Upcoming Events:
This Friday, September 17th
Evening Field Trip to the Woodland Park Zoo
Picture Day
This Friday, September 17th
Curriculum Night
Thursday evening, September 23rd
time to be announced
Hunger Walk
Sunday, October 3rd
1 pm Registration
2pm Walk Starts
Fort Steilacoom Park
Picture Day
This Friday, September 17th
Curriculum Night
Thursday evening, September 23rd
time to be announced
Hunger Walk
Sunday, October 3rd
1 pm Registration
2pm Walk Starts
Fort Steilacoom Park
This is an optional family activity,
not a school field trip
October:
No School-Teacher Inservice
Thursday, Oct. 14th
Friday, Oct. 15th
Here's What's Happening in
the Beacons' World
Reading: Our Beacons are very excited about their new reading groups. Students are reading either Charlotte's Web or Mr. Popper's Penguins. Both of these classics are in keeping with our integrated curriculum of the study of animals in science, the continents in Social Studies, reading comprehension and listening comprehension, not to mention the vocabulary and critical thinking questions. Lots of great discussions are going on in our reading groups.
Math: Last Wednesday students were divided into two groups: the "Math Magicians" and the "Math Magicals". Both groups independently came up with their respective names and the names so closely resemble each other that Mrs. Price and I will have to be on our toes to call each group their correct names! Whew! Both groups are in an accelerated math program and are working very hard. We are proud of our Math Magicians and Math Magicals!
Writing: Many Beacons have completed the "Peer Editing" phase on their first writing paper. Some are all ready for the final phase, that of "Publishing".
This past week we also worked on dialog by writing a conversation between "Koko" the gorilla and "All Ball", her beloved tail-less kitten. We worked on commas and quotation marks. After their final dialog editing, students made finger puppets of Koko and Ball and presented their "conversation" to the class. They really outdid themselves!
Science: Students continued their study of animal vertebrates this week by learning the 5 subgroups of vertebrae.(check with your Beacon to see if he/she can tell you that they are: mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles). Students learned the subgroups and categorized certain animals by their respective characteristics. Our Beacons were very excited to share their ideas!
Social Studies: Last week, in preparation of the themes for Charlotte's Web and Mr. Popper's Penguins that of animal intelligence, empathy, emotion and communication, we watched the National Geographic documentary of "Koko" . If you haven't seen it, you simply must! Students learned sign language and how animals "talk" with words without "saying" words. In literature, animals "talk" in the language in which the book is written. I was very impressed at the empathy your Beacon expressed towards Koko and her precious best friend, the tail-less All Ball. Joy and sadness, happiness and friendship, life and death, many of the universal themes of literature were found in watching this marvelous animal. Very profound. If you haven't heard from your Beacon about Koko, please ask and you'll be guaranteed a mouthful!
Writing: Many Beacons have completed the "Peer Editing" phase on their first writing paper. Some are all ready for the final phase, that of "Publishing".
This past week we also worked on dialog by writing a conversation between "Koko" the gorilla and "All Ball", her beloved tail-less kitten. We worked on commas and quotation marks. After their final dialog editing, students made finger puppets of Koko and Ball and presented their "conversation" to the class. They really outdid themselves!
Science: Students continued their study of animal vertebrates this week by learning the 5 subgroups of vertebrae.(check with your Beacon to see if he/she can tell you that they are: mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles). Students learned the subgroups and categorized certain animals by their respective characteristics. Our Beacons were very excited to share their ideas!
Social Studies: Last week, in preparation of the themes for Charlotte's Web and Mr. Popper's Penguins that of animal intelligence, empathy, emotion and communication, we watched the National Geographic documentary of "Koko" . If you haven't seen it, you simply must! Students learned sign language and how animals "talk" with words without "saying" words. In literature, animals "talk" in the language in which the book is written. I was very impressed at the empathy your Beacon expressed towards Koko and her precious best friend, the tail-less All Ball. Joy and sadness, happiness and friendship, life and death, many of the universal themes of literature were found in watching this marvelous animal. Very profound. If you haven't heard from your Beacon about Koko, please ask and you'll be guaranteed a mouthful!
Koko's Kitten
Technology: Friday marked our first "Computer Lab" experience. Students were introduced to computer protocol. I had them pull up the Koko website which is kid friendly. We learned about "thumbnail" photos and how to navigate side bars. One item that was on the Koko video which the students were stunned about were the paintings that Koko and her surrogate "brother" Michael created. I've included one below. Beacons selected a "postcard" of their favorite painting and I'll be e-mailing those to them from the secure website. So be looking forward to receiving those. Please feel free to visit this website with your child or at your leisure. http://www.koko.org/
An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language." Martin Buber
Looking forward to another great week with your Beacon,
Betsy and Tiffany
