Technology Time's Up!

As the end of the year races towards us, students are busying working to get their projects finished so we have had to resort to special measures! It turns out that we can squeeze two classes in the Tech Lab - here you can see the 4th Graders working on their Lego Animations and 3rd Graders continuing with their English Spanish Dictionaries, while Keyon auditions for the role of Tech Teacher. Meanwhile in 2nd Grade the students have pretty much finished their Butterfly Lifecycle PowerPoints - we just need the caterpillars to get a move on so that we can include photos of the Butterfly Release Party - and 5th Graders are busy building their Kodu games!

Feliz Cinco de mayo!!

iii CINCO DE MAYO !!!

This week K-5th grade celebrated Cinco de mayo in Spanish class. 

We learned about Cinco de mayo's history and how it is NOT Mexico's Independence Day!

This is a common misconception in the USA! Mexico’s Independence Day is on September 16th.  Cinco de mayo (May 5th) celebrates the unity, bravery, and pride of the Mexican people after winning the battle of Puebla against the French on May 5th(Cinco de mayo), 1862.

Fourth graders made pinatas in art class (gracias Mrs. Choi) and donated their pinatas to each homeroom class. Each class broke a pinata and ate chips and salsa to celebrate. Check out the pictures below of our fun FIESTA!

2nd Grade Technology

In their homeroom classes the 2nd Grade students are reading a book called 'Pickle - The (Formerly) Anonymous Prank Club of Fountain Point Middle School by local author Kim Baker. In tech the students visited the author's web page and were excited to investigate the secret part of the site. I would share the link with you but the code of conduct prohibits anyone over 20 entering! I apologize in advance if there is any pranking this weekend!

2nd/3rd Grade Music: "I Let Her Go-Go"

2nd grade learned the game while 3rd grade brought back an old favorite. Students choose a partner and sing/clap various patterns, then switch places with each other. Then, they jump and switch partners, working their way around the circle. It's a fun one to watch! We are keeping up our singing with small bits of warm ups and patterns. We have a handful of 2nd graders who can sing a major scale in tune, which is exciting! Have a great weekend!

Overdue Library Books

As the end of the year approaches, please be on the lookout for overdue notices from the Library.  Many will be sent home on April 25 in Friday folders.  If you have questions, please contact Mrs. Duffina at lduffina@chestnuthillacademy.com.
Don't forget to look for books in lockers, under beds, and in cars.  When I remind most of the children that they have an overdue book, they usually know where it is.  A gentle reminder from home to bring it back to school is appreciated.  Thank you!

Another Fun Week in Technology

This week the Second Grade students who had Technology with me had fun creating whacky experiments using the Crazy Machines. The students had to either make something move or blow up and most managed both. I believe there are versions available in the Apple and Android app stores.

Third Grade students have been working on their 'Rocks and Minerals' PowerPoints. The purpose of this project is to showcase what they have learned in their science lessons with Mrs. Box. Last week they made a bare bones skeleton comprising the seven slides they will need, this week they added their fact sentences, and when we get back from break we will be adding images, transitions and animations.

Fourth Graders have been working on their Solar System Spreadsheets. Students are using the Kids Astronomy website to gather all sorts of data about the planets in our solar system. Last week they created a data table and this week they learned how to create charts. When we get back from break they will output their worksheets to a printer or PowerPoint so that we can share them with you.


 
 

Finally, Fifth Graders have been working on the Dream Houses they are designing using the 3D drawing program Sketchup. When we get back from break they will be downloading accessories form the 3D warehouse to complete their designs, and the final step will be to use Screen-O-Matic to create animated presentations so that they can share their designs with you.

Celebrating Author Robert Munsch

For the past few weeks, the younger students have been enjoying hearing books by Canadian author, Robert Munsch.  Many of the titles shared were illustrated by Michael Martchenko.  Student have especially liked Thomas' Snowsuit and Andrew's Loose Tooth while checking out many others.  The children have enjoyed giggling along to these silly books.  Ask your child which one they thought was the best!

In Technology this week...

This week students said farewell to Type to Learn 3, next week everyone will be migrated to Type to Learn 4 as part of our campaign to make the new server happy! In Second Grade students also discussed different types of Simple Machines (technology without engines!) and played the EdHeads Simple Minds game which you can find on http://www.mrsmorlidge.com/Technology.htm

Third Grade students practiced their keyboarding and embarked on the Zoombinis Mountain Rescue Adventure - After the foundation of Zoombiniville, the Zoombinis live in peace until a small group of them get trapped inside a cave seeking shelter from a storm. They meet up with strange creatures called Boolies who occupy a city known as Booliewood. The students challenge is save the Zoombinis by overcoming various obstacles using their logic and problem solving skills.

Fourth Grade students have embarked on an adventure of a different sort - using Excel! This week we discussed the structure of a worksheet and how to navigate around one. One of our very well informed students just happened to know that the maximum column header is xfd - I set the students a little challenge to see if they could find the furthest extent of the rows! Students also decoded a mysterious  message from Harry the Hamster who has been on his travels.

Finally, Fifth Grade students started wrapping up their Guatemala web pages. They have been using Expression Web to generate the code required, although most of them would prefer to play with html! All will be revealed this time next week.

Miss Alaineus: A Vocabulary Disaster

In the upcoming week in Library, students will be hearing and discussing Miss Alaineus: A Vocabulary Disaster by Debra Frasier.  This book, written by the author of On the Day You Were Born, follows Sage, a fifth grader who has misheard and misunderstood her teacher's weekly vocabulary homework.  This "disaster" eventually turns into a triumph as it inspires a vocabulary parade.  CHA will be participating in a Top Hat Parade on Friday, January 31 and this book helps them prepare for the project.  Focused around Science vocabulary, the Top Hat Parade allows each child to create a top hat using a Science word that is grade appropriate.  More information about the project will be sent home soon by your child's science teacher.

CHA Joins the Hour of Code

More than 14 million people took part in this week's Hour of Code, including all our CHA students and a number of their parents by the sound of it! Organized by the Partovi brothers and sponsored by a wide range of tech companies as well as the President, the purpose was to show students that coding can be fun and rewarding. If you want to have a got at home you can find everything you need here http://mrsmorlidge.com/Technology.htm

Sharing Folktales

One way to learn about a country's culture is to read and share folktales.  This week in Library, students have been hearing stories and facts about the countries they are studying for the Multicultural Fair. Kindergarten heard Possum Magic by Mem Fox.  First graders heard two tales from South Africa while second graders heard some animal stories from Brazil.  I found a book written from a Singapore author called The Elephant and the Tree for third grade.  In fourth grade, students heard and shared Greek myths.

A bit of a mixed week in Technology!

As we all know, Technology is wonderful when it is working, but a little frustrating when it isn't! This weeks' plans had a to be a little flexible while we worked around a defunct network switch. Second graders are continuing to work on the KidPix Landform Slideshows that will reinforce what they have been learning in Social Studies. Third graders have been working on their 'All About Me' timelines. Using Microsoft Word and incorporating text boxes, shapes and word art students are creating a pictogram that will depict the main events in their lives so far. Fourth graders finished off their Islandwood movies and if you are a parent of a fourth grader you will be notified how you can share these videos at home. Fifth graders continued to work on their HTML pages. Usually html coding is something we only spend a little time on before I show the students how to use Expression Web to generate the code, but this class is really enjoying writing the code themselves so we are spending a bit longer on this topic! Here is a screenshot of the website Ethan and Mikio are working on!

Menus in 2nd grade

Second graders have been reviewing foods and drinks in Spanish. They are now getting into making a Menu in Spanish and in the next few classes they will be starting a restaurant skit in Spanish.

Technology

One of the fun aspects about Halloween at CHA is that you never know who will stop by the Tech lab for a lesson! This week Second Grade students chose which landform they will b creating for our slideshow and used Google Earth to view their place on the planet. The Third Graders worked on their PowerPoint slides for the Veteran's Day Assembly. Fourth Grade students learned how to add captions and music to the Islandwood videos they are making using Windows Movie Maker, and finally Fifth Grade learned how to install some educational apps on the new Surface RT's.

2nd--Fall Landscape Painting

Happy Fall!!
This week at Art, 2nd graders had a great time working on their Fall Landscape Paintings. We looked out the window and noticed that the leaves are starting to show some color. We also noticed  that the houses far away from us looked smaller than the houses closer to us. After we looked out the window, we made landscape paintings by using fall colors. We also drew objects closer to us bigger and the objects far away from us smaller to create an illusion of space and depth.We learned that it is called Perspective in Art.

Wish Lists

Students spent the first few days this week creating "wish lists" at the Scholastic Book Fair.  The Book Fair opened Tuesday and will be opened through Fall Festival.  A big thank you to all the volunteers to make this Book Fair be so successful! 
Remember, if you're unable to come to the Book Fair in person, you can always shop on-line: http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bookfairs/cptoolkit/homepage.do?method=homepage&url=chestnuthillacademy.  The link is also found on the CHA website.

So many books!!

Preparing for the Scholastic Book Fair

This week in Library class, the students watched the promotional Book Fair video based on their reading interests and grade levels.  They were very excited and already have some ideas on what titles they would like to purchase at our Book Fair next week.  If you'd like to preview the titles, you may take a look at the website designed just for the CHA families:

http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/chestnuthillacademy

 

On Monday and Tuesday next week, students will have an opportunity to fill out wish lists.  The Book Fair hours are as follows:

Tuesday, October 22: 3:30 - 5:30 pm

Wednesday, October 23: 2:30 - 5:30 pm

Thursday, October 24: 7:45 - 9:15 am AND 2:30 - 5:30

Friday, October 25: 2:30 - 7:30 (during Fall Festival)

 

We hope to see you there!

Library Reminders

This week, students who had overdue books from the Library received notices in their Friday folders.  Students are allowed to check out one book a week, however, the older students may check out an additional book if it is for a school project. If students haven't finished their book in a week, they may also request to renew it for an additional week.  Most students have done a fantastic job making sure their books are returned on time.  Thank you!

Next week, we will officially start our Book Fair kick off by watching a promotional video and hearing excerpts from books featured in the Fair.  More information will follow.

2nd Grade Music- "Draw Me a Bucket of Water"

During the song, and while in diamond formation across from a partner, students practice swinging arms to the rhythms of half notes. Half notes get 2 beats, or "ta-ah" as students have been practicing. At the end of each verse, 2 students raise their arms, allowing one student to enter the well. By the end of the 4th repetition, all students are in the well.

It was a blast watching them play this one!

At-Home Reading Ideas

Hello Parents,
I was sent this article by Scholastic written by author James Patterson.  I wanted to share the ideas with you on how to promote reading at home.  I found it useful not only as a parent, but as a teacher.

http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/parent-child/how-james-patterson-got-his-son-hooked-books?cid=SBC/e/20130912////Newsletter_Sept_P_10341///Z-PNLK/////&ym_MID=1497153&ym_rid=20180729

I have been working with all grades helping them find "just-right" books using suggestions from teachers, students, and other librarians.  All students have had the opportunity to check out books.