We are wrapping up our final week of the fall term this week at BBS. Last week was a big week for all of us as we put all our energy into the big Winter Show. After a successful performance it was back to the classroom to finish up final assessments and projects before winter break. We hope everyone has a nice two weeks off this month and we will be ready to get back to action in early January. 

In Field Study class we spent the week working on the yearbook and finishing our mini AI unit. Students have been very engaged lately and the effort of the older group is noteworthy. 

In P.E. class we had great weather yesterday to do one more outdoor class. We played hockey and ran the trails one more time before winter. I have some fun indoor P.E. games planned for tomorrow including some core strengthening rotations and intro to juggling with scarves.

In Humanities, students are beginning a unit on the ancient civilizations of India, a place that is steeped in rich cultural and old spiritual traditions. Students have been reading texts, answering questions, doing some light research, watching informational videos, practicing spelling words, and interpreting maps to get a sense of history and place. We are working with pronouns now as we continue our grammar studies. More OBOB books have arrived through the Bookmobile, so expect your child to have multiple books to try to read through over winter break. Keep in mind they are responsible for returning these books by the second week of January. 

In Math, 4th graders just completed a test on converting units of measurement in the metric system. They have been working with metric units to measure distance/length, weight, and volume. The 5th grade students are continuing to work on multiplication strategies as well as conversions. 6th graders are using their new ratio experience to compare unit rates. 7th graders have been continuing to study proportional relationships and practicing using expressions with variables to demonstrate their understanding.

Thank you for a wonderful start to the year! Being the teacher of these sweet Rose Hips is such a joy. Watching them grow, hearing their sweet stories, and laughing at their silly jokes make my life richer. Thank you for the support as I guide your children through their school year. I hope your winter break is joyful. See you all in 2026!

Make sure to check their purple work folders for some literacy and math coming home.

New Year, New Fun!
Rose hips will start the day with some mindful movements on Tuesdays for the month of January with former BBS counselor Phoenix Ries. For our Tuesday morning activity, students will be joined by a guest teacher to guide us in moving, breathing, and playing with music during the first 30 minutes of the day. Our goal is to find different tools to keep our bodies and brains focused and relaxed. Phoenix was the BBS counselor from 2018 until her retirement in 2021.

Science/Social Studies: In our art unit we are moving to thinking about the impact art can have on the community. This is a perfect connection for students to make after their performance. We are reading a book called “Everything Naomi Loved” by muralist Katie Yamasaki. This book centers on the life of Naomi and her multicultural community in a large city. The text discusses how murals help record the history of a community. Students will create art of their own to help them identify who and what in their community is important to them. 

In our final week of study for the 2025 school year, Green Ridge is fine-tuning prior work in both math and literacy. Students are also getting exposed to concepts of area and how it relates to our work with arrays, shape and measurement, thus, moving them toward a deeper awareness of groupings and multiplication. In literacy, students are flexing their understanding of the schwa phoneme in multisyllabic word identification and writing as well in their reading opportunities. Green Ridgers are working on ‘hushed’ task-to-task transitions in both classes; maturity and quiet, seem to prevail during our testing/assessment times. A good sign of what’s to come!