ELA News at CTMS
CTMS Events!
Understanding that being compassionate doesn’t always come naturally, we have started the Art of Compassion Project here at CTMS. Given the growing complexities of the world we live in and the need for our students to expand their understanding of diversity, the Art of Compassion Project is designed to help them nurture an authentic appreciation of diversity both here at CTMS and in our greater community as well.
A small, but very enthusiastic group of students, have been meeting regularly afterschool on Tuesdays to design and make jewelry. What just seems like making jewelry on the surface has become an opportunity to collaborate with fellow students that they previously did not know. Learning to give and accept critical feedback about their designs has become an integral component of their learning experience. Team work has become essential, reminding us all that when we work together everyone can win.
For this year’s project, the student’s will be learning about the people of Haiti and the role they can play in helping to continue Britney Gengel’s dream of building an orphanage to help the children of Haiti. They will support the Gengel family’s mission of “continuing the compassion” in order to help the people of Haiti by selling their jewelry at their gallery opening, “Compassion for All Seasons” here at CTMS on June 6th from 6:30 to 8:00 in the library. Everyone is welcome!!
ELA
Miss Sullivan’s 8th grade ELA class is rounding the final corner of the short story unit of study. Now it is their turn to create a fully developed protagonist that will be met with multiple conflicts. Each student has been working diligently on their own short story and will be participating in a short story contest where their stories will be read by the teachers on the 7/8 spilt team. The winner will receive a Writer’s Notebook and a $10 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble. There will also be an Advisory period where the winner will be able to share their short story with their classmates. Stay tuned for the results!
Science
Central Tree sixth blue science students are going down under…under the surface of the Earth. While some students are working on informative flip books of Earth’s layers, those approved for the enrichment project are working independently or in small groups to develop 2D or 3D models to the correct scale. For this interdisciplinary project, students are researching the depth and diameter of each layer, and then applying the ratio skills they learned in math class to develop a scale factor for their model. Now that the math is complete, the construction and originality are under way! The completed products will soon be on display in the CTMS library for classmates and staff to view.
Jen Schmohl's Advisory class is participating in a Turtles of Massachusetts Project with support from Mass Audubon at Wachusett Meadows and the Rutland Cultural Arts Council. The students will learn to identify the different species of native turtles and how to report threatened or endangered species to Massachusetts Fish and Wildlife or to Mass Audubon. Along with the instruction, each student will receive a Fish and Wildlife postcard that tells them how they can be a part of citizen science and help our local turtles. Students will use the certified vernal pool map of Rutland to decide the placement of the highway signs. Signs will be placed around town at critical areas for turtles. Rutland DPW has approved the project and have donated signs for students to paint. They will also help us install the signs. Students will also write informational letters to the Board of Selectman, the Conservation Commission, and to the MassHighway Department for street sign installation approval. As you drive in Rutland please keep a lookout for our signs and more importantly, our turtles.