49 Proctor Rd, Braintree, MA 02184
781-380-0210
781-848-3790 Absentee Line
www.gpvillage.com/liberty
Ilana Bebchick, Principal
Dear Parents and Guardians,
I hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thank you to all families who sent in paper
goods for the Braintree Community Food Pantry the week before the holiday. Paper goods
filled our front hallway! We are very grateful for your generosity.
In November we were honored to have a stamp unveiling ceremony at the school for the
new Charlie Brown holiday stamps. Mr. George Kippenhan, a manager at the United States
Postal Service in Boston and a former Liberty student, visited to talk about the importance
of writing letters and how mail is delivered, followed by the unveiling of the new stamps.
He presented us with a beautiful plaque that is now hanging in our front hallway.
Thank you for attending Parent Teacher Conferences. Educating your child is a team
effort, and we appreciate your collaboration and the many ways that you support your
child’s learning at home.
We are looking forward to a fun-filled holiday season at Liberty School. Our PTO has been
busily preparing for the Holiday Bazaar on Wednesday, December 9. All volunteers are
welcome! On Monday, December 21, at 7:00 p.m. is our fourth grade production of The
Nutcracker. We will gather for an all-school sing along on Wednesday, December 23,
before heading off for winter break.
During the holiday vacation, we encourage all families to continue reading and practicing
math facts. This will help our students when they return to school on Monday, January 4.
All my best wishes for a joyful holiday season and a wonderful new year!
Sincerely,
Ms. Bebchick
December 2015
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
1
Picture
Retakes
Wednesday
2
Thursday
3
Parent/Teacher
Conferences
3:00-5:30 pm
Friday
Saturday
Mayor’s Annual
Christmas
Holiday Tree
Lighting
4:00 p.m.
5
Pond
Meadow
Park
Wreath
Sale
4
Parent/Teacher
Conferences
3:00-5:30 pm
10 am - 3pm
6
Happy
Hanukkah
7
8
9
10
11
12
School
Committee
meeting
7 pm @ Ross
Holiday
Bazaar
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
4th Grade
Performance
of The
Nutcracker
7:00 pm
22
23
24
25
26
28
29
27
brrrr
Full Day of
School
First Day of
Winter
Winter
3
4
2:50 pm
Dismissal
30
Merry
Christmas
Winter
31
Break
Break
1
2
Grade 2 has been FABULOUS this FALL.
We look forward to being WONDERFUL in
WINTER.
November in first grade was filled with
reading, phonics, and math activities. In math
we have been working on place value and the
concept of subtraction. Thanksgiving provided
us with lots of academic opportunities. In
social studies we read and discussed the
Pilgrims and Native Americans. We wrote and
drew about the First Thanksgiving. We
appreciated parent support with our Family
Turkey Projects and loved the children’s
creativity. We hope that you will enjoy seeing
the turkeys displayed during parent
conferences. We are so thankful for our first
grade students and their families!
We are looking forward to a joyful December.
Please remember to check your child’s folder
nightly for information regarding holiday
learning and celebrations. On December 9th,
students will have the opportunity to do
holiday shopping and parents are able to come
and join our classes during that time. Notices
about the Holiday Bazaar will be coming home
in early December.
As always, we thank you so much for your
support and all that you do for your children.
We wish you a great month!
~ Your First Grade Team ~
Linda Wells, Kathy Forbes,
Brianna Campbell, and Brianne Bowes
In math, we have been working with two and three
digit numbers with an emphasis on place value.
We’re telling time in five minute increments and
counting coins. These concepts are challenging and
students would benefit from practicing at home by
utilizing real life applications. This could be
counting coins or reading analog clocks. An ongoing skill in math is addition and subtraction math
fact fluency to sums of 20. By the end of second
grade, students should be fluent with their addition
and subtraction facts to 20. Please visit the math
page on the Liberty School website for great
practice websites:
www.gpvillage.com/liberty/page?hnd=105333
In reading, our theme is Working Together. We are
reading a variety of stories, fiction and non-fiction,
about community cooperation. We are working
hard on capitalization of proper nouns, irregular
plurals and applying the rules of grammar to
writing assignments. We are working very hard
with reading comprehension as well.
In science, some classes are studying balance &
motion. Other classes are studying plants and some
are studying air & weather. In social studies, we
are focusing on the continents, and in December
we’ll study holidays around the world as they relate
to each continent.
Thank you to the P.T.O. for the wonderful
Scholastic News magazines. These are an excellent
and timely resource that enrich our curriculum in
all subject areas.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions or
concerns. You can write a note, call the office and
leave a message or contact us via email.
Mrs. Cahoon: [email protected]
Mrs. Doyle: [email protected]
Mrs. Hankes: [email protected]
Ms. Ranieri: [email protected]
Mrs. Sheehan: [email protected]
This month’s English Language Arts
curriculum includes guided discussions about smart
ways to solve problems. Questions that are posed
include, “How do you know if a solution is a good
solution?”, “When is it time to find a solution?” and
“What can we do to make sure solutions are fair?”
Discussing questions such as these help develop a
student’s oral expression and written vocabulary.
Students are also reading at their independent
levels and writing about various topics.
Our Science curriculum is focusing on five
topics: The Water Cycle, The Properties of Water,
Adaptations, Sun, Moon & Stars, and Life Cycles.
Our third graders are lucky because they have just
started to rotate between all of the teachers to
study each topic. At dinner, ask your child which
topic they are currently learning about. We are
very grateful to the PTO for purchasing the
National Geographic Explorer magazines. The third
graders look forward to learning about everything
from animals to flying cars to exploring caves. The
National Geographic magazines are a wonderful
complement to our science units.
In Math we are reinforcing telling time to
the minute, adding and subtracting, locating 4-digit
numbers on a number line, and multiplication. So far
the third graders have learned their 2s, 4s, 5s, and
10 times tables. Fluency with multiplication facts
is a prerequisite for success with math in the
future grades. The students are learning several
new strategies to discover the answer to facts, but
the old fashioned truth remains that frequent
practice is an important way to improve. Please help
your children study the facts with flashcards or by
using any means you can to help them increase
their speed and accuracy. Please visit the math
page on the Liberty School website to find games
to practice math facts:
www.gpvillage.com/liberty/page?hnd=105333
We have been practicing for our annual play, The
Nutcracker! While we practice daily in school it
is important for students to practice every day at
home as well. We will perform for the parents on
Monday, December 21, at 7PM and on the
following day, Tuesday, December 22, at
9:30AM. If there are any conflicts that will
cause your child to miss one or both of these
performances please let us know as soon as
possible. We will send more information about
costumes and arrival time soon.
The fourth grade has started or will be starting
Module 4 in the Origo Math program. The
module’s focus is using the traditional subtraction
algorithm for large numbers and subtracting
numbers with place values including zero. The
other half of the module’s focus is working on the
relationship between multiplication and division,
including division patterns and quotients with
remainders. Please continue to study multiplication facts with your child every night. Many of
the children have been using the Xtra Math
program on their home computers and are
enjoying this method of practice.
Our students continue to focus on reading
comprehension skills, vocabulary development, and
writing skills in ELA. The novels we are reading
this month are The War With Grandpa, Tales of a
Fourth Grade Nothing, Circle of Gold, and Shiloh.
In Science we passed out the information for the
Solar House project. Our intention is for parents,
uncles, aunts, grandparents, etc. to have fun
creating this project with your child. The Solar
House is due when we return from Winter Break
on January 4, 2016. We will start to use them on
Tuesday, January 5th, if the weather permits. We
assigned the project well in advance and you
received the directions for construction before
Thanksgiving, because we know this is a busy time
of year. Have fun!
We are working hard on organizational skills. We
appreciate your support. Please continue to check
your child’s homework notebook and folder every
night.
Fifth graders have successfully completed Term 1. In math students are working on adding and
subtracting fractions, solving multi step word problems and order of operations. The journal
entries are getting increasingly more difficult as well. Many students have still not mastered
their math facts. Please have your child practice on https://xtramath.org/#/home/index or with
good old fashioned flash cards.
In writing we have finished letter writing. Students wrote to a special person in their lives;
these letters were mailed out before the Thanksgiving holiday. In the month of December we
will focus on informational writing and using two different sources to answer an essay question.
We have been conferencing and using different strategies to effectively compose five
paragraph essays.
Kites and scrapbooks are on display! The students had a great time sharing their hard work in
class. We have also begun new novels with Mrs. Pendergast’s class and Mrs. Wishart’s class
reading Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and Mrs. LaRossa’s class and Ms. Corcoran’s class
reading Poppy. If your child has to read these novels for homework, it is extremely important
that they come back to school. We have a limited number of copies in the building. Also,
biography projects are underway. Students should have brought a biography book into class to
have approved for their project. First copies of questionnaires are due back into class by
December 19th, and students are to come to school dressed up for our biography social on
January 7th. Finally, students are to continue reading books of their choice for their book talks
which are done in class. They are required to complete two for the second term.
We are now well into our Matter and Energy unit in science class! The students have been
enjoying the various hands on activities that they have been participating in day to day. Along
with hands on activities, the students have been learning new matter and energy vocabulary
words. Every time we add on new vocabulary the students will put it in their fifth grade science
dictionary as well as make flashcards for the words. Please look for these flashcards in your
child’s folder so you can help them review and be prepared for quizzes and tests. As we
continue through the school year we will also being preparing for the science MCAS. We will
review strategies for the multiple choice and open response questions, as well as work with old
practice tests. Thank you for continuing to help at home, it is a big help for the students to
have a successful year in school!
by Mrs. McGuire
Congratulations to all students completing the Great Pumpkin Run activity in
November. The Liberty students did a fabulous job with this cardiovascular workout.
The weather may be cold outside, be we are heating it up in the gym. Our
December cardiovascular challenge is the Reindeer Romp….and the hearts will be
pumping! We are working at keeping all students working in the Healthy Fitness
Zone. All fourth grade students throughout the town of Braintree will be
participating in the Fitnessgram challenge in December, which measures flexibility,
strength, and endurance.
Our curriculum this winter will highlight ball skills, rope climbing, and locomotor
movement patterns. There is always lots of enthusiasm for our scooter board unit as
students develop their lower body strength. Teamwork is also our focus, as we dive
into scooter handball and our upcoming survivor challenges. Group problem
solving activities will challenge the students to develop both leadership and
cooperative skills.
If your child is wearing boots to school on his/her two Physical Education days,
please include the sneakers in the backpack. This policy will ensure that all the
children remain safe in PE class this winter! Appropriate attire will ensure that they
do not miss out on the excitement!
Students have been busy learning about chasing, fleeing and dodging skills within
various tag games and activities. During the month of December, students will
continue to develop these skills as well as begin to learn about fundamental basketball
skills. We will discover how to dribble and pass a basketball while stationary and while
moving. Our skill based work will eventually lead up to modified games. Please remind
your children to wear sneakers on PE days! If you have any questions, please feel free
to contact me at [email protected].
Thank you,
Ms. Fontes
I am still seeking numerous outstanding Grade 4 physicals. Please forward your
child’s physical to Mrs. Kelly ASAP if you have not done so already.
It is flu season, so please consider having you and your child vaccinated against
influenza. It is not too late!
The Fluoride Mouth Rinse Program has begun in Grades 3-5. If you have not
returned a signed permission slip, please do so. Remember that fluoride is the most
effective way to reduce the incidence of tooth decay.
If your child did not pass the school vision screening, please contact your health
care provider to have your child evaluated by an ophthalmologist soon. The referral
form needs to be completed and returned to me as soon as possible.
*HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL*
781-848-3790
Please remember to call and leave a message
when your child is absent from school.
SANTA VISITS POND MEADOW PARK
FOR WREATH SALE
Santa visits Pond Meadow Park on
Saturday, December 5th from 10:00
a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Wreaths will be
available for purchase. Hayrides will
also be available from 10:30 to 2:30
weather permitting. Come, let your
children visit with Santa, bring your
own camera for a great picture, take a
hayride, purchase a wreath and enjoy
some refreshments. Call the park at
781-843-7663 if you have any
questions.
Liberty School is collecting coats and jackets now through March
Donate quality winter coats for kids, adults and babies too! Coats are
donated to the Braintree Kids Clothes Closet and distributed to Braintree
families in need. A collection bin is in the Liberty School main hallway.
Thank you for your continued support.
If you have any questions, please contact Dina Moran at 617-759-9304.
NO EARLY DISMISSAL DAYS
IN DECEMBER
WINTER BREAK
DECEMBER 24th –JANUARY 1st
CLASSES RESUME JANUARY 4th
FUTURE SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETINGS
January
11, 2016
January
25, 2016
February
8, 2016
February 22, 2016
7:00
7:00
7:00
7:00
p.m.
p.m.
p.m.
p.m.
Monatiquot
Morrison
Colbert
South
The agenda for each meeting may be viewed
two days prior to the meeting date at
www.braintreeschools.org
9:00 – 9:25
Mrs. Wells
Mr. Kneipfer
9:30 – 9:55
Mrs. Doyle
Mrs. Moran
10:00 – 10:25
Mrs. Forbes
Mr. Kelly
10:30 – 10:55
Ms. Ranieri
Ms. Laaperi
11:00 – 11:25
BREAK
BREAK
11:30 – 11:55
Ms. Campbell
Ms. Bowes
12:00 – 12:25
LUNCH
LUNCH
12:25 – 12:45
Mrs. Burbank
Mrs. Hankes
12:45 - 1:10
Ms. Corcoran
Mrs. Pendergast
1:15 – 1:35
Mrs. LaRossa
Mrs. Wishart
1:40 – 2:05
Ms. Cawley
Mrs. O’Sullivan
2:10-2:35
Mrs. King
Ms. Courage
Mrs. Sheehan
Mrs. Cahoon
Tuesday, December 1st
Coffee Pond Productions will be here to photograph
any student who was absent on our original school
picture day.
Any student who would like a retake MUST return
their original Portrait Package to the photographer on
Retake Day. Students may keep their class photo.
If you have any questions please contact Coffee Pond
Customer Care Lifeguards at:
1-800-632-2323 x0
or
[email protected]
or
www.coffeepond.com