The Paw Print
February 2019
Art Studio News
In the Art Studio Kindergarten and First Graders are drawing a picture for this year’s River Festival Tot Trot Contest. They are designing a T-Shirt that goes with the theme THE EXPRESS LANE. Best of Luck!
Second and Third graders worked in the Clay Studio to decorate ceramic heart shapes. Fourth and Fifth Graders are working with a partner to create a yearbook design. Their design will include MAC the Cat. They are doing a great job of collaborating. Art Club is participating in the Doodle for Google Contest. They are to design a Google picture that goes with the theme: When I grow up I hope…I look forward to seeing their final design!
Science News
February finds us studying physical science in the lab. Fifth grade has been studying properties of matter. This month they will experiment with buoyancy and density. Fourth grade is studying electricity and constructing circuits. Third grade is finishing a unit on magnetism and will begin learning & experimenting with states of matter. Second grade is learning about force and motion and will be experimenting with friction this month. First grade is learning about solids and liquids. We also learned about the organs of our body and had the opportunity to look at a deer heart! Kindergarten has begun a study of wood. Students will be making plywood, particleboard and wood sculptures in the lab.
Buddy Catapult School-Wide Science Event
Our school-wide science event this month is the “Buddy Catapult”. It will be held Thursday, February 7. Upper grades will partner with their primary classroom “buddies” to test different projectiles with the catapults they have built. The schedule is below if you would like to join us! Students do not need any materials from home for this project.
Music Notes
January has been a busy month, here in the Music Room! After a successful musical in December, grade 4 and 5 began learning to play the ukulele, thanks to a traveling set provided by the District. Grades 3, 4 & 5 attended their second Young People’s Concert at the Wichita Symphony, and it was a great program on Tchaikovsky. Grades K and 1 were treated to a Kinder Concert by a WSU graduate student string trio, where they traveled to outer space and back. Grade K-3 have learned most of their music for their programs.
One of our 5th grade students, Avah, completed her second year representing McLean in the NW Area Honor choir. She rehearsed 2 nights a week for the entire month with approximately 100 area students and she did a wonderful job at the concert! Her hard work paid off and she has been selected to be in the 5th Grade All-City Honor Choir that will perform at Century II. Thanks for representing us so well, Avah.
On to February, when we have the K-1 Concert on Thursday, Feb. 28th at 6:30 PM at Pleasant Valley Middle School The students will be performing in the Pleasant Valley Middle School Auditorium. Students should gather in the Choir Room, directly across from the Auditorium by 6:15 PM. The address of PVMS is 2220 W. 29th St North, which is approximately 7 blocks north of McLean and two blocks west of Amidon.
Please mark your calendars now!
Students are invited to dress up for this performance of “The Day the Crayons Quit.” We have a lot of color-themed songs to share with you.
Grades 2 and 3 will be completing their memorization of songs and are getting ready to create skits for their show, “All That I Can Be” in April. I am curious to see what they came up for the songs “Tidy Up Your Room” and “Teamwork”. They will also be working in class on various instruments and beginning note names skills.
Grades 4 and 5 move on to advanced note reading and solfeggio skills in preparation for the late April piano lab arrival and for future use in Band, choir or Orchestra in 6th grade. If you remember the song, “Do Re Mi” from “The Sound of Music” you will know the solfegge syllables! Thanks for supporting your child’s musical growth. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I’ll do my best to help out.
P.E. Shorts
We are getting ready to finish a golf unit and we will be moving into a bowling unit. I will also be sending home permission slip forms for skating boarding which we will start after spring break. If you have any questions about PE, please feel free to contact me. My office number is 973-8263 and my e-mail is jdoornbos1@usd259.net.