Roderick Review (Week 36) 5/23/16-5/27/16

This has been a very busy week for our fifth graders!  With a few extra rehearsals for the Gym Show that the students have been working on for months worth of PE classes, they put on three daytime performances that other grades enjoyed and an evening performance last night for their families.  A special thanks to Mr. Moon and Mr. Maguire for their incredible vision with this year's theme of the Summer Olympics in Rio!  Thank you also to the artistic talents of Mrs. Lovely and Ms. Salazar and their assistants, Mrs. Lilja's daughter and Mrs. Lopez's daughters.  From start to finish, the students did an amazing job of carrying this 90-minute showcase on their own from the emcee responsibilities, set changes, and of course all of the routines!  Congratulations on a job well done!  I am so proud of all of you!

Next Week's Events:

5/30/16 5/31/16 6/1/16 6/2/16 6/3/16    Memorial Day    No School KPMS-Adv.   Math Test Grade 5 Boston Duck Tours      (5Bev, 5O'C, 5O'T) Grade 5 Boston Duck Tours         (5Phi, 5D) Grade 5 Boston Duck Tours      (5McG, 5Kane)                          Grade 6 KPMS visit from Dr. Gilson Q & A, Chorus, Small Ensemble, and Drama S.W.I.S.H. - Charity Basketball Game at 7:00 p.m. in the Gibbons Gym!                               PK-3 Art Show - Gibbons Gym at 5:00 p.m.

Roderick Review Week 35 (5/16/16-5/20/16)



Fifth Graders...

Our annual Memorial Day Ceremony will be taking place next Friday, May 27th.  In preparation, Ms Downing's class and Ms. Fogg's and Mrs. Bevilacqua's class are practicing their poem to honor those that gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country and to preserve our freedom.

Sixth Grade Innovators

Above, you will see how recess with sixth graders goes beyond the typical games of basketball and soccer or four square.  Recess is a time and place for students to be innovative and creative and where swings and two balls are turned into a new game requiring hand-eye coordination and teamwork.  

Mrs. Moon's students have been applying their spatial skills and creativity to solve an age-old problem.  Just what kind of box will be a "better" box for Dunkin' Donuts?  Instead of the flimsy single layer box, students designed boxes that have tiers with separate compartments for donuts or structures for keeping a stack of donuts intact, and of course the never before seen "combo" box where the box holds donuts AND munchkins.

"Fire Engine Ride To School" Winners!

Four lucky winners rode to school last Wednesday in style!  Nothing says, "We have arrived!" like the lights and alarms on a fire engine!  This will be a lasting memory for sure!

Roderick Review Week 34 (5/9/16-5/13/16)

Roderick Review Week 34 (5/9/16-5/13/16)

MCAS - Our students have all been giving their best on the MCAS tests this week.  So far, grade 4 and 5 students have taken their Math MCAS.  Next week, sixth graders will take their Math MCAS on May 16th and May 17th and the fifth graders will take their Science MCAS on May 18th and May 19th.  Please remember that when students are absent on MCAS days, that means they miss more instruction, because they miss class when they need to take the make-up tests.  Thank you, in advance, for ensuring that your child arrives to school on time for these tests each scheduled test day. 


Bullying Prevention Conversation - 

This week, Mrs. Fox led a bullying prevention conversation in her technology classes that covered the four different types of bullying and what students can do if they are a target of bullying behavior and how to be an "upstander" as opposed to a "bystander" when situations arise.  Social bullying and cyber bullying were also covered and students readily shared during the class discussions. 

Fourth Grade Math Review - Students in Mrs. Thornton's and Miss Yelle's classes worked with a partner during this outdoor review game.  Each student had a mathematical vocabulary word on their back.  The other students they were talking to would share a characteristic using math language that described the math vocabulary word in order for the student to guess the word that was on their back.  Through this game, the students were able to listen to the math clues and recall the correct math vocabulary word that was being described.

Fifth Grade Demonstrations -  Ask your fifth grader in Ms. Fogg's or Ms. Downing's class the differences between how the moon and Earth move around the sun.  (Students demonstrated the difference between rotation and revolution in groups.)

Music at Roderick - On Tuesday, May 10th, the Roderick School Chorus performed a concert under the direction of Mrs. Kathy Danielson, one of Wrentham's thrid grade teachers.  In just eight weeks, the chorus was able to perform a number of songs to showcase a range of styles, harmony, and even included some choreography.  Bravi Tutti!

Roderick Review Week 33 (5/2/16-5/6/16)

DARE Graduation - 5/3/16
A special thank you to Sergeant Smith for leading the DARE program with our sixth graders!  You have greatly empowered our students!

Grade 4 Care Packages for Those in Active Service

We are still sending off packages continuing our Grade 4 Thanksgiving Project.  Thank you to the PTO for paying for the postage for these boxes!

Grade 4 Geometry and Origami...

  

 Grade 5 Scientists in Action
Check out the pictures of Mrs. McGee's fifth grade scientists in action discovering which prey the owls devoured!

Continuous Growth and Learning

I attended the Massachusetts Elementary School Principals Association Spring Conference on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday of this past week.  During that time, in addition to speaking with principals from different districts across the state and learning about the best practices in their schools, I attended a seminar on "Immunity to Change" with Ellie Drago-Severson, another seminar with Pamela Siegle (founder of Open Circle) and Chip Wood (founder of Responsive Classroom) geared to provide insight on how to develop more cohesive adult learning communities within our schools.  There were also a number of smaller workshops that I attended including one on Twitter and how to maximize my own personal learning network through Twitter chats!  I am eager to share what I have learned with my colleagues at Roderick!