Team Taylor April Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

March was a busy month for us in sixth grade! Students have been working dilegently in all academic classes. We are hopefully beyond all of the snow! Along with all our hard work academically, students were treated to a special presentation by The Myth Masters! They are made up of two actors, who successfully captured the minds of our sixth graders, while teaching them about Greek Mythology. They are interactive and so very engaging! This is such a fun way to blend our curriculum with such an entertaining activity! Thank you to the PCC for providing this fun presentation for us.

The English Language Arts MCAS exam is approaching, the dates are Wednesday, April 25th, and Thursday,  April 26th . Students have been working hard in their ELA classes all year and are prepared to show what they know! They have been embracing the strategies they have learned at school and should be proud of all of their efforts. In order to ensure that students are able to do their best on exam days, we are asking you at home to encourage them to get a good night’s sleep and eat a healthy breakfast on exam days. Students should also come to school with a water bottle, snack, and independent reading book on exam days. No electronic readers are allowed on these days during the test times.

We continue to encourage students to check Aspen regularly, as we update our grades every two weeks. At this point in the year, we expect students to begin taking more responsibility for their own learning and advocating for themselves if they need help in any areas of the curriculum. We encourage them to use class and Flex time wisely to see teachers for extra help as needed. We will continue to support them and help foster this independence.

As a part of our Admirable Attributes program, Team Taylor recognizes two students each month who exemplify attributes of the authors we read in 6th grade.  The Admirable Attribute for the month of March was Compassionate, students nominated and we are waiting to announce the recipients early in April. The attribute for April is Independent.   We want to encourage students to be thinking of others this month and finding ways to show that they care.

We truly feel that the success of our students depends on clear communication between school and home. Please feel free to contact us if you have any concerns or questions about your child's progress. Email is the best method to reach us. Our email addresses available on the ASMS web page. You can also find a link to the Team Taylor Blog on this site. If you haven’t been on it, it’s a valuable page we use to communicate about our team news and curriculum.

Warm Regards,

Team Taylor Teachers

Dates This Month:

Friday, April 6 - Professional Development Day Teachers - half day students

Monday, April 16 - Friday, April 20 - April Vacation

Wednesday, April 25, Thursday, April 26 - ELA MCAS Grade 6

Team Taylor Admirable Attribute Recipients:

September - Optimistic - Ben P. & Hannah M.

October - Curious - Ryan P. & Sabrina T.

November - Respectful - Nicolas A. & Sammy B.

December - Perseverance - Ahan S. & Maya A.

January - Generous - Brian A. & Alex B.

February - Creative - Ashley D. & Maria Z.

March Update: Science & Math

Greetings,

I'd like to give a brief update on what students have been working on in the science and math classroom, as well as explain where we are heading for the month of March.

In science, we have been focusing our study on cells and their various organelles.  As we learn more about the different cell parts and their functions, we continue to try to answer our essential questions.  How do organisms live and grow?  Why is it valuable to know the various structures and functions of a cell?

Students will show their understanding of cells and their various structures though the cell analogy project.  Students will create a diagram of a cell and create an analogy for each of its parts and then create a diagram of the entire analogy.  For example, the cell could be compared to a factory.  A factory may have a water storage area which is analogous to the vacuoles found within both plant and animal cells.

As students deepen their understanding of cells, we will move to the organism as a whole and begin to study body systems.  Our focus during that time will be on how various body systems interact and what happens at a cellular level.

In math, we have been focusing our study on ratios, rates, and unit rates.  Students have been applying their new knowledge of ratios to help them solve various problems, such as which option at a store is the better buy or comparing speeds.  As we develop a deeper understanding of ratios and rates we will use this knowledge to learn about percentages and how percentages can help us solve real world situations.

As term 2 winds to a close, some ways you can help your child in math is making sure they are using active word problem strategies.  Students should be circling numbers, underlining/highlighting important information, visualizing the problem, drawing a picture when stuck, re-reading the problem, and choosing an operation.  Please reinforce these strategies at home as the level of difficulty and application will continue to increase through the school year.