Morado students are getting more involved with preparations for The Odyssey, making props, set, and costumes as well as rehearsing. One student, upon being asked what his role is, drew himself up and said, “I spread the light.” (He is a torchbearer.) Students continued to learn about the continent of Africa, and look forward to sharing some of their experiences with you next Friday, January 27 at 9:00.

In math, many students have turned to fractions. Some made bar graphs this week, some tried a new material and others began to shift from materials to abstraction in operations. Several practiced reading large numbers.

We are preparing progress reports, which will be sent to you January 30. Please sign up on Bloomz for a conference. Slots are available February 2 and 3.

Enjoy your weekend,

Ben, Mary, and Ali

Hi Folks,

This past week, many students have started to focus on their Africa research projects.  We have a lot of people interested in many different aspects of Africa.  We have research happening on the many different landscapes, cultures, and art from the continent.  Remember to join us for our Early Bird Event on Friday, January 27 at 9:00 am, to see everyone's hard work.

A highlight this week was seeing the students having a great time getting a chance to drum together and learn new songs from our visitors from Ghana.  All students also got some extra time to practiced the songs from next month's "Odysseus" play.

The teachers are also spent part of the week wrapping up assessments for students for the winter progress reports.  Final progress reports will be delivered by the end of the month.  Remember to sign-up Bloomz, if you haven't already, for a parent/teacher conference time for February 2 and 3.

Have a good 3 day weekend,

Ben, Mary, & Ali

What would it be like to live on a continent where the north end is having winter when the south end is having summer? The children are thinking about questions like that as we explore Africa. They made physical maps this week, and some began political maps. Their literature circle books all take place in different parts of Africa. We sang a call and response song from Eritrea, accompanied by musical instruments from Cameroon. Some of them began an art project based on kente cloth, which you can learn more about with your child in these two links:

https://www.kentecloth.net/video-how-kente-is-made/

https://www.kentecloth.net/kente-cloth-patterns/

On Monday, we will have visitors from Ghana play drums with us in an interactive session they call “Africa Comes to You.” Some of the children would like to make galimotos (wire push toys), which means we could use some very thin coat hangers, if anyone has some to spare. We will share some of our activities with you at the Early Bird Event, 9:00 am Friday, January 27.

Preparations for the original musical, ‘Odysseus’ are in full swing. The performance will be February 10. If your child cannot be in the performance, it is important for us to know as soon as possible.

Look on Bloomz very shortly for the opportunity to pick a conference time. Conferences will be held February 2 and 3.
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Stay warm!
Ben, Mary and Ali