Q1) Is Peirce going to house all the elementary special education programs for Arlington after redistricting?

The answer is no, Peirce already has two.  We have our co-taught, inclusion program in one classroom at each grade, and we are housing a SLC – A program during the Thompson rebuild.  There are no plans to add another program.

Q2) Does Peirce have the all elementary special education programs housed here?

No, almost every other elementary school in Arlington houses one or more special education programs.  If they do not it is because they do not have any space.

Q3) Are inclusion students sent here because they were a behavior problem at their home school?

No, there is a special program for students with severe behavioral problems housed in another school. 

Q4) Are the majority of students in the inclusion program children with special needs?

No.  Inclusion students who are here from other schools make up 11% of our total population.  And they are all fabulous, contributing members of our school.

I hope this helps to clear up any misinformation you have been hearing.  As always, you can contact your child’s classroom teacher(s) with questions or concerns.  They know what is going on inside the classrooms better than anyone else, and they are eager to share their expertise!

As a public school, we have seen terrible cuts over the last decade, and unfortunately, many cuts come from programs that were intended to challenge our most advanced students.  It has fallen on the classroom teachers to make sure all students are getting what they need, despite having tremendous differences in the abilities of their students.  Additionally, legislation requires that they focus on closing the achievement gap between struggling and on-level students.  So what do they do?

Here at Peirce, they do quite a lot.  From ‘Think Tanks’ to “Challenge of the Week” problems, teachers at every grade level are aiming to meet the needs of their advanced students.  Sometimes, just getting through the broad curriculum they need to cover is challenge enough for even our strongest students.

If you aren’t sure what opportunities your child is receiving for challenge, ask your classroom teacher.  If there isn’t enough time in your child’s busy school day, ask what you can do at home as well.  Our teachers are full of creative ideas!

I recently enjoyed a musical version of Dicken’s ”A Christmas Carol” and I was struck by a line I have heard so many times before, “Mankind should have been my business”.  This is the deceased character Jacob Marley responding to Scrooge’s comment that he had been a good business man in life.  I thought about the staff and families here at Peirce, and I am so glad all of you, every day, make mankind your business.  Great work goes on here.

Have a joyful and peaceful New Year.

Last week, I watched first graders learning about weather, and sharing some great ideas.  I learned that many of them are Shel Silverstein fans!

This week, I observed second graders working on some difficult math concepts, regarding area.  When they were asked about a math game they know, called “Guess My Rule”, many students remarked that it was a game they play to ‘discuss the characteristics of a shape’.  Characteristics???  That’s impressive for second grade!!!

In third grade, I joined a science lesson on comets.  The students were nice enough to explain to me that they are not stars (even though people call them shooting stars) and they are made of dust, ice, and gas. I wish I could have stayed long enough to make one with styrofoam and glitter!

Things here at school are running smoothly.  It is nice to walk into a room and feel so welcome, and to see the teachers and students acting so kindly towards each other.  We are so lucky to have such a great community!!!

I am thankful for a supportive community who puts their children first.

I am thankful for hard-working teachers who work tireless hours meeting the needs of all our children.

I am thankful for my entire staff, who make Peirce a great place to work.

I am thankful for parents who contribute so much positive energy and expect nothing in return (we know who you are!!!).

I am thankful for not having snow days yet.

I am thankful that I work at such a great school.

Have  a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

A few things we learned;

*Head Lice only move from head to head.  They are NOT transmitted through helmets, hats or brushes.

*Head Lice are not found in linens, carpets, furniture, clothing, or stuffed animals (so don’t through out Mr. Snuggles!!!)

*The best treatment is with a special comb, and products you already have in your home!

Surprised?  We sure were!  Check out NitWits today!!!

 If you have a 4th Grader, this will be of special interest to you as you plan ahead for next year!!!  Enjoy!

SCIENCE CAMP
Lisa Puffer, Peirce 5th grade
After spending a wonderful four days at W. Alton Jones Science Camp with the 5th graders from both Peirce and Dallin Elementary School, I thought it may be nice to write what Science camp was like from the teacher’s point of view!  Each student was assigned a field group of 10-12 students led by a well-educated and thoughtful Field guide. I was able to spend quality of time with each of the different field groups over the four days. It was so much fun!

On the first day, I spent time with a group working on team building skills. I have to say, that this is one of my favorite types of activity for students to do to learn to work together.  There was a 10’-0” long rope that was put around a tree trunk with 5 students on one side holding the rope with both their hands and 5 students on the other side of the tree holding the rope with both their hands.  Without letting go, the group had to work together to tie the rope into a square knot around the tree (no student could be between the square knot and the tree).  The group I was with had a hard time coming up with the right answer, but their team work and support of each other won them accolades for great team effort!!

The next activity was through the woods on a “Geology” lesson.  Our field guide explained how the topography was formed from glaciers and other forces that shaped New England during the walk. My favorite part was when the students were given cards that reviewed the time span from when the “big bang” happened to today. This involved the students figuring out as a team, who had the oldest card to read first, and based on chronological order the next based date and so forth. Each card required the student to take x amount of steps to represent the amount in time that passed [from 58 steps down to the width of a pinky]. It was a great way to help students understand the passing of time. We finished the hike by heading into the classroom to learn more about the 3 basic types of rocks; sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous.
Tuesday night all the groups went on a “Night Walk” where the students saw firsthand an optical phenomenon when one strikes two quartz rocks together to create light [called Triboluminescence] followed by biting into a wintergreen lifesaver to create light in the mouth. The hike continued to observe different types of growth in the woods that emit light [Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism]. The field guide taught the group how to navigate in the dark by understanding which parts of our eyes work in the dark and how they adjust to the dark – no flashlights needed! Afterwards the group went into the classroom to learn about astronomy [it was too cloudy outside].  The lesson was on constellations and who and how they were formed. Each student created their own constellation complete with a unique story to tell about why this constellation.

The next morning I joined a field group out to the pond for a lesson on “Wetlands and Ponds”. The weather was not conducive to finding many living things in the pond – the water was 13 degrees Celsius [approx. 55 degrees Fahrenheit] and late in the fall. The students however, really enjoyed locating baby salamanders, water skidders, even slugs [a big hit].  Then they were able to do a quality water test to help them determine the PH of the water as well as the dissolved oxygen in the water.

Wednesday night I was involved in a group that played bat and mouse where the students learned to use their hearing – one student played the mouse (a land version of Marco polo) and another student was the bat [blindfolded], using only his/her hearing of the mouse to reach out and catch the mouse. The students loved this game!  They made games even educational!!!

The field groups were taken into the classrooms to do two events – a mysterious thing event (ask your student as I was not involved in this event); and “egg dropping” event.  Each field group worked to build a housing to support an egg that when dropped to the ground would not break.  They were given items from the woods (pine needs and twigs) and a few man-made items (string, tape and a plastic bag).  Another big hit amongst the crowd!

I spent time with a group that went on a “Survival Skills” lesson where the students hiked for 2 hours on the property. The students discussed what would be the “10 essential things to bring hiking” [by working as a team to decide what they were]; they built a shelter made completely and only out of what they could find in the woods so that they would be prepared in case they ever get lost and needed to protect themselves overnight. Part of the hike we took a break in an area where we learned how to build a fire by gathering the proper type of tinder, kindling and timber. Finally, we worked together to learn, what I think is one of the more important lessons, how to properly use a compass. Ask them about “red in the shed, then follow Fred”

Thursday night was the big campfire finale!  The kids and adults really enjoyed themselves. We all were led out into the woods to a defined area where a large fire was already blazing surrounded by man-made benches around the fire on 3 sides.  As we sat and became comfortable, the field guides lead an evening of songs, skits and just plain old fun!  Some skits included students picked from the audience, a lot of the songs were “Repeat after me songs” – “Repeat after me songs”.

Woke up Friday morning to a little sadness – it was our last day.  The staff saved the best game for last.  It is called Predator Prey – and if you have not heard about this game from your child – that is a great conversation starter.  The game consists of four levels in the food chain – mice, snakes, minks and hawks.  As you can imagine the mice ran for their lives all the time, snakes and minks were happy when they caught a mouse but had to run from the hawks.  Each group had to find the five basic needs of living organisms in order to survive over time (ask your fifth grader what the five basic needs are).  The game helped students understand the food chain, how energy flows through the food chain, how chemicals can affect the food chain and how humans impact the food chain!  I was the only human impact running around the field in the game and I could either help a group – offer shelter to mice that needed to grow with a new shed in my back yard, or hurt a group – as a developer of land that cut trees and killed off some hawks and snakes; or be a buyer for Nordstrom’s who needed to kill mink to fill orders for mink hats and a mink coat.

Whew – even writing this reminds me how tired I was after four days.  The students were great and we all learned a lot together!

human impact running around the field in the game and I could either help a group – offer shelter to mice that needed to grow with a new shed in my back yard, or hurt a group – as a developer of land that cut trees and killed off some hawks and snakes; or be a buyer for Nordstrom’s who needed to kill mink to fill orders for mink hats and a mink coat.

Whew – even writing this reminds me how tired I was after four days.  The students were great and we all learned a lot together!

 
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It’s that time again, when the results of high-stakes testing arrive and make us all wonder two things; what we did right, and what we did wrong.

MCAS is an important tool in reviewing our students’ learning and our own instructions.  However, it is not the ultimate snapshot of a student’s success in school.  Teachers know a whole lot more about your children that the MCAS system ever will.

It is normal to be pleasantly surprised by good results, even if you don’t believe in high- stakes testing.  It is also normal to be disappointed by lower than expected scores.  If that is what you are feeling now, it is ok (and encouraged) for you to contact this year’s and last year’s teachers to discuss you concerns.  There are many reasons why a child may struggle on the MCAS, and there are many supports and solutions we can try to intervene.

You can visit the Department of Education website www.doe.mass.edu to take a look at some of the test questions (I am a big fan of the question of the day). And remember, the MCAS is just one part of a bigger picture of your child.

I’ve been checking in with the children, asking how their summer was, and most are happy to be back to school.  I think all our parents are happy we’re back!

The most positive feedback I’ve recieved from the students  is regarding the longer lunch period.  We’ve extended the period by 10 minutes, in order to give the kids more time to eat and then play.  In the shorter period (30 minute), students found that by the time they get through the lunch line, they had only a few minutes to eat before the next class would be entering the cafeteria. The lunch ladies had to hurry them along so they could clean and sanitize the tables for the next crew.  now that we’ve extended the time, I’ve had reports like ‘I can eat my whole pizza now!” and “it feels way longer”.  Several students just give it a thumbs up.

In classrooms, kids are off to a busy start.  One 5th grader leaving the computer lab told me, “that was fun, but really hard!”  It is great to hear that students are being challenged, and enjoying it.

Curriculum afternoon is tomorrow, so I know we will see many of you here.  I hope this school year has started as well for all of you!