Haudenosaunee people and the early colonials

In the hallway you will see some wonderful panoramic landscapes displayed by the Inventors.

The 4th grade has been studying the Haudenosaunee *people and the early colonial period in the United States. The Iroquois nations' political union, their Great Law of Peace and democratic government have been credited as strong influences on the United States Constitution.
Students studied colonial and Native American history, family and community life and created characters in words (first person narratives) and in clay figures.

* The Iroquois Confederacy (also known as the "League of Peace and Power", the "Five Nations"; the "Six Nations"; or the "People of the Longhouse") is a group of First Nations/Native Americans that originally consisted of five nations: the Mohawk, the Oneida, the Onondaga, the Cayuga, and the Seneca. A sixth tribe, the Tuscarora, joined after the original five nations were formed. Although frequently referred to as the Iroquois, the Nations refer to themselves collectively as Haudenosaunee (Akunęhsyęni in Tuscarora). A few finished examples are below.

We said good bye to Mark Son

We said goodbye to Mark Son on Friday. After a class lunch generously provided by the Corrigan family we went out to Celebrity Pizza for ice cream followed by a short visit to the park. We presented Mark with an author signed copy of Anne Sibley O'Brien's Hong Kil Dong - the Korean Robin Hood.

Boston Globe article

Here is a link to the Globe article about our project in yesterday's science pages.

And here is the link to the blog article, which has a picture:
http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/greenblog/2008/05/a_small_margin_change.html

Thanks to Beth Daley for helping us get the word out.

NEWS

We just received a call from the IT department in Malden, MA. Anthony Rodriguez of the IT department called for our student, Courteney and left a message saying that he will be telling all Malden city departments to follow 4th grade's advice and change the margins.

Soon after our phone message we received a personal letter from Deval Patrick congratulating us
and saying he would be considering the idea to Change the Margins. Less of a committment than we had hoped for but exciting just the same.

You will see copies of the Governor's letters and letters from State Representatives Corey Atkins, Alice Peisch and State Senator Tolman in the hallway outside the classroom.

And Tamara Krinsky is pitching our "curriculum " to Hewlett Packard as a HP contest school idea.

Mayor of Cambridge takes up Change the Margins

We thought we were going to lobby Mayor E. Denise Simmons during her open office hours BUT, Jeff Walker, her chief of staff had 2 copies of engrossed* versions ( gold stamp seal, hand signed by the Clerk and in leather folders) of the resolution R-51 from the City Council of Cambridge. This resolution was read by the Mayor to our students and then presented to Eli and Mark, Cambridge citizens who wrote the letters that initiated this action by the Mayor. School Committee member Nancy Tauber, was also present. The resolution recognized the Atrium 4th grade class for their efforts and the Change the Margins
idea as a very important one. The Mayor promised to work to implement this change throughout Cambridge. And Ms. Tauber said she would spread the word to the schools.

This is a huge boost to our campaign! Great work class and especially, Eli and Mark!

In other news, the Mayor's office of Malden has promised to bring Courteney's letter to a department head meeting:
We are in receipt of Courteney’s correspondence.

Please be advised that Mayor Howard is planning on presenting Courteney’s proposal to our department heads at a meeting he has scheduled for next week ...
We’re hoping that these efforts will result in saving paper and a better environment.

If you have any further suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact this office.

Thank you -
Maureen Taylor
Office of Mayor Richard C. Howard
Malden Government Center

Great work Courteney! She has, along with Ilana, Sophie, Asha, Eric, Christian, Harriet and Isabel, been making follow up phone calls. And thanks to Alie and Shayna, Eli Cole and Mark who have been making displays for the bulletin boards.

* engross: To write or print the final draft of (an official document).
[Middle English engrossen, to collect in large quantity, monopolize, from Old French engrossier, from en gros, in large quantity : en, in (from Latin in; see in-2) + gros, large; see gross. Sense 3, from Middle English engrossen, to make a finished copy of a legal document, from Anglo-Norman engrosser, from Medieval Latin ingrossre : Latin in-, in; see en-1 + grossa, a copy in a large hand (from Late Latin grossus, thick).

More pictures here:

HOMEWORK May 6th 2008

MATH: p 42
SPELLING: sheet with reverse spelling exercise
READING: independent reading for 30 minutes minimum.

Sorry for delay.
Norah

Farm visit pictures here!

Thanks to Jenny White!
Click on link below:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaM3LVo4bN2Ltw