MCASSY MARCH!

Hi Everyone!
We've lightened up the blog colors for sping! Ahhh....springtime! I know I have been loving the additional hours of daylight. I have been taking advantage of the many trails that Northborough has to offer and walking with Emma and Sophie, my dog. Our students have also enjoyed reclaiming the field, now that the snow pack has finally melted away. Viva la sunshine!

I apologize for the lag in posts. I have been super-busy with a computer class that I am taking. It has been great, but it requires me to spend an additional few hours a week on the computer (on top of what I already spend...). I have still been taking lots of photographs, I just needed to find the time to upload them and generate the post.

Also, thank you for all your help supporting your child with MCAS Prep the past few weeks. Long Composition went off without a hitch last week and the students were so focused. I am very proud of their effort and attitude towards testing.

So here is the scoop from the past few weeks.

Music-In-Class Concerts: February was Music in Our Schools Month. Mrs. Stonebraker provided the students with the opportunity to showcase their talent at an "In-Class Concert."

Lauren Sings...

C.J. & Anthony strum...

Brenna, Taylor, Kaitlin, & Allyson bust a move!

Physical Education-Project Adventure: When helmets are a fashion statement here at Zeh School you can probably guess that it is time for Project Adventure. The students are busy stretching their minds and their bodies with a challenging array of physical tasks. They are trying to work up to different levels and achieve their personal best. Project Adventure wraps up the week of April 11th. Thank you to Mr. Sieurin for setting up the course and also to all the wonderful parent volunteers who have helped to belay!

Go for it, Meg!

Hang on, Anthony!

Will loves it!

Strike a pose, Allyson!

Caroline's wrapped in the web.

Get ready to swing!

Say Cheese, Alyson!

Rock on, John!

Science- Owl Pellets: Do you know what is inside an owl pellet? Hopefully, your child does! We dissected pellets as our wrap up to our study of birds. The students were intrigued to see what they would find inside their pellet. There was great teamwork and conversation during this lab activity.

Enrichment- FIRST Robotics from WPI: We had our annual visit from WPI's FIRST Robotics Team. This year they brought their World Championship Robot to share with our school. As always, they answered many questions (if you addressed the person by their name!) about the new robot and let students have a turn operating the equipment. It was very cool!

The World Championship Robot!

These kids are about to move up!

A mesmerized audience!

Celebrate the Arts Night: Many students were on hand at this wonderful celebration of art and music! Three of our classmates were selected to demonstrate the art of Chinese Brush Painting to the visitors. Unfortunately, I missed the later portion as Emma needed to get home to bed. I did see many smiling faces though and it was nice to come together as a community.

Devin, Caroline, and Katie showed their skills!

Special Project- The Witches: Brenna, Caroline & Katie decided that they wanted to read "The Witches," by Roald Dahl and create a project to share with the class. Collaboratively, they made a PowerPoint presentation, a clay model of a witch, a crossword puzzle, and posters. It was a great deal of work and they did a wonderful job sharing it with their peers. Many other students have even decided to read the book based on their presentation. Great job, ladies!

Brenna at the laptop guiding the slide show.

Patrick volunteers...

Do you know how to spot a witch?

Mathematics: We have pretty much wrapped up our geometry unit and will be having a test on Friday, April 4th. We will have some fun with flips, slides, and turns & symmetry this week. Our next unit will be measurement.

Library: Don't forget to try to select some books from the Northboro-Southboro Children's Book Award List. If you are not sure what I am talking about, click on the link below to get the info. I selected one book from the list to read aloud to the class. They should read at least 2 more from the list before it is time to vote for their favorite.

http://www.nsboro.k12.ma.us/zeh/library/nscba.htm

Read-aloud: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo was the book that I selected from the NSCBA List (see above). It was amazing! I loved everything about the book and I know that many of the students in our class enjoyed it as well. It is a great read for adults too! Check it out if you can.

You can also check out Kate DiCamillo's homepage:

http://www.katedicamillo.com/books.html

Thanks for all you do to support your child each day! Have a great week!

-JoAnne