Tiny Art Show!

Posted on by Jen Reid

In the Art Studio, our young artists from Lower Elementary through Middle School kicked off the school year by putting on a Tiny Art Show! Each artist was given a choice between various small canvases, paper, and even shells to create their tiny artwork on. Students practiced layering art materials such as colorful sharpies and tempera paints, as well as practicing color mixing techniques. There was no specific prompt for what to paint, but rather it was an opportunity for each young artist to trust their creativity and express themselves. The challenge, however, was the small size restriction. Students had to problem solve ways in which they could fit their designs and ideas onto the tiny canvases, as well as how to carefully apply paint with small paintbrushes so as not to lose any detail. It was wonderful to see the variety of artwork created!

Once their tiny artwork was complete, we set up a display in the hallway for the whole school to enjoy. Magnifying glasses were set up with the display so everyone could take a closer look at all of the wonderfully unique tiny works of art!

Upper Elementary: Community Helpers

Posted on by Brian Comstock

This week the Upper Elementary students spent some time as community helpers lending a hand in various ways. Some of these tasks included sorting and delivering lost and found items, cleaning up the garden beds, assisting primary students during morning drop off, and tidying up the zen garden. Our community helpers were eager to help out and their tasks will rotate and change throughout the school year. In our classroom, we made stuffed peppers using several peppers from our garden. They came out great and a few students that were not fans of peppers were surprised they enjoyed the taste. Next week, our goal is to make pesto using basil from the enormous basil plant from the same garden. We met to discuss our coffee shop plans and the students agreed on the name, Happe Cafe. They made logos and voted on the logos during student council. At the conclusion of our week we enjoyed some time on the trails during recess.

Español con Señora Hall

Posted on by Sara Hall

I’m so excited to be part of the FWM family and share my passion for language with the children here! In World Language, the children have been diving into stories each class. Storytelling helps students acquire language in a compelling manner and allows them to see words used in context rather than simply learning them in isolation. The children learn actions to correspond with new vocabulary words. 

In alignment with their author study for September, primary classes heard Oso Pardo, Oso Pardo, ¿Qué ves ahí? (Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? By Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle). With the story, they were presented with names of different animals along with their colors. Next, we will work on categorizing living and non-living things, just as they are doing for science this month.

Lower Elementary has been acquiring the skills to discuss which foods we like and do not like. They have been using the story, ¡No me gusta! from the No Me Digas elementary Spanish curriculum. We have been singing and sharing about our favorite and least favorite foods. 

Upper Elementary has practiced retelling stories and sequencing with the stories Isabel va a la escuela and Los Peces, and Los Tiburones, all from The Storyteller’s Corner. They have learned to talk about leaving or staying, how they are feeling, and they have practiced counting 0-10 and backward. 

Middle School just started our Free Voluntary Reading, which is at the beginning of each class. All middle schoolers choose a book to read and spend the first five to ten minutes of class reading in Spanish. Aside from this, they have been singing and hearing stories to say who people are, what they say, and what they like and do not like to do. Then they applied these skills to begin writing their own stories about themselves. 

100 Mile Club

Posted on by Pam Pascarella

The 100 Mile Club is off to a great start!

Students are running during morning fitness, recess and PE class.  The philosophy of 100 Mile Club is to engage and empower children and families to achieve a healthy lifestyle through physical activity nationwide; preventing childhood inactivity and obesity, one child, one school, and one community at a time.

The 100 Mile Club met for the first time on Wednesday, September 11th! It was a great turnout with over 30 students in attendance! First, we spoke about the 100 Mile Club program and goal setting for the year. We then headed out to the field to start our running/walking. Students independently tracked their laps around the field by collecting a popsicle stick every time they ran or walked one time around the soccer field. We ended the club five minutes early so that they could count their popsicle sticks. Many students were so motivated to run, they asked if they could run even more laps!

I encourage parents to sign their child up for the after school 100 Mile Club on Wednesdays from 3:15 to 4:00. Parents are also welcome to join us to walk and run on the soccer field during the club. Pick up for the club is at the front lobby at 4:00. Please note: the club does not meet on some Wednesdays so please refer to the calendar for those dates. The age group for this club is from grades 1 through 8. When your child receives their t-shirt after completing 25 miles, please have them wear the shirt on Wednesdays. I hope to see you on the field!

Things Are Cookin’ in Upper Elementary

Posted on by Brian Comstock

Although our first few days of school did not constitute a full week, we fit in many lessons and community building activities to kick off what we anticipate will be a great year! During our first full school week we classified the human animal, studied endangered animals, and made delicious bruschetta using some hand picked basil from our class garden. It has inspired the students to come up with ideas for other recipes they want to make in school. The fifth years were excited to run their first official student council where they lead a group discussion about topics that their classmates recorded in the agenda. Some other fun, new, and exciting programs are on the horizon in the Upper Elementary. If you were not able to attend Curriculum Night, I will send a brief summary of important topics that were discussed. Looking ahead on our calendar, we have our first field trip planned to the White Memorial Conservation Center on Tuesday, September 24.

Upper Elementary: Moving Up Visits

Posted on by Brian Comstock

This week the fifth year students visited the Middle School while the fourth year students hosted the third years in our classroom. The fifth years returned midday to share their enthusiasm about the possibilities that lie ahead in Middle School. The fourth years were excellent hosts, showing the third years the ropes and welcoming them to our environment. We will miss the fifth years, but look forward to the incoming students for 2019-2020!

Elementary Students Performed ” Seussical Junior”

Posted on by Yun-Kyung Kim

 

All elementary students were in the school play, Seussical Junior, the musical based on the works of Dr. Seuss. Most people are familiar with the books of Dr. Seuss and enjoy not only the rhyming style of his works but the creativity of his stories. Among the many benefits to be in school play, one of them is that the students get to become part of a larger system working toward a common goal. It has been the culmination of weeks of practice, so the performance itself became a huge reward for all the hard work. Every single participating student did an amazing job!!

This musical weaves together many of his stories and brings a variety of his characters to life. “The themes in ‘Seussical’ are the importance of honesty, loyalty and friendship. But ‘Seussical’ brings additional messages that are so important to people of all ages.

In the play, the colorful bird Gertrude McFuzz is a friend to Horton the Elephant. However, she is unhappy with her one-feather tail. The story-line surrounding Gertrude touches on the difficulties people have with self-image and outward appearance. Horton, meanwhile, has to withstand peer pressure and being laughed at as he tries to save the Whos. While he is being chided as “the biggest blame fool in the Jungle of Nool,” Horton stands firm on principal and does what he knows is right, profoundly singing, “A person’s a person no matter how small.”

Underscoring the story is the relationship between Horton and the smallest Who in Whoville, Jojo. Jojo is a “thinker of great thinks” which unfortunately gets her into trouble. As she is sent off to learn discipline, she feels all alone. Similarly, because Horton is the only one who can hear the Whos, he laments the fact that no one is able to understand him. The result is a bond between Horton and Jojo and the duet “Alone in the Universe.”

Through much mayhem, Horton retains the ability to believe in himself. Even facing the possibility of jail, Horton states, “I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant is faithful one hundred per cent.” Mayzie LaBird and Sour Kangaroo provide examples of the issues of right and wrong, and the Cat in the Hat reminds the characters facing difficulty to consider “How Lucky You Are.”

BRAVO to all our performers!!

Upper Elementary: Nature’s Classroom

Posted on by Brian Comstock

We had an outstanding time on our two night overnight to Nature’s Classroom in Charlton, MA!  The students worked in class today to help create a Top 10 List of their favorite things about the trip. Enjoy and have a great Memorial Day Weekend!

Top 10 Best Things About Nature’s Classroom

  1. Food
  2. Night Experience (campfire and s’mores)
  3. Quiet Sing
  4. Field Group (atl-atl, camo)
  5. Science Fair
  6. Transition time (soccer, cards, kickball)
  7. Special Interest Classes (Thor, Pond Probe, Roller Coaster, Remember Me)
  8. NC Teachers
  9. Group games (bat vs moth)
  10. Cabins