APRIL 2014 VOLUME 9

Principals Corner

Columbus News

COLUMBUS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 37 HICKS AVENUE, MEDFORD, MA 02155

PTO will be present selling concession items. If you would like to Heres hoping that Spring will visit lend a helping hand at this, or any us soon! The snow lasted longer PTO activity, please contact any than any of us expected. I know I PTO board member. Photocopying am looking forward to flowers and for teachers and Fun Day are two warm breezes coming our way. upcoming activities that could use We had fun celebrating Dr. Suesss parental volunteerism. PTO board member emails are found at the birthday last month. We listened Columbus website on the PTO to Dr. Suesss, Happy Birthday to webpage. You, at the All School Share, first grade was filled with delight when Also at our Art & Music CelebraMayor McGlynn read his favorite, tion, Mr. Moock, Mrs. Karapetian Green Eggs and Ham, we shared and the fourth grade students will Dr. Seuss books by reading them debut the Columbus School song across grade levels, and voted for they wrote together during Mr. our favorite story from a list of Moocks Artist in Residence Proeight Dr. Suess titles. Which one gram. How lucky was the fourth do you think received the most Co- grade to be part of this creative lumbus votes? Horton Hears a program! Join us on April 15th, not Who, One Fish, Two Fish, Red only to appreciate your childs arFish, Blue Fish, The Cat in the Hat, tistic talents, but to stay for the The Lorax, Fox in Socks, The Foot spectacular music performances as Book, Green Eggs and Ham, or well. How the Grinch Stole Christmas. For those of you with family or The Columbus winning title was friends attending the Columbus How the Grinch Stole Christmas with 227 votes. Which title do you Kindergartener in the fall, join us on April 8th at Medford High most enjoy? School Library or May 1st at CoThe third, fourth, and fifth grades lumbus Elementary School for our worked hard to complete the ELA Building Bridges Program. (Details MCAS. Thanks to the Columbus on calendar) Teachers and families who helped prepare the children for these as- Enjoy the break from April 18th sessments. Check within the news- 25th, but please note that the last day of school is presently schedletter for the Math and the fifth grade Science, Technology, & En- uled for June 25th at noon due to all the inclement weather days we gineering Assessment dates, as well as the PARCC Field Test for survived! Mrs. DiPersios and Mr. Platis classes. * IMPORTANT TELEPHONE NUMBERS The PTO continues to support the

WWW.MEDFORD.K12.MA.US

Kathleen Kay

Columbus in so many awesome ways. Thank you for your continued support during fund raising. Our next school wide event is the Art & Music Celebration where the

* TELEPHONE : 781.393.2177 * FAX : 781.393.2187 * NURSE : 781.393.2175 * ABSENCE LINE: 781.393.3503

April 1

Happy April Fools Day Fairy Tale Ball at the Medford Public Library http://medfordlibrary.org/childrens April 2 Early Release Day, 1:30pm April 8 Building Bridges, MHS, Library 6:30pm-8:30pm. For incoming Kindergarten families. (AND May 1st at the Columbus, 7:00pm8:00pm.) April 9 Early Release Day, 1:30pm April 14 School Council Meeting, 7:00pm, Columbus Conference Room April 15 Art & Music Celebration, 5:30pm-7:30pm April 16 Early Release Day, 1:30pm April 17 Spirit Day - Boston Strong Day - Wear blue & yellow, or Boston Strong gear to school April 18 NO SCHOOL - Good Friday April 20-25 NO SCHOOL - Spring Break April 28 School Resumes April 30 Early Release Day, 1:30pm
State mandated MCAS Assessments have been scheduled. Please keep these future dates in mind when scheduling appointments: SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY MCAS Assessment: 5th Grade - May 6th & 7th. MATH MCAS Assessments: 4th Grade MATH May 8th & 9th 5th Grade MATH May 12th & 13th 3rd Grade MATH - May 15th & 16th PARCC Field Test Assessments - Mrs. DiPersios & Mr. Platis Classes ONLY - May 19th & 20th
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BOOK

REVIEWS
Bedtime Math 2: This Time Its Personal by Laura Overdeck. Illustrated by Jim Paillot. Ages 3-7. "We want kids to feel about math the way they feel about dessert after dinner." - Laura Overdeck, Time magazine Our mission: to make math a fun part of kids everyday lives. We all know its wonderful to read bedtime stories to kids, but what about doing math? Many generations of Americans are uncomfortable with math and numbers, and too often we hear the phrase, Im just not good at math! For decades, this attitude has trickled down from parents to their kids, and we now have a culture that finds math dry, intimidating, and just not cool. Bedtime Math wants to change all that.

This time, Bedtime Math 2 is getting personal and talking all about Y.O.U. Inside this book, families will find fun, mischief-making math problems to tacklemath that isnt just kid-friendly, but actually kid-appealing. With over 100 math riddles on topics from missing socks and glitter to your favorite wild pet and how fast you can run, kids will find math isnt just fun, it can be found in their everyday lives. And with three different levels of challenge (Wee ones, Little kids, and Big kids), plus a brand new Bonus question, theres something for everyone. We can make numbers fun, and change the world, one Bedtime Math puzzle at a time. ~ Amazon.com

Locomotive by Brian Floca, author and illustrator. Ages 4-10. Floca follows up the acclaimed Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 (2009) with this ebullient, breathtaking look at a familys 1869 journey from Omaha to Sacramento via the newly completed Transcontinental Railroad. The unnamed family is a launching point for Flocas irrepressible exploration into, well, everything about early rail travel, from crew responsibilities and machinery specifics to the sensory thrills of a bridge rumbling beneath and the wind blasting into your face. The substantial text is delivered in nonrhyming stanzas as enlightening as they are poetic: the smoke and cinders, / ash and sweat of the coal engine and the Great Plains stretching out empty as an ocean. Blasting through these artful compositions are the bellows of the conductor (FULL STEAM AHEAD) and the scream of the train whistle, so loud that it bleeds off the page: WHOOOOOOO! Font styles swap restlessly to best embody each noise (see the blunt, bold SPIT versus the ornate, ballooning HUFF HUFF HUFF). Just as heart pounding are Flocas bold, detailed watercolors, which swap massive close-ups of barreling locomotives with sweeping birds-eye views that show how even these metal giants were dwarfed by nature. Its impossible to turn a page without learning something, but its these multiple wow moments that will knock readers from their chairs. Fantastic opening and closing notes make this the book for young train enthusiasts. Grades K-3. --Daniel Kraus ~ Amazon.com
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Three Steps to Homework Success

Youve probably noticed that your child has a little more homework each year. And now, with the weather getting warmer, you may be coming up against what I call, The Homework Hassle. Help your child get a handle on the workload with a daily plan. 1. DISCUSS - Begin each afternoon or evening by asking what homework has been assigned. You can set a positive tone with comments like, I loved writing in my journal when I was your age or Its exciting that youre old enough for long division. 2. PLAN - Ask your child in which order they would like to do their work. You might suggest that the hardest subject be started first or that the longest assignment gets the first attention, saving the easier ones for after dinner. Or perhaps your child might prefer to get simpler assignments out of the way so that there will be fewer tasks ahead. Have your child try each way to see which is best for him or her. 3. REVIEW - Look over your childs finished work together. You might compliment your child on something done particularly well. Then, if you discover careless errors, have your child double-check the work - but avoid telling your child the answers. The teacher needs to know what your child was able to do by him or herself.

Teamwork Activities
with these games that illustrate teamwork in action. Lower the Yardstick. Together, hold a yardstick horizontally so that everyone has one finger underneath. Then, lower the yardstick to the ground - but if anyones finger drops away, you have to start over. See how many tries it takes to get the yardstick to the floor. Family Ball Pass. Sit in a circle with your feet out toward the center. Pass a ball around the circle - using only your FEET. How many times can

Work Together. Whether your child is doing a group project or playing Hacky Sack, a team effort is needed. Everyones a winner

Q&A
Q: We recently moved to an area where people speak several different languages and our child has a lot

of questions. How should we answer them? A: Its great that your child is being exposed to a variety of cultures. You can use this curiosity to help your child learn about respecting differences. Explain that in many parts of the U.S., people speak different languages, eat different foods, and wear different clothing than your family does. At the same time, they do many of the same things (play at the park, watch movies, etc.) To ensure understanding, ask your child to name one classmate who speaks English and one who speaks another language Have him tell you something he has in common with each child (skateboarding, wearing sneakers) and one thing that they do not share (number of siblings, holidays). Your child will discover that language is just one of the many things that people may or may not have in common.
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