Weekly Update March 31, 2010

Upcoming Events:

Spring Break~ April 2nd-April 9th

Here's What's Going on

in Beacons' World !

Reading: Both Reading groups have completed their respective novel units! We are thrilled at the progress each group has made and the caliber of their answers on this week's culminating activities. Great job to the "Midnight on the Moon" group who utilized their knowledge of space and the moon to delve deep into the meaning of the book. They have loved learning about the adventures of Jack and Annie. Our "Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" group completed the book and really enjoyed it! Chapters 5-7 kept them on the edge of their seats. I loved our discussion groups' explanation of how the events all intertwined to make a great plot!

As part of the "deeper meaning" of the "Mixed Up Files" group, I shared a terrific art history book on Michelangelo which had amazing detailed photos of the Sistine Chapel, the Pieta, and David, just to name a few. I told all the students about this amazing Renaissance man and how powerful his artwork is even today. We also got under our desks and used pastels to create our "Michelangelo Masterpiece". I will send it home in the Friday Folder.Believe me, this assignment was not easy to do and your Beacon really worked hard on it! Bravo!

Math: We learned a lot about area and square units this week! Just ask your Beacon and I know you'll hear all about driving and "a"rriving into the "a"rea and square units of a garage verses running all around the outside of the house making the outside "p"retty for the "P"erimeter. Seems silly; but they remembered all the differences and scored between 95 and 100% on the final test on Thursday! Way to go Beacons!!

Science: We had an awesome time this past Monday at the Boeing Museum of Flight! Please scroll down to the previous posting to see all of our amazing photos of flight! We learned so much about the history of airplanes and even went into airplanes. We saw the amazing display on Amelia Earhart. We were bedazzled by the space exhibit with the lunar rover and all those space rocks (awesome!). There was SO much more and virtually everything there was OUT OF SIGHT!!

My sincere thanks to our wonderful chaperones! We couldn't have done it without you! Thank you so very much.

Social Studies: Wow! Have we been on fire learning about the continent of Asia, and most especially the country of Japan! Last week the students received name tags, thank you Mrs. Ritchie, that had their Japanese name on them. This week I taught the class how to count in Japanese. I'm putting a great You-Tube video link on the blog for you to share with your Beacon at home. You'll be impressed with what they know. I taught them about Sue's "itchy knee" (because of )"sand" (so) "she" (had to) "go" so they will remember the numbers. You'll see what I mean and I know you'll have fun with your Beacon as you view this You Tube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oObjz_aKoLU

This week we also had an awesome guest lecturer, L.B., who gave an outstanding power point presentation of his trip to Asia, which he took two years ago. Our adventuresome Beacon was amazing as he relayed his trip's adventures. We all learned so very much about the Asian countries he visited. L.B. was so amazing that I felt he needed to share his expertise with the other classes. He graciously concented to show his power point with the Explorers. They said he "Rocked with knowledge!" Well done L.B. We're so proud of you!

"Spring is Sprung, the grass is riz.

I wonder where the birdies is.

They say the birds is on the wing.

Ain't that absurd?

I always thought the wing was on the bird!"~ while frequently attributed to

Ogden Nash this poem, entitled "Spring in the Bronx", is by Anonymous!

Enjoy your Spring Break and we'll see your Beacon

at 8:15 on Monday, April 12th.

Looking forward to seeing your Beacon soon!

Betsy and Tamara

Boeing Museum of Flight March 29, 2010 Fieldtrip

3, 2, 1 BLAST OFF

to the Boeing Museum of Flight !

It was a rainy,wet, cold March morning outside; but inside the bus it was toasty warm. We had a special guest appearance of two of Mrs. Ritchie's closest admirers. Can you find them in the photo?

Hi Mom!

Good times on the bus

The Beacons and the Navigators

went on the field trip together.

The Navigators
and Mrs. O'Brian

The Beacons

and Mrs. Gellert

Hand stamping for our admission

More "Flight Photos" will be posted next week.

Enjoy your Spring Break! ~ Mrs. Gellert

Weekly Update March 24, 2010

Upcoming Events:

Field Trip:

This coming Monday, March 29th,

to the Boeing Museum of Flight

Spring Break:

April 5th-9th

Here's What's Going on

in the Beacons' World:

Reading: Novel groups are doing very well. Students who are reading "Midnight on the Moon"are finishing up. They are loving how much they know about the moon as they follow the adventures of Jack and Annie. Students who are reading the "Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" have nearly completed the first four chapters. These Beacons' insights and comprehension are remarkable!

Writing: We've started our "Fabulous Fact Finding" for research reports! Students will learn how to choose appropriate subtopics and use tools in books to search for their information ie. index, tables of contents, heading and subheadings. Perhaps the most important lesson for them to learn is how to put their information into their own words!

Math: The students are really starting to get a solid grasp of measuring. They measured their shadows on the vernal equinox (and compared them to the autumnal equinox). We've also been putting those measuring and addition skills to the test as we work with perimeter. Thursday we began Area and square units! Wow, we are really learning big time math to apply in our everyday lives!

Science: We've reached the end to our time in space. The students created posters about a chosen deep space object. Check them out in the room- the kids can tell you all about black holes, supernovas, nebulae, Cepheid (hyper giant stars) , and the search for earth-like planets with the Kepler Space Telescope.

Social Studies: We've packed our bags and are traveling back in time to ancient Japan! We landed in "Edo", the old name for the capitol of Japan which, as you undoubtedly know, is called Tokyo today. We will be studying Japan to learn all the fascinating facts about this amazing culture. Students have learned about Japan's flag, the symbolism for the design and colors. The Japanese flag is a white banner whose center is a red circle which represents the sun. The Japanese flag is called "Hinomaru"which means "circle of the sun". In English it is often referred to as the "rising sun". This flag has been used for over a thousand years although no one knows who designed it or when. It was officially adopted as the flag of Imperial Japan on January 27, 1870. We also learned how to tell time the ancient Japanese way where they used the symbols of animals to designate the hours that elapse in a day instead of using numbers! Most importantly, we have learned how to write our names in Japanese!! It was a very exciting day yesterday when students got to wear name tags with their names written in Japanese!

Spring is when life's alive in everything. - Christina Rossetti

*Reminder that Tamara will be out of town next week. Betsy will be here all week covering for her.

Looking forward to another exciting week with your Beacon,

Betsy

Wing Luke Field Trip, March 15, 2010