Some students in Ms. McDonald-Schaub's English class met up with her at a local Panera on a Friday night! The young writers used the time to continue writing their stories as part of NaNoWriMo month.
"NaNoWri is a nonprofit organization that provides tools, structure, community, and encouragement to help people find their voices, achieve creative goals, and build new worlds — on and off the page."
Many thanks to Ms. McDonald-Schaub for dedicating her time and passion outside of the classroom in order to help our students foster their love of writing.
This fall, students in our multi-grade classroom had an exploratory learning opportunity that involved planting a garden in the beds here at school. This project required students to use a multitude of skills. They measured and planned the garden, researched what types of things would grow in the weather conditions we experience, built a trellis, watered, and collaborated/cooperated with their peers along the way. Students successfully planted and harvested a variety of lettuces, leafy mustard, tiny carrots, arugula, parsley, basil, cilantro, and thyme! After harvesting, they used the herbs to make herb bread!
Thank you Ms. Finlan, Ms. Robbins, and Ms. Alwardi for guiding our students through this wonderful learning experience.
As you've seen in our previous newsletter, students in Grade 6 completed a field trip in October to collect water quality data with the Massachusetts Audubon Society at Mill Pond in Gloucester. The Mass Audubon Society then uses that data to petition the state to make improvements to floodgates and roadways in an effort to mitigate climate change and improve ecosystem health through marsh restoration efforts.
Recently, a group of sixth grade volunteers traveled with Mr. Cowman to Governor's Academy to attend a Salt Marsh Science Conference. The conference was led by the Mass Audubon and Plum Island Ecosystem Long Term Ecological Research (PIE LTER).
Our MERMS students presented information about the correlation between salinity levels in the marsh and the presence of native grasses vs. invasive phragmites. They made the case that restoration efforts have been positive and successful, but they argued that there is more work to be done in order to restore tidal flow and to further improve the health of the marsh ecosystem.
Many thanks to Mr. Cowman for making this experience possible for our students.
Sporting their brand-new Math Team T-shirts, the Manchester Essex Middle School Math Team competed in the second meet of the season at Ipswich Middle School.
Congratulations to 6th grader Maren B. who once again earned a certificate for the top scoring 6th grader in the entire meet! Way to go, Maren! 7th grader Aviva H. led the way for the Hornets with 16 points. 8th grader Sophie L. along with 7th graders Zoe C., Declan M. and Marcel M-P, all scored 14 points. Reaching 12 points were 7th grader, Caleb B., 8th graders Nate C., Harper H., Arion S., and Mario Z. along with 7th graders Melina B., Ella H., Dante B. and Frankie V-F. The final students to score double digits were 8th graders Katelin A., Freddy J., Maya K., and Devin P., along with 7th grader Ava P., who all scored 10 points.
Great job, everyone! Start 2025 off right by participating in the third Meet of the season on Thursday, January 9 at Rockport. Practice packets will be available from your math teachers after Thanksgiving break. Go Hornets!
Thank you Mr. Stefanek & Mr. Schlegel for leading our young mathematicians.
Manchester-Essex Regional Middle School
Email: mainoj@mersd.org
Website: www.mersd.org
Location: 36 Lincoln Street, Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA, USA
Phone: 978-526-2022
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ManchesterEssexRegional/