January 2019 Classroom News

PreK Monkeys - Mrs. Eastwood 

What goes better with January than snowy animals?! The PreK Monkeys enjoyed learning about polar bears, penguins, and all kinds of forest friends that live in colder climates. They can tell you that penguins and polar bears are NOT neighbors---they live at opposite poles! From a chilly blubber experiment to bins of pretend play snow to reading clever books about silly animals--it was a terrific month! In February and into March, we'll highlight all kinds of weather and also spend a week focusing on love and St. Valentine's Day.

Kindergarten - Mrs. Calton, Mrs. Collins, and Mrs. Puckett

January was full of winter themed activities, experiments, and games. We explored polar bears and penguins and how they stay warm and even had snowball (sock) “fights” (goal: which team could have the least amount of snow on their side).

Next month we look forward to closing out the rest of winter subjects, learning about the history of Valentine’s Day and prepping for spring to come!!!!!! ❤

P.E. 1st - 5th grades - Mrs. Morrison and Mrs. Miller

This is our first newsletter since Christmas and Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Lewis , and Mrs. Morrison would like to thank all the students and parents for the thoughtful cards and gifts. We really appreciate your kindness.

In January we introduced a new game "Monster Ball", named for the monster sized game balls used in the game. The object of the game is to move a large ball into the opposing teams territory by hitting it with gator balls. We also played our favorites "Battleship" and "Save the Forest".

Each February we practice (or learn) jumping rope. Jumping rope is a very aerobic activity and good for building bone mass. It is difficult to master and takes time to build endurance. We will also learn to jump the long rope as well.

Please remember to send a note if your child should not participate in PE.

Science 1st and 2nd grade - Mrs. Skinner

Hello DHA Families! We have been having a very fun time learning to use the scientific method all January. We have experimented with pennies, toilet paper, diapers, and soap. The children are doing an excellent job using their vocabulary words. We are working on making good observations, forming and testing a hypothesis, researching a subject, and just memorizing the process itself. I've been very pleased with their hard work on taking notes. Writing isn't easy for some kiddos, but they are trying to be the best scientist they can be and writing or drawing their observations each week. I hope they have been able to converse with you over their findings.

In February, we will do a couple weeks of Valentine's Day themed experiments and then move on to a short new unit over sound.

Excel Science - Mrs. Ungeheier

Students were able to encounter seeing the inside of a real shark. They interacted with some laws of physics and astronomy. Personal experiences and recent experiences provided for great discussions about where our energy and electricity comes from and how things have changed over the years as the demand gets higher, yet people want to save money and be resourceful of what God has given us. Next month we will begin learning about nutrients and minerals and the importance they have for us and the Earth.

Intermediate Science - Mrs. Champ

In Intermediate Science, we started learning about the human body. The first thing we learned about was the heart and circulatory system. The students learned that their heart is about the size and shape of their fist, that arteries take blood away from the heart and that veins bring blood back to the heart. They also learned the 4 different parts that make up our blood, plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. We did a neat illustration of the different parts of our blood in class using water (to represent plasma), dyed cheerios (to represent red blood cells), mini marshmallows (to represent white blood cells), and craft pom poms (to represent platelets). Next the students learned about their brain and the different parts of their brain (the 4 different lobes, cerebellum, and brain stem.) We will continue to learn about the human body over the next several weeks. We will cover the digestive system, respiratory system, muscular system and skeletal system.

Music 1st-5th grades - Mrs. Scholes

January was such a fun month in elementary music! We were able to take a break from singing concert music and learn some great new things. We spent time learning about the 4 instrument families, saw real examples of many instruments, and played games to reinforce our knowledge of these families. We also studied the term “leitmotif” and saw this in action by watching the famous Peter and the Wolf by Prokofiev. In the last week, in honor of black history month, we studied the traits of African music and specifically negro spirituals and their role in history.

In February we will begin to hear and learn our spring concert music. Mark your calendars now for April 23 to hear a wonderful evening of music and see art displayed!

I also want to thank so many of you for wonderful and thoughtful Christmas gifts! I am blessed to teach here.

Journalism/Newspaper - Mrs. Swick

This month in Newspaper, the Tigers, Ravens, and Stingrays have been working diligently on their projects for the newspaper. Editing has taken longer than expected, but I am enjoying their creative topics and writing styles. I thing you will too! This past week we finalized articles and most of the editing, and next week we plan to upload all of the articles to our flipbook website and should have a finished product to show you soon! Next month, we will reflect on our first edition and brainstorm ideas for one more edition of our paper.

Computers - Mrs. Hodgson

The students have been learning about safe technology use. We spent some time talking about our digital footprint and being nice online. Ask your student about Dihydrogen Monoxide, and why they should be careful about what they read online!

In February, the students will be learning about how to search online using a kid safe search engine. To reinforce what we have been learning about, your child can play the digital citizenship games at www.digitalpassport.org.

Art 1st and 2nd grade - Mrs. Wright

We have been busy in first and second grade art. Our recent projects have taken several weeks to complete but they are turning out beautifully! First and second grade has been learning about the element of texture. We learned the difference in actual texture and implied texture. They also discovered the Vietnam Wall is a great example of actual texture that is meant to be felt and Mrs Wright demonstrated how relatives can make a texture rubbing of their loved ones name as a memento.

First grade made implied texture birch tree paintings and now they are working on a Jasper Johns inspired texture rubbing piece. They will also get to use bingo daubers filled with ink to write their name over and over on their piece.

Second grade spent a lot of time drawing bear school portraits complete with patterned sweaters. These took a lot of patience and I'm excited for parents to eventually see them at our spring art show. The last two weeks and most likely the next two weeks we will be finishing a clay project. I was excited to get to break out the clay and the students were too. We are now starting the weaving part on our clay. We talked about ceramicists, textile artists, and jewelry makers as examples of artists that make textured pieces that have actual texture some of which is meant to be felt.

Next month we will move on to the element of space. Students will learn the difference in background, foreground, and middle ground, what characteristics define each space, and how to draw items in each space appropriately.

Thanks for letting me teach your littles. I love seeing their uniqueness and creativity brought to life in the art room!

Art 3rd-5th grade - Mrs. Hudson

Through the month of January intermediate Art has been working on various paper weaving projects. Each grade level had a different level of difficulty and medium used. 3rd grade incorporated line design through their looms prior to weaving. 4th grade layered both 1 and 1/2 inch strips through their loom for added texture. 5th grade created both a warm and Cool colored painting and used their paintings for both the loom and strips to be woven.

Transitioning from January into February 3rd grade students have been working in clay to create fish for an all grade level display. As a class we discussed: how to wedge clay, create texture through their piece, and apply color through acrylic paint.

4th grade students are in the process of creating their Patriotic Agamograph. Using two separate patriotic images, the students are learning how to cut, attach and fold the two images together to form their Agamograph.

5th grade students are creating Radial designs out of either Symmetrical or Asymmetrical designs that they have created. The class critiqued each other’s designs to help decide on which one should be used for their Final. Students will learn how to transfer their image using a rubbing method, to create the repeated radial image.

 

Art 6th-9th grade - Mr. Voyles

In January we continued to work on our large design project. This piece had been broken down into 4 large components. Since the beginning of the year we discussed several of the elements of art. We have been focusing on how to bring several of the elements of art together to complete this work. Once our 4 components were completed we then copied them so we could assemble the entire composition. We discussed how the use of line and broken line tied all 4 components together to create one visual composition. In February we will be using foam core to create relief mosaic type compositions with our designs.

Social Studies 1st and 2nd grade - Mrs. Messer

First and second grade students have been learning about opportunity, cost, and scarcity. We played several games including musical chairs to represent scarcity. Martin Luther King day was also in January. Students discussed and learned about equality. We used two eggs, one white and one purple. On the Outside, of course, they were different but on the inside the eggs were the same. This week we studied Groundhog day by playing a six weeks of winter game and making shadow puppets. So the question of the day is....will we have six more weeks of winter?

Spanish 1st and 2nd grade - Mrs. Hesman

In January it was all about pets! We learned vocabulary associated with pets, then how to ask how much something costs and respond with the price. This led into two wonderful weeks of playing "Pet Store". The students got to take turns buying pets and pet supplies from the store, and selling the items. Some got to experience being the banker or the one that "stocks the shelves". The kids all loved this activity and I heard a lot of Spanish being used including some 5 word sentences! In February we will be learning about our homes. We will learn the vocabulary for rooms in a house and review family members. Then we have a fun game to play in which we get to guess which room family members are hiding in. It's always a great time with your kids!

Spanish 3rd and 4th grade - Mrs. Ungeheier

Students have had fun playing some card games as they were introduced to places around town and rooms in the home. Next month we will discuss the items they may find around town or in the home.

Spanish 4th - 9th grades - Mrs. Mitchell

Feliz año Nuevo! In 4th-9th Spanish class this January we started off the new year by playing a game of Spanish Jeopardy to review all the things that the kids have learned so far. I was so impressed by how much they have retained and they had an absolute blast battling it out to see which team remembered the most. We also took the time to learn so new verbs and their conjugations including the ever difficult Ser/Estar, which I reinforced by having the students do a maze in which they had to choose the correct form to use for each sentence. This past week we began studying about the country of Spain and some of the unique aspects of its culture. We will continue this study as we begin February. The rest of the month will include strengthening vocabularies, playing some new games and continuing verb studies.