Nov 1, 2015 - across the stage during our Costume Fashion Show hosted by. Fletcher ... my mailbox and I will make sure i
Gazette
Fletcher Maynard Academy
November 2015
FMA Community Halloween Party Halloween Fun at the FMA -J. Pegg Something spooky happened here at Fletcher Maynard on Friday, October 30th! Friends and family of the Fletcher Maynard Academy, FMA PTO, Fletcher Maynard Community School and Tutoring Plus gathered in the FMA gym for an evening of fun. It was the annual Fletcher Maynard Halloween Party!! This year’s event was a great success thanks to the wonderful collaborative efforts of everyone involved! Kids had fun flying through the air in the bounce house, everyone’s favorite. FMA teachers were gracious to volunteer their time and talents helping with face painting, running Halloween themed craft projects, helping students guess the number of eyeballs in a jar, and the other fun activity tables. The wonderful staff at Tutoring Plus wowed everyone with their awesome group costume and then spooked everyone with their Mystery Touch table! What did you think was inside the jars? FMA’s PTO was very generous in providing pizza, snacks and water for our hungry party animals! Which is a good thing, since the students needed their energy for FREEZE DANCE! Students also had an opportunity to show off their awesome costumes across the stage during our Costume Fashion Show hosted by Fletcher Maynard Community School teacher Mr. Joseph!
visit us @ fma.cpsd.us Thanks to all the princesses, superheroes, super villains, pirates, ninjas and all the other special guests that came out Friday that helped make the Halloween Party a great success. And a BIG thank you to all our wonderful volunteers. Can’t wait until next year! What will your costume be?!?
November Happenings •
Thursday November 5, EARLY RELEASE 12PM
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Thursday, Noevember 5 Math Carnival 5:30-7:30p
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Thursday, November 5 Parent Teacher Conference 5:30-7:30p Wednesday, November 11 HOLIDAY-NO SCHOOL Monday, November 16 PTO Meeting 8:15am
Tuesday, November 17 Class and Individual Picture Day
Thursday, November 19 DINNER OF THANKS 5:30PM Wednesday, November 25 TURKEY TROT 8:15AM Wednesday, November 25 12PM HALF DAY
Thursday and Friday November 26 and THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY- NO SCHOOL
Gazette
Fletcher Maynard Academy FMA October Students of the Month Room Student * 311 Yanency Fletcher-Lewis * 310 * 307 * 306 * 305 * 304 * 303 * 301 * 212 * 210 * Library * Spanish * Art * Gym * Music
Leilani Eastes Tinsae Getachew Caleb Welin Mariam Chrifialaoui Nael Burke Miriam Cruz-Pimentel Jesus Interiano Ryan King Sakariye Ahmed Natalie Douyon-Ortiz Kavon Singleton Zaire Cambridge Tchenzie Guichette Raul Cruz
Cider Stories
-Ms. Taylor
Believe it or not, cider is not the only thing happening in the garden. Just a small sampling of the action the garden has seen:
Wear Your Backpack Correctly -deLong With the start of a new school year, the occupational therapists at FMA would like to remind families about the safest way for children to wear backpacks. The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) provides the following guidelines: •When filled, backpacks should weigh no more than 10-15% of your child’s body weight. •Load heaviest items closest to the child’s back (the back of the pack). •Use padded straps and make sure the backpack is worn on both shoulders and fits snug to the body. •The top of the backpack should sit just below the top of the shoulders and the bottom should not go below the hipbones. •Backpacks come in a variety of sizes. Choose one that is the appropriate size for your child based on these guidelines. •http://www.aota.org/-/media/Corporate/Files/Backpack/ meet-your-backpack-8-2014.pdf Maggie deLong, MS, OTR/L Occupational Therapist Fletcher-Maynard Academy
JK students in Ms. O’s class and Ms. Astrove’s class have been hard at work planting wheat and rye, and saving marigold seeds.
Kindergarteners in Ms. Basu’s class have been practicing their comparison skills with Ms. Coulson. They’ve used all their senses to compare various greens.
First graders in Ms. O’Donnell’s and Ms. Swedberg’s classes have been practicing close observation with lots of scientific sketching, scavenger hunts, and a study of pumpkins. Second graders in Ms. Leonard’s and Ms. Sullivan’s classes launched their soil unit with a study of soil in the garden. After their investigation they’ll be getting back to me with recommendations for how to improve our FMA soil. 3rd and 4th graders used the cider press to study natural resources and simple machines.
Many of our plants are starting to say goodbye for the winter. However, our hoop house is up and running as of today and is home to many winter hardy veggies. Students also recently planted winter wheat and rye to protect our soil from harsh winter winds. Next up will be garlic and bulbs. If you have any student work that you want to display on the garden bulletin board, please put it in my mailbox and I will make sure it gets its day in the waning sun (literally).
Tree Poems
FMA First Graders Head to Shelburne Farm
-O’Donnell
On Friday, Oct. 30, the first graders of FMA went to Shelburne Farm in Stow, MA the culmination of our month-long study of pumpkins. Students have read fiction and non-fiction books about pumpkins, observed pumpkins (inside and out), collected seeds and observed them sprouting, discovered what happens when an opened pumpkin is left to decompose, and even buried a decomposing pumpkin in the garden. (Pretty gross and exciting stuff!) This made our trip to Shelburne Farm all the more exciting--besides picking our own sugar pumpkins, we also got to meet a farmer who grows extra-large pumpkins for competition. In addition, we took a hayride through the apple orchard, played in the farm-equipment-themed playground, and visited the many adorable farm animals who make Shelburne their home. We could not have asked for a more perfect fall day in the countryside!
Exploring Soil in Second Grade -Sullivan
As second graders dive into their science unit on soil, they are having fun observing different types of soil with Ms. Erin in FMA’s own garden! Rooms 310 and 307 were able to go outside and compare different soils from the garden. They used magnifying glasses to discover leaves, insects, and other matter within soil. They also recorded their observations about texture, smell, color, and other sensory details. Second grade is looking forward to finding out more about the different types of soil - sand, clay, and humus - as the unit continues!
Second Graders Tour Harvard Museum -Sullivan
Second graders were thrilled to be outside in October taking advantage of the wonderful learning institutions at their fingertips! Second graders from Ms. Sullivan’s and Ms Leonard’s class took a tour at Harvard University on an unseasonably warm October day. There, they were able to observe Harvard Yard, learn about the historical origins of the university, and ask their tour guides questions about the college experience. Students were encouraged to think about their goals for the future, and were given an idea of how college may fit into their plans! Ask a second grader what his or her favorite part of the tour was!
S.A.G Book Pals @ FMA
-Sullivan
Room 307 was incredibly fortunate to welcome Ms. Christina Chan to our classroom for the first time this week! Ms. Chan comes to us through Book Pals, an organization that provides volunteers to come into classrooms and read to students every week for a half hour. Second graders in Room 307 loved the way Ms. Chan read to them with enthusiasm! She engaged them with her book choices and expression - and this week she even left a book for the classroom! Room 307 is looking forward to a great year with Ms. Chan, and we are grateful for the Book Pals organization.
Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math (STEAM) at the FMA
-J. Pegg
On October 8th over a dozen city organizations gathered in the Fletcher Maynard Academy gym to highlight the exciting variety of STEAM based programs for K-8 grade students with in the community and city. This was the third event of its kind. The series, which began in February of this year, was spearheaded by Sharlene Yang in collaboration with the Community Art Center, Tutoring Plus and the Margaret Fuller House. The success of the first event helped spread the word to local families about the bevy of STEAM resources available in their community while engaging them in fun hands-on STEAM activities.
This year the Fletcher Maynard Community School and Elm Street Community School joined the original collaborators in planning the event for the Area 4 community. It was a stimulating event with wonderful hands-on demonstrations from area organizations such as Danger!Awesome and MMMMMaven, to name a few.
FMA’s own Liz Vincent was representing the Fletcher Maynard Community School with a demo from her Monday night enrichment class Food Science. Miss Vincent wowed children and parents by making butter right before their eyes using just heavy cream, mason jars and a person’s own strength! Is it science or magic?! And it was delicious! This year’s event was a lot of fun but no worries if you missed it! There are plans more events around the city throughout the year. Be sure to bring the whole family and see what amazing things are happening around STEAM and at these great organizations!
We Want Your Grandmother’s Advice!
FMA Qualls Academy is recognized!
The FMA Courageous Conversations team, a coming together of FMA faculty, staff, parents, and community meets monthly to explore and learn about issues of race that can affect our school community. As part of our work we want to hear from families of all backgrounds about their experiences. “When your grandmother asks, ‘Do you want a piece of advice?’, it’s a mere formality. It doesn’t matter if you answer yes or no. You’re going to get it anyway.” – Erma Bombeck FMA is looking forward to sharing YOUR family’s passed down advice at this year’s International Dinner of Thanks! Please send in any advice your grandmother (or any other family member) has given you in the past that stuck with you. Contact the main office or simply send the advice in on a piece of paper with your name! Please indicate if you or your child would be willing to share the advice on stage at FMA’s Dinner of Thanks!. You can also text to 617-642-8657 (make sure to include your name and child’s name)
The Fletcher Maynard Academy Qualls academy program recently won a $10,000 Mass humanities grant to support our work at the school .
The Mission of Qualls Academy is to improve the academic achievement, self-esteem, and social competence of young men of color and to enable each one to achieve and recognize their overall potential in their personal, social, and academic lives. Congratulations to the FMA for such a prestigious win!
