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Point Webster Middle School
Trimester 2 Curriculum Newsletter
April 2015
Volume 2, Issue 2
P r i n c i p a l ’s M e s s a g e
Welcome to Point Webster Middle School’s Trimester 2 Curriculum Newsletter! It
has certainly been an interesting winter, and we are looking forward to the spring
weather. As the school year is culminating, we have many events to share with you.
Special points of
interest:
Our students are currently in the midst of MCAS Testing and we will be testing
again in May for Math as well as Science and Technology/Engineering. Also, we will
soon be sending you information relative to our Beyond the Bell opportunities and
activities that are voluntary for all of our students to participate in.
General School
Information
Grade Specific
Information
Events
Point Webster’s Great Race Fun Walk/Run will take place on Saturday, April 11 at 9
am right here at Point. This Wellness Initiative will also serve as a fundraiser for our
school. The 2-mile family-friendly event is open to anyone, and the cost is $10 per
person or $20 per family. Information has been sent home with your children and
Highlights from
can be found on the school Web site as well.
Information from
Specialists
Upcoming Calendar of
Trimester 2
Guidance Information
Wellness Information
In this issue:
Grade 5 News
2-3
Grade 6 News
4-5
Grade 7 News
6-7
Grade 8 News
8-9
Specialists
10-12
Nurse / Guidance /
STARS
13
Students of the Month / 14
Upcoming Dates
Extended Day Activities 15
QPS Calendar
16
The 6th Annual Science Fair will take place on Thursday, April 16 from 1:30-3 pm
and 6-7 pm in the Auditorium showcasing the Grade 7 and 8 students and their
projects. Our Drama presentation of High School Musical 2 will take place on
Thursday, May 21 at 7 pm, while our Spring Concert and Art Show will take place
on Monday, June 15 at 7 pm. Our annual Honors Night is on Wednesday, June 17.
A copy of the adjusted 2014-2015 school calendar can be found toward the back of
this newsletter, as June 26 is the last day of school and will be an Early Release Day.
Please be sure to continue to access Aspen, the student information system, for
information about your child’s grades. As always, please feel free to contact the
school with any questions you may have concerning your child's education.
Sincerely,
Ms. Christine Barrett
Principal
2
Grade 5
Social Studies, English Language Arts, Reading
etry and descriptive writing using a variety of figurative
language. We continue to use Storyworks magazine
As we enter into the spring months we are anticipatweekly to read a variety of genres and do activities
ing warm, sunny days and blue skies! Hopefully, this
aligned to the common core standards. In May, we will
will inspire us to work even more diligently these next
begin a poetry unit. Students will explore many types
few weeks as we prepare for our second session of
of poems, choose a poem to recite, and create books!
MCAS testing. We are proud of all our students for
Reading—Ms. Brooks
doing such a great job. It is important that our stu-
Social Studies—Mrs. Clancy
dents maintain their commitment to their studies as
It has been such an eventful trimester in grade 5 Readspring sports, activities and weather fill their schedules. ing! We have been soaring through stories full of adventure, excitement and information. The students
In social studies we have just finished up our unit on
started off their trimester with an integrated Social
the Thirteen Colonies, and we have just begun our
Studies unit where they were able to explore first
next unit on the American Revolution. Students always enjoy learning about how the colonists struggled hand accounts of Americans in the First and Second
and fought for their freedom and the many challenges World Wars! They even created wonderful brochures
convincing the British Army to release American
their new nation confronted.
troops and give them their freedom! Returning back
English Language Arts—Mrs. Gilbert
from a LONG winter break, we transitioned into various non-fiction and fictional stories and worked on
Students in ELA recently celebrated Read Across
strategies on how to respond to characters and events
America Day by honoring Dr. Seuss’s birthday. We
in those stories. However, our favorite moment from
read a short biography of Dr. Seuss and completed
this trimester was reading 'The Mixed Up Files of Mrs.
follow-up activities in class. Throughout the year in
Basil E. Frankweiler!' The students loved reading toclass we have worked diligently on answering open
response questions in preparation for the MCAS ELA gether as a class about the classical story of two children running away to the Metropolitan Museum in
Reading Comprehension test. Through discussions,
NYC! We are looking forward to what adventures the
Study Island, learning reading strategies, and working
with partners the students showed great progress and last trimester of the school year brings us!
have done a tremendous job achieving success in critical thinking and planning for open response writing!
Students also completed book reviews for a recent
novel/story they recently read, practicing catchy intros
to “hook” their readers and get them to read their
novel. Students worked with adjectives, a slogan, and
descriptive writing to create a “Menu” project through
the month of March. In April we will write spring po-
Grade 5 MCAS Upcoming Dates:
May 14 & 15—Science
May 19 & 21—Math
3
Grade 5
Math, Science
Math—Mrs. Quigley
The grade 5 students came back from vacation and
brought a ton of enthusiasm for math with them. Before vacation, the students finished up working with
base ten blocks to model addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of decimal numbers. Students
are now able to choose a strategy to help them solve
decimal problems.
students to explain how this past winter’s weather
compares to Boston’s normal winter climate, as the
kids should know the difference between weather and
climate.
We have been playing a bit of catch-up given all of the
snow days that we had. However, we will certainly
have time to cover all of the required curriculum before the students take the
Science MCAS for the
first time in mid–May. In
addition, we will be reviewing older topics covered earlier in the year to
prepare for MCAS. I
want the students to be
ready for this testing, but I
don’t want them to stress
out about it. Just like with
anything in school, they
should prepare as directed and try their best.
Currently, we have finished
working on addition and subtraction of fractions (including
mixed numbers) with unlike
denominators. We have been
using fractions bars to model
and solve word problems so
the students can visually see
their answers. Students are
also able to use benchmark
fractions to estimate mentally
and assess the reasonableness
of their answers.
They will now be moving onto
multiplication and division of
fractions. For this unit, the
students will be modeling
word problems using rectan-
SCIENCE
Students complete a lab in Mr. Mullen’s class about
the water cycle.
We have finished up studying Earth Science, and we
should have an interesting
and busy spring. We are
currently working on Mat-
ter, and will soon begin
gles as well as finding the area of a rectangle with fractopics such as Energy, Technology and Engineering,
tional side lengths. Students will be able to solve realand Simple Machines. We also will be getting busy
world problems involving multiplication and division of
with our Wild Kingdom research projects. We conunit fractions by a whole number.
tinue to use the Study Island program. This is helpful
for students to learn topics that we are covering, and
Science—Mr. Mullen
it also is very helpful as a tool to review past curricuThanks goodness spring has finally arrived! Let’s hope
lum that may not be as fresh in students’ minds.
for a nice one that melts the snow quickly. Ask the
4
Grade 6
Math, Science, Social Studies
Math—Mr. Roslonek
The students have been doing a number of things. They
began the term by creating math activity booklets. They
explained the basics of a given topic such as simplifying
fractions, using the order of operations, or multiplying
decimals and matched it with a game, riddle, or dot to
dot to make for a fun math project. We spent a couple
time where they learned about Earth's geologic history
and evidence of changes in life forms over time. The
unit culminated in a travel brochure project in which
students enticed vacationers to visit their chosen time
period from the Paleozoic, Mesozoic or Cenozoic
era. The following students turned in some outstandingly creative yet historically accurate work: Dongpei
Zhang, Donovan Murray, Lilian Uong, Thuan Nguyen,
Abigail Deane, Kenny Vo, Mark Nguyen, Henry Nim,
Kelsy Duong, Christy Chen, Limei Li, & Xiang Guang Xu.
of weeks reviewing approximately 50 vocabulary words,
and we will be looking at 60 more prior to MCAS. Students have been continually working with open response
We have already turned our gaze skyward to examine
questions, spending time organizing important compothe relationship between the movement of the Earth
nents to allow them the best chance at success.
and moon relative to the sun. Students are keeping a
One of the major math topics we worked with was ratidaily moon observation journal. They should be sketchos. A major skill that is developed with ratios is the idea
ing the moon phase each day it's visible and record the
of equivalency. We compared a number of items by
time of their observation. After our discussion of moon
making ratio tables, which helped students to manipulate
phases, eclipses, tides, and a bit about gravity, we will
a great deal of numbers in many different orders
move onto physics with sound and light waves. Come
(including unit rates which relates an item to 1), while
June, cells and heredity will round out our school year.
still keeping them equal. This understanding of ratio taPlease continue to check assignments on classjump.com.
bles allowed students to use percents and decimals
which they then combined with fractions to create an
Social Studies—Mr. Nutley
extremely strong base of number sense.
Spring is here, or at least that is what the calendar tells
We then examined, created and solved expressions and us, and that means the start of the third trimester. In
equations. The classes worked with number lines that
Geography, we have packed our bags, and our journey
included negative numbers and expanded their underhas taken us from Europe into the former USSR and
standing into locating points on a coordinate grid. In
Russia. We will be making stops in Asia, the Middle East
Trimester 3, we will be working with 3-dimensional
and into Africa in the next couple of months.
shapes, data analysis, statistics, and measures of central
tendency. The students are working hard, and I can see
a great deal of growth. One more last stretch, and then
Grade 6 MCAS Dates:
we can all enjoy the much-needed sun!
Science—Mrs. Rogers
Science students recently finished up a unit on geologic
April 7 & 8—English Language Arts
May 19 & 20—Math
5
Grade 6
Social Studies (continued), English Language Arts, Reading
With the start of the third trimester, the sixth grade
students should begin to think about their final project,
The Famous Landmark Project. Many of the students
have asked about this, and it is finally their turn! The
project presentations lead us into our mini-cultural
fair. As a grade, we will celebrate the many cultures of
Point Webster and hopefully taste many dishes from
different countries around the world. Don’t forget to
check the class website for any updates, upcoming
quizzes and tests, and most importantly — daily homework assignments.
We will continue to cover a new spelling/vocabulary
lesson each week, with the homework packet due on
Thursday and the test on Friday.
I still encourage parents to check their child’s agenda
book on a daily basis to make sure all assignments are
up to date. Students are to write homework, upcoming tests/quizzes, and reminders in their agenda books
each day. The spring weather is an added distraction
these days, but they still need to concentrate on their
work!
English Language
Arts—Ms. Sweeney
Reading—Mrs.Vaughan
Grade 6 is wrapping up a successful Trimester 2 in Language
Arts. Grade 6 students will
take the ELA/Reading Comprehension MCAS April 7-8. They
are working very hard to prepare for the exam, and I’m
proud of their dedication.
During Trimester 2, students
worked on a cross-curriculum
project taking place in Language
Arts, Social Studies, and Read-
Thank you for your continued support. I’m looking forward to a
GREAT Trimester 3!
Grade 6 Reading students are
MCAS ready! Students have been
READING
Students act out Robin Hood. They also
wrote open responses, explaining whether
Robin Hood was a hero or a criminal.
ing. Students extensively researched a “famous person” from an assigned country
over the period of a few weeks. In the end, they produced a PowerPoint presentation and essay about
their “famous person.” Fantastic job by all!
learning many test-taking strategies
and how to write clear open responses with textual evidence to
support their ideas. They have
read texts of every genre and are
well-prepared for the April ELA/
Reading Comprehension MCAS.
They also took a practice test on
March 27.
Prior to MCAS preparation, students had to visit the
library and choose books by authors listed on the
Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks Author list.
They had to identify the plot structure, author’s purpose, and conflict of their books. They then created a
Looking ahead to Trimester 3, Language Arts students comic strip project based on narrative point of view.
will take part in a persuasive writing project, which will They practiced presentation strategies and presented
their projects to the class.
allow students to express their opinions on a topic
they are passionate about!
6
Grade 7
Social Studies, English Language Arts, Reading
Social Studies—Mr. Edgerly
Grade 7 students have completed several units on ancient civilizations to this point. They have learned
about Hammurabi’s Code and the Mesopotamians. They have learned about the origins of Israel and
the maritime power, Phoenicia. Finally, they have just
completed a unit on
King Tut, the Great
Pyramids, and hieroglyphics in ancient
Egypt. Going forward
into the spring, students will learn about
the ancient Greeks,
specifically the origins
of democracy, Greek
mythology and one of
criminal trial, steps of a presidential election, how to
recycle paper, etc. The students enjoyed this assignment because they were given a process in which they
knew nothing about; therefore, they challenged themselves to learn all they could in order to teach their
peers! Grade 7 has also been hard at work preparing
for the ELA MCAS…
reading and writing,
writing and reading!
Once we finish MCAS,
we are onto our Earth
Day assignment, poetry unit, restaurant
project and drama
unit.
Reading
Students have just
the most powerful
completed the ELA/
empires the world
Reading Comprehenhas ever seen in ancient
sion MCAS assessment. Going
Mr. Edgerly accompanied 10 grade 7 students to
Rome. Students will continue
forward into the spring, stuthe State House for Governor Charlie Baker’s
to be assessed in a number of
inauguration.
dents will continue to work on
different ways with the focus
their novels, like The Giver, The Lion, the Witch, and the
being towards reading and writing. Grade 7 students Wardrobe, and The Revealers. Finally, they will continue
have been working hard, and there is no doubt in my with novels of their choice and will be assessed in a
mind that their successes will continue on until sumnumber of different ways.
INAUGURATION
mer time!
English Language Arts—Mrs. Fitzpatrick
In Grade 7 Language Arts, we just finished our “How
To” projects where each group was assigned an important, real life process to research, become an expert on and then educate the class with a PowerPoint
and poster board. Some of the process topics included: how to buy a car, how to build a house, steps of a
Grade 7 MCAS Upcoming Dates:
May 20 & 21—Math
7
Grade 7
Math, Science
to participate in Point Webster's 6th Annual Science
Fair on April 16.
Math—Ms. Hendrickson
As Trimester 2 is coming to a close, students are busy
working in their Geometry units. Students are working Last month, Grade 7 students went on a field trip to
with hands-on Geometry manipulatives, including pro- see the new "Humpback Whales" IMAX at the Museum of Science, which gave the stutractors, and using
dents a glimpse into our upcoming
algebra to solve
topic for Trimester 3: Environmental
complex and realScience.
word problems involving angles, triangles, quadrilaterals,
and circles. As we
move forward into
Trimester 3, students will be begin
their Probability
units, while continuously practicing
Math openresponse questions
and preparing for
Math MCAS in midMay. Pre-Algebra
Ms. Acton’s students constructed balloon-powered
students are workrace cars and measured the distance that they
ing diligently
were able to go.
through their fastpaced curriculum, and will be diving into several Alge-
SCIENCE
bra topics in Trimester 3, including Transformations,
Linear Equations, Pythagorean Theorem, and Scientific
Notation.
Science—Ms. Acton
In Grade 7 science, students are finishing up our physics unit on motion, forces, and energy. Highlights have
included constructing balloon-powered race cars and
the ramp lab. Students are also preparing
8
Grade 8
Social Studies, English Language Arts, Spanish
We have also continued to expound on our vocabulary by having our weekly spelling lessons. After the
We recently finished discussing how the United States
MCAS, we will focus on grammar, writing, reading anis becoming its own nation and how new technologies
other classroom novel, as well as independent reading
and inventions are bringing the
novels. Overall, we will continue to
country closer together.
prepare all Grade 8 students for
However, we will begin distheir transition to high school.
cussing the differences be-
Social Studies—Ms. Principi
Spanish—Mrs. Vélez
tween the North and the
South in the 1820s and how
growing tension between the
regions due to different economies and most of all, the idea
of slavery led to conflict.
As the rest of the year goes
on, we are going to focus on
how these tensions grew and
SPANISH
Spanish students put the finishing touches
on their scripts for the Fashion Show.
how southern states threatened to secede and eventually did secede from the
nation. We will be taking an in-depth look at the causes of the Civil War. We will look into the Civil War
by simulations and debates and discussions. Abraham
Lincoln as president will be analyzed as well as the primary sources The Emancipation Proclamation and The
Gettysburg Address. The end of the year proves to
be a very eventful time in Grade 8 social studies.
English Language Arts—Mrs. DeLisle
The Grade 8 students have worked very hard over the
past few, cold and snowy months on preparing for the
Spring MCAS. In preparing our students for the
MCAS, we have covered a variety of reading excerpts,
including but not limited to the following: technology
texts, biographical writings, historical texts, speeches,
newspaper articles and classic literature.
¡Hola! In Spanish class, students have
just learned about clothing vocabulary and how to describe what they
and other people are wearing. Students will be performing in a Fashion
Show (in Spanish) to demonstrate
what they learned.
In the past couple of months, stu-
dents have also learned the meaning
of a variety of verbs and how to conjugate them (-AR,
-ER, and –IR verbs). They also mastered the verb
TENER, including how to express things that they have
to do and special expressions to describe feelings.
Coming up, students will learn how to express the
weather and time in Spanish, food vocabulary, places
vocabulary and the verb “IR” (to go). In order to apply this new knowledge, they will be creating a Spanish
“weather channel” project and will also be taking a
field trip to a Spanish restaurant.
Grade 8 MCAS Dates:
April 7 & 8—English Language Arts
May 14 & 15—Science
May 19 & 20—Math
9
Grade 8
French, Math, Science
French—Mrs. Kemenes
and work harder than they have all year!
The students in French celebrated Mardi Gras and
learned about the origins of Mardi Gras. The students
made very decorative masks for the celebration and
took a class picture. They also listened to zydeco music typical of the New Orleans area. They received
beads and doblon coins. French students will also be
Science—Mrs. Cunniff
preparing for the Fashion Show on April 10.
3:00 pm and 6:00 – 7:30 pm in the auditorium. Please
come by and see the future QHS STEM fair winners as
well as the remarkable future scientists to come from Point Webster.
French students also completed a unit on describing
themselves and others. They
presented posters to the class
of celebrities with physical
and personality descriptions.
Their cultural focus is on the
province of Québec and they
viewed a film on Canada. Au
Grade 8 Science is preparing for the 6th Annual Point
Webster Middle School Science Fair. Students have
been working tirelessly since November to produce
amazing projects and research. Our Science Fair Open
House will be held on Thursday, April 16 from 1:30 –
Revoir!
In addition to preparing for the Science Fair, students are learning
about Earth Science, which is the
last unit of the year. Thus far, students have studied the internal
structure of the Earth as well as sea
floor spreading, plate tectonics,
heat transfer, and the rock cycle.
Math—Mr. Santoro
Trimester 2 is in the books,
Students will prepare for the Grade
and our Grade 8 mathemati8 Science MCAS during the month
cians have jumped leaps and
of April. This assessment includes
bounds through the vigorous
French students wear the masks they made
Grades 6, 7 and 8 sciences. It is immaterial. Linear Systems, Pyas part of a Mardi Gras cultural unit.
perative that the students do all
thagorean Theorem, Properhomework assignments completely and with detail
ties of Square and Cube Roots, Properties of Exponents, Writing Linear Equations, Linear Functions and during the month of April. All assignments for the
Measures of Central Tendency were explored, and it month of April and early May will help students prewas the students’ perseverance and determination that pare for the Science MCAS. Trimester 3 is a diligent
time preparing students for the MCAS, Earth Science,
advanced them through.
but most importantly Grade 9. It is hard to believe our
As we move forward, students will continue their
Grade 8 class will be in a high school classroom in less
journey through Geometry and have the opportunity
than six months. It is a pleasure to work with them
to work with Volume, Data Analysis and Scientific Noeach day, and I look forward to seeing them blossom
tation. I challenge the students to “Finish the Race”
this spring.
FRENCH
10
Specialists
Physical Education, Art
Physical Education—Ms. Murphy
Art—Mrs.Vale
Students continue to work hard on increasing their
heart rate each time they attend PE class. The students can choose from a variety of activities such as
jump ropes, hula hoops, badminton, four square and
basketball. We are also continuing our focus on
strengthening abdominal and triceps muscles. Have
Grade 5 has created brilliant Banyan Trees with their
focus being on positive and negative space. They have
really outdone themselves with vibrant colors and
spectacular lines. Students have studied Artist Paul
Klee-produced watercolor landscapes as inspiration.
your child show you how to plank or do dips on a
chair! For our main activities, we have been playing a
variety of cardiovascular games such as flag tag, capture the flag and monarch tag. We will soon be playing cooperative tally and chicken baseball. One of the
games the students have been playing in class is called
speedball. It is a fun, fast-paced game where students
pass and catch a ball to work it down court to score.
Students can score by throwing or punching the ball
into the goal. Teamwork and a positive attitude are
landscapes displaying their understanding of depth, emphasizing foreground, middle ground and background.
They also discussed Greek Mythology and created vibrant depictions of a Mythological Beast which came
out amazing!
Grade 6 students have been producing underwater
Grade 7 worked very hard on producing one point
perspective rooms. They studied perspective, angles,
and revisited depth. I am very proud of them for the
concentration and effort they all put into such a diffi-
cult project. Currently, they are embarking on selfalso stressed in this game. For the remainder of the
year, we have units on basketball, gatorball, mat ball as portraits with several choices of medium.
well as a fitness circuit and more cardiovascular games. Grade 8 has been engulfed in figure and portrait
Students in grades 5, 6 and 7 will be running the mile drawings for the majority of the semester, focusing on
again this spring. Students are encouraged to practice realistic drawings with proper proportions. Their selfportraits with charcoal medium are flourishing into
outside of school The hope is to run it faster than
true pieces of art. With its complexity, the students
they did at the beginning of the school year.
are truly putting themselves out there and embracing
The Point GREAT RACE Fun Run/Walk will be held
the challenge.
on Saturday, April 11. All families are encouraged to
We are looking forward to both of our art shows this
attend. Medals will be awarded to the first boy and
spring. The first will be on Saturday, May 30, at the
girl finisher in each grade!
Art Spot on Franklin Street, featuring of art from each
Please remember that your child needs appropriate
of the Quincy Public Schools. It is sure to be a wonclothes on the PE days. Students should have sneakderful experience filled with culture, community, and
ers, an athletic t-shirt and shorts or sweats. Jeans and fun attractions. The second will be Point Webster’s
boots/shoes/sandals are not allowed. Students should Art Show accompanying the Spring Concert on June
not be in the clothes they are wearing in school.
15 with many pieces of work created by our immensePlease encourage them to bring deodorant as well.
ly talented students, grades 5 through 8.
11
Specialists
Health
Health—Mrs. Fenby
Grade 5: Students are learning about self-esteem,
peer pressure, high and low risk behaviors and standing up for themselves against bullying. We also started a unit on tobacco prevention and will be studying
the human respiratory and circulatory systems. Students will be bringing home a brochure entitled What
You(th) Should Know About Tobacco for homework
which needs to be signed and returned to school.
Grade 6: Students have been learning about tobacco. Lieutenant Cuervals from the Quincy Fire Department has taught fire safety, and students need to
complete a fire-safety checklist. We watched The
Ryan White Story film about a Grade 7 student who
contracted AIDS by receiving contaminated blood
during a transfusion in the 1980s. After this video,
students learned about HIV and the immune system.
Grade 7: Students finished a cyber-bullying unit and
now are learning about alcohol. They viewed the
movie, “The Accident,” about a teenage girl who became an alcoholic. Grade 7 students will be bringing
home a brochure, What You(th) Should Know About
Alcohol for homework. Please be on the lookout for
it; it needs to be signed and returned to school.
Grade 8: Students finished a cyber-bullying unit and
now are learning the truth about drugs. Students
viewed various videos, including Heroin Hits Home.
Grade 8 students will bring home a brochure, What
You(th) Should Know About Over the Counter (OTC) and
Prescription Drugs and a parent/guardian booklet,
Open Your Eyes, An Informational Guide About Alcohol
And Other Drugs. Please be on the lookout for them;
they need to be signed and returned for credit. The
Quincy Community Police Officers will also be teach-
ing physical strategies of staying safe as well as antibullying laws.
Grade 8 Girls: The Quincy Teen Mothers’ Program
will be speaking with Grade 8 girls about the stresses
and demands of teenage motherhood and how they
wish they waited before having a child.
All grades: Students watched a 3-screen multimedia character-building video entitled, Quest for Respect on February 24. This was made possible
through the generosity of the Beth Israel Deaconess
- Milton Hospital Grant. The video included current
songs and movies and depicted the importance of
high self-esteem, self-respect, good decision making
and being a team player.
Grades 7 & 8: On March 5, the Improbable PLAYERS
presented a play, End of the Line in the auditorium regarding the opiate abuse epidemic. This was made
possible through the generosity of Greater Boston
Chapter on Alcoholism. Immediately following the
play, smaller break-out groups were held for questions
and answers regarding the subject matter. The program was very well received.
The BID-Milton Grant has provided our school
with an Artist in Residence, Dennis. Specialist group 8-A
students will author and perform an original workshop
Tuesday, April 14 for their peers in the auditorium.
The peer advocates will showcase healthy alternatives
to drugs, assertiveness skills, the fact that most teenagers do not do drugs and local prevention resources.
Field Trips: The Blue Hills Community Health Network
Alliance 20 will pay for fifteen Grade 7 and 8 students
to travel to the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic
12
Specialists
Health (continued), Media, Music, Students of the Trimester
Association (MIAA) office for Youth Lead training on
April 13. This enterprise will culminate with peers
teaching peers during health classes. They will be chosen from 7-A, 7-B, 7-D, 7-E, 8-B, 8-D; 8-E.
Music—Mrs. Rogers
asm in 7-C and 8-C during Northeastern University’s
Human Right Squad training will
be a key factor in who is chosen
to attend.
Trimester for Trimester 1!
All students are working hard to prepare for our
Spring Concert, which will be held on Monday evening,
June 15tat 7 pm in the Point Webster Auditorium. The
concert will feature the band, select chorus, and Grade
A second field trip will be offered April 17. Fifteen
grade 7 and 8 students will be traveling to The World of 5, 6, and 7. Please come join us for an evening of muDifference Institute and the Anti-Defamation League’s 21th sic!
New England annual Youth Congress. Students’ enthusi- Congratulations to the Students of the
Music
Grade 5: Nick Costantino, Jayde Carrasquillo
Grade 6: Nelson Tsang, Isabela DoVale
Grade 7: Rolinsky St. Cyr, Brooke Farr
Grade 8: Nick Murray, Lianna Carrasquillo
Media—Mrs. Jorgensen
Grade 5: This last term we have
worked on researching skills.
Students just finished an animal
project and displayed their work
through PowerPoint. Thus far,
students have been introduced
to the concepts of plagiarism and
copyright, and we will be expanding on that to develop their
citation skills. Students will be
continuing to develop these skills
in the third term, culminating in a
larger group project.
P.E.
Grade 5: Nick Janka, Emily Ryan
Grade 6: Michael Chambers-Holland,
Kelli Dumont
Grade 7: Dylan Gelorean, Amaryllis Gu
Grade 8: Nick Murray, Karmina Llaga
HEALTH
Students view the 3-screen multimedia video Quest for Respect as
part of their health classes.
Grade 6: Students signed up for a Boston Public Library eCard which they will be using to research countries for a large project that they have started and will
be finishing during the third trimester. The quality of
work that I’ve seen so far has been exceptional, and I
hope that this carries on to the work that we will be
doing closer to the end of the year.
Art
Grade 5: Peter Boylan Jr., Ke Le
Grade 6: Mark Nguyen, LiMei Li
Grade 7: Mark-Anthony Broderick, Alexandra Smith
Grade 8: Eric Zhou, Mackenzie Gallagher
Media
Grade 5: Byron Keith, Paige Raber
Grade 6: Donovan Murray, Noela Janka
Health
Grade 5: John Lynch III, Harini Raman
Grade 6: James Wenners, Shruti Roy
Grade 7: Adam Trac, Elizabeth Huynh
Grade 8: Cameron MacNeil, Peggy Tran
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Nurse’s Information / STARS / Guidance
Mrs. Campbell / Ms. Flynn and Mr. Smith / Mr. Bogan, Ms. Moy and Mrs. Peters
From Mrs. Campbell, School Nurse
Attendance/Sickness
Although we would like all students to have perfect attendance, there are times when home is the place to be.
Please keep your child home when:
He/she has a fever
He/she has uncontrolled diarrhea
He/she has vomited within the last 24
hours
He/she has strep-throat or conjunctivitis (child may return after 24 hours
of antibiotics)
Your child feels ill
pleasure for Mrs. Peters, Ms. Brown, and me. With the
arrival of spring comes a much needed change in weather
as well as a change in our studies. Our math class has
been working on a new topics involving ratios, percents,
geometry, as well as practicing strategies for MCAS testing. Our geography course has been exploring Western
Europe and will travel to Eastern Europe next. Language
Arts has been full of MCAS preparation, covering topics such as sentence structure and the writing process, and we will be soon starting on
a poetry unit. Our science class has
transitioned to a focus in chemistry
and is looking forward to experimenting with that subject and how it
affects our lives. Our reading class
has also been an opportunity for our
students to grow. We are currently
reading a novel about survival,
Miss Flynn—Grades 5 and 6
Miss Flynn’s class is ready for the snow
to melt and warm weather to begin.
Grade 5 is working on the New England colonies and has learned all about
the colonists’ way of life. We have even
tried churning butter! In Science, the
students have just finished learning
about space and the planets.
WELLNESS
Students learn CPR as part of a QPSsponsored wellness initiative.
Grade 6 just completed the novel “The Watsons Go to
Birmingham,” in which they were able to learn about segregation and the Birmingham church bombing. Next, they
will read the novel “Letters to Mrs. Roosevelt.” while
learning all about the Great Depression and what life was
like during this time. In Math, the students are working
on fractions. Grade 6 is also practicing writing open response questions using a graphic organizer and quoting
evidence from the text. Check back for more exciting
news about the happenings in Miss Flynn’s class!
Mr. Smith—Grades 7 and 8
The STARS Program has had a fantastic year so far.
Watching the students make progress has been a real
strength and courage. "Greatness is
not where we stand but in what direction we are moving." –Oliver
Wendell Holmes. Great work class!
We are proud of you!
Mr. Bogan-Grades 5 & 7, Ms. MoyGrades 6 & 8, Mrs. Peters-STARS
The Guidance Department focuses on academic, behavioral, and social goals for students. We will continue to
expose students to a variety of anti-bullying initiatives to
help improve our school’s culture and promote positive
social skills.
Spring time means MCAS testing time! We will be coordinating the testing for all grades during the next few
months. We are also focusing on transitioning the Grade
8 students to high school and choosing courses for next
year. By June, we will be getting ready for next year’s
Grade 5 students! Have a great summer!
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Congratulations to the Winter 2014-15 Students of the Month!
December
March
Grade 5– Adrianna MacPherson and Kyle Galecia
Grade 5–Kevin Aprea Cabrera and Madison Bolton
Grade 6– Kenia Rosemburg and Donovan Murray
Grade 6–Joselle Samson and Kenny Vo
Grade 7– Karen Cao and Adam Trac
Grade 7– Brooke Farr and Calvin Graves Jr.
Grade 8– Cindy Trac and Michael Dyer
Grade 8– Guilherme Eller and Lily Tran
January
Grade 5– Layla Carter and Guru Naikar
Grade 6– Limei Li and Xiang Guang Xu
Grade 7– Elizabeth Huynh and Terry Su
Grade 8– Maggie Zheng and Moustafa El-Dayisty
Upcoming Important Dates
April 2015
3—Early Release, 11:55am dismissal
7—Gr. 6 & 8 MCAS Testing
8—Gr. 6 & 8 MCAS Testing / School Committee 7pm
9—Gr. 8 Class Picture
10—Gr. 8 Fashion Show
11—GREAT RACE Fun Run/walk 9am / City swim meet
14—PTO 6pm
16—Science Fair 1:30-3pm, 6-7:30pm
17—Students v. Staff Volleyball / Grade 6 QCU Financial
Literacy Day
20-26—Spring Vacation Week
28—Early Release Day
30—Internet Safety Night 7pm @ Central MS
May 2015
2—Cleaner Greener Quincy
6—School Committee 7pm
8—Interim Reports Issued
12—Early Release Day
14—Gr. 5 & 7 MCAS Testing
15—Gr. 5 & 7 MCAS Testing
16—Robotics Competition
19—Gr. 5, 6 & 8 MCAS Testing / PTO meeting 6pm
20—Gr. 6, 7 & 8 MCAS Testing / School Committee
7pm
21—Gr. 5 & 7 MCAS Testing / Musical—High School
Musical 2 7pm
25—Memorial Day / No School
26—Early Release Day
28-29—Gr. 7 Ropes Course
June 2015
3—Gr. 5 Field Trip—Josiah Quincy House
4-5—Gr. 8 New York Field Trip
9—Early Release Day
10—School Committee 7pm
15—Art Show / Spring Concert 7pm
17—Honors Night
23—Early Release
26—Early Release / Last Day of School
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PWMS Extended Day Activities
not featured: Swim, Basketball, Homework Help, Point News, Point Painters, Step up to the Plate, Student Council
thankful to Mrs. Mastrorilli and her students at Clifford
Marshall for helping with the research and allowing the
Rehearsals are in full swing for this year’s musical proGrade 7 students to work with her class. I am impressed
duction of High School Musical 2. Our evening perforwith their innovation and enthusiasm. Please come cheer
mance for family and friends will take place on Thursday, on our team as well as the Grade 5 Team at QHS on
May 21 at 7 pm in the Point Webster Auditorium. Tick- May 16 for the Presidents Cup Lego Robotics Competition. This year’s topic involves solving global hunger.
ets are $5. Please come watch our amazing cast bring
this fun musical to life!
Thank you to the amazing Grade 8 students who will be
High School Musical 2
Troy Bolton- Mason Honrado
Chad Danforth- Maurice White
Jack Scott- Aidan Giachetti
Ryan Evans-Owen Dacunha
Zeke Baylor-Cameron DeBello
Gabriella Montez-Holly Blois
Taylor McKessie-Karmina Llaga
Sharpay Evans-Rachel Hawley
Martha Cox-Paige Maze
Kelsi Nielsen-Olivia Skinner
The Sharpettes
Blossom-Peggy Tam
Peaches-Kiarra Adkins
Violet-Unique Robinson
Jasmine-Hannah Kyller
Lily-Lorena Martinez
Orchid-Kara Geoffrion
Fulton-Billy Nguyen
Lava Springs Employees, Waiters, Wildcats, Cheerleaders etc.– Sara Amimer, Peter Boylan, Kelly Chen, Jayde
Carrasquillo, Kayleigh Donofrio, Isabela DoVale, Oscar
Li, Emma Mickey, Leticia Paiva, Kat Shaughnessy, Taylor
Thomas, Thy Tran
Robotics
The Point Robotics team competed in the First Lego
League tournament held at NQHS on December 6,
2014. They competed against over 40 teams from Eastern Massachusetts including all QPS middle schools. I am
proud of the dedication, determination and great sportsmanship the team displayed. Our research team presented a wonderful presentation on a pen they designed to
help Grade 1 students with their penmanship. We are
moving on to the QHS Robotics team next school year. I
am sure they will bring many awards to QHS in Robotics. Moustafa El-Dayisty, Stanley Ngo, Steven Pham, Cindy Trac, and Andrew Grant will be missed, and I thank
them for making Robotics enjoyable, lively, creative and a
pleasure to teach.
Book Club
Even amidst all the snow days, these groups have still
been able to read through a number of titles:
The Toymaker by Jeremy de Quidt
Violet Hour by Whitney A. Miller
White Space by Ilsa J. Bick
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
MCAS Prep
We have a number of Extended Day activities to help
our students with the MCAS. In grade 5, there are ELA
MCAS Prep sessions after school and Math sessions before school. In grade 6, MCAS Marvels for ELA meets
after school. In grade 8, Math with Mr. Santoro meets
after school. These programs help students with specific
test-taking skills and help reduce test anxiety.
Yearbook
Students have been busy photographing the school, students, staff, classrooms, events, clubs, sports and more!
Students are currently working on yearbook covers and
will vote on one. Coming up, students will vote on student superlatives. Throughout the year, students have
been using a site called Pictaro to creatively design the
yearbook pages. We can’t wait to see the final product!
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Point Webster Middle School
60 Lancaster St.
Quincy, MA 02169
617 984-6600 Tel / 617 984-6609 Fax
Aspen: Please use the Quincy Public Schools student information
system to access information regarding your child, grades and
homework assignments by logging onto Aspen at:
http://aspen.quincypublicshools.com/
Point with
Pride!
If you need to reset your password, please call the school @ 617-984-6600
Beyond the Bell activities will be held before and after school April 27 through
the week of June 15. Please visit the PWMS Web site for weekly schedules!
http://www.quincypublicschools.com/pointwebster/
Fundraiser information:
Bay State Textile Fundraiser
Please donate/recycle clothing, shoes and
textiles in the drop box container in the
PWMS parking lot to support the school.
Stop & Shop A+ Rewards
Every time you shop at Stop & Shop, you
will earn cash for PWMS.
Please send in your 13 digit rewards card
number and the last name on the card.
If you signed up last year. you need to reregister your card number again this year.
Box Tops for Education / Labels for Education
Please collect any Box Tops and Labels for
Education and place them in a bag/
envelope with the student’s full name and
grade.
Then please drop them in the collection
box in the PWMS Main Office. Every student who collects 30 or more Labels for
Education earns a prize.
Thanks for supporting PWMS!
PTO Meetings
All PTO Meetings are at 6pm in room 140.
Anyone is welcome to attend.
Upcoming meetings:
April 14
May 19
Please contact Principal Christine Barrett or
Assistant Principal Aliza Schneller if you would
like additional information.
The family-friendly GREAT RACE
Fun Walk/Run will be held on April
11 at 9am at PWMS. Please
contact PWMS to sign up or with
any questions.