SPMA April Newsletter

5:00-6:00pm

google meet- meet.google.com/sjm-ouog-ova

Tuesday, April 29, 5:30pm - 360 S Colborne Street, Saint Paul, MN

• Email the Office of Family Engagement
• Email the SPPS Board of Education
• Call the SPPS Board of Education

Please see the full flyer and scripts to support your emails and phone calls.

Ms. Emily, our Music Therapist, has been working very hard with our students to get them ready for our Spring Music Showcase. Our students have been working hard on learning songs to sing, dances to preform and instruments to play. We hope that our families can join us on April 16th when they show off all their hard work.

All of our students received new shoes from Fed Ex and Operation Warm! We were able to pick out the ones that would make us happy and run fast!

Showing our families what a morning in Kindergarten looks like [literacy skills, words that rhyme and Dr. Seuss stories] was a March highlight- and so was going to an actual CIRCUS on our first Kindergarten field trip:)

1st grade had an awesome time at the circus. We loved seeing the camels and elephants. We are working on counting money in math.

In April second grade is excited to go to the Como Zoo where we will attend a class taught by Como Zoo staff to learn about some of the different plant species found in the conservatory. This will serve as the launch to our next nonfiction writing unit where the students will choose a plant to research and then write a nonfiction text about that plant. In addition to the class at the zoo, the second graders will have time to explore the zoo and see the many different animals there.

We went on a field trip to Belwin. We looked for animal evidence. Students observed a coyote den and birds up close. They also observed many animal footprints.

Our 4th graders wrapped up their research projects in March.

In Ms. Thao's class, our students researched important historical figures and wrote biographies.

In Mr. Richards and Ms. Cain's classes, students researched US National Parks and learned about the beautiful nature found throughout them. Mr. Richards students presented their research on poster boards and showed off their art skills with creative dioramas!

We are looking forward to researching and writing about different countries around the world. Each student is researching a country around the world. We are using the Step Up to Writing: Research Report curriculum. Students will pick a topic, write research questions, create an outline, write a four-paragraph report, and then create and present a slideshow of their findings!

Culture Night is fast approaching. Please join us to celebrate the many cultures that make up our SPMA community on April 24th. Also, we are done with ACCESS testing. We are so proud of the students' hard work with completing the test. Our cultural affinity groups for Swahili, Spanish, and Karen students are running again. At SPMA, we are grateful for our diverse student population and the assets these cultures bring to our school.

All grades have either finished, or are nearly finished with their current units of study and have started or will soon start their last unit of the year. In Kindergarten we will be working on weather concepts. First graders are practicing being animal reporters by observing animal parts and their functions. Second grade will be starting their unit called Garden of Life, where they will focus on plant life and the habitats they help create. Third grade will be starting a unit that will focus on life cycles of animals and plants in the rainforest. In fourth grade students will begin exploring the landscape of the Grand Canyon and fifth grade will research water on planet earth.

In April, the older kids (3rd, 4th, and 5th graders) will get to participate in net activities and games, such as volleyball and badminton. For our younger friends, we are going to practice flipping around (safely) with a gymnastics focused unit

There will be lots of field trips in April and May. Please be on the look out for permission slips coming home that need to be signed in order for students to go.

4th and 5th graders painted using acrylics on canvas replicating a famous piece of art.

Learning Objective: I can explore and learn about various artists and replicate a piece of art or create your own inspired art.

The paintings are on display in the library. Take a look if you stop by!

Several SPMA Students will have their art work featured.