May 1, 2015 - Week 32

Greeting Roderick Families:

The students and staff had a very busy week the first week back after vacation.  Please take a minute and see some of the great things that took place this week and please make note of some important upcoming dates.

Norfolk police officer Steve Plympton visited our school on Tuesday to share information about the 2015 summer DARE camp.  If you would like more information regarding the Summer DARE program click here.

On a visit to Mrs. Bevilacqua's class this week I had the opportunity to see the students working on opinion writing.  Students were writing letters to Dr. Cameron explaining why April vacation should be kept or eliminated because of the days missed this year due to snow.  The children did a marvelous job!

On Thursday, our sixth graders visited the KP Middle School.  During their hour and a half stay, students received a message from the principal, went on a student-led tour, heard from the school's guidance staff, and learned about the opportunities that students have in middle school.  In early June, the principal of the Middle School and three former Roderick School students will visit our school to answer any questions students may have regarding their transition to the Middle School.

Mr. Ray Rose from the Department of Public Works was at our school today to celebrate Arbor Day with our fourth grade students. Members of the Wrentham Holly Club again generously donated the tree for this celebration (a beautiful Thunder Cloud Plum Tree).  Along with Mr. Rose and the Wrentham Holly Club, the Roderick School is grateful to Ron Cluff (Department of Conservation and Recreation) ) for again participating in this great event.  Mr. Dave Donahue from National Grid donated hackberry seedlings for each one of our fourth graders again this year.

On Wednesday evening, our sixth grade students celebrated their DARE graduation.  This was a very exciting night as it was the culmination of a very important program.  Special thanks to Master of Ceremonies, Wrentham Police Sergeant Jeffrey Smith for running a fantastic program.  Please click here to learn more about the DARE program.

Brice, Nicholas, Seth, Stephen, Sarah, Neha, Marin, and Allison did a remarkable job reading their DARE essays.

Thank you to Ian in Mrs. Sabitini's third grade class.  Ian wrote me a persuasive letter stating why we should use a monorail to get to school.  Ian's letter included super supporting arguments and was extremely well written.  I will be sure and pitch this idea to Dr. Cameron!  

On Thursday, Miss Phipps’s class dissected owl pellets in order to better understand the flow of energy through forest ecosystems. This activity also helped the students make connections with the novel they are currently reading, Poppy, in which a Great Horned Owl and a deer mouse face-off in a battle of wits and adventure.

SAVE THE DATE…

The 10th annual S.W.I.S.H. (Student with Illnesses Score Help) Charity basketball game will take place on Thursday, May 28th @7:00 P.M. in the Gibbons Gymnasium. Over the past 9 years the community has raised over $50,000 for Wrentham students dealing with serious illnesses.

There will be a few changes this year:

• Families will order tickets online ONLY.

• Students will also have an opportunity to fundraise using the new website to help support this great cause.

• Students will earn prizes as they fundraise: VIP Seating, Guaranteed Foul Shots, Red Sox tickets and more!

• The S.W.I.S.H. website will be up and running on Tuesday, May 5th.

• Directions regarding how to use this website will be sent home with students on Tuesday and via email to families.

Parental Input Letter

As a reminder, parental input letters are due back by Friday, May 8th.  E-mails were sent to all families (Grades 4 and 5) on Monday, April 27th that included the guidelines for the letter.  If you did not receive the email or need an additional copy of the letter, extras are available in the offices. 

This week, 4th graders in Mrs. Poirier's and Mrs. Thornton's class built their very own terrariums to observe the water cycle over the next few weeks. The students had fun planting their mini pumpkin seeds and look forward to watching them grow. They won't even need to add any water! Using their observation journals, students will be able to record what their terrariums look like each week. Thanks to the water cycle, these kids will have plenty of pumpkins for Halloween!

Next week begins the Math and Science, Technology, and Engineering MCAS Administration for our fourth, fifth, and sixth graders.  Grade five will begin on May 5th.  Thanks for making sure the students are well rested, in school on time and ready to take the MCAS test on their MCAS days!  Please refer to our district calendar for grade-specific dates.  

As always, thank you for taking the time to check in and read the Roderick School Blog.

Enjoy the weekend,

Stephen S. Grenham, Principal

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 27^th. 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 5^th 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