1/31 Weekly Update

                                 We celebrated Ruby Sewell's Special Week AND her half-birthday!

                        

                  .       

                                ______________________________________________________

Our quote of the week was "Do the right thing, even if no one is looking." 

The girls nominated Adeline Negatu-Jones for

showing us what it means to work hard, do good deeds, and help others!

                                ______________________________________________________

Curriculum Updates   

Technology Update from Mrs. Kortas

           

Reading: We are continuing Flora and Ulysses. We have been able to have rich discussions about eye dilation, squid artwork, and the 10-2 steering wheel meaning! This book offers many opportunities for extra knowledge exploration. Ask your daughter to tell you about something from the book that they would love to research.

Math: We assessed number and shape patterns. Our new unit is geometry. We continue to spiral review number sense, multiplication, and division. The nightly homework sheets reflect this review.

Language Arts: We continue to work on our PBL (project-based learning) project. We are exploring the question How are different adaptations critical to survival in specific ocean zones?. We are working in tandem with Mrs. Mastin in science and Mrs. Kortas in technology. At this point in the process, we are editing our writing about the "newly discovered" creature. This creature must have adaptations from real animals that will help it survive in a chosen ocean zone. We began creating the 3D versions today!

**Our PBL Culmination event will be on Thursday, February 20 from 10:30-11:00. Parents are invited to meet us in the assembly room to hear about the stages of our learning about animal adaptations. Guests will then travel to classrooms to see our creations!

Social Studies: We continued our American Civil War unit. This week, we read about how the south and the north were prepared/or not prepared to handle an impending war.  The girls wrote a paragraph about which side was more prepared for the war. This opinion was then backed up with facts to support their claim. Keep in mind this is a brief overview of this time period that will be used as a foundation in later middle and upper school studies. 

Reminders and Important Dates:         

• Carpool helper next week: Kara Bell
• Special week next week: Madeleine Heimlich
• No school (President's Day) February 17
• PBL Culmination February 20 from 10:30-11
• February 21: End of trimester 2 and Wordly Wise Dress Up Day

• Be sure to check out our photo link for photos from the month/year.

1/24 Weekly Update

On Wednesday, we were lucky to have a ZOOM with a marine biology doctoral student. Jill Ashley provided so many great insights into her research with coral. This information will be used in our PBL creations! The girls were fascinated to hear about how coral adapt to their environment and hear ways to protect them! 

                                ______________________________________________________

From the World Languages Department:

The World Languages Department is looking forward to facilitating our annual celebration of World Languages Week from February 3rd to February 7th! We are currently creating videos to highlight members of the community who have studied or speak a language other than English. We hope that these videos will inspire our students to continue to study language to more fully engage with the vibrant world around them.

If you would like to be a part of this project, please send a video in which you introduce yourself and teach your favorite word in a language other than English. Feel free to provide a short backstory about why it is your favorite word! You should send your video to Kefu Dorion (kdorion@st.catherines.org) if you have a student in the Lower School and Noah Cogan (ncogan@st.catherines.org) if you have a student in the Middle or Upper Schools. If you have students in both the Lower and Middle/Upper Schools, you can choose to send your email to either Kefu or Noah. The deadline for submissions is  Friday, January 24th. 

                                ______________________________________________________

Curriculum Updates              Paper folders came home today!

  

Reading: We are continuing, Flora and Ulysses. We are exploring rich vocabulary and character development. Ask your daughter to describe Flora and predict what may happen next. (Ask them to use BECAUSE in their response to help provide textual evidence)

Math: We are working on number and shape patterns. We will assess this unit towards the end of next week. 

Language Arts: We used this time to work on our PBL (project-based learning) project. We are exploring the question How are different adaptations critical to survival in specific ocean zones?. We are working in tandem with Mrs. Mastin in science and Mrs. Kortas in technology. At this point in the process, we are writing about our "newly discovered" creature. This creature must have adaptations from real animals that will help it survive in a chosen ocean zone.

**Our PBL Culmination event will be on Thursday, February 20 from 10:30-11:00. Parents are invited to meet us in the assembly room to hear about the stages of our learning about animal adaptations. Guests will then travel to classrooms to see our creations!

Social Studies: We are continuing our American Civil War unit. This week, we read about how the south and the north were prepared/or not prepared to handle an impending war.  Keep in mind this is a brief overview of this time period that will be used as a foundation in later middle and upper school studies. 

Reminders and Important Dates:         

• Carpool helper next week: Hazy Lynch
• Special week next week: Ruby Sewell
• Gold/White Spirit /Fun Day: January 29
• PBL Culmination February 20 from 10:30-11

• Be sure to check out our photo link for photos from the month/year.

1/17 Weekly Update

                                           We celebrated Madelynn Browning's special week!

______________________________________________________

This week's quote of the week was "All things are difficult until before they are easy." DABNEY HARK was chosen by her peers for her hard work and dedication to learning! It is hard to stick with something that is hard, but it will get easier!

______________________________________________________

On Wednesday, we were lucky to have a ZOOM with Lila's aunt, Dr. Jen Phillips. She provided so many great insights into her research with zebrafish. This information will be used in our PBL creations! The girls were fascinated to hear about how the fish and her molecular genetic research are leading to advances in eye disease treatment for humans! 

                                ______________________________________________________

From the World Languages Department:

The World Languages Department is looking forward to facilitating our annual celebration of World Languages Week from February 3rd to February 7th! We are currently creating videos to highlight members of the community who have studied or speak a language other than English. We hope that these videos will inspire our students to continue to study language to more fully engage with the vibrant world around them.

If you would like to be a part of this project, please send a video in which you introduce yourself and teach your favorite word in a language other than English. Feel free to provide a short backstory about why it is your favorite word! You should send your video to Kefu Dorion (kdorion@st.catherines.org) if you have a student in the Lower School and Noah Cogan (ncogan@st.catherines.org) if you have a student in the Middle or Upper Schools. If you have students in both the Lower and Middle/Upper Schools, you can choose to send your email to either Kefu or Noah. The deadline for submissions is  Friday, January 24th. 

                                ______________________________________________________

Curriculum Updates  

  

Reading: We began our next novel, Flora and Ulysses. This story is about a little girl and a squirrel she encounters. Every 7 chapters, the girls respond to comprehension questions and use context clues to figure out certain vocabulary. Ask your daughter to tell you what is happening in the story so far! What is so unique about Ulysses?

Math: We began unit 4 (patterns) this week. We are also spending time on review division and multiplication. 

Language Arts: We used this time to work on our PBL (project-based learning) project. We are exploring the question How are different adaptations critical to survival in specific ocean zones?. We are working in tandem with Mrs. Mastin in science and Mrs. Kortas in technology. At this point in the process, we are noting curiosities and researching various animal behavioral and structural adaptations. We are also observing animal behavior through webcams. 

**Our PBL Culmination event will be on Thursday, February 20 from 10:30-11:00. Parents are invited to meet us in the assembly room to hear about the stages of our learning about animal adaptations. Guests will then travel to classrooms to see our creations!

Social Studies: We began our American Civil War unit by reviewing the westward growth of the united states and how that impacted various groups in the United States. This week, we read about various social groups and discussed what daily life was like, who had political power in society, and what issues were challenging to them. Keep in mind this is a brief overview of this time period that will be used as a foundation in later middle and upper school studies. 

Reminders and Important Dates:         

• no school Monday and Tuesday
• Chinese class begins next Friday
• Carpool helper next week: Dabney Hark
• Special week next week:
• PBL Culmination February 20 from 10:30-11

• Be sure to check out our photo link for photos from the month/year.