Invasive Species

Here we are reading about and discussing invasive species. We learned about what happened when five different species arrived, survived, and thrived in an environment that wasn't their original home habitat. Our reading took us from New England, to the Great Lakes, to the deserts of the western United States, and even as far away as Australia (Who ever knew a camel could be an invasive species!).

SBAC Testing

A reminder to families that our class will begin taking the SBAC tests next week. We are planning on testing Monday and Tuesday next week and Tuesday and Thursday the following week. Fridays will be make up days. Most of these days will be double sessions with testing in both the morning and the afternoon. The students are allowed to bring sugarless gum or mints on the testing days.  Each student will need a pair of earbuds. I have some here at school, however they are not as comfortable as some others out there.
This is a lot of testing!  Please try to make sure your child get a lot of sleep in the next week few weeks. A good breakfast can also be very helpful to fuel them through the morning!
There will be no homework on testing days.

Grab-It Gauge in Math

Last week in math we tested our reaction time with a 'grab-it' gauge. We collected the data, plotted it, and then found out that our class's average reaction time is 0.17 second. That's pretty quick! We then talked about why this information could be important to know. In which professions does reaction time matter? Great math conversations!

More Starbase Pictures

CMS Learning Symposium

Thank you to Colchester Middle School for inviting us to come to their Learning Symposium.  We loved checking out all the cool projects that the CMS students have been working on for months. What a great way for us to get really excited about all we have to look forward to next year!

Unit 6 Math Test

The Unit 6 math test will be given on Wednesday. The following skills will be assessed:

• Multiply and divide decimals by powers of 10
• Convert between measurement units in the metric system
• Represent fractional data on line plots
• Answer questions about data on line plots
• Estimate answers to decimal multiplication and division problems
• Multiply dicimals
• Divide decimals.

Starbase!

Our first visit to Starbase was a huge success! The students began the day in the computer lab designing their own space station parts using CAD. The afternoon was spent designing a safety restraint for an egg on a crash course for a moon that orbits Mars. They even had to stay within budget while creating their prototype. Of course, each prototype was tested! We can't wait to go back next week!