News & Updates
Newsletter 1/14/21
Thank You
- PTF for the bags of food to help families over vacation.
- Parents and students for all of your hard work during remote learning last week.
7/8 Grade Geometric Construction
Curriculum Updates
Performing Arts
This week in Performing Arts class for grades K-4, we learned about American Composer Aaron Copland. We talked about how we listen to music and things that we can listen for like what instruments we hear, the volume (dynamics), and the speed (tempo) of the music. We listened to Aaron Copland’s song Hoe-Down from his larger work Rodeo.
This week in Performing Arts class for grades 5-8, we learned about American Composer Aaron Copland. We talked about how we listen to music and things that we can listen for like what instruments we hear, the volume (dynamics), and the speed (tempo) of the music. We listened to Aaron Copland’s song Hoe-Down from his larger work Rodeo. We started learning about Aaron Copland’s life and talked about how this song that he wrote made us feel and the images that came to mind when we listened to the song.
Pre-K and Kindergarten Snowflakes
Curriculum Updates
Super Studies
3/4 Super Studies
The students did a great job during our remote week! They are getting good at managing the technology needed to participate in class and troubleshooting when things don’t work as expected. This week we shared stories of people who have immigrated from other countries. We read several picture books, took a virtual tour of Ellis Island, and shared stories from our own families.
5/6 Super Studies
The students did a great job during our remote week! They are getting good at managing the technology needed to participate in class and troubleshooting when things don’t work as expected. This week we started studying Ancient Egypt by reading about their government and geography and being introduced to pyramids and hieroglyphics. We also spent time this week discussing the role of Congress during the transfer of Presidential power and how and why an insurrection can happen.
7/8 Super Studies
The students did a great job during our remote week! This week, we studied our immune systems and learned about what immunologists and epidemiologists do. We explored simulations of infectious disease outbreaks using a game developed by the CDC called Solve the Outbreak. We also spent time this week discussing the role of Congress during the transfer of presidential power and how and why an insurrection can happen.
1/2 Grades Construction Paper Mountains
Curriculum Updates
Art
Students in PK/K class, during the remote week, we drew pictures with crayons which strengthened color recognition, spatial awareness, and the understanding of shapes.
Students in 1/2 class painted in watercolor. We focused upon water to paint ratios and composition of shape and movement.
Students in 3/4 class did a ‘Birch Forest in a Winter Landscape”. First, we used a pencil than a marker to defined the features of the landscape. Next, we brought color to the sky and moon. Lastly, we laid light grey shadows upon trees, boulders, and mountains.
Students in 5-8 class did a piece entirely in blue and the subtleties of shade. The scene was a cave with a bold foreground of stalactites and stalagmites with a tonal and size decrescendo of blue dissipates into the distance.
5/6 Egypt Art
Curriculum Updates
ELA
Students in the 3/4 class did a great job of staying on task! We made it through several excerpts from My Librarian is a Camel and learned some new vocabulary, such as archipelago and hamlet. It has been fun “exploring” different parts of the world, including Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Finland and Kenya to name a few. Students will be finishing up this unit soon and moving on to the next unit.
Students in the 5/6 class finished presenting their oral presentation based on the research of a natural disaster that took place in 2020. We learned about fires, hurricanes, and COVID-19 to name a few. For many students, this was their first attempt at an oral presentation, but it certainly won’t be their last!
Students in the 7/8 class spent much of their ELA time working on a three-part end of Unit-2 assessment. It actually was perfect timing, because they couldn’t trick me into critiquing their answers before they were done.
Puffins, Pre-k and Grades 1/2 Starry Sky
Curriculum Updates
Math
I was so impressed with the students in the 3/4 class this week. It is tough learning from home this way, but they all did a great job! The third graders worked more with metric measurements and the fourth graders worked more with multiplying large numbers by a single digit.
I was so impressed with the students in the 5/6 class this week. It is tough learning from home this way, but they all did a great job! 5th grade worked on multiplying 3 and 4 digits by two and three digits. 6th grade began our work with fractions and those doing seventh grade looked at multiplying integers.
I was so impressed with the students in the 7/8 class this week. It is tough learning from home this way, but they all did a great job! Both groups of 8th graders began our work with linear equations. We learned how to define the variable, write equations and determine if they are linear or nonlinear.