Special Area News English Station Elementary

Spring 2012

Library Book Fair was a huge success! Thank you to

all the parents who supported it. We were

able to pull $1,428 worth of books off of the

Book Fair in addition to the cash profit. The

students are looking forward to all of the new

books that will be on our shelves soon. Thanks

again!

The children celebrated Dr. Seuss’

birthday during his birthday week. They

enjoyed reading in the Dr. Seuss corner.

The 2nd grade classes are

enjoying the Accelerated

Reader program. They are now

reading and taking the tests

almost completely

independently.

The Smartboard was very

instrumental in teaching the

students how to take AR tests.

Mrs. Gayla Graham Elementary Library

Mrs. Susan Foster Elementary Library

Computer

Students have been working very hard in the computer lab during our second semester. Fifth grade did a wonderful job on their “All About Me” presentations. I enjoyed getting to know your kids better while they were showcasing all the skills they have learned in PowerPoint. Third and fourth grade are excited about creating their presentations next month. Third through fifth have also been working hard on their keyboarding skills. Please practice keyboarding at home using the websites below or buy age appropriate keyboarding software for your computer. Primary grades have had fun practicing visual mapping and web browsing skills. Internet safety is discussed and reviewed with all grade levels. Parents, as always, track and guard your child’s internet usage on your home computer, gaming systems, and all other devices your child may use that have access to the internet. Rainy spring and summer days are an excellent opportunity to hone your keyboarding skills or research a fun topic of your choice on the internet! Have fun this summer and remember to “Surf SAFE and SMART on the Internet!”

GREAT SUMMER WEBSITES: Keyboarding: (Grades 3rd – 5th) www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/ www.freetypinggame.net/ Educational Fun: (All Grades) http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/ http://www.abcya.com/ http://kids.discovery.com/

Page 2 Spring 2012

3rd through 5th grade students enjoy tinikiling.

Students complete Presentation Basics lessons to prepare for making their “My Family” presentations.

Things are always active in PE but as the end of the school year approaches we get busier in the red gym. Field Day planning has already started so mark your calendar for Friday, May18th. It is a fun day for everyone! Parents are welcome to attend with their child. Detailed information will be coming soon.

In Elementary PE, our focus is to expose the students to many physical activities. Here are some units that we have already covered this school year: locomotor movements, soccer, cooperative/teamwork games, throwing /catching, volleyball, basketball, floor hockey, fitness/relays, jump rope, tinikiling (3rd-5th), parachute (K-2nd) and gymnastics. To finish out the school year we are going to introduce tennis, backyard games that they can play this summer and prepare them for field day activities.

Mrs. Jennifer Roberts Elementary P.E.

Mrs. Kari Pittman Elementary P.E.

Mrs. Jennifer Reger Elementary Computer

P.E. News

encourage fitness and physical activities for families. Also in our area there are an abundance of summer camps offered. At the beginning of school we love to hear the activities that students have participated in during the summer months… swimming, horseback riding, camping, bike riding, basketball camp, etc… to name a few. Our wish to you as we close out this school year is to find activities that you can do as a family that strengthens your bond as a family and encourages your children to stay active!!! Have a blessed spring and summer!!!

We encourage you to be looking at activities for your student to keep them active during the summer months. We are blessed with an area that has many parks and areas that

Music Notes

The fourth and fifth graders just gave their spring program, “Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs.” The students sang several African-American spirituals, performed the wonderful modern-day hymn, “In Christ Alone,” and even sang a round in Latin to praise God! Both grades were featured playing recorders for “This Little Light of Mine” and “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?” Each class played the xylophones—fourth graders accompanied our songs, and fifth graders performed compositions written just for percussion. They fulfilled several National Music Standards, including numberss 1 and 2: Singing and playing alone and with others. Making music in a group is a great way to develop listening skills, as well as build community. I encourage our fifth graders to continue making music in middle and high school through choir, band, and orchestra. Studies show that students who participate in musical ensembles in high school have higher test scores and do better in other academics!

Third through fifth graders in the Performing Arts Club performed the Christian musical, “American Ideal” in March. Through music and drama, the kids told a story about how our lives should be about worshipping God, not drawing attention to ourselves.

Third graders are beginning to learn the notes of the treble clef! This preparation, along with their rhythmic reading, will set them up for playing recorder next year—an exciting prospect! Other primary grades have been developing their musical skills of singing (pitch matching, tone, etc.) and of playing simple chordal borduns and melodic patterns on instruments. Preschoolers are just having fun singing, practicing play parties, and moving to develop their musical awareness.

Please encourage your child to sing at home and make music any way they can. Music “does a body good!”

“Early musical training helps develop brain areas involved in language and reasoning. It is thought that brain development continues for many years after birth. Recent studies have clearly indicated that musical training physically develops the part of the left side of the brain known to be involved with processing language, and can actually wire the brain's circuits in specific ways. Linking familiar songs to new information can also help imprint information on young minds.” Music Education Advocacy Group

Page 3 Spring 2012

All grades have been SO EXCITED to use the new Smart Board! It is helping us learn to

read notes of the treble clef, rhythms, and lyrics. There are

many possibilities for active musical learning with this new

technological tool.

Fourth graders concentrate as they play xylophones at their spring concert.

Dr. Jeanie Hoover Elementary Music

Spanish

¡Hola! We are beginning to close out the end of the year. We have just finished learning about “Pascua” (Easter) and “Primavera” (spring). We only have a few more weeks left and 4 more lessons to go! Grades 3-5 are going to be learning a few more verbs and how to conjugate them. Grades K-2 are going to be learning a few more verbs, such as “va” (goes), “quiere” (wants) and “come” (eats). They will also be learning the rest of their colors such as, “negro” (black), “blanco” (white) and “marrón” (brown). On our final day of Spanish, Grades 3-5 will be playing Spanish

Art

Our time in the art room is flying by fast as we have been busy with a variety of projects. Fifth grade learned the art of metal embossing by making beautiful valentine projects. We celebrated winter with our snowy birch tree paintings followed by paisley designs and clay pockets. Fourth grade learned about Picasso faces. Ocean salad boxes are a fourth grade favorite and our doll pins and dioramas are always a highlight. Third grade celebrated the Chinese New Year with colorful dragons followed by Matisse goldfish and clay animals. Second grade studied Picasso as well as Leonardo Da Vinci’s art and inventions. Penguin dioramas were our big winter project. First grade made Chinese New Year dragons and learned about Henri Matisse and Andy Warhol’s pop art. Kindergarten snowmen is a tradition along with grandparent day frames, birdcages and architecture. I have had a great year with your children and look forward to seeing them next year in the art room.

Mrs. Cook, Mrs. Reger, Mrs. Roberts, and Dr. Hoover are offering Summer Workshops! Information and details available now on the CAL English Station website!

Page 4 Spring 2012

Senorita Anna Capita Elementary Spanish

Mrs. Donna Cook Elementary Art

Jeopardy and Grades K-2 will be playing Spanish Hangman which will include everything we have learned this quarter. I hope everyone has a fun-filled summer break and I will see you all in August! ¡Adios!

Kindergarten “amigos” (friends) enjoy Spanish!

5thGrade Paisley Designs