November 30, 2012

Hello Roderick Families:

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  I don't know about you, but I cannot believe that we enter the month of December tomorrow.  The students and staff at the Roderick had another busy week this week.  Here are some of the highlights:

On Wednesday, Roderick teachers used their weekly common planning time to work with math specialist John Ribeiro to go deeper with the conceptual understanding of the mathematics.  Teachers in grades 4 - 6 worked with the "Ten Principles of Thinking Mathematics" as well as flexible strategies for division of whole numbers and concepts regarding mean, median, mode, and range.  

    

Today in Ms. Frizzell's fifth grade class students crated a model of an Ancient pyramid, similar to what the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas built.  Students used sugar cubes to create the pyramid with specifications as to the area and perimeter of certain levels.  You may notice that the students dressed up in attire as was the culture during Ancient Civilization. 



Congratulations to the students who were recently nominated as Positive Referrals.  Both of these individuals were recognized for their kind and caring demeanor towards others.  We are very proud of them!  

Earlier this month, Mrs. Haughey's sixth grade students wrote letters to family members and friends who served or are currently serving in the military.  They have received several responses and they continue to come in.  The veterans wrote that they are extremely appreciative for the thoughtful letters. 

Some members of the Roderick staff recently participated in an after school conference call with the Department of Education.  During the conference call, teachers had the opportunity to have a discussion about the expectations of the state with this year's MCAS testing.  The phone conference was very beneficial and very informative. 

On Thursday, students from Mrs. Hall's fourth grade classroom had the opportunity to work with curriculum coach, Mrs. Hanewich.  The students in Mrs. Hall's class worked hard and persevered to find information about the largest chocolate bar.  The problem: On October 7, 2011, the largest candy bar ever was made by Thorntons in Alfreton, Derbyshire, UK. It weighed 12,770 pounds 4.48 ounces and measured 13'1" wide and 13'1" tall. If it was made into 16 squares of equal size, how long and how wide was each square?

Thanks for reading and be sure to check in next Friday.

Sincerely,
Stephen S. Grenham, Principal