The Specialists Update

Students have art, music, technology education, health and physical education throughout each of their three years at WMS. We are fortunate enough to really get to know your students and see them grow throughout the three years here with us!

The specials classes are listed below.

Art: 6th, 7th and 8th grade

Technology Education: 6th, 7th and 8th grade

Health: 6th, 7th and 8th grade

Music: 6th, 7th grade and 8th grade

Physical Education: 6th, 7th and 8th grade

Orchestra, Band and Chorus: 6th, 7th and 8th grade by student choice

Specials classes meet for 1 trimester every other day with the exception of physical education; physical education meets every other day for 2 out of the 3 trimesters. This means that by the end of the school year your student will have had all four specials for one term and physical education for two terms.

It has been a busy month in the art room! A lot of painting, designing and experimenting has been done.

In 6th grade art, students are finishing up their shoe drawings that they have been working very hard on. We looked at how everything around us has been designed by someone. We talked about how professional designers go from an idea or inspiration and transform it into something that people can use. We looked at different examples of fashion and how they can be used to help express our personalities. They had to plan out the entire design before creating a final version to present to the class.

7th Graders are finishing up their “Process Paintings”, one of the most experimental projects we do all year. In this project, students learn about artists who broke the mold of what painting and art can be. We talked about what process is and how it can change from project to project depending on what you need. Students then learned how to use a variety of painting techniques, including layering paint, scraffito, masking, and creating textures to create very colorful, creative, and expressive pieces of art!

In 8th Grade, students have just completed their ink paintings of buildings. As a class, we looked at the history of ink painting across the globe and how it is one of the oldest forms of art in existence, dating all the way back to paleolithic times! Students were exposed to different materials to use with the ink before researching a building that they wanted to try and paint with the ink. Some very creative and intricate buildings were created!

In Advanced Art, students are finishing up their clay aperture models. Students learned how to create a “skeleton” out of wire to create a standing figure out of clay. We looked at examples of figurative sculptures in the art world and then learned the techniques to create our own. I was blown away by some of the expressive poses and characters that students came up with!

6th grade: Students are preparing for their assessments relating to structures, bridge types and structural loads and related forces. They have been designing and modeling various bridge types using TinkerCad software, and making some excellent structural drawings as well. Following the test, they will do a number of group structure building challenges to close out the trimester. We will additionally be having some spirited contests with the online Bridge Designer software, created by West Point Army Corps of Engineers, where the students design and test various truss bridge iterations to create a bridge that will hold a crossing truck, for the least amount of money. It is a free download if you'd like to try it at home! You can access it here. https://bridgedesigner.org/

7th grade: Students are preparing for their assessments relating to Transportation Systems and Flight and the related forces (Gravity, Thrust, Lift and Drag). They have been making some excellent transportation system drawings in 2D, and 3D designs in TinkerCad, that illustrate the key subsystem components of Propulsion, Control, Guidance, Suspension, Structural, and Support. Next week we'll be discovering how an airfoil keeps an airplane in the air, and do some related experiments and demonstrations relating to fluid dynamics and air pressure, and discuss how those affect flight. Next week we will begin some hands-on design projects in small groups.

8th grade: This week students built upon their work with their Lego Mindstorms robotics kits and programming software, putting into practice their understanding of the concepts of Inputs, Processing, and Outputs as they relate to the mechanical and communications systems models. They have been designing, building and programming a number of autonomous robot configurations to experience hands-on design challenges for themselves, and will soon be deep into their final custom design challenge.

Albums of the Month:

“Be My Baby: The Very Best of The Ronettes” by The Ronettes,

“Diamond Jubilee” by Cindy Lee

“The Roches” by The Roches,

“Stop Making Sense” by The Talking Heads.

6th Grade Music- Students performed their prepared piano pieces for the class, and we are continuing exploring the instrument focusing on reading music in bass clef. We are learning the basics of guitar and how to read TAB notation. We are also learning to play polyrhythmic percussion ensemble pieces in the tradition of West African drum circles.

7th Grade Music- We’re learning more guitar TABS, such as “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne. We are working to get better at reading piano sheet music. Students are learning to play polyrhythmic percussion ensemble pieces in the tradition of West African drum circles. We’re also exploring music composition by giving prompts for students to respond to musically using the piano.

8th Grade Music- We are beginning our music production unit. Students are using Soundtrap to make music in their preferred styles, exploring loops, mixing, and song form. We will go on to learn about the “piano roll” function, and how to record MIDI into Soundtrap. We’ve continued to learn more music for the guitar and piano; students chose piano pieces to perform for the class, and they have learned to read TAB to help them learn music they’re interested in on guitar.

Music Class Expectations

- Listen carefully to instructions and raise your hand to ask a question

- Treat the instruments with respect and handle them carefully and with proper technique

- Practice the assigned music, and ask me what to do next when they finish the assignment.

6th grade: This past month we have spent time discussing self-image. Students identified characteristics of their self-image and we talked about who or what may influence how someone feels about themselves. Students were able to recognize that different settings, feelings and experiences held determine how one describes who they are both on the inside and outside. Now students are working on a self-image project that they will share with the class.

As the end of the term nears we will be completing the final unit on decision making. Students will recognize the steps in decision making and determine positive/negative influences that affect decision making. We will discuss how there are multiple solutions to a problem and identify that each solution has both pros and cons.

7th grade: We are just finishing the unit on Marjijuana. Students identified short and long term effects of marijuana, learned the laws around marijuana and defined the term “gateway drug”. A big focus was how THC affects the developing teen brain.

The term will wrap up by putting what we have learned about the three gateway drugs together and completing Public Service announcements. Students have the option to work independently or with a peer to complete a PSA around nicotine, alcohol or marijuana. Once we share our PSA’s, risks factors vs. protective factors will be connected to the importance of health decision making around the three gateway drugs.

8th grade: The end of the term has been spent exploring relationships. We have identified characteristics of healthy and unhealthy relationships, and determined what influences our ideas of what a relationship should look like. Students chose a song and evaluated the lyrics to determine which characteristics of a relationship were in the song. Students then determined if the song was more healthy or unhealthy. We are spending the end of the term focusing on healthy communication strategies and the importance of being assertive.

*** As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns about when topics are being discussed in Health class! My email is nicole.lewis@watertown.k12.ma.us.

Ms. Kelly: lauren.kelly@watertown.k12.ma.us

Mr. Pereira: haiden.pereira@watertown.k12.ma.us

This month in PE:

This month in PE class, we continued our cooperative games unit and began our Floor Hockey unit. We have completed 3 days of skill work and 3 days of game play.

Day One

• Rules, Safety, History of ice hockey and field hockey
• Stick handling and ball control

Day Two

• Passing
• Time and Space

Day Three

• Shooting/accuracy
• Offensive and defensive strategies

Days Four- Six:

• Game Play

This month, we have also completed our cardiovascular endurance test; the Pacer test and will be completing our two strength tests; the push up and sit up test within the next couple of weeks.

Required for PE class:

· Sneakers

· Water bottle

Recommended for PE Class:

· Change of clothes

Participation Expectations:

All students are expected to try their best, follow directions and be properly involved in class activities for the entire class period.

All students are expected to display a positive attitude and good sportsmanship. This includes proper use of language, respecting the feelings and safety of themselves, their classmates and the instructors.

All students will be evaluated on their ability to perform related activity skills and follow rules.

Student-Athletes who do not participate in PE class will not be allowed to participate in school sponsored athletics that day.

Game play opportunity policy:

In PE class, we have multiple opportunities for students to participate in game play scenarios. This year, we are introducing a two-chance policy within our game play to keep the games fun, inclusive, and safe for ALL students.

Some examples of why a student would receive a warning:

Inappropriate use of body contact, inappropriate language, inappropriate play, poor sportsmanship.

Chance one: Verbal warning

Chance two: Not allowed to participate in game play for the remainder of class, will work on independent skill work.

Grading Policy:

The following guidelines will be used:

20% = Participation in the warm-up before class

40 % = Participation (minimal 0-19%, acceptable 20-35%, exceptional 36-40%)

30% = Social Competency / Cooperation (Does the student follow expectations?

Do they demonstrate personal and peer safety? Do they use equipment properly?)

10% = Homework/Assignments (Google Classroom, etc…) /

Preparation (properly attired with athletic wear

Sixth grade Coding win students just finished coding variables, random numbers and shapes in JavaScript to create Robots. They are now moving into using Sprite to create more realistic animations.