Thursday
May 3
Alumni BBQ
5pm
Friday
May 4
Assembly 9:30am
Spirit/Pizza Day
May 7-11
Teacher Appreciation Week!
Monday
May 7
3rd to Pioneer Farm
Tuesday
May 8
Kindergarten to Pike Place Market
Wednesday
May 16
3rd Grade to Gold Rush National Park
Board Meeting 6:30pm
Thursday
May 17
2nd grade parents meet with new 3rd grade teacher 5pm
Friday
May 18
Spirit/Pizza Day
3rd to Fort Nisqually
May 3, 2007
Spring Fling Change the Date to June 5
Volunteer Breakfast Recap
Red Cross Visits PE
Power Source Investigations in Grades 4 and 5
Art News
Spring Fling
Change the Date to June 5
The date of Spring Fling has moved from Tuesday, May 15 to Tuesday, June 5. It will start at 6:30pm.
Volunteer Breakfast Recap
Did you stay for the volunteer breakfast last Friday? William Leaman, chef and owner of Bakery Nouveau, cooked up a fabulous feast – complete with quiche, bread, muffins and even cookies! And custom-made lattes completed the breakfast - for a truly tasty morning.
Thanks to everyone who came – and everyone who signed up to be a volunteer next year! Congratulations Tracy Sundberg for winning the $100 Ovio gift certificate drawing. There are still volunteer opportunities, so if you’re interested, please contact the WPO volunteer coordinator, Tracy Leber at tlleber@comcast.net.
Red Cross Visits P.E. Classes
On Wednesday, May 2nd, Kelly Kettleson from the American Red Cross taught an age appropriate first aid/CPR class to the first through fifth graders. Information included how to respond in an emergency such as an earthquake, what to do if someone stops breathing and when to call 911. Include your child in checking and restocking your first aid and emergency kits.
Power Sources Investigation in the 4th and 5th Grades
By Judith Arvidson, 4th Grade Teacher
The fourth and fifth grade students recently completed their Power Sources Investigation. The hard work that they did is proudly displayed in the hall in front of our room. Power sources that were studied include: geo-thermal, methane, coal, hydro-electric, wind, solar, and nuclear.
This eight-week, in depth study of electricity sources was multi-faceted. The students were divided into two groups. Alternating afternoons were spent either in the library classroom with Linda doing research and preparing a research paper on a source of electricity of their choice, or exploring the science of electricity in labs with Judith. The requirements for this Investigation show the nature of our integrated curriculum at Westside School. From the discipline of Language Arts the students wrote a research paper, developed a brochure, and wrote postcards. All three “papers” were written for different audiences, so a different voice was needed for each one. They also developed a city, where their selected power source fueled the city. The students created a map of their city and a produced a model that demonstrated their chosen power source. Creating maps and models shows spatial abilities and draws upon the disciplines of math and art. During the lab section of this investigation, science skills were used and writing skills were applied when students wrote their lab write-ups in their science journals. The students developed hypotheses, made observations, and reflected in their journals. The culmination of this Investigation was a presentation to classmates and parents demonstrating their knowledge of the power source and their ability to communicate ideas.
Art News
By Margery Lamden
A Family Affair at SAM! Saturday, May 12th, 10:00 to 5:00! It’s an art party for families! Come out and celebrate the opening of the new downtown Seattle Art Museum. Make art, listen to stories, and see puppet shows. For general information, visit www.seattleartmuseum.org or call 206.6543100.
Westside Artists
The 2nd and 3rd grade students just began a project on printmaking. Printmaking as a fine art began during the Renaissance when artists such as Durer wanted to create original works of art that many people could afford. Prints were a way for artists to sell one basic image to many people.
Each print that is made and signed by the artist is called an impression. I demonstrated how to engrave a line picture into a flat piece of Styrofoam, ink the Styrofoam, flip the foam over and press it onto a piece of paper. There was a sense of excitement and focus in the classroom as the students were eager to get started making sketches for their first impression. These original prints will be on display in about two weeks!
Summer Art with Margery
There are spaces available for my summer art classes. For information on price, location and more, please see the registration forms on the table across from the office.