The Renaissance Bulletin

Dear Renaissance Families,

It's hard to believe that the end of the school year is right around the corner. I'm sure everyone is looking forward to a summer filled with family, friends and wonderful weather.

As we approach the end of the school year ,we too are excited for a break, but are committed to finishing the year strong. To that end, one piece of news I'd like to share is that we are creating a new school video which we hope to launch before the end of the school year. This project is very exciting and I look forward to sharing the finished product with our entire community.

Please enjoy reading our latest newsletter edition, and as always, don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Warmly,

Alexandra

Thank you to families for joining us to see and celebrate the hard work your kids are doing so far this year. We are proud of how far they've come and looking forward to a strong finish in Trimester 3.

Throughout the month of April we celebrated reading and literacy through a variety of daily activities and our annual Character Day. Thank you to the families and friends that joined our indoor parade, fingers crossed for an outdoor celebration next year 🙃 Take a look at our calendar of events from April's Read Across Renaissance to see all that we did!

K1 and 6th Graders constructed art bots using plastic cups, markers, and DC motors. They tested their design on butcher paper to see if their robot could make art! Students explored simple circuits and saw firsthand how engineers use computers, programming and robotics to make art.

K2 and 3rd Graders experimented with simple circuits to construct a working Bristlebot. Students explored the components of a simple circuit before building and then they brainstormed different challenges for their bot to complete.

1st and 4th Graders built a series circuit so they could send coded messages to one another. Students constructed a circuit as a team. Once they built it, they used Morse code to send and receive messages. Understanding energy, energy transfer, materials science, and receiving and sending messages are all Science standards that are relevant to 1st and 4th grade.

2nd and 5th Graders built a pneumatic machine to carry a load. Students learned that “air” can be compressed and used to operate machine parts. Pneumatic systems are like hydraulic systems but instead of a fluid they are using air to move components of the machine.

Math: Students are progressing through their Bridges units across grades K1-2 with K2 and first grade completing Bridges for the first year. We are seeing positive results from our mid year data in regards to the programming we have in place. Additionally, kids are competing in an ST Math March MATHNESS bracket tournament this month with their pal Jiji the penguin. Classrooms compete against each other on how many puzzles they can complete in the week to advance to the next week against a new room. The kids are so into it and are excited to advance as they complete puzzles.

Literacy: It’s exciting to see classrooms from K1-2 fine tuning their practices with our phonics and phonological awareness curricula (Heggerty and Fundations) implementation. We are seeing more skillful and purposeful implementation building on the learning from last year. Our Writing initiative is pushing teachers and students to embed more writing opportunities throughout the day and to hone instructional strategies for supporting early writers appropriately in the classroom.

UNITS OF STUDY:

K1: Currently, they are studying a unit called Animals All Around. During this eight week unit, the children are developing answers to the question, How do animals live in their environments? They explore through reading, writing, science experiments and play.

K2: Our kindergartners are in the midst of their Creating and Constructing unit in which they explore creating new things in nature using materials and tools as well as exploring how to create and construct art. They’re doing this through play-based exploration as well as complex literature read alouds and thought-provoking discussions answering questions such as: How does your imagination help you think outside the box? How do you choose what materials to use to create and construct? This unit is always a favorite for our K2 kiddos!

Grade 1: 1st graders are exploring inventions and the physical world (Up in the sky! Sounds all Around) through literature and science. They will make and confirm predictions and ask questions while reading as well as begin a new writing genre.

Grade 2: 2nd graders are in the middle of their Our World Unit. They just wrapped up exploring social studies topics by asking the question: How are families and kids the same and different around the world? Next, they will explore science standards about landforms and erosion.

LITERACY

The month of April was lots of fun with students participating in Read Across Renaissance! The turn out for Character Day was incredible with students K1-6th grade participating in the costume parade representing some of our favorite book characters. Upper School students finished their ELA MCAS and many have submitted their poems to the schoolwide poetry contest. Moving forward, students will be beginning new novels as we progress through the final trimester towards summer. Stay tuned to hear from your grade level teachers if there are any upcoming presentations to attend.

SCIENCE

Another successful schoolwide STEAM day in the books! Lower school and Upper school students paired for a fun day of science experiments creating lasting memories for all!

MATH

During the month of April, students across Upper School have been working hard to prepare for the Math MCAS next week! They have participated in a 'math push', to give them additional review leading up to the big day. During that time students reviewed and practiced skills they learned throughout the year as well as explaining their mathematical thinking in writing. As we wrap up the school year students will continue to review major concepts of their grade level and start to be introduced to some of the next grade levels concepts.

Please make sure to mark your calendars!

Thank you to all the Parents of Renaissance volunteers who came in to help make the Scholastic Book Fair a huge success! We appreciate all of the parents and grown ups who took the time to set up E-Wallets, send their students in with funds and stop in to the Book Fair.

Voices of Renaissance brought joy and encouragement to the residents of Blake Estates on Wednesday, April 24th at a performance on site. We are so proud of our choir students!

Voices of Renaissance will do a day long tour on Thursday, May 23rd. Be on the lookout for permission slips, as Ms. White will be sending home with choir members soon.

On May 29th from 5:30-6:30pm, Voices of Renaissance will have a Spring Concert for families, friends, and community to attend. Flyers will be sent out by Ms. White.

Looking Ahead:

June 4th is Upper School, grades 3-6, Field Day.

June 5th is Lower School, grades K1-2, Field Day.

June 13th Specialty Showcase School Day Performance

June 14th Specialty Showcase School Day Performance

• May 6th-10th: Staff Appreciation Week at Renaissance!
• May 6th-10th: Math MCAS Gr 3-8
• May 10th: HALF DAY for students
• May 23rd Voices of Renaissance Tour Day
• May 29th Voices of Renaisannce Concert
• May 24th: HALF DAY for students
• May 27th: Memorial Day - NO SCHOOL