1st Qtr Newsletter | 2nd Quarter Newsletter
Team O Gold continues to be involved
in various activities, academic, social, and philanthropic. Our Pie Sale
was a huge success, and we thank you for your efforts. We recently attended
our second field trip for the year. We attended a production titled “Dixieland
Pops” at PPAC and a screening of “Magnificent Desolation 3D”
at The Imax Theater. Thank you to Mrs. Morisseau for chaperoning.
Reading classes recently completed a unit
on Short Stories and Literary Terms. Some of our favorites are “The
Lady or the Tiger”, “All Summer in a Day”, The Lottery”,
and “The Tell-Tale Heart”. As a culminating activity, we wrote essays
analyzing the narrator of “The Tell-Tale Heart”. Currently,
we are exploring areas such as one’s struggle for identity, cultural diversity
and tolerance, and people who have made a difference. Over the next few
weeks the reading classes will read the novel, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
by Mildred Taylor. We are gearing up for a major research and writing project.
It is scheduled for February and March as a continuation of our study of tolerance
and acceptance of diversity.
Mr. Enright’s Math classes
are working on metrics and Venn Diagraming. The classes have also been
working on converting fractions to decimals and percent, as well as, graphing
data and calculating mean, median, mode, and range. We have just completed
working on the computer to generate spread sheets and various types of graphs
as a culminating activity of the graphing unit. We will continue to reinforce
the basics skills on our Problem Solving Tuesdays as well.
Social Studies classes completed
an extensive unit which took the students back to the days of Pharaohs, tombs,
and pyramids in their study of ancient Egypt. At this time, we are studying
other civilizations of the Middle East and how the conflicts of today are directly
and indirectly related to the conflicts of the past. In addition, we will
be working on a comparative religion unit in which the students compare Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam.
Mr. Enright’s Science classes
have finished their unit on Electricity, Magnets and Motors. as a culminating
activity, the students took apart and put back together a large heater motor
and two alternators. We would like to thank Michael Sherburne’s
grandfather for the donation of the two alternators. We have begun our
study of Time, Measurement , and Astronomy. These units are from the National
Science Foundation kits and are supplemented by texts. Look for information
coming home regarding the Science Fair which will be held in May/June.
Ms. White’s Language Arts
classes continue to broaden their vocabulary and improve their writing skills.
Focus has been on using The Six Traits of Effective Writing. Also, we
have been learning different parts of speech and how they improve writing.
Further, the Language Arts classes had a Spelling Bee, and we are proud to announce
that Zachary Briggs won the right to represent Team O Gold at the town wide
Spelling Bee being held at North Kingstown High School in January.
We are proud to announce our Students
of the Month, Acacia Leavitt, Matthew Lamb, Michael Biello, and Abigail Phillips.
Our Most Improved Students are Jessica Still and Sterling Marino. There are
many other deserving students, and we are proud of the efforts made by each
of our students.
It has been a very successful semester
and we look forward to much success for the second half of the year. There will
be many new, different, and exciting projects, activities, and field trips.
This will hopefully make Team O Gold’s year a memorable and educational
one for all the students.
Team O Gold's first quarter has gone by very quickly. We have gotten to know your children; their strengths and weaknesses. We are off to a great start. As of this printing, we are scheduled for our final attempt at attending Project C.O.P.E. field trip. If we are not successful, we will reschedule it for the spring. Parent conferences went very smoothly. Every effort will be made to contact each student’s parent(s) at some point in the near future.
We have just completed or fifth annual pie sale fundraiser. Over 80% of our students participated raising well over one thousand dollars. Thank you for your support. Pie distribution will be Friday, November 18 from 2:00PM- 4:30PM.
As a SmART school, Team O Gold teachers are infusing the Arts (dance, drama, music, visual arts, etc.) into many areas of the curriculum. For example, in Social Studies we studied the development of human civilizations, and the students made fossil columns to replicate what archeologists do in unearthing ancient civilizations. We will be making cuneiform tablets of ancient Sumerian writing. We will also be presenting tableaus (a visual representation of a scene from a piece of writing using sculptors to create human sculptures.)
In Reading class, we have started preparing for The Battle of the Books.
Students are encouraged to read as many books from the list as possible. During
silent reading all Team O Gold students spend at least 20 minutes, three days
a week reading a novel of their choice. Students should be reading nightly
as well. With the help of an adult, students are filling out the home reading
sheets. These reading forms are due on Mondays. Failure to do this homework
will result in a lower grade in Reading. It is an integral part of the
program and helps meet the national standard of 25 books read per year. This
type of homework can not be made up. However, some forms may have been completed
but misplaced. Parents, please encourage your child to bring in any previously
recorded forms.
Language Arts classes are working
on grammar skills, developing a broad vocabulary, and improving their writing.
As part of celebrating Veterans’ Day, the students wrote very thoughtful
letters of appreciation to military veterans. Parents, please watch for
LA/RDG folders coming home every other Friday.
In Math classes we have been studying patterns in math through geometry, problem solving, and review of basic operations of whole numbers and decimals. Morning Math classes have been piloting a text book and one of the supplementary materials is a workbook. It is an outstanding resource, so twenty additional copies have been ordered to be used with the afternoon Math class. One of the Math department’s areas of focus is on problem solving. Now that NECAP testing is complete, we will celebrate “Problem Solver Day” each week to enhance our students’ problem solving techniques.
In an attempt to prepare students for the written part of the math placement tests, PSAT’s, and SAT’s, we have just completed a Halloween math story. This afforded us an opportunity to integrate two core curriculum areas. Mathematics and Language Arts. Students infused multiple math problems into a story centered around Halloween. They were exceptionally creative, and for the most part, the students achieved or exceeded the standard in both Math and writing.
Congratulations to the many Team O Gold students involved in Band, Chorus, Cross Country, Student Government, Yearbook, Book Club, Intramural, Youth to Youth, Computer Club, and other extra curricular activities. They are taking advantage of the middle school experience and are making their presence known.
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