Earth Day

The intermediate classes wrapped up their unit on renewable and non-renewable resources with several projects. First, in groups they wrote and produced their own energy commercials. They object of these commercials was to persuade the audience to use their alternative energy source. (wind, nuclear, solar, etc.). We filmed these commercials and presented them to the other classes.

Secondly, to celebrate Earth Day students were challenged to represent Earth Day by having a custom contest, and coming up with ways to protect the environment. The classes started a recycling program at the school as well as made a schedule for all classes to take turns picking up trash around the campus. The day of the competition was fun! It was exciting to see how the students dressed up. I went with the theme, "Give a Hoot and Don't Pollute" and dressed up as an owl. They were all very clever in their ideas. The judge, Mr. Carson, ultimately choose our class as the winner! We won a pizza party which was yummy!

Colonial Days

What a success Colonial Days was! Thanks to our many parent and teacher volunteers who helped make this happen. At then end of of studying about America's colonization, second year intermediate students showed their knowledge of the colonies by interacting and preparing for this day. Students had the opportunity rotate to different stations where they learned how to make butter and cornbread; play colonial games; write with a quill pen; make a colonial toy; design a quilt; and make a corn husk doll. They loved dressing up and learning about the colonial ways with these hands-on activities!

Character First Play- Self-Control

Today our class performed their Character First play. The trait of the month is self-control. We got some positive feedback from all the classes. They seemed to really enjoy it, and comprehended the concept of having self-control. Our class had a great time writing and performing this skit!

D.A.R.E. Program is Here!!

D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education)

I am happy to announce that Office Beth Ballistrea will be visiting our traditional 5th graders to conduct the D.A.R.E. program. This will be an 11 week program, concluding with a graduation ceremony at the Aquatic Center on March 4th, 2011. Her first visit today was very successful. The students were attentive and engaged! We are looking forward to her next visits.

Final Resting Place

After 5 weeks, the 3rd year intermediate students have successfully mummified the fallen workers. They were laid to rest last week. It was a fun project for all involved!

Update on "the accident"

The 3rd year intermediate students are now in their 4th week of mummifying the accident victims. Here are some pictures showing their progress.

Come to Babylon!

The intermediate 3rd year students put on an awesome play about Ancient Babylon. The play was so popular that they needed to perform it three different times!

A bad accident at the pyramids!

Unfortunately, there has been a bad accident at the pyramids in Egypt! Eight workers have perished. The Pharaoh has requested that the 3rd year intermediate students mummify these poor workers so that they can be honored for their hardwork. This is a six week project. We are on week two....check out the pictures of these poor souls at the beginning of their mummification process.

GEOLOGY FUN

The Lake Havasu Gem & Mineral Society is offering a hands on show for all ages:
Where: The Aquatic Center
When: November 13th and 14th
Times: Sat. 9-6 Sun. 9-4
For more information, visit their website: www.lakehavasugms.org

What's Happening this month!

Intermediate First Year:
Social Studies: We are studying Native Americans and the first explorers to the new world. Some students have been creating Native American reports which include constructing a village of their tribe.

When we start learning about explorers next week, students will get to interact with a simulation. This will give them real-life experiences and how it felt to be an explorer.

Intermediate Second Year:
Social Studies: We are starting to learn about Ancient Civilizations which include India, China, Nubia, and Egypt. Students will be learning first hand how to make a mummy!

National Day of Service Please Donate!

NATIONAL DAY OF SERVICE

The September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance was formally established in 2009 under federal law as a constructive way to forever honor those who were lost in the tragedy, the sacrifices made by many others, and to remember the remarkable way people throughout the United States and in many other nations came together under a spirit of unity, compassion, and service in the immediate aftermath of the attacks.

We will be presenting lessons this week in the hopes that many students will gain renewed appreciation for the diverse communities in which they live; cultivate a deeper understanding of those who may be different from them; and develop a greater sense of service and compassion in their daily lives.

The goal of the 9/11 National Day of Service program is for students to adopt a charity or cause that they can support personally or as a group. We have decided to adopt as our charity Operation Gratitude. Tens of thousands of American Service Members are deployed in hostile and remote regions of the world, including the Middle East, Afghanistan, and on ships throughout international waters. The physical conditions they must endure are difficult and they may be separated from loved ones for long periods of time.

Operation Gratitude seeks to lift morale and put smiles on faces by sending care packages addressed to individual Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines deployed in harm's way. Operation Gratitude care packages contain food, hygiene products, entertainment items and personal letters of appreciation, all wrapped with good wishes of love and support. Through Collection Drives, Letter Writing Campaigns and Donations of funds for shipping expenses, Operation Gratitude provides civilians anywhere in America a way to express their respect and appreciation to the men and women of the U.S. Military in an active, hands-on manner. Operation Gratitude is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, volunteer-based corporation, funded entirely by private donations. For safety and security, the assembling of all packages occurs at the Army National Guard Armory in Van Nuys, California.

Our class will be contributing to this cause in several ways. Since Operation Gratitude strives to include several personal letters in every package that they send, we will be writing personal letters to the troops, as well as taking financial donation towards the cost of shipping care packages to our soldiers. The shipping cost of each package is $15.00. We will be collecting donations starting September 7th and ending November 31st. We have set our goal to be $750.00 (that’s enough to send 50 packages). Please help support our cause in any manner you can.

OPEN HOUSE

Open House will be on Tuesday, September 7th, between 5:00 -7:00 p.m. I'm looking forward to meeting you and answering any questions you may have about our science or social studies curriculum this year!

Social Studies and Science Subjects

Dear Parents:

Following is a brief outline of the core curriculum to be taught this year in social studies and science. All items taught meet the Arizona State Standards for each subject.


Science – Intermediate First Year

Introduction to Science
Safety
Scientific method
Process Skills

Physical Science
Property of matter
Changes in matter
Motion and forces

Life Science
Skeletal system
Types of muscles
Nervous system

Earth Science
Earth’s systems
Moon’s lunar cycle
Gravity
Other objects in the solar system

Social Studies – First Year
Geography
U.S. History
European Exploration
Colonization of North America









Science – Intermediate Second Year

Introduction to Science
Safety
Scientific method
Process Skills

Physical Science
Renewable and nonrenewable resources
Transfer of energy

Life Science
Plant and animal cells
Living organisms and their structures
Ecosystems
Natural hazards and disasters

Earth Science
Structure and features of Earth
Atmosphere
Climate
Weather

Social Studies – Second Year
Ancient Cultures
Greece
Rome
Egypt

Welcome!

Dear Families:

Welcome to a new school year! I will be teaching intermediate first and second year social studies, science, and health. Your student will be rotating classes this year, so they will have me for those three subjects only. I will be teaching science and social studies Monday through Thursday, and health on Fridays.

I'm looking forward to an exciting school year!