Enrichment News

A Special Delivery

Your Library, Computer, Music and Spanish Connection

May 2008

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You’ve Got Mail!

Computer News from Mrs. Iles

All students in grades 1-3 have been working on designing Mothers Day cards and are doing a great job. Some of our students are using Kid Pix and others are using Microsoft Publisher to send their own unique and special message to their mom. I am always amazed at the creativity of our students. I really enjoy reading their messages and I think a few of them could get a job at Hallmark, they are so touching.

4^th grade classes continue to work on the Free Rice website. These students are helping to donate grains of rice through the United Nations Food Program at the same time testing their vocabulary skills at www.freerice.com. The first 10 minutes of each computer class is spent on this activity. Immediately following, the fourth graders are learning new keys on the keyboard and practicing typing skills.

Fifth grade classes are working on a Science project. The students have picked their favorite aspect of Science and have done research on it through the internet. They are now in the process of typing a report (many are animals) and adding pictures. I have to say the students really enjoy working on this type of project and they are very intent and focused. They have saved their projects on Microsoft Word and will continue working on it next week in class.

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Grade 6 students are now presenting their "Composer" projects. These students have been working hard researching and studying the life of a famous music composer. This project has combined the specials Music and Computer. The students created a PowerPoint slideshow adding the information they found, pictures of the composer himself and places in the composer’s life, music, and other sounds. They are now sharing their work with other 6^th grade students in the Computer lab over our NetSupport software.

Junior high students are reviewing all the basic computer skills we can get in before the end of the year. They should know all the basic elements of all the Microsoft Office software and be able to use each one with ease. We are also focusing on typing skills so that the students will be ready for high school.

I would like to thank a special group of our students who did one fantastic job on creating all the signs, banners, posters, and promo shots for our upcoming play. These students did a great job as you will be able to see for yourself in the next week or two. The halls of St. Joe’s will be decorated with their work.

At this time, I would like to take the opportunity to wish all of you a wonderful and safe summer vacation. Once again, I also want to thank you for all the support you give all year . I truly enjoy being with your children every day and know I am blessed to be here.

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Music Notes

By Mr. Whittle

not available at this time

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GRADO POR GRADO

4^th Grade

This month we will start unit 2 - "Animales de varios colores". We will:

Learn the names of colors and shapes;
Identify different animals;
Describe your favorite animals;
Find out about some animals from the Caribbean and South America.

The cultural focus of Unidad 2 is on describing animals around the world, especially in Latin America.

5^th Grade

We will start unidad 6 – "¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños?" and will:

Learn the months of the year;
Talk about the things you like and don’t like to do in different months;
Talk about who’s doing something;
Talk about dates (like your birthday!).

The Cultural Focus of Unidad 6 is on dates and holidays, especially in Spanish-speaking countries

6^th / 7^th Grade

This month we will start unit 2: "Qué ropa llevas", and we will:

Describe clothes;
Talk about how your clothes look and fit;
Talk about clothes you’re going to buy;
Tell to whom things belong;
Read about shopping and traditional clothing in Spanish-speaking countries.

The cultural focus of Unidad 2 is on clothing, particularly on the types worn in Spanish-speaking countries.

8^th Grade

"Vamos a limpiar" is the unit we will start working on this month and we will:

Talk about household chores;
Talk about having to do something;
Discuss things you’ve just finished doing;
Learn about housekeeping in Spanish-speaking countries.

The cultural focus of Unidad 6 is on household chores in Spanish-speaking countries: what they are, how they are organized, and who does them.

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READ ALL ABOUT IT

During the month of April there are many things to celebrate in the library. It is National Poetry Month. Many poetry books are on display, and the students are reminded that poetry is an excellent genre that can be enjoyed by all ages. April 13 – 19 is National Library Week. The third graders made posters to remind the rest of the school of the many things there are to do in a library. These posters are on display in the library hallway. Also April 21 – 27 is National TV Turnoff Week. It would be good if each family could turn off all TV’s in the house for at least one hour each evening and spend the time reading books, magazines, or newspapers together. Your example of reading would be a great way to encourage your children to read.

The students of kindergarten, grade one, and grade two are enjoying stories about baseball including Out of the Ball Park by Alex Rodriquez, Shoeless Joe and Black Beauty, and H is for Homerun. They also joined in singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in celebration of the beginning of a new baseball season. Many books about baseball are on display so all of the students can easily browse through them and check them out.

The other grades are also working hard on various topics. Grade three is learning about different kinds of fiction including fantasy and realistic fiction. The fourth graders are investigating nonfiction call numbers to help them to more easily locate books in the library. Grade 5 is continuing to learn about putting Dewey Decimal call numbers in order. Grade 6 is studying the genre of fantasy in connection with the reading of The Phantom Tollbooth for literature class. They are learning the characteristics of fantasy books and are recognizing them in various books. Grades 7 and 8 are beginning an author study of Paul Fleishman. They will learn about him and analyze one of his stories.

We now have 17,414 books in our library giving the students many books from which to choose. The students checked out 3,719 during the month of March which shows the students are reading a great deal.

Please continue to encourage your children to return their books on time. If they are absent, they should come to the library upon their return to school to return the books the have out and get new ones. A fine of five cents a day is charged for all other overdue books. Thanks for you cooperation and support.

Mrs. Susan Barth