GATEWAY Newsletter BUES Dec 2024

GATEWAY (Gifted and Talented Education With All Youth) Mission:

To support all students through talent development and to identify, challenge, and encourage academically advanced and creative learners.

Congratulations to those who have already made it to Level 3 in Tier 2 Gateway Math! The motivation and dedication displayed by these very hard workers is amazing! Keep it up!

Many others are making their way through Level 1 and Level 2 - keep going! The work in Tier 2 Math Gateway is broken up into levels, starting with the first level. Each level consists of 5 unique assignments. Once a student completes a level, they come see me to check in and celebrate their accomplishment. I then open up the next level for them. The work being produced by these online mathematicians is fantastic! Students are welcome to stop in first thing on Monday and Friday mornings to ask any questions, get paper copies of work, to celebrate accomplishments, or just to say hi! It’s always great to be able to connect!

Grade 4

Fourth grade mathematicians have been hard at work exploring integers and all the ways they can be identified, defined, and classified! For example, utmost students are now adept at identifying even, odd, prime, composite, and even square numbers. With this naturally comes discussions and explorations of factors and multiples as well. We also infuse number sense, logic, and problem solving into every class through lively discussions and dynamic activators!

Grade 5

Fantastic Fractions have been the topic in 5th grade Tier 3 Advanced Math. We are digging into the numbers, concepts, and skills to develop a deeper understanding of what fractions represent and how to work fluidly with them. Some of the specific topics covered are fractions with a value greater than 1, converting between mixed numbers and improper fractions, comparing and ordering fractions, operations with fractions, and fractions as a representation of division. This supports the learning they are doing in their regular math classes while taking it to a whole new deeper level! Each week we also infuse number sense, logic, and problem solving into every class through lively discussions and dynamic activators!

With holidays and half-days, November was a very quick month here at BUES! Both grade 4 and grade 5 STEM classes continued to focus on following the Engineering Design Process to complete a variety of challenges and solve problems! Additionally, we also took time to research and learn more about the topics and scientific/engineering/mathematical principles behind our projects! Students in both grades impressed me with their commitment to task, creative problem-solving, and ability to work well with others!

While the 4th graders focused on “Structures of Strength”, 5th graders tackled “Sink or Float Boats”. The final products and displays of understanding were fantastic! These young engineers are amazing!

This month we have started building our background knowledge and understanding while researching for our next projects; Alternative Energy for grade 4 and Zipline Racers for grade 5!

I can’t wait to see what they create!

Students in Tier 2 have a lot of choices to challenge and extend their thinking. In the Tier 2 Google Classrooms, there are a variety of topics, such as sports, food, nature, etc. from which to choose different tasks. Students in Tier 2 should be completing at least 1 assignment a month. The assignments are graded on a 4 point scale (4 being exemplary). If a student completes all the assignments under a particular topic they should come see me.

Grade 4

Students in Tier 3 are about halfway through their first novel A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord. Students prepared to engage with the novel by making predictions, discussing the author's background and purpose, and gaining familiarity with the setting. Each week, students are assigned either independent reading homework or creative assignments in order to engage in weekly lessons and discussions about the novel. Please note the importance of completing the reading homework for the success of students and the entire class. Students are also encouraged to complete at least 1 assignment in Tier 2 during their WIN blocks (What I Need Block/Intervention Block) a month, as they are enrichment activities directly related to the units in their general ELA class.

About A Handful of Stars:

This powerful middle-grade novel from the Newbery Honor author of Rules explores a friendship between a small-town girl and the daughter of migrant workers. When Lily's blind dog, Lucky, slips his collar and runs away across the wide-open blueberry barrens of eastern Maine, it's Salma Santiago who manages to catch him. Salma, the daughter of migrant workers, is in the small town with her family for the blueberry-picking season. After their initial chance meeting, Salma and Lily bond over painting bee boxes for Lily's grandfather, and Salma's friendship transforms Lily's summer. But when Salma decides to run in the upcoming Blueberry Queen pageant, they'll have to face some tough truths about friendship and belonging. Should an outsider like Salma really participate in the pageant -- and possibly win? Set amongst the blueberry barrens and by the sea, this is a gorgeous new novel by Newbery Honor author Cynthia Lord that tackles themes of prejudice and friendship, loss and love.

Grade 5

Students in Tier 3 have just completed Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar, and are working on final projects. Students are able to choose what they would like to do in order to show their understanding of the novel, such as a storyboard or writing a letter to the author. Please note the importance of completing the reading homework for the success of students and the entire class. Students are also encouraged to complete at least 1 assignment in Tier 2 a month during their WIN blocks (What I Need Block/Intervention Block), as they are enrichment activities directly related to the units in their general ELA class.

You have been invited to attend the BIS Student Showcase on Dec. 17th from 5:00-6:30 PM at the Barnstable Intermediate School. This event will highlight the incredible talents and achievements of current students, but also offer a glimpse into the BIS experience for incoming students. The theme of the event is Redhawks Rising: "Seven Villages, One Journey, Endless Potential". As families enter the school they will be provided a passport to travel around in order to "experience" our various departmental, school club, and athletic team "lands". While in each "land" we aim to highlight the student successes within that content area, and provide an interactive experience for our visitors. We are excited to have representatives from our PTO, and various other community partners in attendance. There will be give-a-ways, and raffles ongoing throughout the evening which include two new bicycles generously provided by the Barnstable Police Union. We look forward to seeing you!