Parent  Newsletter  –  April  28,  2017  

Dear  Families,    Congratulations  to  the  Stars  of  the  Month  for  March!  We  celebrated  their  success  at  a  breakfast  ceremony  a  couple  of  weeks  ago,  but  I  had  not  had  the  opportunity  to  showcase  the  group  in  the  newsletter  until  today.    The  names  of  the  students  can  be  found  further  on  in  this  newsletter.  I  would  also  like  to  congratulate  all  of  our  students  that  earned  a  place  on  the  HMS  Honor  Roll  for  the  third  quarter.  This  newsletter  includes  the  complete  honor  roll  list  for  the  quarter.    MCAS  testing  for  mathematics  begins  next  week  for  our  sixth  and  seventh  graders  on  Tuesday,  May  2nd  and  Wednesday,  May  3rd.    MCAS  testing  for  eighth  graders  is  scheduled  for  May  9th  and  May  10th.    We  have  been  encouraging  students  to  try  their  very  best  during  the  testing,  to  take  their  time,  and  to  relax!  The  students  have  been  well  prepared  for  the  assessment.  Please  remind  them  that  although  we  do  not  want  them  to  be  overly  anxious,  we  do  wish  them  to  understand  that  it  is  important  to  try  their  very  best.  We  hope  that  the  students  realize  that  the  testing  is  a  great  opportunity  for  them  to  demonstrate  the  skills  that  they  have  learned.  Please  encourage  your  child  to  get  plenty  of  rest  on  the  night  before  MCAS  testing,  and  eat  breakfast.      Please  remember  that  the  HMS  End  of  the  Year  Calendar  can  be  located  on  the  Principal’s  Page  of  our  website,  and  includes  all  of  the  important  dates  and  information  that  you  need  to  know  for  the  home  stretch  of  the  school  year.    Dr.  Whalen     Wed.  May  3rd  –  Cookie  Dough  Order  Pick-­Up         More  info.  included  in  this  newsletter    

HONOR  ROLL  –  3rd  QUARTER       2016  –  2017    HIGHEST  HONORS  GRADE    8  Gerard  Ayotte,  Trinity  Barata,  Hailey  Bodick,  Andrew  Cabral,  Serenna  Cabral,  Christina  Chen,  Katherine  Corbett,  Noah  Cristino,  Faith  DaSilva,  Jessica  Elkhoury,  Emily  Fasteson,  Nicholas  Jankowski,  Jackson  Kinney,  Destini  Langlois,  Victoria  Luis,  Alexander  Medeiros,  Kaylie  Pereira,  Bethany  Pucino,  Emily  Rieben,  Rebecca  Santos,  Madison  Sirois,  William  Smith  GRADE    7  Nathan  Cabral,  Emily  Chin,  Lucy  Codega,  Dakota  Cote,  Kyle  Cristino,  Cameron  Culpan,  Soleil  DeBarros,  Ava  Gardner,  Rowan  Jordan,  Ian  Kane,  Rebekah  LaFleur,  Stephanie  Letourneau,  Camryn  Loomis,  Lilly  MacDonald,  Owen  Pacheco,  Emily  Pedro,  Leandra  Pereira,  Shriya  Sivakumar,  Cullen  Steitz,  Thomas  Wang,  Julia  Woodcock,  Nicholas  Yang  GRADE    6  Nicholas  Aguiar,  Benjamin  Almeida,  Jaden  Arruda,  Hannah  Baldassi,  Connor  Barbary,  Joshua  Bodick,  Faith  Boutin,  Nicholas  Calamar,  Ivan  Chen,  Lily  Cheng,  Sydney  DelMastro,  Sarah  DeMelo,  Sarah  Douglas,  William  Fecteau,  Cooper  Finnegan,  Ella  Gardner,  Cory  George,  Olivia  Halajko,  Olivia  Hartling,  Abby  Rickard,  Isabella  Rosa,  Sydnie  Hoskins,  Emily  Jolin,  Emily  King,  Adam  Kogut,  Ava  Lyon,  Joseph  Majkut,  Joseph  Mello,  Dauphine  Michel,  Lauren  Morales,  Kayla  Morency,  Anna  Murphy,  Emily  Ott,  Aiden  Petersen,  Ariela  Pimentel,  Morgan  Silvestre,  Taylor  Sirois,  Christopher  Strycharz,  Alexys  Trufant    HIGH  HONORS  GRADE    8  Madison  Armell,  Grace  Borden,  Tara  Botelho,  Elizabeth  Bradshaw,  Francisco  Carvalho,  Benjamin  Correia,  Madison  Costa,  Mersadies  Crompton,  Christopher  Cruz,  Victoria  Dasilva,  Jaden  Deal,  Olivia  Deltufo,  Veronica  DeMoura,  Mia  DiPippo,  Mya  Ferreira,  Nathan  Fournier,  Perry  Francis,  Sierra  Frausto,  Ethan  Gallishaw,  Mackenzie  Gingras,  Kennedy  Hall,  Megan  Langlois,  Jackson  Leonard,  Sarah  Lezy,  Marissa  Lima,  Ella  Lyon,  Sarah  Mace,  Amelia  Mignacca,  Jared  Moran,  Kyle  Oliveira,  Olivia  Penacho,  Kailee  Peterson,  Trey  Ramos,  Julia  Rickard,  Brady  Santoro,  Adam  Schneider,  Bianca  Sebastiao,  Cameron  Silva,  Alejandro  Tabares,  Anika  Toprac,  Lauren  Tortolani,  Megan  Viera-­‐Hicks  GRADE    7  Julianna  Anderson,  Catherine  Bergstrand,  Matthew  Boutin,  Chase  Carlsten,  Ethan  Clarke,  Alexander  Cordeiro,  Giuliano  Cozzo,  Spencer  Deering,  Dominic  DeLuca,  Jason  Deslauriers,  Bria  Dunphy,  Ali  Faria,  Jonathan  Freeman,  Kylie  Galante,  Isabella  Gerardi,  Chanelle  Gomez,  Aliya  Goulart,  Brady  Halpin,  Olivia  Hardro,  Emma  Hindle,  Madison  Hytinen,  Grace  Ippolito,  Maddison  Julien,  Nicholas  Kasper,  Lauren  Keough,  Melanie  Keough,  Gabriella  Killam,  Sarah  King,  Valerie  Lamanuzzi,  Luis  Landaverde,  Isabella  Lastrina,  Corey  Ledoux,  Nicholas  Lehourites,  Kate  Leinson,  Cody  Leydon,  Rosalita  Medeiros,  Nathan  Mello,  Madison  Mirabile,  Brady  Moniz,  Jazlyn  Monteiro,  Sarah  Parent,  Kate  Pegoraro,  Jessica  Provazza,  Ryan  Provazza,  Brandon  Reakes,  

Hailey  Reynolds,  Christopher  Rezendes,  Cameron  Sears,  Ashley  Silveira,  Sean  Simmons,  Ethan  Sorrentino,  Abigail  Sousa,  Molly  Swist,  Jack  Tow  GRADE    6  Deonna  Aguiar,  Cristiano  Almeida,  Lena  Alves,  Christopher  Amaral,  Noah  Amaral,  Nikolas  Amorim,  Olivia  Andrews,  Jillian  Audette,  Elijah  Bastien,  Laura  Birch,  Danielle  Boardman,  Ryan  Botelho,  Andrew  Branco,  Camryn  Bullock,  Lauren  Calabro,  Abigail  Calamar,  Olivia  Cardoso,  Bella  Case,  Lauren  Corbett,  Kevin  Crowe,  Matthew  Cunha,  Alexandra  Dantas,  Damien  DeBarros,  Ryan  Doherty,  Samantha  Douglas,  Andrew  Duhancik,  Abigail  Dyer,  Caroline  Eddy,  Evan  Fasteson,  Jordan  Frederick,  Ethan  Goudreau,  Kiley  Halpin,  Brooke  Harris,  Alexander  Hernandez,  Gloria  Robledo,  Taylor  Ruiz,  Kaidan  Hollins,  Quentin  Khan,  Eli  Lamanuzzi,  Connor  Luis,  Morgan  Mace,  Maggie  McKitchen,  Jonathan  Mignacca,  Zachary  Miller,  Harry  Murphy,  Marcus  Nadeau,  Joseph  Perez,  Collin  Peterson,  Olivia  Pion,  Alyson  Quin,  Jack  Santos,  Amyrah  Silva,  Sophia  Silva,  Manuel  Soares,  Sophia  Sodhi,  Jaxson  Sousa,  Julia  Souza,  Noah  Tadros,  Reiley  Terry,  Lauren  Turenne,  Emma  Veader,  Sophia  Wilcox,  Emaline  Wilson,  Evan  Woodcock    HONORS  GRADE    8  Mackenzie  Allen,  Loukas  Bitsakis,  Shauna  Contois,  Jenna  Desmarais,  Kelsey  Dias,  Gianna  DiBiase,  Thomas  Field,  Emma  Hill,  Vanessa  Jacome,  Isabella  Lachance,  Madison  Mancini,  Aidan  Metivier,  August  Montgomery,  Megan  Norris,  William  Pezzulli,  Karicia  Pimentel,  Brandon  Ruiz,  Hannah  Santos,  Jack  Tortolani  GRADE    7  Brett  Almeida,  Jared  Amado,  Noah  Boudreau-­‐Faria,  Victoria  Bourassa,  Jacob  Cabral,  Kendal  Cacchiotti,  Aurora  Dumont,  Isabel  Figueiredo,  Matthew  Gorton,  Madison  Hernandez,  Philip  Ippolito,  Zakery  Laverdiere,  Nathen  Mallon,  Aryn  McDonald,  Jillian  Mello,  Jeffrey  Michaud,  Julianna  Mihailides,  Finn  Paterson,  Mackenzie  Reilly,  Kelli  Ryan,  Tyler  Tavares,  Angelina  Toledo,  Mira  White  GRADE    6  Brandon  Atamian,  Caileigh  Batista,  Nathan  Cabral,  Jasmine  Contois,  Marco  Cozzo,  Ryan  Cronin,  Alexis  Dinsmore,  Mason  DiPietro,  Arhianna  Fernandes,  Jeremy  Harald,  Ethan  Raposo,  MacKenzie  Howard,  Nasra  Ibrahim,  Jeffrey  Millette,  Leila  Oliveira,  Gianna  Pallotta,  Jared  Pereira,  Aaron  Perona,  Zachary  Randall,  Evan  Seals,  Corina  Silva,  Ava  Smart,  Sydney  Trudeau,  Jacob  Twitchell                        

March  Stars  of  the  Month                Nicholas  Amorim                  Leila  Oliveira  Emily  Ott                                              Evan  Fasteson  Madison  Hernandez  Jack  Tow  Brett  Almeida                            Chanelle  Gomez  Vanessa  Jacome  Victoria  Luis  Aidan  Steele              Nicholas  Jankowski  Lily  Cheng  Danielle  Boardman                                                Lauren  Morales  Anna  Murphy                                                Kate  Keinson  Lauren  Couitt                                                        Ali  Faria  Ashley  Silveira                                                                        Jaden  Dea  Alaina  Fortin                                                                    Olivia  Penacho  Katherine  Corbett                                      8th  Grade  Class  Trip  and  PTO    Cookie  Dough  Fundraiser  –  Distribution      Wednesday,  May  3rd      2:00  pm  –  5:00  pm  (orders  over  3)    Students  that  have  orders  small  enough  to  take  home  from  school  (3  or  less)  will  be  given  their  orders  at  the  end  of  the  school  day.  We  do  not  have  refrigerated  space  to  store  any  cookie  dough  overnight,  so  please  make  plans  now  to  pick  up  your  orders.      

BlueTeam

ELA:-We have begun Book Three of Son, by Lois Lowry. We are finally getting answers to the questions we have had from The Giver, Messenger, and Books One and Two of Son! A test on apostrophe usage in contractions and possessives was the grammar highlight of the week.

Science: Forces are all around us. Students explored how forces react on objects through a variety of simulations. First they were challenged to make a car move with random objects, but they could not make physical contact with the car. They came up with a lot of creative ideas to show how other forces can make an object move. Displaying forces for different situations were done with free-body diagrams. It is a great model to show the movement and magnitude of forces being applied. We finished the week off with a quick introduction to Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion. Math: Students finished up the geometry unit with circles. We used formulas to find the area and circumference of circles, as well as applied various formulas to find the area of irregular and inscribed shapes. The rest of the week was spent reviewing for next week’s MCAS! We solved several open response questions and responders to work as a group on previous years’ tests, to review and clarify. Social Studies: Alexander the Great: Hero or Villain? This was the question that students pondered all week throughout intensive analysis and inquiry. In the beginning part of the week we did some reading in our textbooks that was largely biased towards his military and cultural accomplishments (as most textbooks are). By the end of the week, students then looked at his military accomplishments through different perspectives; they discovered that the truth about Alexander was a bit more complex than originally seemed! He was clearly a military genius, but depending on whose side of the story you listen to he would/could definitely be considered a ruthless villain! Ask to see your child’s FishBowl organizer to learn more! We quizzed on Alexander the Great on Friday and will be starting our LAST unit of the year after MCAS next week...ANCIENT ROME!

Yellow Team News Math We learned what integers are and had some fun having a “snowball” fight while working with inequalities with integers. We took some time recently to go over the MCAS practice tests and become familiar with the tools and equation editor that is featured in the mathematics app. We have also been busy getting ready for MCAS by working on open responses via Google Classroom assignments. We are now working in our Statistics and Graphs unit. In Supercore, we wrapped up learning about circles; finding out what Pi is and how to use Pi to calculate the circumference and area of a circle. We also finished our work graphing on the coordinate plane.

English Language Arts Time sure has been flying! Many weeks have passed since Yellow Team’s last newsletter, and during that time we have muscled through MCAS 2.0 for ELA and charged into the wiley depths of poetry. We started our unit with basic elements of poetry and figurative language, and directed that knowledge into both identifying such conventions within poems, and applying such conventions to our own writing. We have written haiku poems, inspired by natural scenic scapes of intrigue and beauty, and most recently written our very own Monster Poems, developed by a focus on similes and each student’s vivid imagination. And I must say that the Monster Poems were out of this world! Students demonstrated a great degree of effort and creativity, and we will proudly be displaying them in the classroom for many weeks to come. Next up: Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll!

Social Studies In social studies we have learned of Asia’s climates and natural resources. We will look to move onto Asia’s history and time periods very soon. This week we have also focused on globalization, which is the process of different countries trading and buying/selling goods around the world. With this, we have had an assignment that is focused on this and the economics of it. Students were tasked with designing their own sneaker, coming up with where it was made, materials used, price and then finally a short 30 second marketing plan to convince the other consumers (students) to purchase their sneaker! Students were actively engaged with this and highly interested, pictures will be up on

Twitter of the different sneakers. Overall, it is a fun assignment, focused on economics, marketing and globalization.

Science In science we have wrapped up thermodynamics by doing some great hands-on activities! We cooked popcorn using convection, conduction, radiation. We tested out the “thermal camera” filter on a laptop and determined from what we know about thermal radiation, that the filter is NOT a thermal camera! It actually creates and an image based on reflected light.

After a very successful quiz on thermodynamics, we started our new unit of atmospheric layers and meteorology. We have been tracking the daily meteorology in our journals. We will be using this data later in our studies. We are covering the topics of greenhouse gasses, the greenhouse effect, global warming, climate change, and global and local winds. This Friday we will have a quiz on these topics. Looking towards the future, we will be exploring ocean currents and weather specifics.

Follow us on Twitter (@HMS_JDowning) to see daily updates of our classroom activities!

Senor Costa’s news 4/28/17 Grade 6 World Language students have just started their endeavor into Portuguese. They have learned about Portuguese history and expansion of the language all over the globe and are now learning greetings, farewells, and colors. Grade 7 Spanish are now learning the verbs “to do” and “to know” and learning how to use these in conversation. Grade 8 Spanish are learning about sports and will learn how to talk about the weather. Grade 7 Portuguese are learning to talk about the weather and Grade 8 reviewed the weather and will now start to learn about items in and around the home.

The HMS PTO is celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week next week! If you are able to help out in anyway including providing food items, please sign up using the link below: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/20F0B45ABAF2AA7F85-staff1

8th Grade Semi-Formal Dance

Friday, May 19th

6:00 PM

 

Guidance  News  

Next  week  we  begin  our  MCAS  math  sessions!        

Grades  6  and  7  will  be  testing  on    Tuesday  and  Wednesday,  May  2nd  and  3rd.        

 Grade  8  will  be  testing  the  following  week  on    Tuesday  and  Wednesday,  May  9th  and  10th.      

 Grade  8  will  also  be  tested  on  Science  and  Technology    

the  following  week  on  May  11th  and  12th.        

Please  make  every  effort  to  have  your  student  present  in  school  on  those  days,  and  on  time.    Any  student  who  is  not  present  for  the  day  of  

testing  will  have  to  make  up  the  MCAS  during  an  MCAS  make  up  session,  which  means  that  they  will  be  missing  their  classes  in  order  to  do  so.    It  is  also  important  for  all  students  to  get  a  good  night’s  sleep  in  

order  to  come  in  rested  and  prepared.      

HMS Band – Mrs. Susan Grande BAND NEWS!!! THERE WILL BE NO EARLY JAZZ REHEARSAL OR LESSONS DURING MCAS! (May 2-May 18) Our next HMSBPM is Wednesday, May 10. Please come to help plan the end of the year and band festival. IF YOU WANT TO CHAPERONE THE SWIM CLUB TRIP, YOU MUST HAVE A CORI FORM ON FILE! Saxophones will have the next afternoon session (Wed. May 10th) with Kaitlain Tavares from D'Addario wood wind company. She is a GREAT resource for all single reed players. During the clarinet session, she let students try advanced mouth pieces, reeds and showed various accessories. PLEASE take advantage of the free offer! The summer band opportunity for 7th and 8th graders will be with the EBSYE (East Bay Summer Youth Ensemble). IF YOUR CHILD would like to do this, and I have not spoken to them, please see me. It is a wonderful way to keep playing over the summer. Rehearsals are Wednesday evenings from5:45-7:00 at SBRegional HS. Please check out the website at www.EBSWE.org. DATES TO KEEP IN MIND: SHS Spring Concert- May 17 @ 7:00 HMS Spring Band Festival with Mr. Marshall- May 31 and June 1-during school HMS Spring Band Festival CONCERT- June 1 @ 6:00 HMS Swim Club Trip-June 2-11:00-3:00

Health Class News from Mrs. Latimer

Grade  6:  Students  are  finishing  their  Substance  Abuse  Unit  and  will  begin  their  Nutrition  Unit.  This  is  a  very  important  unit  because  it  will  teach  them  (and  reinforce  what  is  learned  at  home)  that  proper  eating  will  lead  to  a  healthier  life.    We  will  all  about  MyPLate,  Recommended  Daily  allowances,  how  to  read  food  nutrition  labels  and  learning  about  portion  sizes.  During  this  unit,  students  will  be  able  to:  

o Demonstrate  their  understanding  of  the  six  main  nutrients  to  growth  and  development  

o Analyze  their  own  eating  habits  o Explain  the  importance  of  a  healthy  diet  and  exercise  to  their  growth  and  development  

o Analyze  beverage  and  food  labels  o Identify  and  measure  portion  sizes  o Explain  and  demonstrate  their  understanding  of  MyPlate©  and  the  recommend  daily  allowances  

o Create  a  day  of  healthy  eating  to  demonstrate  their  knowledge  of  meeting  recommended  amount  of  food  groups  per  day  

MA  Frameworks  Standards  covered:    Standard  #8  Disease  Prevention  &  Control  (8.5)  Standard  #3  Nutrition  (3.8,  3.9,  3.11)  National  Health  Education  Standards:  

o Standard  #1:  Core  Concepts    o Standard  #:  Analyzing  Influences  o Standard  #7:  Self-­‐Management  o Standard  #5:  Decision  Making  o Standard  #6:  Goal  Setting  o Standard  #8:  Advocacy  

 7th  Grade:  Students  just  about  finished  with  the  Mental  Health  unit.  Students  are  currently  learning  about  Stress  Management.  We  will  be  discussing  quite  a  few  things  regarding  the  physiology  of  stress  and  healthy  ways  to  handle  stress.    Students  have  identified  their  personal  stressors  and  will  soon  begin  working  on  their  Stress  Management  Plan.  This  project  will  count  as  a  test  grade!    My  7th  grade  classes  are  in  

different  points  in  the  curriculum  so  they  will  receive  it  at  different  time.  I  will  post  the  project  when  assigned  as  well  as  the  due  date  on  the  portal,  in  the  Google  Classroom  and  the  newsletter  as  well.    Most  of  this  project  will  be  completed  in  class.    I  will  be  available  after  school  if  anyone  needs  help.  This  goal  of  this  project  is  to  help  students  be  proactive  in  working  on  coping/eliminating  their  stress.    The  skills  they  have  been  learning  in  class  will  be  applied  to  their  own  stress.  These  skills  will  provide  a  lifetime  of  benefits!  In  this  unit  students  will  be  able  to:  Students  will  be  able  to:  • Identify  stressors  in  their  life  • Identify  symptoms  of  stress  • Explain  healthy  and  unhealthy  ways  to  reduce  stress  o Explain  the  effects  of  long-­‐term  stress  can  have  on  our  bodies  o Identify  who  should  be  in  their  own  personal  support  system    

MA  Frameworks  Standards  covered:    o Growth  &  Development  (1.8)  o Mental  Health  (5.8,  5.8,  5.11,  5.16,  5.17,  5.19)  o Violence  Prevention  (11.2)    

National  Health  Education  Standards:  o Standard  #1:  Core  Concepts    o Standard  #5:  Decision  Making  o Standard  #6:  Goal  setting  o Standard  #7:  Self-­‐Management  o Standard  #8:  Advocacy  

   8th  Grade:    Students  have  begun  their  Substance  Abuse  Unit.  We  will  learn  about  various  drugs  including  over  the  counter  drugs,  prescription  drugs,  club  drugs,  street  drugs  and  narcotics  &  opiates  such  as  Heroine.  We  will  also  discussed  the  difference  between  responsible  drug  use,  drug  misuse  and  drug  abuse.  We  will  finish  the  unit  talking  about  refusal  skills  and  mapping  out  decisions.    TAKE  HOME  FINAL  EXAM  SCHEDULE  FOR  GRADE  8  WILL  BE  POSTED  THE  WEEK  OF  May  15th.    Due  dates  and  directions  will  be  posted  to  The  Portal  (and  Google  Classroom)  as  well  as  parent  newsletter.  At  the  end  of  this  unit  students  will  be  able  to:  

o      Explain  the  difference  between  responsible  drug  use,  drug  misuse  and  drug  abuse  o      Identify  the  different  classifications  of  drugs  o      Explain  the  effect  of  marijuana  on  the  brain,  particularly  the  adolescent  brain  o      Accurately  respond  to  scenarios  using  the  decision-­‐making  model  taught  in  class  o      Explain  the  difference  between  “snitching”  and  reporting  o      Describe  the  stages  of  addiction  o      Identify  internal  and  external  factors  that  influence  decision  to  use  or  not  to  use  drugs.  o      Identify  physical,  emotional/psychological  and  social  effects  of  using  drugs  MA  Frameworks  Standards  covered:  o      Tobacco,  Alcohol  &  Substance  Use/Abuse  Prevention  (10.5,  10.6,  10.7,  10.8,  10.9,  10.13  National  Health  Education  Standards:  o      Standard  #1:  Core  Concepts  o      Standard  #4:  Interpersonal  Communication  o      Standard  #5:  Decision  Making  o      Standard  #7:  Self-­‐Management  o      Standard  #8:  Advocacy    

HEALTH OFFICE NEWS

RECALL OF ASTHMA INHALERS GlaxoSmithKline on March 22 started recalling 593,088 Ventolin HFA inhalers because of a defective delivery system, according to an enforcement report postingby FDA.

The inhalers, containing albuterol sulfate and the propellant HFA-134a, are from the following lots:

• 6ZP9848, expiration date “03/18” • 6ZP0003, expiration date “04/18” • 6ZP9944, expiration date “04/18”

Please provide in school inhalers for students who have asthma or exercise induced asthma.  

What Is Asthma?

Asthma is a long-term (chronic) lung disease that causes episodes of coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. Like all chronic illnesses, asthma cannot be cured, but it is very manageable.

Common Asthma Symptoms: • Coughing: Coughing from asthma is often worse at night or early

morning. Sometimes it’s your only symptom. It can be dry or mucus-filled.

• Wheezing: This is a whistling or squeaky sound especially when you breathe out. Sometimes wheezing can be heard easily; other times you need a stethoscope.

• Chest tightness: This can feel like something is squeezing or sitting on your chest.

• Shortness of breath: You may feel breathless, like you can’t catch your breath or breathe deeply enough. You may feel as though you are out of shape and constantly tired.

• How Does Asthma Affect the Lungs?

Your lungs are made up of miles and miles of tiny airways, from the large airway of the windpipe (trachea) to the tiny air sacs (alveoli) deep inside the

lungs where oxygen moves into the bloodstream. Normally, your lungs bring in fresh air and push out used air, but when you have asthma it is harder to do this because:

• The linings of the airways swell • Your body makes too much mucus, which clogs the airways • Muscles around the airways get tight, making them narrow, with less

room for air to pass through Quiet Asthma – Airway Inflammation When you have asthma, your airways become easily inflamed and swollen. Since you can’t feel or see what’s going on, we call this airway inflammation the quiet part of asthma. If it’s not treated, the inflammation increases and your symptoms are likely to get worse each time your airways are exposed to your asthma triggers, Noisy Asthma – Bronchospasm When your airways are inflamed, they are very sensitive. Like sunburned skin hurts when you touch it, inflamed airways react to irritation. It can be an immune system response to allergies or to a cold or flu virus; or a reaction to cold air, strong smells, exercise, stress or laughter. Exposure triggers bronchospasm – the noisy asthma symptoms of coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. What Causes Asthma to Develop?

Anyone of any age, family background, race, gender or general health can develop asthma. Researchers think many genetic and environmental factors play a role, especially during the first years of life when the immune system is developing. These factors include:

• Family history - If your parents or siblings have allergies or asthma, your chances of developing it increase.

• Exposure to secondhand smoke – Smoking, or exposure to secondhand smoke, especially in early childhood or from mothers who smoked while they were pregnant.

• Environmental irritants – Exhaust fumes, air pollution, indoor allergens such as dust mites, cockroaches and mold, chemical irritants or industrial dusts in the workplace have all been identified as risk factors for asthma.

• Premature birth or respiratory illnesses that harm the lungs - Recent studies have shown that children who were born prematurely or suffered from a respiratory illness early on are at a higher risk of asthma.

What Causes Asthma Symptoms to Flare? The first steps to managing asthma are paying attention to your body, recognizing the early signs of a flare and understanding what sets off your symptoms. What irritates your lungs and sets off your symptoms – often called your “triggers” — may be very different from what affects other people with asthma, even others in your own family. Perhaps you are affected by allergens, environmental irritants or exercise – or maybe symptoms only appear when you have a cold illness. Tracking symptoms, medications and activities with a daily symptom diary can help you identify your triggers and then take steps to avoid or reduce contact with them.

Common allergy-related asthma triggers:

• Outdoor allergens, such as mold and pollens from grass, trees and weeds • Indoor allergens, such as dust mites, cockroaches, pet dander and mold • Some food allergies

Common non-allergy-related triggers:

• Smoke, including personal use of tobacco products, secondhand smoke from others’ smoking, and indoor fireplaces

• Irritants in the air such as air pollution, smoke, chemical fumes and strong odors

• Exercise • Colds, flu and other respiratory illness • Hormonal changes (both female and male) • Weather conditions (such as cold air, humidity, thunderstorms) or

weather changes • Emotional anxiety and stress, including laughing or crying • Some medications, including aspirin, NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-

inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen) and beta blockers • Acid reflux, or GERD, with or without heartburn

Is Asthma Serious? All asthma is serious. There is no way of telling whether an asthma flare will last seconds, minutes or hours – or will turn life-threatening. One-third of all people who die of asthma had been diagnosed with “mild” asthma. No matter what your past diagnosis, how infrequent your symptoms are or how good you’re feeling right now, your asthma can change without warning. That’s why it’s important to know what causes your symptoms, what your medications do and how to respond to early warning signals as well as breathing emergencies. Will I Outgrow Asthma?

Asthma is a lifelong disease that cannot be “outgrown.” Your immune system changes throughout your life and your asthma symptoms will too. However, you will always have the potential to experience asthma symptoms and must be aware that they can return at any time.

With correct diagnosis, careful management and appropriate use of medications, you can go years without any problems. On the other hand, if you let asthma get out of control, it can cause long-term lung damage. Most people with asthma should be able to do anything those without asthma can do: • Be free from troublesome symptoms day and night • Have the best possible lung function • Participate freely in activities of your choice • Miss few or no school or work days because of asthma symptoms • Have fewer or no urgent care visits or hospital stays for asthma • Have few or no side effects from asthma medications

Learn more about asthma – order a free copy of Allergy & Asthma Network’s special publication: Understanding Asthma: Building Blocks for Better Breathing

 

photos courtesy of Mrs. Turner @212gr8ela

8th Grade – Mrs. Pellegrino’s Super Core

“Walking Through the City”

8th Graders Celebrating the Arts National Poetry Month

See more photos @212gr8ela