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August 30, 2013
Community
Beach Park School Newsletter
Important Dates
Monday, September 2 - Labor Day, School Closed
 
Thursday, September 5, 7 pm 
 
                        PTA Meeting - All Parents Invited
                                 Child Care Provided
              Please see Office Notes, Announcements, Etc. below
 
Thursday, Septmber 12, 5:30 pm - Family Picnic
                                                           Al Lopez Park
 
Tuesday, September 17 - Inside Field Trip Primary Classes
                                            Tampa Fire Department 
 
Friday, September 20 - Speech/Communication Screening
 
Tuesday, September 24 - Individual School Pictures
 
Wednesday - Thursday, September 25-26 - Upper 
            Elementary and Middle School Retreat at Cedarkirk
 
Friday, September 27 - Staff Planning Day, School Closed
Quick Links
Work Day
 
A mountain of mulch was delivered this week as the Lower Elementary students demonstrate in the photo above. It will be spread on the playground and in the landscape beds tomorrow. If you would like to help, please come at 9 am and bring a rake and/or pitchfork if you have one.  
More hands will mean less time for everyone working. Child care is not provided.
Thanks in advance to those who can make it.
Primary Classes
Annabelle creating with sensorial materials

It has been a wonderful first two weeks at school.  The children are settling into their routines and enjoying their friendships.  It is beautiful to see the children come into class and get straight to work.

 

We are establishing our classroom ground rules through songs, stories, role plays and modeling.  We enjoyed the lesson on feather touch, an activity that shows the importance of respecting both living and non-living things in our environment.

 

Students are observing the pipevine swallowtail caterpillars and the life cycle of the butterfly.  Ms. Marissa has started taking students to work in the garden a few at a time.  The students are all looking forward to their turn to be introduced to the garden.

 

In Spanish, we are learning greetings and the days of the week and beginning to speak about parts of the body.

 

It is lovely to see how the returning students welcome and support the new children.  Thank you, parents, for helping your children make the transition to school and supporting their independence as they arrive in the mornings and walk to their classes.

 

Reminder:  Shoes suitable for running and playground activity are the safest and most comfortable.  In general, closed-toe shoes are best and not sandals, crocs or boots of any type.

Lower Elementary
Ella reading in the Peace Corner
Wow!  The first 2 weeks of school have been fabulous.  All of our students have gotten right into the routine.  The days have been so productive and fun!  We have been working on our manners. We are remembering to be kind and helpful to all of our friends here at Beach Park School.  We read the book, Only One You by Linda Kranz.  This is a delightful book for all ages.  It illustrates that we are all unique and that we are individuals.  It reminds us to honor that difference and respect it in others.  It is a very sweet story about coming of age, as well.

 

Please note that homework will start for 3rd grade on September 3rd.   It will be Wordly Wise and it will be all on-line.  All of the directions and instructions for Wordly Wise will go home on that day.  Spelling homework for 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade will start the following week on September 9th.  Directions and information for Spelling will go home that day.

 

Happy Birthday, Dr Maria Montessori!  We honored Dr. Montessori today, as her birthday is August 31st.  It is fun to learn all about her and how she came up with these wonderful materials and method.  It is a great way for the children to learn why our school is called a Montessori school! 

 

We wish to thank all of the parents who came to the orientation last week.  It is always a pleasure to see you and answer any questions you may have.  Please know that we are always available to you.  You can email us at [email protected].

 

Here's to a wonderful start to the 2013-2014 school year!

Upper Elementary
Our Upper Elementary class is fantastic. Everyone is busy and working hard. 
 
Last week Ms. Ann told the story of how all stories came to be in our world. On this past Tuesday, Ms. Ann gave the lesson on the beginning of the Universe. Students saw experiments in cohesion, the three states of matter and a demonstration about how liquids settle according to their weight. The volcano at the end of the lesson was a great hit as always. (See photo above) After the lesson, each student chose a research question to investigate during the coming week.

Students are also off to a good start on the Wordly Wise 3000 online program for vocabulary development and on Moby Max for math, reading and language arts practice activities. Everyone in class received their first Geometry lesson and Math lesson with the Montessori materials.

 

Next week, Ms. Ann will tell the story of the "Coming of Life."  This is the second of Montessori's "Great Lessons." The Great Lessons are intended to set the stage for the study of History, Geography, Science, Language and Mathematics.

Middle School

This week of school went great for the middle school class. 

 

We are all getting used to the new routine and the new classes we have. The 8th graders finished the first chapter of Algebra I and took the test on Wednesday.  The 7th graders also finished the first chapter of their Pre-Algebra book.  

 

Middle School started their Ancient Chinese history cultural unit. We hope to go on some field trips that relate to our cultural study soon.

 

by Julia Parrino and Berkeley Kittredge

 

 

Right: Reviewing the metric system with Julia measuring Maddie who is 166 cm tall

Spanish 
LOWER ELEMENTARY: Our weekly Spanish lessons are well under way and both new and returning students are reaping the benefits of learning a new language in a fun way.

 

This group is very active and participates enthusiastically. They enjoy the games and movements that are incorporated into the lessons. This week we all enjoyed, "The Bird InThe Nest" game and "The Making of a Rainbow".

UPPER ELEMENTARY: We had a reading about colors, hues and the various green shades of the jungle. We observed leaves and flowers under a microscope and noticed that petals from the same flowers differ in colors.  I am sure that we all now appreciate nature with "different eyes". We also had a review about Geometric Shapes and played a game related to this lesson.

MIDDLE SCHOOL: We had many oral and written exercises to practice rhyming words in Spanish and formation of singular and plural nouns; including some of the rules to identify the gender of some of the nouns. We also had an in depth lesson on how to tell time in Spanish. It was a very productive week!

TRIVIA FACT: The name Guatemala means "place of many trees". This name was given by the native soldiers who accompanied Pedro de Alvarado during the Spanish Conquest of this territory.

Office Notes, Announcements, Etc.
PTA
The annual PTA meeting will be held next week on Thursday evening starting at 7 pm.  Co-chairs Tacy Troncoso and Steve Falkowitz promise an energetic meeting that will focus on the year's activities and how parents can get involved.  Child care will be provided.

Lunch Program
evos logoThe September menu is now open for ordering Evos lunches on Mondays and Wednesdays.  This menu covers the period from Wednesday, September 4th through Monday, September 30th.
 
The menu will remain open until Monday, September 2 at 10 pm.  After that date/time, orders for September are set for the month.

After School Activities
Next week, after school activities will begin.  You may still sign up your child for any of these activities 
- French (Lower Elementary Mon/Wed or Upper Elementary/Middle School Tues/Thurs)
- Chess (ages 5 and up on Wednesdays)
- Creative Dance (ages 3, 4 and 5)
- Ballet (ages 5 to 9)
- Photo (starting in October)

We hope to also offer yoga after school.  Our instructor, Ms. Karen, is on hiatus until the second semester and we are seeking a substitute for the first semester.

Please contact the office for more information on these opportunities.

Project Starfish  
Beach Park School's philosophy is for students to be citizens of the world and give back to the community that gives to you - even if the community is half way around the world!  
 
Two Beach Park moms, Dr. Kathryn Kepes (Sam) and Ms. Sheetal Shreedhar (Meera), as well as one former Beach Park mom, Dr. Mona Shah (Aidan) are part of an organization called Project Starfish.  Drs. Kepes and Shah are planning to go to India in Janurary 2014 to set up general medical and diabetic screening clinics in a small hospital in southern India (Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu - 10 miles from the coast).  They will be seeing primarily fishermen (who make $2.00 per day) and their families, who have no money for heath care.  Because diabetes is so prevalent in India, the American Team (a total of 12) will also be screening for this insidious disease and starting treatment for those with the diagnosis.  We plan to work with Indian health professionals so that the clinics will be sustainable after we leave.

 

There will be a fundraiser for medical equipment, diabetes screening tools, medications, etc. at Drs. Mona and Anjan Shah's home on Saturday, September 21.  We will have Indian music, hors d'oeuvres, dancing, jewelry (including bindis), and henna tatoos - a Journey to India.  For more information, check our website and look under Events.  You can buy tickets on line (and even be a sponsor) or at the door.  We would love to see the Beach Park moms and dads there!   Any questions, call or e-mail Kathryn at 813-541-0871 or [email protected].  Looking forward to seeing you on the Journey to India! 

 

Friday Morning Coffee

Every Friday morning at BPS, you will find the coffee pot on the front patio with steaming hot coffee. We hope you will take advantage of this small hospitality to come in during drop-off time and have a cup or take some with you on your way into your Friday activities.  Hope to see you next Friday morning!

 

Target

This year, Target will give money to schools all over the country for one simple act: a vote. Our school needs just 25 votes to earn a $25 donation from Target. But that's only the beginning. For each additional vote, our school will get $1 more. 

 

So please remember that, although the gesture is small, the rewards are potentially huge. Go to  GiveWith.Target.com to vote for Beach Park School once a week through September 21 or until Target has given away all $5 million. And please forward this email to your friends. Vote and see rules at GiveWith.Target.com.  Thanks!

 

 

 4200 W. North A Street � Tampa, FL 33609 � Ph: 813-289-3747 � Fax: 813-286-7307
[email protected]

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