ELLSWORTH ELEMENTARY-MIDDLE SCHOOL 20 Forrest Avenue, Ellsworth, Maine 04605

667-6241

ems.ellsworthschools.org

FALCON NEWS – MARCH, 2015

CALENDAR

District Instrumental Jazz Festival – Wednesday, March 4 – Jazz Band competes at Center Drive

School.

Art Club - Session 3 – Thursday, March 5 – Students from 6A and 6S have Art Club for the next five

Thursdays. The session ends at 3:45.

Activity Night – Friday, March 6 – 4-6PM for grade 5 with a $3 entry fee. 6:30-9PM for grades 6-8

with a $5 entry fee. Refreshments will be on sale. Students from other middle schools may attend.

EHS Open House for 8th Graders – Thursday, March 5, 2015, 6-7:30. Freshman Academy

presentation at 6:45PM

Chess Team to State Competition – Saturday, March 7 at UMO. Over 20 EEMS students will play.

Instrumental Jazz Night at EEMS – Wednesday, March 11, 7PM in the gym. EEMS Jazz Band will

perform. Jazz Bands from EHS, Lamoine, and Hancock will also perform.

End of Trimester 2 – Friday, March 13 is the date that grades close.

St. Patrick’s Day Spirit Day – Tuesday, March 17. Students are encouraged to wear

green. Green hats and green socks are highly encouraged.

PTF’s “Stories and Spaghetti Night” with author Rachelle Burk – Thursday, March

19 - Family event to meet the author and enjoy a family style meal. $4 adults, $2 kids,

$10 per family.

State Instrumental Jazz Festival – Saturday, March 21 at Nokomis HS.

Report Cards Go Home – Monday, March 23, 2015

Registration for EHS – Parents of 8th graders need to call EEMS (667-6241) to set up an appointment

so you and your child can meet with his/her guidance counselor for about 15 minutes. Times and

locations are:

Tuesday, March 24 8:00-2:00 @Ellsworth Elementary Middle School

4:00 – 6:00 @Ellsworth High School

Wednesday, March 25 7:45 – 1:45 @Ellsworth Elementary Middle School

Parent Night on Proficiency Based Learning – Next Steps for EEMS – Wednesday, March 25 at

6:30 in the EEMS library.

State Vocal Jazz Festival – Friday, March 27 in Millinocket

No School – Friday, March 27 is a teacher workshop day.

FROM THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE – Mr. Newett

Proficiency Based Learning to Begin at EEMS – On Wednesday, March 25, EEMS will hold a

parent meeting at 6:30PM in the library to explain how we are beginning our shift to proficiency based

teaching and learning. Our plan is to have each 5th – 8th grade teacher identify selected Common Core

state standards in which students will be expected to demonstrate proficiency between April 1 and the

end of the year. Unlike traditional instruction, where we just simply move on to new skills if some

students don’t “get” a concept, students will continue to work on those weaker skills/concepts until

they are “proficient”. While most teachers will select math standards as the area to begin this shift, the

Unified Arts teachers will be doing the same thing in art, PE, music, and health. Mrs. James and Mrs.

Johnston will be doing this in their 8th grade English-Language Arts classes.

Proficiency based grading and reporting is different than the traditional 0-100% scale, in that it tells the

student and the parent specifically what the student does well and that which needs improvement. This

will be explained at the meeting.

Our purpose in beginning this shift this year is to prepare students and parents for a proficiency-based

teaching and learning system that is required to graduate from high school. We do not want our

students to go to EHS without having experienced this type of system. While this year’s students will

experience several standards being taught/assessed in a proficiency-based model, next year’s EEMS

students can expect the shift to take place over the entire third trimester. Over time, we’ll be able to do

the planning necessary to make the shift over the course of the entire year.

As clearly described at the Ellsworth School Board Meeting on February 10, the Maine DOE returned

the Ellsworth School Department’s plan for proficiency based education with the recommendation that

more time be taken to prepare for the shift at EHS. The timetable established will require EEMS’

current 7th grade students to be the first class required to graduate with a proficiency based diploma.

Both the EHS staff and the school board voted to accept that recommendation. That’s good, because it

allows our teachers, K-12, more time to plan the ways they will teach and assess our students in a

proficiency based system.

SCHOOL NEWS

Winter Carnival Was A Big Success!! – It was too cold for outdoor fun, but there was plenty of it

inside. Students had a wide choice of activities in which to take part. The colorful painted faces and

fancy fingernails were telltale signs of some of the rooms the students visited. The student vs. faculty

ball game was quite competitive and enjoyed by all. Many thanks for all of the coordination work done

by Ms. Small for this event.

Cheerleaders Continue to Shine – At the Doughty Invitational before vacation, both

the JV and Varsity cheering teams captured first place in their divisions.

Congratulations to both teams both teams! Abby Bland and Allison Dorr captured the

Spirit Awards for the jayvees, and Maddie Neale and Maddie Nida captured the Spirit

Awards for the varsity team. Way to go!

At the Ellworth Spirit Invitational on February 21, many area “Little” and “Pee Wee” cheering squads

had the opportunity to compete. The EEMS JV team also competed and finished a strong second to

Hancock. The EEMS varsity team performed a showcase of their routine they are taking to the State

Competition. Thanks to Mrs. Stackpole for organizing the event and to the many parents and

cheerleaders who helped make it run smoothly.

Girls’ Varsity Basketball – Mr. Libby: Mr. Libby would like to thank the parents and the girls for a

wonderful season. While our win-loss record might not indicate success, the improvement of each

player and of the team was remarkable.

Mr. Libby would also like to thank Monique Boutaugh for being a volunteer coach. She helped the

girls so much and she helped make it a successful year.

There will be summer basketball offered this year after school ends. More information will be sent

home near the end of the school year. Preliminary plans look like two sessions a week for July and

August.

Robotics Club – Ms Mattila

All members are building the basic NXT wheeled vehicle. Our next goals will be programming the

vehicles to run, stop, and turn. At the end of the month our sponsors Dave and Sandy Perloff will visit!

Hancock County Food Drive – March is the month for the Hancock County Food

Drive, which has been taking place for several years now. The drive helps fill 11

different pantries in Hancock County from over 100 sites that participate in food

collection. EEMS is one of those sites. If you can spare a can of food or two, it

would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Show Choir – Mr. Stephenson

Despite many snow days, sickness, vacations and other assorted facets of

living in Maine, the EEMS Show Choir is ready to perform Xanadu for

their District competition on Friday, February 27th. Taking place at

Ellsworth High School this year, the competition includes both high school

and middle school show choirs from our local area. Depending on our show choir’s score in our

performance, we will receive an automatic invitation to the state competition (which takes place in

Millinocket on March 27th). The scoring is based on vocals (60%), choreography (20%) and everything

else – set, costumes and show originality (20%). A minimum score of 83 guarantees a trip to states!

Due to the style of our Xanadu music, we have many soloists singing separately and in duets. In

“Suddenly”, Cody Harper and Ben Mazgaj trade solos with Tori Smith and Rachel Barnes. In “All

Over the World”, Seneca Wilbur-Maddocks lifts her voice into the stratosphere (along with a get

rocking line to the Tubes in “Dancin’”). There are many soloists in the song “Have You Ever Been

Mellow”: Rachel Barnes, Bronwyn Beardsley, Lauren Billings, Jaden Cummings, Lillian Frank,

Aurora Haslam, Maddie Henry, Cody Harper, Emily Marcel, Sophia Petros, and Stephanie

Trowbridge. For “Xanadu” (the song), our soloists are Rachael Barnes, Aurora Haslam and Grace

High. They all sound fantastic and will definitely improve our score.

The progress of learning the choreography has been interesting to watch. Our choreographers – Anna

Kreitzer and Ed Vanzura – are awesome teachers: not only do they explain the various movements and

steps, they also demonstrate them (and very convincingly - they both are amazing to watch dance!).

Visual learners feel right at home with them! First they explain the movements for a section of a song,

then dance the steps. After demonstrating the moves a few times, they perform the section with the

performers a number of times. Finally, they watch as the group performs for them (usually while

singing!). Once the whole song has been taught, they run the song a few times. The quality of the

Xanadu choreography attests to the planning, hard work and teaching ability of Anna and Ed.

We hope that the next time you hear from us, we will be preparing for the state competition!

Winter Garden Update - Ms. Neal Growing our garden team!

Spring is around the corner! Are you interested in helping with garden activities for your child's class?

(No green thumb required!) Please contact: Gardens Coordinator, Christa Little-Siebold: 664-0168/

christalittlesiebold@gmail.com or FoodCorps Service Member, Isabel Neal: 667-7171 /

isabel.neal@foodcorps.org

While the ground is covered with snow…we’ve been busy indoors!

• In Mrs. Morse’s and Mrs. Anderson’s classes, we made salads using all six plant parts! (Can you

name the six plant parts?***)

• The chefs of the 8th Grade cooking & gardening club have made delicious creations this winter, from

pumpkin smoothies to potato-corn chowder with sea vegetables! Roll up your sleeves for this favorite

recipe:

Healthy No-Bake Cookies

These make a great snack, with protein from the nuts or seeds, natural sweetness from honey, and fiber

from the oats.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups quick-cook oats

1 ¼ cups sunflower-seed spread OR peanut/other nut butter

½ cup honey

½ cup raisins or other dried fruit in small pieces

pinch salt

shredded coconut, mashed banana, sunflower seeds, shredded carrots…any mix-ins you can think of!

DIRECTIONS

Put it all in a bowl and mix it up!

(This is fun and messy hands-on, or use a spoon if you prefer.)

When the mixture is well combined, scoop spoonfuls onto a tray lined with parchment or wax paper.

For especially pretty cookies, roll them in coconut!

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, then enjoy!

***The six plant parts: roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds!

Grade Level News

Grade 5 News

Mrs. Violette - 5

Math: We will be starting Unit 7, which

includes the following key concepts and skills:

Write numbers in standard and exponential

notation.

[Number and Numeration Goal 4]

Compare numbers written in exponential

notation.

[Number and Numeration Goal 6]

Describe the number patterns inherent to

exponential notation.

[Patterns, Functions, and Algebra Goal 1]

Explore place value using powers of 10.

[Number and Numeration Goal 1]

Write and translate numbers in and between

standard and exponential notation.

[Number and Numeration Goal 4]

Compare exponential notation and standard

notation for positive powers of 10.

[Number and Numeration Goal 4]

Reading: A reminder that students should be

completing “Reader’s Response Logs” and

submitting them for grading

each Friday. Genre sheets

and Reading Log Sheets

should be updated and

students should be working

toward completing at least

their 17th book of the school

year by the end of this

month. After we finish the

historical novel, Number

the Stars by Lois Lowry,

we will be having two literature circle groups

and the two texts we will be delving into are

The Witch of Blackbird Pond and Mr. Popper’s

Penguins. We will be focusing on author’s

craft, extending vocabulary, comprehension,

and fluency.

Science: We will continue with our Human

Body Unit. Students will be learning about the

circulatory, respiratory, and digestive systems

in greater depth. Students will be labeling

diagrams and working with vocabulary to gain

knowledge and better understand each of these

systems.

Ms. Jordan-Carter - 5

Reading: We will be continuing with our

station work focusing on comprehension,

fluency, root words, prefixes and suffixes. At

the end of March we will begin our Colonial

Unit and starting our literature circles based on

the book The Witch of Blackbird Pond.

Math: This month we will be working on Unit

6: Using data: adding and subtracting fractions.

Social Studies: Our focus this month will be on

exploration. Students will be assigned an

“Explorer Project” that will be done here at

school. They will be researching and reporting

on an explorer. This will include presenting

their research to the class. There will be

specific details given out later in March.

***Reminders from 5C:

if you haven’t mastered your 0-12

multiplication facts you need to

study them

3 Book Responses are due by the

end of the 2nd trimester

you must be at least ½ way through

your 20 book requirement

Ms. Jordan – 5

Math: In Unit 3, students will learn to write

expressions and equations. Once students have

mastered this, they will solve and graph

equations and inequalities.

The second diagnostic i-Ready test was taken

the last week in February. This data informs us

of individual progress, as well as any math

domains that need additional attention.

The students are doing great with their timed

tests at 4 minutes. We will soon be moving to 3

minutes and 30 seconds.

Math is our friend!

Science: Students have learned about the heart

and the circulatory system. They will be able

tell you about the 4 chambers of the heart and

the blood flow through those chambers.

We are now studying about the respiratory

system. The students are responsible for

taking notes as we learn new material. They

should review the notes often to stay familiar

with the body systems.

Writing: Students have finished up their

Information Writing piece. Our next genre of

writing will be Opinion.

A Google Doc account was created for each

student; this will make it easier for them to

access his/her saved drafts. As more pieces will

be typed, it is important that they practice this

skill. We will use the Keyboarding Without

Tears program for this.

djordan@ellsworthschools.org

Mrs. Small - 5

Social Studies: Founding of European

Colonies includes haciendas in the Spanish

colonies and Roanoke and Jamestown in the

English colonies. It is amazing to see how

these early colonists survived in these colonies.

Math: UNIT 6 Using Data: Adding and

subtracting fractions

Writing Students are doing a great job

combining researched information on the

history of Ellsworth. Gathering notes and now

drafting lead us into the final steps of creating

an amazing informational piece.

Grade News

Mr. Stackpole - 6

Math: The class will be writing expressions

and equations. We will also be working with

order of operations. The class will be working

with released items from the new MEA test.

They need to get use to the new format.

Social Studies: The class will learn about the

culture, history, and geography of Mexico.

Language Arts: The students are

still working on weekly spelling

and grammar skills. We are also

reading a class novel called Walk

Two Moons.

Miss Pelletier - 6

Language Arts: In language arts we are

reading the class novel, titled Walk Two

Moons by Sharon Creech. We are enjoying

reading about Sal’s road trip with her Gram and

Gramp from Ohio to Idaho. It is both a physical

journey and an emotional journey for Sal.

Throughout the book, students are analyzing

plot, characters, and how the different settings

affect the story. The theme of all of our ELA

units this year is change. We are anxious to see

how Sal changes from the beginning of the

story to the end. This unit culminates with an

expository writing piece.

As always, students continue to practice

grammar, vocabulary, and spelling. Spelling

homework is due every Tuesday, with the quiz

on Wednesdays and the test on Fridays.

Science: In science, we are continuing with our

unit on the parts and functions of the cell. Next,

we will be studying the three common groups

of microbes: protists, bacteria, and viruses. This

unit focuses on the characteristics, transmission

of, and prevention of these microbes. Please ask

your child about the activity involving the

importance of properly washing your hands.

Math: Students have been working in the math

text on the coordinate system and on

multiplying and dividing integers. As a

reminder, your child has access to my

portaportal from home if they have the internet

and can do math practice on the websites I have

set up there. In school they practice IXL math

skills, but they can also do this from home. Any

practice on multiplication facts, whether with

flashcards or online math games, will greatly

enhance your child’s proficiency in math. There

are two such math games on my portaportal:

Free Rice and Rapid Fire Math.

Homeroom News: We

are halfway through the

school year, and some

students should try to replace

some of the supplies they

started the school year with. If

possible, please pick up the

following items: pencils and earbuds.

Mrs. Morse – 6

In science, students will be completing the Cell

Biology and Disease unit. Students will need to

study and prepare for the final exam by

reviewing all “Unit C” materials and the “Unit

C Final Test Study Guide”.

Please ask to see your child's assignment book

nightly. Any assignments are written in your

child’s assignment book and initialed by the

teacher. Assignments will also be posted daily

on the school website ~

ems.ellsworthschools.org ~ Please check it out!

Social Studies: Students

have completed the

Canada Unit and are

currently studying

Mexico. Students will

learn about early

Mexican history and the Aztecs, as well as

current Mexican political divisions and

geography.

Math: Students are currently working through

a unit on geometry. Students are learning about

angle pairs, measuring angles, classifying

polygons, triangle measurements, area and

perimeter of polygons, area and circumference

of circles, convex polygons, and the sum of the

measures of interior angles of convex polygons.

I will continue to offer a study group after

school before each of the embedded

assessments. Many students have joined me

after school for the study group and have

gained confidence in what they are studying.

This gives students an opportunity for small

group instruction. If students feel they need

additional help at any time, please encourage

them to see me during study hall or we can

schedule a time to meet after school.

**Please continue to encourage your child to

work on their multiplication times tables.**

Students have the option to earn up to 12 extra

credit points for their multiplication tests if they

complete additional multiplication worksheets.

Multiplication tests are given every Friday and

the time limit given for the speed test will

continue to decrease making it that much more

important to put extra effort into studying.

Students will have 2:15 to complete 100 facts

on March 6th.

Mrs. Anderson – 6

Mrs. Anderson’s language arts classes have

begun literature circles. They are having a great

time reading and discussing books with their

peers. They meet with their group every

Tuesday and Friday. All literature circle books

go toward their 25-book requirement! Our

next writing unit will focus on argument and

controversy and explore high interest, debatable

topics/issues in our society. They will read

informational and argumentative texts to

analyze the elements of an argument – the

claim, reasoning, and evidence – as well as

learn to cite sources, evaluate language, and

understand the role of visual displays in

expressing information. Please continue to

pretest your student in spelling and vocabulary

before Friday’s tests.

Her math students are solving real-world and

mathematical problems by writing and

evaluating equations in all four operations.

Grade 7 News

Mrs. Stackpole - 7

Science: Ironically, our next unit is on weather

and climate in science. Maybe we can discover

why the weather has been so wacky this year.

Math: In math we are finishing up our unit on

functions and are moving to extensions of

linear concepts where students will learn about

piecewise-devised functions and systems of

linear equations and inequalities. They will

learn to solve systems of equations and

inequalities in a variety of ways.

ELA: We have begun a unit of

Choices and Consequences using the

book Tangerine by Edward Bloor.

Students will continue to work on

grammar and writing skills

throughout the month.

Mr. Libby - 7

Social Studies: We are now in the middle of

our unit on ancient China and learning about

dynasties, Confucius, the Great Wall, and many

other things. When we are done with those

topics, we will have a test over India and

China. After that, it's on to the last large unit of

the year: ancient Greece and Rome!

Math: We are just beginning our unit on

geometry. All students will need a protractor.

I will be glad to sell them one for the sum of

$.25! This will be a long unit full of

vocabulary and new skills. I recommend using

note cards as flashcards to help

learn all the new vocabulary.

Language Arts: We just

finished a marvelous

book called Choosing Up

Sides. In grammar, we

are almost done looking

at the use of commas in

our writing. We will

continue to offer

vocabulary lessons to help build their own

personal vocabulary bank of words. Please

encourage your sons and daughters to keep up

with their outside reading; they should be

reading 30 minutes at night, every night! Sit

down and talk about the book they are reading,

have them read out loud to you, read

to them!

Ms Mattila - 7

ELA: In Unit 3 students will read a class novel,

Tangerine, and learn about literary analysis.

Reading independently will continue, and 30

minutes daily is expected. We will also practice

language and writing skills.

Science: An interesting piece of science news

was reported this week by the BBC; scientists

have discovered that the composition of the

earth's core is different than they had thought.

Ask your seventh grader about this discovery!

They will learn about it by Friday, February 27.

Math: We are finishing up our unit on

proportions and ratios by using them to solve

percent problems. Next up is geometry!

Ms. Higgins – 7

Language arts: Our class has started a new

classroom novel titled Tangerine. This story

takes place in Tangerine County, Florida and

focuses on the relationship between two

brothers. We will be reading in class and for

homework. Lessons will include vocabulary,

writing essays, creating character maps, taking

notes throughout the book, and finding

examples of the relationship between a

character's actions and their consequences.

Math: In math class we will finish our unit on

percent by calculating tax, tip, and/or

commission on products we buy. After

completing the embedded assessment, we will

jump into the next unit on geometry. Students

continue to complete a daily review, Math

Minute, and will have homework up to four

nights a week.

Social studies classes have now traveled to

India. After much map work and a focus on

geography, we will study the ancient culture of

India, its caste system, and the religions of

Hinduism and Buddhism.

Grade 8 News

Mrs. James and Mrs. Johnston - 8

Language Arts: During the

month of March, students will

be working on their

punctuation skills, specifically

commas. We will be

reviewing some comma skills that students

were taught in previous years and students will

be learning about some comma uses

Mrs. Fraser and Mr. Ford - 8

Geometry: During the month of March,

Geometry students will be finishing up Unit 3

where we have

been discussing

Trigonometric

Functions, the

Law of Sines,

and Law of

Cosines. After

Embedded

Assessment 3, students will have a test over all

of Unit 3 including triangle similarity, right

triangles, and trigonometric functions. In Unit

4 students will be investigating parts and

properties of circles.

Course 3 : Students have just begun working

in Unit 2 of the Springboard Course 3 book.

Students are currently learning about slope of

linear equations and writing equations in slope-

intercept form. In this unit, students will also

be solving systems of linear equations

graphically and algebraically. At the

conclusion of Unit 2, we will begin learning

about angle-pair relationships and the

properties of angles in triangles and

quadrilaterals.

Science: Students are currently finishing up

Learning Set 2 in our Energy Module. Students

have been investigating the effects of different

factors on Kinetic, Gravitational Potential, and

Elastic energy. In Learning Set 3, students will

focus their attention on thermal and chemical

energy. As students learn about the different

types of energy, they will continue to refine

their Rube Goldberg cartoon sketches.

Algebra: Students have just begun Unit 3 in

the Springboard text. They are currently

exploring piecewise defined linear functions.

They will expand on their current

understanding of functions, rate of change,

domain and range, and eventually graph and

evaluate piecewise defined functions. In our

next section, students will develop their ability

to write and interpret equations and inequalities

from graphs and tables.

UNIFIED ARTS NEWS

Library News – Mrs. Beekman

And the winner is… The

students in grades 5-8 have

the opportunity to select this

year’s winner of the Maine

Student Book Award. All

the books are available in

the library. Students only

need to read three books by

April 1st to vote. The list

includes fiction, poetry, informational and the

ever popular graphic novels. Encourage your

child to read some of the books and come

celebrate after voting. There is a book list

available in the library, but also at the website:

msba.ueedu.maine.edu.

Have you asked your child about their genre

sheet for language arts? Many of the teachers

ask students to read books of different genre-

whether fiction or nonfiction. With the end of

second semester approaching, your child should

have the sheet almost completed.

Some students may have to read books and take

a Reading Counts test. Ask your child if the

requirements have been met for the second

semester.

You can help your child select a book from the

library by logging on the online catalog at:

destiny.ellsworthschools.org. All students at

EEMS have been instructed how to use this

resource.

Finally, thanks to all

who have been

clipping the Boxtops

for Education

coupons. This is an easy means for the school

to obtain books and other materials.

Enjoy reading inside until the weather improves

outside!!

Health News – Mr. Ormsby

In Health education the 6th grade classrooms

will be discussing emotions, stress, and how

our emotions and stress affect us in our

everyday lives. We will be looking at the

correlation between hormones, stress, and

emotion and how best to handle these as we get

older. In the 7th grade we will be learning about

self-esteem, how to increase self-esteem, what

the factors are that impact a person’s self-

esteem, and what it means to have a positive or

negative self-esteem. In the 8th grade we will be

learning about mental and emotional health. We

will look into mental and emotional disorders

and learning about resources for someone with

a mental and emotional disorder. Please have

some discussions with your student about

health topics at home. Feel free to contact me at

Dormsby@Ellsworthschools.org

Music Newsletter – Ms. Tracy

CLASSROOM MUSIC 4-8

Grade 4 -

Recorder Time.

We are now on

page 11 in our

recorder books.

We will be

starting recorder

“KARATE” soon. Students will be able to earn

various “karate” belts for their recorder work.

Look for more information in the near future.

They will need to have the recorders back in

school for every music class. Vocally, we are

learning to follow longer vocal music and our

focus has been folk songs such as Lil’ ‘ Liza

Jane, Oh Susanna and The Poor Wayfaring

Stranger.

Stephen Foster and Joan Baez are some names

you might be hearing.

Clementine, Home on the Range, This Land is

Your Land are some more folk songs we have

sung.

Grade 5 - We are learning about instrument

makers of Colonial Williamsburg. Did you

know that it took almost 10 months to make 1

violin. WOW. This will lead into the social

studies unit of Colonial America that all of

grade 5 learns in the second half of the school

year.

Grade 6 - Back to the UKULELKE.

Pentatonic Scale review, more note reading,

Introducing the C Major (Diatonic) Scale, some

songs and learning harmony through Chords.

Grade 7 - We are finishing our Music History

Composer Projects with the KEYNOTE

presentations. We have learned many WOW

facts, time periods and their composers,

observed on maps where they were from, heard

their music and seen their images.

We also learned a few things that were

happening in America when these composers

were alive.

Grade 8 - Using the iPad, students are learning

how to create a template in the PAGES app.

We created nine categories of music elements

that we will look at across the ages. Medieval

Music to Contemporary Music will see many

evolved changes. Did you know that the

Medieval “Serpent” instrument evolved into

today’s Tuba?

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC 5-8

Grade 5 Lessons - Ms. Carter’s room has

earned the Beginner Band Award for three

months in a row for being the most prepared

class with their Instrument, Book, Pencil and

SIGNED PRACTICE JOURNAL. Ms. Jordan’s

class had the Best Score Hold Beginner Band

Award for December, holding the best score.

Parents: please initial the practice journal every

week. Ask your child to play for you every

week. You make a positive impact on your

child’s participation.

Grade 5 Band - We are up to page 17 in our

Standard of Excellence Band book and are

learning a new counting system for reading

notation. Ta Ta Ti Ti Ta becomes 1 2 3 + 4.

We are now adding Balloon Book assignments,

songs that we will perform in our JUNE Spring

Concert. TBA

Grade 6,7,8 Band- New music every week -

exciting genres….fun songs….

We continue to work on our swing with “In the

Mood”, we go pop with “Cups and Happy” and

programmatic with “Abington Ridge Overture”

(recreating the wild west) soon the famous

“Billboard March” that has the very cool

double dotted quarter note.

“All about the Bas” is in - FUN, FUN, FUN.

Jazz Band: 41

members strong, the

Jazz band is starting

to swing and rock

the house, with the

festival songs

coming together.

Soloists are

stepping up now, shaping their improvised

solos with chord progression, rhythmic and

melodic awareness of the song they are soloing

in. It is hard enough to play all on your own

but even more challenging to take in all these

musical elements to create a solo that sounds

good. Keep up the great work everyone.

District Festival Information Sheet now

available.

Dates to remember:

March 4 District Instrumental Jazz Festival @

Center Drive School Performance

Time 4:00pm

March 11 Instrumental Jazz Night Hosted @

EEMS 6:00pm includes EMS, EHS

and invited, too are Lamoine and Hancock Jazz

Bands.

March 12 In-School Assembly Jazz Band and

Show Choir perform for the school 8:00 am

March 21 Instrumental State Jazz Festival At

Nokomis High School Performance Times

TBA

Con Spirito -

Mr. McDonald - PE

Snow fun continues with outdoor snow-shoeing

and sliding. Recently we have been forced

inside due to coldest month on record. March

should provide us with some nice days we

hope. Again, students are reminded to come

prepared by dressing in layers, wearing a hat,

wearing mittens or gloves, wearing clothing

that wicks the moisture, and wearing boots.

We offered net games inbetween our outdoor

opportunities. Serving tests went very well, as

students tried especially hard to hit their human

targets.

Badminton is

happening now, with

volleyball starting next

week. Fifth grade is

involved in their

basketball unit where

they are learning

“BEEF” is not just

what you eat. Encourage them to show you

what they have learned.

Ms. Cowen - Art

With the 5th grade art club coming to a close,

we now move onto our first group of 6th grade

art club. Sixth graders who signed up for art

club in the homerooms of Ms. Anderson and

Mr. Stackpole should make sure that their

permission slips are turned in and that they

have rides home beginning on Thursday, March

5th. Remember that art club runs for 5

consecutive weeks from 2:45-3:45 after school.

Other news in the art department includes some

sneaky plans to install some garden art as this

snow melts in the coming months. Also, the

5th graders are working to create Earth Cycle

Mandalas that reflect their understanding of

what Food Corps. representative, Isabel Neal

taught them about plant and planetary cycles

and processes. The 6th graders just finished

making awesome Monster Bookmarks to

celebrate a love of books in anticipation of

March as National Reading Month. Seventh

graders are developing their clay craft by

creating thematic clay wind chimes to

(hopefully) herald the winds of spring! Finally,

the 8th graders are conjuring their musical

genius to construct functional whistles from

clay. They sought inspiration from the art and

culture of Aboriginal Australians and will paint

them to reflect the Aboriginal mythology of the

"Dreamtime Stories" and traditional dot art.

Don't forget that more information and

photographs are always available online at the

EMS Art website:

www.emsartclass.weebly.com Check it out,

and feel free to send me a message anytime

with comments, ideas, etc.