Friday
March 27
Spirit/Pizza Day
Monday-Friday
March 30-April 3
Spring Break!
No School!
Monday
April 6
Contracts Due from Outside Families
Monday
April 13
Afterschool Enrichment Classes begin this week
Wednesday
April 15
Board Meeting
6:30pm
Thursday
April 16
Assembly
9:30am
Friday
April 17
Spirit/Pizza Day
Monday-Friday
April 20-24
ERB Testing for grades 1-5
March 26, 2009
How Children Learn
Welcome Teacher Jill Weaver to 2nd Grade
Movie Night Applause!
Chinese Update
Enrichment Classes - Spring 2009
Innerspark Summer Camp
How Children Learn
By Marsha Lovely, Kindergarten Teacher
“Welcome Kindermart Shoppers!”
How many syllables in Kindermart? Can you tell by the picture?
Children learn by doing. We can throw lots of facts at kids, but what do they retain?
When children learn by doing developmentally appropriate activities they learn a lot! The Kindermart is just that kind of activity. We have been learning about money. Not just how to count it and what it’s worth, but what do you see on a penny, nickel, dime, or quarter? What do those symbols represent?
How do students earn money to spend at the Kindermart? Well, they get paid for going out of their way to be kind to their classmates. When Margaret or I catch a child doing something nice like pushing in someone else’s chair, checking if someone is all right when they fall, or offering to help with chores, we give them the coin of the week. This week they are earning Westside Quarters.
During the week, they put the money they’ve earned in special piggy banks. Then, on Thursday, they get their banks out and create a bank statement. They write down which coins they have and add them up for our balance.
Friday the store opens for business. There are lots of fun items for sale. What happens if they don’t have enough money for what they want? Well, they are learning how to save up for next week. Of course, just like many of us, the money burns a hole in their pockets. After shopping, we go back to our banks and figure out how much we spent and how much we have left, if any.
This is one way that kids learn to add and subtract, the value of saving, and the fun in buying something with money you earned yourself and so on and so on.
Drop by the room on Friday and watch the joy of the Kindermart in action! You will love what you see.
Hmm, do I have enough to buy this?
Welcome Jill Weaver to Second Grade!
Westside School is happy to welcome Jill Weaver to replace Erin in the second grade classroom. (Erin starts her maternity leave tomorrow.) Jill holds a Master of Education in Elementary Ed, with a Specialization in Reading, from Lamar University on Beaumont, TX. She also has a BA in fine arts. Her recent teaching experience was in third and fourth grades at the Dubai American Academy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. She has 8 years of teaching experience, with experience in both the classroom and as an art specialist in Texas and Louisiana. Jill is an enthusiastic, caring educator who believes that all children can learn and thrive in a learning environment that is stimulating, comforting and appropriate to children’s abilities. Please extend a warm welcome to Jill!
Applause for the Movie Night Makers!
By Kate Petrich, WPO President
Thank you to Movie Night Chair Jan Ellis for another fabulous Movie Night and for her blood (set-up), sweat (hours behind the scenes), and tears (of joy after the final show)! We really appreciate the time and effort you put into making it great - not just once, but 3 times this year!
Movie Night’s success can’t be done without our generous volunteers. Thank you Matt Davis & Melanie Leary (projector operators for the 3rd time this year), Pam Snider (advertising), aftercare artists (sign makers), Steve Petrich (popcorn), Emily Hindle & Jennie Wyatt (cashiers), Phil Wallace & Susan Oxholm (clean-up), Rene Ellis (various hero isms), the youngsters who helped cleaned the mats, and the many others who pitched in along the way. Thank you!
Chinese Update
By Steven Whiting, Chinese Teacher
Da Jia Hao! Hi Everyone! Guang Yin Si Jian. Time flies like an arrow.
Hopefully all the snow is gone and we can enjoy some mild weather and pretty flowers.
What’s been going on in Chinese lately?
The kindergartners have learned a family member song and a nonsense rhyme with fruits and flowers. It includes how Chinese people count from 1 to 10 on their fingers. There is also a little dance that they can do with it. Encourage them to show you. They have also learned “How are you?” “I’m fine, thank you. And you?” Soon they’ll learn a “Good Morning Song” that combines various expressions we have learned into a greeting song to be done in pairs.
The first graders have learned the “old Mother Hen” rhyme. Now they are learning the “Monkey’s Week” rhyme with the days of the week. Have them recite it for you. They can act out what the Monkey does each day, too. They have done two verses of Old Mr. Wang’s Vegetable Garden for a total of twelve veggies which they have learned to say are either delicious or not delicious. The Little Pekinese Dog Song is still on our “To Do List.”
The second graders have received their Chinese names which they have learned to say and have also practiced writing in Chinese. They have finished learning the Honey Bee Song and we are putting some motions to it. They are now learning the “Monkey’s Week” rhyme with the days of the week, and will soon be able to act out what the Monkey does each day. They will continue on adjectives and soon do comparisons.
The third graders have learned how to ask permission in Chinese to do such things as get a drink, get a tissue and go to the toilet. They have learned the directions of the compass and how to say what things are good for us to eat and drink, and which are bad. They are presently working on asking “Why” and answering “Because....” They are also almost done learning The Jasmine Flower song.
The fourth graders and fifth graders have been working on telling time and talking about daily routines such as what time they get up in the morning and go to sleep at night. They are presently working on asking “Why” and answering “Because....” as they choose what to put into a dish of “stir fried vegetables.” They have also just finished learning the first verse of the Feng Yang Hua Gu - Flower Drum Song. They love to sing in class so I hope they will perform for you at home. We still have Chinese money as well as shapes and tangrams on the schedule for the coming weeks.
In addition, we are scheduling a tour of the Seattle Chinese Garden for the fifth graders in May. Xie xie, Bai Laoshi
After School Enrichment Classes Spring 2009
The next session of our popular after school enrichment classes will start the week of April 13th. Click here to register, or look for the link on our home page.
Wild Wetlands
Date: Mondays (Meet in the 3rd grade portable.)
Time: 3:15-4:30pm
Grades: 3rd -5th
Cost: $73
Join 3rd grade assistant and environmental expert Tara Potter and explore the wild wetlands of Roxhill Bog! What is a bog and what types of animals live there? Get muddy, spot some wetland creatures, and learn why this bog is so important. Get up close with bog life in our neighborhood. We will also work with Seattle Parks and Recreation to remove harmful plants and help the wetland thrive! Waterproof shoes are recommended but not necessary, there will be mud!
Week 1: Site intro
Week 2: Native vs. non-native plants
Week 3: What lives in the bog?
Week 4: Water quality
Week 5: Habitat
Book Club
Date: Mondays, April 13 – May 11
Time: 3:20-4:00 in the Library
Cost: $38 (Two books included)
Grades: 3rd – 5th
Back by popular demand! Join librarian Sarah Wildflower to read and discuss two great books. This session’s books will be:
Urchin of the Riding Stars
The Tale of Despereaux
Kindergarten Chess Club
Date: Tuesdays, April 14-May 12
Time: 2:45-3:45 in Stuart’s Room 114
Cost: $68
Learn to play chess, or practice what you already know! Chess can strengthen problem solving skills, teach children to make difficult and abstract decisions and enhance math abilities memory and critical thinking skills. The ever popular Elston Cloy (and former Washington State Youth Champion) returns to guide the chess class.
Grade School Musical
Date: Tuesday, April 14-May 26 Seven Week/Two Hour Class
Time: 3:20-5:20 in the gym
Grades: 1st-5th
Cost: $150
The class would be a 7-week musical theatre program for students in grades 1-5, led by nationally known theater actor/director and Westside parent, David Koch. David is also the lead instructor for the popular StageStruck Musical Theatre Camps. David, a musical director and a choreographer will guide students through each 2-hour session to learn songs, dances and scenes for the new musical show, Grade School Musical, created just for the students of Westside. The class will finish with a full-staged public performance.
Science Adventures
Date: Wednesdays, April 15-May 13
Time: 3:20-4:30 in Judith and Erin’s Rooms
Cost: $78
Slime Time
We’ve saved the best club for last. Welcome to the slippery, oozy, world of slime time!
Growing Brains - Magic Sponges? Ghost Crystals? Take home a tiny brain and watch it as it grows through science!
Bottomless Cup - Learn a trick called the Three-Cup Monte that uses the special Waterlock polymer to make things disappear!
Glowing Gooey Ooze - Everything glows in the dark with phosphorescent powder! Make your own glow-in-the-dark ooze!
Oobleck - A deep space probe has just returned with a mysterious sample that’s not quite a liquid, not quite a solid. Come to the club and learn what it is!
Magnetic Slime - The adventure continues we combine the science of magnetism and mix it with what they know about polymers to create their own magnetic slime!
Yoga
Date: Thursdays, April 16 – May 14
Time: 3:20-4:30, Meet in Erin’s room, Pick-up in the gym
Grades: K – 5th
Cost: $68
Cynthia Voth & Joanna Bond return to help kids get in touch with their bodies, strengthen and relax their muscles, and develop coordination, focus and confidence. Each class will include sharing, breathing/centering (pranayama), postures (asana), games that incorporate the postures, and a closing relaxation. Yoga can be a fun exercise for kids. Be sure to wear comfortable clothing and bring a yoga mat.
Innerspark Summer Camp!
Westside will offer three weeks of Summer Camp this summer for Grades K-5. Camps will start the week of July 13 and end July 31.
Your children will love the opportunities available! They might.... search for sasquatch, adventure with circus fun or explore how science meets art.
A PDF brochure is available (click here), and registration is happening NOW online! Click here. Don’t delay!