Located on Worcester Street in the South End, the Hurley K-8 School serves about 360 students. The school offers a two-way bilingual program (in English and Spanish) which looks different at each grade level.
Kindergarteners are working on lots of literacy activities – matching letters to pictures, playing games, using magnetic letters, tapping and blending letters to make words, etc. A group of K1 students practices hand signs for consonant combinations with Maritza Martinez. In K2 classes, Mariana Sanchez works with a guided reading group and Diane Bourbeau‘s students are learning about “CVC” words.
First graders gather on the rug, listening to Ana Laura Soto Viquez as she solicits ideas about how to solve a word problem written on the board. Erica Moen‘s 2nd graders are researching different animals, using an assortment of books and computers.
Third grade classes are off to the Museum of Fine Arts, and I peek into Elizabeth Beloff‘s room. The walls are full of engaging teacher-prepared posters with words to use in discussions, to describe internal thoughts or external appearance, and to help students remember that an authors’ purpose is “Easy as P.I.E.” – to persuade, inform, or entertain – all in two languages!
Brian Gaines helps students in his fourth grade science class wire cardboard houses they have designed. Art teacher Matthew McLaughlin supervises 8th graders who are copying animated images from their cell phone screens. Second graders are playing “Gaga Ball” behind a low hexagonal wooden fence on the field with their PE teacher, Larry Muhammad.
In middle school humanities classes, students are learning about the Dominican Republic through reading Before We Were Free with sixth grade teacher Helen Sullivan, while eighth graders are reading and discussing Monster, an award-winning novel by Walter Dean Myers about a Black teenager on trial for murder, with Rebecca Poswalsky.
Sixth grade teacher and BTU representative Lindsay Thornquist tells me she especially appreciates the support of an active parent group that has funded everything from classroom projectors to a new playing field with bright green artificial turf. Wilma Crespo, who teaches math and science to middle school students, says she feels “at peace” at the Hurley and thinks that teacher voices are heard.
Here’s hoping you’re feeling at peace wherever you are!
02-108I’m playing bingo to match words and parts of words. I am learning how to read and write letters and words.~ Rafael Gonzalez, K1
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This is in math class and Ms. T was writing down how we each solved an equation. We studied geometry and learned how to find the surface area of triangles and other two-dimensional shapes. We’ve also learned how to multiply and divide decimals, and turn them into fractions. ~ Ms. Thornquist’s Grade 6 students
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We were reading and discussing Before We Were Free, a historical fiction novel by Julia Alvarez, as a class. We are learning about the history of the Dominican Republic. We’ve learned that Trujillo was a cruel dictator in the 1960s who tortured and killed people, and that the death of the Mariposa sisters sparked a revolution. We’ve also learned about the structure of embassies, and how some were allies of the revolutionaries. ~ Ms. Poswolsky’s Grade 6 students
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I was building a house and wiring it in science class. Mr. Gaines was helping me extend electrical wires so they could connect to just one power source. I’ve learned that many power plants create air pollution, and that solar or hydroelectric power is healthier for the environment than coal. ~ Xander Cothey, Grade 4
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We were making robots with Mr. Mac. We are learning to cut, glue and color in art class.
~ Zoe Kouyessein & Aria Jefferson, K0
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I am talking with Ms. P, who is helping me understand the history we are studying. I’ve learned that the Aborigines and the Maori were the first people in Australia and New Zealand. They lived and traveled in small groups.
~ Ashley Garrido, Grade 8
61-103/104 We were reading books and taking notes about our animals. Marianaylis is studying owls and has learned that snowy owls camouflage themselves in their snowy habitat. Brooke has learned that elephants have big ears to hear predators and to keep cool. We’ve learned that it’s good to have more than one place to get information; on the computer we can find out more details and watch videos about our animals. ~ Marianaylis Santana & Brooke Bowens, Grade 2
Ms. Bourbeau was explaining how to do this week’s literacy station activities, and Edgie is showing an example of making a word on the magnet board. This week we are learning consonant-vowel-consonant words, and words that end with X. We are learning how to tap out sounds and blend them. We’re also learning how to write a whole story in 3 parts, with a beginning, middle, and end! ~ Ms. Bourbeau’s K2 students