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. 

Tech Update

This month the girls learned the basics of gaming through the use of Gamestar Mechanic.  After completing all five episodes, students were required to create games of their own using the five elements of game creation.  Students are now able to play each other's games.

Up the Hill

Last Friday, February 27th we had such a special treat - spending the day with Ingrid Law, author of Savvy, Scumble, and soon to be published Switch. The girls spent the morning with Ms. Law in the classroom.  They had a chance to hear her speak, ask her questions, and get to know this Newbery Honor winning author.  We then traveled to Mt. Washington for an amazing luncheon, complete with cupcakes topped with miniature Savvy books!  The girls and their guests, as well as Ms. Law, had a lovely afternoon.  Thanks to the many parents who made the beautiful centerpieces and delicious desserts! 

Ms. Law sent an email after she arrived back in Denver saying how much she had enjoyed her visit.

She wrote,

"Friday was such a wonderful day. Thank you for hosting me. I had a great time with the girls and it makes me incredibly happy to know my visit had an impact and inspired an excitement for writing. I was able to look through the beautiful book the girls signed for me after returning to my hotel. Your school has an impressive history! And the water bottle and coffee "bowl" will always remind me of my lovely time with you and your students.

I made it home without incident, but was astounded by the amount of snow that fell in Colorado while I was away. It's been a long winter, hasn't it? But like you said, spring is on its way.

By the way, I posted a picture of those cupcakes on Facebook and I'm not sure I've ever gotten so many likes, comments, even shares! Plus, I ate one of mine for breakfast on Saturday morning. 

I hope the rest of your school year is a delight.

All my best, Ingrid"

I'm sure we are all very glad that the lunch was last Friday and not tomorrow as originally scheduled! The literary gods were smiling on us!

Science: Learning about the Human Body

The girls have been busily learning how their bodies function. We examined each system to learn what it looks like and what it does. Then we were able to discuss how that system interacts with the other systems we have studied. The girls have been eager and attentive as we discovered some of the mysteries and the wonders of our amazing bodies.

Dissecting a chicken leg helped the girls visualize and understand the functions of the muscles, tendons, cartilage, and ligaments.

We looked at models with removable organs.

Of course, games can make learning even more fun!

Up the Hill

MATH -

The girls have been concentrating on decimals in math.  They are adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing decimals to add to their knowledge of how to manipulate numbers.  The small details are very important - accurate computations, correct decimal placement, and correct units in word problems.  Studying money is a wonderful way to practice decimals!  Ask your daughter to help you add (or estimate) the cost of two or more objects and how much change you should receive after a purchase.  

HISTORY -

We have been researching and writing about explorers this month!  Each girl has an explorer that she has learned a lot about in order to compose a written report that will become a Google presentation, complete with pictures, a route map, and a timeline of that explorer.  Stay tuned - the reports are works  in progress!

LANGUAGE ARTS - 

We are getting ready to switch Newbery unit groups on Tuesday!  The girls who have been with Mrs. Gilbert will move to Mrs. Emala's Newbery unit, and the girls who were with Mrs. Emala will now be with Mrs. Gilbert.  Both teachers have enjoyed working with all the fifth graders; this is a wonderful opportunity to get to know girls who are not in a teacher's math group or home room.  Mrs. Gilbert's group has read and analyzed Newbery Honor book Savvy, and Mrs. Emala's group has been reading all sorts of books that were published last year (2014) and blogging about them.  We are so excited about the upcoming Newbery Lunch (February 27) and our speaker, Ingrid Law.  

Miscellaneous - 

Half the class has had the opportunity to have lunch with Mrs. Nothstein this week in the fifth grade building.  The other half of the class will join her on several days next week.  It is a wonderful opportunity for Mrs. Nothstein to chat informally with your girls and to have a chance to check in with them to see how things are going.  The girls are enjoying these lunchtime meetings! 

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day party today.  Many thanks to Mrs. Campbell, Mrs. Trousdale, and Mrs. Reidel for all their help!  We loved seeing you!

Happy long weekend!

Up the Hill

The verdict is in! The 2015 Newbery Award goes to........The Crossover by Kwame Alexander.

The two honor books are El Deafo, a graphic novel by Cece Bell, and Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson.

The girls have been very busy reading many of the books that were published in 2014; there are many other books they have loved reading that did not win the Newbery but are still favorites! 

We are very excited about our upcoming Newbery Lunch with Ingrid Law, the author of Savvy and 

Scumble (and soon-to-be-published Switch).  The lunch will take place at the Mt. Washington facility on February 27th.  The girls are preparing by reading her two books and thinking of questions they would like to ask this Newbery Honor winning author!  We look forward to seeing many of you then!  Until then, happy reading!

From the Library

Fifth graders are about half way through Sharon Creech's beloved book Granny Torelli Makes Soup. Many in the class of 2023 are already Sharon Creech fans, but Granny Torelli is a new story for most. Ask your daughter about Rosie and her best friend Bailey, Pardo and Violetta, the lost dog, the new neighbor Janine, learning braille on the sly and how that surprise backfires. If your daughter wants to make homemade pasta, Granny Torelli may be her inspiration.

Timelines in Tech

We began the month with a review of digital citizenship and created comic strips about digital super heros.  Next, we create a personal timeline using a timeline generator from Read Write Think.  We discussed how to determine beginning and ending points on a timeline and what information should be included.  We are now working on apply these skills to create a time for the explorers project.  We are also continuing to work on our keyboarding skills.

Art: Self Portraits

The girls have completed a series of exercises that help them to see and draw what they see with greater accuracy.  They did a profile contour line and matched the line to make a symmetrical vase shape in the double image.  They used only value patches to create the form of the eye.  Afterwards, they began a pencil self-portrait that uses all of the R-mode drawing techniques.  Ask your daughter how she knows she is in R-mode...one of her answers might be because she is having fun! 

Brush Bot Video

All grades in the Lower School participated in the Brush Bots Winter Olympics.  Here is a compilation video of everyone's hard work.  Enjoy!

Art: Chairs

The girls practiced drawing in R-mode to accurately draw a miniature chair.  Here, they are coloring the negative space.  While drawing they found themselves paying close attention to the shapes outside of the chair as well as the shapes of the chair itself.  

"You can never have the use of the inside of the cup without the outside. The inside and the outside go together.  They're one." - Alan Watts

Art: Switching Sides of the Brain

The fifth graders are learning to switch sides of the brain! They discerned which activities are best with the left side of the brain (linear, logical, sequential, symbolic) and which activities are best for the right side of the brain (non-linear, responsive, present, synthetic, spatial, intuitive, holistic).  To practice switching to R-mode, they drew upside down. This exercise encourages them to pay attention to the spatial relationships, changes in line and shape, and darks and lights.