Specials Newsletter
November 2020
Music
I’m so excited to be joining PRE this year in the music room! COVID-19 restrictions have changed some of the things that we can do in music, but that hasn’t stopped us from learning, laughing, and growing. We are so thankful to the district for buying a high-powered air purifier to keep the music room safe. Even so, we are significantly limiting the amount of singing we’re doing in class for the time being to err on the side of safety as singing and shouting have been found to transmit more aerosolized particles through the air. That means we’ve spent a lot of time reading, playing instruments, composing, creating, moving, and learning about the musical world.
Kindergarten:
Kindergarten music has been filled with moving, patting, clapping, reading, and lots of giggling. We’ve been listening to and talking about all the sounds around us. That means we’re identifying different voice types (whisper, speaking, singing, and shouting voices) and also looking for opposites everywhere like high/low, loud/soft, quick/slow, etc. We’ve also been working on keeping a steady beat and have been patting, clapping, tapping, and walking to the beat with songs and poems like “Engine, Engine, No. 9” and “Larry the Lobster.”
First Grade:
First grade is a year to listen, learn, and explore. We’ve been taking new poems like “Bee Bee Bumblebee” and “Jean, Jean, Dressed in Green” and have identified rhythms in the words, added new patterns of our own, and played instruments to go with each poem. In first grade we also get to explore note values and have taken trips to the “Note Neighborhood” to learn about quarter notes (ta), eighth notes (ta-di), and quarter rests (ta). Ask your students about all the cats that seem to be popping up in the music room: “Tabby” the copy cat, “Fluffy” the naughty kitty cat who ate Mr. Row’s sandwich, and the famous “Don Gato” who has his very own song.
Second Grade:
This fall our second graders have been exploring the musical world. We’ve been taking virtual field trips to the Sydney Opera house to learn about musical careers like opera singer, ballet dancer, lighting designer, stage manager, piano tuner, and percussionist. We’ve also been using poems and books to inspire musical creations on the xylophones, metallophones, and glockenspiels. Ask your student about Mortimer and how he caused havoc at bedtime or Wendel the Narwhal and how he helped the animals of the sea come together in harmony!
Third Grade:
Third grade music feels a little bit like creation station these last few months because our students are creating and arranging at a rapid pace! We’ve spent time learning how to read and use different note values like the quarter note, eighth notes, quarter rest, half note, half rest, whole note, and whole rest. We’ve also created notes on our white boards and iPads, read notes in the Note Neighborhood, and even arranged different musical creations based on food words. We’ve also explored music through many different books and stories. Ask your students about going “Over the River and Through the Wood,” how the turkey escaped in “Run, Turkey, Run” or “Miguel and the Grand Harmony.”
Fourth Grade:
Fourth grade is all about patterns. We’re looking for patterns in song form, finding short rhythmic patterns that we can copy and play (ostinati), creating patterns on our big tubano drums, and reading note patterns on a simple body percussion staff. Fourth graders are also spending some time exploring the musical world as we learn about famous musicians like Dolly Parton, Tito Puente, and John Coltrane. While we love learning about famous musical examples, we’re learning that anyone can be a composer! Ask your student about their body percussion composition or the melody they chose through the App “TuneTrain.”
Fifth Grade:
We may still only be in fifth grade, but we’re looking ahead to the future and finding our place in the big musical world. We’ve spent time in fifth grade exploring the different instrument families (strings, percussion, woodwinds, and brass) so that we can identify them by sight, sound, and description. We’ve also been playing lots of instruments, composing rhythms, identifying patterns, and reading on the staff. One highlight of our year was learning about military bands and their work around the world. We had the amazing opportunity to Zoom with a member of the “President’s Own” Marine Band based in Washington D.C. Students learned from and were able to ask questions of Staff Sargent Lewis Gilmore, a clarinetist in one of the best bands in the world.
Counseling Corner with Ms. Montgomery
It’s been a great first quarter! I have been lucky enough to be able to do something I am calling “Feel-Good Fridays” with the classes this year. It may not always land on a Friday after this quarter, but I am hoping to keep it up when I can. For this, I take about ten minutes to teach the class a new mindfulness strategy. So far, we have worked on deep breathing, box breaths and focusing our attention to help us be more successful!
· My first two lessons with each grade level were all about getting to know each other and getting to know/review information about what a school counselor does and does not do! I shared a keynote presentation with pictures about myself (a few of my favorite things and pictures of me and my son). In exchange, the students created a mask and a get to know me page for me! With grades 2-6, I used a Kahoot game to quiz the kids about my job as a school counselor and they did great. In K-1, we read (K-Who is Ms. Sand Dollar, and 1st - Ms. Joyce gives the best high-fives) and learned all about what a school counselor does through a fun picture book. Frist graders also got to learn about my job while putting together a Ms. Potato Head!
· My second set of lessons, which we are currently working on now and will continue into 2nd quarter are all about Kindness and Tolerance. Below is a list of books and activities I have done with each grade level.
o Kindergarten – We read the book, The Colors of Us and learned that we all have different shades of skin. After reading the story, the students were able to determine what their “people color” is and use it to color a hand. These hands will be put up in the hallway for everyone to see that we are all different colors and that makes us beautiful.
o First grade – We read the book, Scribbleville and learned about a town where everyone and everything was made of scribbles. When a straight-line person came to town, they all thought he didn’t belong. Once they got to know him and realize that scribbles and straight lines are all ok – everyone was much happier! After reading the book, the students created a picture of what they can do to live in harmony with others that are different from them.
o Second grade – We read the book, Mixed: A Colorful Story and learned about how the primary colors lived in harmony until they started thinking they were better than each other. They all moved into their own communities and put up walls to keep the other colors out. Then a blue and a yellow met and decided they really liked each other, so they mixed and created green! By the end of the story there were many shades of all the colors, they took the walls down and lived in harmony all together! After reading the story, students drew a picture and wrote about how they feel when they mix with those who are different.
o Third grade – We read the book, Just Ask! and learned about the many different disabilities (medical and academic) that people may have. The point of the book is to give the students a little bit of knowledge about things they or their classmates may deal with. It leads to some great conversations and helps the kids have more empathy for classmates who might have things like diabetes, asthma, dyslexia, Tourette's syndrome, etc. After the story, the students drew a garden to represent the many unique kids in their class.
o Fourth grade – We read the book, Say Something and learned about how to speak your mind with and without words. The story encourages students to use their words in creative ways (poetry, art, signage, plating a garden, etc.) to stand up for what’s right. After the story, students created a self-portrait of them saying something they feel is important. These will be hung in the hallways for others to see!
o Fifth grade – We read the book, I am Human and learned about the wonderful things that makes us human. This includes the ability to help and hurt, as well as to be helped and be hurt. The book also teaches kids that to be human is to make mistakes and learn from those to make better choices. As a class we also discussed the words prejudice, stereotype and discrimination – what they mean and how they hurt. Students were given many different scenarios and were challenged to share how they would feel in each situation. All of the situations involved some sort of discrimination like having to prove they are legal to be in the country or being forced to pay for a meal before eating it at a nice restaurant. The discussions this activity elicited were so powerful! The students completed a few different sheets that went along with the book.
Art
Students have been making impressive masterpieces in the Prairie Ridge art studio! Their creativity is in full swing, and we can’t wait to share with you what we’ve been creating for the past several weeks!
First through fifth grade artists have been learning about anthropomorphism in art. Anthropomorphism is the act of giving human traits to animals or objects. We looked at examples of this in animated films, illustrations in picture books and in contemporary artists’ work! We looked at the work of William Wegman; an American photographer who photographs his Weimaraner dogs in silly costumes and various poses. We took a virtual tour of William Wegman’s photography studio in NYC and gained insight into his process and watched him shoot photos of his dogs!
Next, it was time for us to try our hand at our own anthropomorphic illustration. Students drew woodland creatures such as foxes, rabbits, deer and bears or an animal of their choice. Next, they adorned their animals in costumes, outfits and accessories such as sweaters, bow ties, suits and glasses. It has been so fun to see each illustration to come to life and develop its own unique personality!
Kindergarten students used knowledge of line and shape to create wonderful snowman illustrations. Students learned how to use permanent markers, chalk and a crayon/watercolor resist to complete their works of art! They are all quite impressive and I love how each drawing is unique with personal touches from each artist!
Art to Remember
This year, PRE families will have the opportunity to order their child’s artwork on a variety of products through Art to Remember! Your child will bring home an order form that has their artwork on it the first week of December. Choose from over 60 products and place your order through the easy to navigate website. You can even order items with other artworks your child has created! Simply upload any images you would like! These keepsake items are great for holiday gifts and are a great way to display and remember your child’s artwork for years to come. You can ship items directly to your home in time for the holidays, or they can be shipped to school for me to distribute in January. A portion of proceeds comes back to the art program and is used to buy clay and glaze for our ceramic projects each year, as well as supplies for our black light glow gallery that students get to experience in the spring. Last year, we were able to purchase new display boards to display your student’s masterpieces in the hallways of Prairie Ridge! Please look for your child’s order form that will come home the first week of December and let me know if you have any questions!
Taylor Newman
Library
We are off to a great start in the library this year! One of the biggest changes we are getting used to in the library is sitting in individual desks instead of tables. The students have adjusted beautifully! Below are a few of the topics we have covered to start the year.
Kindergarten: I have SO enjoyed getting to know our new kindergartners! We have gotten to know some of the areas in our library, talked a LOT about how to take care of our books, learned the difference between fiction vs. nonfiction books, and the parts of a book. Mr. Wiggle is a character that helped teach them many of these things. We also read a few books by the author Lois Elhert and had fun making animals out of shapes! Students have begun learning how to use a shelf marker when looking for books on shelves.
First Grade: First grade has done a fabulous job adjusting to the longer time frame in the library. We do try to get up and take wiggle breaks when we can! We have been reviewing the sections of our library and how to care for our books. We learned about the Shelf Elf who makes sure we follow the library manners and book care rules each day. We also completed an author study on Gail Gibbons, reviewed fiction vs. nonfiction books, and discussed parts of a book. We are really working on putting backs back on the shelf correctly during check out!
Second Grade: Second grade is a great way to end the day in specials! In library, we have talked about book care rules and how to choose a “Just Right” book using the story, Goldisocks and the Three Libearians. This year they will have full access to all of our nonfiction books, which they are very excited about! We learned about the Caldecott award and have read several of the winners of this prestigious award. We have talked a lot about fiction vs. nonfiction and identified the parts of a book, including the call number and barcode. This is a fun age to watch because they grow so much throughout the year as readers!
Third Grade: Third graders came in ready to go this year; they have come so far since kindergarten! We reviewed the sections of the library and book care rules after reading The Library Dragon. They also have full access to all sections in the library this year, which they are very excited about! We learned how to use our online catalog, Destiny and learned about the different fiction and non-fiction genres using the book, Joe Bright and the Seven Genre Dudes. We learned about the Kansas State Book Award called the William Allen White Award. There are 10 nominees on the list for 2020-2021. I will be reading some of them aloud during library and book talking others. We already read, Otis and Will Discover the Deep. I am encouraging students to read as many books off the list that they can. To see the list, visit https://wawchildrensbookaward.com/3rd5th-grade-reading-list-2020-21
Fourth Grade: I have loved seeing our fourth graders again, they are such a hard-working bunch of students ready to learn! We started off the year making book care posters to hang in the hallway and read, Never Let A Ghost Borrow Your Library Book. We reviewed how to use Destiny, our online book catalog. They are ready to search for their own books now! We also reviewed the different book genres, completed a book order genre scavenger hunt and practiced using/writing call numbers. We learned about the Kansas State Book Award called the William Allen White Award. There are 10 nominees on the list for 2020-2021. I will be reading some of them aloud during library and book talking others. We already read, Thirty Minutes Over Oregon. I am encouraging students to read as many books off the list that they can. To see the list, visit https://wawchildrensbookaward.com/3rd5th-grade-reading-list-2020-21
Fifth Grade: It’s hard to believe it is this groups’ last year of library! They started out the year reviewing our library and book care rules. We also read The Librarian of Basra, a true story about a librarian who saved 30,000 books during the war in Iraq. They then compared this text to an online news article about the same woman. We also reviewed using Destiny, our online catalog, practiced using call numbers to locate books and did a genre “Breakout” with puzzles to solve. We learned about the Kansas State Book Award called the William Allen White Award. There are 10 nominees on the list this year. I will be reading some of them aloud during library and book talking others. We already read, Can I Touch Your Hair. I am encouraging students to read as many books off the list that they can. To see the list, visit https://wawchildrensbookaward.com/3rd5th-grade-reading-list-2020-21
I am so excited to continue having your kiddos this year! During this week-long specials rotation, your child will have two opportunities to check out books each time they have library. I will try to send an email reminder the day before. If you have any questions feel free to contact me!
Kerri Ptacek- kptacek@usd232.org
Tech Time
Kindergarten
Students have been working very hard throughout the first quarter. We started the quarter going over basic safety for the iPad. We went over how to be safe, smart, and responsible when making decisions with technology. We read a few books that lead to great discussions about safety and how we really should balance our time between screens and other non-screen activities. Next, we spent some time organizing apps, downloading apps, learning the parts of an iPad and their function, how to safe search for images on google chrome, and how to change our background to something fun. We had some fun on a few apps: Geoboards, Photobooth, Sketches School, Notes, Pic EDU, and Code Spark. Lastly, we got to work on finding our letters on the iPad Keyboard through a site called Typetastic. This will help with letter recognition and locating their letters on a keyboard.
1st-2nd grade
Students have been working very hard throughout the first quarter. We started the quarter going over basic safety for the iPad. We went over how to be safe, smart, and responsible when making decisions with technology. We read a few books that lead to great discussions about safety and how we really should balance our time between screens and other non-screen activities. Next, we spent some time organizing apps, downloading apps, learning the parts of an iPad and their function, how to safe search for images on google chrome, and how to change our background to something fun. We had some fun on a few apps: Geoboards, Photobooth, Sketches School, Notes, Pic EDU, and Code Spark, Kodable. CLIPS is an app that we became very familiar with as well. Students had some fun making a video all about themselves. We had a viewing party so they could show their friends their movie. It was awesome! Lastly, we got to work on finding our letters on the iPad Keyboard through a site called Typetastic. This will help with letter recognition and locating their letters on a keyboard.
3rd-5th Grade
Students have been working very hard throughout the first quarter. We started the quarter going over basic safety for the iPad. We went over how to be safe, smart, and responsible when making decisions with technology. We learned how to be a good digital citizen. Next, we spent some time organizing apps, downloading apps, learning the parts of an iPad and their function, how to safe search for images on google chrome, and how to change our background to something fun, and how to have 2 apps open at a time. After that we spent some time with Email. We went over email safety and etiquette. We had some fun on a few apps: Geoboards, Photobooth, Sketches School, Notes, Pic EDU, and. CLIPS is an app that we became very familiar with as well. Students had some fun making a video all about themselves. We had a viewing party so they could show their friends their movie. It was awesome! Lastly, we did some keyboarding through typing.com. We hooked up keyboards to student iPads and away we went. We spent some time reviewing different functions on a keyboard that will also be helpful for the iPad keyboard. Each of these 3 grade levels took the CLIPS app one step further.
3rd Grade: Mini President research project. We used Ducksters.com to help us research about a former president. We took that information and put it into CLIPS and made a movie. We will have an all class viewing party so we can all learn about the different presidents throughout history.
4th Grade: We really dove deep into what it means to be a good digital citizen. We learned what our digital footprint is and how we can be safe. Students made a CLIPS video sharing information they learned.
5th Grade: Students got to choose between a few different STEM activities (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). They took pictures along the way and created a CLIPS video showing their plan, their process, what worked, what didn’t work, and their final product. We had a viewing party to see how everyone’s was different.
What’s happening in Physical Education?
Overview: At the beginning of this semester the focus in Physical Education has been on improving general fitness levels. This focus has included different aerobic based activities that get students moving in a fun way. Everything has run smoothly and students are doing a good job adjusting to the new protocols in place around the school and in the gym setting. A secondary focus has been on improving overall development of manipulative skills – this has included a skill practice portion of every lesson where students get to choose an item to practice. Students have had the option to practice soccer, basketball, football, volleyball skills as well as badminton, frisbee, and jump rope skills. Students also had the option to practice speed stacking, which has been great for improving hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.
Kindergarten - 1st Grade: Kindergarten and 1st grade have been focusing on continued development of basic locomotor skills – this includes skipping, jumping, galloping, sliding, hopping, leaping, and running. They have done a great job with following the updated gym protocols and have gotten a lot of great movement and skill development. One secondary focus with this group has been our manipulative skill development just like the 2nd-5th grade group. Students have been getting a lot of small group practice and coaching in with all of their skill practice items.
2nd - 5th Grade: This group has done a great job of improving their overall fitness levels. The main focus has been on aerobic activities and fitness games that get students active for as much of the class as possible. All students have been doing a great job of using our extra time in Physical Education class wisely and are getting a lot of good coaching on all of the different manipulative skills. Throughout the 2 nd quarter, the students will be continuing to focus on aerobic fitness and manipulative skill development while we transition into a soccer unit – this soccer unit will include small group practice, small group games and overall soccer skill development. Included into the upcoming soccer unit will be a ton of different soccer warm-up activities that help aerobic fitness and soccer skill development at the same time.