Post on 06-Apr-2016
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As the end of the calendar
year is soon approaching
and we can take a quick
look back over the first four
months of school, it is very
obvious that the first
trimester has been a very
active and eventful one here
at the ACS Athens
Elementary School. The
children are involved in
learning in so many ways.
First trimester report cards
will be posted on Skyward
Family Educator Access for
all of our students. All of
them deserve a pat on the
back for their efforts. If, for
whatever reason they may
not be performing up to
their ability then we need to
work together to help them
be more successful next
trimester. The key once
again is the home—school
connection and it makes all
the difference in the world.
Thanks again for your
continued support and
interest.
Now that we are off for our
holiday break, the work will
be interrupted for this short
period of time but learning
Message from the Principal
Volume 4, Issue 1
December 2014
ACS ATHENS
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
THE MUSE
your children have been
involved in throughout each
trimester.
The last day of school before
our holiday break is December
19th. Classes resume
January 7th, 2015.
With the New Year just
around the corner let me
thank each of you for your
support during the past year.
Coming to work each day is
indeed a pleasure for me. Let
me also, wish you and your
family the very best wishes for
the year to come. Cherish the
magic of the holidays with
your children, family and
friends.
Sincerely,
C a t h y M a k r o p o u l o s ,
Elementary School Principal
will continue is so many ways.
When the children come back in
January they will be bursting
with stories of their vacations
and the exciting things they did.
We will welcome them back to
our learning community for the
activities of the months ahead.
For updates or changes in our
calendar, please check our
website at www.acs.gr. Visiting
our website is a quick and easy
method to stay informed. Also
please be reminded that
Elementary School parents now
have access to moodle where you
can find documents such as the
Elementary School Handbook as
well as the Curriculum at a
Glance. Furthermore, The
Muse, our newsletter, will also
be available on the website at
the end of each trimester. There
you can be informed about all
the wonde r fu l l e a rn ing
opportunities and experiences
devour their books and really enter the world created for them on the page.
Reading aloud:
helps our children know
what it is to lose themselves in the drama of a story
develops a positive atti-
tude toward books as a source of pleasure and information
increases vocabulary
expands the child's knowl-
edge base
satisfies and heightens cu-
riosity
stimulates imagination
stimulates understanding of language patterns
sharpens observation skills
enhances listening skills
promotes self-confidence and self-esteem
offers many new friends
since book characters can be-come quite real
helps develop problem solv-
ing skills and critical thinking
encourages positive social interaction
helps them to become suc-cessful readers who love books
So how can we link our souls to help along all these wondrous happenings?
Pearls on a String: How Reading Aloud Links Our
Brains and Souls
By Ginger Carlson, Assistant Principal
The poet Julius Lester says literature is a way to "link our souls like pearls on a string, bringing us together in a shared and luminous humanity." As you head into this holiday season and new year ahead, there is no better way to use literature to "link our souls" than through the family read aloud.
Cuddling up for a good read is one of the most special times in the lives of a family. Yet, as our children grow as readers, a n d b e c o me m o re independent in their reading, it becomes easier and easier for us to give up our read-alouds. But, we mustn't. If there is one single thing that parents can do to continue to help our children grow as readers and learners (even when they may already reading Chaucer's Tales independently) it is
continuing to read aloud.
The Benefits of a Read Aloud
Reading aloud is perhaps the single most important thing we as parents can do to help create proficient and avid readers who
Reading aloud can happen in many ways, at many times, for many different purposes.
Begin Your Day with Reading
Take a few moments in the morning to read a shared few lines of poetry or introduce a new story. Or, before children even get out of bed in the morning, continue reading the same chapter book you fell asleep reading together the night before. Use it as a point of connection as you begin your day.
Revisit Old Favorites
Revisit books that your kids have loved or even just kind of liked in the past. Find new magic in them together. Let the stories be re-experienced and see what comes up. Revisiting books again and again can offer your readers new ways to look at a story they already know. They will see new richness in the piece when given the opportunity to hear it time and again, and may grow to have a deeper understanding of messages that lie within the text.
Read What They Love
Support your child's interests by reading aloud non-fiction books about what really lights your kids' fires. Start with simple texts that
introduce the subject they are interested in and move to more complex text. By starting simple, you will poise your children to learn more so that they can get more out of the more complex texts. Once you do move to the more complex texts (often being something they wouldn't be able to comfortably tackle on their own),
Message from the Assistant Principal
Happy Holidays! It’s December and that means there’s lots of seasonal festivity and fun in our classrooms! This month will be an exciting time for your child. We will learn about the winter season and some of the traditions that take place during this holiday time. Your child will bring home many p r o j e c t s , c r a f t s a n d decorations to share with you. Take the time to discuss these activities with your child. A lot of time and effort are put into these projects and you can show your child that their work at school is important by displaying them at home as well. You can continue your child’s learning fun at home by:
Observing and dis-cussing the weather with your child.
Sharing holiday tradi-tions that are unique to your family.
Helping your child make holiday decorations.
Reading hol iday and “wintertime” books with your child.
We will also continue to ob-serve and discover how we use our senses as we conclude our unit on “All About Me”. Upon our return in January, we will begin our next unit on Fairy Tales and Nursery Rhymes.
Junior Kindergarten News
So grab your choice and make read aloud time special again. Turn off the lights. Get that cozy lamp going. Flop on pil-lows in the living room or curl up in bed together. And don't forget to try to do it every day. Even as your children become
older and seemingly don't need you for that bedtime story anymore, revive your read alouds. They can, once once again, be the most special, and important time of your day.
Ginger Carlson,
Assistant Principal
you will help them increase their vocabulary and their understanding.
Model a Love of Reading
One of the single most important habits we can help children develop in
their reading is an engagement of text and love of literature. So as you are reading with your kids, go there, really get involved in the characters as they take their journey. Ask questions. Wonder about the storyline or a character's choices.
So, if I can, I would like to leave you with this, written by Strickland W. Gillian from the poem The Reading Mother:
You may have tangible w e a l t h u n t o l d ; Caskets of jewels and c o f f e r s o f g o l d , Richer than I you can never be - I had a mother who
read to me.
Message from the Assistant Principal
continued...
During this holiday time, please also take the opportunity to incorporate some of the math skills your child has been learning at school. For example, if you are expecting guests, your child could help you set the
table by counting the number of plates, silverware, napkins, etc. that are needed; or as you hang decorations on a holiday tree, have your child identify the colors on the ornaments. Even some of your daily routines can be a great learning opportunity!
Have a wonderful holiday season!
Sincerely,
Ms. Korinna and Ms. Angela
The children have been
adjusting very well to the new
challenges of Kindergarten
such as taking more
r e spons ib i l i t y th rough
unpacking their bags,
cleaning up their tables,
playing nicely together and
sharing. During this first
trimester they have been
working on letter names,
sounds and vocabulary.
During Halloween week, they
put together 3 sounds to
begin forming words like bat,
sat, cat, etc. They are reading
high frequency words in their
decodable books.
In Math, we have been
covering many concepts
during our morning calendar.
We have been working on
number recognition and
fluency from numbers 1-10.
W e a r e a l s o u s i n g
manipulatives to show that
numbers represent quantities
and to create patterns and
structures. Additionally, we
have been busily graphing the
weather each morning, as well
as recording our likes and
dislikes.
We then discuss our data and
decide which is more, less, or
equal.
We completed our first unit I
Am Special in which we
learned more about ourselves,
Kindergarten News Junior Kindergarten
News continued.. comparing our similarities
and differences with others.
Our current unit of study is
Trees. We began this unit by
taking a schoolyard walk to
observe, smell and touch the
many trees we have right here
at school. We encountered
olive, conifers, palm, orange,
and mulberry trees. We
discussed that they are all dif-
ferent but have the same
structure including leaves,
branches, trunks and roots.
We will explore trees and
leaves more closely as we
determine how they are
affected by seasonal changes.
We look forward to continuing
our adventure of fun and
learning throughout the
school year.
Ms. Anna and Ms. Eleftheria
Hello to All, and especially our Fantastic First Grade Parents!
We have successful ly
completed our first trimester
and enjoying our year thus
far, as children have settled
into the classroom routines
and are becoming responsible
and respectful first graders.
Children are making great
strides and effort in their
writing. As growth in reading
and writing are closely
united, it is imperative to
c o n t i n u e p o s i t i v e l y
reinforcing children and
boosting their self esteem
throughout a l l the i r
endeavors, both at home and
at school. Remember that at
this stage in your child’s
writing, using phonetic
awareness for inventive
spelling, environmental print,
sight word spelling and word
walls are all part of the
process. We want to
congratulate the enthusiasm
your children have shown for
the Captain Chip Reading
Club. Keep up the daily oral
reading to improve fluency,
comfort, self-esteem and
enjoyment for the written
word.
Our dinosaur unit has
definitely provided fodder for
the imagination in journal
stories, directed writing
assignments and on the playground as well. The rehearsals for our Dino-Daze play have been amazing! We thank you for helping your children practice their lines at home. We hope you share in the excitement and success of each and every effort made during the process of our much-acclaimed dinosaur
play. We would like to thank our parent volunteers in advance for helping construct dino-costumes with Ms. Stauffer. Save the date, for our Dino-Daze show will be on Friday, January 30th at 10:00am. A sneak peek into the near future will reveal a common thread based on our discussion of dinosaur extinction – we will be studying about contemporary endangered and extinct animals. On a lighter note, as we were looking forward to the Christmas Holidays — a time for giving — all of us were looking forward to choosing a “Secret Santa”. Your child pulled a name of a peer out of a hat for which they put a gift under our classroom Christmas tree. The gift was an English storybook. All students were so excited about this gift exchange. Speaking of the holiday season,
in school, we focus on holidays presented in the United States. In order to enrich our curriculum, we remind you of our open invitation to present your favorite holiday from your heritage to share with your child’s homeroom (does not necessarily need to fall on the date of the holiday). Again, just
let us know which holiday you will be presenting and your preferred date.
Saving the best for last, Captain Chip and your children have made such an amazing connection and we are delighted to have your support in this endeavor. Not only is Captain Chip an inspiration in self-esteem he is also inspiring children to read to him and write about him and more over, care and empathize with others. This is truly wonderful and you all should be as proud of your children as we are of them!
We look forward to our year ahead with all of you.
Jubilantly,
Ms. Birbil and Ms. Lamprou
1st Grade News
Second graders have been working hard during first trimester learning about various topics, such as, Air & Weather, The Moon and its phases, Pioneers and solidifying their computational skills daily! Air & Weather is always a big hit with 2nd graders, as the
students get to experiment with trapping air under water, studying wind & air pressure and even observing cloud types and how their movement effects weather. Students learned about different types of clouds and weather conditions. Weather conditions included tornadoes, winter storms, lightning, and floods. They are also expanding their knowledge on air pressure, wind, and air resistance. Our Moon connection was even more exciting as it gave us a chance to learn about the sun & earth’s orbits, axis, and lack of gravity on the moon. In addition we read some fascinating stories about the first people in space along with the first animals in space. Apparently, the students enjoyed designing moon phases on OREOS…what a yummy lesson that was! Learning about Pioneers has exposed us to life in the past. Some of these shocking details lead us into our more recent topic of Thanksgiving. Students learned about traditions and the daily life of the Pilgrims and Native Americans. Through various virtual field trips and reliving the Mayflower boat ride
2nd Grade News
students have experienced the lifestyle of these groups and more. Students are able to slide up and down the time line to make comparisons about the Pioneers, Pilgrims Native Americans and how their life then differs from our life in the present.
Second grade math has been focusing on learning alternative ways to add and subtract by being exposed to various strategies. They are working hard on becoming fluent in both addition and subtraction skills covering facts from 1-20. Recently, place value has been introduced in order to build knowledge of how larger number concepts will be constructed. In reading, all students have been assessed and assigned a Daily 5 Reading group that suits their reading at an independent level. Now students practice daily reading at their level for a minimum of 15 to 20 minutes per day. Students have completed reading at independent levels they work hard on learning Story Elements ( se t t ing , p lo t ,
characters, problem and solution, as well as sequence of events). Students have also been introduced to more in-depth strategies depending on their independent reading levels. Strategies include decoding i n s t ru c t i o n , t e x t - t o - s e l f connections, and comprehension techniques. These skills will assist them in connecting with
t h e c h a r a c t e r s a n d understanding why the characters change throughout the story. Grammar lessons have been the consolidating piece for all of these units, as students have been practicing writing Personal Narratives and
beginning to learn about paragraphs. These writing pieces include a focus in constructing stories with a beginning, middle and end, sequencing and using correct grammar and punctuation. We are looking forward to continued success and excellent work from all our students as the year c on t inue s w i th mo re
”funtastic” lessons! Ms. Moros, Ms. Safaris and Ms. Spiliot
The Third Grade has enjoyed an action packed first trimester! Students have been involved in a wide array of educational experiences that has fostered critical thinking and teamwork across the grade level. In Reading, our focus has been on comprehens ion and
vocabulary deve lopment. Students have been connecting skills taught in class with fiction books read in small groups. Skills such as main idea, author's purpose, and compare and contrast, have been reinforced through this literature. In addition, students have been participating in the Strive for 25 reading challenge. They will have the entire school year to read 25 books from m a n y d i f f e r e n t g e n -res. Furthermore, students complete one standard book report per month alternating between fiction and non-fiction topics. Our classes have been involved in the Writer's Workshop program this year. Our focus for the first trimester was descriptive writing through the exploration of the Personal Narrative. Through the application of strong verbs, adjectives, and a step by step writing structure students have learned new techniques to engage their readers. We have also linked the weekly challenge spelling words to support our writing goals. In Math, we are currently
working on the concept of multiplication. Students have been learning this skill conceptually through the use of hands-on manipulatives. To enhance student interest, we have dedicated one day a week to math stations. For an hour, students partake in 4 different math activities or
games. As this has proved to be a successful addition to our third grade math program we plan on continuing these fun filled learning stations into the second trimester. We have also implemented a new format of small group support four times a week which allows students to explore math topics and concepts more in-depth.
In Social Studies, students have been learning about world geography with a focus on Greece. Students from both classes constructed globes labeling the continents and oceans. In addition, they have been learning what key components communities h a v e i n c o m m o n . Mr. Maloff's homeroom started the creation of a community. There were five
groups: the architects, builders, city planners, regional planners, and land-scapers. Students met in small groups, developed a plan of action, and came together to build a beautiful community complete with a zoo, hospital, a skyscraper, and se ve ra l houses .
3rd Grade News
Heree’s to
a great fi
Ms. Dimas’ class will continue this community in the upcoming weeks. In Science, the third graders have embarked on a journey of discovery in the wonderful world of sound. Students are observing and comparing sounds through a series of
experiments, projects and small group discussions which lead to fascinating results. This project based unit has enabled students to reflect on their every-day lives and the importance of their senses. The third graders have explored (Ms. Stavi’s class) or will explore (Mr. Maloff’s class) no t i ons such as the relationships between pitch and volume, sound source and receiver, and also how sound travels through solids liquids and air. In addition to this, the students uncover some of the mysteries of molecules and gases and how they function in our world and beyond. We are so excited to continue on our journey together into the second trimester. Go Third Grade! Ms. Dimas and Mr. Maloff
The first part of the trimester found the 4th graders learning by doing!!
In Science, some students examined ‘Structures of Life’, while others began with the unit on ‘Water’. In the ‘Structures of Life’ unit, the students learned about the life cycles of plants and animals. Students were fascinated with this unit as they had the opportunity to watch small bean seeds turn into enormous plants and examine snail struc-tures! Students who began with ‘Water’ dove into a variety of experiments examining the water cycle. The students also came up with their own scientific questions and through the scientific process, reached a conclusion.
In Regions of Our Country, students have been thinking as social scientists, economists, geographers, and political scientists! They have been reading, writing, and using their newly developed map skills to learn detailed information about what makes the U.S.A such as beautiful and diverse country.
They have also transported themselves back into the past,
playing games, reading primary sources and listening to music which helped shape the United States.
In Language Arts, 4th graders had the opportunity to delve into all the details that make realistic fiction interesting and appealing to their readers.
They have worked hard to create characters like them and stories which they wished existed in the world. The fourth graders have carefully created well thought out stories, with the help of story maps, which have a clear beginning, middle and end. In Reading, our students have learned to closely examine a text
and discuss how they feel connected to it, to discern the story plot from the moral of the story, and make statements about the text with the use of supporting details from the story. They have also learned how to pick a book at the right level for them and to carefully monitor their reading habits to e n s u r e t h a t t h e y a r e comprehending what they have read.
Finally, in Math we have been reviewing the importance of place value and how knowledge of place value can help us solve addition, subtraction, and multiplication problems.
4th Grade News
In addition, we have been paying special attention to the promotion of critical thinking skills. We have given and we will be giving our students numerous opportunities to solve novel problems that require the use of strategies that have been thoroughly practiced in class.
Thank you for your continuous support! Ms. Killam, Ms. Mukri, and Ms. Vagras
“I honor you!” These were the words of our first literary hero, the brave, little mouse, in the novel, Despereaux. Fifth graders have started the year honorably, demonstrating that they are responsible, caring students and good role models for younger children. Through discussions and writing assignments about our c l ass l i t e ra tu re book , Despereaux, students are examining qualities that make writing excellent. They have already learned literary terms to evaluate character traits and numerous reading strategies during our very popular Read-ing Workshop, the favorite part of the day for many of our students! The special feature of this cycle of lessons in our reading program is that students participate in a mini
lesson focused on a reading skill before having time to read independently from self selected literature. Students then apply the skills learned in class in their book notes for homework. We are proud to see our 5th graders building reading stamina and learning the love of reading.
Fifth graders have been learning how to write well w h i l e the y acqu i r e d knowledge about their first u n i t o f s t u d y , Exploration. Additionally, students started researching and finding facts about individual explorers. They
practiced paraphrasing information, taking notes, and organiz ing them into logical, sequential paragraphs to create a simple research project a n d a n e x p l o r e r presentation. Students used their notes on their famous explorers to write a report. Furthermore, students have been studying geographical locations and plotting longitude and latitude coordinates. These skills will be useful for fifth graders to understand international c o n n e c t i o n s , i d e n t i f y countries and continents, and locate the journeys of different explorers on maps.
Definitely, we have all seen how exciting those early days of exploration must have been! Our new unit of study is Mixtures and Solutions, an introduction to lab work and chemistry. Everyone enjoys the hands on science labs
and the opportunity to work collaboratively in teams. As part of this unit of study, students will research an element and share their information with the class! Ms. Kynigou, Ms. Evloyias and Ms Maratou
5th Grade News
In this issue of the Muse newsletter, I would like to offer you a brief list of websites that consist of educational games. The skills contained within touch on skills our students are learning, so they aim to support and reinforce what is being taught throughout the school day. Please take a moment and browse through them – your child might find multiplication facts slightly more fun and engaging if he/she is shooting and blasting fruit at the same time.
www.sheppardssoftware.com click on math games and map skills.
www.bbc .co .uk/ski l l swise browse through, it is full of useful games for literacy and
math.
h t t p : // w w w . b b c . c o . u k /schools/ks1bitesize lower elementary grade levels for numeracy and literacy (you may opt for sound off, but I find students prefer it).
h t t p : // w w w . b b c . c o . u k /schools/ks2bitesize upper elementary grade levels for numeracy and literacy (again, sound is an option).
http://www.iknowthat.com so many game resources!
h t t p : / /www.learningenglish.org.uk/kids/ focused on ESL learners, but applies to aspects of the English Language.
http://www.numbernut.com/index.html tons of math skills and games.
http://www.softschools.com literacy and numeracy games.
http://www.education.com/games/educational/ a whole selection of games.
http://pbskids.org/games/ same as above.
These are only meant to reinforce what has been presented and worked on during the school day. If there’s additional time after homework, or on the weekend, and your child is willing to continue working then the
Optimal Learning News
above might offer a nice “recreational” exercise.
On a different note, please be alerted that as a part of the Inclusion/Partnership model, I have been participating in both Ms. Killam’s Friday’s math lesson, and in Ms. Spiliot’s 2nd Grade Monday and
Friday math lessons.
Have fun,
Ms. Kaldelli
Greetings from the Art Room!
Currently grades K-4 are
collaborating on a large banner
celebrating the 70th year of ACS.
We are using texture painting,
recycled materials, tissue
collage, and papier mache to
create the artwork.
K inde rgar ten has been
exploring line and feeling
portraits as well as the primary
and secondary colors in a
variety of projects. We created
books with all of our feeling self
-portraits using a different
media, and have moved on to
wintertime landscapes. We will
next be moving on to clay
specifically working with
impressed texture.
First grade students made
beautiful autumn leaf, mixed-
media artworks and dinosaur
wax resist paintings both
incorporating use of the horizon
line. We are now finishing up
texture fish while practicing
mixing paint. Next we will paint
our Dino Daze hats in
preparation for the upcoming
theater production!
Second graders used pattern
and texture while creating
Gustav Klimt—inspired self-
portraits. We have spent the
past couple of weeks using a
tape resist technique for a tree
covered landscape.
Color blending and the
incorporation of foreground,
m i d d l e g r o u n d , a n d
background were major
themes in this project. Next
we will create texture paint-
ings and animal self-portraits.
Third graders just finished
warm and cool color
silhouettes collages with
a b s t r a c t w a t e r c o l o r
backgrounds. We are just
starting to papier mache our
juice or milk boxes to make
Tap Taps (colorful buses in-
spired from a visit to Haiti).
Thank you for your donations!
Fourth grade students
recently wrapped up abstract
sculptures using sticks
collected from the tree
trimmings in front of the
Elementary school. We
installed them for a short time
in the trees. We then
discussed the spectator’s
experience in Art museums in
preparation for our field trip
to the Vorres Museum of
Greek Contemporary Art.
News from the Art Room
F i f t h g r a d e r s h a v e
successfully completed two
projects studying value: one
with charcoal and chalk, and
one with painting using tints
and shades. We next hope to
collaborate in small groups to
study either an artist’s style
or a technique which will
then be applied to a papier
mache owl. These owls will
be used as our school’s
mascot of sorts. Be on the
lookout for owls around our
school campus in the coming
months!
Thank you for donations of materials and for supporting the work we do in the visual arts! I look forward to creating more with our Elementary students.
Ms. Stauffer
I am thrilled with the progress students have made these past three months and am excited to see continued growth in their abilities to more fully understand and communicate their ideas in English! Way to go! 1st & 2nd grade After having learned or revised the English alphabet (through the booklet “Look, I can read”), 1st and 2nd graders (beginners) are now able to read CVC words and several sight words (that frequently appear in texts); they are always eager to read the stories from the “Starfall” series and work in the workbooks. Besides reading, they are expanding their vocabulary on units of study we focus on every week; so far we have worked on thematically based words connected to the body parts, feelings, the colors and the clothes and also the farm ; they have managed to acquire many words and grammar patterns through rhyming, singing (“Sing and Learn” booklet), playing and story reading; they love it when we play charades, trying to guess what each one is doing, thus working on verbs and grammar at the same time! Great job 1st
ESL News
and 2nd grade! 3rd , 4th & 5th grade Doing projects with 3rd, 4th and 5th graders has been really fun! Students are asked to conduct 1st and 2nd drafts on particular units like sports, natural d i s a s t e r s , m u s i c a l instruments, etc., before they can actually present their work in class. (“It’s on the tip of my tongue” t h e m a t i c a l l y b a s e d vocabulary and grammar pattern). Besides working on this and their textbooks and workbooks, 3rd, 4th and 5 th grades work on grammar as well, through the method of noticing; no rules are given to be learned, but students try to find a pattern through repetition of grammatical structures and syntax, so that they understand the “how” and the “when” something is used.
Last, but not least, please continue encouraging your child to practice their English outside of school! Reading a book together in English is a great way to familiarize your child with old and new words while also working on comprehension. The internet has some fantastic sources, like http://reading.ecb.org/ for reading material or you can have fun together at www.pbskids.org Ms. Gaki
how to use Mathletics and
Raz-kids for math practice
and reading. They also
began using Microsoft Word
f o r t h e i r w r i t i n g s .
Additionally, they are
learning how to use
Storybook Weaver to
illustrate and write about
the Pioneers!
Third grade students are
learning how to format font,
insert images and format
text with Microsoft Word.
They have also created a
PowerPoint presentation
about themselves which will
be included in their
E-Portfolios.
Fourth grade students
used Learn TCI, History
Alive to enforce their
learning about States and
Regions. They just finished
creating a PowerPoint
presentation about a State
of their choice and they had
December 8-15, 2014 is
Computer Science Education
week. Students from around
the world participate in “The
Hour of Code”, where they will
b e l e a r n i n g c o m p u t e r
programming with 1 hour
tutorials available in over 30
languages. All ACS students
from kindergarten to fifth grade
participated in this event. Our
kindergarteners, first and
second graders learned a visual
programming course called
Tynker, www.tynker.com. Third
g r ade r s use d Sc ra t ch ,
www.scratch.mit.edu/ to create
interactive cards, stories and
animations. Fourth graders
used CODE, www.code.org and
fifth graders used CODE and
CODE with Anna and Elsa from
Frozen!
In addition, kindergarten stu-
d e n t s h a v e u s e d
www.starfall.com to work on
beginning reading and math
concepts and Tux Paint for
illustrations.
Our first graders have been
using www.morestarfall.com for
reading and math. They also
went on a virtual dinosaur dig
from the Smithsonian Museum
of Natural History where they
learned how paleontologists
excavate a specimen and the
whole process of finding a fossil!
Second graders have learned
News from the Computer Lab!
to present it to their
classmates. Furthermore,
they have worked on their
keyboarding skills.
Fifth grade students have
been busy learning how to
research a topic, using the
5W’s (who, what, where, when
and why) for evaluating a web
site. They have researched a
famous explorer and they are
currently working on the
elements of the periodic table.
The y a re a l s o u s i ng
www.typ ingweb .com fo r
keyboarding practice. They
have also learned how to login
and navigate “Moodle” and
Student Webmail. They have
been active users of this
platform.
Ms. Sarantes
News from the Music Room
ACS students welcomed again
this year with music from
around the world. First grade
sang and played music from
the Caribbean. Second grade
played African drums and sang
songs from different parts of
Africa. Third grade students
were introduced to recorders
and explored Chinese music.
Fourth graders continued
developing their recorder skills
through the performance of
Greek music. Fifth grade
students explored Russian
music and performed using
tuned percussion instruments.
Our Kindergarteners used
games to learn the meaning of
some of the elements of music
such as pitch, dynamics, and
tempo. They developed their
learning and understanding of
elements through playing
u n t u r n e d p e r c u s s i o n
instruments. All students
have developed their creative
self and their confidence
through various music
making activities. Rhythm
and appreciation of music
through the use of percussion
instruments and body
percussion have also been key
features of lessons this
trimester.
With great excitement
students prepared for our
Winter Concert. Singing and
dancing as well as other
strands of music were once
again integrated in order to
produce an entertaining
event. As always the
educational elements of such
a show are not only music
related but also touch upon
other disciplines and
develop various musical and
non-directly musical skills.
This year again opportunity
was offered to our 4th and 5th
grade students to perform
Christmas carols during the
PTO Bazaar.
Presentation and performance
on stage are key skills that all
musicians need to possess.
At ACS Athens Elementary
School we aim to give as many
opportunities as possible to
our students to showcase
their work, their talents, to
boost their self confidence,
and to express their emotions
through music, dance and
acting.
Have a wonderful academic
year and very happy holidays
everyone!
Ms. Apostolou
“Building our character
through the sports of the
world”
All Elementary School
students have been super
busy since the beginning of
the school year. During the
month of September, students
were learning and executing
different locomotor, non-
locomotor and manipulative
skills. They learned how to
p e r f o r m t h e s e s k i l l s
appropriately and how these
skills are relevant to their
p hys i c a l pe r f o rmance .
Students were also introduced
to running patterns and
manipulative skills using a
variety of equipment.
During the month of October,
with great pleasure we
witnessed the students being
engaged in jump roping skills
with great success, more than
that we had the chance to
explore our balance, our
coordination and the
capabilities of our bodies with
gymnastics.
November started with
students accumulating skills
in throwing and catching.
They learned all about the
different types of throws and
in which sports or activities
they can be used. They also
learned how to catch
appropriately and effectively.
News from P.E.
respectfulness. The
students are continuously
being challenged to open
up their horizon and see
how many different and
unique sports are played
all around the world.
They are so enthusiastic to
learn and play.
“How you play shows some
of your character. How you
win or lose shows ALL of
it!”
Mr. Kourtis
Students are now able to
see the relationship and
connection between eye and
hand coordination.
Currently students have
begun to acquire basketball
skills. They are performing
various drills to further
improve their skills in
basketball. Students are
learning all about dribbling,
passing, shooting as well as
the basic rules of the game.
During all of the P.E. units,
students are realizing even
more the necessary value of
teamwork. Character
education is an essential
part of sports, and students
a r e s h a p i n g t h e i r
sportsmanship attitude and
behavior by noting that it
takes more than one person
to make a team. Students,
through each and every
physical education unit, are
being exposed to and
taught about the six
components of character
educat ion : f a i r ness ,
responsibility, citizenship,
trustworthiness, caring, and
News from the Greek Classes
The Greek Language Beg inn ing / In te rmed ia te classes worked on thematically based vocabulary, reading, writing and speaking according to grade and level. In grades 3 – 5, apart from the thematically based vocabulary students learned through the dialogues and texts that their books contain, they also started working on basic grammar rules that refer to the articles, the gender of the nouns and the adjectives, thus improving their speaking and writing. Kindergarten students learned vocabulary connected to everyday school instructions, colors, shapes, wild and domestic animals through various games, songs, stories and activities. In grade 1, we worked on the units of fruit, vegetable, food, everyday instructions, objects in the classroom and
animals; students also worked on the letters of the alphabet (focus is placed on sound) and practiced writing. Students in grade 1 also worked on what to say on various occasions, through role playing games, such as “at the greengrocer’s” and “at the tavern”. In grade 2, students worked on copying words and reading short dialogues with words from the themat ica l ly based vocabulary they were taught in class. In all grades students are en-couraged to borrow books from the Greek classroom library. We l l done to a l l our hard-working students! Ms. Papageorgiou, Ms. Rovoli and Ms. Stratoglou
The first months of school have been very productive for Greek classes. Besides working on speaking, reading, spelling, grammar and vocabulary, students did a wonderful job learning about OXI Day. Our 4th graders had a very exciting t ime present ing the historical account of OXI Day, at the ACS Theater. All other grades (JK-5) worked on poems, songs and various texts, according to level. Special thanks to parents who encouraged students to make the most of this learning experience. In the month of November, besides their regular work on language: The Greek Language Arts and Advanced classes Students in grades 3-5 worked on their history books: 3rd grade Mythology, 4th grade Ancient Greek His-tory and 5th grade Byzantine history. Our JK students worked on the unit: “All about me”, ”Feelings” and listened to relevant stories. They also learned Greek poems and songs. KG students learned the letters of the alphabet and a song for each letter. In grade 1, students worked hard on reading and writing. In grade 2, students worked on reading, writing and grammar activities.
News from the Arabic Classes
The Arabic classes are f u l l o f enthusiasm and joy for learning the language.
Our f r iendly c lassroom welcomes grades KG through 5.
In the month of October, the Parent-Teacher conferences in
the Arabic class were very positive and reflected the appreciation of both parents and students regarding the Arabic language and the learning experience at the elementary school. In the month of November, s tudents we re busy expanding their skills in
speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary and spelling.
News from the Library
In JK, we read several fun books, e.g.,” Clap Hands”, with some moving around to help the students feel more relaxed in the library. In Kindergarten, we started by reading fiction and non-fiction books related to their first unit – We are all Different. We read “My Many colored Days” and colored a picture of ourselves to show what colors we were feeling. We continue to work with the grade level teachers by reading non-fiction and fiction books related to the science and social studies units that each grade level is studying in class. In first grade, we read all kinds of books about dinosaurs some true books and some stories. “The Mouse and the Dinosaur” is one of our favorites. Second graders learned some usual weather words like drizzle and blizzard in the “Weather Words” book. In third grade, we read about sound and talked to each other through our paper cup telephone. The fourth graders
Library class was off to a good start this year with our discussion about what it means to be respectful, responsible and ready in the library. In addition, in order for us to help us get to know each other better the second and third graders filled out a short questionnaire and the fourth and fifth graders wrote a paragraph about themselves. We were reading two of these cards or para-graphs each week to see how well we know each other by try-ing to guess who the person is. During the next couple of weeks the first through fifth graders learned ways to find books in the library. In first and second grade we focused on where the red and blue picture and reading books are and discussed how you can find non-fiction books by looking for the pictures that are on the shelves (e.g., car books where there is a picture of a car). The third through fifth graders learned about the Dewey Decimal system then used their knowledge to find books.
who are studying water learned why snowflakes have six sides and saw how the same piece of aluminum foil could float and sink. During their explorer unit, the fifth grade learned to use Britannica online and how to do a bibliography for their research. Later, they began learning to use the ACS Library system to find books in the library. At the end of each class we are helping the students find at least one book that is at the student’s reading level. We would appreciate your help in making sure that they are bringing home books that they can read or listen to and understand. Please let us know if this is not the case. We hope this will help them begin to develop a lifelong desire to keep reading. Ms. Anderson
Through various activities and projects, learning is fun and students look forward to coming to the Arabic class to learn something new everyday!
Ms. Accari