Atherton Hough Family Newsletter

UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER

April 10

School Pictures

April 18

Good Frida y –No School

April 21-April 25

Spring Vacation

April 30

6:30 PTO Meeting

May 2

8:00 School Assembly

SCHOOL CONTACT INFORMATION

Robin Moreira,

Principal

Katie Connolly,

Assistant Principal

Jeanne DeBoer,

Secretary

Debra McLaughlin,

School Nurse

Atherton Hough

Elementary School

1084 Sea Street, Quincy,

MA 02169

Phone: (617) 984-8797

Fax: (617) 984-8653

It was wonderful to have the opportunity to talk with many of you last week while you

were here for your child’s report card conference. The staff and I truly appreciate

your support and partnership as we work to provide the very best for your children,

both academically and socially.

While I can hardly believe it, it will soon be time to begin the process of building class

lists for next year. Teachers and our support team work hard to make sure each

classroom has a balance of different types of learners, personalities, and educational

needs. Each student’s personality, needs and learning style as well as what type of

teacher and classroom structure would suit him or her well are all factors that are

considered. While I certainly know that each of you want the best education possible

for your child, building a class is a concerted effort. If you do feel strongly that your

child work in a certain classroom for the next school year please put your request and

those reasons in a letter to my attention. All requests will be included and considered

in this process, however, will not be a guarantee of placement. We are fortunate to

have such a great partnership between home and school for our students and your

input is valued.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the last day of school is scheduled for Monday,

June 23 for students. It will be an early release day.

Please feel free to call, stop in, or email me at robinmoreira@quincypublicschools.com

if ever you have a question, comment, concern, etc.

~ Robin Moreira , Principal

Our next PTO meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 30 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the school library. Please join us!!! Babysitting will be available as well as prizes and refreshments!

Bay State Textile Corp is a Massachusetts based recycling company.

Since last spring, they have been working with Quincy and have textile

bins located at each school. Our bin was consistently overflowing, so they gave us two bins! As you

begin to plan your “spring greening” consider one of the bins at our school for your unwanted textiles.

These textiles are recycled into new products so old, worn, ragged, mismatched items are gladly ac-

cepted! They take anything as long as it’s not wet, mildewed, or has hazardous waste. Spread the

word! The two large white textile donation bins are located near the staff parking lot. The recycler

pays the city $100 per ton of donated textiles and the proceeds are shared among the individual school

PTOs. Atherton Hough continues to have one of the highest volumes of recycling! Thanks for your

help! You are helping the environment, the city, and our community school. A win, win for everyone!

PTO NEWS

HAVE YOU STARTED YOUR SPRING “GREENING”?

Our annual Scholastic book fair, recently held, was a big success!! Thanks to your help and sup-port we sold almost $5,000 in books! The “Scholastic points” we made will be used to help restock our library as well as our classroom li-braries!

Do you have an appetizer dish or dessert that you are “famous” for? Please consider submit-ting your food to our first PTO Cookoff Fund-raiser. It will be held at the Houghs Neck Con-gregation Church Hall on Friday, May 9th from 7:30 to 1:00. This adult only fundraiser will be $5 per admission and sampling of small plates. Beer and wine will be available as well as chanc-es to win an amazing sports raffle package! All money raised goes right back to our Atherton

Hough students and teachers! Stay tuned for more information!

The attendance at our PTO meetings this year has been great! We know that you have many commitments and we appreciate your time and support and input! You are the PTO and your voice is important!

At our next PTO meeting we will continue to plan for some upcoming spring events as well as have an opportunity to hear more about the special education programs at Atherton Hough.

Keep clipping those Box Tops!

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Please be sure to check out our Lost and

Found from time to time. As the weath-

er gets warmer, there can be quite a few

jackets and sweatshirts left behind! It’s

also a great help when clothing and

lunchboxes, etc. are labeled!

Thank you!

MARCH MYSTERY NUMBER

WINNERS!

Gwen Bates

Mike Capone

Brendan Cavin

Hailey Concannon

Marlana Davis

Kyle DeBoer

Maggie Fay

Kylee Flemming

Marsha Germain

Upasana Joshi

Isabel Kraimer

Jasmine Li

Marissa Maher

Rebecca Morris

Isabella Pagliarulo

Reese Smith

Katie Stirling

Danielle Toomer

Paris Vestal

Stephen Wright

At our March assembly last week,

second grader, Jasmine Li shared

with the school how she used the

clues to help her determine the

mystery number!

The clues were….

It is greater than 30 and less

than 40.

The ones digit is less than the

tens digit.

.I am not an even number.

Do you know the 2 digit mystery

number?

Each student who explained their

thinking and got the answer re-

ceived a math certificate and a

homework pass!

Congratulations! 3

Curriculum Highlights

The kindergarteners will be working on reading and writing short -o and short -e

words. Their phonics focus will be on the letters x, j, e, h, k and o. They look forward to reading

books and writing about spring and Easter. In Math they will be representing, counting and writ-

ing numbers beyond 20! Kindergarteners will also practice ordering numbers to 20. As spring

approaches, their addition and subtraction skills are blooming!

First graders will study the season of spring and observe and write about spring chang-

es. Students will continue to add words to their classroom word walls and be able to automati-

cally write these words and know them. In math, students will learn how to add and subtract

two-digit numbers without regrouping.

Second graders have had a busy month of March. They have been working on the gen-

re of fantasy, and have been reading many stories in the Journeys reading program that highlight

that genre. The students will be presenting Mystery Book Reports at the beginning of the

month. In math the students will be learning about measurement and using standard and non-

standard ways to measure various objects. In social science, the kids are finishing learning about

the Solar System, and are getting ready to explore Weather.

Third grade students completed the unit on fractions and will soon be working on tell-

ing time and measuring length, liquid volume and mass. Students will also complete the ongoing

"Mad Minute" assessment working on multiplication fact fluency in hopes of becoming multipli-

cation masters. They will focus in on the upcoming math MCAS and begin practicing more

open response and short response questions. As they look ahead in the Journey's curriculum,

students will read both informational texts and historical fiction selections. They will be reading

a series of adventure stories including: "Sarah, Plain and Tall, The Journey, and The Journey of

Oliver K. Woodman." Students will also be studying adverbs and prefixes in grammar. They

will be writing fictional narrative stories.

In Math, fourth grade students will be finishing up the Fraction unit. They will multiply

fractions, compare fractions and decimals. Also, they will begin their understanding of geometry

and identifying geometric terms in various settings. In science the students will continue to work

on the study of energy by focusing on electricity and electric currents. Students will create their

own circuit and identify the similarities and differences of parallel and series circuits. The fourth

graders are also using a new vocabulary strategy to find alternate words to use in their reading

and writing to be more specific and clear. The students are working in groups to learn and prac-

tice this new skill.

Fifth graders are finishing up their work with adding and subtracting fractions. The

students have done very well with learning and applying this new skill. In reading the students

have been focusing on reading Newbury Award winning books and will be presenting their

book reports. The fifth graders are getting prepared to start working on the Living History Mu-

seum next month. In social studies, the students are preparing to present their explorer book

reports.

Submitted by Katie Connolly, Grade 2 Teacher/Assistant Principal

Mrs. Jeanette Grant, our art teacher, works with students in grades kindergarten through grade five.

Students have art every other week. Their artwork is proudly displayed throughout the school.

Here’s a bit about what they are working on in class:

Kindergarteners are learning about colors and what color contrast can do. Blending hot crayon col-

ors together to make leaves of ‘fire’, the leaves were then carefully cut and glued on a dark blue paper

to show them off. For a fancy finish, each student made a pattern all around their leaf using crayon

and cut paper shapes to contrast with the blue background.

First grade continued their people making skills making action in the snow pictures. After reading

Ezra Jack Keats book, The Snowy Day, students thought of their own fun things to do in the snow in

their special clothes, learning how to draw a person with limbs bending to show action. Coloring

skills were stressed. In March, students will be coloring leaf shapes to use in making leaf monster

masks.

Second graders are learning how to draw lizards with 3D legs and bulging eye-

balls. Lizard habitats were discussed to add to their pictures. Students learned

how outlines help in a picture to make parts stand out. Lizards will be colored in

and backgrounds painted.

Third graders are working with color concepts and composition in making leaf shaped pictures influ-

enced by the work of artist, Georgia O’Keeffe. Using oil pastels in dark colors, students composed

and colored abstract leaf designs. Pictures are then painted in opposite colors from the pastels using

watercolors. The artist color wheel acts as a guide. The results create feeling of depth and space just

using color.

Fourth grade is experimenting with complementary colors discovering the effect when they are com-

bined. Students are making paper ‘pop-art’ weavings using complementary colors found on the color

wheel. The results seem to vibrate. Next, fourth grade will move on to printing and later, clay crea-

tures.

Fifth graders have learned about the history of sculpture from classical to mobiles. They have visited

the South Shore Art Center in Cohasset for a great program meeting a working artist, sculptor Susan

Luery, and making their own mobiles. Classes are working on clay containers in unconventional

shapes, learning how to form three dimensional materials. These are painted with acrylics with stu-

dents mixing their own colors from the three primaries and black and white. Rhythm and other de-

sign concepts are used to decorate the containers.

A FOCUS ON THE ARTS… ART EDUCATION

Mrs. Diane Doherty, works with our students in kindergarten through grade five each week in music class. She also has the opportunity to meet with the entire grade 4 and grade 5 team, on alternate weeks, in chorus. We are looking forward to showcasing each grade’s hard work and talent at our Spring Concert which will be held on Friday, June 6th. Here is what they are working on…

Kindergarten: In Kindergarten, the students explore various music concepts which form the foundation for their music education. Students practice keeping a steady beat, singing in tune and comparing high & low, fast/slow and loud/soft. The students sing songs, speak chants and play singing games. They especially enjoy sing-ing and chanting with “magic lips” which means to use inner hearing. They learn to move to the beat, to listen for music cues, to sequence the steps of a game/dance and to listen attentively while another student takes a turn to sing alone. Songs and chants the Kindergarten students know include: Teddy Bear, Snail, Cuckoo, Naughty Kitty Cat, Queen Caroline, and Bluebird.

Grade 1: The students apply their knowledge of steady beat and high & low sounds to learn simple melodic and rhythmic patterns. First grade melodic skills include the ability to sing in tune and to listen to the contour of a song. They learn the music names for high/low sounds in songs: so & mi. They learn to sing so, mi, & la songs with hand signs and to sing from the hand signs of the teacher. First grade rhythmic skills include the ability to tap the beat and the words of known songs and chants. This practice leads to learning to read and write rhyth-mic notation. Singing songs and speaking chants help the students to identify same and different phrases and to recognize form using labels such as ABA. One of their favorite games to play is Come Back Home My Little Chicks. This is a fun call and response game to practice singing independently. They also enjoy playing the partner game I Had a Dog Named Rover, and singing the song We Are Dancing in the Forest.

Grade 2: In second grade, the students continue to build their repertoire of songs, dances and singing games and to practice their rhythmic and melodic skills. The students expand their ability to write rhythms through echo clapping and rhythmic dictation. Students learn to switch on cue between clapping the beat and clapping the rhythm of a song. In second grade, students practice singing and reading many so, mi & la songs. They continue to practice singing with hand signs and watching the hand signs of the teacher. Second graders learn that music sounds live in a music house with 5 floors and 4 windows called a staff. They learn how sounds move within the music house up and down by skip and by step. Students can sing and read known so, mi, & la songs while pointing to the correct floor or window to match the melodic contour. This skill is very tricky and requires a lot of concentration and listening. Second graders enjoy playing King’s Land, Lucy Locket and Bickle Bottle.

Grade 3: Third grade students continue to add songs and games to their repertoire. Many known songs be-come the first songs they play on the recorder. Learning to play the recorder is an exciting challenge for third graders. This is a chance for the students to put their rhythmic, melodic and reading skills into practice in a new way. Third graders learn more staff notation with meter, bar lines, double bar lines, measures, and repeat signs. To play the recorder, students must learn to hold the instrument properly, to cover the holes with correct finger position, and to control their breath. Playing the recorder requires a lot of practice, coordination and listening but it is well worth the effort.

Grade 4 and Grade 5: Fourth and Fifth graders are able to learn to play a band instrument. For many students, learning to play the recorder leads to playing a band instrument. During weekly music classes, students sing songs and improve their music literacy skills: reading and writing music notation. During chorus, they learn to sing many songs. They learn to sing in unison, in rounds, and in multiple parts. They expand their melodic rep-ertoire beyond so, mi & la songs to include mi, re and do. Grade 4 favorites include: Old Woman, How Many Miles to Babylon and Oh Said the Blackbird. Grade 5 favorites include Who Killed Cocky Robin, Hill and Gully Rider, Swing Low, and My Paddle.

A FOCUS ON THE ARTS…. MUSIC EDUCATION

Prep for Success!

As classroom teachers have been preparing stu-dents throughout their lessons on test taking

skills and strategies, there is also support that

is being offered beyond the school day. Stu-

dents in in grades three, four, and five will be

participating in the Prep for Success program.

Similar to our ELA Prep program, students will work before and after school twice a week.

This program will begin next week! Please con-

sider having your child participate in this great

opportunity!

BUILDING OUR KIDS SUCCESS (BOKS) PROGRAM AT ATHERTON HOUGH

Please mark your calendar. Our third, fourth, and fifth graders

will be taking the Mathematics portion of the MCAS next month.

Our fifth graders will also be taking the Science/

Technology and Engineering portion. More infor-

mation to follow on specific dates, however, the test-

ing window is from May 5 through May 20. Please

plan accordingly. Thank you!

BOKS helps prepare the children for a day of learning and is an important step in help-

ing children gain an appreciation of the benefits of exercise and healthy choices that

can last a lifetime. BOKS was inspired by Dr. John Ratey, of Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Ratey stated that “exercise is the single most powerful tool that we have to opti-

mize the function of our brains.” Sessions are filled with team oriented games, relays,

strength movements, health, and provide plenty of opportunity for play since the pro-

gram is based on and focuses on FUN! Check out the www.bokskids.org website for

more information.

Thanks to parent, John Toler, for taking the initiative on this great program for our

students. The BOKS Spring Session will start on Tuesday, April 8th and run for

through early June . The sessions are approximately 30-40 minutes long and will run on Tuesday & Thursday mornings

starting promptly at 7:00am (check-in will start at 6:45am). The school has received a partial grant so the program is of-

fered at no charge BUT we ask that if you sign up your child, you must commit to make every effort to attend each and eve-

ry session as individual & group metrics will be charted and progress quotas need to be documented to receive the grant.

There will be a cap of 50 students for the program. Once we receive your registration, there will be some additional paper-

work (not a lot) to complete during the course of the program and most BOKS communication will be primarily through

email or handouts. Mr. John Toler will serve as the Lead Instructor overseeing the program with Mr. Chris Murtagh, our

Physical Education teacher, as the Physical Activities Instructor and Mrs. McLaughlin, school nurse, serving as our Health

Activities Instructor.

BOKS is designed to involve the whole community and family and we need parent volunteers to help run the program. Vol-

unteers can cheer for the kids, participate in activities, help with attendance, help with set up/break down of stations, and

help monitor the kids. We will need 3-4 volunteers per session to help optimize our program so please consider it. We

hope that you will share our enthusiasm for this program and you will, in turn, hopefully see a positive impact on your

children. If you have any additional questions or interested in volunteering, please contact me or John Toler via email at:

MCAS UPDATES AND MORE….

ATHERTON HOUGH STUDENTS AND FAMILIES IN THE SPOTLIGHT!

MA Safe Routes to School held their 7th Annual Safe Routes to School Forum at the Sheraton in Fram-ingham on March 4th. William Palmer, Office of Transportation and Planning, MassDOT, presented the awards to this year’s recipients. A very big congratulations goes to Atherton Hough’s parents, Merideth and Jeff Earnest, for being named OUT-STANDING CHAMPIONS. As you know, the Ear-nest family has been instrumental in our partner-ship with Safe Routes to School and getting Walk-ing Wednesdays up and running!

Last spring, they brought up SRTS at a monthly PTO meeting after participating in Quincy’s bike rodeo. From there, we worked in the community and with Erin Reed, our SRTS rep, to plan the route locations, advertise and inform residents of our initiative. We are ready to begin Walking Wednesdays again full speed! More information will be sent out this week reminding students and families what line he/she will be walking. If you are will-ing to help, choose a Wednesday(s) that works for you and your schedule and let us know we can count on you! Please either contact me at school or you may also call Jeff Earnest at (617) 750-7809.

First grader Liliana Catrambone has just completed an amaz-

ing project. She wanted to raise money to be able to give

"scholarships" out to Atherton Hough students who wanted

to do Quincy Track Club and give extra money to our PE pro-

gram for track equipment (relay batons, practice hurdles) She

has raised $780 between bake sales and by selling t-shirts.

Five Atherton Hough students will be able to receive a vouch-

er for their track membership this year thanks to Lilli’s gener-

ous act. Her website is www.booster.com/lillisactivekids.

Lilli, you are a wonderful example of how one person, with

one small, great idea can make a BIG difference!

Fourth grader, Paige Tompkins, was re-

cently recognized as a Kiwanis Junior Hero.

Surrounded by her family, Paige accepted

this wonderful recognition for her generous

spirit and thoughtful donation to Cradles to

Crayons during our holiday drive in De-

cember. Pictured below is Paige and her

mother at the reception held at Quincy

High School. You’re amazing, Paige!

Four Atherton Hough students are part of Quincy High School’s drama performance

of “Bye-Bye Birdie”. Second graders Megan and Kate Lyons, third grader Cady Kelly and fourth grader Lilly Hanley have been working hard to be part of the show.

“Bye Bye Birdie” show times are this Friday 4/4 at 7:30 pm, Saturday 4/5 at

2:00 and 7:30 pm, and Sunday 4/6 at 2:00 pm! Looking forward to seeing you, girls!

Great job!

We celebrated Read

Across America all

throughout the

month of March!

We wore green,

wore our pajamas,

wore crazy hats and

crazy socks and cele-

brated Wacky

Wednesday!

Each class paired up with another class in the school for “reading buddies” throughout the

month. We also kept track of our reading at home by posting our fish throughout the school

as well as welcomed some guest readers.

School Committee member, Noel

DiBona, reads to second graders.

Superintendent DeCristofaro

reads to kindergarteners.

SCHOOL MEALS

Our computer based sys-

tem for meals is off and

running! Remember that

your child can still pay cash

daily for breakfast or lunch

but we are encouraging you

to prepay money into your

child’s account, if you’re

able. Prepaid accounts al-

low you the option to de-

posit money in your child's

account in any amount at

any time and not have to be

concerned with giving your

child the exact change eve-

ry morning. Prepayment

allows for better security

rather than cash and

moves lunch lines quicker

which gives students more

time to enjoy their meal.

You can also pay by check;

checks must be made paya-

ble to QPS, Food Service

Department. Your child’s

full name and ID (pin)

number must be included

on the face of the check or

on the envelope containing

cash. Questions, please

contact the Food Service

Office at 617-984-8768.

GREAT SCHOOL CITIZENS

Kindergarten— Nevan Arguedas-McClay, Samantha Cappadona,

Calvin Fenelus, Kendyl Nolan, Maya Shea, and Daniel Tatem

First Grade— Thomas Plonowski, Erick Romanholi, Coleman

Quigley, Meghan Troy, and Princeton Watson-Cannon

Second Grade - Jake Daru, Jaythan Figueroa, Kate Lyons and

Trevor Mangino

Third Grade— Cameron Griffin, Grace McDonald, Anthony Pac-

cioretti, Robbie Pitts, and Cheyenne Spiller

Fourth Grade— Jania Astacio, Robert Cannon, Marissa Maher,

Nathan McCann, and Brian Silcox

Fifth Grade— Daniel Artinian, Carolyn Beato,

Marlana Davis, Brooke Deady, David Dennis,

Bryson Dunbar, Jesse Gruchy and Paris Vestal.

Each month the Atherton Hough

teachers and staff focus on a differ-

ent character trait school wide.

Courage was our theme for March.

Taking a chance to read aloud in

class, coming up to the board to

show his or her work, sticking up

for a friend, or having the courage

to believe in oneself are just a few

examples of being courageous at

school.

At our school wide assembly last

Friday, members of our Student

Council performed skits of real

school examples of showing courage

and standing up for what is right!

Students were recognized from each

classroom that exemplified courage

at our assembly as well.

Our school wide assemblies will be

held on the last Friday of each

month at 8:00 a.m. You are more

than welcome to attend these as-

semblies if you are available.

The following students were

recognized for displaying traits of

courage for the month of March:

PLEASE CHECK US OUT ONLINE!

Check out the PTO website

www.athertonhoughpto.s5.com for important in-

formation, events meeting agendas, minutes, etc.

Check out the QPS website www.quincypublicschools.com. Follow the link under “schools” to Atherton Hough Elementary School. There you will find links to the monthly calendar, monthly family newsletter, as well as any other im-portant documents and information.

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