Specials Spotlight

Kindergarten and first grade are working on color mixing. Both grades are learning about primary colors and how to mix them to create secondary colors. Kinders are painting pre-traced circles with tails that we'll turn into birds. First graders are painting monster shapes that we'll add details to next time. First graders have to plan ahead to fit all six shapes successfully on their page. This requires a little problem solving if they run out of space. It's been fun to see what solutions they come up with. Both grade levels are practicing respectful use and treatment of supplies to preserve our brushes and keep our clothes clean. I'm pretty impressed with their brush control and rinsing technique so far.

We had a terrific week in the library, thanks to the generosity of our community members who donated new books! Students from Pre-K through 5th grade enjoyed wonderful new picture books and chapter book introductions that inspired self-reflection, imagination, and learning.

Elementary School Highlights

Grade LevelBook(s) ReadKey Activity/Theme

5th GradeThe Girl Who Figured It Out Inspiration & Resilience: Students learned about Mindly Denter, the first female wheelchair athlete to become an Ironman World Champion.

4th GradeThe Wild Robot on the IslandSeries Introduction: Students were introduced to the popular Wild Robot series, which inspired the recent hit movie.

3rd GradeOdder: An Otter's StoryAward-Winning Fiction: An introduction to the beloved Golden Sower winning novel, Odder.

2nd GradeEyes That Weave the World's WondersSelf-Expression: Students were inspired to draw self-portraits and describe the wonders their eyes see.

1st GradeReal to MeImagination: Students imagined and described their own real or imaginary friends.

KindergartenKitty Vs KindergartenFun & Creativity: Students had a blast laughing at the antics and drew their own kitties.

Pre-KCat SecretsMovement & Play: Our youngest readers moved and acted out the life of a cat.

Middle School

Middle school students focused on important digital literacy topics, continuing our Common Sense Media lessons. The discussion centered on protecting online privacy and understanding the long-

term impact of their digital footprint.

Support Our Collection!

As always, we are incredibly grateful for any support to grow our library collection. If you are interested in donating, you can view our current needs and purchase a book directly from our Amazon Wish List:

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/80ZLRMVG1PGP?ref_=wl_share

How is music organized? How do you talk about this organization? Our 7th graders answered these questions as they learned pop form and learned how to listen to a piece of music and identify the different sections of music. Now they are looking at a more general way of describing musical form by composing a song in rondo form using Garageband.

The 5th grade students have been exercising their engineering skills. After learning about the engineering design process, these students researched how sound works and the four instrument families. Now they are using this knowledge to design and build music instruments of their own. In this process they will repeatedly design, test, and evaluate their instruments as they navigate working with a group on a challenging project.

The Kindergarten students have been exploring contour (up and down) and using their low and high voices. They drew contours and then used their creativity to turn them into pictures. Afterwards, the class got to sing each student's contour and appreciate the art work.

Last week 2nd through 5th Grade students worked on running predetermined routes and catching a football. There was amazing improvement! During the first day students were averaging a completion rate of 25%, while on the second day the average jumped to 31%. Way to go! Middle School students wrapped up their Flag Football unit this week, which was an outstanding success. Students scored 52 touchdowns! PreK through 1st Grade continue to work on catching a football this week. We’ve had some loud, positive encouragement from peers the last couple of weeks.

Middle School will begin our Volleyball unit next. 4th and 5th Grade will be incorporating defense with football this week and next week within a modified game. 2nd and 3rd Grade will be working on Gaga Ball for the next couple of weeks. PreK through 1st Grade will be using frisbees next week.

6th Grade 3D Design

This past week, the 6th grade classes kicked off a review of the Tinkercad 3D design software. Their first assignment is the "Twisted Earrings" project. This project is specifically designed to introduce students to some 3D modeling skills that are new to them: rotation and alignment. Students are learning how to rotate and manipulate objects using the alignment tool to accurately position and connect multiple components for a symmetrical final product.

3rd Grade Digital Publishing

The 3rd grade students successfully wrapped up the writing phase of their fall acrostic poems. They have now transitioned to using the Pages App on their iPads to begin the digital publishing process. This allows them to use their creativity as they experiment with different fonts, colors, and layouts but also provides hands-on experience in essential digital formatting skills. The students will have their final, formatted poems completed by the end of our next class.

Pre-K STEM Challenge

In a creative engineering challenge, the Pre-K students were tasked with building a house after listening to the classic tale, The Three Little Pigs. Using materials from their STEM bins (which include various objects such as blocks, sticks, and connectors), they were challenged to construct a strong house. One of the most rewarding parts is listening to them describe and explain their structural creations.