Katrina counting on the tens boards

What an amazing week! The children continue to learn about the cultures of ancient Greece and India.

Ms. Denise's class is discovering how the ancient Greeks used images in their art and storytelling. They also used many familiar herbs to flavor their food and to make soap and perfume. We planted Greek oregano, basil, rosemary and lavender in the garden. Special thanks to Beverly, Macy's mom for the heirloom beans we will be planting, Laura Curts for donating the materials for our Greek costumes, and Laurie Copley for sharing Addison's fifth birthday and reading "How to Catch a Star."

This week both classes have dug deeper into our cultural studies. Ms. Katrina's class has enjoyed exploring the beautiful clothing of India. Many students have even tried on the outfits brought in. We have also been learning the names of these garments like kurta, sherwani, and turban.

In Ms. Katrina's class, we have also been learning about gods and goddesses. We read a story about the Hindu God Ganesh called, "Ganesha's Sweet Tooth". Thank you, Ms. Amy, Dylan and Bea's mom, for bringing this book in and volunteering with our class. We also have been listening to music of India. 

Thank you to Ms. Lakshmi, Saathvik's mom, (see photo at right) for sharing the classical Indian music with our class. We continue to work in our garden, trying to bring an Indian flair to our garden box.

Thank you so much to those of you who could make it to our parent day last Sunday. It was a great success and the children especially enjoyed showing you what they do in their classrooms!

Ms. Beverly, Gideon and Garrett

 This week the children exercised their green thumbs...gardening that is!  Miss Beverly (Campbell's mom) helped the children plant an Ancient Roman garden.  The children planted sage and carrots.  Both items are courtesy of the Romans.  Miss Beverly talked all about the soil and fertilizer (manure).  Be sure to take a look at our Roman garden on Cultural Day.  We will be decorating it Roman style!

This week we talked all about the Roman army.  Did you know that a Roman solider walked over 18 miles per day? Or that the main part of the army consisted of infantry units called legions, thus the name legionary soldiers. The children were fascinated to learn that soldiers were not allowed to get married, as their main focus was to fight and conquer enemies. 

We also read the myth of how Rome came to be.  The legend of Romulus and Remus is a great one.  The children loved hearing all about these powerful twins.  Please check out your child's sketch pad to see their impression of this myth.

F.Y.I. - Our next field trip is October 31st to the Pinellas County Utilities Solid Waste Plant.  This is an amazing experience for children to learn where their garbage goes.  We will also learn about minimizing waste and recycling.  Drivers and chaperones are needed.  Please contact the office if you are able to help.

We continued our study of Ancient Egypt this week. In Art at the Park, children made a scarab beetle from glass and they will be fused in the kiln. In class, we began making the life-sized mummy cases. Children are using resources to study some symbols used in Ancient Egypt to decorate the mummy case. (Left: Solange starts detailed design on her mummy.)

Students used popsicle sticks to create a Heddle Loom for weaving. Thanks to Mr. Dick for drilling the holes in the sticks for us. The weavings will be beautiful and are made with a loom like those used in ancient times.

We've been busy as well with Math, Geometry and Language Arts lessons and work. Our classroom is a busy, active learning environment and our class is awesome.

This week was another action-packed week in Middle School.

We started off our week going to Hubert Park for our weekly art class and painted our plates from last week. We also had Justice Teaching from Professor Smith on Monday, as well as a yearbook meeting with Steve Falkowitz, Tacy Briggs-Troncoso, and Amy Hirschel.

We are completing our dynasty projects for cultural day, which is in only two weeks from tomorrow.

Next week on Friday we are taking a field trip to Ruth Eckerd Hall. Students must bring $6.50 in cash for the trip. We also thank you for attending your Parent Teacher Conference tomorrow.

So, we bring an end to this wonderful week and look forward to the next.

by Andrew Falkowitz