Multilingual Learners Department

February 2025

What Have We Being Doing?

Hope everyone is staying warm and settling into 2025! Our MLL population has been hard at work, diligently completing their yearly ACCESS testing. From reading to speaking, writing, and listening, our students have been giving their best effort to demonstrate their English proficiency. ACCESS testing provides crucial data that helps our school understand each student’s progress and identify the support they need to succeed. We deeply appreciate everyone who has contributed to this important endeavor—your support makes a difference in our students' success.

History, Identity, and Community

ELA

As we enter February, a month dedicated to Black History Month (even though we celebrate diversity all year round!), our students are beginning to learn about influential Black historical figures and their powerful stories. Through these lessons, students not only gain knowledge about Black history but also find connections between their own experiences and the struggles faced by these pioneers. Our MLL population is exploring important topics that affect them daily, reflecting on stereotypes—both how others perceive them and how they see themselves. Throughout this month, we will go beyond discussing figures like Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Ruby Bridges, and Frederick Douglass; we will also engage in meaningful conversations about how to create a more just and inclusive world. This ties perfectly into our Unit 5 theme: Is a perfect society possible?

COMMUNITY

Our MLL Department is excited about our upcoming Coffee and MLL Department Talk with the parents of our MLL population!

This event will be held on Wednesday, February 12, 2025, from 8:30-9:30 AM at our school, where we will discuss:

The MLL program and available services.
The MCAS test and how to help students prepare.
The ACCESS test, its purpose, and student progress.
Future plans to support student learning.

SCIENCE AND MATH

In science, we are learning about Ecosystems and how energy flows from one living organism to the next. Students are classifying animals into 3 levels, primary, secondary and tertiary consumers and identifying them as herbivores, carnivores and omnivores.

In math, we are continuing our fractions work with multiplication and division of fractions. Students are also learning how to analyze a word problem and set up equations to help them solve the problems.

MULTILINGUAL

What’s Happening in Grade 5-8 Newcomer English Class?

In English class, we’re continuing to explore clothing vocabulary and will soon be moving on to home and family next week. Students will dive into hands-on projects and exciting writing pieces—so keep an eye out for their amazing work coming home soon!

We’ll also be learning how to form a paragraph using the vocabulary words and ideas we've been practicing. This will help students build their writing confidence and express themselves more clearly.

Do you have a family holiday or tradition coming up? Let me know! I’d love to include a lesson about it in class to celebrate and share with everyone.

Thank you for your continued support!