Fletcher Maynard Academy Gazette FMA Visits India —Principal Harris In keeping with the Fletcher Maynard Academy tradition of international travel open to all students, friends, and faculty we travelled to Mumbai, FMA April Happenings Goa and Delhi in India during February vacation week in 2016. Meeting FMA parents Jonathan and Ulka Anjaria, who are on sabbatical in Mumbai • Friday, April 8 - Leadership Team Meeting, with their twins, 3rd grade boys, Rahaan and Naseem at the airport was a 8:30am treat. The third-graders who travelled with us were thrilled to be back in the company of the Anjaria boys. • Saturday, April 9 - Qualls Academy, 9am-12pm • Wednesday, April 13 - Parent/Teacher Mumbai has some very old buildings, and also many modern buildings Conferences along the shoreline. During our time in Mumbai we learned the word “slum” doesn’t always have a negative connotation. We visited the • Mon-Fri, April 18-22 - School Vacation Dharavi slum, which is one of the largest slums in the world. Dharavi has • Monday, April 25, PTO Meeting, 8:15 an active informal economy and community that exports goods such as • Tues-Thur, April 26-28, PARCC Assessment leather, pottery, and textiles all over the world. The people of Dharavi, a multi-religious, multi-ethnic diverse settlement, have pride in being part of Testing, Grades 3-5 generations that have lived there. A little like the pride of the “Area 4/ Port” residents of Cambridge. After three wonderful and hectic days in Mumbai, we had three relaxing days at the shore in Goa, and another three days in New Delhi and Old Delhi. continued on pg. 2 Don’t Forget! 2pm Dismissal Every Wednesday Fletcher Maynard Academy FMA Visits India Ctd. India has two leaders, a Prime Minister and a President. While visiting New Delhi we had the opportunity to visit the residence of President Rashtrapati Nilayam. We even got a glimpse of the FMA March Students of the Month president from afar. During our tour, he returned home at the same time we were visiting his home library. What a delight! Room Student Our visit to India gave us a first hand opportunity to delve into the 212 Javier Gonzalez wide range of religious communities. We visited temples, shrines, and 301 Jadah Depina churches linked to Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Christianity. We also got to experience a Sikh, soup kitchen. 303 Leah Berhanu 304 Michael Burke Among other events, we visited Mahi Bhavan, the house where Mahatma Ghandi stayed when he lived in Mumbai, and learned all 305 Roodjina Lorena about his life and history at the museum. Gandhi was the primary 306 Brandon Moran leader of Indiaís independence movement and like Martin Luther 307 Raul Cruz King, Jr organized a non-violent civil disobedience movement that helped to influence the world. 310 Kaylah Andre 311 Giovani Perez One of the highlights of the trip (although there were many) was a trip Music Joshua Rodriguez to the Sahakari Spice Farm, where we learned about the variety of spices grown in India. We now know a bit more about: cardamom, Art Zevian Pina pepper, turmeric and cinnamon. While at the farm we rode elephants Technology Wasika Taufiq and were able to help give them refreshing baths in the river! Library Nick Robles By all accounts from students, parents, and community members that traveled with the school, the trip to India was fantastic! Next year we Boston Celtics Tickets! —FMA PTO are off to Spain. Join the FMA PTO for a night at Fenway as the Red Sox take on the Blue Jays Next Friday, April 15 @ 7:10pm Tickets: $20 each; 3 for $50; 4 for $65. Contact Shani at [email protected] Fletcher Maynard Academy Second Grade Open Mic—Ms. Sullivan On March 23rd, students in Second Grade gathered in Room 307 to read their poetry out loud to an eager audience of parents, teachers, and peers. The well-attended Poetry Open Mic was a culmination of the second grade poetry unit, in which second graders learned to apply many poetry techniques to their own poems. During the event, each student read his or her poem aloud (with a MICROPHONE!) while it was projected behind them with a correlating illustration composed by the poet. Students in Rooms 307 and 310 showed their understanding of similes and metaphors by using it in their poetry to compare unlike objects and people. They also learned how to use personification to give nonhuman things human qualities, as well as how to create rhythm and rhyme in their poems. Students loved experimenting with onomatopoeia in poetry and learned how to revise their poetry by creating purposeful line breaks. Room 310 students even tried writing odes to people, animals, or things that were very important to them! These poetry skills have already carried over into student personal narrative writing as scholars become more descriptive with their newly acquired figurative language. The Poetry Open Mic was a great chance for students to read their own work aloud with expression - they did a fantastic job! Thanks to all who attended! Flower Shop! Ms. Kempton The Preschool Scholars in room 104 have opened up a Flower Shop! They are busy playing the roles of “florist” and “customer.” As a florist they are responsible for working the cash register (everyone’s favorite job), spraying the plants with water, wrapping up the flowers, arranging flower vases and taking care of their customers. The customers are busy getting dressed up for shopping, talking on their phones, taking “selfies” and purchasing flowers with dollar bills and “debit cards.” They are working their fine motor skills, math, language, literacy, dramatic play, social skills and more! Please stop by and shop if you have a free moment between 9:40-10:30 everyday. Fletcher Maynard Academy Meet the FMA Maker Lab! —Mr. McGonegal Tucked into the northwest corner of the FMA's lower level, we have an exciting new space where FMA Students and Teachers come to discover, create, code and connect! The new FMA MakerLab contains 25 iMac computers, a Brightlink Interactive Whiteboard, and enough work tables and floor space to make it a dynamic place for meeting, making, and learning! Ms. Lincoln and the Art Club have nearly finished their inspiring murals which will motivate and inspire our students in the years to come! Here are just some of the ways the dynamic new space is being used: • Mr McGonegal's weekly classes for grades 2-5: These classes cover subjects such as robotics, coding, keyboarding, digital literacy, productivity tools, media production (co-taught by Ms. Aishah, our Library Media Specialist) and more! • Mr. Hebard's Robotics Club and the "Innovators for a Purpose" program: The "IFP" program brings together a student community of "creative doers" that apply STEAM skills to actively seek solutions to problems in the community. Check out their • website and blog to learn more about their awesome work: http://innovatorsforpurpose.org • JK-1 and other "Drop-in" use: With guidance and assistance from our Instructional Technology Specialist, teachers grades JK-1 bring their scholars down often for skills-building software and other tech-infused lessons. • Community Schools and Afterschool: These FMA programs make wonderful use of the space during the late afternoon hours, allowing time for tech-infused homework, and using various educational web sites to leverage classroom learning. • Building-wide and District-wide professional development: Meetings and trainings have been working wonderfully in this dynamic space! The FMA recently hosted two 10-hour courses for Cambridge teachers on integrating Interactive Whiteboards into their teaching, and more and more building-based professional development is happening here all the time. We'll be hosting a special event in June where the community can come learn more about the FMA MakerLab and how they can extend their students' learning through the summer months using our web-based resources. Watch this space for more information about this event! In the meantime, you can find more info about our web-based resources here: More info on those here: https://goo.gl/Vj1jI Greek Revival Scavenger Hunt— Ms. Lincoln Attention all students and families! If you spot a Greek Revival house in Cambridge or Boston you can win a prize! Here's what you do if you spot a Greek Revival house: IT’S SIMPLE! Write on a piece of paper: • Your Name • Street and street number of Greek Revival house (Please do not share the address with other students) Give to Ms. Lincoln, Allow for 24 hour authentication period, Collect 1 piece of candy for every house you find!!! The contest runs for the entire month of April P.S. there are hundreds of Greek Revival houses in our community. And that's a lot of prizes! Fletcher Maynard Academy More From India —Ms. Coulson Bhuleshwar Market, Mumbai Bhuleshwar is a busy market area in the historic Hindu part of the city. There were lanes full of small shops selling everything from food, flowers, to jewelry and fabric. Even the cows were enjoying a day at the market! Taj Mahal, Agra The photos do not do justice to our experience, especially at the Taj Mahal, It is breathtaking in real life. There is so much detail in the building’s design. Each of those flowers you see was hand carved in the marble. Also, colored gems had to cut and shaped to fit in each of those inlays. No wonder it took 20 years to build! Cavalossim, Goa We made our way up and down the Sal River on a private boat tour. We saw local fisherman out working, wildlife and the beautiful countryside.