Principal's Weekly Newsletter

Dear Families,

Congratulations to our students for completing MAP testing this week! I am so proud of all that you have learned and accomplished this year. You tried your best and persevered. We will continue our discussion on our Virtue of the Month, "perseverance" at Monday's Parking Lot Prayers.

A special welcome to our new intern, Rosie Lacy who will be helping us out in the classrooms and office. Rosie used to be my student, and it is an honor to have her at St. Mary's.

Lastly, be on the look out! We will be spotlighting our Grade 8 students starting next week!

Have a wonderful weekend!

May 23rd:

• Band Performance at Fanieul Hall for selected band members

May 24th

• Grades 2+3 Freedom Trail Field Trip

May 29th

• No School- Memorial Day

May 31st

• Spring Concert at 8:45 a.m

June 2nd

• International Family Festival at 4:30 p.m
  

June 5th

• Field Day

June 7th

• Grade 8 Graduation and Convocation Mass at 10 a.m

June 9th

• Band Concert at 8:30 a.m
  

June 14th:

• Uniform Swap 2:15-3:15

June 16th

• Last Day of School

Covid-19 cases: 0

Fevers: We had multiple children ( mostly in PreK & K1) out this week with fevers. This is not an unusual occurrence this time of year. A fever is anything 100.4 or higher. Students who have a fever must stay home until they are fever free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication and are feeling well enough to attend school.

Students should test for Covid-19 when they have a fever.

Call your doctor if a fever lasts more than 4-5 days, a fever over 105., your child is not eating or drinking, severe pain, headache, stiff neck, rash, weakness or shortness of breath.

Please let us know when your student is absent and the reason for the absence.

Enjoy your weekend

International Family Festival is quickly approaching! Thank you to all our parent volunteers who are helping us prepare for this special event. Just a reminder that the festival will take place on Friday, June 2nd at 4:30 p.m. EDP will close at 4:30 that day too. Many of our students will be performing so we hope you can all attend!

Our school community celebrated the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. Thank you to our student readers, Ms. Connors, student alter servers, Mr. Nguyen, and Fr. Bobby!

"Hello Families!

We are two weeks away from our Spring concert, and our students are READY! As a staff, we could not be more proud of the work each grade has put in to make this concert a success. Below is some information regarding the Spring Concert:

When: Wednesday, May 31st at 8:45AM

Where: The Saint Mary’s Parking Lot (the same location where we have Parking Lot Prayers and other school events).

Student Dress Code:
PreK, K1, K2, 1st, and 2nd Grade: “Wear what makes you feel spectacular!” Please be advised that clothing must adhere to school dress code rules for dress down days. Families can see the SMS handbook for more information.

3rd, 4th, 5th Grade: Saint Mary’s School Uniforms

6th Grade: Black clothing “with Rock Empahsis”. Please be advised that clothing must adhere to school dress code rules for dress down days. Students can speak with Ms Smith for more information.

7th and 8th: Black clothing, and actors can wear an additional costume piece that describes their character. Please be advised that clothing must adhere to school dress code rules for dress down days. Students can speak with Ms Whitten and Ms Smith for more information.

Concert Order:
Pre-K/K1 - “Feelings Song”
1st/2nd - “Seasons of Love”
K2, 1st, 2nd, 3rd - “Breakaway”
K2, 1st, 2nd, 6th - “When I grow up”
3,4,5 - “Revolting Children”
7/8 - Original Musical Production entitled “Take back the Night”
6th - “Ultimate”

Practice Materials: Practice materials can be found on the concert page of Ms. Smith's Website- Link to concert materials"

This week, the middle school French class worked on ordering at a restaurant and welcoming customers in French for our International Family Festival. They had the opportunity to practice their scripts and learn about how to perform on stage.

This week the middle school Spanish class had the opportunity to work together to create a script and prepare their performance for the International Family Festival! They learned how to go shopping in Spanish, how fun!

Students are learning all about plants and parts of a flower in Spanish class!

After a hard week of MAPS testing our 4th-grade class designed some animal-themed coloring pages for our Pre-K buddies and they had a wonderful opportunity to learn from each other. Our PreK buddies prepared for their trip to the zoo while our 4th-grade class learned to work and guide their younger buddies.

K1 worked on their fine motor skills and had a great time making bird feeders using different colored construction paper and also using some cheerios to feed the birdies.

Pre-k and K1 had a great time visiting the Franklin Park Zoo!! We saw lions, giraffes, and even a baby gorilla! So much fun!

Students in first grade prepared for their MAPs tests by playing Jeopardy to review the material they have been learning throughout the year! Students were put into two teams based on their class number. All students did great and rocked the Spring MAPs tests! We are so proud of them!

This week, our second-grade class worked on their final draft of their stories. They have been working on these stories during the second semester as they learned to draft and edit previous drafts to get to this exciting final process! Great Job grade 2!!

5th grade has been learning about shapes and classifying them using geometric vocabulary and their specific definitions

This week, the 8th-grade scholars continued their study of Newtonian physics by prototyping, constructing, and testing their own balloon cars. Designed to demonstrate Newton's Laws of Motion, this hands-on project allowed our budding scientists to explore the fundamental principles that govern the movement of objects.

The project involved constructing miniature cars powered solely by the force generated by releasing air from an inflated balloon. Through this practical application, our students had the opportunity to deepen their understanding of Newton's laws and their impact on everyday motion.

Here is a summary of the three main laws of motion, as illustrated by the Balloon Car Project:

Newton's First Law of Motion, also known as the law of inertia, states that an object at rest will remain at rest, and an object in motion will continue moving at a constant velocity unless acted upon by an external force. In the context of the project, students observed that when the balloon car was released without any additional force, it remained stationary or moved slowly due to the force of friction acting against it.

Newton's Second Law of Motion explains how the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting upon it and inversely proportional to its mass. As our students made modifications to their balloon cars, they discovered that by increasing the force of the escaping air (net force) or reducing the weight of the car (mass), they could achieve greater acceleration and distance traveled.

Newton's Third Law of Motion states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In the Balloon Car Project, this law became evident when students noticed that the force propelling the car forward was a direct result of the air escaping from the balloon in the opposite direction. The car moved forward as the air was expelled backward.

By actively participating in this project, our students not only gained a practical understanding of Newton's Laws of Motion but also developed essential skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, and collaboration. They were encouraged to experiment, make adjustments, and record their observations, fostering a sense of curiosity and a love for scientific exploration.

Students built an obstacle course for their next robotics challenge! They coded and programmed the robots to go all the way through the course. Excellent job, it isn't as easy as it looks!

Please find the links below to our social media pages. We have been constantly uploading posts and stories so if you are interested in seeing more of our day-to-day happenings, please follow us!

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/st-mary-of-the-assumption-school

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stmaryschoolbrooklinema

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stmaryschoolbrookline/