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Community
Beach Park School Newsletter |
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Above: Lauren works with the seasons material in Lower Elementary
Important Dates
Wednesday, May 1, 10:30 am - UE Field Trip, Straz Center
Dr. Kaboom
Drivers Needed
Thursday, May 2 - Middle School to Finance Park
Sunday, May 5, 1 - 3 pm - BPS Art Show
Monday, May 6, 10:45 - LE Field Trip, Mahaffey Theater
Huck & Tom & the Mighty Mississippi
Drivers Needed
Monday, May 13, 8 - 9 am - Mother's Day Breakfast
Tuesday -Friday, May 14-17 - Middle School End of Year Class Trip to Destin
Friday, May 24- End of Year Program &
Last Day of School
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Presley concentrates on writing.
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 BPS Art Show The Beach Park School Annual Art Show takes place on Sunday, May 5th from 1 to 3 pm. This event is one of our favorite of the year. Several works of art by each child will be on display during the art show. We hope you will bring the whole family and stop by to see the work your child and others have created during the year. Ms. Katrina, BPS Art Teacher, coordinates the show with help from teachers and parents. Parent help is especially appreciated with setting up and taking down the show. If you signed up to help with the Art Show at the PTA meeting in September, you will be contacted early next week. Contact the school office if you wish to help. |
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PreK/Kindergarten
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Jayen making the US map
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Happy Earth Day! Feliz dia de la tierra! This week the children have been celebrating Earth Day with lessons on gifts we get from the earth and favorite outdoor places. Some surprising responses were under the ocean and heaven.
We are also busy making fabulous art projects for the upcoming Art Show on May 5th. Please mark you calendars and be sure to stop by.
Thank you, Wendy, Zeke's mom, for the beautiful blueberry plants! They are a great addition to our garden and the children were very excited to see how they grow on the bush.
Amy, Zoe Z.'s mom, shared a book with Ms. Ada and Ms. Katrina's class. Thank you, Amy!
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Lower Elementary
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Bryce & Ian draw & write names of jungle flora & fau
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Happy Earth Day! The Lower Elementary read The Lorax by Dr. Seuss in honor of this special day. The children then wrote a letter to Mother Earth. Each child wrote about things that they could do to help preserve our earth. The letters were quite sweet. Some children said that they would start recycling or composting or even riding their bikes to school. Several children promised to plant trees and take care of the plants in their homes. One child said that she would clean her room and try to take care of the earth as best as she could!
This week we had a very special presentation on the History of Numbers. The children were surprised to learn that about 5,000 years ago, in a valley between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, there was a land called Mesopotamia. The people were called Sumerians. There are records from around 3,000 years BC that show the Sumerians could read and write and had a way of recording symbols and quantities.
The Sumerians used a system where they counted various objects and recorded the number in clay. To understand what was counted, they included the symbol for that object beside the marks for the numbers.
On Friday, the 3rd graders took a trip to St. Augustine. This is an annual trip that is highly anticipated by every 3rd year. It is the first overnight for these youngsters and it is a blast. We tour lots of historical venues and learn all about Florida's past. A huge thank you to all of the parents for driving and chaperoning on this special trip!
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Upper Elementary
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 Everyone in class has been busy with individual work. Some of the students had a lesson on cubing a binomial using the binomial cube. That same piece of Montessori material is present in the Early Childhood class and the Lower Elementary. That is really the beauty of the Montessori Method. Children are familiar with the material and then, in Upper Elementary and Middle School, they are able to apply and understand the expression (a + b) �. Geometry is a favorite in class. Students are learning about equivalences, similarities and congruency. It is a challenge to take the Constructive Triangles and create various shapes.
Next week, we will continue the Human Anatomy work. Ms. Ann already gave the lesson called the "Great River" which gives an impressionistic view of the functions of the human body. Small groups will have lessons next week about the body system they have chosen. Then, they will design and develop a research project of their choice.
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Middle School
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 This week we had our Mock Trial about the Titanic. The jury, who was the Upper Elementary, came to the verdict that the Titanic was responsible for a passenger's death because of their negligence.
The 7th grade started working on a new math program called IXL, and the 8th have been working on their portfolios and end of the year speeches. The Middle School also started their end of the year reflections.
Julia Parrino
(Right: Middle School students practicing on the Orff instruments in music class)
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Spanish
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 LOWER ELEMENTARY: To commemorate Earth Day, we read about the rain forests in Costa Rica. The facts were interesting, as well as the photographs that accompanied the information. It was refreshing and enlightening to compare the hectic pace of our lifestyle with that of the families living in the regions near the rain forest. What they lack in technology is replaced by other means. Children fish, gather flowers, collect fruits, and play under the waterfalls after school for entertainment. They also learn about their natural resources and how to save them. Students illustrated and wrote sentences of their favorite part of the book. Conversational Spanish was practiced and a review about words pertaining to nature was used as our main topic for the week.
UPPER ELEMENTARY: We had a discussion about trees and the role they play in our lives. Students picked a tree or plant of their choice and wrote about their characteristics and their uses. A related vocabulary, dictation, and the writing of complete sentences rounded up our lessons for this week.
MIDDLE SCHOOL: Students were asked to write a list of plants or trees that are or can be used in the elaboration of medicines, making of furniture, cosmetics, food, and industrial uses. They also reviewed the main parts of a tree; their properties, and special features. Some of the topics were the plantations of coffee, sugar cane, coconuts, tea, cocoa beans, vanilla, and rice.
We all enjoyed this creative unit, and I am sure that now we have a deeper appreciation for our dear planet Earth and Mother Nature!
TRIVIA FACT: Around 80% of the food we eat come from rain forests, especially the Amazon rain forest. Some of the more popular examples are: coffee, chocolate, rice, bananas, pineapples, black pepper, tomatoes, potatoes and corn. We make use of about 200 fruits found in rain forests, however, indigenous tribes use over 2000 of them! It is not a typo!
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Office Notes
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Class Photos
Orders for class photos are due by Wednesday, May 1st. You will find sample photos and order forms on the tripod just inside the front gate. Photos are $10 each.
Yearbook Ordering
Look for the order form for the 2012-13 Beach Park School Yearbook on Monday next week and get your order in for what you can be sure will be the best yearbook ever! Each year, the yearbook adds more style and photos and this year will be no exception. The Middle School students have worked diligently all year with the guidance of Amy Hirschel, Steve Falkowitz and Tacy Troncoso, parents with the skills needed in design, layout, photography and production.
The cost of the yearbook is $15 for one copy and $25 for two.
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4200 W. North A Street � Tampa, FL 33609 � Ph: 813-289-3747 � Fax: 813-286-7307
admin@beachparkschool.org
Beach Park School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin.
Accredited by Florida Council of Independent Schools and Florida Kindergarten Council
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