Updates on Our Learning:

• In the Library, we are learning about Portrait of a Graduate and being good communicators.  Upper grades are speaking clearly in a way that helps others understand while expressing themselves in 6-word memoirs.  Primary grades are making connections to what they read or hear through discussions.  We have been advocating for bats and spiders as animals that help our world during a season when they have false stories told about them to spread fear.
• In Art, students across grade levels are finishing up their projects from last month and starting some fun fall-themed projects. There will be funky pumpkins, patterned leaves, and colorful spiders! 
• In Physical Education - Grades k through 3 are participating in fine and gross motor assessments.  Grades 4 through 6 are finishing up their VA fitness assessments.
• STEAM  - 4th grade is beginning to use the engineering design diagram to save a variety of species in the Chesapeake Bay (Coastal Plain Region).  
• In Music- 
  • Singing:   All students are practicing proper singing techniques and learning to sing the sulfege syllables (do-re-mi) along with the appropriate hand signs. All students are learning about patriotism in song. Students in grades K-2 are singing Yankee Doodle Dandy and This Land is Your Land. Grades 3-4 are singing Grand ‘Ol Flag and America. Grade 5-6 students are singing Grand ‘Ol Flag and the first verse of the Star-Spangled Banner.
  • Instruments:  Grade K-2 students will play un-pitched, classroom percussion instruments (rhythm sticks and hand drums) to demonstrate a steady beat and learn note values. Third and fourth graders are playing recorders. Students in grades 5-6 are playing bucket drums to review note values, read rhythms accurately, and play along with fun tunes.
  • Movement: All students are learning to demonstrate a steady beat using body movement to music through specific brain gym exercises at the beginning of music class.
  • Music Literacy:  K-6 Students will learn or review note durations. Students in grades 3-6 will review note durations and how to read notes in treble clef.
  • Culture: All students, K-6, are learning about patriotism in music. Students begin by listening to their native country’s National Anthems; counties such as Honduras, El Salvador, and Puerto Rico. Afterward, students in grades K-2 are singing Yankee Doodle and This Land is Your Land. Grades 3-4 are singing Grand ‘Ol Flag and America. Grades 5-6 are singing and learning about the Star-Spangled Banner. Also, fourth-grade students are going on a field trip to the Kennedy Center to hear the National Symphony Orchestra on October 17, 2023.