Seabury Beacons

Last Monday in May 2010

2010-06-06T18:34:00.000-07:00

Last Monday in May

by
John T. Bird

We pause to remember those who died

With so much courage, so much pride

They'll never come back, yet their memories endure

To remind us of freedom: fragile, pure

We're worthy of their sacrifice if we pause each day

Not only on the last Monday in May

My brother John wrote this poem and received an award and the honor of having the White House publish it on their White House Commission of Remembrance webpage.

John's poem is also syndicated each year on Memorial Day in papers across America. The inspiration for this poem is our dad, John C. Bird, a Dartmouth College graduate and lawyer, who, at the age of 23, rose to the rank of captain of his ship in the Pacific during World War II. He's a living member of the "Greatest Generation".

The Friday before Memorial Day the Beacons were given an awe inspiring presentation by their classmate, A.W., who had his grandfather's medals of honor from World War II. It was very poignant. I wish you all could have been there to see A.W. in his cub scout uniform sharing his grandfather's story of glory and honor. It really set the tone for this important federal holiday. So on Monday, and everyday, we will give pause to remember those who gave their lives for us and for the precious freedom we treasure each day.

Friday, May 21, 2010

2010-05-26T18:50:00.000-07:00

Happy Grandparents' and Special Friends' Day!! Here's my mom. She's my special friend!

Here's my Grandmother and she's my special friend too!

We shared our African masks and science posters on outer space with

our Special Friends and Grandparents

We showed off our Idioms which were "Out of this World!"

We shared our research papers with

our parents, special friends and Grandparents

We gave our Grandparents and Special Friends

a tulip as a thank you for sharing the morning with us

We made a cover from Time for Kids magazine

and wrote an exciting news article

that was all about the exciting things

we will accomplish in our future years

I was wonderful to see this year's and even last year's special grandparents.

Here are last year's Beacon, J.L.'s, grandparents!

We shared many fun stories and happy memories!

Yep, he's my special friend!

Weekly Update May 12, 2010

2010-05-11T13:23:00.000-07:00

Working on the Murals with

Artist in Residence Mr. Maricio

Experiments with Wedges as Simple Machines

We Went on a Haiku Hike and Wrote Some Great Poems

What a Great Week
We've Had With the Beacons!

Reading /Writing: We are reading up a storm with independent books. We are also loving the classic read-aloud Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume.

Poetry is the theme of the month. We dove right in by taking a Haiku Hike thus incorporating our integrated curriculum with Social Studies and Language Arts. Look forward to seeing students' poems on Grandparents/Special Friends day this Friday! As you read these poems, look for a "Kigo", a seasonal word or phrase in each poem. I thought this may be a challenging concept for second graders to get, but they showed their understanding right away. What an amazing group of poets!

We have just begun to integrate reading and poetry with Sharon Creech's book, Love That Dog. This book is written in journal format from a boy named Jack to his teacher. We watch as Jack, who starts out hating poetry, "Boys don't write poems, only girls do- he claims", learns to appreciate and write some of his own poems. The book features poems by Walter Dean Myers, William Carlos William, Robert Frost and many more.

Here are some poems written by the Beacons

based on William Carlos Williams' The Red Wheelbarrow:

So much depends upon

Seabury School

Glazed with mosaics

Rich in Friends-AW

So much depends upon

A white soccer ball

Covered with many grass stains

Next to the players- LB

So much depends upon

An enormous tree

With lime green leaves

And chestnut brown bark

In a school playground- AL

So much depends upon

A little village

With yellow slanted houses

High up in the mountains- PSG

So much depends upon

The sharp rock

And the tree - MT

So much depends upon

A giant whale

Torpedo through the water

Looking for food- AK

So much depends upon

The President of the USA

In a black suit

Writing papers- GB

So much depends upon a

Red wheelbarrow with

A flat wheel

So Jane could not work - NE

So much depends upon

My Mom

Short and sort of tall

Working hard- SB

So much depends upon

A house

Yellow and purple stars

In my neighborhood- RJ

So much depends upon

An airplane

4X 4 engines

Jetting through the sky- MJ

We are working on making our poem book and these are all included in your Beacon's poetry book.

But wait, there's much, much more, going on in our classroom!!

We are completing equivalent fractions in math, creating simple machines with wedges in science, learning about Asia in Social Studies, and studying current events through our Time for Kid's series...Whew!

Please don't forget about Grandparents'/Special Friend's Day THIS Friday!

Looking forward to another exciting week with your Beacon!

Betsy and Tamara

May and June's Upcoming Events!

2010-05-03T15:02:00.000-07:00

Mark You Calendars

for our

Upcoming Events

May 3-13 Artist-in-Residence on campus, LS

Month of May: Artist-in-Residence at MS

May 3 Drama Club continues-LS

May 4 Superstars and Sharks to the Puyallup Fair School

May 4-5 Art Club continues-LS

May 5 Cinco de Mayo

May 5 Hip Hop Club meets at LS

May 6 Chess Club continues-LS

MAY 7 FIRST FRIDAY COFFEE AT LS-7:30AM

May 8 Seabury at Tacoma Mall Camp Fair (see Katherine to help)

May 9 Mother's Day

May 13-15 Spring Scholastic Book Fair-MPR at LS

May 13 Sharks field trip to Tillicum Village

May 14 Grandparents/ Special Friend Day, 9-10:00am, LS only

May 15 Benefit Fashion Show at Maxwell's

May 19 Bear Cubs field trip

May 20 Seabury at Tacoma Farmer's Market

May 21 Drama Club performance at Gathering-LS

May 22 Babysitting Class at MS-contact

office@seabury.orgfor more info

May 25 Spring Musical performance for LS at Knutzen Theatre

May 27 Grandparents/Special Friend Day at MS, 11am-1pm

May 28 NO SCHOOL-childcare will be provided

May 29 Seabury DIBOTs go to Globals in Knoxville, TN

May 31 NO SCHOOL-MEMORIAL DAY OBSERVED-no childcare

June 4 All School Beach Day at Dash Point State Park

June 9 Field Day at LS-volunteers needed

June 11 Last day of school both campuses School is over at NOON

NO Extended Care-PBC end of year party

Weekly Update 4/29/10

2010-04-27T11:13:00.000-07:00

Fun With Wheels and Axles!

We haven't even studied pullies yet- but these boys designed one-complete with a counter weight!

Can we move the books without breaking the string?

Let's add some "wheels". Whoah! It's faster than we thought!

Carefully designing a rickshaw using wheels, axles and levers.

Check out the crank I made! See how it spins on its axis?

Here's What's Going on in the Beacons' World:

Reading: As a class, we just fininshed Sid Fleischman 's Newberry Award winning book, "The Whipping Boy. The class laughed uproariously as we read about an unlikely friendship between Prince Brat and his royal whipping boy, Jemmy. Great discussions about trust, forgiveness and the nature of frienship emerged. Of course, we loved hearing about how the scurvy ruffians, Hold-Your-Nose Billy and Cutwater, ended up covered in rats! Check out the great illustrations in our room.

Students are still spending some classtime independently reading books at their current reading level.

Writing: Research projects are currently being typed up. It is so excting watching their progress at everything from sentence construction, spelling, organization and technology. Look forward to seeing these displayed at Grandparents/Special Friends day on Friday, May 14!

Math: We're wrapping up our unit on measurement. Volume was a bit tricky for some folks, but they've all got it down now! We'll do a quick review on time. Everyone-even kids working on different chapters- will all start the chapter on Fractions together. Everyone will be challenged at their own levels as we work through this important skill.

Science: What would life be like without wheels? We brainstormed some possiblities and then listed all the wheels we could think of. Students then had a chance to experiment with wheels, designing their own "rickshaws" that could give rides to pennies, and created cranks that demonstrated the way an axis works. (of course, they pretented to use them as fishing poles- gotta love it!)

Social Studies: Our study of Japan is in full swing. We've been learning about and creating the work of the Japanese woodblock master, Hokusai. Mrs. Ritchie shared some of her pictures from her year in Japan -favorites included the students she taught and their matching track suits!

Don't reinvent the wheel, just realign it- Anthony J. D'Angelo

Weekly Update April 21, 2010

2010-04-21T09:23:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Earth Day!

You are 40 years old this

Thursday, April 22nd!

Fun with Force, Motion, Mass and Inclined Planes!! How many grams can this spring scale hold?

How many grams of force does it take to get the car rolling?

Does it stay the same once the car is going? Let's use a spring scale to check.

Having fun with force and motion and inclined planes.

Check out our inclined plane design!

Does the distance the cars travel change when we change the angle of the plane?

Now here's a complicated inclined plane!

Everyone had to run and check out this inclined plane design.

Here's What's Going On

In The Beacons' World:

Reading: All the Beacons selected independent reading books.We'll be giving them class time to let them read. We'll then conference with the students individually to discuss the book they are reading. Some students chose very lengthy novels and some chose shorter ones- so some students may get to read more than one book!

Writing: The research portion of the research papers are done. We are now working on composing topic and concluding sentences to make our paragraphs shine.

Math: We've been having a blast working with capacity, and customary units of weight and metric units of mass . We were immediately able to put our new skills to the test in science as we measured the amount of force it took to get objects moving with spring scales. We had fun working with a triple beam balance and weighing things around the room. FYI, homework folders weigh 97 grams (homework included)!

Science: It's been all about getting things moving this week as we combined the simple machine inclined planes and force and motion. Students' creativity really was worked as they created their own inclined plane designs, tested the effect of friction on planes, and experimented with changing plane angles and the distance covered by toy cars. We had lots of zooming sound effects to go along with the fun.

All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better.-

Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Looking forward to another great week at Seabury!

-Betsy and Tamara

Weekly Update April 14, 2010

2010-04-13T10:02:00.000-07:00

Welcome Back

from Spring Break!

We hope you all had a relaxing time with your family!We loved hearing about all of your adventures!

Check out some our scientific experiments

using levers as simple machines:

Wow! I can use a lever to catapult this into the air!

Catapult!

Lifting heavy books with levers

Can I make this lever balance?

Check out how well I can use the fulcrum and get my lever balanced!

Here's What's Going on in

the Beacons' World:

Reading and Writing: We're also integrating reading and writing with our current research projects. Students are doing an amazing job narrowing their research into manageable subtopics,discerning important facts, and translating those facts into their own words. The next step will be to put the facts into paragraphs with topic and concluding sentences and create transitions between the paragraphs to flow into a well written essay.

Math: The name of our next chapter in math is: Measure Capacity, Weight, Volume and Time. While these skills are essential in life, so many of them can be taught through real-life means. We'll be doing lots of measuring and weighing in science for example, so we'll skim through this chapter rather quickly so we can spend more time on upcoming fractions and decimals this year. In the meantime, we had a great time making "Gallon Man" (or boy or girl) to show the relationship of gallons, quarts, pints and cups. Ask your Beacon all about it!

Science: Simple machines truly make our lives easier and we're learning all about them. We'll be conducting lots of experiments using simple machines. This week we'll be lifting a stack of heavy books with just one finger! Amazing!

Here's a fun website to play some activities with simple machines. www.edheads.org/activities/simple-machines/

Social Studies: Thursday and Friday we will be discovering the amazing art of Japanese orgami and the phenomenal artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849). Perhaps one of Hokusai's most famous pieces of art is the wooden block print "The Great Wave". Its correct name is "The Breaking Wave Off Kanagawa" from his series: "Thirty-Six Views of Fuji". Hokusai was single mindedly obsessed with art and created over 30,000 (yes you read that number correctly) works of art! Be ready for all the information and art work that your Beacon will be bringing home in the near future!

"Let the rain kiss you.

Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby.

The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk.

The rain makes running pools in the gutter.

The rain plays a little sell-song on our roof at night.

And I love the rain." -Langston Hughes- April Rain Song.

Here's to another exciting week with your Beacon!

Betsy and Tamara

Weekly Update March 31, 2010

2010-03-30T11:05:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-30T11:04:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-24T08:40:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-23T14:10:00.001-07:00

Weekly Update March 17, 2010

2010-03-16T09:21:00.000-07:00

Upcoming Events:

Spring Break April 5th-9th

Here's What's Going on

in the Beacons' Classroom

Reading: Novel groups are coming along. The students have been busy reading in class and participating in literature circles. Students are working on looking into the books for deeper meaning. They are learning to answer questions that can't be found on a specific page in the book. It is an exciting process to allow Beacons to reach their own conclusions!

Writing: Wow, it's getting busy in the Beacons' room as we explore various ways to research information. We're developing the "Big 6" research skills: #1 Task Definition, #2Information Seeking Strategies, #3 Location and Access, #4 Use of Information, #5 Synthesis, #6 Evaluation.
Students are beginning a self- selected research project in writer's workshop and they are also working in groups in science to create a poster that describes a deep space object. Look for the posters sometime next week.

Math: The Beacons really measure up! We've been spending time getting familiar with standard and metric measurement systems. We're getting ready to launch into finding perimeter and area of standard shapes.

Science: Science has been highly integrated with writing this week as students research deep space objects such as: black holes, supernovas, nebulas, earth-like exo-planets, The Milky Way, and hyper-giant stars known as cepheus.

Social Studies: Our field trip this Wednesday to the Wing Luke Asian Museum is our KICK OFF to our last trimester's focus: the continent of Asia, specifically the country of Japan. I was fortunate to be a Fulbright Scholar in October 2006 and spent a month living and teaching in Japan. We are also so fortunate that Mrs. Ritchie has lived for a year in Japan and has taught there as well. I am very excited for the Beacons as we embark on our virtual field trip to Japan!

Never iron a four-leaf clover,
because you don't want to press your luck.

-Author unknown.

We're looking forward to another exciting week,

Tamara and Betsy

March 10th Weekly Update

2010-03-10T08:57:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful field trip

to the Tacoma Art Museum!

We learned how to be an Art History Detective!

We had some wonderful chaperones

Thanks Dad for coming!

Throughout the course of our field trip we

viewed the museum's art work,

wrote stories in the art galleries

and then created our masterpieces from our stories.

We all got to share our masterpieces

We shared the stories of our art work

Some stories were very elaborate!

We were given lots of magazines,

a pair of scissors, glue sticks and paper to create our mosiacs.

TA DA!!

Mrs. Head's creation!

(She says she created an elephant)

Total concentration!

TA DA!!

We heard a wonderful story about "Pigasso and Mootisse" which helped us become art history detectives!

We loved listening to this story!

We had a great snack outside the art museum!

I love Mrs. Gellert's granola bars! Yummy snack!

Another wonderful chaperone who helped chronicle our fieldtrip!

Thanks dad for coming!

2010 Science Fair

2010-03-07T18:42:00.000-08:00

The 2010 Seabury Science Fair lasted ALL during the school day Thursday and well into the night! Beacons did an excellent job sharing their Science Fair projects. Mrs. Ritchie and I are VERY proud of them!!

We first went into the Bear Cubs room so they could demonstrate to us their magnet experiments. As you can see, we have budding Bear Cub scientists!

I love my Bear Cub brother!

We then reciprocated and shared our Science Fair projects with the Bear Cubs.

We practiced our presentations and then the other classes came in! So did a lot of parents as well!

The evening Science Fair was really wonderful. We had so many parents and visitors who listened to our presentations. They all were very impressed!

March 2nd, National Read-In Day and Dr. Seus' 106th Birthday!

2010-03-07T18:31:00.000-08:00

Seabury Director for a Day!!

2010-03-07T18:17:00.000-08:00

Last week, Beacon M.T. was

Seabury's Director for a Day!

Here Mrs. Wollum is handing over

the reins of the school for the day.

M.T. worked diligently throughout the day,

observing teachers, making scrupulous notes on his clipboard

and working on the Director's computer

putting together strategic plans for

Seabury School! The result of the fruits of M.T.'s labor?

M.T. decided that the entire school

deserved an extra recess for the day !!

Hey, a director's got to do what a director's got to do!

Way to go M.T.

Living History Museum Day!

2010-03-07T18:00:00.000-08:00

Our Living History Museum Day was fantastic!

Beacons came in creative costumes dressed as their Greek god or Greek goddess and made learning "come alive". They shared their respective mythological characters with all the Seabury classes, many parents and grandparents. Beacons also shared their tri-fold boards which had their researched information, handmade props and pictures. Everyone learned so much in the Beacons' Greek Gods and Goddesses' Living History Museum Day!

N.E. as Hera

M.J. as Ares

A.W. as Hesphestus

S.B. as Persophine

L.B. as Eros

M.J.'s props of handmade Ares statue and
sword

P.S.G. as Hades and his invisibility helmet

Mrs. Wollum getting an earful from Hera all about Hera's marriage to Zeus!

M.J. explaining to a Superstar and Explorers about the life he has led as Ares

A.K. as Zeus!

R.J. as Hestia

Who is that Beacon behind his helmet? Why it's M.J. as Ares!

A.L. as Diana

M.T. as Hermes above

and below, L.B. as Eros, complete with wings, quiver and arrows

G.B. as Aphrodite. Her "son" Cupid sits nearby.

3, 2, 1, Blast off to our Beacon Space Stations!

2010-03-06T16:03:00.001-08:00

BLAST OFF!

We're on our way to our ingenious Space Stations!

We've worked hard creating our Space Stations and

we're ready to colonize a planet and take over the world!

AUCTION TIME, Channel 9 and Weekly Update March 3, 2010

2010-03-03T09:51:00.000-08:00

Here is our "OUT OF THIS WORLD" Space Quilt. It is our Auction project and it ROCKS!! We're looking forward to seeing you Saturday evening at the Seabury Auction. Who will be the lucky bidder of this keepsake, one of a kind quilt? Will it be YOU? Your Beacon really wants this quilt! See you on Saturday at the auction!

Here's What's Going

On in the Beacons' World:

Reading: We had a wonderful time on Tuesday celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday. Students read, played games and watched some plays by the older kids.
Novel groups have started!Several students are enjoying "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" by E.L. Konigsburg and others are reading, "Midnight on the Moon" by Mary Pope Osborne. We've also started a new read aloud, "The Whipping Boy" a Newberry Award winner by Sid Fleishman.

Writing: Students are gearing up for an official research project. This will be in conjunction with our science exploration of deep space. Students will get to research and write about nebulae, quasars, black holes and other universal events.

Math: We've moved on from our unit on time; however, please continue to practice telling time with your children at home for that's the best practice they can get! We're now working on a unit on measurement. We're focusing on standard and non-standard units, inches and centimeters.

Science: What a great science fair! While all the projects were fantastic, it was most exciting to see how they all incorporated the scientific process in their work. They were all proud of their work and they should be.
The students voted, and we're off to explore deep space! We'll be selecting topics for research next week and beginning an integrated writing unit.

Social Studies: We've wrapped up our Greek Gods and Goddesses unit! Our culminating activity of last Friday's Living History Museum Day was absolutely amazing! I was very proud of all of our Beacons as they shared their outstanding knowledge of ancient Greece. Their tri-fold boards were excellent as were their costumes! It was an exceptional day!

"Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the adventure Science." ~Edwin Powell Hubble, The Nature of Science, 1954

Looking forward to another exciting week at Seabury!
-Tamara and Betsy

Weekly Update 2-24-10

2010-02-24T10:12:00.000-08:00

"Citius, Altius, Fortius" is the Olympic motto which, when translated from these three latin words, means "Swifter, Higher, Stronger". These words exemplify the goals of the great athletes from around the world, their thrill of victory and their agony of defeat. We hope you are enjoying the Olympic games as much as we are.

Upcoming Events:

Tuesday- March 2- Read Across America Day!

We'll be celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday with lots of reading, games, music and of course, pajamas!! Students may wear pajamas and bring blankets, sleeping bags, pillows and one stuffed animal. Make sure they have outside shoes for recess!

This Friday, February 26th, Living History Museum Day!

Science Fair Thursday, March 4th

Future Field Trips-

March 10th The Tacoma Art Museum

March 17th Winn Luke Art Museum

Here's What's Going on in the Beacons' World:

Reading: Together we read a summary of William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Nights Dream." The Middle School will be performing a version of this play this Friday morning for the whole Lower school. All are welcome to attend. The performance starts at 9:15 and is about an hour.
We also have wrapped up reading assessments and we're ready to dive into new novel groups. We will be reading two novels in class, "Midnight on the Moon" by Mary Pope Osborne and "From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler"- a Newberry Award winner by E.L. Konigsburg.

Writing: We were busy writing letter to Olympic athletes this week. We sent letters to: Apolo Ohno, J.R. Celski, Scott Wescott (Gold medal- snowboard cross), Julia Mancuso (two silver medals in Alpine skiing), Ryan Miller (Goalie for US Hockey Team), Ski jumper Anders Johnson, and Hannah Kearney (Gold Medal moguls).

Math: Time for some more time. Just when the Beacons were rocking on time in class and homework, they took an assessment that showed that many students still need some more work. We'll be doing some more time work until we know they are solid in this important skill.

Science: We're wrapping up our science fair projects and Lunar colonies to be on display for the science fair next Thursday night. The Beacons can't wait to show off their creative ideas.

Social Studies: This Friday is THE BIG DAY!! Students have been working so hard on our Living History Day! I purchased trifold display boards for the students to use as part of their presentation. (It's also a great preview for how they should place their Science Fair information). The Beacons are THRILLED to be a Greek god or goddess. They are loving making learning come alive! I hope to see you on Friday from 2 to 2:45.

"I think the athletes are definitely capable. But at the Olympics anything can happen." Apolo Ohno

Looking forward to another great week at Seabury!
-Tamara and Betsy

Weekly Update February17, 2010

2010-02-17T08:40:00.000-08:00

Upcoming Events:

We need your Help! We have had 9 tardies in the last 2 days! While we understand that things happen in the mornings, please remember that class starts promptly at 8:15. It is difficult for your child to get caught up after we have already started our daily classwork. This is especially important on days when we have specialist's classes first thing in the morning. We thank you in advance for helping to get your Beacon here on time!

February 26th Friday 2:00-2:45
Greek Gods and Goddesses Living History Museum
March 4th Thursday Science Fair
Wednesday March 10th Tacoma Art Museum
Wednesday March 17th Wing Luke Asian Art Museum
March 11th and 12th
No School Parent Teacher conference
April 5th-9th Spring Break
Here's What's Going
on in the Beacons' World:

Reading: Students have been completing reading assessments and working on skill development with SRA cards. Next week, we'll begin novel studies again.

Writing
Beacons' are learning to write letters
and address envelopes. I even received
a letter from a Beacon in the mail!
I mailed three out of the country
to India, Germany and Ireland! We're also doing some writing about the Olympics. Next week, we'll write letters to our favorite Olympic athletes. I bet Federal Way's own, J.R. Celski, bronze medalist in short track speed skating, will be getting lots of mail! Perhaps, so too will Apollo Ono!

Math: It's about time! We've taken a detour from the textbook and we're spending some time learning the basics of time. Most of the students have a good foundation and are rapidly able to put that knowledge to work! Keep asking lots of time questions (especially quarter to and quarter past questions) at home. As far as we are concerned, you can never get enough of time!

Science: We're wrapping up our class science fair project, "Craters on the Moon." Look forward to seeing our display at the science fair on March 4th. How are the projects at home coming? Feel free to contact Mrs. Ritchie anytime with questions.

Social Studies: We're counting down the days until our Friday, February 26th, presentation of our Greek God and Goddesses' Living History Museum. We are making our props in class and many students have all of their costume parts. Please feel free to contact Mrs. Gellert anytime with any questions.

The most important thing in the Olympic games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.
- Pierre de Coubertin (founder of the modern Olympic Games)

Looking forward to another exciting week with your Beacon,

Betsy and Tamara

Be My Valentine!

2010-02-11T17:26:00.000-08:00

Happy

Valentine's

Day!

I LOVE MY

VALENTINE'S DAY

PARTY !

We had fun frosting cookies!

Want a bite of mine?

YUMMY!

Two talented Sharks stopped by to bring a homemade Valentine cupcake to

Mrs. Ritchie and Mrs. Gellert

Mine is SOOO good

Look what I made!

I love to READ, READ, READ!!

This is a pretty cool
invention!

That's ME when I was young. I love Barbie!!

Look at my special Show and Tell my Grandmother sent me! It's from Europe!

We had a surprise visit from Mrs. V. and her precious daughter. Look how much her baby girl has grown! Now that's a special valentine!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Weekly Update February 10, 2010

2010-02-10T08:59:00.000-08:00

Upcoming Events:

NO SCHOOL tomorrow, February 11th

and also

NO SCHOOL Friday, February 12th

and also

NO SCHOOL Monday February 15th

Our school days off for Thursday the 11th and Friday the 12th are Teacher In-Service Days. We'll be here from 8 a.m. until very late each day working on curriculum development and working on our accreditation.(The latter of which we have been working on for 2 years! We're nearly complete; however there is much more work to be done).

Sunday is Valentine's Day. Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours!

Monday the 15th is also a day off from school; however, it is a federal holiday celebrating Presidents' Day.

Please remember to have your child back at school on Tuesday. We will have missed them and can hardly wait to see them again!

Here's What's Happening in

Beacons' World!

Reading: Students have working hard on their S.R.A. which helps them in reading comprehension skills, language arts, spelling, vocabulary and grammar. It also is an excellent preparation for standardized tests because it offers the opportunity for a student to gain experience with multiple choice questions along with higher level thinking skills.

Writing: Attention parents! Your Beacon is in need of memorizing his/her home address!! We are writing friendly letters and it is imperative that your child learn how to write his/her address ie.the house number, street address, city, state and zip code. Please work on this over our extended break for it will be part of their spelling test next Friday.

Math: The Beacons have proved they are dividing machines! While some students still need to develop their math facts, they all understand the concept of division. They will get plenty of practice at this in the future. For now, we're moving on to a mini-unit on telling time. Students will get a chance to practice telling time and problem solving the passage of time.
Quizzing your child at home on both digital and analog clocks will help reinforce these important skills.

Science: Beacons explored the scientific process by working on two different experiments. Last week we investigated the effects of color on temperature. The Beacons then designed their own experiments using thermometers, water, ice and insulation. It was wonderful to see them working through the first steps of the scientific process; asking "What if" and "How", formulating hypotheses and designing experiments to test their ideas.
This week we learned more about the craters of the moon. We first checked out possibly the coolest website ever, google earth- moon. Follow this link to see all the site has to offer, including actual close ups of moonscapes, videos from the Apollo missions and more:

www.earth.google.com/intl/en/tour.html/#v=0

After touring the moon we developed the questions: How are craters formed and how does the shape of meteorites affect the shape of craters on the moon? After selecting different "meteorites" each student made a hypothesis. Then, bombs away, we got to test the meteorites by crashing them into a flour mixture. Next week we'll complete the scientific process when we analyze our data and formulate conclusions.

Social Studies: The Beacons are all excited about researching their Greek god or goddess for our February 26th (2:15p.m.-2:45 p.m.) presentation of our very own Living History Museum! I've sent e-mails to many parents regarding their child's costume. If you have questions about your Beacon's costume, just let me know. It's going to be a fun, wonderful and educational time!

We hope you and yours enjoy Valentine's Day with your loved ones! We certainly love your Beacon. Thank you for the privilege of teaching your child!

"When you're in Love, you can't fall asleep because reality is better than your dreams"

~ Dr. Seuss

We're looking forward to another exciting week with your Beacon,

Betsy and Tamara

XOXOX, Happy Valentine's Day 2010

2010-02-09T19:09:00.000-08:00

Happy Groundhog's Day

2010-02-09T07:14:00.000-08:00

Have you seen my shadow?

The Beacons helped the Bear Cubs find their shadows as we helped make Groundhog's Day come alive for the Bear Cubs. Learning about February 2nd's Groundhog's Day and Punxsutawney Phil seeing his shadow launched all of the Beacons on an exciting trek to find our shadows and measure them. We teamed up with the Bear Cubs and outlined their shadows and then measured them! Lots of fun learning with cooperative math skills and most especially helping work together with the younger members of our Seabury community!

THERE'S MY SHADOW!!

I knew it was out here somewhere!

Seabury's Open House

2010-02-07T19:12:00.000-08:00

A week ago Friday we had a very exciting Open House. Many visitors who had never been to Seabury arrived and were escorted around the school by students. We had a very special visitor who flew all the way from South America just to come and visit his very special Beacon!

Can you see the family resemblance? There's nothing like the love of one's grandparent!

Asian Art Museum Field Trip

2010-02-04T14:52:00.001-08:00

We're all seat belted in and ZOOOM, away we go!

We are off to the Seattle Asian Art Museum in our own

Seabury School bus!

We learned

how

to do

calligraphy

The Beacons, and even the chaperones,

slept all the way back to school!

You're My Buddy!

2010-02-04T14:22:00.000-08:00

Buddy Reading

With The Superstars!

As you can see, there was a whole lot of reading going on. We always look forward to reading with our Superstars buddies!

Weekly Update February 3, 2010

2010-02-03T19:02:00.000-08:00

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Valentine's Day Party: Wednesday, February 10th 2:15-2:45

No School :

Teacher In-Service Days:

Thursday. February 11, 2010 and

Friday, February 12, 2010

and

Federal Holiday, President's Day: Monday, February 15, 2010

Here's what's new in Beacons' World

It's been a very busy week with two field trips, one on Monday and the other today,Wednesday. We all learned a lot about outer space and the Mars Rovers at the Pacific Science Center on Monday and today with the stunning Asian Art Museum's displays which the docent shared with us and our hands-on calligraphy class. Wonderful educational field trips! We had a regular school day yesterday and continued building on what we are studying from last week.

Reading: We're continuing with our reading assessments and they are nearly completed. The new novels are in and we will begin those next week! The Beacons have enjoyed reading and listening to Greek myths this past week.

Writing: Students are putting the finishing touches on their creative writing final drafts. As we combine technology with the writing process, students are building on their typing accuracy and speed. Every Beacon is rightfully proud of the hard word put forth to produce such a creative masterpiece!

Math: Students are truly making the connection between multiplying and dividing. The division skills are improving and many students are feeling more competent in their division skills.

Science: Students had a great time with their space colony experiments! They really were excitied with the amazing end results! Viewing the IMAX presentation of the Mars land rovers, Spirit and Discovery, really helped make learning come alive for our budding scientists and future space colonists.

Social Studies: Students are VERY excited about our Living History Museum presentation which will be Friday, February 26th from 2:00-2:45. Please join us in the Multi-Purpose room at that time. Students will come to school as their selected Greek god or goddess. They will be clothed Greek statues that will magically "come to life" and tell the spectators all about their mythological lives. It will be a great time. More will be coming home soon.

"Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit.
Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself. To melt and to be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving."
~Kahil Gibran

Here's to another great week with your Beacon,

Betsy and Tamara

To Infinity and Beyond...or at least to Mars

2010-02-01T11:59:00.001-08:00

BLAST OFF TO MARS WITH MRS. RITCHIE!

Our field trip to the Pacific Science Center this Monday to see, among other scientific exhibits, the IMAX theater's Mars Rover. We got to see the amazing land of Mars through the "eyes" of two intrepid and death defying explorers, "Spirit" and "Opportunity", the Mars Rovers. We didn't see any green men; but we did see the spectacular Mars landscape that is at once awe inspiring and amazing. It was actually suspenseful as the Rover doggedly trudged onward to its quest of discovering if there is life on the rough Mars terrain. If you haven't seen this IMAX, you should, for we know you'd really enjoy it. We sure did!

Yo Yo Time, Channel 9

2010-02-01T11:34:00.000-08:00

THANK YOU
FOR THE YO-YOS!
WE LOVE THEM!
Many thanks to our
wonderful parent
who donated the
price of a new yo-yo
from the Yo-Yo Man
to every Beacon!
WOW! Thank you
for your
thoughtfulness.They
are being put to good
use at every recess!

Weekly Update Wednesday, January 20, 2010

2010-01-27T10:19:00.000-08:00

Here's What's Going on in the Beacons' World:

Friendship:

It seems to be that time of year... where Beacon friends are not being as friendly as they should. It's been many weeks since the holiday break and spring break is a long way off. We've taken some time this week to refresh our memories on being respectful and kind toward each other. Ask your students about some of the friendship activities we've done to reinforce this in our classroom. Sometimes all it takes is a friendly reminder of what to say to show you care in order to be a good friend.

Reading:
We're continuing reading assessments and reading myths together. They loved the story of Perseus and Medusa! I have ordered some new novel sets and we'll begin novel groups as soon as they arrive.

Writing:

We're been busy blending technology and typing skills to create final drafts of the creative stories. The Beacons have been working hard and are very proud of their final products.

Math:
Division skills continue as students continue to solve problems and connect division to multiplication.

Science:
The lunar space colony is almost completed! Next week we'll be doing some experiments that will walk us through the scientific process and reinforce the designs of the space colony. Students will then modify their designs based on the conclusions from their experiments.

Social Studies: We're off to learning about Greek currency and writing letters to each other in Greek! Pretty exciting stuff! We've been studying Greek and Italian geography, temples and tombs. The students are loving learning!

"I get by with a little help from my friends".-

John Lennon

Looking forward to another exciting week at Seabury!

-Tamara and Betsy

Weekly Update Wednesday, January 20, 2010

2010-01-20T08:47:00.000-08:00

Upcoming Events:

Open House:

Friday, January 22, 2010 9-11 am

Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010 6-7:30 p.m.

Field Trips:

Monday, February1- Pacific Science Center

Wednesday, February 3-Asian Art Museum

Auction: March 6, 2010!

Science Fair: March 4th! Details to follow!

NO SCHOOL!

February 11 and 12- Teacher In service

February 15- President's Day.

March 11-12-Parent/Teacher Conferences

Spring Break! April 5-9

Here's What's Going on

in the Beacons' World:

Reading: We are currently assessing student reading growth. Everyone has been working hard on their reading skills and comprehension and we're already seeing lots of positive growth in the Beacon's room. We continue to read myths aloud and I've seen lots of Beacons reading myths on their own during silent reading! Very exciting. We've even seen some "gods" and "goddesses" playing on the playground!

Writing: We're deep in the heart of writing creative, fiction stories. Students are beginning to wrap up their final drafts and are beginning work on the revision, editing and publishing steps in the writing process.

Math: Division work continues as the students are amazing! They continue to make the great connection to the concept that multiplication and division is related. We will begin work on dividing by 6,7, 8 and 9 next week, so extra practice on those multiplication tables will be great. We've also spent some time this week solving problems by using a table. Other students are wrapping up Chapter 8 on algebraic patterns and problem solving.

Science: Space colony construction has begun! Enjoy the photos of your clever Beacons designing transportation, living quarters, food production stations, scientific equipment and health centers that they can "live" in for a year on the moon!

Social Studies: Wow! Your Beacon absolutely was outstanding in our unit on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Civil Rights. Aside from our incredible small and large group discussions, the students wrote an "I Have a Dream" paper. Friday we made our "Dream" mobile and the last ones made it home today in their backpacks. Here are their papers:

"I have a dream that the USA will stay one country. I have a dream that poor people will have more money. I have a dream that there will be no war." L.B.

"I have a dream that I will get an agent and have more fun and see my family in China." S.B.

"I have a dream that when I grow up I can be a sports player. I have a dream that politics will get better. I have a dream that the pollution in the world will also get better." P.S.G.

"I have a dream. I want there to be no bad people, no wars, no robbers. I want there to be no slaves. I want more freedom and more fairness. I have a dream for there to have no judging people by skin color." A.W.

"I have a dream that there will be no wars! I have a dream that the USA will give Haiti a lot of supplies! I have a dream that no one shall go hungry!" M.J.

"I have a dream that the countries, states, people are healthy and the earth is too! I have a dream that my family and I be healthy." A.K.

"My dream is to get A+'s and have a puppy I could share with Audrey and baby. My last dream is to stop people abandoning dogs and cats and killing animals for meat." A.L.

"I have a dream to be more mature and responsible to get a dog. I have a dream to be more responsible of my stuff and to keep my room clean." G.B.

"I have a dream to be respectful to my things and be nice to everyone and to be responsible by helping my family." R.J.

"I have a dream to have a pet store and a dog and a cat." M.T.

"I have a dream that I could have my guinea pig back!! I have a dream that back then they would not be mean to colored people!!!" N.E.

I am so proud of our Beacons! They are well on their way to becoming thoughtful stewards of the earth and helping make the world a better place.

Looking forward to another exciting week with your Beacon!

Betsy and Tamara

Weekly Update: January 13, 2010

2010-01-13T08:58:00.000-08:00

Here's what's going on

in the Beacons' world:

Upcoming Events:

January 18- No school!

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Feb 1- Field Trip to

Pacific Science Center

Feb. 3- Field Trip to

Asian Art Museum

February 25th- Yoga starts after school

March 4- Science Fair

March 6- Seabury Auction

This Week's

Learning Adventures:

Reading: Students have been working more on building skill development this week. We are in the process of reassessing reading levels and redefining reading levels that are both independent yet challenging for each student. We've also been enjoying learning about Greek and Roman myths by reading independently and also reading aloud as a class.

Writing: We've made it through to the last of the writing traits, and the most difficult to teach, that of "Voice". This trait involves the author's style and personality. We did an experiment where we all started with the same plot formula. All the students had to have the same 7 elements common in many stories and movies: A good guy/girl, an ally, a bad girl/guy, the bad guy's ally, high stakes, the good guy always wins, and, of course, living happily ever after! The students noticed that most Disney movies followed this formula! (don't they- ad nauseam!?) When they had finished, I read them aloud and it was easy to guess who wrote which story. From 11 different authors, we had 11 distinct stories.

We are now starting to go begin the full writing process; brainstorm, rough draft, revise, edit, publish. The students will be asked to incorporate all the traits of good writing into their stories. Brainstorming began today and we already have flying iguanas, talking dogs, aliens invading space stations and much more!

Math: We have dividing machines in here! We've finished chapter 6 and are beginning chapter 7 which will tackle dividing by 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, and 12.

Other students are working on developing problem solving skills and working on chapter 8 from the textbook.

Science: Students have divided into teams and will be responsible for the design and building of their lunar colony area. We have teams for Transportation, Living Quarters and Food, Scientific Equipment, Power and Water and Health Care. We watched a quick video on how astronauts eat food in space and we've studied ideas for other lunar colonies. Yesterday, we organized all the amazing supplies the students have contributed and we are ready to start building next week! (We're all set with supplies -Thanks!!! )

Social Studies: Wow! What a week! Students are continuing on their virtual field trip to Greece and Italy. As we "traveled" to Greece, we saw an educational video of what the water and shore look like if you had just landed by boat and were actually standing on a Grecian shore! They saw Mt. Olympus as well as notable Greek temples to the gods/goddesses. They were amazed at what the temples looked like during Greece's ancient era, and how those same temples appear today. Students were fascinated by the segment on Socrates and Plato. We had a great discussion about, "Do you really find answers to questions if all you do is ask questions?" I love teaching here! We also learned about Alexander the Great. We worked on-line with our "quiz" about what we had learned from these segments. The entire class did exceedingly well! We are working away on our gods and goddesses flash cards with a boat load of information on the back! It's a great educational way to learn about these cast of characters.

In addition, we have spent time today, and will continue to do so for the remainder of this week and next week, learning about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his contributions to the history of this great nation and to that of the world. Be looking for your child's "I Have a Dream" mobile (so your Beacon can hang it in his/her room) on Tuesday. I hope to have completed their "I Have A Dream" essays so we can post them on next week's blog. Enjoy Monday with your Beacon as we all celebrate the federal birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King,Jr.'s birthday.

"I like to think that the moon is there

even if I am not looking at it."~

Albert Einstein

Looking forward to another exciting week at Seabury!

-Tamara and Betsy

Weekly Update1-06-10

2010-01-05T09:46:00.000-08:00

Welcome Back Beacons and Happy New Year!!

We started out 2010 by writing some New Year's Resolutions. Here's what the kids have to say:

This new year I will keep moving forward! When I have a problem like math, science, and language arts I won't give up! - M.J.

This year I will keep my room clean by putting my clothes in my hamper and clean my toys off the floor. It will make my mom happy. My room will look just the way I like it. - G.B.

My new year's resolution is to keep my room clean and help my mom get out the dishes. This will make my mom happy and me happy too. I will do it every day. - R.J.

My new year's resolution is to write more because it is an area I want to improve. I also want to start playing soccer again because I need more exercise. - L.B.

This new year I will to improve myself. I will read 35 or more books because I want to read better. I want to have 10 RBIs this baseball season. I want to have ten or more goals to improve my soccer skills. I want to write three books to make my word choice better and my characters better. I will overall be a better person. - P.S.G.

My new year's resolution. This new years I resolve to exercise, clean my room, do more math. Why? To be healthy, smart and do more chores. -A.K.

This new year I resolve to be faster at my math facts. By doing 20 mins of addition and subtraction then 20 mins of multiplication and division. - A.W.

My new year's resolution is to try Snowboard Cross. Snowboard Cross is snowboard racing. You go off little jumps and you go sideways you go really fast.- N.E.

My new year's revolution is to clean to floor downstairs. Vacuum the floor downstairs. Mini babysit my baby sister. Make my mom happy.- A.L.

My new year's resolution. I will keep the playroom clean. The playroom is dirty. I will do it once a week.- M.T.

This new year I will be a better student. I will stop daydreaming in class because it will make me happy. I will concentrate more on schoolwork. -S.B.

I love their grand aspirations!!

Here's What's going on in the Beacons' World this week:

Reading: We're reading Greek Myths as a group. This week we're reading, "How Everything Began" which explains how Zeus got to be ruler of the universe.

Writing: In addition to writing new year's resolutions, we will be focusing on the trait of 'Voice' in writing. We'll compare authors with distinctive styles and determine how to write using one's own voice. We'll all begin with the same plot formula and compare how different the stories turn out.

Math: It's all about division this week. Most students are getting familiar with the concept how division relates to multiplication. Other students are beginning work on long division.

Science: We had a chance to listen to our panel of experts present their power point presentations on the planets, dwarf planets and moons that they researched. The students will vote which place seems the best to colonize and begin designs for a space colony. We will also research the effects of gravity on the body. Ask you student if they enjoyed wearing extra weight around!

**We'll be needed lots of "recycled materials" for our space colony. Please send in any 'stuff' you have lying around such as: TP tubes, Styrofoam, plastic bottles, aluminum foil (with no food), hangers, old wire etc... The more 'treasures' we have on hand, the more creative the kids can be. Thanks!!

Social Studies: Students will learn more about Greece and focus on how Greek Myths developed. They will be making flashcards with the major gods and goddesses of Mt. Olympus.

Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors and let each new year find you a better man.- Benjamin Franklin

Looking forward to great new year and another exciting week with the Beacons!
-Tamara and Betsy.

Holiday Party Good Times!

2009-12-19T19:21:00.001-08:00

Look What I made!

My very own Gingerbread House!

I'm going to eat it all by myself! Yummy!

Reading Buddies

2009-12-19T18:25:00.000-08:00

The Beacons are

Reading Buddies

with the Superstars!

The day before winter break, the Beacons "buddied-up" with their Superstar partner and first read to them and then the Superstar read to the Beacon buddy. It was a wonderful experience and is a planned once a week activity for the new year. We all love reading and this is a wonderful way to share the love.

Mrs. West and the Superstars shared their knowledge of how countries around the world celebrate jolly ol' St. Nick's arrival. It was very informative and fun. The Beacons added their knowledge of the countries they have studied as well.

ARF! Hey you guys, read to me, too. Please! I LOVE READING! I'm begging you! ARF!

Hip Hop Rules!

2009-12-19T11:47:00.000-08:00

Introducing,

our very own Seabury

HIP HOPPERS !

Novena!

2009-12-15T10:40:00.000-08:00

Novena! As taught by L.B.'s mom

Yesterday, we had the distinct pleasure of learning about the Colombian celebration of Novena from our Beacon parent.It was a wonderful lesson learning about the Novena, the 9 days before Christmas (which actually begins today), the Novena customs of saying prayers and singing Christmas songs in Spanish. We all learned a lot especially how to use percussion instruments to go with the rhythm of the songs and hearing about the cool food such the hollow bread that has cheese inside. Yummy.

Weekly Update December 15, 2009

2009-12-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

We are "wrapping up" this week with some exciting learning as we approach our 2 week Winter Break this Friday at noon. We hope you have a wonderful break filled with festive times, family and friends.

Here's what's going on in Beacons' World this week!

Reading: Students have been reading myths and information about the solar system. We have been too busy to hit the S.R.A. cards but the reading skills in the class are rocketing! Please continue to read to your child every day during break for it improves your Beacon's all important listening comprehension skills; and have your child read to you every day as well. The holiday break is a perfect time for your child to read to younger siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles,and younger friends. Perhaps there will be some great books under the tree! If you need some suggestions, please don't hesitate to ask us. We love to read children's books as much as the Beacons do.

Writing/Science: These subjects have been linked hand-in-hand this week as students create their own power point presentations! They are integrating research skills, writing skills, science information, and technology as they create a pretty slick looking slide shows. We'll have a Parent Day at the end of next trimester where they will present their hard work to you.

Math: Students have been finishing up the unit on multiplication and completing their higher level thinking enrichment work this week. A few students have moved onto the world of division; but the majority of the class will begin the new year with the wonderful world of division.

Social Studies: Students received a packet chock-a-block full of Greek and Roman information. We have learned why the word "alphabet" is called an alphabet. (Your Beacon would love to enlighten everyone. Hint: It is derived from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet). We are learning the Greek alphabet and Greek greetings along with everyday words and students are loving learning this. We've compared the Greek and Roman (Latin) languages to that of the African Swahili alphabet and words that we learned last trimester. The students were so excited. We have also learned about the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses and their respective names, most notably why the planets have Roman gods' and goddesses' names and not those of the Greek names. Hmm. I wonder why. Just ask your Beacon. In addition, we are learning about the Greek Olympics and the geography of the country. It is an exciting time in the Beacons' Social Studies class as we incorporate science, reading, math and science as part of our integrated Social Studies curriculum.

"One of the greatest joys of December is telling people that we care and Love them".

May the joy of this season be with you and your family.We look forward to another exciting week when we return to school in 2010 ! Happy New Year!

Betsy and Tamara

Weekly Update December 8, 2009

2009-12-08T11:38:00.000-08:00

Beacons' Winter Music Program

Your Beacons were marvelous tonight! They all sang their hearts out and were absolutely wonderful. We were so proud of them. They truly filled us all with holiday cheer!

Here's What's Going on in the Beacons' World:

Reading: We're continuing to focus on SRA cards to build comprehension, reading strategies, vocabulary and word skills. We also have been reading Greek and Roman myths and we are finishing the Roald Dahl classic, Matilda.

Writing: We've been working on building sentence fluency and identifying parts of speech. We worked with adjectives and conjunctions. We even got to listen to the Schoolhouse Rock favorites, "Conjunction Junction" and "Unpack your Adjectives". I listened to those when I was a kid!

Math: We're getting close to wrapping up our unit on multiplication. However, we will still continue our fact practice throughout the year. This is an important year for students working at the third grade level to become solid in their multiplication fact skills as so much in math builds upon them.

Science: Our space colonists have begun their research projects on a planet, dwarf planet or moon of their choice. They are eager to find out more and start using the computer to type their information!

Social Studies: We are learning the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses as we study Greece and Italy. Students will gleefully share with you my reading of the story of Persephone, the pomegranate and her mother, Demeter. I had a real pomegranate and they all got to sample the pomegranate seeds! Very exciting time for your Beacon to feel as though he/she was reenacting a Greek myth!

"Music is the poetry of the air"~Ricter

Here's looking forward to another exciting week with your Beacon,

Betsy and Tamara

Weekly Update 12-2-09

2009-12-02T08:41:00.001-08:00

Joy to the World!

Beacons and Navigators sing at

the Festival of Trees

We're Back from Thanksgiving Break!

Here's What's Going On in the Beacons' World:

Upcoming Events:

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Festival of Trees -

Students are to arrive

at school by 7:55 a.m.

The bus leaves at 8:00 a.m.

Please call the office if you

are running late.

Tuesday, Dec. 15th
Lower School Winter Program
at Middle School Building

Friday, Dec. 18, 2009
Winter Break
Noon Dismissal
NO extended care

Monday, January 4th, 2010

1st day of school 2010

Monday, Feb. 1- Field Trip to Pacific Science Center-

Mars Exhibit and Imax Movie !
(2 chaperones needed)

Reading: Students have been working hard building skills to enhance their reading. Each child is working at his/her own level and developing summary skills, comprehension, vocabulary, and word attack skills. We are getting ready to read some myths that correlate with our study of the solar system. We'll be reading about Jupiter/Zeus; Mercury/Hermes; Venus/Aphrodite; Neptune/ Poseidon; Pluto/Hades. We are "exploring" discovering the more obscure names of Uranus and Charon.

Writing: We've been working with parts of speech: mainly nouns, verbs and adjectives. We're also working on identifying complete sentences. Students know the terms "subject" and "predicate" . They are becoming more familiar with asking themselves: "Who or what did what?" in my story in order to more easily identify if a key point is missing in their plot development.

Next week students will begin researching a planet or moon in our solar system. This time, they'll get to type their report on the computer!

Math: We're still working away at multiplication! Students are all working hard at mastering their multiplication tables, it's easy to see they have been practicing at home. Thank you for your support! Homework has focused on fact mastery; but classwork includes a variety of problem solving strategies. Students that have already mastered their facts are working on multiplying with double digits.

Keep practicing at home!!

Science: Our Beacons have been elected to become part of an "International Community" to develop a colony on another planet or moon in our solar system. The students created colonists from other countries and selected jobs that would be be important in a space colony. We have a pilots, an astronomer, a mechanic, a computer guy, an engineer, a security guard, leader/geologist, doctors, and of course, a chef! Next step will be for each student to research a planet or moon and present their findings to the class. They will then vote on the best place to colonize. Eventually, they'll build a model space colony based on their research and designs.

Social Studies: We have completed our study of the continent of Africa. Be sure to check the blog tomorrow when I'll have posted the incredible African animal stenciled t-shirts that the class made! You'll love seeing your Beacon in it.

This week we are packing our bags and holding on to our passport as we fly to the continent of Europe! In keeping with our integrated curriculum, students will be learning about the geography and history of Italy, and those Roman gods and goddesses, along with comparing the geography and history of Greece, and of course their gods and goddesses! This helps enrich both the science and social studies curriculum. Students will be bringing home questions for parents to answer on the ancient Greek and Roman gods and goddesses, so start boning up on them!

How did it get so late so soon?

It's night before it's afternoon!

December is here before it's June.

My goodness how the time has flown.
How did it get so late so soon?

-Dr. Seuss

Looking forward to another exciting week with the Beacons!

-Tamara and Betsy

We're Thankful!

2009-11-24T09:29:00.000-08:00

As we approach Thanksgiving, we took some time to reflect on all that we are thankful for. Here are the incredible paragraphs written by the Beacons:

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for many things. I'm thankful for my sisters big and small. I'm Thankful for my Mom and Dad. I'm thankful for my life. I love Thanksgiving. A.L.

I am thankful for all I have. I am thankful for my family because they love me and care for me. I am thankful for my house because it keeps me warm and sheltered. I am thankful for going to Seabury School and seeing my friends. I am thankful for my things. P. S. G.

I am thankful for my Mom and Dad. I love food, water and my school and my comfy bed. I am thankful for my house, my bathroom and Mrs. R and Mrs. G. I love Thanksgiving. A. K.
(Love that we're included in the same sentence as the bathroom!!)

I am thankful for all I have. I am thankful for my Mom and Dad because they love me. I am thankful for my cousins because they love me. I am thankful for my friends because they are good to me. I love Thanksgiving. L. B.

I have many things I'm thankful for. I'm thankful for the U.S. army. I'm thankful for my country. I'm thankful for the U.S. A. I am thankful for my freedom. A. W.

I'm thankful for many things. I'm thankful for the school. Mrs. Wollum is a great principal! I'm thankful for my classmates as well. I love being thankful! M. J.

I have many things I'm thankful for. My family makes me happy. My life makes me cheerful. My friends make me have fun. I love my family. S. B.

I love Thanksgiving. I am thankful for the earth. My house keeps me warm. I love Thanksgiving. It makes me glad. M. T.

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for my house. I am thankful for all I have. I am thankful for my family. I am thankful for my friends. I am thankful for Thanksgiving! R.J.

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for many things. I am thankful for the world. I am thankful for my friends and family. I am thankful for my school. I am thankful for my stuffed animals. I am thankful for all people. G. B.

I am thankful to teach such an incredible group of kids!!
Have a wonderful, relaxing and gratifying Thanksgiving.
Tamara !

It's All Happening At The Zoo!

2009-11-17T21:13:00.000-08:00