Just The Essentials
HCS Essential Arts Newsletter - March 2020
Art
Kindergarten - Art
Way back in December, the Kindergarten students started thinking about primary and secondary colors. We mixed colored model magic to create beads in all these colors and then made cool necklaces. Through the end of December and into early January we painted with tissue paper and then created landscapes thinking about foreground, middle-ground and background and how to create distance in our art. For the rest of January we collaged fun winter hats using a variety of materials and our last project was a snowflake assemblage project that will be coming home soon.
First Grade - Art
Throughout December the first grade students combined printmaking and collage on foil to create beautiful Poinsettias and then made some fun texture and paint resist nutcrackers. For most of January we worked on Penguin Collages which were a combination of painting and collage. After that we started our clay” Fish on a Stick” project that took several weeks but gave the students the opportunity to work out the challenges of working on a 3D project. Currently we are learning to use pastels and thinking outer space!
Second Grade - Art
2nd grade students created three types of winter pictures. The first art piece was a landscape with paint and cut paper. They learned about the foreground, middle ground, background and the size of objects in each space. The second art piece was a winter self-portrait using oil pastels. They drew their head from the point of view of looking up at a snowflake. The final piece was a winter sunset sky with trees. The technique they learned for the trees was dipping the edge of the cardboard in paint and pressing it on the painted sky piece to make trees.
Third and Fourth Grade - Art
3rd and 4th grade students created Birch Tree Landscapes. They learned about the foreground, middle ground, background and the size of objects in each of these spaces. They placed tape on their paper to make the trees. Then they used watercolor paints to paint a winter sky. The final details for shadows, line patterns on the trees and patterns on the border were drawn with Sharpie markers. Students also drew cactus still lifes with Native American symbols on the plant pot. They learned about the shape of cactuses and how to draw them and that Native American symbols were used as a form of communication. They used black sharpie and oil pastels for their pictures.
Fifth and Sixth Grade - Art
5th and 6th grade students learned about the color wheel and created images, patterns or designs inside and outside the color wheel. They also learned how to draw shapes and landscapes in perspective. Students started their artwork with a vanishing point and a horizon line in order to draw three-dimensional shapes and images.
Seventh and Eighth Grade Art
Students learned about color value by creating a landscape and the techniques of printmaking. They looked at cityscapes and landscapes that showed the skyline and mountains getting lighter as they fade into the background. They made a stencil of a city skyline mountains or created their own landscape. They learned how to color mix in order to make different values of a color and painted each area lighter than the one before it.
The printmaking unit included making a stamp from a square eraser and stamping it onto marbelized paper they made. Students made two printing plates on styrofoam and carved on linoleum and then printed it using ink and a roller.
Physical Education
Second and Third Grade - PE
In the late fall, the 2nd graders practiced striking the ball with their feet while playing continuous kickball and soccer pinball. During the week of the play, we did some cooperative cup stacking challenges.After Thanksgiving break, the skill focus was basketball; specifically dribbling, passing and shooting. A variety of levels were demonstrated, so the students were able to start at a level that was comfortable for them.Cardio drumming was next. Each student gets a stability ball, a bucket, and drumsticks. We talked about staying on beat, both with the drumming and the moving of the body. This is a great way to blend music, movement, rhythm, and style into one activity. Then on to yoga, where they worked by themselves or with partners on various poses.
Fourth Grade - PE
Sixth Grade - PE & Health
6th Grade PE - Practiced various striking skills through Spike ball, 4 square, and badminton. The students practiced the skills of dribbling, shooting and passing in a basketball unit.
6th Grade Health - Completed Units of Instruction on Communication (Saying “No”, Peer Pressure), Emotions and Behavior (Self Esteem, Dealing with Emotions, Assertive, Aggressive and Passive Behaviors) and Puberty (“Always Changing and Growing Up” Movie and Puberty BrainPop activities as well as final class Kahoot!)
Seventh and Eighth Grade - PE & Health
7th and 8th Grade PE- Volleyball and Fitness Testing
Grade 7 Health - This trimester our topics included interpersonal communication, (including active listening and refusal skills), nutrition, ( including essential nutrients and nutrition fact labels) and vaping (including hazards and marketing ploys).
Grade 8 Health - This trimester our topics included values and decision making, accessing valid information, stress management, HIV/AIDS/ STD facts, and mental health.
General Music
5th Grade- We completed our first Sequence of the year, these units encourage notation and ear training by using solfege syllables. We continue our individual learning on keyboards and music theory folders. Our composers of the month were Leonard Bernstein, Robert and Clara Schumann, Johannes Brahms & Antonin Dvorak. We are currently working on a listening unit including Sheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov and Symphony#9 by Antonin Dvorak,
6th Grade - The 6th grade has completed the viewing of the musical “West Side Side.” We discussed the American composer Leonard Bernstein. Our composers of the month Sergi Prokofiev, Robert and Clara Schumann. We are currently studying our last Sequence #8, these units encourage notation and ear training by using solfege syllables.
Instrumental Music
-8 HCS advanced musicians are auditioning and were selected for the District III (Chittenden County) band festival concert on January 31 and February 1, 2020 at CVU -WELL DONE!!
-The Advanced/Jazz Band members will perform our Small Ensemble Concert on Tuesday March 10, 2020 at 7pm in Flexspace/Cafeteria.
Library
Kindergarten - Library
Kindergarteners have recently learned about story elements: characters, setting, problem and solution. In December Kindergarteners learned about communication differences between humans and robots (computers) through the book, Boy and Bot. Then each class made a coding loop of dance steps. And danced the loop they wrote.
If you are the parent or guardian you may have noticed nonfiction books coming home from the library recently. Kindergarten students now have to decide whether they would like to take out a fiction or nonfiction book. They have learned about some nonfiction text features that you may want to talk about when sharing a book:
-Photographs
-Illustrations
-Labels
-Table of Contents
First Grade - Library
First graders have worked on a design technology unit after listening to a story with a bridge that failed in it. They built better bridges to support a bear crossing it.
In December, 1st graders practiced unplugged coding on a coding mat. Two teams competed by giving their robot (a student) directions to pick up coins on the mat, trying to be the team that picked up the most coins.
Recently first graders have been enjoying listening to nonfiction texts and learning about the following nonfiction text features:
-Headings
-Bold words
- Glossary
Second Grade - Library
2nd graders learned about life long ago in November. They learned about ice harvesting, how laundry was done and the clothing that people wore long ago through books and artifacts. These lessons support a unit they worked on in their classrooms.
In December, 2nd Graders learned that algorithms are a specific set of directions that computers need in order to function properly. The students worked in teams of two to use pictures to create a special handshake.
Recently 2nd graders listened to the book, Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner. They have practiced note taking skills using a chart to answer the essential research question, where do wild animals live in the winter? This library work corresponds with the classroom reading and research they are participating in.
Third Grade - Library
Third graders learned about locating the different sections of the library: fiction, nonfiction, reference, graphic novels and biographies. They used the camera app on their chromebooks and took a picture of one book from each section that they would recommend to other 3rd graders.
3rd graders listened to the story, Hello Ruby, Adventures in Coding. The following week they worked in small teams to apply coding skills to an unplugged coding scavenger hunt right in the library. All teams were motivated to complete the scavenger hunt and find a prize for each team member. Every team was successful and received a bookmark for their efforts.
Recently third graders have been using library nonfiction books and some online tools to assist them with learning about a specific rainforest animal.
Fourth Grade - Library
4th graders have continued to play the Mystery State Game using United States maps. These lessons support their classroom curriculum work around learning about the 50 states.
For this year’s unplugged coding activity, fourth graders learned about writing code using conditionals. They practiced this concept with a card game that required a conditional as rule for the game.
In December 4th graders learned about their strengths and interests by taking a survey. They then used this survey to look at and learn about possible careers that they might pursue in their future.
Recently fourth graders have been doing research//inquiry work in their classrooms about regions and states in the U.S. They have learned about online databases and where to locate books to support their learning in the classroom. Please feel free to have your 4th grader show you some of the online resources on the library webpage under “databases.”
Fifth Grade - Library
5th graders are making book trailers to promote some of the picture books in the library. These book trailers will be shown to kindergarten, first and second graders to get them interested in reading the books. Each 5th grader has chosen a picture book they'd like to present, planned and written their storyboards, and even added their plans for pictures and backgrounds. Students are busy learning how to use WeVideo, a video editing tool, and are beginning to put their book trailers together.
Makerspace
Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd graders are continuing to work with Corinna Stanley, HCS school librarian, in the maker space. Many students have had the opportunity to learn how to use a hammer and some students have recently learned how to use different types of screwdrivers: flat head, phillips head and Makedo Scru kits. Thank you to Mrs. Lasher for introducing us to the Makedo tools for use with cardboard.
World Languages Performance
Congratulations to all the students that put on a great show at the Second Annual World Language Elementary performance. They worked very hard and did a great job!
French
First Grade - French
Students were very excited to start French this semester. Here are so as they entered the French classroom for the first time: “I can finally learn to speak sentences in French”, “I am excited about how to order donuts in French”, I want to learn French words to use on a trip”.
Students learned greetings, alphabet, colors, and numbers. They are singing are engaging in mini dialogues, introducing themselves, greeting each other and naming the colors of their clothing.
Second Grade - French
Students have been practicing the alphabet, colors, days and months through songs, games and TPR activities. They have learned about a few animals that live in the forest that is linked to the song “in his house a big deer”. Students produced an art project and labeled it with vocabulary words and expressions from the song.
Fourth Grade - French
Students had a smooth transition into French. They engaged in various activities and games to review previously learned topics. They learned about the weather, sang songs, designed weather forecast posters and played the role of a weather forecast meteorologist as they presented their poster.
Fifth Grade - French
As part of their learning about food, students designed menus and priced food in Euro. They were very excited to perform skits in which they played the role of clients ordering at a restaurant and a server taking their orders. They have also researched a French-speaking country and shared their learning with their classmates.
Students also learned about descriptive adjectives and created visuals to introduce and describe a variety of characters.
Sixth Grade - French
Students learned about family and descriptive adjectives. They designed real or imaginary family trees and created an album in which they described their family members. They have also been working on their “Adopt A Country” project. They have completed the family life and celebration project and they are now working on their travel suitcase.
Seventh Grade - French
Eighth Grade - French
Students engaged in shopping “excursion” as part of their learning about clothing, grocery, and specialty stores. They set up a market similie, generated a shopping list and played the role of a sales clerk and a customer inquiring about items, negotiating prices and making purchases using the euro class set. They have started reading Pauvre Anne, a French Novel, and engaging in conversations and group activities related to the novel.
Spanish
The third week of January marks the transition for Elementary students to learn a new language. Those who were learning Spanish moved to French and vice versa. How lucky we are to have three languages spoken at HCS!
Across all levels, students watched videos and completed hands of projects to learn about The Black History Month celebrating the African heritage in the culture and history of our continent.
Second Grade - Spanish
Based on the book Brown Bear in Spanish, students are learning about animals and colors through songs, guessing names, writing and reading puzzles.
Third Grade - Spanish
Body parts is one of the most popular units within Elementary students. Guessing games, Simons says, Telephone,songs and dancing bring joy and movement to our classes. Ask your child to sing the Body Parts song.
Fourth Grade - Spanish
The clothing unit brings creativity out. Students have fun designing and describing their masterpieces using clothing vocabulary, colors and numbers. Guessing games, songs and movement are integrated in every lesson.
Fifth Grade - Spanish
Dancing is very important within the Afro Latin American culture. Mr. Lasher and Ms. Muroski classes researched traditional dances from the Spanish speaking countries and shared their work in class.
Ms. Galyean's class is learning about cognates, English and Spanish words that share the same Latin root, with similar spelling and pronunciation are easy to identify. Did you know that about 40% of English words have a similar (sister) word in Spanish?
Sixth Grade - Spanish
Students continue learning about the cultures of the Spanish speaking world through the year long Adopted Country project, they created maps, researched about family life and celebrations and are building a travel suitcase after their virtual visit. As a closure of the Classroom objects unit, students created videos describing the Spanish classroom. Students used WeVideo or BookCreator to share their creativity. It is fun to see the classroom through their eyes.
Seventh Grade - Spanish
Students love to start class dancing to Shakira’s Waka Waka. They are mastering the choreography and movements. As a closure of the School unit, students made videos and e-Books to talk about their school day.
Eighth Grade - Spanish
Students let go of their imaginations creating and describing Alebrijes, imaginary spirit animals from the the Mexican folk art.
Students created virtual and paper itineraries to share their favorite destinations to the Spanish speaking countries.
On February 5th students attended the Che Malambo performance at the Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center. The all-male company captivated the audience with their energy reflecting the life of the Gauchos in Argentina. A guest art teacher from the Flynn center led a workshop about teamwork, movement call, and response as preparation for the performance.
Sonny Sammut
Art-K-1st
Rebecca Gove
Art 2-4
Cindi Stanley
Physical Education
Chris Shackett
Physical Education
Cindy Fay
Instrumental Music (5th-8th)
Danielle Sertz
General (K-4) and Choral Music (5-8)
Corinna Stanley
Librarian
Zalfa Kasti
French teacher
Ainaka Luna
Spanish teacher