COLUMBUS
Medford, MA
CLIPPER
Classroom news
Kindergarten
Mrs. Morey’s class planted sunflower seeds in the
outdoor garden, and the seeds have. sprouted.
Mrs. Morey’s class celebration is on Tuesday
June 21st@ 10:00. The kindergarten classes will
be visiting Drumlin Farm on Friday, June 3rd. All
of the k classes are also observing caterpillars
transform into ButterfliesThe On Wednesday
June 22nd the kindergarten students will visit the
1st grade classes and the Kindergarten will be
celebrating the end of the year on June 22, 23,
and 24.
1st Grade
Mrs. Burke’s class is getting ready for Author’s
Day on the following Fridays, June 3, 10, 17,
and 24. Also, they have been studying
"Clouds" in science and the children created a
particular cloud with various art materials.
The first graders were treated to a show by
Tufts Traveling Trunk along with the
kindergarteners and 2nd grade in April.
nd
2 Grade
Second graders in Mrs. O’Connell’s class
picked beautiful red radishes from the outdoor
garden this past week. Radishes were about
1.5 inches in diameter! Mrs. O'Connell's class
has been doing a writing project with pen pals
from Mrs. Bonanno's second grade class from
the Brook's school. It has been a lot of fun, and
the children's writing has improved by having
an audience to read their work. We plan to
meet our pen pals in June. Both classes can
hardly wait!
th
4 Grade
Mrs. McMahon’s class is continuing to collect
cans for animal air masks for the Medford Fire
Department.
They are learning about the Western states in
the U.S. in Social Studies. In art, they are
working on a quilt and finished their paper
mache animals which are on display in the
main lobby.
Columbus School
M a y/ J u n e 2 0 1 1
Volume 5, Issue 3
3rd Grade
The third grade planted several plants in the school
garden. The students also enjoyed making signs for
the plants and are also enjoying the worm bins, even
adding worms of their own.
Grade 3 is also learning about the Sun, Moon, and
Earth, and will hopefully be making a play about it.
In Social Studies, we learned about several aspects of
the colonial New England period, made samples of
horn books, an ink well and quill pen with homemade
ink, and made models of clipper ships made in
Medford. We tested our clipper ships to see how many
barrels of rum (marbles) they could hold.
The 3rd grade will be visiting the Acton Discovery
Museum on June 7.
5th Grade
>The fifth grade returned their worm bins this week,
and the worm compost will be returned to the garden.
>On Monday night, May 23 over 60 5th graders
challenged Columbus Teachers to a fun filled evening
of basketball. The game this year was tied 72-72!
>In celebration of Memorial Day, all the 5th graders
wrote to David Lauritzen, a local young U.S. Air Force
technician serving in Afghanistan. David is the cousin
of 5th grader Alyssa Christopher.
>The 5th grade went to the House of Blues in Boston
on Tuesday, May 31, and finished a folk instrument
project for which they made their own instruments and
wrote a story. During the Memorial Day Assembly, two
fifth graders read their essays/thoughts about Memorial
Day and had special roles during the assembly.
>On Wed, June 8, Mr. Plati will deliver the last “Second
Step” lesson, exploring themes of fairness in terms of
equal rights and making decisions. As a capstone to
the program, Judge Singh, a local circuit judge, will
explain how the judiciary branch of government works.
She will also discuss how fairness is integrated into the
judiciary system.
>The 5th grade trip to the Royall House will be on June
16th. Good luck to all the 5th grade students as they
“graduate” from the Columbus. We will miss you!
 Columbus Clipper
PTO News
In April, grades K and 1 had the
Tanglewood Marionettes perform Fairy
Circus funded by the PTO and Medford
Cultural Council.
For Teacher Appreciation Day, the PTO
gifted all classroom teachers a case of copy
paper and movie passes and all other staff
received coffee gift cards.
The Kelly's Roast Beef fundraiser on May
12th was a huge success! Thanks to all
who came out and had a bite to eat and
mingle with other Columbus families. We
raised $422 at this annual event.
The spring garden cleanup last Saturday,
May 14, was a successful day of cleaning
and planting.
Friday, June 10 will be the End of Year
Celebration and Art Show from 6-8. This is
a great event with music, art from all the
classrooms, crafts, and FREE FOOD! Also,
we are looking for musicians who would like
to share some music and helpers
The Enrichment Committee is looking for
grant opportunities and ideas for grants. If
you would like to be on their listserv, email
snjorge@gmail.com.
PTO Contact Info
• ptocolumbus@aol.com
• For newsletter submissions
• smschmid@comcast.net
Teacher and PTO Wishlist
These are some of the supplies that we
could use more of. Please do not feel
obliged to support – but thank you!
Please put donations in the parent room.
1. More food for the Food pantry
2. Mr. Plati – copy paper and tissues
3. Mrs. Burke – pencils, crayons, dry
erase markers, refill soap
4. Third grade: copy paper, cleaning
wipes, and hand sanitizer
Page 2 – Cool Stuff
This Month’s Highlights
Wednesday, May 4th
Teacher appreciation luncheon
Monday, May 23
5th Grade Students vs. Teachers Basketball game
Friday, June 3
Kindergarten field trip to Drumlin Farm
Monday, June 6: 5th grade Junior Olympics
At Hormel for all Medford 5th graders
Wednesday, June 22 – Fri June 24
Kindergarten Celebrations
Friday, June 24th
5th grade Moving On Ceremony in the caf- Good
luck!
School-Wide Upcoming Events
Memorial Day Assembly
Tuesday, May 24 at 9:30am
No School- Memorial Day
Monday, May 27
End of Year Celebration and Art Show
Friday, June 10 from 6-8
Fun Day
Friday, June 17 Field Events and Slush!
Last Day of School
Monday, June 27
Thank You for your work!
Thanks to all the teachers, parents, and
students who made Science night a
wonderful event!
Thank you to the PTO board who organized
a teacher appreciation luncheon!
Thank you to Allison Andrews and Emily
Graves for leading another great session of
Garden Club.
Thank you to the Medford Garden Club for
their donation of plants!
Thank you to the Medford Cultural Council
for funding the Tanglewood Marionettes,
Historical Perspectives, and 2 PASS grants!