TBMS Weekly Newsletter - Issue 25-26.31

SEVENTH GRADE

In math, before April Vacation, students had completed the 2D/3D Geometry Unit and started a brief review of Mean, Median, Mode, and Range to kick off our Statistics Unit.  This week so far, we did a formal review of the aforementioned statistical topics and have started applying these to other statistical measures.  Before the Math MCAS happens on 4/13/26 and 4/14/26, students will have the opportunity to practice types of MCAS questions that they will see when taking the MCAS.

From before April Vacation:

In ELA, seventh graders are analyzing poetry. Over the last few weeks, we’ve read several poems as a class, attending to the poets’ use of diction, figurative language, and sound devices to develop the tone and theme of their work. Each class was structured with a whole class brainstorm to analyze one poem, and then student choice to practice the skill through analyzing a second poem or writing their own poem that incorporates the studied skill. As a culminating activity, the students are currently completing a favorite poem project. They selected a poem or song lyrics to analyze for figurative language, sound devices, tone and theme, and are creating a visual presentation (poster, slideshow, digital flyer, etc.) to showcase their analysis. 

In Flex, students had several ELA plus days last week to prepare for ELA MCAS. This week, our primary focus is on finding joy. Students will have time for relaxation and connection on Tuesday and Thursday’s flexes after MCAS. Finally, students will conclude the week with a science test about evolution.  Mr. Holt sent an email over the weekend explaining the details.

EIGHTH GRADE

English language arts classes are studying and writing narratives. An effective narrative starts fast, introduces a problem, develops the characters and setting, attempts to address the obstacle with a profound mental change, and concludes with falling action. In writing narratives, we emphasize style: include colors, sensory details, dialogue, symbols, and characters’ memories. Some of the specific prompts we recently addressed are on Walter’s perspective on a walk in Lee’s  To Kill a Mockingbird, and on the experiences of Keo, Sonny’s cousin, from Graham Salisbury’s “Deep Water.” We have been doing ELA class visits to the Harvard Public Library immediately before and after April vacation. Upon our return from April vacation, students are now finishing reading Lee’s novel while analyzing anchor passages using brain frames. We are learning how Lee uses foreshadowing, defined as hints or clues of the plot yet to unfold. The author foreshadows the mysterious crime at the novel’s end from the first paragraph of her novel.

Flex on Friday, April 10, marked an important afternoon of service. Eighth grade students sorted the huge outpouring of donations for quality and dignity and also wrote cards to spread cheer to residents at a local nursing home. All sorted Cradles to Crayons donations are now at the Giving Factory, the Cradles to Crayons forever home in Newtonville, MA. The clothing you donated will be distributed to infants, children, and teens in our state as soon as is necessary, which includes immediate use. Thank you so much for your donations of time, energy, and clothing! Before break in Flex, students had independent math time on Monday. They relaxed and had fun together outside on the field after wrapping up ELA MCAS as well.

UNIFIED ARTS

In Digital Literacy: In Sixth grade we ended the quarter with a bunch of creativity and rendered a few graphic designs for a fictional school related activity or club. The grade as a whole had a great time, and it was a nice way to end the quarter, especially with the MCAS test season beginning. We have rotated to using the Spike Lego robotics kits, and they are beginning their journey applying visual code (akin to their earlier scratch code) to lego objects they create. Their lessons will build a myriad of objects, from vehicles to other objects like an assistive hand. Depending on our level of interest, this unit could easily span most of the quarter. I am looking forward to seeing their reactions, and what they can come up with in a few weeks when we get to the open design challenge. 

In the Seventh grade we finished a filming/design unit for a podcast, where the students got to create a faux podcast series and film a topic based episode. The requirements were rather open ended, with an emphasis on clean and concise material. We were trying to emulate the amount of effort it takes to create a full product in the A/V industry, and highlight the editing skills. I had almost as much fun watching them create the episodes as I did viewing them. We are now transitioning into an AI unit, where we will talk about the current applications of AI, how it contrasts with popular media interpretations, and the theoretical uses for AI in the future. 

The Eighth graders are still going strong in the group project area, we left coding and dove right into a Video production design unit similar to the one I mentioned above. Their requirements are much more stringent, and I am requiring a storyboarding process, props list, filming schedule, etc. I expect this unit to be fun, but also a challenge as their imaginations like to get a bit bigger than what is feasible in a classroom setting. One of my biggest goals for this unit is  for the students to experience how their ideas transition into a realistic product; how their plan affects the overall efficiency and level of effort their group needs to put in. I'm expecting this to be a learning experience for some groups, so if you hear any grumbling at home, know that I am going to be relatively lenient on grading the final products. The learning is in the journey for this project, not necessarily the destination. 

Thanks for reading, the students here at Bromfield are a joy to have in the classroom.