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Pojoaque Feast Day Comes Dancing to RGS
Dancers from the Pueblo of Pojoaque, all of whom were RGS students, parents, alumni, or grandparents, came to share an important part of their feast day with the entire student body last week. Pictured above from left are Bernice Talachy (3rd), Rain Romero (3rd), Jopovi Romero (RGS '07) and Joe Talachy, father of Bernice and Aubrianna (1st). Not pictured are parent Mateo Romero and grandfather Joseph Talachy, who accompanied the dancers with drumming and vocals. The audience was in awe as they got to experience such a beautiful and significant part of the Pueblo's culture. |
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Don't Miss our Holiday Concert: A Musical Mosaic this Friday
 On Friday morning at 11 a.m., the entire RGS student body will gather in the MAC for the annual Winter Concert. This year our concert is entitled "A Musical Mosaic," symbolizing the wide range of cultures and languages that are represented in the RGS community.
Ms. Bentree said that the title was inspired by a week in music classes this fall. She was teaching the entire student body to sing "Are You Sleeping" for Friday's All School Meeting and she asked if anyone knew the song in another language. In every class many hands shot up with suggestions: Korean, French, German, Tewa, Spanish, Danish, Hebrew, Polish, Japanese, etc. "It was quite an education for me to realize how international our student body is," said Ms. Bentree. "I asked for more lyrics and I had students (and parents) bringing me new languages every day. It has been really fun!"
 That realization inspired Ms. Bentree to further explore our different cultures. In addition to singing in the languages listed above, the students will be singing music from France, Japan, China, Mexico, and Germany. They will also be playing instruments and dancing on several of the songs. Art specialist Melissa Merritt has also been working with the students to bring some wonderful artwork to the concert as well.
Ms. Bentree has asked NewsGrande to remind all our students to "dress up" for the Winter Concert. It is a special day at RGS and we would like our students to dress in something more formal than they would wear for an average day at school. Ms. Bentree finished by saying, "The concert is going to be great fun and the students can't wait to share what they have learned with their parents."
Pictured Above: Our second and third graders are ready to paint a mosaic with their voices! |
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Recycled Art Teaches the Power of Transformation
by Art Specialist Melissa Merritt
This November, RGS students participated in the 11th annual recycle art festival. We won first pl ace individual for the kindergarten mosaic horse and second place for the best overall school. When I looked at the collection of sculptures and mosaics, I thought the exhibit looked great, but what did the students learn? I hoped they learned about transformation. When yogurt cups, dried up markers and plastic bottle caps become a beautiful tree, I am think of transformation and our student's ability to imagine the creative potential of objects beyond their designated purpose.
I know they also learned about teamwork. When five boys told me they wanted to work together, I was skeptical at best. I was proven wrong as they figured out how to divide their labor as well as the body of their life size samurai robot. More than a little bit of engineering went on as they figured out how to construct sound connections and make their three dimensional structures stand. They learned about repetition, pattern and creating unity while working with disparate objects. The fifth and sixth graders examined the products of consumerism when we used the science room SmartBoard to look at the work of artist/activist Chris Jordan. The students that participated in the fashion show learned that art can take many forms. They exhibited courage, confidence and self-assuredness as they showcased their outfits made of compact discs, candy wrappers, gift cards and splattered patchwork.
I also learned that our students are full of joyful surprises. On Sunday, when I went to pick up our artwork, a note was tucked behind the third grade mosaic. Someone wanted to buy the elephant mosaic. When I asked the third graders if they wanted to sell it, they answered with an astounding "yes" and when I asked what we should do with the money, they shouted "Pennies for Peace!" I was so proud of our students and a little bit overwhelmed by how beautiful they are. The Cienega artist that bought their mosaic for seventy dollars was impressed to know that our third graders want to give their earnings to Pennies for Peace and the third graders were impressed that their elephant will help them buy 7,000 pencils for kids in Afghanistan.
Pictured Above (from left): Sixth graders Siri Sumpuran Khalsa, Taylor Rose Cupp-Pena, Grace Calavan, and Laura Garrett pose proudly in their couture made entirely of recycled products. | |
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RGS Stars 
 Our fourth graders were featured in Friday's Santa Fe New Mexican for their service learning project on behalf of the Espanola Valley Humane Society, for which they students are making and selling dog biscuits and dog and cat toys to benefit the shelter. Read the article here! The article also prompted KOAT Action 7 News to follow up with a piece that was shown on Sunday's 10 o'clock newscast, which featured interviews with Kristin Potter and fourth grader Paige Underwood. View the news video here!
Fourth grader Emmi Rivera will be performing in the Aspen/Santa Fe Ballet's presentation of the The Nutcracker this Saturday and Sunday. Also, both Emmi and her fifth grade brother Max Rivera will be singing with the Santa Fe Desert Chorale's family holiday concert at Cristo Rey Church on 12/19 at 7pm. All are welcome!
Be an RGS Star! We take pride in the accomplishments of our students, parents, grandparents, staff, and alumni. Please email your star's information to NewsGrande editor Kate Remsberg. | |
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Mark Your Calendar
Extended Care Early Pick-Up
Thursday, December 17
4:30 in Gilbert Hall
Winter Concert
Friday, December 18
11 am in Gilbert Hall
NOON DISMISSAL, NO EXTENDED CARE
SCHOOL CLOSED Winter Break
Monday, December 21-Monday, January 4
Parent Association Meeting
Wednesday, January 6
8:00 am in Gilbert Hall
Admission Open House
Thursday, January 7
9 to 11 am in Gilbert Hall
ERB Testing, Grades 3-6
Monday, January 11-Friday, January 15
No School for Pequenos and Grandes,
Friday, January 15
SCHOOL CLOSED
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Monday, January 18 |
Extended Care Reminders
On Thursday, December 17, Extended Care will end at 4:30 pm so that our Extended Care staff may attend the staff holiday party. School will be dismissed at noon on Friday, December 18; there will be no Extended Care that afternoon.
Upcoming
Standardized Testing
Standardized testing will be administered for grades 3-6 from January 11-15; make-ups will be held the week of January 19th. Testing week concludes with a three day weekend, and we would appreciate if you could minimize any absences, barring illness.
Rummage Sale Coming this Spring
The sixth grade class is gearing up for their springtime rummage sale and they need your help! Don't throw away that old bike, set of skis, or pinstriped shirt-- donate them to a worthy cause! All proceeds from the sale will help fund the sixth grade end-of-year trip. Small donations can be brought directly to the sixth grade classroom. For larger items, please contact Maggi Hill at 982.4505 or 982.5734 |
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Don't forget to bring your wrapped gifts for the Esperanza Holiday Toy Drive to your child's classroom before Thursday!
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Links to Our Specialists' Webpages
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NewsGrande 
