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.

With Term 3 just starting up, students grades 6-8 have been getting to know each other while telling me a little bit about themselves by creating expressive designs on their take-home folders. These will be what we use for the rest of the term to keep all of our work in.

Many students have begun working on our first major project in 6-8 art: The Art Vocabulary Word Wall. Each grade has a list of art related vocabulary words that each grade will use during the course of the term. Students had to research one of the words, find the definitions, and the post it onto the word wall. Once this is done we will have a huge visual library of all the concepts that we will be looking at during the course of the class. Many creative designs were made through this project.

6th grade: Greetings from WMS Technology Education(Tech Ed)! Trimester 2 students have recently finished our time together with some great structural design work. Trimester 3 has just begun and students have been introduced to the class topics in Tech Ed for the term, and we’ve had some spirited discussions around structures and their types and properties, and the forces that they encounter. We’ve together identified many examples near and far. Next week we will begin exploring bridges specifically, and get to understand their types and styles. Soon we will be discussing forces and loads as they pertain to bridges, in preparation for their team projects designing and building physical structures.

7th grade: Greetings from WMS Technology Education(Tech Ed)! Trimester 2 students have recently finished our time together with some great transportation systems design work. Trimester 3 has just begun and students have been introduced to the class topics in Tech Ed for the term, and we’ve begun by defining systems generally, and in particular transportation system types. We’ve started looking at modes of transportation that fit into each category, and then explored a few unique ones that transcend multiple mediums of travel. We have been exploring ‘transportation subsystems’ and their functions with examples, in preparation for their culminating transportation device design/build projects in the second half of the term.

8th grade: Greetings from WMS Technology Education(Tech Ed)! Trimester 2 students have recently finished our time together with some great robotics design projects. Trimester 3 has just begun and students have been introduced to the class topics in Tech Ed for the term, and begun exploring ‘engineering’ and what it is all about. We’ve discussed and analyzed the Engineering Design Process, and have been looking at examples of the steps in action through excerpts of the WGBH show, Design Squad, and a case study featuring the premiere design firm, IDEO, where they redesign the shopping cart for Nightline. We will next debrief and analyze what we saw in relation to the design process. Pretty soon into the term the students will form groups and design, build and program a number of autonomous robots using Lego Mindstorms kits, to experience hands-on design challenges for themselves.

6th Grade Music- We are doing a unit on singing in a group, focusing on intonation, dynamics, and song style. We have sung an acapella Reggae song (Don't Worry, Be Happy), a bluegrass song using call and response (Count the Days by Swamp Dogg), and a Folk Song (500 Miles, traditional). We are also reviewing how to read rhythms and adding more complex note lengths to our vocabulary.

7th Grade Music- We are beginning with a unit on World Percussion, drawing inspiration from the drum circles of West Africa. Students have learned about rhythm complements, and performed polyrhythmic percussion pieces.

8th Grade Music/Drama- We are starting by learning piano, focusing specifically on skills students can learn to jam with each other such as how to play triads and how to play a melody using their right hand while their left hand plays chords. We are beginning to build an understanding of the keyboard layout, and remember where all the notes are on the keyboard. Soon we will begin to do drama games in class.

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 we wrapped up our cooperative games unit with Kickball and Capture the flag to finish out Trimester two. To start Trimester Three, we have begun with our Fitness unit

Day One: Upper Body exercises

Day Two: Lower Body exercises

Day Three: Full Body exercises

We will continue with our Fitness Fridays throughout the semester in which we will complete two rounds of eight exercises followed by free choice options.

1.Burpees

2.Ski Jumps

3.Air Squats

4.Plank

5.Scissor Kicks

6. Twists

7. Jumping Jacks

Free Choice Options include:

-Basketball

-Badminton

-Volleyball

-Soccer

Looking ahead:

We will wrap up our fitness unit, and head into our Volleyball Unit on April 7th. Our Volleyball unit will consist of 2-3 days of skill work, then head into game play opportunities for the students to participate in.

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.