Monthly Specialty Class Newsletter
March 2019
Chinese with Mrs. Ma
Spring is in the air! (春天来了!) These past few weeks, the students continue to improve their pronunciation using the Chinese pronunciation corrector app. We also reviewed the challenging pinyin initials, compound finals, and tones.
TK and K students have been learning how to ask “what is this” and responding in Chinese; as well as, practicing classroom phrases, colors, and “be 是” sentence structures. 1st and 2nd-grade students have been focusing on family members and “have 有” sentence structures and reviewing basic Chinese characters. Multiage students have been focused on “I like/I don’t like“’ responses, “have 有” sentence structures, seasons, food ordering, and basic bargaining related vocabulary.
As part of our interactive portion of the class, we have been using smartboard features to enhance lesson plans and to help students review past knowledge. They may come to you expressing how much they love playing the race car and flash card games in Chinese class!
Spanish with Mrs. Thompson and Miss Kelley
Feliz Primavera! (Happy Spring!)
In TK and K Spanish, they are finishing up their unit on "la ropa" (clothing) and will be moving on shortly to "los animales" (animals)! The students have been practicing their vocabulary through hands on activities, games, videos and fun, engaging lessons that help them to learn the vocabulary for each unit. At a young age, students are able to soak up so much knowledge, and learning these functional and foundational vocabulary word lists will help them to be successful as they progress to the upper levels in Spanish. According to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, "Research shows that learning a second language boosts problem-solving, critical-thinking, and listening skills, in addition to improving memory, concentration, and the ability to multitask." What a wonderful gift we are giving our young learners by exposing them to a second language at a young age!
In 1st, 2nd, and Multi-Age Spanish, we are finishing up Unit 4 and 5 respectively, and getting ready to take our quizzes that will show all that we've learned so far this year! We have been focusing on reviewing our verbs and vocabulary words through hands on activities, videos, and small group work and discussions. One thing I love about our program, Foreign Languages for Kids by Kids, is their use of technology through videos and interactive quizzes that allow students to use their Chrome Books and iPads to access the program and its material. The students are engaged and love being able to interact with the characters, videos, and online workbooks. It's such an asset to our program and helps integrate technology into our Spanish class each week!
Music with Ms. Zhang
Our TK/K students are learning music theory, including slow and fast tempo, steady beats, and variations of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" from the Music for Little Mozarts curriculum. Additionally, I am glad to announce that K students have started to learn keyboard skills. They are excited to display these new skills at the upcoming assembly this week!
1st grade students are learning voice warm up in a 5 note scale pattern, with a,en, zoo and lee-ou. Additionally, they are learning keyboard skills on two and three black keys and on C position. They are practicing rhythm exercises through singing songs.
2nd grade students are learning their favorite songs such as "Happier" and "Miao Miao Song" in Chinese. Additionally, they are learning keyboard skills on white keys C position and piano solo Firefly. We have voice pitch training which is the warm up on 5 notes scale in a, ou, zoo, lou-ee, and super duper double gum.
3rd through Multi-Age students are learning several piano pieces: C position solos, "Over the Rainbow", "Lightly Row", and "Imagine" by John Lennon. Moreover, they compose their own songs, such as the Ice Cream song. Voice pitch training includes "Mary Had a Little Lamb."
STEM With Mrs. Bustle
The past few weeks have been exciting ones in STEM class for all grade levels!
TK and K have been learning about animal features, specifically different types of bird beaks. We explored how different birds have special beaks that enable them to eat various kinds of food. We practiced ‘eating’ different kinds of food using versions of these beaks to see how this works!
In first grade we have been focusing on completing our OC Fair Imaginology projects! We can’t wait to show off all our hard work that went into our final products! We have also learned about animal adaptations and how they help animals live more successfully in their habitat!
Second grade has been learning about animal communications. We have focused on frogs and how they communicate in various ways. We began by listening to different frog sounds to identify species living in a pond together. We have even morphed into frogs to discover how they communicate in order to group up with their same species!
In Multi-Age we have spent time learning about Earth changes. We began with the question “could a volcano pop up in your backyard?” and followed by plotting where volcanoes are today to determine if there is a amongst these locations.
We have also spent time working on our various OC Fair Imaginology projects. We can’t wait to show off our final products!
Art with Miss Jordan
Besides the art elements (line, form, space, texture) and design principles (balance, unity, contrast, emphasis), as well as the art history lessons (EVERY Master Artist has a Self-Portrait in their portfolio) the students have learned through creating a self-portrait, this project is essential for students on the plane of self-discovery, self-understanding, and even self-love!
Today in our society, we are bombarded with images and ideals of an unattainable standard of "perfection." Whether we're talking about academics, beauty, or health and fitness, students in our society are constantly pressured to be "more." However, sometimes it's important for a child to be able to take a good look at themselves, as they are in a positive light and know that they are as special, unique, and beautiful as the self-portrait they created with their own ideas, abilities, and of course, their own two hands! Not only is it SO much fun, but through this project, students are able to focus on a piece that is completely about them, giving them an opportunity to explore who they are, what they value, and even what they want to become some day. I am absolutely thrilled you will get to see your child through their very own eyes with our AMA-zing Self-Portraits at AMA's Art Fair May 7th through 8th. More information regarding this fun event will be sent as we get closer.
Extended Care with Miss Jordan and Mrs. Bustle
We couldn’t be more thrilled to have Miss Chelsea and Miss Sunny join our Extended Care team! Over the last couple of weeks they have had the pleasure of bonding with each one of our students, especially in the afternoons for our extended day. They have engaged the children in exciting science experiments like Dancing Raisins and art projects like Weather Works. Extended Care has also been focusing on team building activities to encourage collaboration and to develop a strong sense of community amongst our students. One area of focus has been keeping our campus clean and pristine! Some students have taken it upon themselves to recruit friends on the playground for their afternoon clean-up crew. Each day during afternoon recess, they go around the playground and pick up items to recycle and throw away. We are so proud of our students for their great display of citizenship and teamwork. Keep it up AMA Eagles!