Lunar Eclipse - We had fun this morning sharing lunar eclipse viewing stories! A number of you set the alarm and got kids up to take a look, and we contrasted this eclipse with August's solar eclipse. If you weren't able to view it live, I've added link from KPCC with a few photographs and another link from NASA with a time-lapsed video of the moon over JPL to our Links page.
Heads Up --- This Friday, February 2nd, is our second PBIS all-school reward day. The theme this time is Star Wars, and students are welcome to wear Star Wars attire (shirts, socks, hats, etc) and bring any accessories, but NO MASKS, MAKE-UP, or WEAPONS (including, but not limited to, light sabers). As you may recall, PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports) is our school-wide initiative addressing social, emotional, and behavior areas.
Lunar Eclipse - We had fun this morning sharing lunar eclipse viewing stories! A number of you set the alarm and got kids up to take a look, and we contrasted this eclipse with August's solar eclipse. If you weren't able to view it live, I've added link from KPCC with a few photographs and another link from NASA with a time-lapsed video of the moon over JPL to our Links page. Super Blue Blood Moon! Don't miss this exciting lunar eclipse tonight, or more accurately, in the early predawn hours of tomorrow. Yes, it requires you to get up in the middle of the night and, unless you live up into the foothills, you will likely have to get in the car and go to a high spot in order to see the moon, which will be low on the horizon in the western sky by the time that the lunar eclipse begins. Here are some important times tonight and tomorrow morning:
Some website links: Also, I've assigned a Newsela article --- your child can log onto their account to open it. *Super - Moon appears 14% larger than usual due to the fact that the Moon is at its closest point to Earth in its elliptical orbit *Blue - second full moon in one calendar month (the first was Jan 1) *Blood - total lunar eclipse, Earth's atmosphere, the shorter blue light wavelengths scatter, but longer red light wavelengths bend around the sun and appear red Hollywood Bowl - I hope that, by now, you have heard a report from your child about our wonderful field trip. We started out with a private tour of the Hollywood Bowl, including backstage and under the stage, dressing rooms, security office, and the Hollywood Bowl Museum, currently hosting a special Jazz exhibit. We learned that, while the front box seats are $200 each, there are bench seats at the top of the Bowl that only cost $2.00! The acoustics of the Bowl are amazing, to the point that it's consistently named the best outdoor concert venue in the world, so every one of the 17,000+ audience members will hear and enjoy the concert. Check out the Bowl's website for more information about their season, which runs from May until October. One highlight of the day was when we actually went onstage, where we performed America, the Beautiful --- boy, did we feel special! Another highlight was the opportunity to try out different musical instruments. After our docents from the LA Philharmonic Affiliates taught us about the various instruments of the orchestra, students got to try the various string and percussion instruments. (We had a demonstration of the the brass and woodwinds, but during this flu season, we weren't permitted to share germs playing those.) Thanks to our parent chaperones: Ike's dad, Ava's mom, and Allen's mom. We couldn't have gone without you! Thanks, also, to GUSD for finding an alternate bus company when First Student drivers went out on strike. We had no options for rescheduling this date, so we would have missed out! Looking Ahead - Did you know that all fourth and fifth graders in GUSD have the option of learning a musical instrument right here at school? Mr. B is here all day every Tuesday teaching small groups of students the flute, clarinet, saxophone, violin, viola, cello, double bass, trumpet, trombone, and snare drum (I hope I didn't miss any!). Even better, the district rents those instruments to students for $95 for the entire school year! (Mr. B tells me that the average monthly cost to rent and instrument from a local music store is $50 per month.) Earlier this year, we enjoyed a concert by the Toll band and orchestra --- it's amazing to hear the high level of musicianship of these young artists. Hollywood Bowl tomorrow - We're looking forward to our field trip to the Hollywood Bowl tomorrow. We've been learning about the instruments that make up the String, Brass, Woodwind, and Percussion sections of the orchestra. Ask your child to share the Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids website, where you can hear a short audio clip of each instrument. Has your child picked an instrument they might like to learn to play next year? Don't forget:
A Total Lunar Eclipse! - We began the school year with a rare solar eclipse. Now we have a total lunar eclipse that should be viewable right here in Glendale. Your child's homework tonight is to share the Vox website with their family. You'll see that this article includes a number of animations explaining the phenomenon. Seeing the lunar eclipse will require getting up in the early morning hours to see the moon during the time it is in the umbra, 4:51am-6:07am. Great day today! Be sure to check out video links for Scholastic News. (Our class password is: 1321!) We learned a lot about how robots are being used in many different ways and some interesting things about animal's brains.
In preparation for our field trip to the Hollywood Bowl next Tuesday, we learned about the various instruments of the orchestra. Did you know that next year every student has the option of learning a musical instrument right here at Keppel? Here's a great link from the Dallas Symphony Orchestra that not only shows the instruments, but also includes short audio clips of the instrument playing. Most start off with Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star so you can really distinguish the difference between the instruments' sounds. Parent Survey - Please take about 15 minutes to complete the online Parent Culture Survey from GUSD. The closing day is February 9. I realize that I've not been posting as often as I intend. Going forward, I'm going to try to add one thing each afternoon. It won't be pretty, but should keep you better informed about our class. Today, however, I'll attempt to catch you up on what's been going on in room 1321.
Dr. Cox from the Music Center - On Tuesday, we had our second of ten theater classes with Dr. Colin Cox, a teaching artist from the Music Center. A true Renaissance man, Dr. Cox is both a biochemist and a professor of Shakespeare. Our content area is science, and he is focussing on Life Cycles & Traits. He is also incorporating American Sign Language! At our first class, each student chose an animal, then learned to finger-spell its name and its sign. At our class this week, students chose a California native animal. The assignment this week is to learn to finger-spell, learn the sign, and learn about the animal to be able to share a fun fact at next week's class, which will be on Monday. Our Studio Day, the day on which we invite our families to come, is Tuesday, April 3rd. I will give you more information as I learn it, but mark your calendar now. Visual Art with Mrs. Zierhut - We are enjoying our weekly art class with Mrs. Zierhut. Our first project was to create a coil pot out of clay, which we glazed. Now we are learning about the proportions of the human body --- ask your child how many heads tall the average six- to eight-year old is! Thanks to your support of MKS (the Make Keppel Special fund), we have these great arts classes. Along with the annual fund, the upcoming APEX Run Run provides the funds that make this possible. See today's Thursday folder for more information on APEX. i-Ready Parent Report - Please note that your child is bringing home the parent report for the midyear i-Ready diagnostic test in today's Thursday folder. Stapled to that is a homework update for your child, based on those results. We're off to a wonderful, if a bit soggy, start to 2018. Congratulations to all --- even with the rain this morning, everyone arrived on time to school. The rain is forecast to be heavier tomorrow, so please make sure your child is dressed appropriately in rain gear --- I can only fit about three kids under my umbrella.
With the new year comes the mid-year i-Ready diagnostic test is reading and math. We are taking a couple of days to get back in the swing of things, and will take the reading portion later this week. Next week we will complete the math portion, and I will send home copies of the parent report, along with a homework update. |
AuthorDebbie Bamberger is thrilled to be a part of the Keppel team and honored to share this year with twenty-six amazing children. Archives
May 2024
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