Level Updates

 Kindergarten:

The Kindergarten team has been very busy learning about learning! We spent some time exploring similarities and differences among schools, school days, and subjects in different locations around the world. We were surprised to see just how similar or different schools can be from one location to another.  In mid-November, we kicked off a new planner called “Let’s Celebrate!”  We will get to know one another even better as we share about our family traditions and celebrations at home.  We are also looking forward to exploring lots of celebrations from many different places! We will learn about holiday/cultural traditions, stories, and crafts from around the world.  We look forward to sharing our learning with you.  

Primary: 

"Once Upon a Time..." there were six primary classrooms that spent weeks learning about different types of stories.  Folklore, fables, tall tales, fairy tales and more.  They learned why people shared stories and what stories can do.  Students loved hearing about stories from around the world.  Did you know that many different cultures tell similar stories?  

 We will be moving shortly to a new planner called "Location, Location, Location," where we will learn about different land features, such as mountain, lakes, rivers and deltas and how to read different kinds of maps.  If you have any maps at home, please show them to your child!

 We also are finishing up our narrative writing and reading units.  Students will continue to enjoy writing stories about themselves throughout the rest of the year, but we will start learning how to write information stories, such as "how tos" and "All Abouts."   We will learn different nonfiction book structures and how to incorporate them into our writing. Please discuss with your child what they are experts on so they have a topic that they could write about. 

 We can't wait for all of the learning that will happen over the next few weeks. 

Elementary:

The Elementary Team continues to work diligently!  In inquiry, students are learning about waves and how waves help us communicate.  This is a great hands-on science unit where students conduct experiments and learn how to create different kinds of waves.  Through the unit, students learn that waves help transfer energy and that they can be described in specific ways using wavelength, amplitude, and frequency.  Students learn how sound waves and light waves help us communicate in many ways.  

Intermediate:

We are so grateful that we were able to have our QUEST Feast this year! The intermediate students did a wonderful job of learning about different aspects of early life in the Americas and creating demonstrations for the QUEST student body.  

Currently, the intermediate level is wrapping up our second unit of the school year. Students have been engaging in a variety of learning experiences to learn about the economy. The central idea is that economic decisions in one place have an impact on another.

The lines of inquiry are:

·         the impact natural resources have on the economy

·         how people meet their needs through available resources

·         how peoples' economic decisions impact others

·         human rights and standards of living

Students investigated the ideas of supply and demand, they learned about different aspects of our global economy, and they considered the ways in which businesses operate.

We are excited to begin our next planner, Earth’s Story. Students will be working with the central idea that analyzing data and cycles helps us make predictions.
The lines of inquiry include:

·         using models to explain patterns, cycles and interactions

·         planning and carrying out controlled experiments

·         analyzing and using data to understand weather-related interactions

This science-based unit is fun and informative. We anticipate you hearing about our learning at home.