Team 81 Newsletter

Water Displacement Experiment - Science Class

These newsletters will be sent out every month to keep you updated. Each month we will be choosing a new PACK student of the month, as well as sending you reminders for upcoming events. Please read through the entire newsletter to get all the information.

We know that many students are trying to log in with their school email at home or on cell phones to access Google Classroom, their email, Clever, etc. Due to heightened security in the district, the Technology Department has required anyone signing into a school email account or trying to access school accounts not from a school issued device must have a 2 step Authorization (MFA) on any non-district device. We understand that it is an extra step, but it is decreasing numerous problems the district was having with regards to hacking into accounts.

Please use this link to follow these directions exactly. If you do not follow the 10 steps carefully, the log in will fail. Please take your time. If you have any questions, please email Mrs. Scott at sarah.scott@schoolsofwestfield.org.

Your students have been diving deep into some thrilling literature that has really captured their imagination. We started by exploring Edgar Allan Poe's suspenseful story **"The Tell-Tale Heart,"** where students worked together brilliantly in an escape room activity that challenged them to analyze the story's mysteries. I was so proud of how well they collaborated and supported each other. Students also wrote thoughtful **argument paragraphs** supporting their opinion on whether the narrator in "The Tell-Tale Heart" was insane or not. Quiz scores showed they truly understood the story!

We also set important goals for our I-Ready My Path Progress in English class this year and had our first practice session. Students will be tracking their reading growth throughout the year as we continue with I-Ready.

Currently, we're working on W.W. Jacobs' classic tale "The Monkey's Paw," where students have been practicing close reading skills through annotation and analysis. They've discovered how the author creates mood, as well as how mood shifts can help create tension and suspense throughout the story. We've explored the interesting pattern of threes that appears repeatedly in the story, as well as some themes and morals found in the story. Your children have written thoughtful paragraphs with strong supporting evidence for their "The Monkey's Paw" opinions and analysis questions.

Coming up, we'll finish this haunting story and then students will get creative by writing their own endings using the same storytelling techniques they've learned. It's wonderful to see them growing as both readers and writers!

Help Class available by appointment. This is usually during lunch period.

Students were working on writing personal narratives about events that happened to them. They had to choose an event that other students can relate to and focus on why the event was important to them. In the Unit “ Exploring Your Identity”, students learned to identify central ideas in a text and include supporting evidence. These skills students applied to writing personal narratives. They also focused on using present, past, and future verb tenses accurately.

I am very proud of the students’ hard work and writing skills!

Students have been working on Exponents, Roots and Rational Numbers. We will be moving into our Equations Unit next. Reminder: Students have homework almost every day. If they don’t finish it in class, they must finish it at home. Homework is always listed in Google Classroom for the week.

Very Important Information:

First In Math - Students should be earning 100 stickers each week. By 10/14 they should have 700 stickers. This will be a Summative grade. Log in through Clever and complete new games, or get a higher score on a game you have already played to earn stickers. Once you have a gold star, you can no longer earn stickers from that game.

Help Class: Fridays 2:30 - 3:30pm

In Civics, we are wrapping up our first Unit of our new curriculum, CIvic Engagement In Our Democracy, otherwise known as DKP. Students, as part of the final project for this Unit, have been working on our Stories of Self, where we told a story about ourselves and what matters to us. As a recommended format, most of us created small “mini-books” on google slides so that we could share our stories with each other.

COMING UP NEXT: As we approach November, we will be spending a few weeks in the “Elections Module” before moving onto Unit 2: The Rights of the People, around the end of October/beginning of November.

WEDNESDAY LUNCH HELP: Students can come to class at lunch time every Wednesday to get help on assignments or projects or simply to get some extra time to work.

What is a story I can tell about who I am and what matters to me, and how can I share it?

Celebrating Student Excellence

Each month, our team recognizes a student who embodies our core values of perseverance, accountability, collaboration, and kindness. We look for students who not only excel academically but also demonstrate strong character, support their classmates, and show a genuine commitment to learning and personal growth. Our Student of the Month represents the best of what our school community stands for.

This Month We'd Like to Recognize:

• 11/4 - No School

• 11/7 - Pep Rally

• 11/7 Fall Dance 6 - 8pm

• 11/11 No School Veterans Day,

• 11/14 All late work due for term 1

• 11/24 Marking Term 1 Ends

• 11/26 - 11/28 No School Thanksgiving Break