Tuesday, February 25 - Friday, February 28 - 

                        Standardized Testing (3rd Grade and Up)

 

 Friday, March 7, 11:30 am- Ancient Cultures Day

Children's Work on Display, Entertainment from Middle School Covered Dish Lunch

 

Monday - Friday, March 10-14 - Spring Break 

                                      School Closed

                    

Beach Park School's 13 th Annual Spring Auction

"Wonders of India"

is Saturday, April 5th, 6:30 - 10 pm

Primary friends Meera, Addison P, Macy, Mallory, Addison C, Kenian

This week we are really enjoying the sunshine and warmer temperatures!  It is a great time to observe seasonal changes and learn about how the weather affects plants and animals. We have been learning about how some animals hibernate or migrate to survive and how many plants lose their leaves in winter.

 

We also continue to learn about aboriginal traditions. The children are making boomerangs out of clay (see photo of Shaye at right) and push pin koalas, emus, kookaburras and wombats.

 

The use of the boomerangs dates back to 1798 and they can be variously used as hunting weapons, percussive musical instruments, battle clubs, fire-starters, decoys for hunting waterfowl and as recreational play toys. The oldest Australian Aboriginal boomerangs are ten thousand years old!

 

Thank you, Ms. Peggy, Macy's grandmother, for sharing her time reading Three Billy Goats Gruff to our class.

 

Thank you, Mr. Doug, for telling us about paramedics and showing us an EKG machine.

 

Meera donated her fish, 2 neon tetras and 2 gold platys, to our fish tank. They are doing swimmingly! 

 

 Left: Doug Hess explains the EKG machine to Katrina and Kenian

Nicolas & Leyton display their research about Abraham Lincoln

Happy President's Day!  It was a short week in the Lower Elementary, but boy, did we work hard!  This week we focused on George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.  The children loved learning all about The Emancipation Proclamation.  The children were shocked to learn that the proclamation freed over three million black men, women and children and called for black men to join the Union Army.  President Lincoln once said, "In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free."

 

 

The children were busy creating their very own Presidential trading card.  The assignment was to create a trading card as if you (the child) were President.  They were quite creative.  One child wrote that his greatest achievement as President was graduating from the first grade. 

 

 Another wrote that his greatest achievement was winning the Nobel Prize for Peace and a Gold Medal for hockey.  When asked to write about the best part of being President, one child wrote freeing slaves.  Yet another child wrote having a private jet.

 

We wish to thank all of the parents that came out for Moving-Up Night in the Lower Elementary.  It was a pleasure speaking with you.  As always, we are here to answer any questions or concerns you may have.  Please remember that you are always welcome to observe in our classroom:  just be sure to set it up ahead of time!

       

                                                                                  Right: Steven, Jayen & Ms. Patti 

We've been busy this week working on test preparation in Math and Language Arts. In addition, all the students have been working on the Greek "Smash" books. We had lessons on Greek City States and studied the similarities and differences between Athens and Sparta. Students also learned about Greek columns, family life in Ancient Greece and about some of the typical food of the time.

 

In "The Story of the World," we read the story of Odysseus and the Cyclops. Students really enjoyed this story. We'll be reading a lot of Greek mythology over the next several weeks for literature studies.

 

Standardized testing takes place next week from Tuesday through Friday. Please be sure your child gets a good night's sleep and healthy breakfast each day next week.

This week we did not have class on Monday due to a teacher planning day.  

 

On Tuesday, we started a test pre packet.  Also we had yoga on Tuesday.  The seventh graders made a study sheet for a math test.  On Wednesday we started to work on pages for the yearbook.  Thursday we continued to read the book 1984 by George Orwell.  Friday we had a pie party because we are learning pi in math.  

 

Next week is testing, so everyone should get a lot of rest and eat a healthy breakfast.

 

by Lauren Robinson

LOWER ELEMENTARY: We had oral lessons and also completed some worksheets.  We talked about things that belong together e,g, shoes, feet and socks , fingers, gloves and rings. It was an interesting exercise for the mind and use of basic vocabulary words in Spanish. We then reviewed greetings and words beginning with "P" in Spanish.

 

We also read a book about a cow and her insatiable desire to eat pears (caramelized, fresh, in sauces, pies, with cream, syrup and any other way)! We learned that after eating so much, the cow was no longer craving pears-- there is something in too much is too much! We acted out some of the scenes and practiced conversational skills related to the story in Spanish.

 

UPPER ELEMENTARY:  We practiced individual reading in Spanish. We highlighted the letter "H" and used the given vocabulary in oral and written phrases and sentences. We also wrote an A to Z list about furniture and household appliances. It was a fun and busy week.

 

MIDDLE SCHOOL: The sky is the limit! Our main theme was about stars.  We covered many aspects of the word "STAR"; we went from celestial stars, to movie stars, rock stars, star fruit, star fish, and the Star of David.  We concluded our topic with the writing of an individual short story that was later shared in the class.

 

The result of last week's survey was that hot chocolate was preferred over coffee and tea!

 

TRIVIA FACT: Brazil Nuts are not actually nuts, but the seeds of a tree native to South America that grows up to 150 feet tall (not a typo)! They are rich in protein, zinc, thiamine, selenium and other nutrients. The largest producer of Brazil Nuts is Bolivia, not Brazil!

 

It is time to get into the swing of the 13th Annual Beach Park Spring Auction, "Wonders of India"!

Please become an Auction Sponsor.  Sponsorships are the heart of the success of our Auction each year.

We need donations and there are many creative ways to find them.  Do you know someone in an interesting occupation who might let a BPS student spend part of a work day with them?  Any vacation homes or cabins that could be donated for a long weekend or a week?  Want to have a poker party and invite BPS parents to attend by paying a set price for a seat at the table?  Would you and your child like to host a tea party, treasure hunt or other fun event?  As well, items of art, jewelry, massages, restaurant gift certificates, gift baskets and professional services make great auction items.  Sports tickets and memorabilia are always a hit!

Any items or auction commitments can be dropped off in the office.

Today was the deadline for re-enrollment.  Thank you to the many parents who have responded. Children will now be admitted from the waiting list.  If you have not yet enrolled, you may certainly do so at any time.  

The second Cultural Day of the year will be Friday, March 7, and will start at 11:30 am.  Families are invited to attend to view the children's work related to their study of ancient cultures.  There will be entertainment from Middle School, as well.

 

Once again, we will enjoy a pot luck lunch together.  You will find guidelines for what to bring in next week's newsletter.