Fletcher Maynard Academy

Don’t Forget! 2pm Dismissal Every Wednesday

Gazette

• Friday, February 3 FMA Leadership Team Meeting

• Wednesday, February 8 Autism Connected

• Thursday, February 9 Girls Scouts Meeting for Parents 7:45am

• Thursday, February 9 SPO

• Monday, February 13 Black History and First Term Awards Program 2:30p

• Monday, February 20 to Sunday, February 26 February vacation

• Tuesday, February 28 Parent Math Workshop-Parents Grade 3-5 5-7pm

FMA February HappeningsStudents in Room 307 have been learning about Mindfulness with Laura Indigo. They take 15 minutes every Tuesday and Friday to practice mindful breathing, feeling their breath through their noses, stomachs, and chests. They have also been practicing listening and being aware of sounds they hear in the classroom and in their life. Additionally, they have been mindfully sending kind thoughts to someone special and recognizing how these kind thoughts make them feel. With these mindfulness practices becoming more regular in the classroom, students are sharing that they feel more calm throughout their day. They have also shared that mindful breathing is helpful to them when they are sad, angry, or upset. Room 307 looks forward to continuing the program!

Mind(fulness) over Matter Ms Sullivan

February Newsletter

Fletcher Maynard Academy

Tech Currents Mr. McGonegal

Accessing FMA Online Resources from Home Every day, FMA students log into web-based resources to read, write, do arithmetic and more! Did you know that your students can access many of these resources from home (or the public library, or any other computer in the world with internet access) to extend their classroom learning? Many of these sites need to be accessed with login names and passwords, and our students have committed most of these combinations to memory! To learn more about these wonderful resources and how your students can access them, simply head to tinyurl.com/fmalogins Coding in Grades 3-5 This year in grades 3-5, we are delving deeply into coding and computer programming using "Scratch," a block-based computer programming language for kids that was developed at MIT. However, in order to use this wonderful resource with your students, I need a permission slip signed by all families. Those permission slips will go home next week; please be on the lookout for them, and returned the signed slip to your student's homeroom teacher. We can't wait to get started on this important work!

Ms. Katz' and Ms. Sullivan's second graders said good-bye to their Sanofi Genzyme Reading Buddies last Tuesday with a pizza party in the gym. While the children always love the pizza and ice cream sandwiches, the gift books they got to keep were the highlight of the party. With the advice of their Buddies, Lisa Van Vleck from Cambridge School Volunteers chose a book for each child. This year's choices ranged from dinosaur stories and a non-fiction history of the sinking of the Titanic, to Ada Twist, Scientist and many copies of A Diary of a Wimpy Pikachu. The pizza and books were all funded by Sanofi Genzyme. The Reading Buddies program, which is coordinated by Cambridge School Volunteers, is in its 18th year at FMA. The program will resume in the first grade after February vacation.

Reading Buddies Ms. Van Vleck

The students in the classrooms of Ms. Astrove, Ms. Basu, Ms. Courtney, and Mrs. O explored the Museum of Science with its dinosaurs, satellites, trains, baby chicks, and experiments! Thank you to Mr. H for joining in the fun!

From the Kindergarten

Fletcher Maynard AcademyHidden Figures Review from Ms. Oluwole’s ClassI think this movie is important because I got to learn about the history of our country. I want to find out why was there discrimination. I want to know more about Dorothy Vaughn. I noticed that the movie took place during the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King was still alive Bus Boycotts were taking place. People were protesting for their rights. I learned that women were not treated the same a men. Black people were judged by their skin color. Never give up... work hard for what you want. The white bathroom was better than the colored bathroom.

On inauguration Day, inspired by Mr. Park, Ms. Oluwole’s class traveled to Apple Cinemas in North Cambridge to watch Hidden Figures. Wow! The mathematical ability and intelligence of these 3 women was awe inspiring. Not only did they remain calm under the pressures of segregation and discrimination. But Katherine Johnson, Mary Vaughn and Dorothy Jackson continued to press on to meet their goals and do their best. I can’t wait to read the book!

Galaxies are big Rawa Galaxies are big, Planets are small, Everything is different in all, Why don’t we fall right out of space? Why do planets orbit the sun like a race? The universe is scarier than you think, Is is white, black, yellow, blue or pink? There are so many things to discover and think about, I just wish the universe could yell the answers out, For every mistake we make, And every risk we take, I am sick of wondering all day, Time goes fast away, Are there galaxies, planets, life, or stars? And why are they light years apart? Many universes far away you might need to travel on a fast rocket ship for a gazzillion days What is Shimmering at me up above, Universe, stars, galaxies, and other stuff.

Race Anayia Bang, bang, bang That’s the sound Of the guns that The police officer hold, Thump! That’s the sound of people Hitting the ground, It’s not white men, Not white women, Not black women, But it’s black men They did nothing The police have an Advantage, What has this world come to? Innocent men, Just walking the streets, Enjoying life, This needs to stop now.

Black Lives Matter!

In writing, class Mrs. Martin worked with 4th and 5th grade students on creating poetry for the annual curiosity challenge. Classes brainstormed about their curiosities and then focused on a subject they wanted to explore through poetry. Students completed their poems in only two class periods.

Poetry Slam! from Mrs. Martin’s Class

FMA Participates in “Quad Meeting”

Did you know that after fifth grade, all students from the FMA, Cambridgeport and King Open will go the Cambridge Street Upper School (CSUS)? The elementary schools have collaborated in the past to bring the students together and allow them to get to know each other before they go to CSUS. An example of this collaboration is the Quad field day typically run by the PE teachers at the three elementary schools. But we can do more. The leadership teams at the three elementary schools and one upper school met on January 18. We discussed how to further collaborate so we can prepare the elementary school students and their parents for the middle school transition. Stay tuned; more to come!

FMA students are the Bee’s Knees! This school year we are starting up our school wide behavior program called PBIS, or Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. This program is a “school-wide system of support that includes proactive strategies for defining, teaching, and supporting appropriate student behaviors to create a positive school environment,” (https://www.pbis.org/school). This program involves every student being committed to the “5 Bee’s” of FMA:

● Be Accountable ● Be Cooperative ● Be Engaged ● Be Respectful ● Be Safe

We are kicking off the new year with a fun way of rewarding FMA students for their commitment to the “5 Bee’s”. During lunch and recess, staff and teachers will be handing out “Beez-Neez” tickets to students who are showing their commitment to the “5 Bee’s”. For example, if a student cleans up after themselves and throws their trash in the correct receptacle they will receive a “Beez-Neez” ticket with a check in the “Accountable” category, showing that the student was accountable for cleaning up their own mess during lunch. The students then put their “Beez-Neez” tickets into their homeroom beehive. The homeroom with the most tickets at the end of the week will be recognized at the following Monday morning meeting, and the class will receive the Queen Bee Pillow Pet trophy for the entire week!

The winners of our first two weeks giving out “Beez-Neez” tickets were the students in Ms. Basu and Ms. Oluwole’s homerooms. Congratulations to the students in these homerooms for being committed to the “5 Bee’s” and working to make FMA a great place to learn! We look forward to finding out which classes will win the Queen Bee in weeks to come!

PBIS @ the FMA Ms. Pentz January Students of the Month

• Reardon Ryan King • Technology Amaya Ellis • Spanish Hillawe Alem • Martin Naseem Anjaria • Katz Jack Clarke • Brennan Seira Carty • Sullivan Walter Greer • Gym Raul Cruz • Hammond Edlawit Zewde • William Moody Alghareeb • Higgins Eden Cherisme • Oluwole Noah Frederick • Waddell Phelicia Charles • Lincoln Ghassan Kahn • Library Rehaan Anjaria

Please join us on Tuesday, February 7 to mark thirty years and counting of Lisa Van Vleck's service to Cambridge School Volunteers and to the students of the Cambridge public schools. Lisa started at CSV in 1987, and together with our corporate partners and CPS teacher partners, she created all of our corporate programs from scratch, including Reading Buddies, KeyPals, and NetPals. The event will be held at the KLo school on Spring Street. Lisa is looking forward to enjoying a moment with us to reflect on her remarkable career. We will have a short speaking program, but mostly time to mingle. Refreshments will be served. Join us to mark a milestone. Feel free to RSVP online here or call us at 617-349-6794 (ask for Jen or Daisy). The online invite is here: https://lisavanvleck.eventbrite.com

Honoring Lisa Van Vleck (Reading Buddies)

Room 303 parters with EInc

Fourth Graders in Room 303 have begun a six week program through our partner EInc. Students are learning about meaningful ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle. During our first class, Jackson and Kiarah's estimate on the number of pounds of waste annually produced by our global population was VERY close to the actual amount. (Check in with these scientists for the statistics!). This week, students built and tested a model of a landfill. Room 303's scientists have been inquisitive, insightful, and energetic during their weekly sessions.