns with ratio tables
we made the transition to a more complex level of equivalency, the use of percent in relation to decimals and fractions. We used the structure of their ratio table show this
comparison. The students did a real good job with this
transition.
As Term 2 closes we are working with integers and number lines. Starting in Term 3 we turn up the preparation
for the MCAS in May. We will be spending a lot of time
Point with Pride!
geology unit in which we focused on the concepts of plate
tectonics and the geologic time scale. Students were recently given Play-Doh to practice modeling different types
of fossils. Ask your students to show you the difference between a mold
and cast and explain what
we can learn about Earth
by studying fossils. After
MCAS, we look forward to
a bit of astronomy with
moon phases, an introduction to sound and light, and
cells. So much left to learn!
As always, be sure to utilize the Aspen website to
stay on top of grades/
missing work.
Outstanding science students Term 2:
Daniel Alexandre
Bryan Amorim
Andrew De Franca
Kyle Galecia
Sandy Guan
Julia Jin
Emily Leong
Oscar Li
Nicola Liang
Adriana MacPherson
Priyal Nanda
Harini Raman
Ekow Sam
Sandra Tan
Belle Tran
Natalie Tran
5
Grade 6
Social Studies, English Language Arts, Reading
mat. In these, they needed to include writer’s craft strategies such as adding dialogue and sensory language to make
What a difference a year makes. At this time last year we
their narrative elements such as characters, setting and
were playing some serious catch-up because of all the snow
conflict a lot richer. In addition, students can identify audays! I think we can honestly say that spring is here and
thor’s purpose for writing. On the PARCC portion of testnot just because the calendar tells us that it is. We are
ing, students will be expected to write a narrative while
about to start the third and final trimester of the year.
keeping in mind the elements of a short story, staying true
That means students will be packing up their bags and leavto the original story they read and using literary devices to
ing Europe and Russia. We will be making stops in Asia, the
contribute to the impact of the story. We continue to
Middle East and down into Africa in the next couple of
watch Flocabulary videos that relate to all of the reading
months. Also with the start of the third trimester the
topics in the Common
Grade 6 students should
Core. We also read articles
begin to think about their
from Scholastic Scope Magafinal project, the Famous
zine as a way to reinforce
Landmark Project. Many of
comprehension and a variethe students have asked
ty of text structures.
about this project; well, it is
Reading—All
finally their turn! The
presentations of the proteachers
jects leads us into our miniStudents in Grade 6 are
cultural fair. As a sixth
split up into different readgrade we will celebrate the
ing classes, but each of the
many cultures of Point
classes is busy reading novWebster and hopefully taste
els throughout the year.
many dishes from different
Most of the classes have just
countries around the world. Please don’t forget to check
wrapped up another novel and are in the process of selectthe class website for any class updates, upcoming quizzes
ing a new novel to read. With the arrival of March we can
and tests, and most importantly - daily homework assigncount on two things: the arrival of spring and MCAS! As a
ments. www.classjump.com/nutley
group we are spending time working on MCAS preparation.
English Language Arts—Mrs.Vaughan Students are reading and analyzing past MCAS Open ReGrade 6 ELA students are MCAS and PARCC ready! Stu- sponse articles and preparing to improve our open response writing.
dents have been learning many test-taking strategies and
Social Studies—Mr. Nutley
how to write clear open responses with textual evidence to
support their ideas. They have read texts of every genre
and are well-prepared. Students have studied the elements
of plot structure and Freytag’s Pyramid and can identify exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution. They read and analyzed fictional narrative mentor
texts and then used the 7 stages of the writing process to
construct their own fictional narratives using MLA for-
As a reminder, students should be reading at least twenty
minutes a night when they are assigned a novel in Reading.
There are also books available in Room 136 to borrow. If
your child is having difficulties understanding the novel/text,
have him/her use small sticky notes to “highlight” challenging passages. Upon return to school, he/she will be able to
discuss the problems with the teacher.
6
Grade 7
Social Studies, English Language Arts, Reading, Math, Science
Social Studies—Mr. Edgerly
Seventh grade students in Social Studies spent a lot of Trimester 2 focusing on one of the greatest ancient civilizations the world has ever seen: Egypt. Students learned
about the geography of Egypt and the ancient Egyptian’s
daily lives. Students also studied the powerful pharaohs,
including King Tut, Ramses, Hatshepsut, and Khufu and the
architecture left behind that is still around today. Going
forward, students will dive into the city-states of ancient
Greece and the great empire of Rome.
English Language Arts—Mrs. Fitzpatrick
Thankfully this year we have had more class time (and less
snow!) to practice our reading
and writing skills and strategies
to better prepare us for the
upcoming MCAS English Language Arts test. Students have
continued with their vocabulary
lists to broaden their choice of
words in writing and everyday
conversation. They also created
How-To Projects in which they
researched real life topics and
then presented the step-bystep process to their peers.
Topics for this project included: how to buy a house, how
to write a check, how to stay
organized, how to buy a car, etc. Coming up after the
MCAS, we will take a break from writing at length and have
fun with Poetry and Drama. Last but not least, students will
work in groups to create and design their own restaurants…always a student favorite!
Reading—All teachers
Students have been hard at work getting ready for the upcoming MCAS test by reviewing and practicing literary
terms and devices in Reading class. In addition, they have
been showing an abundance of progress on constructing
their open responses. We have no doubt that they will be
well prepared to give their all during testing week. Also,
students are continuing to explore their novels through
SSR, reader response prompts, and classwork/homework
questions. By carrying on the memorization of their Roots
lists, students are also increasing their vocabulary acquisition which will benefit them in their reading, writing and the
MCAS.
Math—Ms. Hendrickson
As Trimester 2 is coming to a close, students are busy
working in their Geometry units. Students are working with
hands-on Geometry manipulatives, including protractors,
and using algebra to solve complex
and real-word problems involving
angles, triangles, quadrilaterals, and
circles. As we move forward into
Trimester III, students will be begin
their Probability units, while continuously practicing Math openresponse questions and preparing
for MCAS 2.0 in May. Accelerated
students are working diligently
through their fast-paced curriculum, and will be diving into several
Algebra topics in Trimester III, including Transformations, Linear
Equations, Pythagorean Theorem,
and Scientific Notation.
Science—Mrs.Yohe
In 7th grade science, we are well into our physics unit,
comprised of motion, forces, and energy topics. Highlights
have included constructing balloon-powered race cars and
the dance lab. Students are also preparing to participate in
Point Webster's 7th Annual Science Fair on April 14th. Projects include solar panel construction, homemade cosmetics, and high-powered bottle rockets!
7
Grade 8
Social Studies, English Language Arts, Spanish, French
interrogatives and form questions. Students are currently
working on the verb IR (to go), adverbs and places vocabuIn Grade 8 Social Studies we are learning about the growth
lary.
of the nation from the Industrial Revolution to Manifest
The website quizlet.com (senoravelezspanish) has been
Destiny. We will be discussing how certain events led to
used this year as a study guide tool for all tests and quizzes.
the Civil War and the nation breaking apart.
Students have been making picture flashcards, practicing
English Language
listening, speaking and pronunciation, and playing interactive
Arts—Mrs. DeLisle
review games on this site. In
The 8th graders have worked very
Trimester 3, students will be
hard over the past few months on
learning how to describe clothpreparing for the Spring MCAS. In
ing in Spanish and will be participreparing our students for the
pating in a Fashion Show! They
MCAS we have covered a variety
will also have the opportunity
of reading excerpts, including but
to make their own Spanish
not limited to the following: techweather channels during our
nology texts, biographical writings,
weather unit! In June, students
historical texts, speeches, newspahave a Spanish restaurant field
per articles, and classic literature.
trip to look forward to as well! ¡Adiós!
In addition to the wide range of readings we have also
French—Mrs. Katzmann
worked on writing narratives for our new version of the
MCAS. Students will be required to complete a story
Grade 8 French students have delved into the ever-relevant
based upon an excerpt that they have read. While prepar- topic of-- school life! We've been learning about every asing for the narrative writing students have focused on repect of the academic year: schedules, supplies, subjects,
viewing, setting, tone, theme, voice and style in writspecials, and after-school activities. We have put on skits
ing. We have also continued to expound on our vocabulary about middle school life, had group chats about our course
by having our weekly vocabulary lessons. After the MCAS
preferences, and compared typical French and American
we will focus on writing, reading another classroom novel, schedules. Additionally, we've zeroed in on vocabulary and
as well as independent reading novels. Overall we will con- reading skills. Students have learned how to become word
tinue to prepare your 8th grader for their transition to high detectives, making smart guesses at the meaning of new
school.
vocabulary in French texts by searching for cognates and
Social Studies—Ms. Principi
Spanish—Mrs. Vélez
context clues. We have enjoyed reading excerpts from
French novels and short stories with our new decoding
¡Hola! During Term 2 in Spanish class, students have
skills. We've also tackled counting with large numbers and
learned a variety of new topics. They have learned to describe themselves and their family members in Spanish with telling time. We recently learned a catchy song for the
the verb SER (to be) and adjectives, learned how to conju- "question words," too. Stop us in the hallway and ask us to
gate -AR, -ER/-IR verbs, and the verb TENER (to have), and sing it, if you wish!
use them effectively in complete sentences and special
phrases. Students have learned how to express time, use
8
Grade 8, ELL
Math, Science, English Language Learners
Math—Mr. Santoro
Term 2 is in the books and our 8th grade mathematicians
have jumped leaps
and bounds
through the rigorous material. Linear Systems, Pythagorean Theorem, Properties of
Square and Cube
Roots, Properties
of Exponents,
Quadratic Functions, Factoring
Polynomials, Exponential Functions, Linear Functions and Measures of Central Tendency were explored and it was the students’ perseverance and determination that advanced them
through. As we move forward, students will continue their
journey through Geometry and have the opportunity to
work with Volume, Data Analysis and Scientific Notation. I
challenge the students to “Finish the Race” and work harder than they have all year!
Science—Ms. Kaye
Grade 8 Science has just finished our life
science unit, students learned about the
functions of the organelles, cells, viruses
and bacteria, and cellular reproduction.
Students studied genetics and discussed
the ethical implications of gene research.
We were able to extract DNA from our
cheek cells! In our final term, we are
bridging into earth and space science
through an understanding of biological
evolution and how scientists study fossils
and sedimentary rock to learn about our
planets past. We will also be learning how
to map geologic features and understand-
ing how heat transfer affects weather and other natural
phenomenon. We are wrapping up science fair and our 7th
Annual Point Webster Middle School Science fair is right
around the corner! Join us on Thursday,
April 14th from 5-7pm on the sec-
ond floor and see what our 7thand 8th
graders have been researching for the
last five months .
English Language Learners—Ms. Wong
The ELL students completed the online
ACCESS testing in early February.
Now, we are focusing on narrative
writing. With the goal of becoming
better writers, we are analyzing short stories to understand
the author’s purpose, point of view, and tone. We also examine how the authors reveal plots, characters and settings.
In addition, we learn about the various literary devices and
dialogues which will help us to write more vividly. With
MCAS testing approaching, we have started the preparation
by answering multiple-choice and open-response questions.
9
Academic Programs
Physical Education, Art
Physical Education—Ms. Murphy
pass PE. Feel free to look at your child’s grades, which are
posted on Aspen.
Physical Education (PE) students at Point Webster are conArt—Mrs.Vale
tinuing to work hard at increasing their heart rate each
time they report to class while also increasing their
This semester Grade 5 discussed Edvard Munch and Exstrength of both the abdominal and triceps muscles. During pressionism. They created Expressionistic Portraits with
Trimester 2, PE students participated in a fitness circuit,
their focus being on proper facial proportions, exaggeraEuropean Wiffleball, Basketball,
tion, and colors that signify different emotions.
Speedball, Flag Tag, Monarch Tag
The students are finishing up powerful paintings
and Capture the Chicken.
of waves mirroring Katsushika’s “The Great
Wave” and will next embark on Van GoghGrade 6 Health and PE students
inspired still lives.
combined classes to learn more
about their heart rate. Each stuGrade 6 students have been producing underwadent was given a heart rate monter landscapes displaying their understanding of
itor to wear on his/her wrist
depth emphasizing on foreground, middle ground
during exercise. After each miand background. The students also discussed
nute of a cardiovascular activity,
Greek Mythology and created vibrant depictions
students would record their
of a Mythological Beast. They came out amazing!
heart rate. We had the music
blasting to help us move at a
Grade 7 is working very hard producing onegood speed! In health class, Mr.
point perspective rooms. They studied perspecLorenzano and his students distive, angles and revisited depth. I am very proud
cussed their heart rates, and stuof them for the concentration and effort they all
dents charted their results. Not only will we do this unit
put into such a difficult project. Students will move on to
again with Grade 6, we also hope to expand this lesson to Greek Architecture following perspective.
all the grades during the school year.
Students in Grades 5, 6 and 7 will run the mile and test in
the plank during Trimester 3. Students should be doing
abdominal exercises at home such as plank, sit ups or curl
ups to increase abdominal strength. Students should also
try to start jogging in their neighborhood, one lap at a time
and then increase each week. The mile run is so much easier with some preparation outside of school.
Your child should have an extra shirt and a deodorant
when he/she reports to class. Sneakers are a must!! If a
student forgets clothes 3 times during a term, they will not
This trimester Grade 8 students have created watercolor
birds inspired by John James Audubon, phobias with chilling
visual emotion, and are now working on two-point perspective. With its complexity, the students are truly putting themselves out there and embracing the challenge.
Congratulations to our Point Painters for winning the Bulletin Board Competition! They worked very hard and continue to create wonderful sculptures, signs for the school,
and fun crafts. They are a joy to teach!
10
Academic Programs
Music, Health
Music—Mr. Caruso (grades 5-6) and
Mrs. Rogers (grades 7-8)
Grade 5 has begun to discover the instruments of the orchestra and their families. With the help of “Luigi’s Baton,”
they are learning how the instruments in each family are
related and how they came to be part of the orchestra. Students will be given the chance to introduce their classmates
to instruments particular to their culture or ethnic background. As always, student in Grade 5 will also be preparing
to take part in the Spring Concert.
Students in Grade 6 are
in the process of wrapping up their in-depth
study of rhythm by
completing projects that
include creating an interesting four beat
rhythm patter, notating
it in proper numeric and
symbolic form and
demonstrating it to the
instructor and the class.
Students will now begin to trace developments in music
history from pre-historic times to the Baroque era and examine their influence on music today.
Students in Grade 7 music classes have begun learning
about different eras in Music History. We started with the
Medieval period and discussed Gregorian chant, monophonic vs. polyphonic music and sacred vs. secular text in
song lyrics. We are currently working on music from the
Renaissance and will soon be moving into the Baroque period and discussing the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Students in Grade 8 music classes are discussing the origins of
American Popular Music. We listened to the music of Stephen Foster, ragtime/vaudeville especially focusing on Scott
Joplin, and have just begun the Blues. So far, students have
learned about the blues scale, 12 bar blues form, and legends of blues guitar. From the blues we will segue into Jazz.
Health—Mr. Lorenzano
Students in all grades have been continuing to work extremely hard this term in health class.
Fifth graders have just finished up a long unit on character
education. We focused on each of the 6 pillars of character
which are Trustworthiness, Caring, Respect, Fairness, Responsibility, and Citizenship. Each week in class we would
spend time discussing each and how they mold our character and values. 5th grade also spent some class time in
health this term discussing bullying, cyber bullying, and conflict resolution skills.
Sixth grade students are
continuing their study of the
various body systems. We
are currently finishing up
our study of the respiratory
system and moving into the
nervous system. During our
study of the circulatory system we teamed up with Ms.
Murphy in Physical Education. Ms. Murphy was able
to acquire several heart rate
monitors which we used to have students complete an exercise circuit and then find their heart rate. We then took
all of our data and created graphs showing students how
much time they spent in their target heart rate zone.
Seventh and eighth grade students began the semester
working in a new curriculum called “Life Skills Training.”
The curriculum begins by teaching students first about selfesteem and self-image and then moves into goal setting and
making decisions. It then goes into smoking, alcohol and
drug use and the most recent trends among teenagers
which we will begin in the next term. Seventh graders are
also learning about the health benefits of physical fitness
and exercise. We have also discussed the F.I.T. (Frequency,
Intensity and Time) Principle and how to use it as a guideline when developing a fitness regimen.
11
Academic Programs
Media, Engineering Technology
Media—Mrs. Jorgensen
Grade 5—
Students have been learning some of the basics of PowerPoint;
which include appropriate transitions, choosing a background
design, choosing appropriate fonts, and self-editing. Students created a slideshow, which is a PowerPoint appropriate for when
there’s no speaker and there are automatic timed transitions.
They incorporated research and citations into this project. Third
term we will be working on taking the slideshows and turning
that into a verbal presentation.
Grade 6—
Students have been focusing on learning about digital literacy and
citizenship. They were participants in a program called Ignition
developed by EverFi, which taught them about all the different
interactions that they might have with technology. The modules
covered such topics as choosing a device to cyber-bullying. This
was a district-wide endeavor, and all sixth graders participated.
Next term we will be working on verbal presentations.
hand tools, materials and fasteners.
Grade 6—
Grade 6 Students are applying the fundamentals of engineering
design that they learned first term. Students have learned basic
computer coding and basic functionality of CAD programs. We
are now working on climbing Everest! Students are learning about
materials and the design process through creation of a jacket that
would keep them warm, even on Mt. Everest. Students will also
learn about stress of materials through a design for spanning a
crevasse in the Khumbu Ice falls. We will wrap up the year in a
final project in which students choose a project that will apply all
they have learned to create a unique solution to a problem of
their choice.
Grade 7 and 8—
Both the Grade 7 and 8 students have been working on structures in Engineering Technology. They started with the design
process and then fabricated the parts needed to build a truss
bridge. The bridges were then assembled and tested with our
school made press and scale. The students recorded the press
Book Club—
results and turned that data into graphs and charts, using MiIn January eighth grader Timothy Truong participated in the Best crosoft Excel. They also have a better understanding of the
stresses that a structure undergoes, including compression, tenBooks for Young Adults program, along with three Point Webster alumnae. Timothy was able to recommend titles for a nation- sion, shear and torsion. Both grades have been collecting paper
towel tubes since September and have collected enough to build
al book list of best fiction books along with other teens from
rockets. Each rocket-like each bridge differs so that each may be
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, and New Hampshire. Six
students attended the American Library Association’s Midwinter evaluated individually. We are in the process of flying via ruberband, more later. Looking ahead to Trimester 3, the Grade 7
Conference and received over 300 free books in total, a bookstudents will be starting a unit about transportation and the
worm’s dream!
Grade 8 students will be building geodesic domes.
Engineering Technology—Mr. Eldridge
(grade 5), Ms. Kaye (grade 6), Mr. Cheney
(grade 7-8)
Grade 5—
Students recently completed a unit on simple and complex machines. We took this opportunity to introduce the idea of architectural design, perspective drawing and problem solving through
technology. We are now in the middle of a unit dedicated to
computer aided design (CAD), using a program called Sketchup
Make. This highly versatile software introduces the students to
the fundamentals of design and drawing with well-designed online
tutorials. Many students have even downloaded the program at
home. Once this unit is completed we will move onto more with
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STARS / Guidance / Nurse’s Information
Mrs. Cradock and Mr. Smith / Mr. Bogan, Ms. Moy and Mrs. Peters / Mrs. Campbell
Mrs. Cradock—Grade 5
Trimester 2 has sadly come to an end. In English Language
Arts we are continuing our Journeys Program and have just
completed Unit 3 which focuses on the American Revolution.
During this unit, we have learned about many American heroes and explored many different comprehension strategies,
for example comparing/contrasting, finding the main idea, and
making inferences. We have also enjoyed reading selections
from our Storyworks magazines. At this time, the students are
learning to write persuasive essays and will participate in a
class debate. The class recently completed their Social Studies
unit on Ancient Civilizations. We have been keeping updated
on the election using our Scholastic News articles. We celebrated black history month by writing “bottle biographies.”
We also wrote “I have a Dream” essays and created a Martin
Luther King Jr. bulletin board which earned us a tie for third
place in the school competition. In Science, we are learning
about life in the ecosystems and how we can affect our environment. The Staples Energy Program also visited Grade 5 to
teach them how to conserve energy. During Math, the class is
finishing up focusing on fluency with decimal operations. We
also have celebrated reaching our goals by visiting Ginger Betty’s and decorating our very own gingerbread cookies. We
look forward to the warmer weather and our spring VIP trip!
"Greatness is not where we stand but in what direction we
are moving." –Oliver Wendell Holmes
Mr. Bogan-Grades 6 & 8, Ms. MoyGrades 5 & 7, Mrs. Peters-STARS
The Guidance Department focuses on academic, behavioral,
and social goals for students. Springtime means MCAS/PARCC
testing time! We will be coordinating the testing for all grades
during the months of March, April, and May. The 8th graders
chose courses and are beginning to learn about the transition
to high school. The Friends of Rachel Club have been working
hard with ideas to make Point more positive and inspirational
by announcing kindness quotes, making inspirational hearts for
Valentine’s Day, putting compliments on Post-Its on the bathroom mirrors, etc. By June, we’ll be getting ready for next
year’s Grade 5 students! Have a wonderful summer vacation!
Mr. Smith—Grades 6-7
The 7th grade S.T.A.R.S. class has had a fantastic first half of
the year. Our students have been focused and driven and have
been making positive gains in the classroom. Our Science class
has been focused on environmental science. Our Social Studies From Mrs. Campbell, School Nurse
What’s happening in the Health Office?
class has been engaged in ancient cultural studies. Language
Arts have focused on reading skills and the writing process; an  Not a bad year for illness this past winter!! Hopefully it
invaluable skill to have that will last a lifetime. Last but not
will continue through the spring and summer.
least, our Reading class has been diligently reading a variety of

Don’t forget to wear sunscreen, helmets when bike riding
novels surrounding topics of bullying as well as other issues
and seatbelts at all times in the car. Students may not wear
with adolescents. This topic hits close to home for students at
flip flops to school. I see a fair amount of injuries when flip
this age level. With more exposure to this topic and strategy
flops are worn.
building, we hope to provide students with the skills to over
Please send a copy of your child’s physical to school every
come this challenge.
time they have one. Your child will not be allowed to be
We look forward to any and all challenges that may be prein school if their immunizations are not up to date and will
sented to us and working together to overcome them.
not be allowed to participate in any sports.
13
Congratulations to the Winter Students of the Month!
December
February
Grade 5–Ashley Little & Rugved Doke
Grade 5– Kayla Blatcher & Andrew Philibert
Grade 6– Emily Leong & Bryan Amorim
Grade 6– Adriana MacPherson & Caleb Liang
Grade 7– LiMei Li & Donovan Murray
Grade 7– Kevin Rosemberg & Andrew Tran
Grade 8– Hilary Chen & Calvin Graves
Grade 8– Sydney Nguyen & Thomas MacPherson
January
Grade 5–Ashley Chamu Charco & Elijah Eno
Grade 6– Dhanvi Puttur & Peter Boylan Jr.
Grade 7– Kelsy Duong & Daniel Feliciano
Grade 8– Annabelle Le & Anthony Alves
Upcoming Important Dates
March 2016
5—Drama Production: Willy Wonka Jr. 7pm
29—Early release day / Students of Trimester
7—Cleaner Greener Quincy
30-31—Grade 6 & 7 MCAS testing
9-24—Math and Science MCAS testing (exact dates TBD)
April 2016
10—Early release day
1—Grade 6 & 7 MCAS testing
13—Grade 6 field trip
2—City Championship—Swimming
17—PTO meeting at 6pm
4—Grade 8 Class Photo
21—Robotics competition at 9am
5—Grade 5 & 8 MCAS testing / Grade 5 report cards issued
24—Early release day
6-7—Grade 5 & 8 MCAS testing
26-27—Grade 7 field trip
11-15—PWMS annual Spirit Week
30—Memorial Day—no school
11—Grade 5 Field Trip
June 2016
12—Early release day / PTO at 6pm
1-3—Spanish classes field trip
13—Grade 8 Field Trip / Grade 5 Field Trip
6—Spring Concert & Art Show
14—Science Fair at 5pm / Grade 6 field trip
8—Grade 4 Fly-up Day 9am
18-24—April vacation
9-10—Grade 8 NYC field trip
26—Early release day / Grade 5 parent-teacher conferences
13—Grade 8 field trip / QHS graduation
29—Grade 7 field trip
14—Early release day / NQHS graduation
30—Great Race 5k at 9am
22—Grade 8 Recognition Ceremony
May 2016
23—Last Day of School / Early Release Day
14
Images of Trimester 2
15
Point Webster Middle School
60 Lancaster St.
Quincy, MA 02169
617 984-6600 Tel / 617 984-6609 Fax
Aspen: Please use the Quincy Public Schools student information
system to access information regarding your child, grades and homework assignments by logging onto Aspen at:
http://aspen.quincypublicshools.com/
Point with
Pride!
If you need to reset your password, please call the school.
Please be sure that your child in Grade 5 is able to access the web-based programs,
i-Ready and Study Island, for additional practice in English language arts, math and
science. Usernames and passwords are found in student agenda books.
Fundraiser information:
Bay State Textile Fundraiser

Please donate/recycle clothing, shoes and
textiles in the drop box container in the
PWMS parking lot to support the school.
Stop & Shop A+ Rewards

Every time you shop at Stop & Shop, you
will earn cash for Point Webster.

Please send in your 13 digit rewards card
number and the last name on the card.

If you signed up last year. you need to reregister your card number again this year.
Box Tops for Education / Labels for Education

Please collect any Box Tops and Labels for
Education and place them in a bag/
envelope with the student’s full name and
grade.

Then please drop them in the collection
box in the PWMS Main Office. Every student who collects 30 or more Labels for
Education earns a prize.
Thanks for supporting PWMS!
PTO Meetings
All PTO Meetings are at 6pm in room
138. Anyone is welcome to attend.
Upcoming meetings:
April 12
May 17
Please contact Principal Christine
Barrett or Assistant Principal Aliza
Schneller if you would like additional
information.