Mansion Avenue School Newsletter
October 30, 2026 edition
Our MTSS class recently wrapped up a unit on the Native Americans of North America by creating Native American spin drums! Throughout the unit, students compared and contrasted Native American groups from the Arctic, Northwest Coast, and Southwest regions. We explored how the climate and natural resources of each region influenced the foods people ate and the homes they built. Students enjoyed discovering how different environments shaped daily life and expressing their learning through this hands-on cultural activity!
Fifth graders stepped back in time to experience the challenges faced by the early settlers of Jamestown! Students were tasked with building a model of the settlement and completing a series of survival challenges before the arrival of the “Starving Time.” Through this hands-on activity, students explored the difficulties colonists faced as they worked to find food, establish shelter, and survive in a new environment. It was a great way to bring history to life while putting their problem-solving skills to the test!
Sixth graders are exploring the vastness of our solar system as they learn about the scale and distance of the planets! Students are discovering just how large the planets are and how far apart they are from one another. This hands-on learning helps put the enormous size of our solar system into perspective and gives students a better understanding of our place in space. It’s an out-of-this-world learning experience!
Third graders kicked off their morning meeting with a timely reminder about our ROAR expectations: Respect, Ownership, Achievement, and Responsibility! With all the Halloween excitement, costumes, and silliness happening later in the day, students talked about how they can still make good choices, show kindness, and be responsible while having fun. We love a little Halloween silliness, but our Mountain Lions always remember to ROAR!
Fourth graders are getting into the Halloween spirit while building their writing skills! Students have been reading Vlad the Fabulous Vampire and Gustavo the Shy Ghost as mentor texts, studying the authors’ writing styles, storytelling techniques, and use of descriptive details. They are then putting what they’ve learned into practice by creating their own original spooky stories. We have thoroughly enjoyed the creative (and maybe a little creepy!) tales they came up with!
Fifth graders brought a little Halloween magic to their reading of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane! Some students imagined taking Edward on a Halloween adventure and put their creativity to work by writing original narratives. Their stories described finding Edward, creating the perfect Halloween costume for him, and taking him out for a night of trick-or-treating fun. It was a wonderful way to combine reading, imagination, and narrative writing while giving Edward a whole new adventure!
