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2nd Grade In Science, our second graders are learning about objects that are transparent, translucent and opaque. They had fun playing “Flashlight Tag” and learning the science behind the reflection of light and mirrors.

3rd Grade The story of 3 mealworms continues in the 3rd Grade. Students continue to carefully observe their creatures and are seeing signs that changes are on the way…metamorphosis is just around the corner.

4th Grade The Southwest is the next stop for our Fourth graders as they continue their tour of regions of the United States in Social Studies. In English, our students are learning how to write friendly letters. They are putting a letter in the mail to a special person and will be hoping to receive a reply in the return mail very soon!

5th Grade Religion Rules! Math Rules! English Rules! Science Rules! Social Studies Rules! Our 5th graders are always hard at work! Creatures of the Rain Forest recently filled our hallways. A red panda, a jaguar, a peacock and a toucan were just a few of the handmade models that accompanied their research projects on this fascinating biome.

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN OUR CLASSROOMS

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Pre-Kindergarten Our youngest Bernardians continue their lessons in their brilliant yellow classroom. It is always Spring in our Pre–K room no matter how cold or snowy it is outdoors!

Kindergarten In spite of the weather, our young Bernardians have completed two more Letterbooks and are almost ready for their next chapter in Math. Most importantly, our Kindergarteners have been learning about Ash Wednesday and Lent. With vacation over, our little ones will have more time to think about the many special things they can do to show their love for Jesus during the season of Lent.

1st Grade First Graders have been counting our days in school since September, and we have just reached an important milestone: the 100th day! We marked the occasion with many reading, writing and math activities all focused on the concept of one hundred. We are certainly 100 days smarter! In Religion, we are learning about the season of Lent and how we can use this special time to grow closer to God through prayer and loving actions towards others.

Inspired by the motto, “Deeds not Words,” St. Bernard’s Elementary School is committed to providing a quality Catholic education by teaching the Gospel values of charity, responsibility, dignity and respect in a faith-centered community.

March 2015 Issue 6 WHAT’S NEW

St. Bernard’s Elementary School News

6th Grade The love of books continues in the Sixth grade…Bernardian authors are hard at work writing and illustrating their own children’s stories. When authors are finished, they will have published a hardbound keepsake!

7th Grade “All bugs are insects, but not all insects are bugs!” Seventh grade zoologists have learned that difference by comparing a grasshopper with a cicada. Invertebrate projects will soon be on display in our main corridor—drop by STB and see the differences for yourself!

8th Grade Eighth grade historians celebrated Black History Month with “A Walk Through History” project. Each student chose an African-American to introduce to the class by construction of a memorial to honor the contributions of that person or group to our nation. Honored were Americans from Colonial to 21st century America.

Fully accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges

COMING EVENTS!

Basketball The STB boy’s 7th & 8th grade basketball team (8-2) won the Parochial League title! They defeated the unbeaten St. Anthony’s team with a game winning 3-pointer by Joseph Novelli to clinch their victory! Congratulations to all!

The girl’s 7th & 8th grade basketball team fought hard in their championship game—for the fourth consecutive year—against St. Leo’s in the Twin City Basketball League. They did not come away the victors, but their determination, team-spirit and sports(woman)ship has made STB proud!

We congratulate all of our St. Bernard’s basketball players in grades 3-8 and their coaches for another great season! Go STB!

STB Spring Concert Music—if not Spring—is in the air at STB! Students in Grades 4 & 5 are beginning to practice for their Spring Concert and Musical to be held in May. Students are working to choose their theme for this year and to select their favorite songs from class. Stay tuned!

STB School News March 2015

SPORTS, CLUBS AND ACTIVITIES

Be sure to look for the next WHAT’S NEW monthly insert on the first Sunday of every month!

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN OUR CLASSROOMS CONTINUED…

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Library Books! Books! Books! The Scholastic Book Fair returns to STB from March 16-21 with the theme of “Under the Sea.” Grades 1, 2 and 3 are busy creating their bookmarks to enter into a competition for First, Second and Third prizes. Raffles, a theme cake and a Treasure Chest that may be opened by a lucky student will be available to all in the Library as well as the usual well-stocked cases of books to tempt readers of every age and interest. The Book Fair will be open during school hours and during the Spaghetti Supper on Saturday, March 21st.

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Art So many projects are underway in the STB Art studio…A giant whale mosaic is under construction by Kindergarten and Grade 1 students, Grades 1–5 are busy creating “Under the Sea” bookmarks and posters, Grades 6 and 7 are putting the finishing touches on their Duck Stamp entries and Grade 8 is working to transform the school’s lobby into a French Café with a Mardi Gras theme.

Annual PTO Spaghetti Supper Join us to support STB programs while enjoying a delicious spaghetti supper on Saturday, March 21st at 4:30 PM. All

are welcome. Eat-in or take-out!

Catholic School Honor Band Concert

Molly Belleza, Mason Brassard, Michael Dumford and Vivian Nguyen have been selected and will perform at the annual Massachusetts – Rhode

Island Catholic School Honor Band Concert to be held at 2:00 PM on

Saturday, March 21st at Memorial Hall in Melrose, MA.

Bernardian Art on Display in Boston STB Artwork will be on display as part of

the Youth Art Month Exhibit from March 9th to April 24th, sponsored by

the Massachusetts Art Education Association. Each Art teacher across Massachusetts was invited to submit five works of art for this exhibit, which

celebrates Art in Education from K–12. Our five Bernardian Artists

on display at the State Transportation Building are:

Gr. 1 – Timothy Sheridan Duck – Colored pencil Gr. 2 – Shaylee Wells

Butterfly – Paint Gr. 8 – Jenna Duval

Mask – 3D Papier-mâché Gr. 8 – Anna Jordan

Apple – Pencil Gr. 8 – Derek McMaster

Christmas card – Block print

STB Musical The Drama Club is beginning their work on this year’s musical—Disney’s “High School Musical, Jr.” Save the dates!

Friday, March 27th and Saturday, March 28th on stage at STB Elementary

School. Tickets on sale soon!

Scripps’ North Central Regional Spelling Bee

8th Grader Camryn Souza is our STB entry in this year’s Regional Spelling Bee to be held at the

Doubletree Hotel, Leominster, MA on Tuesday, March 31st at 6:00 PM.

STB is building a playground! The STB Playground Committee, co-chaired by Jon Cross and David Langton, is working on site selection, design and fundraising. STB is particularly grateful to the family of Robert Leonard (Jon & Cara Cross) who created a fund in Mr. Leonard’s memory, which will benefit our playground and will bring joy to the Leonard’s grandchildren, as well as to all their STB classmates. Many donations have been received already, but we still have more to do. STB has set up a GoFundMe account that can be accessed from our STB website and our Facebook page. Look for construction to begin this fall!