Dear Lower School Families,
Thank you to our Parent Association and to the many volunteers, led by Kerri Polimeno and Sharon Hackett, who made yesterday’s Book Fair such a success!
The last month of school is very busy for our students, teachers, and for you, our parents. In the coming weeks, many of you will be coming to campus to gather with members of the Parent Association leadership to sketch out plans for next year, to meet with your child’s upcoming teachers, to view culminating projects, to celebrate grandfriends, to enjoy the Grade 5 play, and finally, to recognize our fifth-graders for their accomplishments during their time in Lower School. We hope you will join us for as many of these year-end events as you can. In the coming days, we will send detailed information about each of the events.
In the meantime, I hope you will join our Parents Association next Friday, before the Gratitude Assembly, for a meeting to create a volunteer plan for next year. We will provide childcare in each building beginning at 7:20 a.m. for early drop-off. Join us in Thacher after the meeting for our second annual Gratitude Assembly where we many of the departments and offices across campus who support our Lower School program, from the FLIK staff who cook and serve our lunch, to the Facilities staff who beautify the grounds, to the Admissions Office, without whom none of us would be here, to the Campus Safety staff who keep us safe. Andrea Brodeur has created a gratitude video on behalf of parents as well.
In today’s Lower School Newsletter, you will find new dates and information about both our Recognition Ceremony and for the Looking Ahead to Grade 2 meeting, details about the week ahead, an opportunity to RSVP for your grandfriend for Grandfriends’ Day, and dates to add to your calendar.
Have a good weekend,
Racheal
News and Announcements
New Date for Looking Ahead to Grade 2, Tuesday, May 16, 8:15 a.m., Grade 2 Classrooms—The new date allows the hiring committee the opportunity to finish its work. Apologies to Grade 1 families for the change. We know how important it is to have the teaching team in place in advance of the Looking Ahead meeting.
New Date for Grade 5 Recognition Ceremony, June 6, 8:30 a.m., CSG—The date has been changed to accommodate the myriad of events on campus in the last week of school. We hope that parents across our Lower School, and particularly Grade 5 parents, will be able to join us as we formally recognize the accomplishments and contributions of our Grade 5 students throughout the whole of their Lower School careers.
- Students in grades K-4 are being asked to wear special occasion dress (smart, dressed-up attire)
- To distinguish our “graduates” from the students in grades K–4, we will follow School tradition to ask that the girls wear white outfits. A simple white outfit will do – something summery and cool! Boys are asked to wear white dress shirts, khaki pants and a blue blazer.
Upper School Science Symposium, Friday, April 28, 5-7 p.m., Pritzker Science Center Lobby—Have you ever wondered how mtDNA might be used to learn more about our diversity at Milton Academy? Can magnetoreception be used as a tool to learn more about Drosophila behavior? How might one visualize sound in a Ruben’s tube? Is it possible to determine the charge:mass ratio of an electron? Wonder no more! Upper School Science Department Chair Julie Seplaki and the science faculty invite the entire Milton community to the annual Science Symposium. All students from our Advanced science courses will showcase their research projects by way of poster presentations, along with informal Q & A. Please feel encouraged to drop by to ask questions, learn something new and to show your support! Parents and students interested in learning more about the exciting programs in Upper School science will enjoy this night!
The Week Ahead
Lower School Parent Association Faculty Appreciation Celebration, Wednesday, April 26 at Steel & Rye––Thank you to the LSPA for sponsoring this faculty and staff-only event, particularly to Elizabeth Flowers and Cynthia George, who are spearheading the event. Thank you to all the parents for the appreciation you show for the faculty and staff every day.
Giving Day, Thursday, April 27—Please see the Parent Giving section for more details!
Lower School Parent Association Open Breakfast Meeting, Friday, April 28, 7:30 a.m., Perry Reading Room, CSG––Join us to talk about volunteering for next year. Take advantage of early drop-off on this day, to join us for breakfast treats, coffee and conversation with other parents, and to join in the planning for next year.
Gratitude Assembly, Friday, April 28, 8:30 a.m., Thacher––This assembly is a spring highlight as students (and this year, parents too, thanks to Andrea Brodeur) thank the many people and departments around campus that support our Lower School.
Important Reminders
School Devices Challenges––We are fortunate to be able to provide school devices to students beginning in Grade 4. The intention of providing these devices is for students to use them for their school work. While Milton Academy has a robust firewall, and we do monitor the sites that students visit, we also hope that parents are partners in keeping children safe. Help us by reviewing your and the School’s expectations for use (ie: the device isn’t meant for making social plans), occasionally checking the device history, and supervising device use. Thank you for your support.
Grade 5 Families—Did you miss the Looking Ahead to Middle School evening last week? Click here to watch it.
Grandfriends’ Day, Friday, May 12, 8 a.m.–12 p.m.— Grandparents and special friends are invited to experience a morning at Milton Academy enjoying a continental breakfast, visiting classrooms, and attending a special assembly.
8-8:30 a.m. Check-In
8:30-10:50 a.m. Classroom Visits
11-11:45 a.m. Assembly
12 p.m. Dismissal for Grandfriends and
Lower School students; Middle School
students return to class.
Click here to register your grandfriend or special friend. Contact Marlena Alex with questions.
Note: Space constraints do not allow us to include parents in classrooms on this day. However, if you would like to volunteer to help the day run smoothly, we welcome your help. Click here to be a Grandfriends’ Day volunteer. Roles include: greeting in the lobbies of the buildings, providing directions between buildings, etc.
What’s Right About Wrong Answers—Congratulations to Dr. Nancy Anderson on the publication of her new book! It is a professional development resource for teachers in grades 4 and 5 and aims to help teachers harness the power of error analysis as a learning tool for students. Below is a description of the book from the publisher, Stenhouse. Families interested in purchasing the book will find it on Amazon.com.
“You can’t learn to hit a three-point shot without missing a lot of shots. You can’t learn to play a piece of music correctly without striking a lot of wrong notes.” And, as Nancy Anderson explains in What’s Right About Wrong Answers, “You can’t learn math without making mistakes.”
Nancy turns mistakes on their head and helps you cleverly use them to students’ advantage. Each of the twenty-two activities in this book focuses on important ideas in grades 4–5 mathematics. By examining comic strips, letters to a fictitious math expert from confused students, and sample student work containing mistakes, your learners explore typical math mistakes, reflect on why they’re wrong, and move toward deeper understanding.
Each activity includes:
- a summary of the mathematical content and highlighted error;
- Common Core connections
- prerequisite knowledge that students need;
- required reproducibles, manipulatives, and other tools;
- the big underlying math ideas; and
- suggestions for implementing the activity.
Each activity can be used to enhance units of instruction and help students prepare for assessments that are aligned with the Common Core and similar state standards.
Last week for the Book Drive on behalf of Mattapan Community Health Center—Our Grade 5 Ambassadors for Good have organized a children’s book drive to stock the waiting rooms of the Mattapan Community Health Center (MCHC). Donations can be placed in the bins in the lobby of Greenleaf Hall. Working with the organization, students were able to determine a need and to find ways to help. Over vacation, consider taking some time to clean out book shelves in support of our children and this worthy cause. MCHC is a comprehensive health delivery organizations that serves people from Mattapan and its surrounding communities. It is the only organization of its kind in Mattapan and Hyde Park, and it has a policy of not turning away patients in need.
Add These Dates to Your Calendar
Consult the online calendar for dates and locations.
- Tuesday, May 2––Looking Ahead to Grade 3. This event is intended for Grade 2 parents to learn about the year to come. It is an opportunity to learn about the curriculum and to meet the teachers.
- SCHEDULE CHANGE: Wednesday, May 3 to May 16––Looking Ahead to Grade 2 will now be held on May 16 to allow us to introduce the new Grade 2 teacher to parents.
- Friday, May 5––Lower School Student Showcase
- Friday, May 5––Grade 5 Social
- Thursday, May 11––Parent-Child Night. Students across the Lower School grades share their spring culminating projects with parents and visitors.
- Friday, May 12––Grandfriends’ Day
- Friday, May 12––Early Release Friday. Special programming available.
- Monday, May 15––Looking Ahead to Grade 1. This event is intended for kindergarten parents to learn about the year to come. It is an opportunity to learn about the curriculum and to meet the teachers.
- NEW DATE: Tuesday, May 16––Looking Ahead to Grade 2.
- Wednesday, May 17––Looking Ahead to Grade 5. This event is intended for Grade 4 parents to learn about the year to come. It is an opportunity to learn about the curriculum and to meet the teachers.
- Thursday, May 18––Popsicle Party for Incoming Kindergarten Students and their Parents.
- Friday, May 19––End of Year Conferences for Grade 3.
- May 24––Looking Ahead to Grade 4. This event is intended for Grade 3 parents to learn about the year to come. It is an opportunity to learn about the curriculum and to meet the teachers.
- May 24-26––Grade 3 students and teachers visit the Farm School
- May 26––End of Year Conferences for Grades K, 1, 2, 4, 5.
- May 26––Early Release Friday. Special programming available
- May 29––Memorial Day; No Classes