Students have one extra day of Spring Break - I hope that you all have a great spring break, whether you go away or stay in town. (Don't forget that students also have Monday, March 25th off.)
Mystery Science - Today we completed the next mystery in this unit, Can you outrun a dinosaur? It was a great mystery and I'm sure you'd enjoy watching it, if you have time in the next ten days (when the link expires). We didn't have time for everyone to be "the runner" but I've left the track taped to the floor so the rest of the students will have a turn when we get back from spring break.
Students have one extra day of Spring Break - I hope that you all have a great spring break, whether you go away or stay in town. (Don't forget that students also have Monday, March 25th off.) Mystery Science - We completed our second mystery in this unit: How do we know what dinosaurs looked like? It's a very interesting lesson, and I encourage you to click here to watch the presentation. Please note that the link expires in ten days.
The Book Fair is Coming! - from the PTA: This fun annual event will be held from Monday, April 1 - Friday, April 5. Kids will have the opportunity to purchase great books and the school receives a portion of the profits! In addition to class visits during the school day, the book fair will be open after school, and we will be holding the special "Donuts with Daddy" event before school on Thursday, April 4. We need parents' help to make this event a success! It is always a huge hit with the kids and a great fundraiser for our school. Please use this SignUpGenius link to volunteer for a time slot. Thank you in advance for your support! CAASPP - Please see today's Thursday folder for a letter from me and a booklet of practice and review materials for English/Language Arts that you might want your child to work on over spring break. On the back of the letter are detailed instructions of how to use the CAASPP practice website. Thank you to Deputy Sullens for visiting our classroom on Tuesday. Sadie's dad taught us lots of interesting things, like the difference between a sheriff's deputy and a police officer. We learned that a deputy has to write A LOT and we even got to hold a pair of handcuffs and lift his safety vest (it's really heavy!) His walkie-talkie was of particular interest to a number of students. In the end, I think we all felt good knowing that people like Sadie's dad are working to keep us safe day and night. What a wonderful day we had! Thanks to Sadie's mom, photographer Chelsea Sullens, who presented Discovering Your City. Mrs. Sullens taught us that we can go to a familiar place, somewhere we go to all the time, and notice new details by viewing things as a photographer, composing a shot to emphasize one specific part. She showed us photos she'd taken at places like the library at Brand Park and the trains at Travel Town in Griffith Park. Many of her photographs were taken with her phone, so we learned that we can take great looking photos, too!
We started our day with Afro Funk, a dance experience led my Miss T, who had eight names! She taught us how to calm and settle ourselves and how to energize ourselves, all to an African beat. In class we had a fun time combining music and math as we were introduced to the recorder. I provided each student with a cheap plastic recorder from Dollar Tree to keep, but you can purchase a very good quality plastic recorder for under $10, should your child be interested in pursuing it. Students also brought home a booklet called Karate Recorder with nine songs, a fingering chart, and more! See the next to the last page to learn how to hold and play the recorder --- proper mouthpiece placement is the difference between a pleasant sound and a headache (haha). We also watched two videos. Click here to watch a short introduction to playing the recorder. Click here to watch a Discovery video showing how a wooden recorder is made, which also includes some history of the instrument and some lovely playing. The math came in when we looked at the sheet music to Hot Cross Buns. We noticed that the measures in 4/4 time are quarter notes (one-fourth) and half notes (one-half) which made us think about the fractions that we've been studying in math. After lunch, we got to paper-folding as we explored the art of origami. Through trial and error, we learned that precision with our folds is critical to the finished product. We practiced first with plain white paper, then made the same object with origami paper, which is colored/printed on one side only. Students came home with a packet of directions for nine paper folds, along with a couple of extra pieces of origami paper. You might want to check out the website I used, which includes an animation of each object being folded. Everything looks better when made with real origami paper, but my source, Michael's, no longer carries it. Abigail told us all that you can buy origami paper on Amazon (is there anything that you CAN'T buy on Amazon?) We ended Arts Day in the traditional way --- a concert by the Hoover HS Jazz Band. Those kids are amazing, as is their director, Mr. Rhees. He really knows how to engage elementary students has he teaches about the various instruments, and we found that we already knew a lot from our preparation for, and visit to, the Hollywood Bowl a couple of months ago. A big THANK YOU to all the volunteers who made Keppel Arts Day possible! Sham-o-gram MKS Fundraiser - One dollar sham-o-grams are still available --- tomorrow, Tuesday, March 12th, is the final day to place orders. Delivery will take place on Thursday. The green order forms went home in last week's Thursday folder.
Mystery Science - Today we completed the mystery, Where Can You Find Whales in the Desert?, in which we explored the idea that the rocks under our feet sometimes contain fossils, and these fossils reveal how habitats have changed through time. It's the first mystery in our latest science unit, Animals Through Time: Animal Survival & Heredity. You can watch the mystery by clicking on this link. A Special Visitor Tomorrow - Sadie's dad, who is a deputy sheriff with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's office, will be visiting our class tomorrow after lunch. This afternoon, after Sadie told us a little bit about her dad's job, we compiled a list of questions for Deputy Sullens. Be sure to ask your child all about it tomorrow after school! Menchie's Reading Incentive - Last week's Thursday folder included Sweet Reading Rewards bookmark from Menchie's. After students read ten books, fill out the book log on the bookmark, and get it signed by parent and me, they can turn it in at Menchie's for a free frozen yogurt at either their Glendale or South Pasadena stores. PLEASE NOTE: The lines are very narrow, so adults will need to write in the book titles. We've agreed as a class that fiction chapter books and nonfiction books will count. The offer expires on May 31, 2019. Soh Goh Drum Studio Day - Thank you to all family members who were able to join us this morning for Studio Day, our final Soh Goh Drumming class with Mrs. Kim. The students did such a great job! It's hard to believe that we only had seven classes (including today!) We are so grateful to Mrs. Kim for accommodating us this year --- she's now leaving on maternity leave. Soh Goh Korean Drumming Studio Day - I hope to see many of you on Monday morning at 8:50am when our class will have their last Soh Goh Korean drumming class with Mrs. Jeannie Kim. Family members are encouraged to attend this "Studio Day" when you will get to see an actual class, hear from our teacher, Mrs. Kim, and watch your child perform. Please allow time to find parking and sign in at the office. Our class takes place in the Dance Room.
A Visit from Deputy Sullens - We are looking forward to Tuesday afternoon when Sadie's dad, who is a deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's office, will visit us in our classroom. We are preparing our questions and hope to have a better understanding of all the ways that sheriff's deputies and police officers serve our community. Keppel Arts Day - We can hardly wait for the popular annual event, Keppel Arts Day, this Wednesday. We will start our day by attending an Afro Funk performance. We look forward to welcoming photographer and class parent, Mrs. Sullens, for a class in room 1321. We will also have a music experience with recorders. Watch for the recorder and music packet your child will bring home. We hope to have some time for some origami before we end our day with the ever-popular performance for the whole school by the award-winning Hoover Jazz Band. Thanks to MKS and many volunteer artists for organizing this day. Please return your child's report card envelope if you have not already done so. |
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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