Stowe’s first week teaching

Jan 11- Jan 15 was my (Stowe) first week of teaching. I started with math and science. In math we learned different ways to count dimes, nickels, and pennies.We learned that 10 pennies is equal to 1 dime. I encourage parents to continue working on counting money with their children.

In science we learned about clouds. I started the lesson with a pre-test that demonstrates their knowledge of clouds before the lesson. We then learned how clouds are made, why they are white or grey, why they float, and we discussed  4 different types of clouds: Cumulus, Stratus, Cumulonimbus, and cirrus. The students then started making their own clouds that we will put on the bulletin board in order from lowest clouds to highest clouds in the sky. Next week we will finish up talking about cloud shapes and have a post-test on clouds to see how much they learned.

The New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Here we are in 2010!  We are very lucky to have a new Intern with us until March.  Stowe Beecher is attending RIT and working toward her Masters Degree in Teaching. One of her duties will be to send home weekly parent letters and possibly adding to this blog. I’m sure the students will enjoy having a new face in the classroom and so will I!

This week we will be making our New Year Resolutions.  What will yours be?

1st Quarter is over

Even the students can’t believe we are heading into the 2nd quarter and the holiday season.  We have been very busy wrapping up our unit on the Constitution in Social Studies and our Sink or Float unit in Science.  And, in 2 weeks we will be having our school-wide presentation on our Biome/Food Chain Science unit.  Of course we have also been working on Math, Spelling, Grammar and ASL!  No wonder we haven’t noticed the time just flying by.

10-1-09

Hard to believe another week has flown by again! Where does the time go????

Don’t forget that next Tuesday is Picture Day at GBSD!

Welcome Back!

Well, this year ought to be exciting.  We have all the same students as last year with a few new additions. This is a good thing because we can pick up where we left off and the “veterans” can show the “newbies” how we do things here at GBSD.

It is my hope to post a weekly update of what we are doing in class as well as let you know of any upcoming events.  This past week two of our girls started practicing on the GBSD soccer team.  Their first game will be on Oct. 3rd at 10:30 a.m. on the GBSD soccer field… GO GIRLS!!!  One of our students (SD) attended the Governor’s Tea, kicking off Deaf Awareness Week here in Maine.  She looked beautiful and said she had a lot of fun.

We have started a new Math Curriculum this year using the Saxon Math Program.  It is very repetitive and fun to learn.  So, far we have reviewed time, measurement, word problems using a calendar and complex patterns.  On occasion, during the year, I will be sending home letters describing what we will be covering in Math.

We finished a short unit on the American Constitution. Celebrating Constitution Day on September 17th.

In Science we are doing a Sink or Float unit.  The students enjoy trying their hand at sinking things or making heavy things to float.  Our next unit will be on the Food chain.

Well, that’s it for this week…have a great weekend!

Marge

6/13/09

GBSD MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS

June 13th 2009
Dear Parents,
On Thursday we had a great day out in Brunswick. We stopped first at the Joshua Chamberlain House, home of the former professor and governor of Maine, and a true hero of the Civil War. We learned some fascinating things about Chamberlain. He was a very brave soldier who saved the day at Gettysburg, recieved some terrible wounds a few times during the war, but always returned to fight for the Union, and was very generous and gracious to the Rebel armies when they surrendered. No wonder Maine is so proud of Chamberlain.
Then we visited the Skolfield-Whittier House. This mansion belonged to a very rich family in the last century. In 1925 the house was sealed, and was not opened again until 1982! It was amazing to step back 84 years and walk around a house that was ‘frozen’ in 1925. The picture above shows the laundry room.
Next week we will have two celebrations. On Monday we will have a special lunch to celebrate our service learning projects, and on Wednesday afternoon we will have a party to honor our 8th graders who are heading off for Portland High School in the fall.
We are looking forward to an exciting last week of the school year!
Have a great weekend,

5/16/09 Parent Letter

GBSD MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS
May 15th  2009

SPRING COLOR BY CASCO BAY
Dear Parents,
Greetings from Mackworth Island.  The picture above is a reminder that we are very lucky with the location of our school.
This was a quiet, but busy week in the classroom. It is good to see students keeping a steady pace of work as they near the end of the school year.
Last week we had two showing of the latest GBSD movie, The Gift. Kristy and Stacey had some nice roles in the movie,  and both showed off their fine acting and comic talents. The audience enjoyed the show. We hope to make some DVDs soon.
In writing, students have been working very hard on their scrapbooks. They are all doing some really wonderful work, with beautiful pictures and writing.
A couple of events are coming up. On Tuesday 26th our students will be presenting their famous Mainers Powerpoint presentations to a panel of judges, and on the 29th there is a service learning event to which you are invited. Details are in a separate letter.
In science, students are working on the skill of developing fair tests and experiments, with aims, predictions, procedures, results, and conclusions. We are recording our findings clearly, and had fun this week transferring data to a graphing program in our laptops, and made some excellent graphs.
Have a great weekend,

Parent Letter 5/8/09

No news this week …  Not because there wasn’t any news to tell but because we’ve just been too busy to get everything we’re doing down in writing !

May 1st 2009

GBSD MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS

STUDENTS REPRESENT GBSD IN AUGUSTA
Dear Parents,
We spoke to the students this week about taking precautions regarding the swine flu situation, and we are all doing everything we can to stay healthy and well.
On Thursday two students went with Julie Clark to the Hall of Flags in the state capitol, where schools from all over the state were exhibiting their Service Learning projects. First Lady Karen Baldacci was there.  She awarded us with a certificate, and was very impressed. “Kristy and Stacey did a great job,” said Julie Clark, “and many people said how much they liked our projects.”
Today two of our students, are representing us at the Special Olympics. “We know they’ll do their very best,” said coach Jim Clark, “and they’ll be back with medals!”
Next week we will be showing the latest GBSD movie, The Gift, loosely based on O. Henry’s The Gift of the Magi. The shows will be on Wednesday May 6th at 7pm, and Friday May 8th at 12:15, in the GBSD gym. The film is about an hour long. Some of our students are in it, and they are excellent. Hopefully you will be able to make it to one of the shows next week.

Stay healthy, and have a great weekend,

Parent Letter 4/17/09

Dear Parents,
The vacation week has come at a perfect time. Several people were not feeling their best this week, and will welcome a week in the Spring sun to recharge the batteries. We hope this beautiful weather continues.
Again, this was a quiet but productive week in the classroom. Students have been doing well with their reading and writing assignments, and are making some very interesting selections for their book reports.
Some of the students looked at ways we all leave a carbon footprint, and are considering ways we can reduce the size of them. Reducing videophone usage was considered not an option!
Students in Marge’s ELA class have continued their great work on the ASL dictionary, so please continue to check in on our website from time to time. There are lots of grade level games and stories there too! http://teachers.mackworth.org/mearnhardt/

We have assigned very little homework for the vacation because we want students to be well rested and refreshed when they return! We hope you have a restful week, and we look forward to an exciting and productive final stretch of the academic year!