Talking with the Fourth Graders

I met with the Fourth graders this past Friday. They shared how happy they were to be back in school, and I let them know how happy we are to see them!

The Value for this month is: Loyalty. 

We had a class discussion re: what Loyalty meant to them and how they portray this Value. 

They defined it as a class, and I added their definition to our BMS Values Board( when you enter the LS our Board is right there in the Lobby). 

As a group we discussed how to support and care for our classmates. Each class was given a pail, which they named: A Cheer Pail. The girls are working on writing a Support Statement for their classmates. Some of their ideas were: Believe in Yourself, You Can Do It, You're A Good Friend...

They will decorate their notes, and place them in the Cheer Pail. When they feel they need a note of support and care, they can choose to pick out a "Cheer Note." Many of th girls said these notes put a smile on their face. 

We plan to continue to talk about caring for ourselves and others next week, and throughout the year.

From the Library

Fifth graders are reading and illustrating Paul Fleischman's Seedfolks. Thirteen voices tell overlapping stories of a trash-filled vacant lot's transformation into a neighborhood garden. So far we have heard from Kim, a young Korean girl, who plants lima beans to honor her father who died before she was born; Ana, a nosy older woman who assumes Kim is up to no good; Wendell, the school janitor who saves Kim's plants; Gonzalo, who learns to appreciate his Guatemalan Tio Juan and sees him transform from a baby back into a man through his efforts in the garden; Leona, who thinks of an ingenious idea to get the city to clean up the lot; Sam, who holds a contest for the children to figure out how to get water to the garden; and Virgil, who grows tomatoes to win back his former girlfriend. We will finish up when the girls return from Echo Hill.

Robotics and Keyboarding

During the last several weeks Mrs. Emala's class has been working with the Lego NXT kits to build and program cars.  Once the cars are finished, they will race!  Ms. Gilbert's class continues to work on keyboarding skills and will switch to robotics when Mrs. Emala's class is finished.

Art: Silk Painting

The girls took on the challenge of painting silk and the results are beautiful! Silk painting has many if the same characteristics as watercolor though alcohol was our diluting medium. Salt was used to create texture. Gutta was used to make lines and contain color bleeding. 

Art: Silk Painting

The girls took on the challenge of painting silk and the results are beautiful! Silk painting has many if the same characteristics as watercolor though alcohol was our diluting medium. Salt was used to create texture. Gutta was used to make lines and contain color bleeding. 

Art: Silk Paintings & Identity Cells

After looking at these glue/paint paintings  and sharing what they saw in the works they discovered the power of abstract art to elicit a diverse range of imagery and ideas. The girls created their own "identity cells" and will paint them on large circular stretches of silk this week. These pieces will also be used for the fifth grade performance! 

Art: Hula Hoops & Mother Earth

The girls are working collaboratively on the challenge of combining music, movement and art for their stage production fast approaching. 

The inspiration is "Mother Earth" by Nancy Luenn. The metaphors in this poetic book was the jumping off point for visual and musical abstractions. 

In art, the girls have been working with hula hoops as the base form to express their ideas. The hula hoops are circular and moving like many earth references, but also playful and interactive.