March/April 2013
Happy Spring,
Rejuvenation and Rekindling of Ideas
I believe I share in everyone's sentiments that winter has stayed long enough and warm, energizing weather is well overdue. March through early April always presents an interesting challenge in schools- sandwiched between vacations and now dominated by MCAS across all grade levels, it can feel disjointed instructionally with students coming and going, classes displaced and anxieties often running on overdrive for students and staff. However, we also view this season as one of rejuvenation and planning as we position ourselves to do important work for the remainder of this year and over the summer in preparation for next fall. As part of my entry plan, I continue to have conversations, observe and listen to strategically determine our many areas of strengths and areas in which we need to improve. At times, these goals derive from committee work and at other times, they find their roots in individual conversations with staff, parents and students. We are currently finalizing our School Improvement Plan and we will publicly present our progress towards meeting existing goals and any new focus areas at the May 7th School Committee meeting. In turn, the School Improvement Plan will be posted on our website.
Renewal of JGMS Leadership
Mr. Peter Chapman, JGMS Assistant Principal, will be transitioning into the next chapter of his life at the end of this academic year. For weeks, I gave Peter a hard time by adamantly refusing to accept his resignation letter, at times returning it back to his office, and purposefully dragging my feet to avoid the inevitable conversations on the reality of he ending his tenure as our Assistant Principal (the sneaky guy then waited until I was out of the building, broke into my office and left the letter on my desk...should have changed the locks).
From a letter Mr. Chapman shared with JGMS staff:
"I want to inform you that I have resigned my position as the assistant principal of the John Glenn Middle School and will depart after the conclusion of the school year. With my full support and encouragement, my wife has accepted an opportune job offer in Connecticut. As she embarks on her next challenge, I intend to continue my career in education...While serving at JGMS I have enjoyed working in partnership with the students and parents of Bedford and the METCO program. The greatest knowledge I have gained as a developing administrator, however, has come from the work in which we have collaborated. During the straightforward and challenging tasks, endeavors, and events that we have collectively experienced, all JGMS staff members have repeatedly demonstrated to me that they advocate in the best interest of the students. I am grateful for having worked with each of you, and I believe that the sum of my experiences here has significantly contributed to my understanding of teaching and learning in public schools. I look forward to our continued collaboration during my final few months here."
We wish Peter all of the luck, success, and happiness as he transitions into a "new chapter" of his life this summer. The positive impact that he has had on our school, staff and students is immeasurable and his thoughtful leadership will be sorely missed.
In being mindful of our need to secure the best candidates and my desire to take advantage of Peter's knowledge and presence to assist in a seamless transition, I have set forth an aggressive timeline for the hiring process. A comprehensive selection committee, comprised of parents and staff from all grades and content areas and a school committee member has been formed, and we will be moving ahead with due diligence over the next weeks to fill the position. The selection committee is co-chaired by Ms. Alison Breaux and Mr. Joe Casey.
Rejoicing (In Simple Acts Of Kindness Towards Others)
"Imagine if each individual look for the opportunity to help others each day."
Launched through the efforts of our local Rotary Club, Operation "Pay It Forward" is in full effect at JGMS. A student committee has taken on the wonderful challenge and the event will kick off on April 6th and continue until national "Pay It Forward" day on Thursday, April 25th. As stated by Peter Colgan, the President of our local Rotary Club and strong supporter of our schools, "At its core, Pay It Forward is not an activity; it's a way of thinking and living". During the month of April, I ask that all students, staff and community members consider doing a simple act of kindness for one to three people, asking nothing in return. We are very excited to take part in this global movement and I ask all parents to talk with their children to think of creative ideas to help and to be kind to others.
The final celebration will occur on the evening of the 25th at 6:00 in the JGMS gym and will include a "Stop Hunger Now" event. This will entail packaging 10,000 meals for school children in one of 76 countries served by Stop Hunger Now. All are welcome to come to learn how others have paid it forward in Bedford, to share their story, and to help a child you'll never meet get a healthy school lunch. For more information, please visit the Bedford-Rotary-Pay-It-Forward Facebook page or visit their website at www.bedfordmarotary.org.
All the best,
Kevin
Principal's Accolades
- Congratulations to the cast and crew of Once Upon a Mattress. With great humor and amazing talent, wonderful choreography and set design, beautiful accompaniment and a phenomenal crew, I thoroughly enjoyed and was incredibly impressed with the performance. You should all be extremely proud of your accomplishments.
- Nominated by Ms. d'Entremont, a shout out to Mari Fay for always having a smile on her face, for consistently contributing to a positive classroom atmosphere and for always going the extra mile academically. Congratulations, Mari. You are fantastic role model for others.
- Nominated by Ms. Cowles, a shout out to Michael Vaughan, Nolan Holley and Cameron Maurice for helping a new student in the 7th grade feel comfortable and acclimate to JGMS. Way to go, Gentlemen.
Library News
Book Circulation
Students are reading, reading, and reading! Currently there are 719 books checked out. English teachers have assigned new book projects.
Ms Stephen and Ms Bemis require outside reading for all students. Level 1 are to read 4 to 10 books throughout the year and Level 2 students are required to read 4 to 7 books. Kids complete reader responses and maintain reading logs. Students select books from our library usually when accompanied by their teacher or on a pass during enrichment periods.
7th graders selected fiction with a global focus. As part of Global Literature Circles with Web 2.0, students broaden horizons and develop new understandings. By employing Web 2.0 tools, we promote 21st century learning. Using technology innovatively, students acquire, share, and apply newly gained knowledge based on a foundation of reading and research while becoming captivated with gripping multicultural fiction.
6th graders have been posting reviews of books on our Destiny circulation System. They rate the titles and offer suggestions to their fellow students. There are over 800 reviews at this time.
Library Activity
Ms. Breakall's 6th graders did biographical research on individuals who made great contributions to society. They utilized books and websites and paid close attention to note taking skills. They learned to create citations as well.
Mr. Harrington's art students researched compelling topics to create murals.
8th grade students dealt with the elements of essay writing with social studies teachers, Joe Casey and Jim Nagle.
Mr. Norling's food classes used Culturegrams to gather cultural information on various countries and find local recipes.
Author Alert!
Popular author, Tim Green, will once again visit our school. Please stop in if you would like to meet him and listen to his presentation to our 6th grade.
April 25 Thursday Block 2 8:45 Auditorium
From the Health Office
Bedford is Participating in the Newly Formed Middlesex Tick Task Force
Spring is almost here, and though they've never quite been gone, DEER TICKS will soon appear in our woods, back yards, grassy areas and trails in full force searching for a blood meal from an animal or human host. Residents in towns in western Middlesex County, where ticks are particularly prevalent, might know or know of a family member, friend or neighbor who has been treated for one of the three tick-borne diseases that are becoming widespread in our area: Lyme, Anaplasmosis (Erlichiosis), and Babesiosis. These diseases can seriously impact an individual's health and life-style, and it's important to learn about the diseases, their symptoms and ways in which you can protect yourself and loved ones in the coming months.
Staff members and residents from local Middlesex towns have been meeting since September 2012 to confront this serious regional public health issue and share ideas and resources regarding prevention of tick-borne diseases. Known officially as the Middlesex Tick Task Force, representatives from Acton, Bedford, Carlisle, Concord, Lexington, Lincoln, Waltham, Wayland and Weston envision their mission as providing tick-borne disease education for their residents. The group's goals are to increase awareness of tick-borne diseases in our towns, to educate residents about effective prevention measures, and to promote inter-town collaboration about these diseases in Middlesex County. Each town involved has agreed to use local media to deliver the following messages: 1) Tick-borne diseases are now prevalent in our towns; 2) There are effective prevention measures individuals can take to protect themselves; 3) It's crucial to learn about these diseases: the life-cycle of the deer tick, how to do a "tick check" after being outside, how to safely remove an embedded tick, signs and symptoms of the diseases, etc. and 4) the importance of self-advocacy and early medical treatment for tick-borne diseases.
In 2011, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts established the Special Commission to Conduct an Investigation and Study the Incidence and Impact of Lyme Disease. The Commission was comprised of individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds and was established to provide the most comprehensive overview of the various issues related to Lyme disease. The Commission's report, "Lyme Disease in Massachusetts" was released on February 28, 2013 and is available at Lyme Disease in MA (February 28, 2013)
Please look for continued articles in this series. Contact the Bedford Board of Health at 781-275-6507 with any questions or visit the following websites for more information on tick-borne diseases:
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health
University of Rhode Island Tick Resource Center
Carol Eaton, RN BSN NCSN
School Nurse
8th Grade News
The school year continues to move at a rapid pace and it is hard to believe that April is almost upon us. Although we look forward to the advent of spring and recognize that April Vacation signifies the beginning of many exciting events; the start of the spring sport season, and thoughts of the anxiously awaited trip to Washington, D. C., we ask that you remind your son or daughter that the school year ends on June 21st. With over ten weeks remaining in the school year, we expect active and engaged learners who, as eighth graders, show their ability to balance extracurricula activities with their academic demands. Your assistance in reinforcing this expectation is appreciated.
D.C. Trip Important Information
This is an important message to all parents of 8th graders participating on the Washington D.C. trip that there will be a mandatory meeting on Wednesday, April 24th at 6:30 in the auditorium with Mr. Casey, the trip coordinator to discuss this year's trip and answer any questions that you may have. We ask that at least one parent/guardian from each family attend.
Academic Updates:
Social Studies:
Students in Mr. Casey's and Mr. Nagle's classes are finishing finished writing their culminating essays on our Europe unit answering the question: Describe the development of political social or economic systems from the Fall of Roman Empire to the Modern Western World. What key moments or ideas shaped these systems?
Students have since begun a short unit studying Latin America with a focus on the three civilizations of the Maya, Aztecs and Incas.
English:
All classes are conducting research and preparing to deliver a persuasive speech. Some students are busily composing drafts and will present their final 3 to 5 minute speech to their respective class before April vacation, while others will complete this three-week project upon their return.
Our next focus will be a study of one of William Shakespeare's most well known works; Romeo and Juliet. During late April through the month of May we will read, act out popular scenes and view a theatrical movie version of this play.
Finally, we wish to acknowledge our students' work ethic as they completed the English MCAS exam in late March. All test proctors reported that students approached this task with the right mixture of diligence and perseverance.
Math:
Algebra classes have begun their study of polynomials and factoring. This unit connects and extends many of the big ideas introduced in the last chapter. Through real-world situations, students will discover that a single quantity may be represented by many different expressions. A polynomial cake assignment will serve as a culminating activity.
Pre-Algebra students are currently halfway through a unit on linear equations and graphs. Students have been identifying and writing functions, representing them with tables, and evaluating them. The unit also focuses on creating graphic representations of real-world problems.
Science:
After vacation, Mrs. Ferri's science classes will be investigating how the movement of the Earth's crustal plates causes both slow changes in the Earth's surface, such as mountain building, and rapid ones, such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. We will also be reviewing physical and life science in preparation for the science MCAS in May.
In Mr. Puopolo's science classes, students just finished a unit on earthquakes and are currently learning about volcanoes. A strong emphasis is being placed on the interconnectivity among the earth's structure, earthquakes, and volcanoes. MCAS preparation will also be continued this quarter.
7th Grade News
There is so much learning going on in all of the 7th grade classes at this time of the year. The students have responded very well to the unavoidable disruptions of MCAS testing and schedule changes that occur in March. 3rd Quarter is coming to a close on April 8, so report cards will be handed out following April vacation. Please contact teachers if you have any questions/concerns about grades and/or comments on the report cards. Students will need to continue to put their best effort and quality into their work throughout the spring and through to the end of the school year. We appreciate your support at home with helping to monitor homework completion, checking in on upcoming quizzes and tests, and long-term projects.
Here is what is happening in classes:
Social Studies
In early March, Social Studies classes completed their lessons about ancient Egypt, along with the Egypt Project. This project consisted of an essay and an oral presentation. It was a great experience for students to be able to choose and research a specific topic about ancient Egypt, write about it, and then present it to their peers. Now that students have started the ancient Greece unit, they will once again have the opportunity to present their research, when Ms. Hammer's and Mr. McGonagle's classes are combined to research and present information about the Olympics, the ancient Greek gods and goddesses, architecture, and several other topics.
In addition to the topics covered in the Ancient Greece Research Project, over the next several weeks, students will learn about the Minoans and Mycenaeans, the Dark Age, Alexander the Great, and the four major forms of government that existed in Greece during ancient times. During these lessons, students will continuously be asked to answer these two essential questions for the course: "How does where people live, affect how people live?" and "How does the civilization of ancient Greece influence Western Culture?" Students will be expected to use the information that they have learned in the ancient Greece unit, to answer these question verbally and in writing.
English
Students are writing quite a bit in the third quarter. They have been preparing for the ELA long composition MCAS and the ELA reading comprehension MCAS. The English curriculum aligns nicely with this preparation. For example, the book project requires students to read a globally focused novel and then answer thought provoking "essential" questions. This practice promotes careful reading and encourages students to make connections. Additionally, students wrote a five-paragraph essay describing the likeability of characters from either The Witch of Blackbird Pond or The Wednesday Wars. After students read, "perform" and discuss the play, Monsters are Due on Maple Street, they will begin reading Lois Lowry's The Giver. We are looking forward to a productive and enjoyable remainder of the year!
Math
In 7th Grade Math, the students finished the percent unit and are now working on a geometry unit. Angles, triangles and polygons were all part of the first chapter in the geometry unit. The next chapter will be on calculating area, surface area and volume. The students did a wonderful job on their cartoon enlargement projects. In Pre-Algebra, the students are in the middle of the three-dimensional geometry unit, including surface area and volume of prism, pyramids, cones, cylinders and spheres. The Wheel of Theodorus projects that were recently completed showed the students' mathematical skills as well as artistic abilities. The students also collaborated on creating a website with a glossary of terms for the Geometry unit. They will begin working on the box enlargement project in mid-May.
Placement letters for 8th grade math were sent home with all students. These letters included all of the information that was used to make placement recommendations. Please contact your child's math teacher with any questions. As supplies dwindle down by this point in the year, please ensure your child still has the necessary class materials such as lined paper, graph paper, and plenty of pencils. Please make sure your child has access to a calculator for use at home and at school on a daily basis. Without their own calculator that they are comfortable with, they are put at a disadvantage on math homework, assessments and MCAS. Students are encouraged to visit www.classzone.com for extra practice (e-workbooks) and games (animations).
Science
Students have been studying Genetics and Heredity. They have learned about Gregor Mendel's experiments with pea plants that led to our present understanding of how our traits are a result of our genes which are located on our chromosomes in each one of our cells. Up next students will tackle the structure of DNA along with how it has the code for all living creatures great and small.
6th Grade News
General Announcements:
Student of the Month:
Congratulations to Nathaniel Brown who earned the honor of being the orange team student of the month for February. Nate is a hard worker who is consistent in his efforts towards learning. We are impressed by how much he has matured and improved over the course of the year. Congratulations Nate!
Congratulations to Meghan Barnes who is the orange team student of the month for the month of March. Meghan has been working extremely hard and makes an extra effort in each of her classes. She also goes out of her way to be kind towards her peers everyday. Congratulations Meghan!
The Yellow Team would like to congratulate Emmett O'Brien on earning February's Student of the Month award. Emmett has really come along way this year. His dedication to his school work and positive attitude among his classmates is to be admired. We would also like to congratulate Zachary Dooks on earning the Student of the Month award for March. Zachary's hard work and effort are to be admired by his peers. We applaud Emmett and Zachary in their effort and tenacity. Congratulations, to both!
School Newspaper: Please check out the latest issue of our school newspaper, The John Glenn Journal. It is posted on the JGMS website and is chock full of interesting articles.
Curriculum Updates:
Math: In Math, as the third term nears its end, we are completing our unit on percents, ratios, and rates. As we move closer to the Math MCAS in May, we will be learning how to calculate percent of a number and then we will be exploring statistics and basic geometry. In addition, we will be reviewing all the skills we have learned since September.
English: In English, the yellow team is hard at work preparing for the MCAS at the end of March. We have also begun our symbols and poetry unit. Students will be developing a symbol that represents one of their Change-Maker's character traits. In April, students will compose poems using these symbols as part of the poetry unit.
The orange team just finished our research unit. We have been investigating how a person goes from ordinary to extraordinary and have been inspired by the people we have researched. In the process, we have also learned a lot about note-taking, evaluating sources, organizing our ideas, how to make a claim, how to write a works cited, and how to organize our information so that readers can understand our ideas.
Our next unit will be our novel, The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis. In this novel we will do a study in character analysis, understand that fictional texts often have a subtext, look at how an author's life influences his/her writing, and learn how to lead and participate in a literary discussion. We have our work cut out for us!
Social Studies:
Following the completion of our Central and Southern Africa unit the sixth grade social studies classes spent several days learning about the Little Rock Nine. First we watched The Ernest Green Story. This made for television movie depicts the personal story of Ernest Green, the only senior among the nine black students who integrated Arkansas' Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Following the movie we viewed actual news footage from the time period which lead to a discussion of primary and secondary sources and their uses. As a culminating experience we asked the students to reflect upon this assignment.
Below are three of the reflection questions followed by several student responses. Please encourage your student to share their thoughts on the Little Rock Nine and what they have learned from this lesson with you.
1. Do you think that all of the white students at Central High felt the same about integration? Explain.
"I think that all of the white students did not think the same, some did not mind having the black students at their school however they were afraid to state their opinions because they were afraid they would get hurt by certain students."
" The white high schoolers said there was peer pressure on them so they did not know what to do."
"Some white students felt that their opinion was forced on them by their parents."
"Some students were extremely mean and nasty, but some people opposed the racism and were just too scared to speak out."
2. How does watching a movie based on historical events help you relate to the main characters' experiences?
"Watching a movie based on historical events helps me relate to the main characters' experiences because it actually happened and I can put myself in their shoes."
" If I hadn't watched how horrible and brutal the white mobs were acting to the African American students I would probably have guessed that it wasn't as bad as it actually was.The movie really opened everyone's eyes to show how disgusting racism was."
"Watching a movie based historical events help me relate to the main characters, experiences because you can see what the people had to go through and how other people treated them. Also you can make sure that the events do not happen again."
3. Do you think The Ernest Green Story is worth showing to next year's sixth graders? Please give at least one reason why or why not.
'I believe that the Ernest Green Story is worth showing to next year's sixth graders because it really shows the hardships they went through in an interesting way, rather than a dry interview video that is mostly talk. A movie can give a better perspective on an issue."
"I also liked all of the side things that the teachers explained like when they told us what happened to the lady who helped Elizabeth when she accidently went to school on her own on the first day."
"I really liked this movie because I saw what really happened back when integration happened."
"... it is important to show people how past choices affect other people and it is actually quite interesting to learn a new story."
" ... I thought that watching The Ernest Green Story was fascinating and before watching the movie I knew very little about the Little Rock Nine."
" I think that next year it would be better to only show the Eyes On the Prize" documentary because it has actual footage of the Little Rock Nine."
SOS (Student Owned Strategies):
This past month, student's read a variety of short articles and then differentiated between the main ideas and the supporting details. Students were then able to use the main ideas to pull together a summary of the article.
Thematic articles were then introduced where students read and extracted the central ideas from the text,as well as read related information on the Internet. Students were then able to make text to self, text to text, and text to world connections.
To reinforce the skills of reading with a purpose and understanding the main ideas, students were organized into small debate groups. Topics were randomly selected as well as the side each student represented. Students gathered to research and discuss their roles and strategies. Each team presented while the remaining groups served as the audience.
Recently, we have begun Literature Circles using historical fiction novels.
Science:
Both Ms. Noferi and Ms. Coletta are excited to be back from their respective maternity leaves, and have gotten right back into the swing of things. After February break we used our knowledge of physical and chemical properties and changes to investigate CSI: Bedford. The students worked through three different experiments to "solve" the crime of who had stolen an ancient artifact from the library. Currently we have begun our inquiry into atoms and the periodic table. The students have been working hard to learn the structure of an atom and how that relates to both the Periodic Table and its form as well as to how atoms bond together to form molecules. These are very abstract concepts that the students have been doing a nice job investigating.
Spanish News
6th grade Spanish
Students have made enormous progress over the last two months. We just started the new unit 2 lesson 1. In this unit we will talk about daily schedules, learn how to ask and tell time, say what you have and have to do, and say what you do and how often you do things. We will learn our first regular conjugation (-ar verbs) and another irregular verb conjugation (tener). We will also talk about México and learn what students wear, courses they might take in a school in México, and discover some Mexican muralists.
7th grade Spanish
In seventh grade Spanish we are beginning to study sports, how to make comparisons, and how to say what people play, what they know, and what they know how to do. These are in unit 3, chapter 2 and are in the unit based in Puerto Rico. We have also worked on writing skills through a project in which the students describe a typical day in a letter to a pen pal, including many details from previous chapters.
8th grade Spanish
At the present time students are learning to say what people are doing, persuade others, describe a house and negotiate responsibilities. They are learning to use direct objects and reflexive pronouns with the present progressive tense, to use the verb deber and to form adverbs ending in –mente. Students will experience hot and coldtapas, snacks and appetizers served in many regions of Spain. The current unit takes place in the cultural context of Barcelona.
Students are about to begin their eighth grade technology project which will showcase the salient points of vocabulary and grammar of the eighth grade curriculum. They will be creating an advertisement for a convenience store in Barcelona. Students should benefit greatly from this comprehensive activity!
French News
In French 6 students have just finished a unit on weather, time expressions and how to ask simple questions. They are now starting leçon 5 which introduces ER verbs, and how to say I would like, I like, I want and the negations. Students have finished the movie Rataouille in French and are now watching Mon Frère L'Ours (Brother Bear). We are about to start our first reader in French Babar. We are singing songs in French that include ER verbs to help us remember them.
In French 7 we are currently presenting French Glogsters (virtual posters) on various si es in Paris. Students have worked hard and it shows, they are great Glogsters! We are currently in leçon 15 looks at irregular verbs such as Venir as well as contractions with prepositions, and stress pronouns. Students are working a lot on improving presenting skills and editing skills.
In French 8 we are watching Le Petit Nicholas or Les Choristes. These films are authentic French films and the students are enjoying them a lot! We are working on RE verbs and the past tense of regular and irregular verbs in the passé composé. The students are working diligently on writing skills and more emphasis will continue to be placed on expository writing and reading comprehension to prepare them well for the high school.
Art News
Ms. Banks and Mr. Harrington are busy gearing up for the big K - !2 visual arts show held annually at BHS. Each student taking art in grades K - 12 will have one work of art in the show. As students are wrapping up amazing art projects in class, teachers are busy selecting the best and most interesting works that students have done this year. This year's dates for the show are May 3,4, and 5. Friday night is the big opening night, with art teachers, seniors and their installations, music, and food all available for the festivities! Keep your eyes and ears open for more information as we get closer, and don't forget to add this show to your list of things to see and do that weekend!
*Please note: Any parent interested in helping mat art work for the show please contact the art department asap. Thank you!
Notes from the Gifted and Talented and Differentiation Instruction Program
MathCounts News
Congratulations to Savannah En! Savannah competed at the state level for the MathCounts competition. Savannah scored well and we are all proud of her accomplishment! The state level of competition followed the chapter competition in February. At the chapter competition, our team placed 4th.
Also in February, eleven JGMS students joined excellent math students at BHS for the American Mathematics Competition for 10th grade and below (AMC 10). JGMS students were chosen to compete based on their scores on the AMC 8 competition – typically, the top ten are invited. This year included an 11th student to resolve a tie. Congratulations to Da-Jin Chu, who scored 3rd out of 26 competitors (11 from JGMS, 15 from BHS) in the district on the AMC 10, despite being in 8th grade! In fact, four of our competitors earned a Young Student Certificate of Merit: Da-Jin, Savannah En, John Coyne, and Hannah Rubin. This year, the top "ten" included one sixth grade student, Chris Wirth, who did admirably well!
MathCounts is now gearing up for the Collaborative Problem Solving Contest, which starts this Friday, April 5th. This is a very puzzle-based competition where the students work as one large team with any other student in the school to solve 15 problems in one week. We then submit a single answer sheet for the school. Students are invited to send an e-mail to get an electronic copy of the contest and be invited to share the Google Docs we will use collaboratively to solve the problems. The following problem comes from the sample test at www.natassessment.com, which we have remarked is much easier than the actual competition.
You are in the land of liars and truth-tellers, where each person you meet either always makes statements which are true, or always makes statements which are false. You come upon a group of four people, who make the following statements:
A: C is a truth-teller
B: D and C are opposite types of people
C: B and A are opposite types of people
D: At least one of A and B is a liar
List whether each of A, B, C, and D is a liar, a truth-teller, or is impossible to determine.
Again, any student may compete, so please let me know if you'd like to join!
Now Elegance Redefines Natural Society
N.E.R.D.S. has taken a bit of a hiatus during the play and MCAS, but will be coming back soon! Our next meeting will be card games – and there will be all sorts of new games for students to learn if they so choose. I expect that meeting will be the first week after the break, on either Tuesday or Thursday – feel free to offer an opinion for your preferred day!
Advanced Math Pull-Out Classes
The 6th grade advanced math class will soon finish our unit on rational numbers and begin to investigate bias in data. We'll be looking at how bias enters data through how it is gathered, analyzed, represented, and interpreted. Our goal is to become critical consumers of data. 7th graders will soon be finishing a unit on three-dimensional geometry and tackling a project with unusual solids and scales. 8th grade students are deep in the realm of quadratics and will soon be deriving the quadratic formula!
Out of School Resources
Beyond IQ is a conference for gifted professionals, parents, and students. If you're looking for a place your child can find connections, learn something new, and have opportunities to understand themselves better, Beyond IQ is a great single-weekend opportunity. This year, it will be held in Devens on April 6th and 7th.
Homework Club News
Homework club extended!!
Due to snow days and cancellations, we are able to offer a few more weeks of homework club on Tuesdays and Thursdays through May 2nd.
Homework club runs from 2:30 to 3:35 and is monitored by two teachers and a teaching assistant. Extra math help is available at homework club with Ms. Goodhue between 2:30 and 3:00. Get help with organizing your work, completing projects, or just getting your nightly assignments done before going home.
Homework club will continue to meet in the library, or in Ms. Bakerian's room when the library is not available.
Destination Imagination
4 Bedford Destination Imagination (DI) teams advanced to Global Finals this weekend after the Massachusetts Destination Imagination (MADI) State Finals held at WPI in Worchester MA on Saturday March 30th. 6 Bedford teams qualified for the state final after the region 4 and region 8 tournaments held in March. 3 teams from the JGMS participated in the State Finals.
The JGMS teams included The Power Busters, this team presented their solution for the Challenge Project Outreach - Real to Reel. This challenge is community service based and focused teams on identifying and addressing a real community need. As project managers, the participants use local resources to conduct a project. At the DI tournament the team then presents their results in an entertaining and informative manner. Their presentation included a movie, press conference and project review. This team's project focused on power consumption at JGMS and how it relates to Bedford as a green community and town energy guidelines. This team included students Alexa Francesconi, Evan Graf, Eleanor Lowen, and Ryan Richard from JGMS as well as Michael Bossi, and Kai Chun, from the Lane School. This team made up of 5th and 6th graders faced several very experienced 8th grade teams at states placed second in instant challenge and placed 3rd overall beating most of the 8th grade teams. Their accomplishment is a shining example of the spirit of DI and what a team can accomplish with extraordinary effort.
The second JGMS team the Technicolor Panda Stars performed Challenge A in the Zone and was represented by Michael Chen, Nikhil Malrani, Jared Rennich, Vinayak Sharma and Calvin Thomas. This challenge was a technical challenge involving movement of vehicle into specific zones for points and a presentation about the dangers vehicles face on the road. This team placed first and was part of a 3 level 3 team sweep of Challenge A. They outperformed every other ML team in Instant challenge and became the second of 3 Bedford teams to win Challenge A.
The third JGMS team was the Mirror Monsters and presented their solution to challenge E, Twist-o-Rama. This is a structural engineering challenge in which the team had to present a story with surprise twist at the end and to also build a structure that could withstand the placement of weight on top while periodically subjecting the structure to torque.. This team is represented by Jacob Bossi, Da-Jin Chu, Eamon Garrity , Ethan Graf, Ben Oleksinski, and Michael Richard. This team's solution was also distinguished by the receiving of the Renaissance award for outstanding engineering design and / or performance. The Mirror Monsters and the Technicolor Panda Stars will represent all Bedford DI teams from JGMS at the DI Global Finals Tournament in Knoxville, TN, May 22-26.
All the following students from JGMS participated in Bedford's DI program in 2012-2013: Gabe Alper, Mia Bernstein, Bharat Bogelli, Jacob Bossi, Azure Celentano, Jaden Celentano, Kyle Fan-Chan, Da-Jin Chu, Taline Dawson, Zoe Ellen, Olivia Erwich, Alexa Francesconi, Eamon Garrity , Ethan Graf, Evan Graf, Eleanor Lowen, Jordan Perzel Mandell, Alex Marino, Taylor Moore, Ben Oleksinski, Riya Patel. Michael Richard, Ryan Richard, Jared Rushanan, Ryan Stebe, Ishaan Sud, Michael Chen, Nikhil Malrani, Jared Rennich, Lucy Santiago, Vinayak Sharma and Calvin Thomas.
Destination ImagiNation is an educational and creative problem solving program that encourages teams of learners to have fun, take risks, focus, and frame challenges while incorporating STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), the arts, and service learning. Participants learn patience, flexibility, persistence, ethics, respect for others and their ideas, and the collaborative problem solving process. Teams showcase their solutions at a tournament. Participants gain more than just basic knowledge and skills; they learn to unleash their imagination and take unique approaches to problem-solving.
Bedford DI is administrated by Bedford Creativity Inc [501(c)3 pending] and supported in part by the Bedford Public School System, The Rotary Club of Bedford and the Millipore Foundation. Sign-up for the program begins each September and culminates with competitive performances in March (Regional and State level) and May (Global Finals). Teams of up to seven students meet with their coaches once a week to select and execute from the current year's challenge options, developed by the Destination Imagination global organization (www.idodi.org).
A message from the Bedford Education Foundation (BEF)
The Bedford Education Foundation (BEF) is partnering with Guard Up to help raise money for grants to benefit your schools. Guard Up is offering a $45 per child discount at their Spring Break camp for a $20 donation to BEF.
Click here to view detailed BEF fundraiser flyer
A Public Announcement
The Bedford Department of Public Works will be hosting a Paper Shredding Day and Scrap Metal Drop-Off Day on the morning of April 20th from 9am-Noon, in the DPW parking lot. Free for Bedford residents. Details available on the Bedford website.
