FMA 5th Grade Celebrates Home of
the Brave

By: Astuccio
Our 5th grade class reached out to Katherine Applegate, the author of our first read aloud mentor text Home of the Brave, to share our pumpkin design with her. Home of the Brave is the story of Kek, a Sudanese refugee who, after escaping violence that claims the lives of his father and brother, moves to Minnesota to live with his aunt and cousin. Kek, the son of a cattle herder, experiences a difficult but moving transition into American culture. He is able to connect with his home culture when he meets an elderly woman who owns a farm and needs help caring for her cow, Gol. Here's the text of what we sent to Katherine Applegate. "@kaaauthor My fifth grade students in Cambridge, MA are loving Home of the Brave. Every day as we wrap up our read aloud time, they beg me to continue further into Kek's journey. For this fall's school-wide pumpkin decorating contest, they chose to turn their gourd into Gol:" To our delight, Katherine Applegate replied, "Gol the gourd is wonderful! Please tell your students I say hello."

The very first Fletcher Maynard Academy Free Fresh Food Market was a huge success. Dozens of families passed through to browse the displays and help themselves to whatever food they needed. This market was a collaboration between principal Harris, FMA family liaison, Daniel Skeritt, and Food For Free Cambridge. The event was a huge success, "We are a non judgmental school and we totally get it, said Daniel Skeritt" We are a school that provides services for the well-being of all our families. —The market is held on the Third Tuesday of each month.

From the Nurse's Office

What’s the difference between a cold and the flu?
People often ask me this question, especially at this time of year. First, some things about colds and the flu are the same. Both are respiratory illnesses caused by viruses. When a cold or flu starts, you feel unwell and tired, which makes it hard to tell the difference between them. The flu, however, starts suddenly and is more intense.

Signs of the flu include fever and chills, dry cough, body aches, headache, and fatigue. Sore throat and stuffy nose can also be a sign of the flu, especially with the other signs. Most importantly, the flu is a serious illness that can cause health complications like pneumonia.

Colds tend to start slowly and are milder than the flu. People with colds usually have a stuffy or runny nose. Health complications from colds are less common. Any fever from a cold usually doesn’t last too long.

If you or your child has a fever (over 100.4 F/38 C), you should stay home from school or work until the fever is gone for a full 24 hours without medicine (Tylenol or Motrin/Advil) to lower it. Rest and drinking fluids are key to getting better. Contact your doctor or nurse practitioner if the fever doesn’t go down, or you think that you might have the flu. The flu is contagious the day before signs of the flu and 5 to 7 days after becoming sick.

If your child has a cold and no fever, they might need a day to rest at home. Contact your provider for any sore throat that doesn’t go away after 2-3 days.

You can stop the spread of colds and flu with hand-washing with soap and water. Hand sanitizer is good, but only if your hands are not dirty.

The best protection against the flu is to get a flu shot every year. Your immune system needs to build new protection every year. Your provider or local pharmacy offers flu shots.The Cambridge Department of Public Health will have a Family Flu Clinic at the Peabody School on Wednesday, November 6 from 5:30 to 7:30PM. Free flu shots are available for anyone 6 months or older. It only takes a few minutes to protect yourself and your family, so plan to protect yourself against the flu this year.

For more information about colds and flu, here are some useful links to the CDC: The difference between colds and flu, Flu Prevention, Common colds

The FMA Community Schools hosted their annual Halloween party on October 31st for elementary-aged members of the FMA and greater Port communities

Apple Cider Pressing

All month long, CitySprouts has been at every elementary and middle school in Cambridge, pressing apple cider with students. Not only is making apple cider a fun, hands-on and delicious autumn activity, but it also is an opportunity for hands-on learning. Read on >>

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