Specials Update

Pictured (from left to right):

Mrs. Ready (Music), Mrs. Cole (Health and Fitness), Mrs. Hodges (Art)

🐝 Bee Welcome Project Wrap-Up!

Our students had an amazing time getting their hands dirty and creating in the great outdoors during this beautiful fall weather! Using real power tools, they built stunning organic structures that will provide homes for birds and insects in our Biodiversity Park. The project gave kids a wonderful chance to connect with nature while learning valuable hands-on skills. Keep an eye out for our upcoming QR code—community members will soon be invited to add their own creations to our nesting wall!

Plus—don’t miss extra creative opportunities with my Aspiring Artists, Afterschool Art Clubs. My January Club is the only one left, so be sure to check out my Art Club website for more information if you're interested !

• 💪 Health & Fitness News – Grades 3–6

Our 3rd–6th grade students are diving into their fitness goals and exploring ways to stay active during the colder months. We’ve been focusing on proper push-up form and learning how different hand placements work various muscle groups. Students are reminded that it’s perfectly okay if they can’t do a full push-up yet — practice and consistency will build strength!

We’re also completing our first mile run/walk of the year. Students can run or walk at their own pace, with the goal of doing their best and improving throughout the school year. In class discussions, we’ve talked about why staying active is important for both physical and mental health. I’m proud of how hard everyone is working and staying motivated to build lifelong fitness habits!

🏃‍♀️ Grades K–2

In Health and Fitness, our K–2 students have been busy practicing their throwing and catching skills! We’ve been focusing on underhand throws and chest passes, emphasizing the importance of stepping with the opposite foot when passing to a partner. Students are also learning to communicate effectively by calling their partner’s name and keeping hands up and ready to catch.

Beyond physical skills, we’re also highlighting positive social interactions. Students have been encouraged to find new partners, learn classmates’ names, and work respectfully with different peers. It’s been wonderful to watch them grow—not just as movers, but as teammates too!

🤝 Collaboration & Leadership

On Fridays, our sixth graders have the special opportunity to support and play with our kindergarteners! This time together builds leadership skills, teamwork, and positive connections across grade levels. Over the past few Fridays, the sixth graders have had a blast pulling the younger students around on scooters and joining in on games and activities. It’s been wonderful to see all the students laughing, cooperating, and enjoying each other’s company!

🎶 Recorder Karate: A Successful and Musical Journey!

Recorder Karate was a huge success this semester! Students took ownership of their learning through a self-paced format, allowing each musician to progress through the color-belt levels at their own speed. They strengthened their ability to read music, count rhythms, and play with accurate tone, all while building confidence and pride in their progress.

Collaboration played a key role—students supported one another, offered tips, and celebrated every new belt earned. The elective culminated in several informal performances, where students showcased their favorite songs and reflected on how far they had come.

Our Performance Day served as the perfect finale! Students performed pieces they were most proud of and received their Recorder Karate certificates to recognize their effort, growth, and achievement. It was a joyful celebration of perseverance, musicianship, and teamwork—what a wonderful way to conclude such a successful elective! 🎵

🎶 Music Workshop Update

Our music students have been hard at work in Music Workshop, and the creativity has been flowing! Students recently designed their own soundscapes, layering rhythms and sounds to build unique “drum set” performances that showed off their sense of rhythm and teamwork.

We’ve also been making great progress in reading music and performing simple keyboard pieces, while our ukulele players have been busy mastering chords C, F, and G to play songs such as You Are My Sunshine, The Lion Sleeps Tonight, and Three Little Birds.

Another class favorite has been learning the Cup Song—combining rhythm, coordination, and focus! To top it all off, students have been flexing their creative muscles through our Lyric Remix challenge, where they rewrote lyrics to popular songs to give them a fresh and original twist.

We’re proud of their musical growth and excited to see how their confidence and collaboration continue to shine in the next round of workshops! 🎵