A bi-weekly newsletter from Principal Janet Cash and Associate Principal Kate Liptak featuring photos, stories, and updates from the Chelsea and Tunbridge schools.

Follow us on Facebook for daily photos, updates, and announcements. 

ROAD to Success

First Branch continues on the ROAD to success. This month we have focused on the “O” in our ROAD; Open-Minded. At our Town Hall gathering in early January, students were asked to think of ways to show open-mindedness and were challenged to thaw and untangle a frozen t-shirt. They didn’t know the challenge when they were asked to volunteer to show that they were open-minded about trying new things.  

At our Town Hall celebration on January 20th, students were acknowledged for being ROAD ready. The following students were celebrated:

Elementary School News

Elementary SEL/Counseling: Heather Bertrand

I would like to take a moment and wish all First Branch families a Happy New Year. I cannot believe four months are already behind us. We have definitely been busy. First Branch students have been working hard the past few months and recently read “The Kindness Snowflake”. Please ask your child about this and who they choose to give a “kindness snowflake” to. 

We have also just wrapped up our bullying unit and are moving onto emotions. Our K-4 classes will be working with the Zones of Regulation. Zones of Regulation is a framework that helps students develop an awareness of their feelings, energy and alertness levels while also exploring a variety of tools and strategies for regulation, prosocial skills, self-care, and overall wellness. There are four zones, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Red. Each has its own unique emotional characteristic. In addition, students will also have access to regulation stations. Regulation stations will be introduced after the break and will include fidgets, breathing break cards, and so on. These stations will be located in your child's classrooms, specials, intervention services, and other related areas. Please note, however, that these stations are not meant to be used as a punishment and are not a place to send kiddos when they’re in trouble. Instead these stations are a tool for students to manage their zones. 

The past four months have been amazing and cannot wait to see what the rest of the school year will bring.

Elementary Pathways: Eliza Minnucci

First through fourth grade go out for Flexible Pathways Forest School sessions on Thursdays and Fridays. In first grade we’ve been working sorting a “tree cookie” number line and jumping next to it to create number sentences before heading out for exploration time. Groups of first graders have begun engineering some intricate forts, and complex pretend play games have evolved that take place among the forts. There is also lots of sliding down slippery slopes, as I’m sure you’ve seen evidence of on their snow-pants. First graders also have a meteorologist record the temperature data each week - our graph is getting pretty impressive, and the students are zeroing in on the temperature clues around us, for example, is the snow packable? . 

Second grade has recently spent Forest School time comparing and measuring lengths, most recently finding foot-length things amongst the trees. On frozen days we’ll split time between ice-skating and the forest classroom, where we also collect temperature data weekly. Second graders keep a Forest School journal, which combines illustration and writing back in the classroom each week.

In third grade we continue to learn verses to our Country Kid song that we sing to open each Forest School session. Your third grader might especially remember the line: “Hurrah! for the life of a country kid!” Mrs Morse’s class spent the fall doing memorable literacy work such as the Adverb Obstacle Course and reading Robert Frost’s “O hushed October morning mild…” on a mild October morning. Now both third grade classes are going out with more of a math focus and worked to put together a number line of fractions as January got underway. Favorite play scenarios find crews settling and protecting territory or running large games of hide and seek. 

Kaitlyn Morse ¾ ELA

This year, our third grade classes have been going outside one day a week for an extended morning meeting with their homeroom teacher and Eliza Minnucci. We always start with a song to bring us together and then greet one another. The past two weeks, we have been focusing on adverbs. Students work in pairs to read a word like “lazily” or “awkwardly” and then come up with a movement they can do in that manner. From there, students create an obstacle course and practice each of the movements their classmates generated. We are so grateful to Eliza, our wonderful pathways teacher, for getting our students outside and moving in the mornings!

Maegan Winters ¾ Science, Social Studies & Writing

The 3rd and 4th grade have been learning about Native Americans this month. They are close to finishing their first formal writing project, which is a one-page essay on the Iroquois. Beginning in December, we will introduce cursive, which the students are very excited about. Cursive is a great skill to learn! We will also be starting our first science unit in December, which will focus on habitats and ecosystems.

Megan Cavanaugh, K-4 Math Intervention

Our math students have been hard at work in their small groups. We meet together in a group of 3-5 students for about 30 minutes a day playing math games, reviewing work from class, and strengthening our math skills. Groups have been working on a variety of math topics such as addition strategies, multiplication strategies, and counting skills. We meet them where they are at, and let their learning guide our intervention practice. Groups last for six weeks, at which point we review learning and data with classroom teachers to see the great gains students are making. We have so much fun with our math games together!

Middle School News 

Middle School Pathways: Katie Rumrill

This year in the Flexible Pathways classes we are working hard to build awareness of the world outside of school and working to build skills and interests for each student. Some of the things we’ve covered in class are: 

7th and 8th grade Pathways classes began by working on skill identification and did some small projects in and around the school. Your student has also been learning about budgeting and some personal money management skills. Student’s did also take a look at themselves as digital citizens. They took a look at their time online and the influence that social media and time online had on them and their interpersonal relationships. Student’s in the 7th and 8th grade classes are currently looking at different careers and education paths, as well as practicing interview skills.

In ⅚ Pathways students have worked to identify different places in their community mapping out the towns of Chelsea and Tunbridge. They have identified different skills and educational needs for different career paths. 5th and 6th grade classes have worked on communication skills, identifying the thoughts and feelings of their friends and using non verbal communication skills. Currently these students are working on a nutrition and cooking unit.

Advisories

Our middle school runs an advisory system where multi-aged groups of students meet each day to participate in morning announcements, daily check-ins and review expectations and upcoming events.  Advisories start the day with focused community engagement lessons designed to foster community in and out of the classroom.  Students keep the same advisory for the four years that they are in middle school and each have their own flavor for learning.

Mr. Franske and Ms. Cavanaugh’s Advisory:

The Wild Advisory are: supportive, starfish savers, door decorators, epic, couch masters, awesome, greeters, scavenger hunters, weird, ninjas, coat of arms makers, funny, dinosaurs, different, messy (so many locker clean outs), wahs, sporty, poison dart frogs, energetic, collagers, and friends!  We are home to the legendary frozen T-shirt winner.  We can greet you in over ten languages!  Huzzah!

Mrs. Colby and Mrs. Allen’s Advisory:  

The door decorations for the holidays were made out of recycled materials.  The cardboard box was colored in during advisory time.  Students put their messages on their starfish after watching the starfish story https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SlH0cg2xy0 and how they could make a difference with one small gesture. 

Ms. Em and Ms. Katie’s Advisory:

This advisory is always up for a challenge! They show up to all school contests ready to go, whether it be door decorating or a food drive, they are always ready to help and contribute to school and the community. Some of their favorite games are couch, poison dart frogs, four corners, puzzles, and “Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza”! 

Ms. Holbrook and Ms. Dee’s Advisory:

What is our Advisory Like?

Here are ways our students would describe Tess’s and Dee’s advisory.

“It’s mostly quiet, more quiet than other classes?”

“We like to play Mafia and other games. We’re always late.”

“We play Mafia and listen to the teachers.”

“Mafia, Deadly Run. All of us are always late. Tired, want to go to bed. Cliques. Wanting to change advisory.”

“My advisory is cool because we get to play Mafia and cool games. We also get to draw, read, and quietly talk. The last thing is that we have good advisory teachers.”

“ I like reading”

“Always late to things sometimes.”

“Our advisory is very versatile. There are some people that are outgoing, and there are some who would rather sit quietly. I think it is pretty well-balanced, though. It is a nice advisory to be in and we get through the morning really smoothly. I wonder what other advisories are like, but I am content with this one.”

“Our group of students have grown close to each other through the greetings and games we play.”

“Students are allowed to be themselves and it’s ok to be quiet or not"

“We are pretty chill. We also like to have fun!”

“Our advisory plays a lot of Mafia. We always do the greeting.”

Thank you for reading the First Branch Newsletter!