Atherton Hough Family Newsletter
UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER
April 10
School Pictures
April 18
Good Frida y –No School
April 21-April 25
Spring Vacation
April 30
6:30 PTO Meeting
May 2
8:00 School Assembly
SCHOOL CONTACT INFORMATION
Robin Moreira,
Principal
Katie Connolly,
Assistant Principal
Jeanne DeBoer,
Secretary
Debra McLaughlin,
School Nurse
Atherton Hough
Elementary School
1084 Sea Street, Quincy,
MA 02169
Phone: (617) 984-8797
Fax: (617) 984-8653
It was wonderful to have the opportunity to talk with many of you last week while you
were here for your child’s report card conference. The staff and I truly appreciate
your support and partnership as we work to provide the very best for your children,
both academically and socially.
While I can hardly believe it, it will soon be time to begin the process of building class
lists for next year. Teachers and our support team work hard to make sure each
classroom has a balance of different types of learners, personalities, and educational
needs. Each student’s personality, needs and learning style as well as what type of
teacher and classroom structure would suit him or her well are all factors that are
considered. While I certainly know that each of you want the best education possible
for your child, building a class is a concerted effort. If you do feel strongly that your
child work in a certain classroom for the next school year please put your request and
those reasons in a letter to my attention. All requests will be included and considered
in this process, however, will not be a guarantee of placement. We are fortunate to
have such a great partnership between home and school for our students and your
input is valued.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the last day of school is scheduled for Monday,
June 23 for students. It will be an early release day.
Please feel free to call, stop in, or email me at [email protected]
if ever you have a question, comment, concern, etc.
~ Robin Moreira , Principal
Our next PTO meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 30 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the school library. Please join us!!! Babysitting will be available as well as prizes and refreshments!
Bay State Textile Corp is a Massachusetts based recycling company.
Since last spring, they have been working with Quincy and have textile
bins located at each school. Our bin was consistently overflowing, so they gave us two bins! As you
begin to plan your “spring greening” consider one of the bins at our school for your unwanted textiles.
These textiles are recycled into new products so old, worn, ragged, mismatched items are gladly ac-
cepted! They take anything as long as it’s not wet, mildewed, or has hazardous waste. Spread the
word! The two large white textile donation bins are located near the staff parking lot. The recycler
pays the city $100 per ton of donated textiles and the proceeds are shared among the individual school
PTOs. Atherton Hough continues to have one of the highest volumes of recycling! Thanks for your
help! You are helping the environment, the city, and our community school. A win, win for everyone!
PTO NEWS
HAVE YOU STARTED YOUR SPRING “GREENING”?
Our annual Scholastic book fair, recently held, was a big success!! Thanks to your help and sup-port we sold almost $5,000 in books! The “Scholastic points” we made will be used to help restock our library as well as our classroom li-braries!
Do you have an appetizer dish or dessert that you are “famous” for? Please consider submit-ting your food to our first PTO Cookoff Fund-raiser. It will be held at the Houghs Neck Con-gregation Church Hall on Friday, May 9th from 7:30 to 1:00. This adult only fundraiser will be $5 per admission and sampling of small plates. Beer and wine will be available as well as chanc-es to win an amazing sports raffle package! All money raised goes right back to our Atherton
Hough students and teachers! Stay tuned for more information!
The attendance at our PTO meetings this year has been great! We know that you have many commitments and we appreciate your time and support and input! You are the PTO and your voice is important!
At our next PTO meeting we will continue to plan for some upcoming spring events as well as have an opportunity to hear more about the special education programs at Atherton Hough.
Keep clipping those Box Tops!
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Please be sure to check out our Lost and
Found from time to time. As the weath-
er gets warmer, there can be quite a few
jackets and sweatshirts left behind! It’s
also a great help when clothing and
lunchboxes, etc. are labeled!
Thank you!
MARCH MYSTERY NUMBER
WINNERS!
Gwen Bates
Mike Capone
Brendan Cavin
Hailey Concannon
Marlana Davis
Kyle DeBoer
Maggie Fay
Kylee Flemming
Marsha Germain
Upasana Joshi
Isabel Kraimer
Jasmine Li
Marissa Maher
Rebecca Morris
Isabella Pagliarulo
Reese Smith
Katie Stirling
Danielle Toomer
Paris Vestal
Stephen Wright
At our March assembly last week,
second grader, Jasmine Li shared
with the school how she used the
clues to help her determine the
mystery number!
The clues were….
It is greater than 30 and less
than 40.
The ones digit is less than the
tens digit.
.I am not an even number.
Do you know the 2 digit mystery
number?
Each student who explained their
thinking and got the answer re-
ceived a math certificate and a
homework pass!
Congratulations! 3
Curriculum Highlights
The kindergarteners will be working on reading and writing short -o and short -e
words. Their phonics focus will be on the letters x, j, e, h, k and o. They look forward to reading
books and writing about spring and Easter. In Math they will be representing, counting and writ-
ing numbers beyond 20! Kindergarteners will also practice ordering numbers to 20. As spring
approaches, their addition and subtraction skills are blooming!
First graders will study the season of spring and observe and write about spring chang-
es. Students will continue to add words to their classroom word walls and be able to automati-
cally write these words and know them. In math, students will learn how to add and subtract
two-digit numbers without regrouping.
Second graders have had a busy month of March. They have been working on the gen-
re of fantasy, and have been reading many stories in the Journeys reading program that highlight
that genre. The students will be presenting Mystery Book Reports at the beginning of the
month. In math the students will be learning about measurement and using standard and non-
standard ways to measure various objects. In social science, the kids are finishing learning about
the Solar System, and are getting ready to explore Weather.
Third grade students completed the unit on fractions and will soon be working on tell-
ing time and measuring length, liquid volume and mass. Students will also complete the ongoing
"Mad Minute" assessment working on multiplication fact fluency in hopes of becoming multipli-
cation masters. They will focus in on the upcoming math MCAS and begin practicing more
open response and short response questions. As they look ahead in the Journey's curriculum,
students will read both informational texts and historical fiction selections. They will be reading
a series of adventure stories including: "Sarah, Plain and Tall, The Journey, and The Journey of
Oliver K. Woodman." Students will also be studying adverbs and prefixes in grammar. They
will be writing fictional narrative stories.
In Math, fourth grade students will be finishing up the Fraction unit. They will multiply
fractions, compare fractions and decimals. Also, they will begin their understanding of geometry
and identifying geometric terms in various settings. In science the students will continue to work
on the study of energy by focusing on electricity and electric currents. Students will create their
own circuit and identify the similarities and differences of parallel and series circuits. The fourth
graders are also using a new vocabulary strategy to find alternate words to use in their reading
and writing to be more specific and clear. The students are working in groups to learn and prac-
tice this new skill.
Fifth graders are finishing up their work with adding and subtracting fractions. The
students have done very well with learning and applying this new skill. In reading the students
have been focusing on reading Newbury Award winning books and will be presenting their
book reports. The fifth graders are getting prepared to start working on the Living History Mu-
seum next month. In social studies, the students are preparing to present their explorer book
reports.
Submitted by Katie Connolly, Grade 2 Teacher/Assistant Principal
Mrs. Jeanette Grant, our art teacher, works with students in grades kindergarten through grade five.
Students have art every other week. Their artwork is proudly displayed throughout the school.
Here’s a bit about what they are working on in class:
Kindergarteners are learning about colors and what color contrast can do. Blending hot crayon col-
ors together to make leaves of ‘fire’, the leaves were then carefully cut and glued on a dark blue paper
to show them off. For a fancy finish, each student made a pattern all around their leaf using crayon
and cut paper shapes to contrast with the blue background.
First grade continued their people making skills making action in the snow pictures. After reading
Ezra Jack Keats book, The Snowy Day, students thought of their own fun things to do in the snow in
their special clothes, learning how to draw a person with limbs bending to show action. Coloring
skills were stressed. In March, students will be coloring leaf shapes to use in making leaf monster
masks.
Second graders are learning how to draw lizards with 3D legs and bulging eye-
balls. Lizard habitats were discussed to add to their pictures. Students learned
how outlines help in a picture to make parts stand out. Lizards will be colored in
and backgrounds painted.
Third graders are working with color concepts and composition in making leaf shaped pictures influ-
enced by the work of artist, Georgia O’Keeffe. Using oil pastels in dark colors, students composed
and colored abstract leaf designs. Pictures are then painted in opposite colors from the pastels using
watercolors. The artist color wheel acts as a guide. The results create feeling of depth and space just
using color.
Fourth grade is experimenting with complementary colors discovering the effect when they are com-
bined. Students are making paper ‘pop-art’ weavings using complementary colors found on the color
wheel. The results seem to vibrate. Next, fourth grade will move on to printing and later, clay crea-
tures.
Fifth graders have learned about the history of sculpture from classical to mobiles. They have visited
the South Shore Art Center in Cohasset for a great program meeting a working artist, sculptor Susan
Luery, and making their own mobiles. Classes are working on clay containers in unconventional
shapes, learning how to form three dimensional materials. These are painted with acrylics with stu-
dents mixing their own colors from the three primaries and black and white. Rhythm and other de-
sign concepts are used to decorate the containers.
A FOCUS ON THE ARTS… ART EDUCATION
Mrs. Diane Doherty, works with our students in kindergarten through grade five each week in music class. She also has the opportunity to meet with the entire grade 4 and grade 5 team, on alternate weeks, in chorus. We are looking forward to showcasing each grade’s hard work and talent at our Spring Concert which will be held on Friday, June 6th. Here is what they are working on…
Kindergarten: In Kindergarten, the students explore various music concepts which form the foundation for their music education. Students practice keeping a steady beat, singing in tune and comparing high & low, fast/slow and loud/soft. The students sing songs, speak chants and play singing games. They especially enjoy sing-ing and chanting with “magic lips” which means to use inner hearing. They learn to move to the beat, to listen for music cues, to sequence the steps of a game/dance and to listen attentively while another student takes a turn to sing alone. Songs and chants the Kindergarten students know include: Teddy Bear, Snail, Cuckoo, Naughty Kitty Cat, Queen Caroline, and Bluebird.
Grade 1: The students apply their knowledge of steady beat and high & low sounds to learn simple melodic and rhythmic patterns. First grade melodic skills include the ability to sing in tune and to listen to the contour of a song. They learn the music names for high/low sounds in songs: so & mi. They learn to sing so, mi, & la songs with hand signs and to sing from the hand signs of the teacher. First grade rhythmic skills include the ability to tap the beat and the words of known songs and chants. This practice leads to learning to read and write rhyth-mic notation. Singing songs and speaking chants help the students to identify same and different phrases and to recognize form using labels such as ABA. One of their favorite games to play is Come Back Home My Little Chicks. This is a fun call and response game to practice singing independently. They also enjoy playing the partner game I Had a Dog Named Rover, and singing the song We Are Dancing in the Forest.
Grade 2: In second grade, the students continue to build their repertoire of songs, dances and singing games and to practice their rhythmic and melodic skills. The students expand their ability to write rhythms through echo clapping and rhythmic dictation. Students learn to switch on cue between clapping the beat and clapping the rhythm of a song. In second grade, students practice singing and reading many so, mi & la songs. They continue to practice singing with hand signs and watching the hand signs of the teacher. Second graders learn that music sounds live in a music house with 5 floors and 4 windows called a staff. They learn how sounds move within the music house up and down by skip and by step. Students can sing and read known so, mi, & la songs while pointing to the correct floor or window to match the melodic contour. This skill is very tricky and requires a lot of concentration and listening. Second graders enjoy playing King’s Land, Lucy Locket and Bickle Bottle.
Grade 3: Third grade students continue to add songs and games to their repertoire. Many known songs be-come the first songs they play on the recorder. Learning to play the recorder is an exciting challenge for third graders. This is a chance for the students to put their rhythmic, melodic and reading skills into practice in a new way. Third graders learn more staff notation with meter, bar lines, double bar lines, measures, and repeat signs. To play the recorder, students must learn to hold the instrument properly, to cover the holes with correct finger position, and to control their breath. Playing the recorder requires a lot of practice, coordination and listening but it is well worth the effort.
Grade 4 and Grade 5: Fourth and Fifth graders are able to learn to play a band instrument. For many students, learning to play the recorder leads to playing a band instrument. During weekly music classes, students sing songs and improve their music literacy skills: reading and writing music notation. During chorus, they learn to sing many songs. They learn to sing in unison, in rounds, and in multiple parts. They expand their melodic rep-ertoire beyond so, mi & la songs to include mi, re and do. Grade 4 favorites include: Old Woman, How Many Miles to Babylon and Oh Said the Blackbird. Grade 5 favorites include Who Killed Cocky Robin, Hill and Gully Rider, Swing Low, and My Paddle.
A FOCUS ON THE ARTS…. MUSIC EDUCATION
Prep for Success!
As classroom teachers have been preparing stu-dents throughout their lessons on test taking
skills and strategies, there is also support that
is being offered beyond the school day. Stu-
dents in in grades three, four, and five will be
participating in the Prep for Success program.
Similar to our ELA Prep program, students will work before and after school twice a week.
This program will begin next week! Please con-
sider having your child participate in this great
opportunity!
BUILDING OUR KIDS SUCCESS (BOKS) PROGRAM AT ATHERTON HOUGH
Please mark your calendar. Our third, fourth, and fifth graders
will be taking the Mathematics portion of the MCAS next month.
Our fifth graders will also be taking the Science/
Technology and Engineering portion. More infor-
mation to follow on specific dates, however, the test-
ing window is from May 5 through May 20. Please
plan accordingly. Thank you!
BOKS helps prepare the children for a day of learning and is an important step in help-
ing children gain an appreciation of the benefits of exercise and healthy choices that
can last a lifetime. BOKS was inspired by Dr. John Ratey, of Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Ratey stated that “exercise is the single most powerful tool that we have to opti-
mize the function of our brains.” Sessions are filled with team oriented games, relays,
strength movements, health, and provide plenty of opportunity for play since the pro-
gram is based on and focuses on FUN! Check out the www.bokskids.org website for
more information.
Thanks to parent, John Toler, for taking the initiative on this great program for our
students. The BOKS Spring Session will start on Tuesday, April 8th and run for
through early June . The sessions are approximately 30-40 minutes long and will run on Tuesday & Thursday mornings
starting promptly at 7:00am (check-in will start at 6:45am). The school has received a partial grant so the program is of-
fered at no charge BUT we ask that if you sign up your child, you must commit to make every effort to attend each and eve-
ry session as individual & group metrics will be charted and progress quotas need to be documented to receive the grant.
There will be a cap of 50 students for the program. Once we receive your registration, there will be some additional paper-
work (not a lot) to complete during the course of the program and most BOKS communication will be primarily through
email or handouts. Mr. John Toler will serve as the Lead Instructor overseeing the program with Mr. Chris Murtagh, our
Physical Education teacher, as the Physical Activities Instructor and Mrs. McLaughlin, school nurse, serving as our Health
Activities Instructor.
BOKS is designed to involve the whole community and family and we need parent volunteers to help run the program. Vol-
unteers can cheer for the kids, participate in activities, help with attendance, help with set up/break down of stations, and
help monitor the kids. We will need 3-4 volunteers per session to help optimize our program so please consider it. We
hope that you will share our enthusiasm for this program and you will, in turn, hopefully see a positive impact on your
children. If you have any additional questions or interested in volunteering, please contact me or John Toler via email at:
MCAS UPDATES AND MORE….
ATHERTON HOUGH STUDENTS AND FAMILIES IN THE SPOTLIGHT!
MA Safe Routes to School held their 7th Annual Safe Routes to School Forum at the Sheraton in Fram-ingham on March 4th. William Palmer, Office of Transportation and Planning, MassDOT, presented the awards to this year’s recipients. A very big congratulations goes to Atherton Hough’s parents, Merideth and Jeff Earnest, for being named OUT-STANDING CHAMPIONS. As you know, the Ear-nest family has been instrumental in our partner-ship with Safe Routes to School and getting Walk-ing Wednesdays up and running!
Last spring, they brought up SRTS at a monthly PTO meeting after participating in Quincy’s bike rodeo. From there, we worked in the community and with Erin Reed, our SRTS rep, to plan the route locations, advertise and inform residents of our initiative. We are ready to begin Walking Wednesdays again full speed! More information will be sent out this week reminding students and families what line he/she will be walking. If you are will-ing to help, choose a Wednesday(s) that works for you and your schedule and let us know we can count on you! Please either contact me at school or you may also call Jeff Earnest at (617) 750-7809.
First grader Liliana Catrambone has just completed an amaz-
ing project. She wanted to raise money to be able to give
"scholarships" out to Atherton Hough students who wanted
to do Quincy Track Club and give extra money to our PE pro-
gram for track equipment (relay batons, practice hurdles) She
has raised $780 between bake sales and by selling t-shirts.
Five Atherton Hough students will be able to receive a vouch-
er for their track membership this year thanks to Lilli’s gener-
ous act. Her website is www.booster.com/lillisactivekids.
Lilli, you are a wonderful example of how one person, with
one small, great idea can make a BIG difference!
Fourth grader, Paige Tompkins, was re-
cently recognized as a Kiwanis Junior Hero.
Surrounded by her family, Paige accepted
this wonderful recognition for her generous
spirit and thoughtful donation to Cradles to
Crayons during our holiday drive in De-
cember. Pictured below is Paige and her
mother at the reception held at Quincy
High School. You’re amazing, Paige!
Four Atherton Hough students are part of Quincy High School’s drama performance
of “Bye-Bye Birdie”. Second graders Megan and Kate Lyons, third grader Cady Kelly and fourth grader Lilly Hanley have been working hard to be part of the show.
“Bye Bye Birdie” show times are this Friday 4/4 at 7:30 pm, Saturday 4/5 at
2:00 and 7:30 pm, and Sunday 4/6 at 2:00 pm! Looking forward to seeing you, girls!
Great job!
We celebrated Read
Across America all
throughout the
month of March!
We wore green,
wore our pajamas,
wore crazy hats and
crazy socks and cele-
brated Wacky
Wednesday!
Each class paired up with another class in the school for “reading buddies” throughout the
month. We also kept track of our reading at home by posting our fish throughout the school
as well as welcomed some guest readers.
School Committee member, Noel
DiBona, reads to second graders.
Superintendent DeCristofaro
reads to kindergarteners.
SCHOOL MEALS
Our computer based sys-
tem for meals is off and
running! Remember that
your child can still pay cash
daily for breakfast or lunch
but we are encouraging you
to prepay money into your
child’s account, if you’re
able. Prepaid accounts al-
low you the option to de-
posit money in your child's
account in any amount at
any time and not have to be
concerned with giving your
child the exact change eve-
ry morning. Prepayment
allows for better security
rather than cash and
moves lunch lines quicker
which gives students more
time to enjoy their meal.
You can also pay by check;
checks must be made paya-
ble to QPS, Food Service
Department. Your child’s
full name and ID (pin)
number must be included
on the face of the check or
on the envelope containing
cash. Questions, please
contact the Food Service
Office at 617-984-8768.
GREAT SCHOOL CITIZENS
Kindergarten— Nevan Arguedas-McClay, Samantha Cappadona,
Calvin Fenelus, Kendyl Nolan, Maya Shea, and Daniel Tatem
First Grade— Thomas Plonowski, Erick Romanholi, Coleman
Quigley, Meghan Troy, and Princeton Watson-Cannon
Second Grade - Jake Daru, Jaythan Figueroa, Kate Lyons and
Trevor Mangino
Third Grade— Cameron Griffin, Grace McDonald, Anthony Pac-
cioretti, Robbie Pitts, and Cheyenne Spiller
Fourth Grade— Jania Astacio, Robert Cannon, Marissa Maher,
Nathan McCann, and Brian Silcox
Fifth Grade— Daniel Artinian, Carolyn Beato,
Marlana Davis, Brooke Deady, David Dennis,
Bryson Dunbar, Jesse Gruchy and Paris Vestal.
Each month the Atherton Hough
teachers and staff focus on a differ-
ent character trait school wide.
Courage was our theme for March.
Taking a chance to read aloud in
class, coming up to the board to
show his or her work, sticking up
for a friend, or having the courage
to believe in oneself are just a few
examples of being courageous at
school.
At our school wide assembly last
Friday, members of our Student
Council performed skits of real
school examples of showing courage
and standing up for what is right!
Students were recognized from each
classroom that exemplified courage
at our assembly as well.
Our school wide assemblies will be
held on the last Friday of each
month at 8:00 a.m. You are more
than welcome to attend these as-
semblies if you are available.
The following students were
recognized for displaying traits of
courage for the month of March:
PLEASE CHECK US OUT ONLINE!
Check out the PTO website
www.athertonhoughpto.s5.com for important in-
formation, events meeting agendas, minutes, etc.
Check out the QPS website www.quincypublicschools.com. Follow the link under “schools” to Atherton Hough Elementary School. There you will find links to the monthly calendar, monthly family newsletter, as well as any other im-portant documents and information.
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