Lotspeich
February 4, 2021
Pre-kindergarten for 2-year-olds Students Create Work Inspired by Alma Woodsey Thomas
To celebrate Black History Month, pre-kindergarten for 2-year-old students in Christina Del Vecchio’s class learned about the work of painter Alma Woodsey Thomas. Thomas, who taught junior high school art for 35 years and became a painter in her late 60s, created colorful, abstract paintings, with nature as a frequent motif. “Students used watercolors to create a group project inspired by our discussion on the artist,” Del Vecchio said. “We drew inspiration from Thomas’ painting, ‘The Eclipse.’”
Pre-kindergarteners Study Animals’ Winter Habits
Pre-kindergarteners in Tyler McIlwraith’s class recently studied how animals behave during the winter, with a focus on the three choices they may make to survive, which includes migration, hibernation, and adaptation. The class devoted one day of their lesson to studying bears and hibernation. “The students were invited the bring in a teddy bear from home. We sorted the bears by color and size,” McIlwraith said. “We completed a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) challenge where they tried to build a den for their bear out of a variety of materials, and the measured different parts of the bear.” The lesson was capped off with a teddy bear picnic!
Third-graders Create Geometry Cartoon Characters
As a culmination of their geometry unit, third-graders in Yael Newman and Kim Walden’s classes created a project inspired by the book “The Greedy Triangle” by Marilyn Burns, which they read to their classes . “Students then practiced measurement and perimeter as they drew triangle, quadrilateral, pentagon, and hexagon cartoon characters,” Newman said. “Each character was given an alliterative name!”
Fourth-graders Study the First Amendment
As part of their reading of the book “The Landry News,” by Andrew Clements, fourth-graders in Courtney Schilling’s class are studying the First Amendment, which encompasses the freedom of speech and the press. Schilling, a long-term substitute for Melissa Foraker, said while students are discussing their First Amendment rights, they are also creating their own newspapers. Fourth-grader Conrad Riviero was so excited about the unit that he wrote and printed his newspaper at home. “Students are writing articles, editorials, conducting surveys and interviews, and even creating comics,” Schilling said. “The students are very excited to showcase their work, so please be on the lookout as they pop up around school and online!”
Second-graders Write, Illustrate Brochures
Second-graders in Cicely Knecht’s reading class have been working on an extensive unit about winter holidays celebrated around the world. Students recently chose one of the holidays they studied, including Chinese New Year, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Los Posadas, and Christmas, and created a brochure about the holiday. By way of learning something new, Knecht asked students to write about a holiday they don’t celebrate. In their brochures, students used six guiding questions to help organize their work — How is it celebrated? What are the traditional foods? Are gifts exchanged? When is it? and how long is it? Where is it celebrated? “This project is a culminating assignment that ties together students comprehension skills, writing skills, and even geography skills,” Knecht said.
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Five Stingers Sign to Play in College
Five Stingers from the Class of 2024 signed their letters of intent to continue their athletic careers in college.
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