Letter+to+Parents

Dear Parent or Guardian,

Team Zeus teachers would like to take this opportunity to tell you a little about your child’s teachers and our upcoming unit. We will soon be starting a unit on Discovery where students will look at different types of discovery across the different disciplines. The unit will culminate in a Travel Fair where students will create a poster and persuade visitors to travel to their newly “discovered” society. These fictional societies will be created by the students; they will be encouraged to use their creativity and imagination. More directions will follow as the unit progresses. Here is a brief introduction to the Team Zeus teachers and the content covered in our upcoming unit.

My name is Victoria Carruba and I am your child’s Language Arts teacher. I have been teaching for three years and enjoy every aspect of it. I am originally from Rhode Island and grew up with a love for learning. I am a huge football fan and love the Patriots! In my class, for this unit, students will be learning about persuasive writing. They will write a paper convincing an American citizen to move to their fictional newly discovered location. We will review the strategies of persuasion through class discussion and homework. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments. Look forward to seeing you at the Travel Fair!

Hello, my name is Neil Hayes and I am the Social Studies teacher for team Zeus. I believe our discovery unit will be a great addition to our curriculum. My plan for this unit is as follows: 1.) A small research project that requires students to investigate a discovery on a topic of their choice. 2.) The creation of a visual representation for their research topic. 3.) The students will also give a brief presentation to the class explaining the work they have done during the week and display their visual. In my experience, the students tend to enjoy this project because they get to pick their own focus on something that interests them.

My name is Sarah Jakob and I am the Science teacher for team Zeus. As part of the Interdisciplinary Unit, students will be “discovering” deep sea ecosystems. Students will be learning about the many scientists who have explored these deep water marvels. Students will also learn the scientific process of discovery needed to be an effective scientific explorer, and will even be given a chance to design their own ROV, “dive” to a deep sea ecosystem, recover an organism and sediment sample, and report their findings to the scientific community. Students will incorporate their knowledge of scientific discovery into the culminating activity of the unit by reporting on the travel brochure, special adaptations of new organisms discovered, as well as a description of the ecosystem(s) present on their newly discovered land.

Hello, my name is Jessica Morales and I am the math teacher for team Zeus. In mathematics, students will be learning the Pythagorean theorem. Students will discover why the theorem holds true, how to calculate it, and when to apply it in problem solving cases. Students will be able to make their own discoveries using the knowledge they acquire to facilitate their understanding of this concept. We will be covering the GLE of Geometry and Measurement

Please feel free to contact any or all of us for additional information or with any questions.

Fondly, Teachers of Team Zeus