Greetings Delaney Families,
Congratulations to the following students for receiving a Positive Referral this week. These outstanding school citizens helped others in need in a variety of ways. We are so proud of each of them!
Mark Briggs visited Mrs. Hanewich’s class this week. He
lost his leg in a car accident many years ago and he shared with the students
how he has persevered in spite of his disability. Matter of fact, he does not
view himself as disabled. He says that he can do whatever he wants as long as
he works hard. He shared with the students how he ran The Boston Marathon last
year and is currently training to run it again this year. He also has a black
belt in karate/kickboxing. Two amazing feats to say the least! Since he works
for the Patriots, he also shared with the class his 2 AFC Championships rings
and 3 Super Bowl rings. The students thoroughly enjoyed his visit and
learned a valuable lesson about the meaning of perseverance.
Mrs. Beausoleil's kindergarten class and Mrs. Pitman and Mrs. Maxwell's second graders joined forces for a math lesson. Working in pairs, students counted collections and recorded their work.
Ms. Fuller's second graders, working alongside parent volunteers (thank you!), became carpenters for a day building their own individual bird houses using "real life" tools.
They then transformed their bird houses into gingerbread houses complete with frosting and goodies. Yum!
Mrs.
Mariotti’s
Here is what we learned during December…
This month’s composer…..Peter Tchaikovsky
Kindergarten: Wow! This month flew by!!! We began the month with a unit on
bells. We learned about how the bells make their sound, and played them in
different ways (fast, slow, loud, soft and shook them high and low. We sang
lots of songs about bells like, “Jingle, Bells”, “Ding Dong”, “Blue Bells” and
“Listen to the Bells”. We also learned a new song called, “Put the Beat in your
Feet”. The children took turns putting the beat using movement and body
percussion. We ended the month with the ballet, “The Nutcracker” by Peter
Tchaikovsky. We learned that a ballet is a story that uses dancing and music
instead of words. We watched the “Nutcracker” movie and listened and danced to
the music.
First Grade: We began the month on a unit about musical opposites (forte
verses piano, fast verses slow, high pitch verses low pitch). Soon we will
learn about the different instruments and listen for musical opposites in
music. We will also be learning about mood in music (happy verses sad sounds).
We sang two new songs: “Charlie Over the Ocean” and “Put the Beat in Your
Feet”. The children took turns putting the beat using movement and body
percussion. Finally, we learned about the Russian composer, Peter Tchaikovsky.
Peter had to work hard to be a great musician; his parents did not think that a
composer was a good enough career. They encouraged him to go to college to
study law instead. Eventually, Tchaikovsky left law and began composing music
professionally. We watched the “Nutcracker” movie and listened and danced to
the music. We learned that a ballet is a story that uses dancing and music
instead of words.
Second Grade: This month we focused on two musical concepts; form and pitch.
We learned that music has a form (or pattern). We used large and small
snowflake cutouts to make our own musical patterns. The large snowflake
represented a strong (loud) beat and the small snowflake represented a weak
(soft) beat. We learned about two special forms; march (sets of two) and the
waltz (sets of three). We listened to several marches and waltzes composed by
Peter Tchaikovsky. The children seemed to enjoy making movements to match the
music. We also learned about pitch. Pitch refers to the “highness or lowness”
of a sound. We did a lot of vocal exercises and had fun exploring with pitch. Ms.
Mariotti also recorded the children singing the song, “Charlie Over the Ocean”
using her iPad. The children really enjoyed hearing their voices and
performances of some of their songs. Lastly, we finished the month with
watching the ballet, “The Nutcracker” by Tchaikovsky. It was a really
productive month!
Third Grade: The month of December has been preparing us for our recorder
unit. We completed our pre-assessment to see how much learning has occurred
since September. I was so impressed! Every single student made big gains in
reading and understanding musical notation. It takes a long time to master, but
they seem to have a good foundation! Recorders were delivered and passed out this
week. I would like each student to find a folder to designate for music class.
It can be any folder (old or new). They will put all of their music in their
folder and bring it to music class every week. Students are focusing on three
things. The first is how to hold the recorder. Students pick up the recorder
with their left hand and balance the recorder with their right hand. Their
right hand should be free and wiggly like a “turkey feather”. We also learned
how to play three notes; B, A, and G. Finally, we talked about being
responsible musicians. We agreed that their recorder and recorder folder
belongs in their backpack. Each student was given a helpful hint paper with
tips on how to play the recorder. Also, we began to learn two songs, “Hot Cross
Buns” and “Merrily We Roll Along”. Students and I are very excited to continue
with recorders and begin the Recorder Karate Program after break.
MCAS Information Update
As you may know, students begin taking the MCAS starting in Grade 3 in Mathematics and English Language Arts. Once the tests have been corrected, the state releases individual student scores to the parents and to the school. In addition, scores are reported in the aggregate, as well as by subgroup, to the public. To assist schools and parents in interpreting MCAS results, we have just received word that the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education just released two new applications.
First, the school report card overview provides a useful
summary of a school’s accountability data and also compares the school to other
schools serving similar grades in the district and in the state. The
application compares schools using measures such as MCAS achievement and
growth, teachers and classrooms, attendance, discipline, and high school
completion. The school report card overview (or the complete report card) can
be accessed by using the new search tool on the Department’s Profiles homepage: http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/.
Second, on the
statewide MCAS Achievement/Growth Report, you can now view school-level MCAS
results by school type (elementary, elementary–middle, middle, high, and
middle–high/K–12) for the years 2010–2013. You can access the report at http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/state_report/mcas.aspx
On behalf of entire Wrentham staff, I would like to wish you and your family the happiest of holidays and a wonderful New Year!
On behalf of entire Wrentham staff, I would like to wish you and your family the happiest of holidays and a wonderful New Year!
Dr. Martes, Dr. Peterson and Mr. Grenham served breakfast to the Delaney and Roderick School staffs on Thursday morning. An enormous thank you to Lisa Luce, Maura Crowley, Angela Harrington and Judy White for cooking and preparing all of the breakfast treats.
Congratulations to Ms. White, Ms. Walsh and Ms. Zardeskas for winning first, second and third prize in the "Ugly Sweater" contest!
Thank you for reading.
Enjoy the Winter break.
We'll see you in 2014!
Sincerely,
Melissa D. Peterson, Principal
