Sarah Noble

T-Gram

October, 2012

We the people…Constitution Week is a national event that occurs every year

during the month of September. At SNIS we celebrated the word and “spirit” of this

important historical document in many ways. For example, after researching the

Constitution, Branches of Government, etc., students in:

• Mrs. Arnauckas’ 4th grade class performed a Readers’ Theater about the

Constitution. The performers got into their roles making adorable props to help

with their performance to their peers in other classes.

• Mrs. Sullivan and Mrs. Tresca had their young artists draw Peter Max-inspired

patriotic Statue of Liberty faces on a piece of clear film. These drawings were

then attached to a background of red and white stripes. These creations are

proudly displayed in our main lobby.

5th graders in Ms. Duque’s and Mrs. Klee’s classes learned about the Preamble of the Constitution and illustrated

their interpretation of each section. They also had discussions about the Constitution’s relevance to our world

today.

6th graders were also busy learning all about our nation’s Constitution.

• Mrs. Braucci's classes used this week to get ready for the November

election by learning about the various roles of the President as described in

the U.S. Constitution.

• Mrs. Maloney's classes also have an eye on the November election and were

viewing a film available from Discovery Education featuring the U.S.

Constitution and the role it plays in the design of the electoral map.

• Ms. Gati had her students learn about the preamble of the U.S.

Constitution by having them research on the internet various aspects

of the U.S. Constitution.

• Mrs. Gil-Rogers' classes reviewed the "separation of powers" aspect

of the U.S Constitution by drawing representations of each branch.

They also drew aspects of the Bill of Rights and applied them to

articles in the most recent issue of Junior Scholastic magazine.

Music teachers, Mrs. Dombal and Mrs. Capone, have spent the month of September celebrating the birth of the

“Star Spangled Banner”, and beginning to sing and play rounds and canons. We are also relating all the music we

have experienced to its place in American History.

Web-based math…6th grade math instruction will be supported this year by a

web-based, computer program called IXL. All students have been registered so

they can access the program on a computer at school or at home. Teachers can

monitor student activity and progress throughout the year. Students can access skills

from any grade level. Initial reports from the math teachers have been very positive.

If you have any questions about the IXL program, contact your child’s 6th grade math

teacher. Here is the website link to check it out! www.ixl.com/math

Reading & Writing Workshop…Students in Mrs. Klee’s and Miss Duque’s 5th grade classes have been

learning the routines and expectations for both of these workshop approaches that

improve literacy skills. Students have learned about stamina and how they should be

selecting “Just Right Books” for their independent

reading. During independent reading time, all students

read for long periods of time while individual students

confer with the teacher. Our students really enjoy the

opportunity to read in their favorite “Just Right Books.”

Students in Ms. Olmsted's 5th grade Writing Workshop have worked hard on their writing

stamina and as a result, their writer's notebooks are brimming with thoughts and ideas

which will develop into published pieces of expository writing. Choice is an important aspect

of the workshop approach and students from Ms. Miller's and Ms. Olmsted's classes have

been thinking deeply about what makes them unique individuals. Writing

exercises include "I Am" to "Things I Know A Lot About" and onto "Heart

Maps," have given us a window into each other. It is a wonderful experience

to share personal written work in front of peers and the students have risen

to the challenge. We are looking forward to a great year of writing!

I’ve Got Mail…Everybody likes to get mail. Mrs. Gee's 4th graders started their first

round of pen pal letters with Mrs. Wheeler's 3rd grade class at John Pettibone Elementary

School. Letter writing helps the students edit, revise, and write friendly letters as they make

new friends.

In Social Studies, Mr. Raps’ 5th graders recently completed an introductory maps unit and

are beginning to dive into the world of the first Americans and the Asian migration. Learning

about the first Americans and how they established different cultures and advanced

civilizations will help students to understand the vast changes the Americans underwent after

they age of exploration began. This will bridge our understanding to our own beginnings as

early colonies and then, a new nation.

Geo People at SNIS…In math, Mrs. Haleks’ students reviewed classifications of

polygons by building "Geometric Geo People." Using cutouts of different polygons they

constructed creative people. Next, they had to write a paragraph describing their person using

the attributes of the polygons. A hallway bulletin board was created to display the student

work. Take a look the next time you’re in the 4th grade hallway!

Morning Meeting time…One of the changes we made over the summer was revising

the 4th grade daily schedule so our youngest students wouldn’t have to run off to a special

right after morning announcements each day. This change now gives all 4th grade teachers

an opportunity to ease their students into the academic day more “gently.” The teachers

have appreciated this change and many are using this time to start each day with a morning

meeting. Mrs. Rivero's 4th grade students have enjoyed getting acquainted with their new

classmates during morning meeting times. They have also enjoyed sharing experiences and

ideas about each day. This new schedule is especially important for these 4th graders who

are new to the school.

This celebration actually began on September 15 and will end on October 15.

We have been actively recognizing the contributions of Hispanic-Americans for

the past few weeks. As part of each

morning announcement, we read a

short story about a famous (and

sometimes not too famous) Hispanic-

American. We often play sung, played

or written by Hispanic musicians. As of this writing, we have celebrated

the lives of Joan Baez, Franklin Chang-Diaz, Roberto Clemente and Antonia

Novello. Many of the students were excited to learn that Mr. Chang-Diaz

went through the Hartford Public Schools before attending UCONN and

MIT. He was an astronaut who flew on 7 missions. Do you know who

Antonia Novello was?

For Art’s sake… Mrs. Amodeo’s 4th grade artists started the year with a “getting to

know you” activity; drawing a self-portrait and answering some “All about me” questions.

They then started their cave drawings. They studied Lascaux cave drawings and learned

gesture drawings. They will use contour lines, overlapping, and the use of space.

Her 5th grade young artists focused on discovering the

difference between 2-D shape and 3-D form. They drew their

own scenes using 3-D forms on a 2-D surface.

6th graders began the year with a

drawing activity called “Pass Around”.

The goals of this lesson were to work together, listen to

instructions, be respectful, and express individual creativity. They

then learned about radial balance by creating Mandala’s. They will

be describing themselves using visual symbols in a radiating,

circular design.

Mrs. Tresca’s 4th grade art students completed a lesson on symmetry/asymmetry. They created mirror images

of their names, then filled the backgrounds with blended oil pastels.

5th graders have been diligently working on concentric

shape drawings inspired by the Op Art movement. They

also created “Day of the Dead” clay skulls which represent

Mexican sugar skulls used during the festivities of the

holiday.

6th grade art students started September with design

compositions made of 9 identical 2”drawings. They created one 2”square

using only black. Students traced that design 8 times in order to create patterns or design elements that evolve

into the principles of movement and rhythm in art.

The 6th grade joined the 5th graders making clay skulls for the “Day

of the Dead.” Both grade levels viewed a Power Point presentation on

how Mexico celebrates this holiday. They also viewed a video on

actually creating the skull in the traditional Mexican manner.

Dr. Franklin Chang-Diaz

Mrs. Sullivan’s 4th grade art classes were introduced to the concept of warm & cool colors. Different size circles

were found throughout the classroom and traced. Half of the paper was warm, the other cool. The students used oil

pastels and paint to color in their circle star bursts.

5th grade artists were introduced to warm and cool colors, also. These students then created

beautiful stars, moons and suns. They painted and created sunny happy faces which look very

cheery in the hallway.

6th graders in her art classes have also learned about land and seascapes.

October 4 – First Friday Food Drive

October 8 – Columbus Day – No School

October 11 – Picture Day…SMILE!

October 11 – PTO Monthly meeting

October 15 – Rachel’s Challenge

October 17 – Professional Development Day – 1:00 Dismissal

October 18 – Dr. T’s Brown Bag Lunch – 12:00

Stay Tuned for next month’s TStay Tuned for next month’s TStay Tuned for next month’s TStay Tuned for next month’s T----Gram!Gram!Gram!Gram!