All About Specials!
Whittier Elementary Quarter 3 Specials Newsletter, 2018-2019
"ART"ifacts
Kindergarten students have completed their Kindergarten Art Books that showcase a variety of different art concepts they have been learning throughout the year. Please ask them to show you their art book when they get home. They are currently working on a Kandinsky style tree with warm and cool colors. Students used a wet on wet painting technique in the background. Next, students painted a tree and grass. Our last step will be to cut warm colored concentric circles for leaves.
First graders are painting Cherry Blossom Trees and learning about Japanese culture. Students painted the background with cool colors using a wet on wet painting technique. Next, our 1st grade friends will be painting the tree branches by blowing black paint with a straw. Our last step will be to add textured flowers with tissue paper.
Students in 2nd grade are learning about things that are symmetrical and asymmetrical. Symmetrical balance is when content on either side of a picture are exactly the same. Asymmetrical things are not the same on both sides. Students painted asymmetrical birch trees with a dotted Pointillism technique. Currently, second graders are learning new facts about insects and hand building clay sculptures. After the insects are glazed and fired in the kiln, students will be able to take their artwork home.
Third graders completed a monochromatic animal painting. Monochromatic colors are tints and shades of one color. To make a tint, add white to any color. To make a shade, add black to any color. Students used complementary colors in the background of their artwork. Complementary colors are colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel like: red and green, blue and orange along with yellow and purple. Our next artwork will feature complementary colors and be inspired by the abstract artist Piet Mondrian.
Our 4th graders are learning about the artist Amedeo Modigliani and creating a self portrait in his style. Students are drawing a self portrait using elongated proportions, then coloring the portrait with oil pastels. Students are blending tints and shades to create the correct color for their facial features. The background of the artwork will be colored with tertiary colors.
Portrait is the topic of choice in 5th grade. Students are drawing a self portrait or a portrait of an important person in their life. Once drawings are completed, students will experiment with different art media to color their artwork. Students have the choice of: colored pencil, sharpie, or oil pastel.
A special thank you goes out to everyone who came out to support the “Night of the Arts” on March 21st. Thanks to all the Whittier staff members, families and friends who helped to make our annual arts night a success. We appreciate all you do for our school!
The art department is always in need of the following donations: styrofoam egg cartons, yogurt cups, newspaper, tissues, sponges, magazines or gently used art materials. If you would like to volunteer in the art room, please feel free to contact Leah Coats (Leah.Coats@fcps.org) or Heidi Hench (Heidi.Hench@fcps.org). We always could use an extra set of hands.
Book Bytes
The books this year have made us giggle, imagine and question while inspiring us to be a champion, an inventor, an artist, and a friend. They have taught us how to push through fear, to calm our stress, to use your voice to help others, to accept others and be a friend, to laugh hard and to work harder and so much more. I am so excited to see which book will become our school’s favorite! April is School Library Month and April 8-12 is National Library Week. Be on the lookout for our spirit days for National Library Week!
Happy reading! Ms. Dattoli :)
Counselor's Corner
Whittier Elementary Career Day
May 16th at 1:00-3:15
On May 16th, 2019 we are hosting our annual Career Day for our 5th grade students and we need your help! We are looking for individuals who are passionate about their careers to come and share your life’s work with our wonderful students. Each year, our 5th graders get to explore a variety of career choices they might have never considered, broadening their interests and sparking their curiosity for career exploration. Each speaker will be given a sheet of talking points, and will speak for five, 20 minute sessions. If you are able to participate in this great day, please reach out to our School Counselors, Carleigh Rich (Carleigh.Rich@fcps.org) or Lisa Reese (Lisa.Reese@fcps.org) at 240-236-3135 for more details. Thank you!
Musical Moment
Spring has sprung in the music department! We have been working very hard during the third term. We enjoyed performing for our families in our Night of the Arts mini-concerts in March! Our students performed over 40 songs in 7 different mini-concerts. Each grade level did an amazing job! 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades have been working hard learning how to compose their own music. They have been focusing on making sure melodies flow well and sound complete. 4th and 5th grade will be starting the ukulele very soon, stay tuned for more information! 3rd grade has been working hard learning B, A, and G on the recorder and making sure they are playing with a good tone and no squeaks!
First and Second grades have been learning to identify classroom instruments by sight and sound. They are demonstrating that they can play each instrument correctly and that they can correctly group like instruments together based on how they are played. Kindergarten has been working with classroom instruments as well and have just a few letters left to complete learning all of their Alphabet Actions Songs! Be sure to ask your kindergartener which Alphabet Action letter is their favorite!
The Whittier Music Makers and Boomshakers are working hard to get ready for their concerts, along with their special guests, The Recorder Club! The concert will be Friday, April 26th at 6 pm in the Whittier Cafeteria. The Music Makers will take a walking field trip to Somerford Place on Wednesday April 24 at 4 pm. The Music Makers will also be performing the National Anthem at the Frederick Keys baseball game on Tuesday, May 7th. More information and details about all of these events was sent home recently.
The Honors Chorus students are still working hard preparing for their concert on Wednesday, May 1 at 7 pm. They are very excited to perform at the Weinberg Center for the Arts.
Congratulations to the Honors Band and Orchestra students! The concert at the end of March was amazing and all of our students did a great job! The Whittier Band concert is approaching quickly. The Spring In School Concert is Thursday, May 9 and our evening concert is the same day, Thursday, May 9 at 7pm at FHS. Please see Mrs. Cheston (Jilby.Cheston@fcps.org) or Mrs. Crum (Vicki.Crum@fcps.org) with questions about instrumental music at Whittier.
Thank you for supporting the music department at Whittier Elementary!
Miss Fishel (Amanda.Fishel@fcps.org)
Mr. Wagaman (Damien.Wagaman@fcps.org)
Phys Ed Fun and Fitness
Students have done an awesome job during term 3. Students were all introduced/reviewed rolling skills during our bowling unit here at WHES. Grades 2-5 worked on scoring as well, grades 4 and 5 learned how to score a real game of bowling!! We had lots of opportunities to improve our rolling form and accuracy during these two weeks. Students also learned about different approaches 2 step and 3 step to help with their rolling skills!
We also participated in a jump rope unit this year. Students got lots of practice to improve various jumping skills and really got to work on their cardio-respiratory endurance. They learned that jump roping is a great activity to strengthen your heart, February was our healthy heart month!
We also participated in a little March Madness of our own with a basketball unit. Students were able to practice and learn different ball handling activities, dribbling, passing and shooting skills to improve hand quickness and hand-eye coordination. Students had a blast during this unit and March flew by!
Looking ahead, we are looking for parent volunteers to help us run stations at Field Day this year. Field Day will be May 24. More details will come out closer to the date but we are always looking for volunteers to help with this big event! Please contact Mr. Keimig (John.Keimig@fcps.org) and Mrs. Fortney (Kimberly.Fortney@fcps.org) with any questions!