PRIMARY

          Our “Botany” students are busy recording growth and progress of their plants in their Plant Log.  Everyone enjoyed eating sprouts with cream cheese on whole-wheat bread-especially since they grew the sprouts themselves!  We’ll check the progress of our seed races and learn why some seeds grow and others do not.  In class this week, we’ll create our own soil by making a worm garden.  Students will save scraps from lunch to add to soil in group “worm gardens”.  We’ll also add worms!  Each week, we will open the garden and examine the changes.  Did you know, worms digest our organic garbage and excrete rich soil so plants can grow?  When the soil is composted, we’ll add it to our garden.  Worms are great recyclers!  On Tuesday, we’ll go on a field trip to Desert Botanical Garden from 9-12 to learn about plants and desert adaptations.  If you can take 3 or more students in your car and you would like to drive, please notify a primary teacher.  Seeds are also beautiful.  Students will make a mosaic using seeds to create original designs.  On Thursday, our Intermediate friends will invite us to Book Party!  They’ve written original books to share with us, planned games, and made snacks.  We love reading and our room 3 friends!

INTERMEDIATE

          During “A Sense of Community”, our students have written and illustrated their own original books.  We have had them professionally bound and now we are published authors!  We will practice reading them aloud with expression and dramatic voices in preparation to share them with the younger children. On Thursday, students will host a party for their friends in primary by reading the books aloud, playing games, and serving student made refreshments.  We will also finish picking citrus from the school trees to donate to the Paz de Cristo food kitchen.  Kids really can make a difference!  We’ll have a progress check on our book reports.  Remember, next Monday and Tuesday, students will be presenting a commercial about the book they read at home this month and handing in their written book report. 

 UPPER DIVISION

          We’ve been learning about principles of science during our “Science Lab and Famous Scientists” unit through hands on experiments in class and independent research at home.  On Tuesday, students will present their famous scientist research to their peers during a first person monologue.  We are developing our characterization skills in preparation for this year’s Shakespeare Festival coming up next month.  Our upper division students will also finalize their plans for their Washington DC study trip.  They have worked hard this year to prepare for this wonderful experience and now are learning how to use a subway map, book dinner reservations, schedule airport transportation, figure tax and tip on the bill at a restaurant, and other valuable real life skills.  Students will be gone Monday-Friday and will visit the Capitol, Air and Space Museum, Holocaust Museum, American History Museum, Natural History Museum, Ford Theater, Washington Monument, Viet Nam Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, see two live theater performances: Little Shop of Horrors at the Ford Theater and Shear Madness at the Kennedy Center.  In addition, there is a full day at historic Williamsburg with visits to all the living history buildings and dinner at the original Shield Inn and Tavern with live entertainment from the era and then a night Ghost Walk led by a Williamsburg docent.  These are memories of a lifetime in the making.  We are very proud to offer a trip of this quality for our students who do all their own fundraising.  This means all students in upper division go on the trip, not just those whose parents may be able to afford to send them.  Trips similar to this cost over $2000 from other organizations.  And raising the money is part of the fun, team skills, and anticipation of the experience.

ELECTIVES

          Check out our fun and educational list of electives for the last quarter of the school year.  Please select a first and second choice and return your form to school by Thursday.  Electives will start next week. 

INTERVIEWS FOR UPPER DIVISION

            6^th grade students who have completed their application for admission to upper division will have their interview this week.  This is a “step up” and important part of learning to set goals and high expectations.  We are very proud of all our upper division students, not only their high test scores but their self-confidence, self-discipline, love of learning, integrity, commitment to making the world a better place, and joy in each day.  We look forward to welcoming our 6^th grade friends to our upper division class next year.  Students will receive a letter in the mail notifying them of acceptance into the program.