This past Thursday, third graders welcomed The Concord Museum to Sprague for a hands-on discussion about what life was like for people in the colonies. They had a chance to explore what a typical town like Wellesley would have been like as well as the common possessions and clothing worn during the colonial time.

2nd graders met a well-known concert pianist, Asiya Korepanova, and listened to her spectacular classical music pieces live. She performed wonderful pieces from famous composers including Bach, Chopin and Rachmaninoff. Our second graders also learned about these composers, the styles and origins of the pieces that she played. They were asked to draw and color about what or how the music make them think or feel while they were listening to those amazing pieces. Ask your second grader:

• “What was it like to see a live classical music performance”

• “How they felt while they were listening to these classical music pieces”

• “What they drew/colored during the performance”

Walker Between Worlds is a journey into the world of Native American Stories. The oral history, natural observations, and culture of the First Americans is shared by Leland Faulkner a world traveler and performing artist who is a member of the Bad River Band of Chippewa.

3rd graders met WCVB Channel 5’s on-air meteorologist, David Williams for a lively weather presentation. The students learned that meteorologists launch a weather balloon, 20 miles up, twice a day to forecast the weather. The tool attached to the balloon ( radiosonde) is used to measure the humidity, pressure and air temperature. The students also learned about typical New England winter weather as well as severe weather including hurricanes and tornadoes. Fun fact: The USA sees more tornadoes than any other country, and Texas is the state where they occur the most frequently.​

Mannie Nogueira, professional BMX rider, visited Sprague on Wednesday for two assemblies. He dazzled the students and staff with amazing and gravity-defying tricks, all while communicating important messages that tie in with our HEART values - be kind, be supportive, support each other, never give up and the Golden Rule. He even asked for student and staff volunteers to assist with his tricks! Ms. Petrowski and Ms. Henzel were very brave to volunteer to be JUMPED over by the bike! Ask your student:

• What does "be a buddy, not a bully" mean?

• What does it mean to be kind and polite?

• What does it mean to be a good friend? 

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See photos from the event!

Ms. Catherine visited from The Discovery Museum and taught our youngest students about weather. For an hour, the students became meterologists while simulating the water cycle, pretending to be clouds and getting messy with shaving cream while recreating various types of clouds. Ask your kindergartener:

• Why do you check the weather?

• What does a meteorologist do?

• What is atmosphere?

• Can you think of a place in your house that is foggy?​

Their programs offer children the opportunity to explore the mysteries and wonders of nature in a safe and nurturing environment. They participated in a fall program that studied the changes that we see in the season of fall. This integrated environmental curriculum develops a wide range of skills such as observation, classification and color/number identification. They all worked together as a group to ask and answer questions about trees, foliage,seeds, animals, and habitats.

Fourth graders were visited by town-native and former Sprague parent, Lisa Moore of the Wellesley Natural Resource Commission (NRC). The students will walk around the Sprague campus and adjacent areas to learn about weathering, erosion and deposition.​

our second graders went on their very first field trip! They visited the Harvard Museum of Natural History, where they explored the various exhibits, did an animal footprint scavenger hunt and attended a class where they learned about different habitats around the world. They packed in a lot of exploring in a few short hours! Ask your second grader:

- Can you name the different climates around the world? 

- What is lichen?

- How does a cactus survive in such a dry climate?

- What was special about the lizard we met at the end of our class?​

Our third graders were visited by a member of the Plimoth Pawtuxet Museum for the "People of the Dawn" program. As a follow up, you can ask your children about where some animals go when it gets colder, how does the foliage transition from green to all the beautiful colors of fall, what happens to perennial flowering plants in the fall?

Ask your 3rd grader: 

• What are 4 basic needs to survive:

  • ( Food/ water, Shelter, Clothing, Weapons/tools)

• What percent of the Wompanoag diet was made up of vegetables?

  • ( 70-80%)  

  • Hunting 10%, fishing 10%, foraging 5%

• What is the Wompanoag word for house?

  • (wetu)

• Did the Wompanoag children use their mother’s last name or father’s

  • (Mother’s  last name. The Wompanoag culture was matrilineal, a society who’s lineage was passed down through the female’s family) 

This fall, our 5th graders are tackling a new project featuring "tiny homes." Students are using their new knowledge of volume to expand upon the Dream House unit from grade 4. Moving beyond two-dimensional floor plans, students are tasked with adding a 3rd dimension to area and perimeter, considering specific design, sustainability and budget criteria.  ​

On Friday, our kindergarteners had their very first CAS event! Miss L from Sensory Play Lab visited each class outdoors for emersive, tactile and slimy open-ended play. Students created chemical reactions with citric acid and baking soda, creating colorful and foamy solutions. They also went on a frog hunt, digging, sifting and rinsing foam. It was a fun and messy experience that we hope was fun for your students! Ask your kindergartener:

• What did you notice about the basil seeds? Did the look different once they were wet? 

• How many frogs did you find in the foam?

• Were you able to make a slime bubble? 

• What was your favorite material (basil seeds, slime, foam, baking soda fizz) to touch and why?​

Our 5th graders journeyed into the galaxy through a traveling planetarium. New England Sci-Tech amazed our students with a live show about the stars, planets, moon, solar system, nebulae, and galaxies, as well as constellations they might see in the Wellesley sky this fall. Students even had the chance to hold a real 5-pound meteorite from the asteroid belt. View photos from the event.

Ask your 5th graders:

• Why can we only see planets at certain times of the year?

• Can you name a few constellations you might see this winter?

• Where would be a good location to search for a meteorite? 

• Who was Galileo and how did he have a profound impact on our understanding of the universe?