tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38886431496360926672024-02-18T21:04:39.804-05:00Nat's Breakwater School Grade 7/8 ClassNathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10678868201951749642noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3888643149636092667.post-1780811320739226642013-06-13T17:15:00.001-04:002013-06-13T17:15:46.212-04:00Thanks everyone, for a wonderful year! I miss all of our 8th graders already, and couldn't fit in enough hugs today.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGu14GPkuTLQYgoBviMnYH16W-rIPQPmOV3txYlbiUbslh-3f8WdLgfuvd8B2j3cMzfoquro6E2j3xXg8bk4te1atKHuek-3qh7WCqTKz577i8cUZIpa2WmquQbvJUEEAVStim4X-YrBc/s1600/DSC05137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGu14GPkuTLQYgoBviMnYH16W-rIPQPmOV3txYlbiUbslh-3f8WdLgfuvd8B2j3cMzfoquro6E2j3xXg8bk4te1atKHuek-3qh7WCqTKz577i8cUZIpa2WmquQbvJUEEAVStim4X-YrBc/s1600/DSC05137.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We wrapped up this week with some writing work, some clean up, math, ...and oh yeah, a couple of little school events like step-up day, the middle school band concert, and graduation. Here are a few conversational tidbits to leave you with for the summer.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Nearly everyone contributed to the last <b>newsletter </b>this year, which I hope you enjoyed. <i>Ask your young person what they wrote, and which piece of wisdom from "Ask Atticus" that they think they benefitted from the most.</i></li>
<li>7th and 8th graders each completed<b> time capsules</b> this week, to be opened up in the fall. <i> Ask what artifacts they included, and what reactions their work will illicit when unearthed.</i></li>
<li>Our <b>middle school bands</b> rocked out this week downtown at One Longfellow Square on Tuesday evening. <i>Ask which group played an original song.</i></li>
<li>Tuesday morning, Kelly joined us in welcoming the incoming 7th graders for <b>Step-Up Day</b>. We acted as paleontologists, and worked in groups of four in an attempt to solve the puzzle of what animal we had "unearthed" by arranging and rearranging the bones. Students then defended their ideas by pointing to specific parts of the fossil evidence.<i> Ask what animal they think they had. Ask also when the last time the word "unearthed" was used twice in one weekly ask!</i></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzvkx-sJc6OjRVMXn67dufwsedIq5lcvAC3S6evgghUjRqR31cuQIkKcNDK5yLz5k1_t14QP_Mc8NELgKO2kjFjBBEoLPRBBIOUvohPwTlfcGVGr-uNVvKas2r71fb4MFTl43h2rVBFD8/s1600/DSC05136.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzvkx-sJc6OjRVMXn67dufwsedIq5lcvAC3S6evgghUjRqR31cuQIkKcNDK5yLz5k1_t14QP_Mc8NELgKO2kjFjBBEoLPRBBIOUvohPwTlfcGVGr-uNVvKas2r71fb4MFTl43h2rVBFD8/s1600/DSC05136.JPG" height="217" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKrEVlPlsBkJmrOQ1V8k71_oRgYtfbt6SiXEKReqXXmnQm8ngZ9vFD-jw8tTThR-SP7hf8MGZsmdhWK_5c-uuVM7o_2BpJR9j7tQ8uqU9MLiNMCFStFcWWgyLZFrSBU9Qa2GXAe7bSGYQ/s1600/DSC05129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKrEVlPlsBkJmrOQ1V8k71_oRgYtfbt6SiXEKReqXXmnQm8ngZ9vFD-jw8tTThR-SP7hf8MGZsmdhWK_5c-uuVM7o_2BpJR9j7tQ8uqU9MLiNMCFStFcWWgyLZFrSBU9Qa2GXAe7bSGYQ/s1600/DSC05129.JPG" height="263" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>While 8th graders rehearsed for graduation,<b> alumni</b> from the classes of '09, '10, '11, and '12 joined the 7th graders in preparing breakfast to welcome the class of '13 into the exclusive Breakwater alumni club. <i>8th grade families - Ask how your alumni plans to stay connected to the Breakwater community (sorry Atti).</i></li>
</ul>
<i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHpWcPb30PRlI2UihJgnxpz0KYNdGSiAuGXuqaiRSzM60d6JguzPmC-oFJx39GLjgvEGBoRsM_SqC_8Vywkbz3pXpc7CMKOfE_7gIvDxb-n_lIyNat2cChhtG51zYJlz5l8dM74QIBoDM/s1600/Class+of+2013+Breakfast+with+Alumni+030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHpWcPb30PRlI2UihJgnxpz0KYNdGSiAuGXuqaiRSzM60d6JguzPmC-oFJx39GLjgvEGBoRsM_SqC_8Vywkbz3pXpc7CMKOfE_7gIvDxb-n_lIyNat2cChhtG51zYJlz5l8dM74QIBoDM/s1600/Class+of+2013+Breakfast+with+Alumni+030.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</i><ul>
<li><b>Nat's math class</b> watched the sequel to <i>Flatland</i>, a favorite movie from earlier the the year. <i>Flatland 2: Sphereland </i> was not quite as good as the original, but it gave us a good provocation for discussion about dimensionality. <i> Ask your young person to explain or illustrate the forth dimension.</i> We also had our year-end edition of "math fun facts," and our grand prize winner was Ian, followed closely by Sabrina and Thalia who tied for second place. <i> Ask how many feet of wire go into the making of a slinky.</i></li>
<li>We finished up our <b>writing </b>work for the year with a collaborative writing project. We watched a short animated piece by Michel Ocelot. The dialogue from that film was in French, so we tried to reconstruct what we thought had happened. We used a First - Next - Then - Finally format, passing our pieces on between each prompt for the next writer to add to what was on their page. Click <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RurlQXFACvk" target="_blank">HERE</a> if you'd like to check out this fun 8 minute clip. <i> Ask what all of our writing had in common, and where there were discrepancies.</i></li>
</ul>
<i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfzLjrIJxDFTmNX6H0ndDycPSiIn7VBNlzRn0GgZDjNyFXICPeZZGkzkWSLIAys3sz3OILCARfS7_pn8NMeOuFyYp0KyQpd8-johJUq8PrT9SanfUmEU7RmCMtLfsvht4TuM87M7XY6eA/s1600/Commencement+2013+015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfzLjrIJxDFTmNX6H0ndDycPSiIn7VBNlzRn0GgZDjNyFXICPeZZGkzkWSLIAys3sz3OILCARfS7_pn8NMeOuFyYp0KyQpd8-johJUq8PrT9SanfUmEU7RmCMtLfsvht4TuM87M7XY6eA/s1600/Commencement+2013+015.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</i><ul>
<li><b>Graduation!</b> What wonderful speeches, and what a nice event. It was so nice to get to spend a little time together this afternoon. (And I'll always show up for Ice Cream.)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Upcoming</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>8th grade (...ahem - I mean 9th grade) families: Please keep in touch, and let me know if I can help with the transition into high school. </li>
<li>7th grade - now 8th grade families. I'll be sending some work home for <b>summer investigation</b> soon. Stay tuned. For now, just make sure that your kids keep reading for fun.</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">SUMMERTIME!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik5CwNMlFn949VqpCjEzWN_N6P55l5ftXa6Pm5fw_gmvRhyptYqpEee-vj0jUWpG4IDoaxyHX5Wqz7Ca363ZW9FaFP7-a_QsQt3uUFRFxU2RJk2PBl_AUzapmD5Rc72LiGkmsJDxlCktw/s1600/DSC05138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik5CwNMlFn949VqpCjEzWN_N6P55l5ftXa6Pm5fw_gmvRhyptYqpEee-vj0jUWpG4IDoaxyHX5Wqz7Ca363ZW9FaFP7-a_QsQt3uUFRFxU2RJk2PBl_AUzapmD5Rc72LiGkmsJDxlCktw/s1600/DSC05138.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10678868201951749642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3888643149636092667.post-8582198912933274682013-06-07T17:42:00.000-04:002013-06-08T09:53:35.577-04:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">EARTH WEEK!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg03XHMlmu2bv35S9jDoslBx2G5BX-0osp96Yh4m-W0x4jiYBmtER-YTudL5yc-jd_Ujql-o22roWcHIAeSuhg-p6rxGsP-rB-iwukQoMNPKCBLQXk1wwnnnGB2-1mAfQ60BSI6IibqR18/s1600/DSC04892.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg03XHMlmu2bv35S9jDoslBx2G5BX-0osp96Yh4m-W0x4jiYBmtER-YTudL5yc-jd_Ujql-o22roWcHIAeSuhg-p6rxGsP-rB-iwukQoMNPKCBLQXk1wwnnnGB2-1mAfQ60BSI6IibqR18/s1600/DSC04892.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji6cYYoDuwmdtctDeTfEXWn_Zl39arVHDF4aUGpw7RU-oJ3t9g79JTs3cFP90BIJJaaqSiE9Nds4gRAy6XMoIJiygcL4Ago7Ok71elROmVmuEItSoeCDbF8HCliTG6wRdDvhaHKIEZOKI/s1600/DSC05074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji6cYYoDuwmdtctDeTfEXWn_Zl39arVHDF4aUGpw7RU-oJ3t9g79JTs3cFP90BIJJaaqSiE9Nds4gRAy6XMoIJiygcL4Ago7Ok71elROmVmuEItSoeCDbF8HCliTG6wRdDvhaHKIEZOKI/s1600/DSC05074.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipAxhAOj_KBvQ_184Nt6jiFEdW7CzVfIyElinlRvjijD9UCgJ9lhCaLkafEb29YHHiY0DHOugghkVpMXC0MjSmMEKvZTHXuZQBvMj4iJG1cmLEQik_WDmOLHu7H8-bAVW9Dmc9goV9WfQ/s1600/DSC05076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipAxhAOj_KBvQ_184Nt6jiFEdW7CzVfIyElinlRvjijD9UCgJ9lhCaLkafEb29YHHiY0DHOugghkVpMXC0MjSmMEKvZTHXuZQBvMj4iJG1cmLEQik_WDmOLHu7H8-bAVW9Dmc9goV9WfQ/s1600/DSC05076.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6LfsMH9niRRCG9y9Oe2gJohlH6kSf7dTJ8oXFtBc0pIzA9uUJQt4S2nhMZQbJuaCXUB-8aUNkO9lemFMca0_a-G_1JDNEYYi2ZrtYWXE0W9ngOUop6HEVfNZjyxS_gQVh6Qlp5KsQT74/s1600/DSC05089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6LfsMH9niRRCG9y9Oe2gJohlH6kSf7dTJ8oXFtBc0pIzA9uUJQt4S2nhMZQbJuaCXUB-8aUNkO9lemFMca0_a-G_1JDNEYYi2ZrtYWXE0W9ngOUop6HEVfNZjyxS_gQVh6Qlp5KsQT74/s1600/DSC05089.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisyquALffhOpdwiNGSGPhSiXXCsjaQKI4baG6n6OBCyUL0nOBhpgLUY4ox0lNzTVJMxHLQGHFwFvZNGpu-uEAao2Kmh7VWU0zCR7WR3qDo6uWcx-GnBEhh5sC4XkOacQtRg2qjU3XJgJ8/s1600/IMG_1261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisyquALffhOpdwiNGSGPhSiXXCsjaQKI4baG6n6OBCyUL0nOBhpgLUY4ox0lNzTVJMxHLQGHFwFvZNGpu-uEAao2Kmh7VWU0zCR7WR3qDo6uWcx-GnBEhh5sC4XkOacQtRg2qjU3XJgJ8/s1600/IMG_1261.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHYqR9_HoKfRA5MjaoJFyTh4j-yj3UP_MNzqd8Q_5X-YtLJ_JzrgHZrO8dkVmS_8YG5noaFZEDgp6o4dvL55bpkA5Xp3EEgSMfIsOkL7qGf-fxr2bMY2lw1XiIQbDkYdlvupDFC87YwlE/s1600/DSC05042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHYqR9_HoKfRA5MjaoJFyTh4j-yj3UP_MNzqd8Q_5X-YtLJ_JzrgHZrO8dkVmS_8YG5noaFZEDgp6o4dvL55bpkA5Xp3EEgSMfIsOkL7qGf-fxr2bMY2lw1XiIQbDkYdlvupDFC87YwlE/s1600/DSC05042.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg29P8YijBy8_3tWe_UjYhHH7OVive_fyVK2iM3BT2dB1qVzapzzAWBytGy8ZWxmJMl0dBGwP9K4CswcQ6XQ0PI4hwnpvvV0EhtQz7gZiwPHESCA0U0BJhrK3G9dNXgTSbKbsQSz31aR_Q/s1600/IMG_1317.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg29P8YijBy8_3tWe_UjYhHH7OVive_fyVK2iM3BT2dB1qVzapzzAWBytGy8ZWxmJMl0dBGwP9K4CswcQ6XQ0PI4hwnpvvV0EhtQz7gZiwPHESCA0U0BJhrK3G9dNXgTSbKbsQSz31aR_Q/s1600/IMG_1317.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Upcoming:</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>Yearbooks are ready to order! <a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/nathaniel-highstein/2013-grade-78-yearbook-softcover/paperback/product-21059365.html" target="_blank">HERE</a> is a direct link to order yours. I'll send the link again under separate cover so it doesn't get lost in the shuffle.</b></span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>GRADUATION PICNIC (Hurray to Chris, Jean, and Sabrina for organizing this event!):<span style="color: navy;"> Help "send off" the 8th graders at a PICNIC GATHERING in Deering Oaks Park!!!</span></b></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small; font-weight: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto;"></span><div style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div align="left" style="display: inline !important;">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: x-small;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="color: mediumblue; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div align="left" style="float: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIECfdXscJ_u4Uo19ueM1BVSg5MEJSawayh8iJYhomXntwfVkDQ95EsENdM11EqqaIj-mpMa8EEWznYtf3bs8Z65RA56V4-HGOsyl3Y9VyqKSf6SUS_aBeSJ0lkdXRdWTnVsK7GnpHh1Q/s1600/20396_1_miscellaneous_digital_art_digital_art_flowers-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIECfdXscJ_u4Uo19ueM1BVSg5MEJSawayh8iJYhomXntwfVkDQ95EsENdM11EqqaIj-mpMa8EEWznYtf3bs8Z65RA56V4-HGOsyl3Y9VyqKSf6SUS_aBeSJ0lkdXRdWTnVsK7GnpHh1Q/s1600/20396_1_miscellaneous_digital_art_digital_art_flowers-1.jpg" height="111" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
<div align="left" style="float: left; font-size: medium;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" style="float: left; font-size: medium;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" style="float: left; font-size: medium;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" style="float: left; font-size: medium;">
<br /></div>
</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<ul>
<li style="font-family: helvetica, arial; font-size: 10pt; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: mediumblue;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: indigo;"><i><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_865528372" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Sunday June 9th</span></span> <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_865528373" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">2 to 5pm</span></span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (rain<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span>date <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_865528374" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Fri 6.14.13</span></span>same time)</span></b></i></span></span></li>
<li style="font-family: helvetica, arial; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: indigo;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Picnic style buffet with "send off" </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">cake & <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span>"tea" at <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_865528375" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">4pm</span></span></span></b></span></i></span></li>
<li style="font-family: helvetica, arial; margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: indigo;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Deering Oaks Park near the </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Playground</span></b></span></i></span></li>
<li style="font-family: helvetica, arial; margin-left: 15px;"><b><i><span style="color: indigo;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span>Includes a semi-</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> organized riddle-</span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">based<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span>"game" - and </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">s</span></span></i><i><span style="color: indigo;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">ome informal "silly"</span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">contests - </span></span></i><i style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: indigo;">participation optional </span></i></b></li>
<li style="font-family: helvetica, arial; margin-left: 15px;"><i><span style="color: indigo;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Come for all or par</span>t</b></span></i></li>
</ul>
<span style="color: mediumblue; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">***</span><span style="color: mediumblue; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: helvetica, arial; font-size: 10pt;">
<span style="color: midnightblue; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: helvetica, arial; font-size: 10pt;">
<span style="color: midnightblue; font-size: small;">This will be a mix of current 7th/8th grade Breakwater students, teachers/staff who have been working with them re</span><span style="color: midnightblue; font-size: small;">cently</span><span style="color: midnightblue; font-size: x-small;">,</span><span style="color: midnightblue; font-size: small;"> plus former Breakwater classmates (7,8,9). Parents</span><span style="color: midnightblue; font-size: small;">/adult relatives</span><span style="color: midnightblue; font-size: small;"> are welcome (in fact, we would appreciat</span><span style="color: midnightblue; font-size: small;">e </span><span style="color: midnightblue; font-size: small;">a few to </span><span style="color: midnightblue; font-size: small;">help</span><span style="color: midnightblue; font-size: small;">)</span><span style="color: midnightblue;"><span style="font-size: small;">; siblings are also welcome if their adult stays with them.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: helvetica, arial; font-size: 10pt;">
<span style="color: midnightblue; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: helvetica, arial; font-size: 10pt;">
<span style="color: midnightblue; font-size: small;">Bring a chair!!! (Also bring frisbee and/or acoustic instrument(s) if you </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: midnightblue;">want)</span><span style="color: midnightblue;">.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: helvetica, arial; font-size: 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: helvetica, arial; font-size: 10pt;">
<b><span style="color: indigo; font-size: small;">PLEASE RSVP to Jean at this e-mail </span><span style="color: indigo; font-size: x-small;">(<a href="mailto:fjnfras@aol.com" style="color: blue;" target="_blank"><span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">fjnfras@aol.com</span></a></span></b><b><span style="color: indigo; font-size: x-small;">) </span><span style="color: indigo; font-size: small;">or to Chris at 839 6164 (we are too old to figure out "evite")</span><span style="color: indigo; font-size: x-small;"> </span></b></div>
<div style="font-family: helvetica, arial; font-size: 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: helvetica, arial; font-size: 10pt;">
<span style="color: navy; font-size: small;"><i>Favor to ask to reduce our stress levels: please ask your child to stay within sight of the "base" picnic spot unless accompanied by a (known) adult.</i></span></div>
<div style="font-family: helvetica, arial; font-size: 10pt;">
<span style="color: navy; font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="font-family: helvetica, arial; font-size: 10pt;">
<span style="color: indigo; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Jean, Chris and Sabrina</i></span></div>
</div>
</b></li>
<li><b>Commencement</b> ceremony begins at 10:30, followed by the Ice Cream Social next Thursday. Hope to see you there to welcome our 8th graders into the exclusive Breakwater Alumni Club.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10678868201951749642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3888643149636092667.post-82315703610748901192013-05-31T21:37:00.000-04:002013-05-31T21:38:52.782-04:00<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Hi everyone, </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">I hope that this news finds you well. We are definitely working hard and having fun finishing out the year. In celebration of our completed Capstones, we made fire and ice cream!</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip2ScrZ9Ce6BxFP-PTYK9ucgNiBWM-hBSTiD9ZjW8-JFXLwi8UDmMldtDX_h4BrkUMAyw9KMgMTmogx4ka3OzNkw8-L2xlwsZ_wVc8tHgSixjRK2QLpst1gyhnFRSprqOxBt5X8cWoAT0/s1600/DSC04884.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip2ScrZ9Ce6BxFP-PTYK9ucgNiBWM-hBSTiD9ZjW8-JFXLwi8UDmMldtDX_h4BrkUMAyw9KMgMTmogx4ka3OzNkw8-L2xlwsZ_wVc8tHgSixjRK2QLpst1gyhnFRSprqOxBt5X8cWoAT0/s1600/DSC04884.JPG" height="400" width="353" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sari and the kids making Biochar!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>Here are some more highlights from the week</b></span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">The mighty 8th graders completed their <b>Capstone Presentations </b>this week! <b>In Cheryl's words: "</b>O</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">ur students shared their passions, delighted and entertained us, and put their excellent scholarship on display. Many, many thanks to those of you who attended one or both of these evenings in support of our oldest students - they, and their parents, greatly appreciated your presence.</span><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
The diversity of their Capstone studies was remarkable:</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<ul>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Elsie <i>The Evolution of the British Manor House</i></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Atticus <i>How Tanks Have Changed Ground Warfare</i></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Lizzie <i>Heart Anatomy and Congenital Defects</i></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Sabrina <i>Glass in Architecture</i></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Michael <i>A Short History of Stop Motion Animation</i></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Joel <i> A Brief History of Short Live Action Films and How I Made My First Film</i></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Thalia <i>Dialectology and How the Media Portrays Accents</i></li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
and their projects ranged from lessons with younger students and original short films to time-lapse models of architecture, interviews with WWII veterans and observing a heart procedure at Maine Med."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Truly impressive work. I was proud of every one of them!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
</li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">This is the last week of <b>Art</b> and the student Portfolios have been sent home. Look through your student's portfolio with him/her. <i>What was the favorite project of the year and why? Where does your student think s/he has grown the most (skill, attitude) in art? </i> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Come look at the amazing Pottery Show in the front hall of the brick building. Pottery work will be sent home</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Tuesday, June 11</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-3uMNRhHerQYsF5QXyGkJV3sQfjm_ZjkAiujqEGGq7WDTJDdnt0tPtBBXS7xFdWUiRP1o4Yc5i0tePq_-_ZMhSbo20_LRrbFY-37JMha0PRnTUMdokcTYLNnUv0W-aFDak4XG3-oc52M/s1600/DSC04854.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-3uMNRhHerQYsF5QXyGkJV3sQfjm_ZjkAiujqEGGq7WDTJDdnt0tPtBBXS7xFdWUiRP1o4Yc5i0tePq_-_ZMhSbo20_LRrbFY-37JMha0PRnTUMdokcTYLNnUv0W-aFDak4XG3-oc52M/s1600/DSC04854.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">We've been using the whiteboard wall in Nat's <b>Math </b>section to create this Appolonian Panda (still in progress). <i>Ask how to inscribe a circle in an uneven geometric shape.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">We picked fresh mint from the garden today, and made home-churned ice cream. Yum!</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGoZCspIZiHzpSyoVDUjlZ4wWWBvzj9JhMOpej5ojOgqytecAvI0Z2Vk1vaBP8LcRfUElarGs6oA__JHYnEJ-fm5jm8J11SFCkWP03plUl02hTC0hrZTifoaTzz5xgvLrrO5eojqIvBjo/s1600/DSC04886.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGoZCspIZiHzpSyoVDUjlZ4wWWBvzj9JhMOpej5ojOgqytecAvI0Z2Vk1vaBP8LcRfUElarGs6oA__JHYnEJ-fm5jm8J11SFCkWP03plUl02hTC0hrZTifoaTzz5xgvLrrO5eojqIvBjo/s1600/DSC04886.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>Upcoming</b></span></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>Earth Week</b> is next week! <a href="http://breakwaterschooladministration.createsend1.com/t/ViewEmail/r/F3A78991B21F1E312540EF23F30FEDED/5F053D8F391FD833A4A88C2FAEAC43DE" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a> for some details of the week.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;"><b>Graduation</b> on Thursday June 13! Boxed Lunches are available for the </span><strong style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">Farewell Picnic and Ice Cream Social</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">. Order your lunches </span><a href="http://breakwaterschooladministration.createsend1.com/t/r-l-ouhlydt-yhitjiidm-k/" style="color: #0062bd; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">using this form</a>.</li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">Come rock out with our </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">Middle School Bands</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;"> at their </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">final concert </strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">of the year on Tuesday, June 11th at one of Portland's favorite music venues, </span><a href="http://breakwaterschooladministration.createsend1.com/t/r-l-ouhlydt-yhitjiidm-u/" style="background-color: white; color: #0062bd; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">One Longfellow Square</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">! The doors open at 5:30, the show begins at 6:00 p.m. Admission is a donation at the door. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: darkgreen; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;"><strong>Spring Cleaning?</strong></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;"> Bring in your books in need of a new home for the </span><strong style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">Used Book Sale</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;"> that will take place on June 13. There are multiple bins in the main foyer, Jessie and Dan buildings for book deposits. If you are interested in helping with the sale, contact </span><a href="mailto:tim@librarything.com?subject=Breakwater%20Used%20Book%20Sale" style="color: #0062bd; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;"><strong>Tim Spalding</strong></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;"> or </span><a href="mailto:lisacarey@maine.rr.com?subject=Breakwater%20Used%20Book%20Sale" style="color: #0062bd; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;"><strong>Lisa Carey</strong></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">. Thanks to everyone who has already donated books!</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10678868201951749642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3888643149636092667.post-88634092203410448422013-05-24T15:43:00.000-04:002013-05-30T17:03:04.135-04:00<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Hi Everyone,</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Please let us know if you are planning to attend Capstone presentations next week, so that we can plan for the right number of guests. Details are below.</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>Here are some highlights from this week</b></span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">The <b>Genre-Fest</b> of course makes the top of the list. <i>Ask your middle schooler about the Hogarth Blues.</i> </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">In <b>7th Grade Spanish, </b></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">we cooked a delicious Mexican feast </span><span style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">on Monday! <i>Ask </i></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><i>what was your favorite food? Was it the paella, homemade tortilla chips, homemade salsa, stuffed jalapeños, limeade, or cinnamon sugar cookies? Which recipe would you like to have for your collection?</i></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-style: normal;">In 8</span><b style="font-style: normal;">th Grade Spanish</b></i></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> on Wednesday, </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">we saw the Wim Wenders documentary "Buena Vista Social Club." <i>Ask w</i></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><i>hat did you most like about the film? Did you like the music? Would you like to visit Cuba?</i></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>Nat's Math Class </b>has been working on how to teach a computer to recognize the color blue. <i>Ask about R.G.B. color division.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">With the 7th graders off at Mt. Desert Island, the eighth graders are finishing glazing puzzle boxes and are organizing their portfolios in <b>Art</b>.<i> Ask your student why the deceptively simple looking puzzle box project is actually so difficult. (Clay shrinks when it dries and is fired, so special precautions need to be made to have the box pieces fit including firing pieces together in both firings.)</i></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">8th graders all got to do a dry run for the <b>Capstone</b> Presentations next week. <i>Ask how ready your young person feels to present their work. (They all did a great job on their run through!)</i></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">7th Graders are due back from MDI at any moment. They did send this picture back from Monday. It sounds like it was misty, but happy!</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO-_2uZNT5CrvhYae8vmNKy-lpHl_2MSFdlK8jS0l4EUyzsnyNeMRq4rpKv9YClAZ4zawuAFwgd-XGSHF5QPkZw6sVe3Lc0qgiX5X_zCypeC7M0vzXPjKFkNyyZ-7bVTeawBCSQqlwmE8/s1600/IMG_7105.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO-_2uZNT5CrvhYae8vmNKy-lpHl_2MSFdlK8jS0l4EUyzsnyNeMRq4rpKv9YClAZ4zawuAFwgd-XGSHF5QPkZw6sVe3Lc0qgiX5X_zCypeC7M0vzXPjKFkNyyZ-7bVTeawBCSQqlwmE8/s1600/IMG_7105.jpeg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: arial;">
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<b>Upcoming:</b></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<b>Capstone </b>presentations next week: p<span style="background-color: white;">resentations begin at 6:00, and typically last between 20 and 30 minutes. There will be a short break between the second and third presentation each evening, which will give us a chance to share some appetizers and desserts. Please let me know if you would like to bring something to share. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
Families, friends, and mentors are encouraged to come for both evenings to see the impressive work from our 8th graders. <b>Please RSVP with the number of attendees in your group so that we can plan these events.</b></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<div style="background-color: white;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
Tuesday May 28</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<ul>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Elsie <i>The Evolution of the British Manor House</i></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Atticus <i>How Tanks Have Changed Ground Warfare</i></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Lizzie <i>Heart Anatomy and Congenital Defects</i></li>
</ul>
<div>
Wednesday May 29</div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<ul>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Sabrina <i>Glass in Architecture</i></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Michael <i>A Short History of Stop Motion Animation</i></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Joel <i> A Brief History of Short Live Action Films and How I Made My First Film</i></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Thalia <i>Dialectology and How the Media Portrays Accents</i></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="background-color: transparent;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: transparent;"><b>Spanish- English dictionaries!</b> Please search your homes, cars, lockers, and backpacks for these dictionaries and return them to the Middle School. We would really like to have them back...</span></div>
</div>
¡Muchissimas gracias!</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
Have a wonderful long weekend.</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
-Nat</div>
</div>
Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10678868201951749642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3888643149636092667.post-73002597099824717112013-05-17T16:43:00.000-04:002013-05-17T19:59:25.123-04:00<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Hi all,</span><br />
<div style="font-family: arial;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">NWEAs don't make for an event filled week, but we did manage to fit in <b>a few interesting moments:</b></span><br />
<div>
<ul style="font-family: arial;">
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">In <b>Art</b>, </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">students are glazing their clay puzzle boxes. <i>Ask your student how many coats of glaze go on a surface to make it look like the test tile.</i> There are some surfaces of the box we had to be careful not to glaze. <i>Ask your student about these surfaces and why they need to be free of glaze</i>.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">In <b>Spanish 7</b>: <i>What kinds of Mexican foods are you making for the cooking experience and fiesta on </i></span><i><span style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">May 20th</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">? </span></i></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>Spanish 8:</b><i> What do you think of the vignettes you have read thus far in "The House On Mango Street"? Would you like to read this in English</i>?</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvzlth_lI_A0vcFCd3BbUV8wliBCLr5RAhZERBjHMtIALYchnWTCtiBHJ3GEMgQArGVr1CqVMGrbnFf2yOp8kL21xCVp01nNH5la8ys2aJ484iC3tjUa6P620fgTfiUZm3_MhNxgJQUnA/s1600/DSC04799.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvzlth_lI_A0vcFCd3BbUV8wliBCLr5RAhZERBjHMtIALYchnWTCtiBHJ3GEMgQArGVr1CqVMGrbnFf2yOp8kL21xCVp01nNH5la8ys2aJ484iC3tjUa6P620fgTfiUZm3_MhNxgJQUnA/s1600/DSC04799.JPG" height="320" width="308" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<ul style="font-family: arial;">
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Our <b>field work at Camp Agawam</b> was a great success. When they thanked us for coming to help them clean up the camp, our students thanked them for the opportunity to volunteer. So nice to witness the grace and joy in this group.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFVt6sKt_BCcI5RkxzHScYKjevw2Tpp98k9-oOa5KQU14q4ceRrW3THesLkQnduakFyHTkFZeSTY8xGtMVDIniwgmKZegcPb31i8O4Wpn8jxBbhXMamXPnsh-LzemeYSjQDiT6bLXqRHY/s1600/DSC04812.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFVt6sKt_BCcI5RkxzHScYKjevw2Tpp98k9-oOa5KQU14q4ceRrW3THesLkQnduakFyHTkFZeSTY8xGtMVDIniwgmKZegcPb31i8O4Wpn8jxBbhXMamXPnsh-LzemeYSjQDiT6bLXqRHY/s1600/DSC04812.JPG" height="248" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbVXK3lNKsgjY-XvXBbRXF_t-dbcX1jSkjhoS8CHFiAFYq2ZWDqhWIRnJ_7YocWLQ-mpkYcwEpk8e2ZVvIImhGUxGYEYHZpM9YTiaikkH5WF2R7uvaHFywwkoNrn4ArDjUJwTal86UZFw/s1600/DSC04815.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbVXK3lNKsgjY-XvXBbRXF_t-dbcX1jSkjhoS8CHFiAFYq2ZWDqhWIRnJ_7YocWLQ-mpkYcwEpk8e2ZVvIImhGUxGYEYHZpM9YTiaikkH5WF2R7uvaHFywwkoNrn4ArDjUJwTal86UZFw/s1600/DSC04815.JPG" height="261" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj88TqQW3QPKTRTWmjy__o5tpTku_TyGQZL8RAAgvrVgMqy3rRx59A4ys6uZ8HgTWbxvAz5K4bWPafvqmlI16PHpC2RO25OSCAxHhQF9tsv3U9VNvf2AFZ81f5zHSxXcYUTnATmsDEX-No/s1600/DSC04818.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj88TqQW3QPKTRTWmjy__o5tpTku_TyGQZL8RAAgvrVgMqy3rRx59A4ys6uZ8HgTWbxvAz5K4bWPafvqmlI16PHpC2RO25OSCAxHhQF9tsv3U9VNvf2AFZ81f5zHSxXcYUTnATmsDEX-No/s1600/DSC04818.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<ul style="font-family: arial;">
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>Nat's Math</b> group has completed our four 4's project - we managed to create every integer between 1 and 100 using exactly four 4's and all sorts of mathematical operations. <i>Ask what was the wildest math we used. </i></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">In <b>Science </b>we examined the three most common non-rewable energy sources, They presented to each other and decided which was the best source in their opinion. <i> Ask which of the three natural resources that he kids discussed did they decide had the smallest environmental impact. Ask also how this process of extracting this resource can be modified to make it even better.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Tinkering</b> update from Bridge: this week, the seventh and eighth graders continued to work on their culminating projects. The large group building a playhouse for the toddlers/preschool continued to hammer the 1”x2” studs for their walls. A sickness to one of the group's leaders made all the members of the group have to step-up this week. The group building the dollhouse encountered some of the challenges of building with plywood – namely, the need for a small wooden skeleton to attached the plywood walls onto. The group wanting to make wooden dolls suddenly became aware that shaping wood is harder than it sounds, especially if there are not any great wood carving tools. The individual working on the probe got a retired globe, which he spray painted silver and mounted on the flexible legs of a former lamp. Now he is confronted with figuring out how to attach the pvc pipes to his statue. And the individual who is creating a painting, she finally had acrylic paints to mix and match for her work. Ask your tinkerer what they hope will be the impact of their culminating project.</div>
</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">A <b>PE</b> message from from Mr. J: </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">This week we have been enjoying the warm sunshine by playing one of the most popular sports on the planet, soccer. We have been practicing our big power kicks when we want to get the ball way down the playing field, and have been practicing our accuracy by taking shots on goal without a goalkeeper. We have been talking about the three distinct ways to kick a soccer ball: toe kick, lace kick, and side kick.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-family: arial; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Next week we will continue with the soccer, and will also be developing our familiarity and skills with a variety of lawn sports that might be available at various family outings this summer, particularly croquet and bocce. </span></blockquote>
<div style="font-family: arial;">
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-family: arial; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<i>Ask what word do other countries use to describe the game we know as soccer. </i><i>Ask which kick your young athlete usually chooses for a big power kick way down the field. </i><i>Ask which kick your young athlete usually chooses for accuracy when taking a shot on goal. </i><i>Ask what type of sporting gear your young athlete thinks would be used most by your family, a soccer ball or a frisbee. </i><i>Ask your young athlete if they would like to find a mutually agreeable time to go outside and play an active game.</i></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="font-family: arial;">
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-family: arial; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
Thanks, and remember: be a sport!</div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
Get Out and Play!</div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
Your friendly PE teacher, </div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
Alex (a.k.a., Mr. J.)</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<b>Upcoming:</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Spring Conferences</b> begin Monday</li>
<li><b>Genre-Fest</b> this Tuesday, May 21</li>
<li><b>MDI Trip</b>, next Wednesday-Friday, May 22-24</li>
<li><b>Capstone</b> presentations May 28 and 29</li>
</ul>
<br />Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10678868201951749642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3888643149636092667.post-86184970382494750032013-05-10T16:14:00.001-04:002013-05-10T16:14:53.023-04:00<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Hi,</span><br />
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
This week, our focus was on Milestone and Capstone work, and the completion of our Afghanistan Journals. </div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<b>Here are a few of the highlights:</b></div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUjPOqJtIXC1uXuxy6OHKYLU5GJTcmBeJAgmp4kVAz1OyC1fGuJw54qPPJvzWxEhD3XDjq0MHtRIsirrSVqZ5WFpz2rcVo3KE7FihkqGXfYeo41dH3hN7km_rClw86PiuvZb1giz4aBcU/s1600/DSC04686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUjPOqJtIXC1uXuxy6OHKYLU5GJTcmBeJAgmp4kVAz1OyC1fGuJw54qPPJvzWxEhD3XDjq0MHtRIsirrSVqZ5WFpz2rcVo3KE7FihkqGXfYeo41dH3hN7km_rClw86PiuvZb1giz4aBcU/s1600/DSC04686.JPG" height="292" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<ul>
<li>In Nat's <b>Math</b> class, we derived the formula for the surface area of a sphere through a rigorous process know as... <i>the splitting of the tangerine. Ask how to find the surface area of a sphere.</i></li>
<li>Mr. Sullivan Was our Guest Teacher for Nat's <b>Math</b> Section on Tuesday. He and the students worked on the four fours: Creating every integer by using four fours and any combinations of mathematical operations. We continued this project, and have found almost all of the integers from 1-100. <i>Ask which numbers were especially tricky</i>.</li>
<li>In <b>Science</b>, we continued working on the sources of our electricity. <i>Ask what the most and least common sources of power are for the State of Maine (Natural Gas, Coal, Hydroelectric, Wind Power, Petroleum, Biomass, Nuclear).</i></li>
<li>In <b>Spanish 7, </b>w<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">e are creating comic strips. Ask your student <i>"What is your comic about?" Then </i></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i>show it to your family and friends and see if they can translate it!</i></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">In </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b>Spanish 8</b>, </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Pablo Neruda wrote hundreds of Odes. <i>Ask, "Of those you have read, which is your favorite?" </i></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Students are in the process of writing an Ode based on Neruda's style. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Right now, the Ode is in English. <i>Ask "</i></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i>how do you think it will change after you translate it into Spanish?"</i></span><div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: 13px;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQcqyQUKO5WK3A14mTxR-K3hmgck0tBaTrDiG9PUKsvJFOB0FxP6XzzR6GwlmbvxMG6NLc9H2onB2tmmZOtBSeiSXPCcJmV6oPR9mVVZmKQRJcQWvSxLJtyFbyaEHEeowsun5jdiFLYF8/s1600/photo-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQcqyQUKO5WK3A14mTxR-K3hmgck0tBaTrDiG9PUKsvJFOB0FxP6XzzR6GwlmbvxMG6NLc9H2onB2tmmZOtBSeiSXPCcJmV6oPR9mVVZmKQRJcQWvSxLJtyFbyaEHEeowsun5jdiFLYF8/s1600/photo-2.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijwQBaLRdUkzFUKs7OLpqhDkKB-vP-hC3coMtIRZi53ZLHXd3CFd7zgZJT6tKdUzz5Yzzba5RaaZrp8h8vAGDBf-bgVyxPwCt2zToeyC_yyxIIyfNsIRXX9gg8YbXOCk1K-nddolaMVgo/s1600/photo-5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijwQBaLRdUkzFUKs7OLpqhDkKB-vP-hC3coMtIRZi53ZLHXd3CFd7zgZJT6tKdUzz5Yzzba5RaaZrp8h8vAGDBf-bgVyxPwCt2zToeyC_yyxIIyfNsIRXX9gg8YbXOCk1K-nddolaMVgo/s1600/photo-5.JPG" height="281" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: 13px;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<ul>
<li>In <b>Art</b>, s<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">tudents went to the </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">PMA</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> and toured the Paley Collection. <i>Ask your student if they recognized any of this master work. Ask your student if there was a piece s/he really liked and why.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">In <b>Music</b>, students are practicing their song for Genre Fest - and we got to listen to some Howlin Wolf. <i>Ask what the difference is between Chicago Blues and Delta Blues. Ask also how they feel about their part in the class song.</i></span></li>
<li>In <b>PE</b>, we hiked to Jewell Falls with Mr. J., Fitz, and Trebor. We found a snapping turtle and a snake (both of which Mr. J. picked up.) <i> Ask what other animal life we spotted. Ask also how the snake liked being picked up. </i></li>
<li>Our <b>Afghanistan</b> reading wrapped up with an open ended question about the future. <i>Ask why Afghani people might want Americans to stay or leave Afghanistan, and ask what it would take to bring true democracy to Afghanistan.</i> </li>
</ul>
<div>
<b>Upcoming</b></div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<ul>
<li>NWEA Testing will be Monday and Friday of next week.</li>
<li>Afganistan Project Work will continue through the next two weeks, and will include letters to Afghan teenagers, and video work to summarize and synthesize our learning.</li>
<li>Next Wednesday, May 15, we'll be doing our service learning trip to Agawam. (This trip will be contained during school hours.)</li>
<li>Spring conferences begin May 20. I'll be sending a sign up sheet under separate cover.</li>
<li>Capstone Presentations are coming right up - May 28 and 29!</li>
</ul>
</div>
Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10678868201951749642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3888643149636092667.post-37765097131888505152013-05-03T16:01:00.000-04:002013-05-04T15:48:05.244-04:00<br />
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
Hi all,</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi71tMrjNXgXWnEE1VY0tVw_GkLsEHpPbpqFyYaE_v1_90YTrm1yJLM954MdIuNVApGfba1zi1BkYVlP5rZP2V-sZdmFv_9CaB72D04XAQxaUFEbk-erLtuo0R9rE80sy2HObkxOEHKWls/s1600/DSC04678.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi71tMrjNXgXWnEE1VY0tVw_GkLsEHpPbpqFyYaE_v1_90YTrm1yJLM954MdIuNVApGfba1zi1BkYVlP5rZP2V-sZdmFv_9CaB72D04XAQxaUFEbk-erLtuo0R9rE80sy2HObkxOEHKWls/s1600/DSC04678.JPG" height="400" width="348" /></a></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<b>Here are a few highlights from this week:</b></div>
<div style="font-size: small;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
</div>
<ul style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<li><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial;">In </span><b style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial;">Art</b><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial;">, students have finished building their clay puzzle boxes. </span><i style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial;">Ask your student if the edges of his/her box are perpendicular.</i></li>
<li><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial;">In </span><b style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial;">Music</b><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial;">, Samual has returned from his European Tour, and continued his work teaching kids about the blues and helping them with their original composition. </span><i style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial;">Ask about the difference between The Band and Aretha Franklin.</i></li>
<li><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial;">We have begin work on this year's <b>yearbook</b>. We will be using "working lunchtimes" to keep this project on schedule.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial;">7th graders have begun their third </span><b style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial;">Milestone</b><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial;">. For this one, they'll be conducting an interview, summarizing and reflecting on this process, and presenting their findings to the group. </span><i style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial;">Ask who your young person will be interviewing, and what they hope to learn.</i></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAR6GYd7l9HmLXn6yqiYYR-hLKu4t_Sf-Dw4h_dOLEDWTrzkQdorrxrgTbzSALtI-qz3lEttgA0wzxk-jrmQNuNWNYYqs12nuDhZjgglLHBhfjqp42e39oFdcH__Y82HV0yrhx0h3Eimk/s1600/DSC04658.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAR6GYd7l9HmLXn6yqiYYR-hLKu4t_Sf-Dw4h_dOLEDWTrzkQdorrxrgTbzSALtI-qz3lEttgA0wzxk-jrmQNuNWNYYqs12nuDhZjgglLHBhfjqp42e39oFdcH__Y82HV0yrhx0h3Eimk/s1600/DSC04658.JPG" height="320" width="286" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxhWrjAIRT6y2-DZ4xCqbX2KG6TJzSPumsoOiH_mgvnJn2LDERYNDANDA6eYwQCH9OCtKmLzEd88bt2sso9UpYQuUFQFWl5bBa8N636bIWe08gQWPiXV-XOganjfX4CNZNeYPCYCRB9KA/s1600/DSC04670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxhWrjAIRT6y2-DZ4xCqbX2KG6TJzSPumsoOiH_mgvnJn2LDERYNDANDA6eYwQCH9OCtKmLzEd88bt2sso9UpYQuUFQFWl5bBa8N636bIWe08gQWPiXV-XOganjfX4CNZNeYPCYCRB9KA/s1600/DSC04670.JPG" height="216" width="320" /></a></div>
<ul style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<li><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial;">Nat's <b>math </b>class has been working furiously on both Euclidean and Fractal geometry. Early in the week, we modeled fish populations using recursive functions, and found out about </span><i style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial;">Strange Attractors</i><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial;">. Later, we introduced the complex plane and worked with geoboards to find patterns of squares and triangles. </span><i style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial;">Ask about the square root of negative one, about the Mandelbrot Set, and about how they reacted to finding squares on the geoboards.</i></li>
<li><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial;">We continued work on our </span><b style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial;">Afghanistan</b><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial;"> unit as well, by looking at the stories of boys' and girls' experience in schools. </span><i style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial;">Ask about the differences in educational opportunities for boys and girls, and ask whether Dina was right in enrolling the boys in school even though it was against the wishes of the elders.</i></li>
<li><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial;">We practiced our visual and verbal <b>Literacy </b>this week by interpreting pictures and then re-interpreting text from pictures through a fun game, and then an analysis of some Afghanistan images. <i>Ask about how information can be (mis)interpreted through text and images.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Helvetica;">In <b>Tinkering</b> this week, the seventh and eighth graders were major contributors to the improvement of the Funnelator Challenge. When asked to find the optimal launching method and site for the funnelator, which is a gigantic slingshot made from rubber exercise tubing and a plastic funnel that the 5</span><sup><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Helvetica;">th</span></sup><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Helvetica;">/6</span><sup><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Helvetica;">th</span></sup><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Helvetica;"> graders made in Tinkering, the students took about ten minutes to find that the optimal launching site was on the posts of the Big Toy. The students then got into working groups and, using tupperware, plastic bags, and supplies around the Tinkering Studio, created an indestructible egg container into which an egg in a zip-lock snack bag was nestled. When the groups were all ready, their indestructible egg containers were launched in the Funnelator that the 5</span><sup><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Helvetica;">th</span></sup><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Helvetica;">/6</span><sup><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Helvetica;">th</span></sup><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Helvetica;"> graders made in Tinkering. Tests done with a beanbag ball before launching showed that the funnelator was capable of hurling the ball nearly to the ice skating area of the field! Each group's container was loaded and launched, then the group checked to see if their egg survived. Ask your young tinkerer if their egg survive. What design and building strategies did the group use in the construction of their indestructible egg container? Did those work?</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial;">Cheryl joined us to introduce the 8th grade </span><b style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial;">Graduation Speeches</b><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial;">. Each 8th grader will be paired with a mentor to craft a speech for graduation. Can you believe it's just around the corner? </span><i style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial;">Ask what ideas your 8th grader has for their speech.</i></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;">Our students' proposal to remediate the damage to <b>Nason's Brook</b> by building a berm at the back of the Kia parking lot was accepted today! Sari took a small group over to meet with the owners, who asked them some tough questions about the project, but were convinced by the substance of the project, and the charm and intellect of our group. They came back beaming from ear to ear: "WE GOT IT!" We'll be working on this project as part of our Earth Week activities. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;">Major Kudos to Sari and to the kids for making this happen. <i>Ask how it felt to make a proposal to this authentic audience.</i></span></li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<ul style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"></ul>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<b>Upcoming</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Spring NWEA Testing is scheduled for Monday 5/13 and Friday 5/17</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Trip to the PMA with Kelly next Thursday, 5/9 10:30-12:30. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">MDI Trip is coming right up, May 22-24. Stay tuned for the itinerary and packing list</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Student Led Spring Conferences will take place between 5/20 and 6/5. A sign up sheet will be sent out soon.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">We will be going back to Camp Agawam during the school day on 5/15 to do some service work in return for their generosity in letting us use their space in September. I've heard a rumor that there may be ice cream on this trip.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10678868201951749642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3888643149636092667.post-59719150938756620392013-04-27T08:21:00.000-04:002013-04-27T08:21:16.858-04:00<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week culminated in our Grade 7/8 Math and Art Festival, and the collaborative middle school dance at Friends School of Portland. The dance was of course a really fun event. We are lucky to have such a gracious and talented group of young people!</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYxIEIXZD-sE-0qZ62rFQl5-W5VbzVQ0WB-uLdsXqElyvmtLOgziTP7eJzk6q6WAq-s4JOrhksBOWcGpLF5ruEObSPSUUzzAUEsrhFckj3Z5n6EA93XgMgr8wRvHpHJ84Zihok0R6hKYg/s1600/Triumph.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYxIEIXZD-sE-0qZ62rFQl5-W5VbzVQ0WB-uLdsXqElyvmtLOgziTP7eJzk6q6WAq-s4JOrhksBOWcGpLF5ruEObSPSUUzzAUEsrhFckj3Z5n6EA93XgMgr8wRvHpHJ84Zihok0R6hKYg/s1600/Triumph.JPG" height="304" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few specifics to ask your young person about</span></b></span><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We continued work with our </span><b style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Afghanistan</b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> studies. </span><i style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ask about making a music video in Kabul, and about the clash between tradition and change in modern culture.</span></i></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">Thursday afternoon was our annual Breakwater <b>Variety Show</b> to benefit the backpack project. Sabrina and Simon were top-notch MC's for the event, Sydney and Carl along with some help from Owen (one of our pals from first grade) sold out of snacks before the show even started, and Izzie and Elsie were aces from behind the scenes. Our 7-8 performances included singing from Thalia and Alicia. </span></span><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 5px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; line-height: normal;">The money we raise at this event goes toward the </span><i>Backpacks for Refugees</i> project, which helps young refugees settle into academic life. The School holds a Giving Ceremony where we donate many backpacks filled with school supplies. The backpacks are donated to the <a href="http://www.ccmaine.org/refugee-immigration-services" target="_blank">Catholic Charities Refugee & Immigration Services</a>, which provides refugees in Maine with the opportunity to improve their stability, independence, and overall quality of life.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 5px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Throughout the year, bottles & cans are collected from the local community (that big bin you see as you walk through the main entrance) to raise money for the project, though the biggest source of fundraising comes from the Variety Show!</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEBMVFAd183ZdwpSyHlqYrThjONPfu-8WgwxrvcXwRCZQ3xL4rp6SpKBCZ_Qw0zOsrtQ5YEXFUIwvubyvrTdXC-j3FmwbScqa5R6CgZ95wX5Swh-BJUn4RJJ-tvIo8MNRCitcNqjjrxC4/s1600/7t+hand+8th.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEBMVFAd183ZdwpSyHlqYrThjONPfu-8WgwxrvcXwRCZQ3xL4rp6SpKBCZ_Qw0zOsrtQ5YEXFUIwvubyvrTdXC-j3FmwbScqa5R6CgZ95wX5Swh-BJUn4RJJ-tvIo8MNRCitcNqjjrxC4/s1600/7t+hand+8th.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our Math and Art festival included the Playing Card Platonic Solids featured earlier, along with three huge cardboard dodecahedron made during the event. There were also tessellations, <i>Notan</i> designs exploring balance and negative space, <i>Mandalas</i> exploring radial symmetry, Photography with explanatory notes exploring the math of pictures, cuisenaire rod fraction work, "Math Faces" made by graphing, and fraction and percentage work around geometric designs. Students examined each other's projects, and left a question for each of the other groups. Check out the work, which will be up in the front hall for the next weeks. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In <b>Art,</b> students are continuing a project based on Art&Math connections. They are creating clay puzzle boxes that involve precision in measuring in both two and three-dimensions. <i>Ask your student to tell you the dimension of his/her box.</i></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In <b>Tinkering</b> this week, the 7th/8th graders were given a challenge of thinking about what their culminating project should be for Tinkering. After some discussions and ideas, groups began the design stage by drawing out plans and making shopping lists. One group began to plan the building of a playhouse for the toddlers and preschoolers, another group began to design wooden dolls that could be dressed in different outfits for preschool/kindergarten, another group started designing stools to make for the Tinkering studio, while some individ</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">uals looked to do more independent projects for their culminating idea. <i>Ask your child which idea for a culminating project they chose. Why did they choose that?</i></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In <b>Science</b>, we are working on preparing a proposal about our year-long Nason's Brook project to the property owners on the edge of the brook. None other than the vice president of Bill Dodge Auto Group will hear the proposal next Friday. In June we will build the Biochar berm and plant to eliminate run-off from their vast parking lot within 12 feet of the brook. </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The kids will each state an important benefit to them, the brook and to Bill Dodge Auto Group. Stay tuned for our story of the event next week.</i></span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Upcoming</b></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Work on our Grade 7/8 Yearbook will begin this week. We'll have regular lunchtime meetings for the next few weeks to keep this moving. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #000066; line-height: 15px;">Flatbread Pizza's Fundraiser for Breakwater Tuesday, 4/30. </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Click </span><a href="http://www.breakwaterschool.org/news-a-events/coming-events.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">HERE</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> to see details for this event and more at Breakwater's Calendar</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10678868201951749642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3888643149636092667.post-52898665578351347412013-04-12T15:55:00.002-04:002013-04-21T15:09:20.011-04:00<br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: arial;">
Here is the latest, up to the minute news from our classroom, and a taste of what's still to come. </div>
<div style="font-family: arial;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFGib4ks8FHYKIm2Se0fu3qMwMWG6_9HBRrVHZ5ZOAV6t4ZzDgPtFgxR7PH4eUoj7NMbWAVbV_z7Hdm6VEQ7mpYWU6ifU-eQd4EhiGUpVDzkGgCLGpV_SRX6Gvc_O1ql_rWBVYKpDIJTs/s1600/Crane+Delivery.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFGib4ks8FHYKIm2Se0fu3qMwMWG6_9HBRrVHZ5ZOAV6t4ZzDgPtFgxR7PH4eUoj7NMbWAVbV_z7Hdm6VEQ7mpYWU6ifU-eQd4EhiGUpVDzkGgCLGpV_SRX6Gvc_O1ql_rWBVYKpDIJTs/s1600/Crane+Delivery.JPG" height="225" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: arial;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: arial;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: arial;">
<b>Highlights from the week</b></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<ul style="font-family: arial;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuxrDu_9pXJeLPemzCyfBfCGjqN9bTZoNL7r8gg06RCtbZESYG1vV6OFlIO6vHRMeYCwZVSRnobtGO5RyggqbOgHMppRFZUxvXRdIFLAkaBl8WrU6dYEzvJIkq1PG9ADJfavZF9opHq9A/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: Times; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuxrDu_9pXJeLPemzCyfBfCGjqN9bTZoNL7r8gg06RCtbZESYG1vV6OFlIO6vHRMeYCwZVSRnobtGO5RyggqbOgHMppRFZUxvXRdIFLAkaBl8WrU6dYEzvJIkq1PG9ADJfavZF9opHq9A/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: Times; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuxrDu_9pXJeLPemzCyfBfCGjqN9bTZoNL7r8gg06RCtbZESYG1vV6OFlIO6vHRMeYCwZVSRnobtGO5RyggqbOgHMppRFZUxvXRdIFLAkaBl8WrU6dYEzvJIkq1PG9ADJfavZF9opHq9A/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: Times; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuxrDu_9pXJeLPemzCyfBfCGjqN9bTZoNL7r8gg06RCtbZESYG1vV6OFlIO6vHRMeYCwZVSRnobtGO5RyggqbOgHMppRFZUxvXRdIFLAkaBl8WrU6dYEzvJIkq1PG9ADJfavZF9opHq9A/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: Times; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a>
<li>As the culmination of their second <b>Milestone</b>, most 7th graders delivered their <i>State of the Classroom</i> addresses. They each identified an area of strength, and a place for improvement, and attempted to persuade their peers to implement their suggestions through their persuasive speaking. <i>Ask what they celebrate most about our community, and where they might change things for the better.</i></li>
<li>7th Graders delivered our paper cranes to the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital at Maine Medical Center. <i>Ask how it felt to be part of this process.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuxrDu_9pXJeLPemzCyfBfCGjqN9bTZoNL7r8gg06RCtbZESYG1vV6OFlIO6vHRMeYCwZVSRnobtGO5RyggqbOgHMppRFZUxvXRdIFLAkaBl8WrU6dYEzvJIkq1PG9ADJfavZF9opHq9A/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuxrDu_9pXJeLPemzCyfBfCGjqN9bTZoNL7r8gg06RCtbZESYG1vV6OFlIO6vHRMeYCwZVSRnobtGO5RyggqbOgHMppRFZUxvXRdIFLAkaBl8WrU6dYEzvJIkq1PG9ADJfavZF9opHq9A/s1600/photo.JPG" height="125" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lauren adds to the sculpture</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</i></li>
<li>In <b>Art</b>, <span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">students are putting the final touches on a group installation sculpture for the Middle School art/math show. <i>Ask your student where we have decided to install the piece and why.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">In <b>Science, </b>we had our unit test this past Tuesday. Most everyone showed a good grasp of knowledge about chemical and physical changes and the states of matter. It was hard for some to visualize the </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>bose Einstein condensate</b></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> as we can only imagine a state of matter where the atoms nearly cease to vibrate because they are so cold. On the other hand, it is easy to imagine the activity inside a florescent light and its excited gas particles being</span><b style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> plasma</b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">, but these two states of matter are at opposite ends of the temperature rage that includes the more familiar </span><b style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">solid, liquid and gas states</b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">. A few students are opting to retake the test to get a higher grade, but everyone had fun exploring chemistry these past few months and identifying six unknown compounds through a variety of tests. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Following the test taking the students began their search for unique energy sources to report on when we continue our study of alternative energy when we get back from April Vacation.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">In <b>Tinkering</b> this week, the seventh and eighth graders </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">participated in one of the more difficult challenges of the year - </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">making their initials out of wood. The students worked very hard with </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">drawing and designing the best way to accomplish their task and then </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">used various methods, materials, and tools to make their letters. The </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">fact that they had to do all the sawing and work themselves added to </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">the challenge. <i>Ask your young tinkerer why they think this challenge </i></span><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">was harder than other ones that they've undertaken this year. Why did </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">those people with certain letters have an easier time of it than </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">others? What would they have done differently with their design and </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">strategies?</span></i></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEegURkpr6IAwpvaD60YeUqU2I2XqOKE9IcL4QN2UttOOs3fRSi2RHlozMaOpJNRckq8A0I-rapa06vGuHD3Q-TgOcKRz9WV7vuplJrMLCYOEAPb9g-HfP29r27T_964atDOGsNEiEk5k/s1600/DSC04394.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEegURkpr6IAwpvaD60YeUqU2I2XqOKE9IcL4QN2UttOOs3fRSi2RHlozMaOpJNRckq8A0I-rapa06vGuHD3Q-TgOcKRz9WV7vuplJrMLCYOEAPb9g-HfP29r27T_964atDOGsNEiEk5k/s1600/DSC04394.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdDHm6wAqom8lw9cVigKAW60edppJ11dS_0yYXUirDMJ5S6PaX7UgFpJzYueN5981zexMobDvO2RRzFwsHyrbGUB7TowB0W1wMLm9mdokCZjlclZUnUt8mriF15wtT-meJVtCk-AI4Uas/s1600/DSC04417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdDHm6wAqom8lw9cVigKAW60edppJ11dS_0yYXUirDMJ5S6PaX7UgFpJzYueN5981zexMobDvO2RRzFwsHyrbGUB7TowB0W1wMLm9mdokCZjlclZUnUt8mriF15wtT-meJVtCk-AI4Uas/s1600/DSC04417.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<ul>
<li style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>Nat's Math</b> class practiced with linear equations, tables and graphing through study of expanding patterns, and an epic Barbie Bungee jump from the balcony in the Jessie. <i>Ask whether your young person's Barbie had a conservative or thrilling jump.</i> We also examined patterns in Sierpinski's Triangle, and the Koch Snowflake. <i>Ask about the paradox of an object with infinite perimeter, but finite area!?!?</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">Sra. Kristin stepped in as a full day guest teacher while Nat was at a math conference with Dan Meyer (a current hot shot in the math Twitter/Blogosphere). In addition to her regular </span><b style="color: #222222;">Spanish</b><span style="color: #222222;"> classes, Kristin led an experiential activity and subsequent discussion about life in contemporary <b>Afghanistan</b> as part of our <b>Integrated Studies</b> work. <i>Ask </i></span><i>what the major obstacles to rebuilding Afghan society are? How do poverty, war, and illiteracy connect to the instability of a country?</i> Nat continued this work with more reading, video study, and discussion about how charities provide assistance and aid. <i>Ask about </i><span style="font-style: italic;">examples of short-term aid that support immediate needs but are not sustainable (food distribution, medicine distribution) and in what ways this aid might become more sustai</span><i>nable (prevention programs </i><i>like helping people grow their own food, get jobs, start businesses, education, vaccinations against disease...)</i><i> </i></span><div style="display: inline !important;" title="Page 1">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>
</i></span>
<br />
<div style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">
</div>
</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMWUmRhE5eDquasPMXIqd3HX9DggwTYtmwCo982Bw0ch9CCH0xs43bgERmkF48JQHuF8HEsJystsALjmA0I7EJ_61bELhY2jo-A8n8Is9RyTSYFOXHvdJp-u2FkpzKaiAum49026jhK3o/s1600/frisbee+graph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMWUmRhE5eDquasPMXIqd3HX9DggwTYtmwCo982Bw0ch9CCH0xs43bgERmkF48JQHuF8HEsJystsALjmA0I7EJ_61bELhY2jo-A8n8Is9RyTSYFOXHvdJp-u2FkpzKaiAum49026jhK3o/s1600/frisbee+graph.jpg" height="168" width="200" /></a></div>
<ul style="font-family: arial;">
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Mr. J. has contributed some recent news from </span><b style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">PE</b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">, which has been all about the "flying disk." </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Students completed </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">a series of challenges, to build technical accuracy, </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">distance skills, and team-building with partners </span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">and the whole group. </span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">We have been working towards playing Ultimate Frisbee, which is a team game involving moving the disc down the field with your team in order to score a goal in the end zone. </span><i><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Ask</span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> your young athlete how many times in a row did they make a catch with their partner during warm-up at the beginning? </span></i><i><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Ask</span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> if they prefer to develop their accuracy or their distance? (this could be considered a trick question...) and </span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">ask</span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> what was the most fun part and the most challenging part of PE class</span></i></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: arial;">
<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>Upcoming</b></span></div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: arial;">
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Monday 4/22 is a professional day (no school)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">Thursday 4/25: </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;"><b>Breakwater School Variety Show</b><i style="color: #333333;"> (formerly known as the Talent Show) 3:30 pm in the Jessie Auditorium (Admission .50 students, 2.00 adults with proceeds to benefit the Breakwater Refugee Resettlement Backpack Project)</i></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;"><span style="color: #333333;">Friday 4/26: We are collaborating with the </span><span style="color: #333333;">Friends School to put on a spring middle school dance for grades 6-8. Our students will be helping to organize, decorate and plan the event. The dance will take place from 6-8:30. Admission will be $5 and will raise money for the Friends school 8th grade trip to Washington DC. </span></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10678868201951749642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3888643149636092667.post-64192853198029300572013-04-05T16:07:00.000-04:002013-04-05T16:08:53.982-04:00<br />
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
In addition to our renewed focus on Capstone and Milestone work, we have now kicked off both of the two final integrated studies units for the year, focusing on Sustainability and Afghanistan.</div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXFYQIuFI0JOYTpH0MCzA22xIYGob8EaZDuRD7qzmKSL_UU-FbY2N2QFbM8VVzNajtx5cUDl_SMbLdVQbo_OdVgWdFRhJdU0AJpB2aAjaijekvcFVz4CDZrvBggepnUlTT2mSqWbGQZN0/s1600/DSC04260.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXFYQIuFI0JOYTpH0MCzA22xIYGob8EaZDuRD7qzmKSL_UU-FbY2N2QFbM8VVzNajtx5cUDl_SMbLdVQbo_OdVgWdFRhJdU0AJpB2aAjaijekvcFVz4CDZrvBggepnUlTT2mSqWbGQZN0/s1600/DSC04260.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Breakwater Las Meninas </i> on view in the Brick Building</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Eighth grade families: We've scheduled the Capstone presentations for Tuesday and Wednesday May 28 and 29. Please let me know right away if you have a conflict with either of these days, or if you prefer for your young person to present on one or the other. Thanks!</div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<b>Here are some details of how we spent the week</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div>
<ul style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<li><b>Sustainability:</b> Some of the rich learning that happened on our academic adventure last Friday was put to use in our discussions and our writing this week. Mr. Sullivan joined us to explore how money, economics, and sustainability are related. <i>Ask your young person whether a diamond or a shotgun shell is more valuable. </i><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Ask also if a dusty Cadillac is worth the same as a human life! </i> To help bring this home, we also made some time to work on our outdoor classroom. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Our 7th and 8th graders are representing Maine as part of our <b>Afghanistan studies, </b>using a curriculum adapted from the <i>Children's Culture Connection</i>. One school from each of at least 30 states will be participating in these studies, which will include cultural studies, multimedia resources, reading and writing and a collaborative online forum. I was sold by these prominent words: "<span style="color: #333333; text-align: left;">It’s not enough to just want to save the world – we teach kids to actually do it." To build some background knowledge, </span>we watched video of everyday life in Afghanistan, studied some interviews with Afghani kids between the ages of 8 and 16, and looked at a broad history of the country. </span><i><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Ask what similarit</span>ies and differences there are between life in the United States and in Afghanistan, and ask if they found out anything surprising about life in Afghanistan. </i><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://www.childrenscultureconnection.org/HMA/index.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Here is a link</a><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> to some of the web-based materials we will be studying (Use: Name: ccc Password JingleBellRocks). <i><b>Students have read Journal Entry number one, and are expected to read Journal Entry number two for Monday.</b></i></span></li>
<li><b>Science: </b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The students spent our science time this week preparing for the unit test that is scheduled for next Tuesday. Please remind your child to study the two page review that they filled out to prepare for the multiple choice test. The assignment on opposing views on wind power has been postponed so that they can put all of their homework time into Chemistry review.</span></li>
<li><b>Tinkering:</b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> This week, the 7th/8th graders had a guest teacher, Frank </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Donovan, and they undertook the Marshmallow Challenge </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">[</span><a href="http://marshmallowchallenge.com/Welcome.html" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">http://<wbr></wbr>marshmallowchallenge.com/<wbr></wbr>Welcome.html</a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">]. Every grade from 1 to </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">8 has now completed this group challenge at Breakwater. Each building </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">group was given 20 pieces of dry spaghetti, one foot of string, a roll </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">of tape, and one marshmallow and then given the task of using a 20 </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">minute time block to build a free standing tower that can support the </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">one marshmallow. During the building time, the different groups </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">employed different techniques and strategies to build their towers. We </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">had several groups, who after several attempts of building more </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">grandiose structures, opted to build shorter towers, but free standing </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">towers. A couple of groups struggled with teamwork, communication, and </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">perseverance in the face of adversity, but everyone completed the </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">challenge. We interviewed the groups to find out how the process went </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">for each of them and what were the keys to success or struggle, and </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">then the groups filled out the written reflection sheets about the </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">activity. We all talked about the importance of a PROTOTYPE in the </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">design process. <i>Ask your child about why a prototype is important. </i></span><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Also, ask how their group did in the challenge. Was there anything</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">they'd do differently?</span></i></li>
<li><b>PE</b> was all about frisbee challenges this week. <i>Ask where the name Frisbee comes from anyway. (Hint - it's sort of like kleenex!)</i></li>
<li><b>Art/Spanish: </b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Have you taken your family and friends to the main lobby to see the display of </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">the <i>Breakwater Las Meninas</i>? </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i>Ask your student to view the Las Meninas exhibit with you and discuss the project.</i> (front bulletin board of the brick building)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDKMdqLDHP_Pdg1-SqpNtfr1fnoLAlf7tkZrAHptf6I2z772depbhqdS7dF2btNRvSDEcqLFIMqp1BZyKMzY7dLU48eg0-6mv6heQs2VFJdSJJ7IsouagDn_PNjnv86ZYG1pePpGAb5kM/s1600/DSC04216.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDKMdqLDHP_Pdg1-SqpNtfr1fnoLAlf7tkZrAHptf6I2z772depbhqdS7dF2btNRvSDEcqLFIMqp1BZyKMzY7dLU48eg0-6mv6heQs2VFJdSJJ7IsouagDn_PNjnv86ZYG1pePpGAb5kM/s1600/DSC04216.JPG" height="202" width="320" /></a></div>
</span></li>
<li><b>Nat's Math</b> class has been busy with geometric constructions, using paper and pencil, as well as GeoGebra. <i>Ask how to define the center of a triangle (they should know at least four ways), and ask if the center can ever be outside of the triangle!</i> We also took advantage of the beautiful weather to do some "human graphing" outside. Students took on the role of the x-coordinate, and acted out linear and non-linear functions. <i>Ask how they knew when someone was not acting out the solution to a function (they were the only one not in line with everyone else.)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</i> </li>
<li><b>Yolofiction</b>: Leah joined us for the sharing of our finished short fiction pieces. Students sat in the "author's chair" to present their work. It was wonderful to witness both their creativity and their wonderful support for one another. <i> Ask whether it was difficult or easy to write a whole story in less than 400 words. Ask as well about our class Twitter account, which I'll be setting up to tweet out some of our stories.</i></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKRv-Bze72cN4oav1WPad366kkANqdmeA4Jz7ffgprK8h2jrdIhIMPRNGqZGQQM4LXtA9W06aq5SeeoIPp0FzKiVM9yPKUN8mRT7WH7bothyphenhyphenZ6GGCug_OJ69rgshQmGlPRpxxR6qvsI4U/s1600/DSC04309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKRv-Bze72cN4oav1WPad366kkANqdmeA4Jz7ffgprK8h2jrdIhIMPRNGqZGQQM4LXtA9W06aq5SeeoIPp0FzKiVM9yPKUN8mRT7WH7bothyphenhyphenZ6GGCug_OJ69rgshQmGlPRpxxR6qvsI4U/s1600/DSC04309.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<b>Upcoming</b></div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Upcoming Science: Coming up after vacation: Wind and solar energy studies. <i>Please ask your child to search the internet for the most unusual energy source currently being explored. The most outlandish renewable sources are encouraged. </i>Hydro power and other common renewables will be explored so are not to be included in their individual research. All they need to do is bring in the information on the energy source they have found and be ready to share what they know about it with the group</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Next week is Spring Break, and don't forget that Monday, <b>4/22 is a professional day - NO SCHOOL</b>!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;">Thursday 4/25: </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"><b>Breakwater School Variety Show</b><i style="color: #333333;"> (formerly known as the Talent Show) 3:30 pm in the Jessie Auditorium (Admission .50 students, 2.00 adults with proceeds to benefit the Breakwater Refugee Resettlement Backpack Project)</i></span></span></li>
<li>Great for the little ones.... <b>Alice In Wonderland: </b>One more chance, this Sunday April 7 at 2:00pm in the Jessie Auditorium. FREE; Running time: 45 min.</li>
<li>In collaboration with STAGES, Inc.. <b>Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance: </b>Tuesday April 9 at 7:00pm and Thursday April 11 at 4:00pm and 7:00pm in the Jessie Auditorium. FREE</li>
</ul>
</div>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
</blockquote>
Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10678868201951749642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3888643149636092667.post-64039212992993449322013-03-29T17:23:00.000-04:002013-04-01T16:02:19.869-04:00<br />
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
All the news that's fit to (virtually) print from this week! </div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLOFq7VnzG7SbYV-BLn05Nu4slo0O2Q0A4Ve7dAAFekFjnftm2wnvlSHrgYnufQ-NdJ7n1g7Cq-JjUGm3NzSREWn0DmwozD5ctl0CV8PLST9Tl8pPbzmO3oxxTqfGjUWsxvng27DfLcfA/s1600/Dodecahands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLOFq7VnzG7SbYV-BLn05Nu4slo0O2Q0A4Ve7dAAFekFjnftm2wnvlSHrgYnufQ-NdJ7n1g7Cq-JjUGm3NzSREWn0DmwozD5ctl0CV8PLST9Tl8pPbzmO3oxxTqfGjUWsxvng27DfLcfA/s1600/Dodecahands.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW_b32qMJoIynwQWY76usVTQkufQ1nbA-I2yWux5MqZ0j6HAp1vQ4-cIrtt8CrE47N_joDwqbkzJzUJvAB0axlfAxljvzj0hTmrApX_ybkYL6rLHRkNYa5MaWwPRNkEQqtbjo6oTOB6Wc/s1600/Icosahedron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW_b32qMJoIynwQWY76usVTQkufQ1nbA-I2yWux5MqZ0j6HAp1vQ4-cIrtt8CrE47N_joDwqbkzJzUJvAB0axlfAxljvzj0hTmrApX_ybkYL6rLHRkNYa5MaWwPRNkEQqtbjo6oTOB6Wc/s1600/Icosahedron.jpg" height="187" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
On the heels of our Costa Rica and 7th grade solo weeks, we've ramped up our Capstone and Milestone work, and have begun to dig into our sustainability studies. </div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<b>Here are some highlights</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b>Spanish 7: </b>We are memorizing the first stanza of a Spanish children's rhyme about oranges. <i>Ask if your young person can recite it? </i><i>Also, ask what are some differences they have noticed between the conjugations of regular versus irregular verbs?</i></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b>Spanish 8:</b> <i>Now that they are back from Costa Rica and have written reflections, what more can they share about the trip? </i></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">And now that we are back studying grammar, particularly numbers, <i>how do you write 1,167 in Spanish? How do you write "two plus two is four?"</i></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b>Art: </b>7/8s are starting a group installation piece based on the work of Tara Donovan, an artist who transforms every day manufactured objects into astounding works of art, forcing us to look closer at the materials that surround us. The project was introduced with a macro/micro slideshow where students tried to discern what massive quantities of single media were put together to create large scale installations. Ask your student about this work and what materials went into making it.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>Nat's Math Section</b>: We have moved into geometric studies, and geometric constructions. <i> Ask what a platonic solid is, and how many there are. Ask about making some of these out of playing cards! </i>(See below for where this project is headed)<i> ...And ask how to bisect an angle, or construct a perpendicular bisector with a compass and ruler.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>Academic Adventure Field Work</b>: Students went into the field and interviewed experts about the waste stream, fair trade, solar energy, and sustainable island living. <i>Ask what they learned that surprised them the most on this trip.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>Tinkering in Bridge's words: </b></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> We had a lot of people absent from tinkering this week, but the </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">students who were there continued to work on finishing a couple of </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">projects in tinkering. One group is working to finish their wooden </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">copy of a metal cabinet. This week, they attached the door with a </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">couple of hinges, which proved to be harder than it looked. In the </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">end, the group realized that another hinge in the middle of the door </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">will be needed in the future and a bottom needed to be attached to the </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">shelving unit to give the door clearance to swing open and close </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">without scraping the floor. Another group decided to paint the backing </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">of their shelving unit white to create a startling visual impact. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Other students continued to work on finishing their toothpick bridges </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">that we started back in November. <i>Ask your middle schooler what kind </i></span><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">of lessons they are learning about finishing projects. Do they think </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">that there is a time limit to how long a project is interesting?</span></i></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<b>Upcoming</b></div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Next Wednesday April 3 is a half day</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Great for the little ones.... </span><b style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Alice In Wonderland</b></li>
</ul>
</div>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Friday April 5 at 4:30pm and Sunday April 7 at 2:00pm</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Jessie Auditorium</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">FREE</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Running time: 45 mins</span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">In collaboration with STAGES, Inc.. </span><b style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance</b></li>
</ul>
</div>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Tuesday April 9 at 7:00pm and Thursday April 11 at 4:00pm and 7:00pm</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Jessie Auditorium</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">FREE</span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Stay tuned for details of our art and math show to be displayed after April break. All middle school math students have begun or will begin exploring ways in which math and art relate to each other. </span></li>
</ul>
</div>
Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10678868201951749642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3888643149636092667.post-75964036413428396812013-03-22T10:49:00.000-04:002013-03-24T11:59:20.632-04:00<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b>Here are a few highlights from the week</b></span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<ul>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">In preparation for next Friday's Academic Adventure Trip (see below), we finished the week with "garbology," an analysis of what we throw out and where it goes. Students divided up items from the trash into "luxuries" and "necessities." We had a very lively discussion around this. <i>Ask whether a cell phone is a necessity or a luxury!</i> We followed this discussion with a viewing of Annie Leonard's <i><a href="http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-stuff/" target="_blank">The Story of Stuff</a>.</i> I've included a link to this in case you'd like to check it out. It's about 20 minutes, and very worthwhile. We'll be analyzing both the information she discusses, and her masterful use of persuasive techniques to convince viewers of her point of view. </li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">In Spanish, we learned how to cook fried plantains, and made Latin smoothies called Batidos. The fruits we used included mango, parchita, banana, frambuesa, fresa, piña y jugo de naranja. (Mango, passion fruit, banana, raspberry, strawberry, pineapple and orange juice) <i>Ask about which fruits they liked the best, and ask if they've memorized the catchy tune " Yo Quiero Taco Bell" yet.</i> <i>Why do they think we are asking them to memorize this song? And did they share their own catchy Spanish tunes with their famIlies? Also, ask if they can name their favorite radio station in Spanish - and don't switch the station until they do it!</i></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Return of the travelers: ¡Bienvenidos a Los Estados Unidos! We heard some wonderful stories from the trip, and shared what we have been working on from home today. <i>Below is a link to a note from Sari detailing some of the highlights of this incredible trip.</i></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">The 7th Graders have captured highlights from the week in Graphic Novel Form. <i>Ask about the death of Balloony. </i></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">7th graders worked on their original blues stanzas in music.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Senbazuru: Students completed research and presented their work on four aspects of the 1000 cranes: the history, cultural significance, folding and hanging techniques, and the story of Sadako Sasaki (We also read Eleanor Coerr's book based on this story). We plan to donate these sometime in the coming weeks.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Art: With the 8's away, sevens went out into the community to view some art and sketch. We visited the graffiti wall, Portland Public Library's gallery, and the ICA at MECA. At the ICA, the exhibit was an installation of three whale skeletons. <i>Ask your student how the display was different than one might view bones in a Natural History Museum. How did the lighting and the sound enhance or take away from the visual aspects of the show? </i></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>Upcoming</b></span></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<ul>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.breakwaterschool.org/news-a-events/coming-events.html" target="_blank">Spring Gala tomorrow night!</a></span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Next week's All School Meeting: The 3rd and 4th graders will be leading the school in a "Lion and Dragon" dance as part of their study of ancient China. The whole school will meet in the Dan at 1:35 on Wednesday. After the dance, we'll all move to the Jessie auditorium to see a slide show of highlights from Costa Rica. We'll then split into our Learning Buddy Groups to hear some tales from the trip from the 8th graders. Please join us if you can for this festive event!</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Next Friday, 3/29: Academic Adventure Field Work. Our next big unit in Science and Social Studies is all about sustainability, and we're using this day to kick this off. Bridge is planning some exciting curriculum, including a visit to Eco-Maine. The facility is unheated, so <b>please make sure that students are wearing long pants and closed toed shoes</b>. Stay tuned for a letter from Bridge detailing our agenda for the day.</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading this far. Enjoy the weekend. I hope to see some of you tomorrow night.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">-Nat</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B28ZSF__F8F5Zm82Y3pUWWVYU3M/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Costa Rica Reflections from Sari</a></span></div>
Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10678868201951749642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3888643149636092667.post-6951256658236169792013-03-15T10:53:00.000-04:002013-03-24T11:59:50.434-04:00<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Hello everyone,</span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
The week has become a little quieter here at home, and some voices here have become a little more prominent. The 7th graders are very sentimental about the 8th grade - they are adamant about not erasing one of Lizzie's drawings from the whiteboard, calling it "Sacred Lizzie Drawing," and they keep looking at the itinerary, noting, "...what the 8th graders are doing right now," and talking of "...what the 8th graders would say if they were here." It has been very sweet to see. <br />
<br />
<b>Here are some items from this week in and out of our classroom</b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<ul>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">SENBAZURU!!! Ask your kids what that means (1000 cranes). 7th graders really wanted to fit in some community service, so in collaboration with Kelly in art class, we're in the process of a 1000 cranes project. We researched the history, cultural significance, and technical aspects of this project, and we plan to donate these in strings of 25 to a local hospital. <i>From Kelly: </i><i>Ask your seventh grader to show you how to fold a paper crane.</i></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">8th grade sendoff: In case you weren't there, the whole school community showed up to wish them a great trip. The Rainforest Bus was on the blacktop, and they were sent off with pancakes and a Breakwater cheer. </li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">7th grade hike to Jewel Falls: It was a little slippery (...and there was a little mud), but it was beautiful! <i>Ask your young person what they learned from our walk (...we had some academic discussion on the way, and debriefed about some of the ways that we need to support each other, both socially and academically.)</i></span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Milestone work: we honed our ideas for the upcoming <i>State of the Classroom </i>addresses. <i>Ask what your young person appreciates about the classroom, and what they have chosen as a place for improvement.</i></span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Outdoor Classroom: We made some plans to renovate our side yard to make it into a usable academic space. <i>Ask which ideas they liked the best.</i></span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Nat's math class spent time questioning whether the makers of <i>Orbeez </i>were accurate in their claim that Orbeez grow to 100 times their volume when they're soaked in water. We also studied radius, diameter, surface area, and volume of spheres through graphing data from balloons inflated with 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 breaths. <i>Ask if their predictions matched the data!</i></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">SPANISH: <i>How was your experience at Tu Casa? What was the most interesting thing about the the lunch? Would you like to go back there someday and order in Spanish again?</i></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">TINKERING: In Tinkering this week, the seventh and eighth graders continued to work on finishing two projects - their toothpick bridges and their shelves from the Scott Nash visit. The toothpick bridge project is nearly finished. The students have designed and built a bridge out of toothpicks and glue that had to be tall enough for a toy boat to pass under and a toy car to drive over. They have been recording the costs of the materials needed to build, and we may test a few to see how much weight they can hold when we're done. The groups that are finishing their shelving units are continuing to practice with a screw gun to countersink their screws effectively. Also, both groups are learning how to make their shelves more stable. <i>Ask your child about the bridge building project. What has been the most challenging aspect of it? I would guess waiting for the glue to dry! Ask them if they'd drive over their own bridge? Ask them about their shelves/egg displays - what was the most challenging part to that project?</i></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>Upcoming</b></span></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">7th graders will be working more on our senbazuru work next week, and we hope to solidify our plans of where they'll end. If we can set it up, I hope to meet in person with a volunteer coordinator</span> on Monday. </li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Next Wednesday 3/20 is a half day</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Costa Rican Adventurers return late Wednesday night. They should plan to take off Thursday, and be back at school on Friday.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Spring Gala on 3/23. Click on <a href="http://www.breakwaterschool.org/news-a-events/coming-events.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">this link</a> for more info.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Academic Adventure on 3/29. Stay tuned for devious and educational plans in Collaboration with Bridge and Mr. J.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Have a great weekend everyone!</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">-Nat</span></div>
</div>
Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10678868201951749642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3888643149636092667.post-28655467394423765542013-03-08T11:35:00.000-05:002013-03-24T12:00:05.583-04:00<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Hi everyone,</span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<b>Here are a few highlights from this week, and some questions to ask your young people</b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<ul>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">We shared the last of our 7th grade Infographic-Milestone presentations. Ask about the history of archery, the evolution of crayon colors, or the effects of caffeine vs. sugar on kids.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">We attended the Kindergarten Operas. Ask what a mermaid's favorite food is (everyone knows they are suckers for peaches)!</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Continuation of our chemistry studies in science.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">We focused on slope-intercept form in Nat's math class. Ask what the letters mean in y=mx+b</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">In Spanish, of the presentations about Costa Rica given by the eighth graders this week, which did you find most interesting and why. (The presentations were about Costa Rican Food, the people of Costa Rica, rain forests, history from 500 years ago to 1851, topography, and leaf cutter ants!)</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">In Tinkering, students continues to finish their egg displays/ shelves from the Scott Nash project. Ask them what has been the most challenging aspect of building them.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse;">In 7/8 Art, </span>students are finishing their personal mandalas. They have learned that the mandala has ritual significance and that it is the symbol of life and death, and the cosmic procession of all beings. Ask your student what they may know about the way people have used the mandala through out time and culture. (ex. Druids of ancient England & Stonehenge, the Aztec sunstone, Architecture of Tibetan temples, the color wheel, Native American sand paintings)</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">We spent a big part of today working on our Salem Witch Trials film. Ask about the best part of filmmaking.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>Upcoming</b></span></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">8th graders leave for Costa Rica on Wednesday morning. We're "exploding" their backpacks on Tuesday, so remember to send them in with their bags fully packed so we can make sure that they are ready. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any last minute questions.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">In sympathy with the 8th graders, 7th graders will be lunching at Tu Casa on Washington Ave. on Wednesday with Sra. Kristin and myself. They will get to practice ordering in Spanish, and thinking about next year's trip. </span>We are finalizing some more plans to make the week special for the 7th grade while the older kids are away.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">13th hour fundraising challenge honoring El Costa, March 13 <a href="http://www.breakwaterschool.org/" target="_blank">Click here</a> to go directly to the Breakwater calendar.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Spring Gala, Oscar themed, Red Carpet! March 23.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Have a great weekend. </span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">-Nat</span></div>
</div>
Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10678868201951749642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3888643149636092667.post-56700051013637108602013-03-01T10:54:00.000-05:002013-03-24T12:00:39.012-04:00<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Hello everyone,</span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
We had a nice re-entry this week, beginning on Tuesday with Science, Tinkering, and PE. <br />
<br />
<b>Here are a few highlights from the rest of our short week</b><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Carl Durra has joined our seventh grade class. He is outspoken and wonderful. Please welcome he and his parents, Imad and Rana. </li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">The next 7th grade Milestone was introduced this week. This one gives students a chance to practice persuasive writing and public speaking. Just wait until you hear some of the ideas for the <i>State of the Classroom</i> Address. </li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Art: <span style="border-collapse: collapse;">Ask your student, "What is radial symmetry?" "What is the significance of the circle?" "What is a mandala?"</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse;">Music: Students worked with Samuel James while Stephanie is out on maternity leave.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Students worked on their scripts and props for our Salem Witch Trials film, to be produced next week</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Writer's workshop this week focused on YOLOfiction (You Only Live Once). Students completed their first drafts, and we worked on peer editing today.</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>Upcoming</b></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Girls Coalition Group starts on Tuesday - 11:45-12:30 in the Jessie auditorium. Please send your forms back if you haven't yet done so. Let Cheryl know if you have any questions.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Kindergarten opera performance this Tuesday at 2:00 i</span><span style="border-collapse: collapse;">n the Jessie auditorium.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse;">Continued work on short fiction writing, and the culmination of our Colonial studies work</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse;">Next Wednesday (3/6) is a half day</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse;">Costa Rica is coming right up! (March 13-21)</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse;">The 13th Hour Fundraising Challenge Honoring El Costa. Click <a href="http://www.breakwaterschool.org/news-a-events/coming-events.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">here</a> to go directly to Breakwater's Calendar.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse;">Spring Gala is coming up! Save the date: March 23. Click on <a href="http://www.breakwaterschool.org/news-a-events/coming-events.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">this link</a> for more info.</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Have a wonderful weekend. See you on Monday!</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">-Nat</span></div>
</div>
Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10678868201951749642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3888643149636092667.post-23984857168570454162013-02-01T12:56:00.000-05:002013-03-24T13:01:06.858-04:00<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Hello everyone,</span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
Happy to report that almost everyone is through with their NWEAs. They did take up a fair amount of our week, but students who finished more quickly had some time for independent writing and work on their Capstone and Milestone projects. <br />
<br />
<b>Here are a few highlights from the week</b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<ul>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">We created Salem Witch Trial tableaus on Monday. Students were asked to identify the scenario and each character who was portrayed. Ask what your child's scene was, and which character they portrayed.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Nat's math section began the week by calculating the speed of sound (ask about the exploding rocket ship), and then moved forward with our graphing work. Today, we made a huge leap in our examination of patterns - we now know how to generalize as well as specify. Ask what a triangular number is - and for a challenge, ask if they can tall you the 50th triangular number.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">In science, students went to water school at the USGS. Ask them about capillary action and how they plan to test their theories next week.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">We had a wonderful collaboration with grade 6 over the last few days. Ask about the nature or zero, about our freehand circle drawing contest, and about the cultural (mis)understanding activity.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse;">In espanol 7: What three fascinating facts are you finding out about Cuba? How is Cuba different from the United States?</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse;">...and espanol 8: What is the topic for your Costa Rica Presentation? Why did you choose that topic and how would you like to present to the class?</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse;">In Art, s</span><span style="border-collapse: collapse;">tudent absences are keeping our Las Meninas painting in production! Stay tuned- the new deadline is February Break. </span><span style="border-collapse: collapse;">Those who are finished with the initial work on their section of the painting have started creating eggs for the "Breakwater" Museum/Performance scheduled for Feb. 12</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b>Upcoming</b></span></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<ul>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Don't forget to sign up for a winter conference (They begin this Tuesday)</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.breakwaterschool.org/news-a-events/coming-events.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Step-Up night this Wednesday</a>, February 6. (click for more details)</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Next Wednesday, February 6 is a half day.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.breakwaterschool.org/news-a-events/coming-events.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Click here</a> for details about the Next All Parent Coffee, and the Four Square Tournament.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">February Break is coming right up (No school Feb 18-22).</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Thursday, Feb. 14 from 3:30-4:30 we will have our annual faculty-student basketball gam<wbr></wbr>e in the Dan.</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Have a great weekend everyone.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">-Nat</span></div>
Nathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10678868201951749642noreply@blogger.com