SCHOOL NEWS 

Chatham School Notes 

Chatham Elementary School

            “Cold air temperatures and unseasonably warm water temperatures led to the stranding of 30 sea turtles,” said Amy Ferreira, a teacher and naturalist at the Massachusetts Audubon Society Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.  She recently visited second grade students to discuss how sea turtles can often become stranded on the shores of Cape Cod Bay from late October to January. The majority of the turtles are Kemp’s Ridley turtles, but loggerhead turtles have also been found. Her lesson began with an introduction to the various species of sea turtles, and a story about their life cycle and journey. Afterward, armed with a large floor map of Cape Cod and Cape Cod Bay, she went on to explain how the direction of the wind influences where these cold-stunned turtles are blown ashore. Ms. Ferreira concluded her lesson with four things to do if you spot a stranded sea turtle: move the turtle above the high tide line; cover it with dry seaweed or eelgrass to protect the animal from the wind; mark the spot with brightly-colored beach debris; call the Cape Cod Sea Turtle Stranding Network at 508-349-2615

            The children at Chatham Elementary School are proud to announce that they raised $396.46 for UNICEF with the “Trick or Treat” program. 

Chatham Middle School

We are Using Our Noodles at CMS to Moodle!

            Chatham Middle Students are exchanging ideas, customs, and questions in new meaningful ways with other students across the globe.  Ann Morgan, the technology integration teacher at the middle school, has made arrangements for her seventh and eighth grade students to share with peers in the Netherlands through a secure password-protected on-line learning environment called Moodle. She created this special environment as part of her globalization project.

            The Netherlands students are English as a second language learners and are taking an optional extra English lesson for one year to earn a Cambridge Certificate. They range in age from 12 to 14 and live about 40 minutes south of Amsterdam.  The goal for the Netherlands teacher is to give additional meaningful practice for her students to read and write English, while Mrs. Morgan’s goal is to help students learn how to use the latest technologies, improve their technology communication skills, as well as to learn about a different school community and culture. 

            Both teachers collaborated on setting up the E-Pal Moodle by providing maps, pictures, resource links, and videos of their communities.  The Chatham students introduced themselves by producing videos, or audio MP3s, while the students in the Netherlands introduced themselves via blogs.  Both teachers create focused forums for the students.  These 69 e-pals are able to go on-line 24/7 and converse with their e-pals effortlessly while being monitored by their teachers. 

            So what are they talking about? One Netherland students wrote, “I really have no idea what's different between food in Boston and here.  I think it's the same as in the Netherlands. Although I would like to try an American donut, we got them in the Netherlands too, but I think the donuts in America will taste so much better.” Jan Jaap wrote, “I hope we'll be e-pals too! And, yes I know, games are fun! Even when you are bad at it! And I'm very glad finally someone who talk to me, thanks!”  Frans writes, “I live in Giessen Oudekerk, that’s a small village 15 away from Ghorinchem and 30 min. away from Rotterdam. I go to school with my bicycle it’s  45 mins. cycling.” Our Chatham students have had lots of questions as well, for example there has been a lots of sharing about holiday traditions.  Brooke asked, “What is your Halloween like? Do you go trick or treating? Do you have parties? How do you celebrate Halloween? Do you guys even have Halloween?”  Makayla wanted to know, “Do you have Christmas and Sinterklaas or do you only have one of them?”  There are discussions about global warming, animal welfare, gaming, bands, books, and almost anything you can think a young person this age would care about.  The more they correspond the more they discover about each other and their cultures.

            In a focused forum discussion about Moodle, Savannah wrote, “Moodle has very interesting and fun tools to use. My two favorites are the chat and the wikis. I like that chat the most because you can talk to people all over the Moodle, even kids from the Netherlands! I also like wikis because you can learn more about places where your fellow Moodlers are! I think Moodle is very interesting!”  Students cannot seem to get enough of the Moodle technologies such as blogs, wikis, chats, messaging, and focused forums. The e-Pal Moodle has given these students an opportunity to participate safely in what they want to do most with computers, social networking.  Both teachers are amazed at the high level of involvement of all of the students.  The teachers are finding that their students are participating in this on-line environment most often before school begins, after school hours, as well as on weekends and vacation periods.  

            These online Moodle experiences have empowered and inspired students as well as their teachers. This project has taken on a life of its own and continues to grow beyond expectations. Down the block or around the globe this cyber e-pal Moodle project is generating great excitement about learning as it continues to build 21st century digital literacy and learning skills for the students at the Chatham Middle School. 

Chatham High School

            Once again, the Chatham High School was the recipient of a generous grant from the Chatham Cultural Council.  As part of the CPS district-wide goals to think globally while encouraging students to experience multi-cultural vents, the CCC sponsored Motoko, an award-winning storyteller who visited CHS on Dec. 2.  Motoko is a Parents’ Choice Award winner who enchants audiences of every age with her weaving of ancient lore, original tales, lyrical movement, and traditional music.  Her repertoire includes Asian folktales, Zen Tales, comical tales from rakugo, a traditional Japanese storytelling, and personal stories from her childhood growing up in Japan.  Motoko appeared with the late Mr. Fred Rogers (Neighborhood fame).  She was chosen for the 2008 National Storytelling Conference and is the 2007 National Parenting Publications Award Honors Winner, one of the most prestigious awards in children’s learning and entertainment.  As part of the design of the CCC grant, Motoko taught the art of writing personal essays for college applications in Mrs. Elaine Aschettino’s junior honors class, as a master storyteller Motoko taught Lisa Doyle’s creative writing class how to re-write classic fairy-tales, and enlightened students’ knowledge of Asian folktales in  Mrs. Aschettino’s sophomore college prep class.

            The entire student body enjoyed an inspiring performance! Motoko began the school-wide assembly by asking the CHS student body a question: “Have you always done what your parents asked of you?”  Motoko then told a Chinese folktale about a boy and a girl who lived on top of a mountain, who spent much time together, and who wanted to wed against their parents’ wishes.  Motoko taught the students a short sing-song ditty that echoed the communication between the boy and girl who left the mountain to wed, violating their parents’ directives and trust. With animated imagery, Motoko described with her hands how many years later, this family was made whole once again.

            Motoko’s personal narrative focused on her own son’s first experience with bullying and prejudice at his seventh grade soccer camp.  “Don’t internalize the hurt you feel,” she advised the CHS students who have felt the pains of verbal abuse.  And with a comical ending, “sometimes, it’s expensive to fight racism,” a punch line to her son’s request for showy new video games from his uncle in Japan, Motoko continued the theme that parents of teenagers worry, “it’s their number one job.”

            Motoko’s mime of calling her sleepy teenage son to the dinner table while cleaning up his messy room was truly an uproarious centerpiece of the ancient art of storytelling and mime.  The student body became completely immersed in Motoko’s performance.  Another highly entertaining Asian cultural experience was enjoyed by students, faculty, parents and Jane Moffett who represented the Chatham Cultural Council.

            French Language News.  This week we highlight the accomplishments of our French level II class.  It is primarily a class of freshmen, with a couple of sophomores and our independent study junior, Alicia Handel!  The class has been working on a number of skills after a very intensive “refresher course” of level I.  In particular, they are tackling past narration: le passé composé and l’imparfait.  With these two verb tenses, our students can now express what they did last weekend, last year, or when they were “tout petit,” all in the target language, of course.  As a synthesizing project, designed to take their learning out of the text and put it to use, students collaborated on writing fairy tales.  Now perhaps this sounds simple, but they first had to learn a little about the genre, and the language used, and in order to write a proper Conte de Fée, had to show mastery of the verb tenses they have been studying: le passé-composé and l’imparfait.  For fun, and to practice their presentation skills, our students dressed in character and performed their Conte de Fée.  C’était très amusant!

            Jane Moffett, an art historian with degrees from Smith, Tufts, and Northwestern University, a veteran teacher, world traveler, and archaeological enthusiast gave an excellent slide lecture on the ancient Roman city of Pompeii to the Latin II and Latin IV classes in the high school.  She set up two slide projectors in order to compare side by side photos of the excavations with artists’ renditions and computer generated reconstructions of various buildings, temples, homes, and public spaces. She taught students about the contrast between the  post and lintel method of construction versus the use of vaults and arches, the details of fashion in the first century C.E., as well as the differences between and the influences of the four styles of Pompeian wall painting on later art. 

            Mrs. Olive Bogue, grandmother of CHS students Forrest and Brian Bogue, visited culinary arts class this week.  Mrs. Bogue was the home economics teacher at CHS in 1963 when the new high school building was first opened.  Besides preparing conga bars for Dr. Aucoin's culinary class to taste, Mrs. Bogue surprised many of the students with her stories of teaching "Living on Your Own," chef's class and home economics to many of their parents and even grandparents!  Of particular interest was Mrs. Bogue's description of the mock weddings of two students who would win through a lottery a chance to be married in front of the whole student body, regale in a wedding reception complete with wedding cake and punch, and then have to budget, pretend to have a baby, find a home, actually grocery shop, prepare family menus, etc., all on a teacher's salary from the time.  Several staff members remembered these fun times and learning experiences.  What a treat to have Mrs. Bogue teach culinary class once more at Chatham High School! And the conga bars were delicious!

            News update from the class of 2011!  First, we want to thank all our parents who have signed up to help us fund raise!  We couldn’t do it without your help!  Class advisors Kerri Robinson and Leslie Travis are very excited about the growing class spirit and team work among the sophomore class members.  Any and all parents are welcome to join our efforts, especially during basketball season!  Please fill out the volunteer form sent home last week and/or email Kerri or Leslie at krobinson@chatham.k12.ma.us or ltravis@chatham.k12.ma.us.  On the academic front, our sophomores are holding their own. They are supportive of each other’s learning and a number of teachers report how kind and respectful they are to each other and staff (great job, parents!)  Remember, they will be gearing up for MCAS (a number are all ready).  Our students will be taking the biology MCAS this year in addition to the Math and ELA MCAS exams.  More on MCAS at a future date.  Again, thank you, parents!  Happy holidays!

12/25/06