Desert Star Community School: Newsletter

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Teacher Highlight -

Deborah Williams
1st Grade Teacher

Through the dark and winter snow,
On our journey we must go.
Where, oh where in darkest night,
Can we find a warming light?
O'er mountains high and valleys low,
Ever onward we must go,
Is there a place where we can bide?
Shelter safe and warm inside?

During these cold, dark days of winter, the first graders are feeling the seasonal shift through the imagination and through the rhythmic work we do in circle time each morning. This song is from a circle activity that has grown over a couple weeks now, and the image is of children journeying to find the light in the deep winter. During this circle time, we have been visiting a home where a Hanukkah celebration is occurring, then we visit an African hut where a Kwanzaa prayer is being said, then we visit a tipi where the earth is being honored, then finally to a Christmas Nativity scene. The children have been memorizing the long, complicated verse and song that accompanies the movements, which takes us into circle dances and over mountains high and valleys low (over chairs and under desks.) The children at this age work so much in their imaginations, and the work in the first grade compliments this.

The children will be treated to a shadow puppet play this week that offers a seasonal story called the Blizzard's Robe. It is a wonderful time in which to see a shadow puppet play, because it is done in complete darkness, which resembles the world around us, and then the light comes through and illuminates the shadows of the characters on the screen. Traditionally, stories were told around fire glow at these times, and the art of shadow puppetry keeps this tradition kindled. We are looking forward to creating our own shadow puppets to use with a new theatre that will hopefully be funded by a Creative Classroom Grant.

The children have also been discovering the singing sounds of our language and alphabet...the VOWELS. What a surprise it was to explore any word we could think of to find that it HAS to have a vowel in it in order to be spoken or sung! We have taken this further to introduce long and short vowel sounds, and to do our first sentence writing in our main lesson books. The first graders have learned a catchy song to the tune of "BINGO" which helps us to remember the vowels.

A parent is coming in to offer us a Hanukkah celebration and we are having a Secret Santa celebration before we leave for Winter Break. It is wonderful to hear all about the homemade, handmade gifts the children are working on. The children have also started knitting in handwork class and some are working on their recorder cases so that the recorders have a soft, safe home to live in once we start recorder playing in January.

A blessed holiday season to all,
Deborah Williams

Submitted by Deborah Williams, 1st Grade Teacher

Student Artist Spotlight - "Dragon" by Isabella Pepino, Grade 4 - By Zenna MacGregor

Isabella says art is one of her favorite things to do at school, at home, and basically ANY time! She can be found at drawing classes after-school on Thursdays and painting ceramics at Imagine Art on her free time. Isabella is
enthusiastic and pays precise attention to all details of what she is learning to do in art. Isabella is learning to Isabella Pepino & Dragon.jpeg

experiment with new techniques and is always in a happy mood for creating art. When Mrs. Mac Gregor has a question about terminology or a famous artist, Isabella's hand is up high and proud and her answers are almost always correct. There are
artists in her family too, and it seems that their talents have been passed on to Isabella as well. Nice work Isabella!! "

Submitted by Zenna L. H. MacGregor,
Art Teacher