Mr. Palmore shares his Hawaiian Roots

Middle School English teacher Derek Palmore hosted a special CAFE session for Middle School students during today’s lunch. On the menu were traditional Hawaiian dishes, some made from Palmore family recipes, including: Veggie Portuguese Soup, pineapple, mango, papaya and lychee, Chicken Adobo, Kahlua Pork and Haupia-Coconut Cream Custard. While the students and teachers enjoyed their lunches, Mr. Palmore shared some of the history and traditions of Hawaii, particularly the changes that have taken place in Hula Dancing since the European discovery of the Hawaiian islands. Mr. Palmore shared pictures of his family to show the multi-ethnic nature of people in Hawaii.

Author Gregory Mone Speaks with Fourth Grade Students about the Writing Process

Novelist, magazine writer and science journalist Gregory Mone shared his experiences with the writing process to a riveted fourth grade last week. Mone, who has recently finished his fourth book, and first middle-grade novel, discussed the development of his characters and evolution of some of his favorite lines. He even treated his listeners to the first chapter of his soon-to-be-released book, Dangerous Waters, which revolves around a twelve-year-old fictional character and his friendship with real Titanic passenger Harry Widener.

In the Fourth Grade, students focus on the writing process. The opportunity to visit with professional authors provides them with mentors for their personal expression. Having spent the year developing their skills (prewriting, organizing ideas into paragraphs and developing sentence fluency), students were eager to hear about how particular lines of the book evolved, and how Gregory worked with his editor to revise what was already great writing.

In preparation for Mone’s visit, the students read his middle-grade novel Fish, about a twelve-year-old boy from a poor farming family, who takes a job as a courier for his uncle and is waylaid by pirates.

Fifth Grade Students Focus on Civil Rights

Fifth grade students are participating in a new curricular unit about the American Civil Rights Movement. The unit integrates the study of history with reading, writing, music, and studio art, giving students multidimensional understanding. 

This fall, the class walked the Black Heritage Trail, a tour that explores the history of Boston's 19th century African American community. More recently, sharing ideas for change, students have penned poems about the social justice issues of racism, environment, war, and peace. The poems are now in the art studio where students are creating accompanying illustrations, both literal and symbolic, using a mix of media.

 

Seventh Grader wins Geography Bee

Question: Timbuktu, a center of caravan trade for almost a thousand years, is located north of the Niger River in which landlocked country?

Answer: Mali.

This is the question which Logan answered correctly to win the Milton Academy contest of the National Geographic Geography Bee. Logan and 12 other students from grades 4 to 8 participated in Thursday’s competition. Vijay and Tommy earned second and third place honors. As our school champion, Logan will now take a written test which may qualify him for the state competition.