Roderick School Blog

Thanks for visiting the Roderick Elementary School Blog! Blogging is a great way to share some of the exciting things happening in our school with families and the greater school community. The Blog will be updated weekly with pictures and news from the school. Come back and visit often!

Friday, April 17, 2015

April 17, 2015 - Week 31

Greetings Roderick Community:
Thank you to all of the Wrentham Elementary School parents and guardians who were able to attend this week's Parent/Teacher conferences.  The lines of communication between home and school must always remain open and strong.  If at any point during the remainder of the school year you feel that there is an area in your child’s education that needs to be addressed, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher.  We strive to do our best to support the academic, social, and emotional  development of your child.




The Wrentham Public Schools is getting a new phone system which will be put in place during April Vacation. Barring any major technical difficulties, the new phone service will be up and running by Monday, April 27th. At that time there will be one general phone number (508-384-5430) for the district.  This will bring you to an automated system which allows you to reach any of the schools’ offices or departments. 


Our sixth grade classrooms presented their country reports this week.  The students did a remarkable job informing visitors about their country.










On Wednesday, Kyle Dine visited the Roderick School. Mr. Dine is a Canadian songwriter who has allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, seafood and mustard. His allergy awareness presentation was fun, educational, and interactive.  Thank you PTO for sponsoring this event and thank you to our nursing staff for coordinating this event.  Kyle will be performing a free show on Saturday night at Norwood High School.  Please visit his website for more information:  www.kyledine.com





March Madness Shoot Out


Congratulations to our Final Four teams: 360 Splashy Leprechauns (Rocco B., Brian W., and Johnny E.), Shoot for the Moon (Luke H., Bryce D., and Mr. Moon), Basketball Bros (Jessica P., Kylie L., and Elizabeth M.) and Moon Magic (Caroline A., Anna B., and Mrs. Moon). These four teams squared off in the championship round today.  After a great battle, the Basketball Bros won this year's championship.  Thank you to Mr. Moon and Mr. Maguire for organizing this tournament and all the participants.




The first wave of MCAS is now complete.  We would like to congratulate our students for giving their best effort and applying the lessons and strategies taught by their teachers.  Also, student attendance was strong – thank you for your support and help at home. In May, students in fourth, fifth, and sixth grade will be taking MCAS exams in Mathematics.  Fifth grade students will have an additional MCAS exam in Science & Technology.  The dates for the May MCAS are as follows: 

Grade 4 
May 7 & 8 - Mathematics

Grade 5
May 5 & 6 - Mathematics
May 14 & 15 - Science Technology & Engineering

Grade 6
May 12 & 13 - Mathematics


Today, the fourth grade classes celebrated the beginning of the baseball season with their annual sunflower seed spitting contest. Each class entered their top three spitters into the final round! Congratulations to our winner: Heather from Mrs. Farrell's class! Play Ball!










Today, Miss Phipps’s 5th grade class head out for the first of their vernal pool observations. First stop, Pig Pond located behind our school building. Conditions were a light drizzle and 49 degrees Fahrenheit. A pair of Canada geese were sighted and Red-winged black birds and robins were heard. The overnight rains had soaked the ground nicely and several spring peepers, with their telltale x on the back were found along the edge of the pond. They were quite active and we had to work to get a good view. This little guys are about the size of a thumbnail but can make a peeping call that can be heard a half a mile away. We also located a rather sluggish wood frog, the cooler temperature had slowed him down for day and allowed us a nice look. Wood frogs make a quacking sound and have brown masks around their eyes. Second, was our parking lot and the little brook that is currently flooded with a nice about of water. Luck was with us and we discovered a couple of clusters of wood frog eggs. 









On Monday, members of Mrs. Fownes' grade 6 class hosted an international luncheon.  Take a look....








This week Mrs. Tracy’s Enrichment students competed in the Battle of the Boats.  The object of the lesson was to create a boat that would travel a specified distance at the fastest speed.  The boats had to be powered by the air stored in a balloon or the energy stored in a rubber band.  Students were surprised by the amount of force that could be generated by the air trapped in a balloon.  The faster the release, the faster the speed of the vessel.  Students also learned that they could control the speed of the boats by restricting or limiting airflow.  A few brave students attempted to create a paddle-powered vessel.  This proved to be a challenging task, however flaws in the designs led to a deeper understanding of the forces that can be harnessed and used to propel the boats, as well as a deeper understanding of how the water wheel functions.  Whether the boats crossed the finish line or not, the experience was enjoyed by all and was a wonderful exercise in discovery through hands-on learning.






This week Mrs. Clutterbuck's class worked cooperatively to sharpen their math skills.  Great work boys and girls!  










A letter will be sent home on Monday, April 27th offering parents the opportunity to share information about their son/daughter for next year’s placement at the Wrentham Public Schools.  This  information that you share with us will be used to assist the administration with the student placement process for the 2015 – 2016 school year.  When corresponding about placement, parents are asked to focus on the type of learning environment that best meets the strengths and needs of their child.  The administration will place your child in what they feel is the best educational environment for each student based on a variety of data and input – your parent narrative being one such piece of information.  



Best wishes to Roderick School nurse Julie Cashman who will run the Boston Marathon on Monday.  She has trained extremely hard and I know that she is going to do great!  There is a great article about Julie in the Mansfield Patch: http://patch.com/massachusetts/mansfield-ma


Best wishes for a safe and enjoyable April vacation.  Enjoy the time away!

Sincerely,
Mr. Grenham




Friday, April 10, 2015

April 10, 2015 - Week 30

Greetings Roderick Families,


I hope that you all had a wonderful week.  We certainly did!

In the Technology Lab with Mrs. Fox, our 6th graders were using Microsoft Excel to predict and chart how many Skittles of each color are in a small bag.  Great job!










Mrs. Marazzi’s class and Mrs. Kelley’s class created bottle terrariums to observe the Water Cycle in action.  Students observed water collection, evaporation, condensation, transpiration, and precipitation as part of their Weather Science Unit.






Congratulations to this week's Positive Referrals!  Thank you for making our school such a great place! 






It is great to see the kids out on the recess fields again!!!!!









Monday is Red Sox spirit Day!  Please wear your Red Sox attire or red, white, and blue.  If your allegiance is with another team, feel free to come to school with that team's attire. 


Mrs. Kane’s 5th Grade Class dissected owl pellets this week.  They examined the remains of an owl’s meal, to learn about how owls are related to other organisms in their ecosystem.











Parent-Teacher conferences are scheduled for next week on Tuesday, April 14th (afternoon) and Thursday, April 16th (evening).  The Wrentham Public Schools believe one of the best means of establishing effective home – school relationships is the parent – teacher conference.  During the spring conference, parents are encouraged to discuss their child’s progress for the current school year.  We suggest and encourage parents to inquire about what learning style and what learning environment best suits their child.  While we do recognize that many parents may be tempted to discuss specific placements during their conference, please understand that staff members will not discuss individual teachers.  Our staff looks forward to discussing your child’s educational experiences over the past school year.


On a visit to Mrs. Moon's sixth grade class, I viewed an awesome activity.  Students worked in groups to rank order survival items during a survival simulation.  The activity was linked to the Newbery award-winning book, Hatchet by Gary Paulsen which the students had just completed.



 





PTO News 
  • April PTO meeting - Monday, April 13th from 3:00 - 4:00 PM in the       Vogel Auditorium 
    • Come hear our great plans for next year!!!!!
  • We are looking for volunteers to help with the Staff Appreciation Luncheon on Friday, May 22nd.  Anyone interested in helping may contact us at wrenthampto@gmail.com 


We recently emailed out a Technology Survey for Parents. Your input is encouraged and greatly appreciated.



Have a wonderful weekend!

Best regards,
Mr. Grenham