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St. Mary of the Assumption School9th Annual Newsletter

July 2013Founded 1899

Pre-School through Grade 8

As we continue to build our community, we delight

in shar ing news about the li fe of the school, our

students, parents and teachers.

67 Harvard Street, Brookline, MA 02445 |617.566.7184| www.stmarys-brookline.org

Preschoolers explore the behavior of tide

pool animals during a visit from the New

England Aquarium.

At the Biogen

Idec Community

Lab eighth

graders conduct

an experiment to

learn about the

connection

between proteins

and DNA.

A third gradercaptures a facet of

park design while on

a field study at

Fredrick Olmstead

National Historic

Site.

Fifth grade teammates get a jump on

summer during annual Field Day

contests at Lars Anderson Park.

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My thanks to first grade teacher Meghan Drielak, for our

Spirit's graphic artwork and layout, to office support from

Gloria Reyes and Jobe Lujares, and to Huong Corsini's

art students for their interpretations of Giles Laroche's

book, "If You Lived Here." ~ MJ

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July 15, 2013

Dear Friends,

In an interlude between snowstorms this past winter, one of our fourth graders brought a prized

possession to school. Captivated by the artifact, a 1950's manual typewriter, classmates clamored to

see it function. The vintage machine quickly became a platform for animated discussion as students

wondered about the role of its ribbon vibrator and speculated about the carriage return. They also

puzzled over its application for word processing.

The "fast forward" nature of the typewriter story offers insight into the way that technology has

transformed the workplace and highlights the significance for understanding how children in

classrooms learn. A toddler's fascination and ability to manipulate a personal device and the wayfourth graders explore an unknown entity both illuminate the power of motivation, the ability to

organize thoughts, to think creatively and to make connections. It adds new dimensions to the art of

teaching by guiding students to make thoughtful choices from a myriad of rich digital content, while

helping them to recognize bias and to understand propaganda.

The distance between the tap of a typewriter key and the sweeping gesture of an interactive white

board or iPad represents decades of ingenuity, innovation and drive. It challenges us to optimize

new resources to make learning relevant.

Our St. Mary community is blessed with inspired pastoral leadership, a dedicated faculty and staff

and committed parents. With one foot firmly rooted in its history of cherished Catholic values and

identity, the other is poised on the starting line of an era of new growth and new principal

leadership. In our shared vision we look forward to preparing students not only for college

readiness but also for a future of satisfying, meaningful work while they seek opportunities to have

a positive impact in the lives of others. That's the St. Mary spirit.

With warm wishes for a joyful new school year,

Maureen JutrasPrincipal

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Building a roller

coaster involves

finding the best way to

capture kinetic energy.

One way to gauge the success of a classroom lesson is the

ease with which students can talk about their learning. In

Stephanie Pietel's eighth grade science class, conversationsbecame animated when a project like building a model wind

turbine drew on the connections between science, technology,

engineering and math, or STEM practices. Since the key to

increasing power and productivity is related to blade design,

teams of students set about creating interchangeable parts

while testing and recording data about the effectiveness of

their blades' length, shape , pitch, angle and weight.

Throughout the process, eighth graders compared notes,

adjusted calculations and observed one another's progress as

they worked through various stages of measuring wind speed.

To see how STEM learning emerges, visit a St. Mary

preschool classroom during center time. In the block corner

young engineers and architects are easy to spot by the clatter

of materials and the chatter of collaborative activity. It's

through this interaction of block play that children use their

natural curiosity and trial and error approaches to figure how

to manage a stability problem or discover the dramatic impact

of gravity.

At the annual Curriculum

Breakfast parents got to help

construct multi dimensional

geometric shapes.

A variety of construction

materials contribute to the

towering accomplishments

of Amy Creamer's K1

students

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Seismologist Stacy Moulis uses a

shake table to test the durability of

fourth graders' construction.

STEM learning comes together in a school wide approach

when students explore earth science through the Boston

College Educational Seismology Project. Working withseismologist Stacy Moulis, students take a virtual tour to the

earth's core and discover the role of plate tectonics and their

relationship to earthquakes. Activities across grade levels

encourage collaboration when students in lower grades build a

volcano, use hand lens to identify rock samples and conduct an

egg experiment to gather data about the earth's interior. In

intermediate grades students tap into their engineering skills to

design models of earthquake resistant buildings then test their

stability on a vibrating shake table. The action in upper grades

challenges students who work in pairs to use math skills forcalculating the method of triangulation, a way of estimating the

epicenter of an earthquake. By middle school the level of

enthusiasm may be more contained than the spontaneity of a

preschool classroom, but a STEM lesson offers inquiry, critical

thinking and the opportunity to work through problems while

working cooperatively to experience the excitement of new

leaning.

It's a team

effort to

design a

model for an

earth-quake

resistant

building.

Investigating physical

science through small

scale construction

can be a balancing

act.

Point of View: With the completion of one phase of the school's technology plan, the

installation of SMART boards in K2-grade 8 classrooms, teachers reflect on the impact

of these instructional tools.

While the use of the SMART Board has not changed my philosophy, it has changed my

approach to teaching and it has changed the involvement of student learning. I feel as

though I am reaching a broader spectrum of learners. ~M iss Eri n Kelly

The interactive nature of the board is a great learning tool. The board presents many

large visuals and this has been particularly helpful in math. It is easy to bring up

geometric shapes, lines and angles, protractors. We can also scan the Everyday Mathpage and put it into a slide so that you can work through problems with the children.

~M rs. Renee Carchedi

Having a SMART Board in the classroom is an incredible experience for both teachers

and students. It allows me to take my students places ordinary whiteboards can't.

Together we can take a virtual field trip to see how colored pencils are made, or view a

farm to table story of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Students can manipulate the

solar system on the nasa.gov kids web page to see how to promote the formation of an

Earthlike planet or they can dance along with their favorite book characters in the

Elephant and Piggie Dance game on pigeonpresents.com.

~M iss Meghan Dr ielak

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Third graders designed compact renditions to

represent the diversity in earth's six major

biomes.

Location... Location!

This spring, first and third graders' intrigue with

animal life became the focus for learning aboutearth's biological make up as they explored the

question, "How does a habitat differ from a biome?"

A joint field trip to the Museum of Science led Miss

Drielaks first grade class to discover the many

ways animals adapt to life in different habitats.

Their research resulted in creative constructions that

illuminated the dramatic differences between

aquatic, desert, forest, grassland, rainforest and

tundra habitats. The scope widened for Mrs. Gray's

third graders as they carried their research beyondthe physical characteristics of the six biomes to

develop travel brochures that offered descriptions of

the vegetative and physical environments for animal

life by contrasting geographical biomes such as a

coniferous forest with a rainforest.

First graders draw on their teachers

bountiful collection of recycled

materials to choose details for their

habitat settings.

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For this project, we built our dream home. We had to

know how to find the area to make our rooms. The

bigger the area, the bigger the room.-Isabel D.

Drawing Board

Tapping into the creative exuberance of second

graders comes naturally to teacher Erin Kelly.

Her "Architects at Work" unit illustrates the

point:

Drawing on her students' initial grasp of area

and perimeter and their developing skills inusing tools of measurement, she challenged the

class to imagine, then design a "Dream House."

The specifications of the task were laid out:

Working in pairs the budding architects were

asked to make a blueprint using square inch grid

paper and common requirements for each room;

an allowance for a spare space left room for

creative input. With an initial sketch down,

students went to town with their master plans,

measuring each room and labeling in squareinches as a community of newly proposed

structures began to emerge.

"Our house has a magic bathroom, a riding

stable and a spa for animals. We made the

rooms by counting out the square inch boxes."

~Sophia and Camille.

"I dreamed of the master bedroom on

the left hand side of the living room

and the master bath room south of the

master bedroom." - Jacob

"Miss Kelly had us make a blueprintof a house made out of square units.

The bedroom had to be 15 inches

squared. - Steven

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Road Trips: While classroom technology offers a powerful

mechanism for research, an onsite field study provides another

perspective to deepen and enrich student learning. Plans for anexpedition begin with an essential question that's linked to

ongoing curriculum. In the 2012-13 school year, a quest for

primary source information and firsthand experiences brought St.

Mary students as far south as the New Bedford Whaling Museum

and Plimoth Plantation, to the north for programs at the Tsongas

Industrial Historical Center. In between, PK- 8th grade students

took full advantage of the educational resources that our

metropolitan area offers.

An annual fall pilgrimage to Drumlin Farm sets the stage forpreschoolers to explore animal behavior, first in a domestic

setting and later in the year at Franklin Park Zoo as they observe

"Signs of Spring" and the lives of animals in captivity. By

kindergarten, students add a layer of inquiry to their zoo visit by

participating in a special program to explore the question, What

Do Living Things Need? The learning spirals as first and third

graders set out to investigate their research question, "How Does

a Habitat Differ from a Biome?" through a study of animal

adaptations at the Museum of Science.

Guided by teachers and parent chaperons these "road trips"

present multiple ways for students to explore fields of interest and

make multidisciplinary connections through reflecting and writing

about their findings.A guided exploration of the

Frederick Olmsted

headquarters presents an

opportunity to observe how

each design element plays a

role in the creation of park

design.

Capturing the variety of

ground cover in the Rock

Garden.

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At the Tsongas Industrial Historical Center students

wondered what it was like to work on a mill assembly

line:

The purpose of the field trip was to learn about child

labor and the Industrial Revolution. A fact that

students learned about Lowell Mills was the weave

room was very loud. The students also learned that the

Merrimack river was once very dirty." ~Nathaniel

Students learned that workers on the mills barely had

any money left after paying for rent and food. They

also learned it was very unsafe to work in the mills.

~Sofia S.

"Students learned that the Industrial Revolution made

a big change in the US. They also learned that child

labor was very wrong. ~Nate

How do you Compare? Fourth grade travels took

students to the Arboretum to examine how plants are

classified and to the Harvard Natural History Museum to

compare the differences between rocks and minerals.

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"During our field trip to the Merrimack River, I

learned how much available fresh water is in theworld. Only about 1% of the water in the world is

usable and available to us. However, water is not

evenly spread. Some places have abundant water,

while some places have none. This shocked me when

I heard it. ~Jairam R.

River Study: Sixth and seventh gradersexplored the Merrimack River watershed as an

extension of their studies in ecology. During

their day trip to Tsongas Industrial Historical

Center, they analyzed water samples, observed

how pollination affects groundwater and

learned about the ecosystem of a waterfront

park.

"I know what topsoil, subsoil and bed rock look like. In

my experiment we were testing the effects of roads and

sand .Sand affects water by making it murky and

undrinkable" ~Kobi, grade 7

"There were a lot of steps to making the geo-cup.

Our assignment was about the toxin copper.

Copper is the type of metal that can affect the

water greatly. If copper is in the water it can give

people low blood pressure. ~McKenzie, Grade 7

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I do approach my

instruction differently as a

result of the new

technology. My lessons are

more student centered, as Ican have the students show

their thinking at the board,

using tools such as

coordinate plane, dot

paper, protractors, and

other tools in the "Math"

selection. The kids love to

use the board, and are

more eager to participate.

~M rs. Susanne Heidt

While participating in a professional

development science program with

Wheelock College Faculty, early

childhood teachers

observe the deliberate behavior of

garden snails.

Middle school math teacher Susanne Heidt's professional career defies the maxim about

the distance between two points; the path for this California native to her classroom in

Brookline suggests a learning curve as colorful as it is circuitous.

In high school Susanne was drawn to home economics and then considered working in

healthcare. Later, she took a battery of vocational tests to gain insight into a potential

career and began to consider several options while working in a different field. It wasn't

until further on in adult life when choosing math courses to fulfill undergraduate

requirements that her destiny became apparent. Susanne had always leaned towards

mathematics as a favorite subject and cites the fun she had as scorekeeper for her son's

football team. "Pacing the sidelines with my clipboard was my dream job," she recalls,

"I totaled yards gained and lost and prided myself on having an instant total when the

boys checked their personal stats." The experience was one of many that prepared her

for the classroom. "I can still add positive and negative integers faster than anyone I

know," she chuckles.

It was a peer tutoring position in her university math department that confirmed thedirection towards teaching. Susanne remembers how she "loved helping my classmates"

and that, "the less they got it, the more I loved working with them." This enthusiasm has

inspired middle school students from the Los Angeles area where Susanne first taught

and later served as a math coach in Central Valley, to her St. Mary's classroom where

she now teaches sixth grade homeroom subjects and math to sixth, seventh and eighth

graders.

Susanne's expectation that everyone can do math builds confidence and motivates

students to take risks. "We can hold the bar high for our stronger students" she says,

"without losing our struggling students in the process." In the classroom this belief

translates into an environment where the give and take of discussion leads to multiple

perspectives for solving problems and a variety of teaching approaches drawing, forexample, from both traditional and Singapore math to teach spatial relationships.

Always on the lookout for appealing ways to make math relevant, Susanne teaches the

concept of pi through an interactive March celebration and is currently developing a new

unit on personal finances, a must she thinks, for a generation of children raised in a

credit card culture.

For the St. Mary middle school students who routinely make a beeline to Mrs. Heidt's

door for after school help or to take on a rigorous mathematical challenge, the path is a

straight line, well traveled.

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Sixth graders await their turn at Backpack Awareness

Day when occupational therapy undergraduates from

Boston University presented a skit about the proper

weight and carrying of school bags, then conducted a back

pack "weigh in" for each class.

After a semester of recorder lessons, second

graders prepare for their debut performance

at the annual Spring Band Concert.

Catholic School Week

activities bring out the

creative genius of seventhgraders as they model

entries for the "Hat Day"

parade.

Parents relish theopportunity to join in the

fun as a crowd of students

and families gather for an

evening of games, contests

and dancing during St.

Mary's 20th Annual

Halloween Party.

Preschool friends celebrate

Chinese New Year with a

calligraphy lesson.

Pastor Brian Clary extends

a warm welcome to special

visitors during the school'sBlessing of Animals. In

celebration of St. Francis

of Assisi, students brought

along a variety of family

pets to commemorate the

saint's special role in

caring for all God's

creatures.

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Veteran Halloween Party chair Chris

Rocket got an assist with decorations

from parent Vali Tam.

St. Mary's Annual Family Night Dinner brought

our community together for a delightful meal

catered by James's Gate restaurant.

Entertainment provided by the school chorus and

a slide show compiled by teacher Meghan Drielak

added to the highlights.

A fifth grader drives for the basket during a St

Mary's weekend basketball game.

Parents Azheny

Zdeb and DebAsbrand

fashioned hand

tied bows for the

Holiday Faire

greenery table.

Catching the Spirit:

Behind the success of every organization lies a

dedicated community of supporters; St. Marysowes its vitality to the generosity and dedication

of its parents. We are blessed by the selfless and

spirited contributions of volunteers who lend

their talent and gifts in classrooms and as they

orchestrate community wide events throughout

the school year.

Homemade sushi

and hand crafted

origami drew an

appreciative

crowd at the

annual Holiday

Faire.

Traditi ons that

celebrate and suppor t

our school community:

The Blessing of Animals

Halloween Party

Thanksgiving Liturgy

Holiday Faire

Christmas Concert

Curriculum Breakfast

Catholic Schools WeekFamily Night Dinner

Spring Book Fair

School Walk-A-Thon

School Band Concert

Spring Sing

Spring Operetta

Field Day

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Turning Christmas Upside Down:

Students used the Advent Season tofocus on the needs of others. A

drive to purchase backpacks and

supplies for school children in Haiti

took place in the weeks leading up

to Christmas. Upon their return

from holiday break, St. Mary

students gathered to celebrate the

Epiphany with prayer and then

formed assembly lines to pack the

gift bags with notebooks pens,

markers and other school

necessities.

Coins for Cures: St. Mary's

spring Penny Race to benefit

Children's Hospital was

organized by the fourth gradeclass. Sixth graders took on

the after school responsibility

for counting 35,000 pennies,

silver coins, dollar bills. With

a sprinkling of currency from

China, France, India and

Ireland, the benefit raised

$1,259.21 for medical

research.

BAA Colors: Following the Marathon Day tragedy, our St.

Mary School community came together for prayer and

discussion as we began to process the events of April 15th. As

a way of using positive actions, each class considered the role

our "neighbors" as they designed cards and wrote thank you

notes to the medical community and first responders. An ever

popular "jean day," featuring BAA colors, raised funds for

The One Fund Boston initiative.

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Food Day: With an invitation from theBrookline Health Department, students

participated in Food Day, a town wide

initiative to promote eating healthy local

food. Following demonstrations of

container gardening, students "dug in" by

planting garlic and flower bulbs.

An Eighth Grade Tradition,

students organized donations and

filled gift boxes for the St. Mary of

the Assumption Parish

Thanksgiving Food Drive.

This year students in Lauren Denizard's eighth grade used their

studies in religion, art and social studies to consider the

question, "How does one person impact a community?"

Drawing on discussions of the novel Seedfolks and the lens of

Facing History and Ourselves, they explored the American

experience through the perspective of an immigrant family.

Inspired by the characters' impact as catalysts for change, they

formed a plan for their Christian Service projects.

"I learned that if just one person can do a small thing in a

community for the good of all, it can have a ripple effect."

~Alexander

"Seedfolks taught me that you can bring people closer by doingsomething positive to affect the world around you." ~Caila

"Seedfolks taught me to make my community better and realize

that neighborhoods are important in a person's life."

~Jeongun (JK)

One Fine Saturday: Middle school

seventh and eighth graders and their

teachers participated in the mayor's

"Make A Difference Day" in November.

Working with a park naturalist at

Allandale Woods, they cleared invasive

plants (like buckthorn) as they made way

for new saplings.

Passing It On:

Learning about

sustainability became a

reciprocal process

when middle schoolers

taught preschool

buddies how to set

bulbs for the school's

container gardening

project.

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Poet's Corner:Fourth

graders Camille and Isabelle

received first and second

place respectively in the

Massachusetts Science Poetry

Contest. The annual contest

encourages the integration of

art, writing and science and is

open to all K-8 students

across the state. This year's

entries were judged by Dr.

George Ladd, Professor

Emeritus, faculty and

students at Boston College.

In March, St. Marys

School chorus joinedBrookline PALS

Children's Chorus and

Choeurdes Enfants de

Montreal for a joint

concert of classical and

traditional music at St.

Paul's Church in

Cambridge. The

performance was

followed by our

choristers participation

for the fifth year, in Big

Sing East, a

noncompetitive

adjudicated festival

sponsored by the

Massachusetts

Association of Choral

Directors. The April

concert took place at St.

Cecelia's Church in

Boston.

The school band, now numbering fifty

musicians prepare for their spring

concert. This year twenty one senior

members were invited to participate in

the Massachusetts Catholic School Honor

Band Concert, held in Melrose.

The St. Mary community comes together each June for the All

School Assembly in celebration of the conclusion of the school year

and to recognize student accomplishments. As part of a time

honored tradition, officers from the Catholic Daughters of theAmericas were on hand to present the 2012-2013 awards for student

entries in the National Education Contest. First place recipients at

the state level were Angelise S and Alexander K for essays, Camille

S, poetry, Tim B, computer art, Patrick M, photography, Teagan T,

art and Jihae K, the Fr Jack Ahern Award for Creativity.

An Award recognizing school spirit went to seventh grader Kayla F

who received the Mt. St. Alveria Book Award. This year's recipient

of the St. Mary's Cup was eighth grader Angelica B who was

recognized by faculty and middle school peers as the middle schoolstudent whose leadership best represented the St. Marys core values

of reverence, respect and responsibility. Bezawit, a second grader,

and Jeremy in grade six were chosen for, the Fr. Richard Butler

UpstanderAward honoring the humanitarian work of the parishs

late senior pastor.

Bezawit O'Neil ,pictured with

teacher Erin Kelly, was one of

two St. Mary students chosen for

the Fr. Richard Butler

Upstander Award.

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At the turn of the twentieth century, St. Mary

parishioners came together in celebration and support of

its newly founded parochial school. One local newsaccount describes a summer gathering featuring an ice

cream social, illuminated by lanterns of "electric light

bulbs." The evening highlights included a tug of war

contest between the men of the parish and a crew from

the town's water works.

Twenty first century counterparts, the families, faculty,

staff and parish of St. Mary's continue to support its

mission while celebrating the life of the school.

Building on core values of reverence, respect andresponsibility, our Catholic school community is fully

committed to providing a strong foundation for children

by nurturing students growth

K2 and seventh grade students share their

inquiry projects during St. Mary's tenth

annual Curriculum Breakfast.

A preschooler

chooses a great

read during

center time.

A St. Mary

student examines aballot question

during a mock

election; Brookline

town officials

brought voting

booths to school

for the occasion.

Music from

Vivaldi serves as

inspiration for a

multidisciplinary

science lesson.

Young writers

share their

work.

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Family Night Dinner

provides opportunities

for student greeters to

offer a warm welcomeand student guests to

enjoy a tasty meal in

the good company of

family and friends.

With goals in

mind, the red

team engages in

friendly

competition.

How can we

learn from the

saints?

Student research

projects lead to

learning about

the devotion of StMonica and the

courage of St.

Sylvester.

Fr. Brian stops by to answer second graders

questions as First Communicants prepare to

receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

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Mission Statement

St. Mary of the Assumption School is a richly diverse

Catholic community serving students in grades pre-k through eight.

We are dedicated to providing each child with a strong foundation

intellectually, spiritually, and socially in a learning environment of

reverence, respect and responsibility.

I am enclosing my gift of $ ________ to contribute towards:

Student Aid through the Catholic School Inner City Scholarship Matching Grant

Program

Supporting the School's Technology Plan to Upgrade Infrastructure and Equipment ,Advance Teacher Professional Development

General Support of the School as Needed

Name _____________________________________

Address ____________________________________

City ___________________________State ________ Zip Code ______

Email ______________________________________________________

Your Contribution is Tax Deductable to the Extent that State and Federal Laws Allow

We are So Grateful for Your Support!

Capture the Spirit!

Ways to Support the St. Mary of the Assumption School Mission:

Checks May Be Made Payable To:

St. Mary of The Assumption School

67 Harvard St.

Brookline, MA 02445

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I love pie!

Pie is great!

I give them the highest rate!

My mouth explodes with pure delight,And feast my taste buds with the greatest sight.

Now here I am back at school,

And we are learning a brand new tool,

And I have to admit with great of a sigh,

We are learning about pi, not pie.

Pie or Pi?

St. Mary of The Assumption School

67 Harvard St.

Brookline, MA 02445

Isabella M. Grade 4