December December December December December December December 1, 2016 2, 2016 14, 2016 16, 2016 17, 2016 19, 2016 23, 2016 Parent Teacher Conferences Grade 4 singing at Providence Bruins 7:00 Tiger Cultural Arts Program Flaherty at Celtics Game 7:30 Snowflake Festival 10:00 – 2:00 School Committee meeting at South Middle 7:00 ½ Day School - Dismissal 12:10 – NO LUNCH SERVED Winter Break December 26 – January 2 BRAINTREE PUBLIC SCHOOLS KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION For Students Entering Kindergarten in the Fall of 2017 Registration for ALL eligible 2017-2018 Braintree resident Kindergarten students, regardless of where they live in town, will be held in the cafeteria at the MONATIQUOT SCHOOL KINDERGARTEN CENTER, located at 25 Brow Avenue, Braintree (Please note, the parking lot is on the side of the Monatiquot School Kindergarten Center. We request that all parents park in the lot and not on the street. Parents should enter the school from the front entrance on Brow Avenue). Registration packets will be mailed the first week in December to those families we know of having an age eligible kindergarten child for the 2017-2018 school year. Registration Week @ Monatiquot School Kindergarten Center Tuesday, January 17, 2017 -- 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Thursday, January 19, 2017 -- 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Saturday, January 21, 2017 -- 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon Once registration week is complete, we will evaluate the number of families requesting half day and full day programming. We will notify all families of their child’s placement in either a full or half day program during the week of January 30, 2017. At that time, should a lottery be needed for full day Kindergarten placement requests, those families will be notified and information about the lottery process will be provided. PLEASE NOTE: For the 2017-2018 school year, most full day Kindergarten classes will be located at the Monatiquot School Kindergarten Center. If you have a child or know of a child in your neighborhood, who will turn five by August 31, 2017, please take the time to fill out this form and turn it in to the Flaherty School Office. Name of Child__________________________________________________ First Full Middle Name Last Date of Birth Parent Name ___________________________________ Phone__________ Address________________________________ City of Birth___________ Email address_______________________________ ___My child will be five years old by August 31, 2017 and will attend Kindergarten in the Braintree Public Schools in September, 2017. ___My child will attend Private Kindergarten in September, 2017. ___My child will attend First Grade in the Braintree Public Schools in September, 2017. (Check only if not previously enrolled in Braintree Public Schools Kindergarten) Flaherty Families, I am sure you all had a great Thanksgiving and were able to relax and spend time with family and friends. I know the children were very excited to eat their turkey and mashed potatoes! Our first graders had a special Thanksgiving celebration at school right before the holiday. The children recited poems and sang some songs for their families, while dressed as pilgrims and Native Americans. It was a feel good event. I am sure you remember your older children’s first performance at school, a really special celebration! At the school wide performance it was fun to watch all the older children reciting the poems and singing the songs. They all remember! Thank you to the first grade teachers and staff that were involved in putting this production together. Proper Clothing The school runs hot at times and cold at others. Please try to dress your child in layers so they can be comfortable throughout the day. We do go outside for recess almost every day, even in the colder weather, so please send in a coat, hat, gloves… Your child can get some fresh air and play with their friends at recess if they are properly dressed. All clothing must be labeled. We already have a huge pile of beautiful clothing in the lost and found. I know how frustrating it is to send your child to school with something and never see it again. Well it is all here, just unmarked. Next time you are at school, take a peak and see if anything is your child’s. ARRIVAL With the colder weather and occasional snow and rain, we have many more families dropping kids off in the morning. We are prepared for this but need your cooperation to make it work smoothly as well as quickly. Once the buses unload and leave we are asking that parents pull up all the way to the middle of the circle when possible. Please don’t stop too early in the circle with no one in front of you, it just holds up the process. We will unload all cars in the circle and in the area of the crossing guard at once, then they will all move and the line will start again way down in the circle. While you wait, please have your child get their belongings and be ready to jump out of their car right away to keep everything moving. We don’t want anyone to pass on the left in the circle to avoid an accident. We have the line move all at once. Drop off begins at 8:35. Thank you for your cooperation. DISMISSAL will also have more traffic and people when it is raining, snowing or just really cold. If you park in the circle, it is expected that you will pull all the way up, leaving no empty spaces, and that you will get your child and get in your car immediately. If you want to talk to a teacher or friend, you must park in the lot or on the side of the street. We can’t have any one car holding up the release of the circle. If you pull up and the circle is full you can wait in line on the side of the street and as the circle releases, you can pull in. The process is actually very quick, IF everyone cooperates. Community Service Club We are starting a community service club with the fourth and fifth graders that have expressed interest, this month. The club will come up with opportunities for the entire Flaherty School to Give Back. Two parents and two teachers are co-chairing the group with opportunities for parent volunteers when there is a specific outing or delivery needed. We are all very excited about Flaherty Giving Back to others! Have a wonderful holiday season! Stacey Soto Principal Kindergarten News In ELA, we are working away in Unit 2 in the Reading Street Program. Our “Big Question” is “How are plants and animals unique?” We are learning so many new letters and sounds. Now that we’re learning more sounds, we are continuing to blend CVC (short vowel) words. You can practice reading and spelling short a and short i words at home! Please also continue to practice the high frequency words at home. So far, we have learned: I, am, the, little, to, a, have, is, we, my, and like. We are adding he and for to our list too. A fun and easy way to practice these words is by being “word detectives” and finding these words as you read with your child each night. In Math, we are continuing the Origo Stepping Stones program. This curriculum is a very hands-on interactive approach to teaching math that aligns to the Common Core standards. In the first 2 modules, we worked on sorting groups, comparing and ordering numerals and quantities, and number writing. We will begin Module 3 this month, which focuses on relative position of numbers. In Social Studies, we are beginning our study on winter celebrations and traditions. We continue to learn so much in our Weekly Readers too. In Science, we are continuing our study of trees and will begin our unit on the 5 senses in the coming weeks. Thank you for your continued support at home. We had a lot of fun sharing our disguised turkeys from home. Be on the lookout for another home project coming home shortly! Grade 1 News It’s already December and winter will be here before you know it. The excitement of the season will be seen throughout the first grade in all areas of the curriculum. The children are reading, writing, and spelling each day with more confidence. Let’s see what sparkling new skills will be a flurry in December. The children will be moving into our second anthology, Problem Patrol, and introduced to more new reading comprehension and writing conventions skills that will be used in every day writing assignments. The vocabulary is building from story to story with high frequency words and story words. Skills introduced in this anthology are identifying main idea and details, finding problems and solutions, cause and effect and making predictions. Grammar skills are being taught and reinforced through varied writing assignments in order to produce effective first grade writers. Our spelling lists will continue to challenge each spelling group so that they will be able to feel more confident in their writing. These words assist the children with their writing and can be found in their reading selections. Please practice these words at home with your child regularly and try some of the games and activities on www.SpellingCity.com. In phonics we will continue to work on short vowels in CVC (net, pin, six), CCVC (clip, stop, grab, trip), CVCC (lamp, went, desk, sand), and CCVCC (clamp, blast, grand, slant) patterns called consonant blends. The children will be introduced to long vowels that end in ‘e’ such as dive, bone, cape, tube in CVCE patterns. This new skill will need to be practiced to compare short from long vowel words. Math is progressing well with addition and subtraction facts through 12 using manipulatives, word problems and new strategies. The children will be talking about related subtraction facts along with turnaround addition facts. New strategies for addition will include double facts, double facts plus 1, adding with zero. We will also introduce how to tell time to the hour using both analog and digital clocks. We would encourage you to practice these skills with your child weekly. In social studies we will be using this time of year to discuss how families celebrate holidays with customs and traditions using literature, videos and the children’s experiences with their families. In science we will complete our unit on Pebbles, Sand, and Silt through hands-on activities to find the smallest size rock called silt. The children have enjoyed learning about rocks and their properties and names of all sizes of rock. As you can see, the month of December will prove to be filled with learning and excitement for all. We look forward to 2017 with continued anticipation of what new learning is to come. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! Grade 2 News December is a very exciting month for children and as a result it can also be a challenge to keep the children engaged and focused on academics. Our second graders are plowing through and we have lots of fun things to do while also tackling the curriculum. We will finish Unit 2 in the Reading Street program this month and will be giving the unit test before the holiday break. Please make sure that your child is reading at least 15 minutes every night. There are many ways that you can further his/her thinking at home through discussion about what they are reading. It is important that your child is able to identify important elements of a story. Can he/she tell you the characters, setting, problem, and solution (how the problem gets solved) in the story? Encourage your second grader to try and explain how the main character changed from the beginning of the story. Did the main character learn anything? If non-fiction is your child’s genre of choice then you can also ask them about main ideas, details, captions, and fact compared to opinion. We are also moving right along in math and are currently discussing Place Value to 100. There are many fun games you can play at home or in the car with your child to help review place value for two and three digit numbers. For example if you say a two or three digit number such as 378 to your child, see if they can name all the digits and in the right order such as 3, 7, 8. Can they tell you the number in expanded form? (300+70+8) We would encourage you to continue to practice addition math facts with your child several times a week to achieve mastery. We expect the children to master their addition facts by the end of Term 2. Remind your child of the several strategies that have been taught which include the use of doubles (3+3, 4+4) and doubles plus one (also known as the next door neighbor). Some tricks to help with subtraction include the 9s trick (when subtracting 9 from a number in the teens, add the two numerals in the teen to find the answer. 13-9=4 because the number 13 contains a 1 and a 3 and 1+3=4). Another trick is the 8s trick. This trick is when you subtract 8 from a number between 11 and 19, look at the numerals in the number, add them together and add 1. There is also the 5s trick. When subtracting 5 from a number between 11 and 19, locate the numeral in the ones place. Add this number to the five to find the answer. 13-5=8 because 3+5=8. When shopping for holiday gifts, please keep in mind any board games such as Monopoly that include the use of money. This helps with adding and subtracting as well as the use of currency. December is the month when you should begin to notice a difference in handwriting. This is the time of year when the students change from using double spaced to single spaced letters. This often helps the children improve the neatness of their work as they now only have to do “half as much” printing. In social studies, we will be exploring many holiday celebrations of the season and the different traditions associated with each while we also continue our journey around the world. In closing, we would like to wish all our second grade families health and happiness throughout the holidays and into 2017. Grade 3 News In reading, we will complete Unit 2 and move into our third unit this month. The third unit of the Reading Street program is titled People and Nature. The “Big Question” for this unit is “How are people and nature connected?” The students will continue to work on the reading skills of drawing conclusions, character, setting and plot, generalizations and cause and effect. Throughout this unit the students will work on verbs including action and linking, main and helping; subject-verb agreement, past, present and future tenses and irregular. Please remember to read “Family News” every Monday to see what your child is working on in reading that week. We’re looking forward to another productive unit in reading! In math we are moving onto our fractions unit. In this unit students will be able to name fractions using the area model. They will also be able to relate the numerator and the denominator to a particular situation. The students will also learn how to multiply 1-digit factors by multiples of 10. We continue to appreciate your help at home with their multiplication facts. We will be moving into the study of the Puritans this month. Students enjoy learning about another group of people that came over to America ten years after the Pilgrims. The Puritans settled in Salem and set up the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The students are especially intrigued by the Salem Witch Trials. We will be assigning the first independent book report after the winter break. As you can see, the month of December will prove to be filled with learning and excitement. We would like to wish you all a happy holiday season. Grade 4 News MATH: In math, we are moving on to double digit multiplication. We do not use the standard or traditional algorithm. I will be sending home a hand-out for parents with detailed directions on how we multiply. The two strategies we use are area model and partial products. I appreciate your support in letting the kids understand how multiplication works before we move on to the standard algorithm. It is essential that students master their multiplication facts and this requires practice at home. Please try to have your child log in to Xtramath.org three times a week. Taking time to review multiplication facts is a wonderful investment in your child’s mathematical development. Rapid command of multiplication and division facts enable a child to move onto multiplying and dividing large numbers much more easily. A child will be much more successful at multiplying 2 and 3 digit numbers if they have a mastery of multiplication facts. Thank you for your support! SCIENCE: In Science students have finished our main unit on weather and climate. Starting in December students will be working with a new curriculum called STEMscopes. This is an exciting new curriculum that I am lucky enough to get to pilot. We will be looking at how this program teaches the newly adopted science standards. Our first unit will be “Natural Processes”. This unit ties in directly with our weather unit. It addresses weather disasters like tornadoes and floods and also introduces students to geologic events like earthquakes and volcanoes. This unit focuses on these natural events and evaluates different solutions to reduce these impacts. We will incorporate engineering into this unit by designing a structure that will keep themselves and their families safe from any possible natural disaster or situation. SOCIAL STUDIES: In Social Studies, we are beginning to study the Southeast Region. We will again be focusing on the same big 3 geographical questions as we research the Southeast (can be found on mrpestone.com). The students were all very successful during our 3rd Social Experiment, applying their knowledge of landforms and natural resources to solve problems within their pretend settlements. In the end, they realized how the movement of goods, ideas, and people can transform the land and help the people living there! READING/WRITING: During reading the 4th graders are doing lots of reading and writing. While they are reading the students make connections from what they read to themselves, to other texts, and to the world. They are also encouraged to predict what will happen next and use strategies to understand vocabulary in context. All the students are reading a variety of novels and Storyworks articles. Not only are we reading during this time, but there is also a great deal of writing going on. We are responding to different texts and writing different types of assignments. We are looking at author’s purpose and how to write with that purpose in mind. We are practicing writing journals, letters and persuasive pieces. We are using our novels or Storyworks articles to launch us into our topics. We hope everyone has a very happy holiday and restful vacation! Grade 5 News Science: As we continue our physical science unit, Matter and Energy, the children will observe that starting substances can change into new substances as a result of a chemical reaction. Students will also examine different forms of energy; identify energy sources and where energy can be stored; as well as understanding energy transfer using activity centers. The fifth grade science curriculum is challenging and the vocabulary can be difficult. Please encourage your young scientist to talk about what they’ve learned in class and to periodically review the activities and readings in their science binder. Thank you for all of your support at home! Social Studies: The fifth graders worked very hard during our study of the Native American Cultural Regions of the United States. They also developed some very creative and interesting story books, PowerPoints, and story boards explaining the electoral process in America. We’ve now moved our focus of study from North America to the Silk Road in Asia. The students will learn what types of items travelled the Silk Road. They will learn that it was more than hard goods, cultural ideas and traditions were also exchanged. They will also learn about the Vikings, Marco Polo, and other explorers from this time and region. We are continuing our Second Step lessons to encourage respectful and empathetic behavior in school and at home. The lessons have focused on disagreeing respectfully and responding with compassion. Please encourage your child to use these skills in his/her everyday interactions with peers. Our Power Math blocks continue to provide the students with opportunities to review concepts that they are learning in math class, as well as, another chance to write about their mathematical thinking. Reading: Fifth graders are hard at work reading and writing this month. Some of the novels that fifth graders may be reading are The Great Brain and Poppy. The students will use their novels to analyze characters, read for meaning, and make connections. We will also be reading and working on Storyworks articles that focus on non-fiction, poetry, plays, and infographics reading and writing skills. During the month, all classes will continue to work on vocabulary development, spelling, and grammar skills. Writing is a focus in all of the fifth grade classes. The students are working on providing detail in their writing, interesting word choice, and varied sentence structure to make their pieces interesting, informative, and persuasive. This month’s book report is focused on biographies. The students will read about a famous person of their choice and then find important details that they will share with their classmates. As a culmination to the project, all of the fifth graders will “become” their person. The students will dress up and be interviewed by a fellow classmate on December 22nd. This looks to be an exciting Biography Social with many interesting and important people. Math: Our fifth grades did a fantastic job tackling their unit on Order of Operations! I am very impressed with their algebraic thinking. We have spent the last week working on Coordinate Planes. Students have been using ordered pairs to locate an exact point on a coordinate plane. After Thanksgiving, we will review division strategies from fourth grade including partial quotients and the area model. We will work our way up to dividing with a 2-digit divisor. Please support your child by making sure they log into Prodigy or Sumdog at least three times a week. Fact fluency is so important – especially those division facts! And don’t forget to check my website weekly for updates on what we are learning in math, as well as games and tutorial videos to support the current skill. www.mrsriordan.weebly.com AIR POLLUTION CONCLUSION When you have a chance, try to use public transportation to reduce the amount of pollution and exhaust that comes from cars. You can also, try to use fewer heaters, fireplaces, and stoves. Using a gas fireplace or electric stove can reduce the amount of air pollution. Air pollution can harm plants and animals in the environment and make people sick. These tips will help keep our community cleaner. From your Green Team: Raya Almahameed, Anika Teckchandani, and Sophia Eklund Literacy Traditions ‘Tis the season for joyous traditions that help make the holidays feel so special! So, why not create some literacy traditions that your family can do year after year? There are many fun ways that you can integrate literacy into the holiday season. Listen to audio books while you’re traveling, wrapping gifts, or making holiday treats. Read and sing lyrics from different holiday songs. You can always write your own lyrics to a familiar holiday tune! Start a tradition of retelling family stories from the past, using photographs from previous holidays. Prepare delicious meals by reading recipes, writing shopping lists, and reading labels at the food store to find the right items. Next, read the recipe and cook together. While the food is cooking, kids can write and decorate menus or place cards for special holiday meals. Work on writing skills with letters to Santa, as well as writing thank you notes for holiday gifts to relatives and friends. Try and make the act of reading its own tradition during the holidays. Curl up with a special seasonal book that is read year after year, or include books on the list for Santa, to continue encouraging a love and importance of reading. Molinari Math Time has truly flown by this school year! With the holidays approaching, winter break is drawing near. I encourage students to take time out of their vacation to practice math skills in order to avoid regression. Below are some great free websites to practice fact fluency and early numeracy skills! www.ictgames.com (K-2) www.ixl.com/math (K-5) www.gregtangmath.com/games (1-5) www.mathplayground.com (3-5) www.xtramath.com (3-5) Please set aside 5-10 minutes every day to reinforce these critical math skills with your child. Together we can make learning math fun! Phys Ed News In December we will get a break from competing and focus on cooperation. Students will be doing a variety of cooperative games and challenges. The only way to succeed is to work together to reach the goal. I have challenges for all grade levels so the entire school will be involved to the end of the year. Prior to vacation we will play some festive games to enjoy the holiday spirit. With excitement building for our first break these games are a great way to burn some calories and touch on all the skills we have worked on the first 1/3 of the year. Happy Holidays Media News We are working on our book trailers in fifth grade. Students have written their scripts, picked out images and now we are about to start making them using iMovie on the Ipads. I hope to post them on my website as soon as they are done. Fourth graders have worked on doing research using the Thayer Public Library site as well as on their keyboarding skills. Third grade has focused on learning about the Pilgrims and the Wampanoags using the Scholastic First Thanksgiving and Plimoth.org site. We have compared and contrasted the daily lives of the Pilgrims and Wampanoags as well as looked at the first Thanksgiving. Second grade has looked at author’s purpose for writing books and first graders have been reviewing character, plot and setting of stories. Good Reads for children is a great site for getting summaries of books and finding out about new books. Now that the weather is getting chilly, it is a great time to curl up with a good book. Please check out our catalogue below for any books. Happy Reading! Mrs Thynne http://braintreema.booksys.net/opac/brainfes/index.html#menuHome Nursing Notes From Mrs. Sellon Help Stop the Spread This is the cold and flu season. Here are some things we can all do to limit the spread of the flu. Encourage your children to wash his/her hands after wiping/blowing their nose; after touching their mouth, nose or eyes; and before they eat. Hand washing is a major defense against the spread of germs. Encourage your child to sneeze or cough into tissues or into their own elbow and then properly dispose of the tissue and wash their hands. Any child with a fever above 100F, persistent cough, or earache should be seen by their health care provider before they return to school. The Cold Weather is Here!!!!! Please have your child dress warmly. We try to get out for some fresh air and exercise if the wind chill factor is not a problem. Kids will need long pants, jackets, hats and gloves. Please remind your children not to share hats, combs or brushes, for the spread of lice can occur easily. This will be important because there are so many fun hats to wear. These are great for warmth but not for sharing. Holiday News In Need of Assistance? Braintree Holidays/Friends provides holiday assistance for families in need. If your family is in need of assistance, please call Mrs. Sellon at 781-380-0180 X3530 for an application. Braintree Public Schools School Committee Meeting Dates December 19, 2016 January 9, 2017 January 23, 2017 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM South Middle Ross School Town Hall **Tentative** The agenda for each meeting may be viewed two days prior to the meeting date at www.braintreeschools.org FLAHERTY SCHOOL ALTERNATE ROUTES STOP STOP CHANGES TO BUS E 15 CAPEN RD. 4 BUSHNELL TERR. WASHINGTON ST. / CAPEN RD. CHURCH ST. / BUSHNELL TERR. BUS G ALL LAWNVIEW DR. STOPS 358 OLD ELM ST. ALL BLANCHARD BLVD. STOPS ALL ROBERT ST. STOPS HOLMES ST./ FAIRFIELD ST. ELM ST./ LAWNVIEW DR. ELM ST. / OLD ELM ST. HAWTHORN RD./ HOMEPARK ROBERT ST. / LORETTA AVE. WASHINGTON ST. / FAIRFIELD ST. BUS H DAVIS RD. / FALLON CIR. ALL BLOSSOM RD. STOPS ALL PARTRIDGE HILL STOPS ADDISON ST. / ELEANOR DR. ALL FALLON CIR. STOPS ALL BRIERWOOD STOPS 35 ELEANOR DR. 65 ELEANOR DR. 25 ELEANOR DR. GRANITE ST. / DAVIS RD. GRANITE ST ./ PARTRIDGE HILL GRANITE ST. / PARTRIDGE HILL WEST ST. / ADDISON ST. GRANITE ST. / DAVIS RD. GRANITE ST. / PARTRIDGE HILL WEST ST. / BURTON RD. WEST ST. / BURTON RD. WEST ST. / BURTON RD. ALL STOPS NOT LISTED AS ALTERNATE STOPS WILL REMAIN AS REGULAR STOPS. “PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THE ALTERNATE BUS ROUTE RUNS FASTER THAN THE NORMAL BUS ROUTE. PLEASE BE AT YOUR ALTERNATE BUS STOP FIVE TO TEN MINUTES EARLIER THAN YOUR USUAL TIME.” ALSO, WHEN ALTERNATE ROUTES ARE IN EFFECT, THIS MEANS THEY ARE IN EFFECT FOR THE AFTERNOON RIDE HOME, AS WELL AS THE MORNING PICK-UP. This should eliminate confusion when some of the snow melts by the afternoon. Some parents think that roads are better, and the bus will stop at their house in the afternoon. This will not be the case. SANTA VISITS POND MEADOW PARK FOR WREATH SALE Santa visits Pond Meadow Park on Saturday, December 3rd from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Wreaths will be available for purchase and hayrides will be available from 10:30 until 2:30, weather permitting. Come, let your children visit with Santa, bring your own camera for a great picture, purchase a wreath, take a hayride and enjoy some refreshments. Call the park at 781-843-7663 if you have any questions. Braintree Celebrates Our Children Please join Mayor Joseph Sullivan and the Children of Braintree for a Dedication Ceremony of a Very Special Pearl Street Railroad Bridge Mural Mural Designed by Heidi Hurley Director of Art, Braintree Public Schools with Artwork by the Monatiquot School Kindergarten Center Class of 2015 Saturday, December 3rd, 2016 At 9:00 A.M. Please Park by Bank of America on Pearl Street Reception to Follow Dedication at Braintree Town Hall, with Cocoa and Tasty Treats See you then!
© Copyright 2026 Paperzz