Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade are together in a multi-age class. Math and language arts are taught by grade level, but much of the rest of the school day is planned to include the age groups together with the purpose of learning from each other and building c ommunity. Unlike so many school and classroom setting, competition is minimized. Building community is desired. Goals for this level include:
* Learning responsibility and leadership, as the oldest class in the school
* Managing individual work time to complete weekly contracts
* Developing identifiable learning styles and "intelligences"
* Developing "brain health habits", including hydration, crossing the midline, and other integrating movements
=============================================================
PrimaryNews – Spring Semester 2012 Learning and Events
Bridge
News:
Thank you so much for taking time to
conference with me about your child. They
have all made such good progress since September. We will be working hard in February. Heart Healthy Day, Valentine’s Day, and 100th Day are all events we celebrate this
month. Speaking of busy, I’m sending
home instructions for your child’s 100th Day
t-shirt. Don’t panic-just be creative.
You’ll be assisting your child in designing a t-shirt with 100 different
things on it. Everyone will wear their shirts on February 17.
Please plan to join your Shady Oak
friends to celebrate Valentine’s Day at the Swinging Door on Sunday, February
12 from 2-4pm. There will be food, fun
& dancing! Yes, I said DANCING! When is the last time you danced with your
kids? I promise to bring lots of good songs for a great family afternoon! Hope to see you there!
We are learning all about the human
body this month. We will create life
size paper models of ourselves and add all the organs inside. Your kiddos will love it!
It’s a short month, and we will be super busy getting everything
done!
Mrs. Strode
Kindergarten
& First Grade News:
It was great to meet with you all last
week and discuss your children and how they’re getting on. They work very hard
and play very hard, too-which keeps everybody happy. We have a great community feeling in our class
by this time of year, and it’s lovely to watch happy smiles and great
cooperation.
We will continue learning to read, count, and write, but February
is full of social studies “events” which we celebrate as they come up on the
calendar. It’s very busy but has lots of fun activities that the children in
Primary learn to anticipate through the years.
The older ones (2nd, 3rd, & 4th graders) love to tell our younger
ones what activity they remember goes with each event, but we are going to
surprise ALL of them with new activities this 100th Day!
Mrs. Schroeder & Mrs. Wenzel
2nd Grade News
Second grade has been busy! Reading and math always come first.
We’re learning how to write a summary of a book in Reading. In math we’ve
started addition with regrouping. We’ll also be spending quite a bit of time on
geometry this month. We’ve been finishing up our unit on pioneers with weaving,
making buttons, hasty pudding and an unsuccessful attempt at making ink from
nuts. The kids will be sharing their books comparing times of the past and
present next week. We are going to focus more on science in the coming months.
We’ll be performing experiments and familiarizing ourselves with the
investigative process. This will help with getting the kids ready for the
science fair at the end of the year. The kids have selected the Kemp’s Ridley
sea turtles as the topic and beneficiary for our 2012 Fun Run. We are excited
to learn more about these amazing endangered creatures!
Mrs. Fix
3rd Grade News
In February, we will continue to
explore space and Greek mythology. It
has been such fun watching the 3rd graders
make connections between the two topics.
They also seem to be enjoying the labs and art projects that go along
with this unit!
The 2nd and 3rd graders have already chosen our Fun
Run topic and it is…………the Ridley’s Kemp sea turtle. We are now starting the process of becoming
sea turtle experts and of getting things ready for our 5th annual Fun Run for Kids!!! Look for more information about the run in
the upcoming email blasts, newsletters and posters around school.
Mrs. Peffley
4th
Grade News
Fourth grade is the year that students
begin to read for information, and this year we have really been putting this
skill to the test. We are researching various topics to learn about the world
around us. Our unit, “The Power of Nature”, began with exploring plate
tectonics and how landforms are made and changed over time. We are designing hands-on activities to model
these ideas in class. We have explored
erosion, weathering, volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis. We are continuing
our study with sources of energy and the earth’s natural resources. We also have been doing a lot of writing in
class. We wrote poems for our
grandparents who came to visit for Grandparents Day. We are working on a group article to share
with you next month on all the great places you and your family can visit to
learn more about the state of Texas!
Enjoy Sophie’s report on what Grandparents Day meant to her.
Mrs. Bravo
Grandparents
Day by:
Sophie Schenkel - 4th Grade Student
We
had a great Grandparents’ Day on Friday, January 13th. Before all the grandparents came we prepared
the room. We organized our cubbies and
go another table and brought chairs from the computer room. Finally they came, we were so glad. The first thing we did was go to chapel and
sing “Look, Look, Look for the Light.”
Then we learned about different kinds of grandparent names. My grama was one of them. She is very peaceful, caring, and
helpful. I was very glad she came. We also prayed and counted in different
languages. After we were back from the
chapel we got some fresh salad from our garden.
We ate lunch and the grandparents are our salad. While we were eating each one of our
classmates read a poem about their grandparents. What a great day it was!
Kids Care Club Activities for February
This
month, the primary KidsCare Club is sponsoring a “Souper Bowl” for the benefit
of our local food pantry, “Helping Hands”.
All varieties of canned soup will be accepted, and we’ll collect through
February 24th at both campuses. (Look
for the drop off crate near Mrs. Hilbe or Mrs. Guill’s desk.)
Our
2nd, 3rd and 4th graders plan and organize these activities, with minimal adult
input. They’ll be the ones designing and
printing the flyers and posters advertising the event, as well as physically
collecting, packing up and carrying the canned goods to Helping Hands. Our club members are super kids, that know
how to work hard and do it cheerfully.
They’ve been a great bunch to work with!
Pages
from the Past Meeting
The
next “Pages of the Past” meeting will be held on Thursday, February 9, from
3:00 to 5:00, at the primary campus. This month is always a big favorite,
because we focus on Valentine’s Day, and how it was celebrated during the
Victorian era. We’ll be making valentines the old fashioned way,
with lots of red and white construction paper, lacy doilies, and glitter. And of course, we always bake something
tasty--probably chocolate! “Pages” is
open to all girls, first grade and up. Registration
is $20.00 per child, and is open through Feb 7th.
Shady Oak Art Blog
Dear Parents,
I am excited to announce that Shady Oak now has its very own Art
Blog. It is called ‘Acorns to Oaks’ and can be accessed via the
following link, http://acorntooakart.com/ I
will be sharing images of art work created by students, providing information
about art concepts and skills taught and offering useful links for students to
further explore artists we have discussed in class. I am really excited about
this new venture and hope you will enjoy the content. Please note that I will
only be posting pictures of the children’s art work and not photographs of the
children. Their first names and last initial will be displayed only. Presently,
I have only uploaded images of work completed by students in Bridge through 4th
grade. But I do intend to include art work by students in the Readiness and
Pre-K programs also. I welcome your comments, ideas, and pictures and would
love for you to follow the blog via email.
Stephanie Wheatley
Primary Art Teacher
To reach our Primary School Staff, please email them at: shadyoakprimary@gmail.com