From Christina Clem, M.Ed., Principal
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Christina Clem, under Principal's Desk.
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Alleluia, He is Risen! Today is the Day the Lord has Made. Let us rejoice and be Glad!
Can you believe that the celebration of Easter Sunday is already behind us?? I hope that each and every one of you experienced a beautiful day on Sunday filled with the wonder and miracle of new life, promise and hope!!!
Your children are already deep into the 4th and final quarter of the 2011-2012 school year, with much hard work ahead but still more memorable moments to look forward to! If you don’t believe me, just look at the important dates for the remainder of the school year!!! We will be rockin’ and rollin’ up until the very end! With no inclement weather days to make up this year, the final day of the school year will be on Friday, June 1st, and we will have a NOON DISMISSAL on that day!
Registration is still underway for the 2012-2013 school year. We will miss the 8th grade class as they prepare to move on to high school, but are greatly looking forward to having all of our returning families with us as well as having many awesome new families on board! For those of you who have missed the early registration deadline, the registration fee now will be $400.00 per child. If you have not registered yet but intend to have your child return for the new school year, please call the school office to let us know or email me at cclem@saintspride.com. We are trying to guess-timate a head count for next year so that we can determine number of homeroom classes in order to hire the appropriate staffing.
Congratulations to our 5th grade class who has successfully completed the Dancing Classrooms 10 week ballroom dancing program. We greatly look forward to seeing how far our “young ladies and young gentlemen” have come during their Culminating Event Program which will take place in our gym on Friday, April 13th, at 1:30 pm.
Mrs. Connelly has many fun activities planned for the St. Elizabeth School Luau Spring Book Fair to be held April 13-19! Please come out and celebrate the joy of reading books with your children! Many thanks to all the parent volunteers t
This year’s Field Day will take place the afternoon of Friday, April 20th. Mrs. McClure and her group of teacher helpers & parent volunteers have a wonderful afternoon planned for our students. The Booster Club will be selling concessions at lunch time on that day as well. Many thanks, in advance, to Mrs. McClure and all of our wonderful parent volunteers who do so much to make this event such a huge success each year!
Please Save the Date for this year’s Hawaiian Luau Extravaganza & Silent Auction on April 28 at 6:30 pm. This year’s event, which will actually be held at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic School, promises to be the most fun event ever! Please come enjoy a rare adult only evening with other parents and friends of our St. Elizabeth community. There will be delicious, out-of-this world, island cuisine, entertaining music, and magnificent auction items to bid on-all for the price of only $25.00 per person. Don’t miss this opportunity to get to know your community better while helping the school raise the necessary funds to continue providing excellence in Catholic education here in Southwest Dallas county!
Plans are in the works for this year’s Young Author’s Day, on May 10th, which promises to be better than ever! We are including a celebration of Cinco de Mayo on this day, too! We will start with a Mexican Breakfast to raise money to help send our teachers to this year’s Diocesan Teacher Appreciation Banquet. Later that morning, we will have a Dance Troupe from Young Audience Programming come out and perform a program for our students entitled, “Dancing Through Mexico.” In the afternoon, we will have Young Audience programming for our younger students , “Mrs. Pocket’s Playtime,” and also for our oder students, “World Rhythms” which will highlight some folktales and customs of various cultures through Percussion pieces. During the day, your children will have the opportunity to share the Treasure Books they have written, edited, and illustrated, and published this year. They will also share the songs, skits, plays, and other performances that they have prepared with other classes and with their parents. Displayed throughout the hallways will be examples of all the beautiful artwork the students have created in Art Class this year! We invite and welcome all of you to celebrate literature, the arts, and culture with us on May 10th, Young Author’s Day!
Our annual School May Crowning Ceremony will take place after 8 am Mass on Friday, May 18th. This is a tradition of the Church that is carried out so beautifully here at St. Elizabeth’s with the crowning of all of the statues of Mary on our school and parish property. We invite and welcome you to join us in honoring the mother of our Lord, Jesus Christ, on May 18th!
Please continue to pray for our second graders who have been preparing so diligently for the sacrament of First Eucharist, which they will celebrate on May 5th at 10:30. Also, during this final stretch of their St. Elizabeth careers, please keep in your prayers our 8th graders who will be graduating on May 30th, and beginning a new stage in their lives as they enter their chosen high school in the fall!
Thank you for your continued prayers and support of Catholic education here at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic School! May God continue to bless us and guide us in carrying out His important work!
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Important Dates-April & May
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Christina Clem, under Principal's Desk.
Print- April 8 – Easter Sunday!!!
- April 9 – Easter Monday-NO SCHOOL!
- April 12 – Spring Picture Day, Free Dress Day!
- April 13 – Christian Witness Awards following 8 am Mass
- April 13 – 5th Grade Dancing Classrooms Culminating Event, 1:30 pm
- April 16-20 – Spring Luau Book Fair!
- April 17 – Advisory Council Mtg. @ 6:30 pm
- April 19 – 8th Grade Snack Sale
- April 19 – Faculty Mtg. @ 3:30 pm, NO TUTORIALS!!
- April 19 – Robotics Competition @ St. Monica’s
- Aprilo 20 – 3rd Grade Field Trip in Morning
- April 20 – Field Day, 12:00-3:00 pm, Booster Concessions
- April 24-27 – 8th Grade Sea World Trip
- April 25 – Administrative Assistants Day
- April 26 – 4th Quarter Progress Reports
- April 26 – Buck-a-Jean Day
- April 28 – First Communion Rehearsal, 10:30 am
- April 28 – St. Elizabeth Hawaiian Luau Silent Auction, evening adult event
- May 1 – 6th Grade Field Trip to Scarborough Fair, 8:00 am – 2:45 pm
- May 1-4 – 5th Grade Environmental Field Trip to the Pines
- May 2 – Booster Club Mtg., 6:30 pm
- May 4 – Magnet Mania In-House Field Trip, PK-2nd Grades, 9:30 am
- May 4 – Diocesan Teacher Appreciation Banquet, evening event
- May 5 – First Communion Mass @ 10:30 am
- May 8 – Advisory Council @ 6:30 am
- May 9 – School Nurses Day
- May 9 – Principal Meeting
- May 9 – 1st Grade Field Trip to the Arboretum
- May 10 – Young Authors Day & Spring Arts Fest!!!!
- May 10 – Cinco de Mayo Mexican Breakfast to help fund Diocesan Teacher Appreciation Banquet
- May 10 - Booster Club Concessions Sale/Lunch & Dinner
- May 17 – Jersey Day for Booster Club Members
- May 17 – Booster Club Breakfast
- May 17 – 8th Grade Faculty/Staff Appreciation Dinner
- May 17 – Pep Rally
- May 18 – May Crowning Ceremonies, following the 8 am Mass
- May 22 – “Hansel & Gretel” Marionette Troupe Program, 1 pm & 2 pm
- May 25 – PK & Kinder Graduations, TBA
- May 25 – Memorial Day Weekend, NOON DISMISSAL!!!
- May 28 – Memorial Day, NO SCHOOL!!
- May 29 – 8th Grade Awards Dinner, evening event
- May 30 – 8th Grade Graduation Mass, 7 pm
- May 31 – Buck-a-Jeans Day & 7th Grade Snack Sale
- June 1 – Last Day of School, beginning with 8 am Mass, NOON DISMISSAL!!!
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From Beth Belcher, MTS – Director of Religious Education
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Beth Belcher, under Religious Education.
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Alleluia! He is Risen!! May the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ live within each and everyone now, in this Easter Season, and always!
Our students did an amazing job of depicting the Passion of Jesus before Easter. PK, Kindergarten and also the 8th grade worked very hard to bring meaning to our lives today by expressing what Jesus and those around him experienced so long ago.
The Living Stations of the Cross were also well represented by the third grade who helped us to walk the Way of the Cross on Holy Thursday morning.
The sixth graders shared in a Seder Meal, which celebrates the experiences of the Israelites who were led out of slavery in Egypt through the faithfulness of Moses and his brother, Aaron. They were reverent and respectful as they learned about this celebratory meal.
We are very proud of all of the student efforts and also the teachers who helped your children to bring these devotions to life! We are also very pleased and proud of all of the Religious activities and devotions in which our students take part at St Elizabeth Catholic School. All of our students benefit from these activities, which help bring them to a closer relationship with God. If you haven’t had an opportunity to join us for any of these, please try to make plans to join us for the May Crowning. More information to follow.
**CATECHETICAL CORNER**
In the Old Testament, the story of the Exodus is so significant that everything written in the Bible before Exodus leads us to that salvific event. Everything written after it, in the Old Testament stems from it. We are reminded of our own journey through the waters of baptism, freeing us from the slavery to sin and evil, when we remember the journey of the Israelites through the desert, passing through the waters of the Red Sea, in the Book of Exodus. Salvation comes to us through Jesus Christ, and as everything in our lives lead us to the monumental moment of Baptism, we should also remember to live in such a way that the rest of our lives also stem from it.
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Mrs. Belew – School Development
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Elizabeth Belew, under School Development.
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THANK YOU to the Catholic Foundation for their approval of a grant in the amount of $31,208.00 for our iPad Project. We are extremely excited, as this grant will allow us to purchase 60 iPad 2′s, two Power/Sync Carts, 60 iPad protective cases and 36 wireless hubs! At this point, we are at 40% of our goal of 150 iPads! Since 1999, the support of the Catholic Foundation has enabled the school to realize many major projects that would not have been afforded by tuition alone. We are so grateful for their generosity.
Total pledges and contributions as of 04/10/12 – $7,425.00 from 22 out of 216 St. Elizabeth families (10%), four St. Elizabeth Alumni Families and six Employer with Matching Funds.
Thank you to the four families who recently responded to our recent request for your participation in the iPad Project! Their generous donations increased our fund by almost $500.00. Those of you who pay your tuition through the Texas Catholic Credit Union may want to consider making your contribution during the month May since your last tuition payment will be in April. The school year is winding down and there is still time to contribute to this very worthy project. Remember, all money collected goes directly to the school and the students and it is tax deductible.
Your support is very important to St. Elizabeth School. We would like to reiterate our challenge to every family who has not participated in this year’s drive to consider a donation of at least $70.00. Think about what we could accomplish if the 191 families at St. E who have not yet participated, gave just $70.00 – the iPad Project would exceed $20,000.00 in total contributions
Please prayerfully consider what your family can afford and make your pledge today. If would like more information on the Parent Annual Giving Drive, please call Elizabeth Belew @ (214) 331-5139 Ext 24 or email – ebelew@saintspride.com
Thank you to the following families who have already made their pledges and contributions. Your generosity is greatly appreciated:
Acosta Family, Alba Family, Anonymous Family, Anonymous Family, Bank of America/Rosas, Barrilleaux Family, Belew Family, Borth Family, Corley Family, Goza Family, Henry Family, Ibarra Family, January Family, Kelleher Family, Martin Lucas/Microsoft, Macias Family, Pena Family, Prudential/Spillman, Reyes Family, Richardson Family, Rosas Family, Spillman Family, Stansberry Family, Swayzer Family, Teradata Cares/Corley, Tiffany & Company/Macias, Ventura Family, Walkley Family, West Family, Yaquinto Family
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Miss Vercillo – Reading Specialist/ Literacy Coach
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Beth Vercillo, under Literacy.
PrintThis is always my favorite time of year! April and May have so many exciting events for parent, students, and faculty to share. I am so excited about Young Author’s Day which will be held on May 10th. For new families, this is a unique day! It is basically a literary field day. It is a day filled with student performances, visiting performing artists, book shares and many other exciting events. This year I will be doing a performance with the sixth grade girls. As the day approaches you will hear from your child’s classroom teacher when your child will be performing. Parents are welcome to spend as much of the day with us as they desire. We will also have a staggered picnic lunch. (Be sure to note lunch times will be different this day). Students will be able to purchase concession items from the Booster Club, similar to the monthly Snack Sales. No hot lunches will be available that day so be sure to send a lunch or send cash with your children. Field Day, Silent Auction, and Spring Fest are also just around the corner! Thank you in advance for all your hard work in these important community building endeavors!
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Advisory Council Now Accepting Applications for Membership
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Elizabeth Belew, under Advisory Council.
PrintDear St. Elizabeth Families,
Each year the Advisory Council’s Nominating Committee accepts applications for open Member positions on the Advisory Council. This is a great opportunity for individuals who would like to share their gifts of time and talent in assisting the leadership team of St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic School. The Advisory Council is responsible for the following activities:
- Advise the Principal on school policies, programs, services, and strategic planning.
- Serve as an information resource for the school, as needed.
- Conduct special studies and assignments as requested by the Pastor or Principal.
- Advise the Principal and Pastor on financial matters including assisting the Principal in development of the Schools annual operating budget; determining sources of funding for the annual operating budget, and establishing the annual tuition rates
- Present the school to the public, to civic authorities, and to the Catholic community as a school imparting quality Catholic education in all aspects of living: spiritual, intellectual, cultural, physical, social, and civic.
Below are some eligibility criteria to be appointed to the Advisory Council.
General Eligibility: Advisory Council members should be practicing Catholics, however if non-Catholics are appointed, the majority of the membership shall be Catholic. A majority of the members of the Advisory Council shall have a child or children at the School at the beginning of their term. A Member must be at least 18 years of age, active in his/her parish and/or the School, and willing to give time and energy to the advancement of the mission of the School. A Member’s actions in his or her professional and personal life should be reflective of the teachings of the Catholic Church. No Member of the Advisory Council may be employed by the Parish or the School. No Member may be an immediate family relation (spouse, mother, father, brother, sister, child) of an employee of the School.
Applications are due May 1, 2012
Once an application is received, the Nominating Committee of the Advisory Council recommends individuals to the Pastor and Principal for approval, and then to the existing Members for appointment. Members are appointed for a 3 year term.
If you are interested in learning more about the Advisory Council and/or applying for an open Member position, please complete the attached Application and email it to Sheri Edelmann at sheri.edelmann@ey.com, or give a hard copy to Mrs. Walkley in the front office by May 1st.
We hope that you consider becoming involved with this important Council.
Thank you for your time and interest.
Attachments
2012 AC Member Application.doc
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Silent Auction 2012 – “Hawaiian Luau or Come as You Are!”
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Elizabeth Belew, under Family Volunteer Organization.
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Third Quarter A Honor Roll 2011-2012
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Elizabeth Belew, under A Honor Roll.
Print| 1A | 5A |
| Danica B. | Faustina Ostrowski |
| Anthony B. | Kaci Mills |
| Jadyn F. | |
| Christian H. | 5B |
| Mairia P. | Imani Garrott |
| DJ Q. | |
| Summer S. | 6A |
| Christian S.o | Kimberly Fontillas |
| Makayla V. | Erin Vergara |
| 1B | 7A |
| Lui A. | Hailey Hunt |
| Camila G. | Sydney Swayzer |
| Emily G. | |
| Nora T. | 8A |
| Kendall W. | Kennedy Powell |
| Avra Salters | |
| 2A | Sydney Solis |
| Madison G. | |
| 3A | |
| Frank A. | |
| Alyssa B. | |
| Darrell B. | |
| Justin B. | |
| 3B | |
| Viviana C. | |
| Michael G. | |
| Heng Heng K. | |
| Blaine W. |
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Third Quarter A/B Honor Roll List 2011-2012
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Elizabeth Belew, under AB Honor Roll.
Print| 1A | 5B |
| Zoe C. | Ethan de la G. |
| Micah G. | Gabe F. |
| Christopher L. | Israel P. |
| Joshua P. | Elizabeth S. |
| 1B | 6A |
| Julian B. | Ashley A. |
| Jarrod C. | Sophia D. |
| Tristen C. | Natalie E. |
| Micaela H. | Natalie E. |
| Ricky H. | Cathy G. |
| Fabian I. | Miranda G. |
| Ella L. | Georgine G. |
| Armando M. | Lisette M. |
| Victoria P. | |
| Alex R. | 6B |
| Dylan C. | |
| 2A | Logan E. |
| Icis B. | Michael G. |
| Clarissa F. | MJ H. |
| Isabelle G. | Benjamin J. |
| Stephen G. | Christian L. |
| Austin J. | Maxime P.J. |
| Mason L. | Julian R. |
| Makalah M. | |
| Isaiah M. | 7A |
| Cole P. | Brianna M. |
| Evelyn S. | |
| Todd S. | 7B |
| Lucas B. | |
| 3A | Carrington R. |
| Carmen A. | |
| Austin F. | 8A |
| Mia H. | Johana A. |
| Tomas S. | Isabelle A. |
| Sara M. | |
| 3B | Zoie M. |
| Albert G. | Marissa M. |
| Anthony G. | Carina V. |
| Ethan M. | Morgan W. |
| Michelle R. | Manon W. |
| 4A | 8B |
| Stephen A. | Nathan E. |
| Isaias C. | Oscar G. |
| Max H.R. | Zach J. |
| Erin L. | Alex L. |
| Isa L. | Matthew M. |
| Samuel L. | Jake R. |
| Malik P. | Travis R. |
| Joanna W. |
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Mrs. Porter – PKA
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Pamela Porter, under Pre-kindergarten.
PrintThe preschool class is winding down as we take full advantage of the Spring time! We have enjoyed our in-house field trips and look forward to Magnet Mania on May 4th. Thank you to our parents who have helped make this possible for our students as well as Ms. Bowen for arranging all of these exciting outreach programs for our primary department.
We have successfully made it to the letter Zz for recognition and sound so we are moving on to learn about rhyming words, poems, Mother Goose rhymes, beginning letter sounds and blending of two consonants.
In Math we are counting everything we can put our little hands on! We always enjoy making 2 and 3 color and object patterns, and have a tin of fun playing the positional word game as we learn about words like over, under, inside, outside, on top of, and beneath. We will continue adding to our math skills later this month as we learn to distinguish between objects that are the same and different and work on sequencing details in a story.
In Religion the class has learned so much about The Resurrection of our Lord, and we especially enjoyed role playing this for our parents to show off all our hard work! We are looking forward to Easter week and turning our sights on New Life in our world.
In science we have been raising caterpillars and are observing closely as little Investigators to watch the miraculous process of the life cycle of a butterfly! We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of some eggs in an incubator so we can watch and learn from the life cycle of a chick, too!
This is always my favorite time in the classroom as the children are well adjusted as a class, and the true little friendships begin to develop now. The children are becoming more independent and able to follow directions much easier now. They are growing up before our very eyes! If only we could just slow this part of our school year down a bit so we can enjoy the best part of our year, but we know that can’t happen. Therefore, we will start focusing on stepping up to the next level as the teachers and parents sit back and watch in amazement of just how far our children have come in the short 9 months of school. These little guys came to us as caterpillars but will leave us as beautiful butterflies!
Happy Spring everyone!
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Mrs. Strunk – PKB
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Kathy Strunk, under Pre-kindergarten.
PrintApril/May
April is a very busy month for PKB.
We started the month with the Passion Play which went very well. Many thanks to all the parents who were able to come and see our performance! We had our Easter Egg Hunt and a Luncheon on Tuesday, April 10, 2012.
We will begin a new unit on Farms. We will also have a Farmer Day with a picnic lunch. More information will be sent home soon!
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Miss Lane & Mrs. Guerrero – Kindergarten
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Melissa Guerrero, under Kindergarten.
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Kindergarten did a wonderful job on their Stations of the Cross performance! We had a great time during our Easter Egg hunt on Tuesday, April 10th!
Religion – We will continue to learn about the Easter story! We will read from the Bible and make Easter crafts! Mrs. Guerrero’s class will be presenting the Mass on May 4 and Ms. Lane’s class will be presenting the Mass on May 11. All parents are invited to attend Mass!
Language Arts – We have completed the alphabet! We will be sending home our alphabet book. We will continue to work on blending, segmenting, rhyming, and reading our decodable books. At the beginning of May, we will be preparing the kids for first grade by having spelling tests. Your child will spell CVC words – consonant vowel consonant words.
Math – We will continue to add and subtract story problems. We will work on measurements and dividing groups in halves. We will continue to write, identify, and count numerals. We will have graphing and problem solving lessons every fifth lesson. WE will wrap up our jazzy Math journals, and they will be sent home in mid May.
Science – Magnet Mania will come to our school on May 4! We will continue our lessons on forces that move objects. We will also learn about chicks and the life cycle of a chick!
Social Studies – We will wrap up our unit on continents and begin a new unit on oceans! We will also learn about the USA and TEXAS! Our Howdy Ho Down will be on May 18th!
Have a great month!
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Mrs. Patton & Ms. Meroni – First Grade
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Judy Patton, under First Grade.
PrintWell, spring is finally here and before we know it, school will be out for the summer. But before that happens, we will be very busy. April and May will be packed with activities. (Like the other months weren’t?) We will have concluded the season of Lent and begun the season of Easter. We will celebrate Earth Day, make and present our recycle robots, have Field Day, enjoy the Silent Auction, go to the Arboretum for our field trip, and participate in Young Authors Day and the Spring Art Festival.
The following is a brief overview of the curriculum for the month.
Math – We will finish the chapter in measurement. (inches, feet, capacity, cups, pints, quarts, pounds, centimeters, liters, kilograms, temperature and seasons) We will also cover the chapter in geometry and begin fractions.
Science – We will study Entomology including the life cycles and characteristics of insects by raising caterpillars to turn into Painted Lady Butterflies and studying the life cycle and characteristics of spiders. We will also finally have our field trip with the program “Tree Works” and our final in-school program about magnets.
Social Studies – We will cover the unit on “Our Country, Our World”. We will discuss recycling, reusing, and reducing to help save our natural resources and present our Recycle Robots.
Health – We will continue studying about basic safety.
Religion – We will study about Mary and participate in the May Crowning on May 18th. We will also discuss how we can all become disciples of God by following Jesus and how Jesus will come again one day. Both First Grades will also take turns celebrating the Mass.
Language Arts – We will finish up with decodables this month. This will be the end of oral reading tests. In May we will then begin working on comprehension with our classroom readers. In Phonics we will introduce /r/ spelled wr, /f/ spelled ph, and then we will begin to review all of the sounds we have covered this year. In Grammar, we will also begin reviewing the concepts we have covered to this date. The spelling tests will continue and will begin to review the phonics from the year. We will continue journal writing and making traveling books.
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Mrs. Jurik- Second Grade
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Linda Jurik, under Second Grade.
PrintMath: Students will learn about units of measurement. The following will be covered: perimeter, area, grams and kilograms, liters, volume, and temperature. Students will also learn about fractions and multiplication.
Reading: Students will read stories from different genres. They include: biography, folktale, realistic fiction, and expository stories.
Spelling: Students will learn how to spell animal and family words. They will also learn the different spellings of words that sound alike.
English: Identify nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, objects of a preposition, and pronouns. Use punctuation correctly in sentences and paragraphs.
Science: Students will finish the unit on simple machines. The next unit introduced will be on light and sound.
Social Studies: Students will be introduced to the concept of caring for the Earth’s natural resources – its land, water, air, and plants. They will explore ways to conserve and protect resources.
Health: Understand the effects of media on health. Discuss how certain products improve health.
Religion: Students will continue to learn about the Mass and prepare for the Sacrament of Holy Communion.
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Mrs. Fabian – Third Grade
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Betty Fabian, under Third Grade.
PrintWelcome to 3A
Wow! I hope everyone had a chance to come to the “Living Stations” on April 5th. The students did a fantastic job. You have some great kids.
The following information will cover from April to middle of May (subject to change)
English – We will cover the following: Indirect object, action and linking verbs
Writing – 4th Quarter Reseach paper, How-To (step by step insturctions), narrative. Both class are participating in the “Great Mail Race”. We sent letters to 50 Catholic Schools acroos the country. We are praying that we receive one back from each state by the end of the school year.
Spelling/Phonics – Contractions, holidays, review (lessons 25-29), /ur/ and /or/, and silent /k/ and /w/
Reading – 4th Quarter book reports, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Guided reading (small group)
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Mrs. Schmitz -Third Grade
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Maria Schmitz, under Third Grade.
PrintMath
We are working hard on figuring out how fractions work. We are learning how to make equivalent fractions, and we will learn how to add and subtract fractions, too. We will continue to review all the materials we have learned all year. New material still needs to be covered these last few weeks of school which includes measurement and geometry.
Science
We are currently studying meteorology. We are learning about the different layers of the atmosphere and about the different types of clouds. Once we finish the meteorology unit, we will begin exploring the earth’s structure with the study of geology.
Social Studies
We will be working on our social studies projects which include learning about the explorers and inventors. We will present these projects to the school on Young Author’s Day.
Religion
The Last Supper and Jesus Death on the Cross have been the focus of Religion studies during Lent. We will now focus on Jesus’ Resurrection. We will learn more about the Holy Spirit and God’s Family here on Earth over the next few weeks.
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Mrs. McClure – Fourth Grade
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Alexis McClure, under Fourth Grade.
PrintEnglish: We will continue to work in the
Shurley Method to refine what we have learned from the beginning of the year to the present class. Check out the parts of speech that we have just learned: subject nouns, subject pronouns, verbs, helping verbs, prepositions, objects of the prepositions, adjectives, adverbs, Article Adjectives, Interjections, Possessive nouns and pronouns, and conjunctions. We have just completed the above and have recently learned about the Compound subject and compound verbs. We are just rolling along. After we have these down, we will move on to the last two pieces of the year, direct and indirect objects as well as the adjectives that describe them. WOOHOOO!!!!
Reading: We have recently finished THE WATSON’S GO TO BIRMINGHAM! I hope your child has truly enjoyed this novel. Our novel test is this Friday, April 13, 2012. We will review during this week. All questions are available on the class website. Our next novel is MATILDA. We will begin this novel on Monday, April 16. Please have your student’s novel with them as we will begin that day in reading class. Our next class book report reading due date has recently been posted on the class website. We will begin our 4th quarter book report on Monday, May 7, 2012. This gives the students at least 4-5 weeks to read the novel they chose. The students must report on the novel I approved in class.
Religion: We have recently discussed the importance to Holy Week and the gifts that Jesus gave to us. We will continue to discuss the sacrament of Holy Communion and the major parts of the Mass. We will continue to discuss this further in detail. As we enter into May, we will discuss our Mother Mary as this is a month that we reflect and give praise to the mother of Jesus.
Science: The week of April 9th, we will wrap up the chapter over the Earth’s layers, Volcanoes, and Hurricanes. Following this chapter we will next move into Rocks and Minerals and Simple Machines.
Social Studies: We have currently wrapped up Texas becoming the 28th state in the United States. We are currently reading about the Civil War, Slavery, Share Cropping, and the movement of Native Americans into reservations. We will wrap the chapter up and continue to discuss the continued movement to the western frontier. We will next move into railroads, oil, and government. WOOHOOO!!!! We love the history!
Math: Currently, we are working with fractions. We have just completed an improper fractions piece and putting fractions into their simplest form. Please make sure that the students are studying their facts nightly as we will pick up the mad minute quizzes on Fridays. We will also continue with cumulative weekly checkups as this will help cement long term memory building blocks. The next pieces we will cover by the end of the year include: Measurement, Time and Geometry.
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Mrs. Gilburt – Fifth Grade English/Language Arts
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Savannah Gilburt, under Fifth Grade.
PrintEnglish
We are wrapping up our research paper about a famous author. We have created bibliography cards, note cards, and an outline to help develop our paper. The students have been working hard to find information and use it in a way that conveys their message. We have also been using our Shurley skills to write complete sentences that are well-structured and have no spelling errors.
Reading
Although we have finished Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, we will remember the courageous people that risked their lives to help others during the Holocaust. We are now reading A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle. The students are learning new vocabulary and meeting new characters as well as enjoying this science fiction novel. This will be the last novel we will read for the school year.
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Mrs. Feil- Fifth and Sixth Social Studies
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Kristy Feil, under Middle School Notes.
Print5th Grade:
We will finish our unit on the Constitution, the branches of government, and Bill of Rights; the First Ten Amendments. We will learn the difference between federal, state, and local governments. From here we will adventure in exploring the great west; Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark, and the War of 1812! The students will learn how the Louisiana Purchase helped the US to grow, how this growth affected the Native Americans (Trail of Tears), what happened during the War of 1812. We will study briefly the Texas Independence, Lone Star Republic, and the western trails (the Mormon Trail). And finally the Manifest Destiny!. From here we will begin our unit on the Civil War Times.
6th Grade:
On Tuesday May 1st we will be going to the Scarborough Renaissance Festival. We will need several parents to help chaperone, so please if you can help send me an email! More information to come after Easter!
We are finishing our unit over Ancient Rome and will be studying the Byzantine and Muslim Civilizations. The students will read how Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire became powerful and learn about the achievements of the Justinian Age. We will learn about the beginnings of Islam, the life and mission of the Muslin prophet Muhammad, and their beliefs. From here we will skip ahead to the Renaissance Period. We will learn how the arts and literature of this time impacted this period of time. We will learn what led to the Reformation, Luther’s criticsm of the Church, and how this affected the ideas in Europe. We will also learn how the Catholic Church responded to the Reformation.
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Mrs. Belcher, MTS – Fifth – Eighth Grade Religion
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Beth Belcher, under Middle School Notes.
Print5th Grade: We will finish our unit on Redemption with a matching quiz on the movie, Pinocchio, which is a great redemption story that children can understand and relate to. We will continue with both text work, focusing on Moses, the Israelites and the Promised Land, and also Mrs Kuterbach and I will work with 5th grade on Arkeology, a musical play about Noah and the Ark. We will be performing this play for Young Author’s Day, on May 10.
6th Grade: We are finishing our themes of the Ten Commandments and the Seven Sacraments. After this we will go back into our text to discover more about The Crucifix, The Holy Family, and our Rights and Duties as Citizens.
7th Grade: Seventh grade students will finish their large maps of Palestine, and will turn in their saltclay maps of the the Holy Land in the time of Jesus on Tuesday, April 17. We will move on from there in our text to learn more about The Priesthood of Jesus and Christ, as the Source of all Grace.
8th Grade: Eighth graders will continue to work on their Church History Timeline and will cover the time frame of 1800BC to 1965 and the closing of Vatican II. We will also do three presentations; Catholics in Action where students find out what kind of Social Justice the Church is involved in, Charitable Giving where 8th graders give presentations about possible places to put class money in order to be of service, and lastly a presentation on the Priesthood and Religious Life.
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Mrs. Powell – Middle School Social Studies
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Tai Powell, under Middle School Notes.
PrintHello, I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter Break! Welcome back!
7th grade Social Studies
This month the seventh graders will be on Unit 5 in Social Studies. This unit deals with the state of Texas experiencing great economic, social, and political changes from Reconstruction to the beginning of the twentieth century. We are currently presenting our Glogs in class. Tuesday when the students return from Easter break, I will have them present their Glogs to the class. If you are interested in seeing your child’s glog you may go to http://mekuter.edu.glogster.com/portfolio/glog-flow/. We have had a lot of fun with this project. I am interested to see the presentations. The glogs themselves look amazing.
8th grade Social Studies
This month and till the beginning of May we will be on Unit 4. Unit 4 consists of chapters 12-15. The time periods are 1820-1860. This includes the Civil War as well as the westward expansion period. We are currently on Chapter 12 the Jacksonian Era. This chapter only has 3 lessons. We will have a test over these 3 lessons Friday April 20th. We will review the chapter on April 19th. I will have the reviews up on the MS website before the students return from Easter break.
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Ms. Houston – Middle School Science
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Rhonda Houston, under Middle School Notes.
Print8th Grade Science: This class has completed the chapter on Ecosystems and Biomes. We reviewed the three major Cycles of Matter (the Water Cycle, the Nitrogen Cycle and The Carbon & Oxygen Cycle) then moved on to the Earth’s biomes. The major and minor biomes were covered, looking into the similarities and differences between the groups. Students have researched a biome and are presenting a poster with their findings. The project is to research a biome as if they are a travel agent promoting a world trip for a client. They are to select four destinations within their biome and then include what to wear, exotic foods to expect, points of interests, and climate information with other information on their posters. In the presentation, the student can tell about the itinerary they created, showing what exciting adventures wait ahead for the client. Classmates then ask questions about the biome and the trip. This has been an exciting assessment as students learn about biomes in a creative and hands-on way.
The class will move on to Living Resources and dive into environmental issues, how we can maintain our forest and fisheries, and factors that affect biodiversity.
7th Grade Science: After learning about protists and fungi, we move into Introduction to Plants. This includes learning the characteristics that all plants share and how plants are divided into vascular and non-vascular. The world of plants continues as we focus on seed plants, the characteristic that make them up, and what makes them gymnosperms and angiosperms. Thinking maps are being utilized to trace the sequence for the life cycle of seed plants; along with, a classification map to break down the structure of a flowering plants. We will continue to learn about plants as students will be able to identify what makes a plant a mono-cot or di-cot. The section on plants will conclude with plant responses and growth. Here, the class will identify what produces plant responses and functions that plant hormones control.
6th Grade Science: In 6th grade we are having an great time learning about weather and climate. We began with learning about the atmosphere. We recorded the daily air pressure and saw how it correlates with the type of weather occurring. The instruments used to measure air pressure was explained; including, how altitude affects air pressure and density. The most fun was when students designed a board game based on the Layers of the Atmosphere. The goal was to make it from the troposphere up to the Exosphere. Reaching this objective involved overcoming various obstacles in the different layers of the atmosphere such as clouds and storms or even meteoroids. It was required that students incorporate information about the layers to make it educational, along with fun. Once the games were created, fellow class mates tried the games to see how far they could go.
We will continue learning about weather factors then move on to weather patterns so that students will understand what causes changes in the weather and how the information recorded on weather maps can be used to make weather predictions.
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Ms. Johnson-Middle School ELA
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Susan Johnson, under Middle School Notes.
Print6R ENGLISH—We continue writing the rough draft of the research paper which includes body 1, body 2, body 3, and the conclusion. We will then begin editing it in class with a “verb check” to determine tense. Everything will come home on April 10 so the students can type the rough draft and submit it to turnitin.com by April 18. A typed copy is due to me in class on April 19. We will then begin a short unit on prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections which will include phrases, coordinating conjunctions, correlative conjunctions, and special cases. The test is scheduled for April 24. We will then begin diagramming sentences to include subject, verb, direct object, indirect object, linking verb, complement, adjective, adverb, and appositives. Spelling for April will include lessons 31, 32, and 33.
6H ENGLISH - We continue writing the rough draft of the research paper which includes body 1, body 2, body 3, and the conclusion. We will then begin editing it in class with a “verb check” to determine tense. Everything will come home on April 10 so the students can type the rough draft and submit it to turnitin.com by April 18. A typed copy is due to me in class on April 19. We will then begin diagramming sentences which will include subject, verb, direct object, indirect object, linking verb, complement, adjective, adverb, appositives, phrases and compounds. The test is scheduled for May 2. Spelling for April will include lessons 31, 32, and 33.
7R ENGLISH—We are diagramming sentences which will include subject, verb, direct object, indirect object, linking verb, complement, adjective, adverb, appositives, phrases and compounds. The test is scheduled for May 2. Spelling for April includes lessons 32, 33, and 34.
7H ENGLISH—We are finishing the unit on prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections which includes phrases, special cases, subordinating conjunctions, coordinating conjunctions, and correlative conjunctions. The test is scheduled for April 17. We will then begin diagramming sentences to include subject, verb, direct object, indirect object, linking verb, complement, adjective, adverb, appositives, and phrases. Spelling for April includes lessons 32, 33, and 34.
8R ENGLISH – We are finishing the unit on prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections which includes phrases, special cases, subordinating conjunctions, coordinating conjunctions, and correlative conjunctions. The test is scheduled for April 17. We will then begin diagramming sentences to include subject, verb, direct object, indirect object, linking verb, complement, adjective, adverb, appositives, and phrases. Spelling for April includes lessons 29, 31, and 32.
8H ENGLISH– We are finishing the unit on prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections which includes phrases, special cases, subordinating conjunctions, coordinating conjunctions, and correlative conjunctions. The test is scheduled for April 17. We will then begin diagramming sentences to include subject, verb, direct object, indirect object, linking verb, complement, adjective, adverb, appositives, and phrases. Spelling for April includes lessons 29, 31, and 32.
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Mrs. Borth – Middle School Literature
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Jennifer Borth, under Middle School Notes.
Print6th Grade – We have finished One Handed Catch, so our academic class will move on to short stories and the honors class will read Chasing Vermeer. I have class sets of the short stories but not of Chasing Vermeer. We only have two more vocabulary lessons left for the school year.
7th Grade – Students have turned in their Globe Theaters – please stop by and see what talent and creativity this class has. We are currently writing our Shakespeare paper. Students have been taken to the lab for research and will be writing this paper during class time. Please keep up with vocabulary – there are only two lessons left.
8th Grade – Our academic class is currently working on the Monster paper, and honors is working on the A Raisin in the Sun paper. Both of these papers are written in class and will be counted as a major test grade. Please keep up with vocabulary – there are only two lessons left.
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Mrs. Robb, Seventh and Eighth Grade Math
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Rachel Robb, under Middle School Notes.
PrintReminders: 30 minutes of Math Score is due every week. Students who complete an hour in any given week will have their time carry over to the next week’s requirement.
Final Exams are fast approaching. The exam will cover the entire year.
Tutoring is every Monday and Wednesday from 3:30 – 4:00. Please notify me via email if you need a different time.
7th Grade Math
Recently completed a test over Pythagorean Theorem and Circumference/Area of a Circle. The class did a great job. Students are currently studying probability. We only have a few chapters left. Students will study “Algebra: patterns and functions” as well as Graphing on the Coordinate plane before the end of the school year.
7th Grade Honors/8th Grade Math – Pre-Algebra
Both classes completed a performance assessment over Chapter 7 which covered percents and circle graphs. Students did an outstanding job on the assessment. Currently, students are studying Patterns in Geometry as well as measurement. We will conclude the year with Functions, Polynomials and Probability.
8th Grade Algebra
Note most high schools require students to take an Algebra test before placing an incoming student in an honors course for the freshman year. Bishop Dunne advised to contact their office to schedule testing. I do have a study packet for any student interested in preparing for such an exam. The purpose of the exam is to determine if you are ready to move on to Geometry or if it is necessary to take Algebra again your freshman year.
Algebra students are currently studying Exponents. Next, they will move on to Polynomials and Factoring. Time permitting they will study radical expressions, functions and equations.
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Mrs. Barrientos – Spanish
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Rosa Barrientos, under Spanish.
PrintMrs. Barrientos – Spanish
April and May are very exciting months in Spanish class because we do many different activities that involve food. We do restaurants, skits and much more. The best thing is we get to eat, have fun and learn! I will be asking for donations to make this activity possible.
Pre K 3 and 4: We will be learning the names of some fruits and cereal, milk, bread, eggs and vegetables. I will be asking for some assistance in providing some fresh fruit as we learn and taste. I will combine the verb me gusta (I like) as well as no me gusta (I do not like) to express in Spanish what we like and what we do not like, along with other words such as sweet, sour, delicious.
Kinder: Same as Pre K but will extend our verb (gustar) to ask the question: Do you like …..?
1st grade: We will be learning some table utensils names and will do oral practice of setting a table as we name each utensil, and learning the verb (comer) to eat, gustar (to like) and (usar) to use
2nd grade: We will be learning table utensils and setting up as we name them orally. We will be practicing in Spanish to make all the necessary changes to the nouns and adjectives as we describe singulars and plurals and using the verbs (gustar) to like, (tener) to have as we say and describe the fruits, and (comer) to eat as we say what we are eating.
3rd grade: We will learn table utensils, kitchen appliances, breakfast foods, lunch foods and dinner foods. We will use the question (Donde esta?) to ask where certain foods are in the kitchen as other students answer in complete sentences. We will also be using the verb (gustar) to say what we like and what we do not like and why?
4th grade: We will cover the same material as 3rd grade but will also be learning the present progressive forms of certain verbs and add them to the food activities to say what we are doing.
5th grade: As we enjoy our wonderful restaurant, we will be using food stores’ advertising to learn to practice arithmetic and money to ask questions regarding prices.
6th grade: We will also be practicing how to use money and food store advertising to ask and answer questions regarding money. We will also combine the present progressive of some verbs, and the verb gustar, usar, desear, comprar, pagar, comer and many more.
7th grade: We will also be practicing money and using food store advertising to ask and answer questions regarding money and will also combine the present progressive of some verbs, and the verb gustar, usar, desear, comprar, pagar, comer and many more.
8th grade: Students will be composing skits using all the food and other learned vocabulary and will act out orally.
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Mrs. Stepniewski – Pre K through 8th Grade Computer
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Maureen Stepniewski, under Computer.
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cybersmart.gov.au
http://cybersmartcurriculum.org/assets/files/activitysheets/4-5/Safe_Talking_In_Cyberspace.pdf
Pre-K through 3rd Grade students are continuing work on basic computer skills while reinforcing classroom lessons. We are incorporating seasonal and religiously-themed websites. Part of our lessons emphasize being “cybersmart”. I encourage everyone to visit safekids.com and cybersmart.com for ways to protect our children from internet predators and cyberbullying.
Fourth Grade students are continuing LOGO programming. The aim of these lessons is to foster confidence with STEM subjects while making the lessons fun and interesting.
Fifth Grade continues computer programming by creating procedures in MSWLOGO. We are working on recursion and simple programming concepts. The students have created many interesting and intricate ‘drawings’ while beginning to understand variables in programming code. We are working on recursion and simple programming concepts.
Sixth Grade boys are working with our Lego Mindstorm Robotics program. The boys have established a problem that the robot needs to solve. We will have a contest to showcase and test the skills learned with this program.
Sixth Grade girls are helping create a graduation movie for our PreKB class. They are interviewing the younger students and creating a presentation that will be incorporated in a class presentation.
Seventh Grade students are creating sprites in Scratch, a language developed by MIT for elementary students. We will have a contest to see which program is the best. Several categories are available: most original concept; best programming; funniest, and …well, we’ll see what develops. We will also be creating a brochure to enhance next year’s Sacrament of Confirmation.
Eighth Grade students are in the final stages of their Business Project and continue coding in HTML. They have coded links, images, a calendar and ordered and unordered lists. Some of the students have made simple forms and really understand markup language.
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Mrs. Connelly – Library
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Monica Connelly, under Library.
PrintApril is:
- School Library Media Month
- National Library Week – April 8-14
- National D.E.A.R. Day (Drop Everything and Read Day) – April 12
Library classes will celebrate remaining April events by checking out books, reading quietly in the library, listening to Easter stories and taking part in The Legend of the Bluebonnet activities.
Mark Your Calendars: Hawaiian Luau Book Fair is coming April 16-19. Fair hours will be 7:30-5:00. Activities such as daily door prizes, raffles, storytelling and games are just part of the upcoming fun. Book Fairs are successful because of St, Elizabeth’s “great” bunch of students, parents, volunteers, and teachers coming together as a team to support the Fair. Once again, we’re asking for volunteers. If you can help, please email mconnelly@saintspride.com.
May is once again a very busy month. PK and Kinder students will enjoy “guest” storytellers reading book favorites. 1st and 2nd grade students take part in some fun activities when we read “Officer Buckle and Gloria”. 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students will share their reading experiences and reveal their favorite book and author with their respective classes. Weather permitting, all library students will visit the school courtyard for quiet reading.
As the end of the year fast approaches, the library is accepting donations of any AR, Reading Counts or Blue Bonnet books that your student has finished reading. We welcome books in good condition and appreciate all titles.
Important Dates to remember:
May 14 – end-of-year inventory begins
May 18 – all library books must be returned
May 22 – all overdue late fines must be paid
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Coach Cervenka – K – Eighth Grade Physical Education
Posted on April 12, 2012, by William Cervenka, under Physical Education.
PrintThe soccer, baseball/softball, and track season are still in progress. All classes have picked teams and are playing against each other. We play each sport for 2-3 weeks and go on to the next sport. Soccer is finishing up with the PE season and we are starting on wiffle ball for the next 2-3 weeks. We will play kickball after wiffle ball until the end of the school year. The kids are enjoying picking teams and playing against each other to see which team gets more tally marks on the board.
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Mrs. Kuterbach – Music
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Mary Kuterbach, under Music.
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It is hard to believe that we are closing in on the end of the year! We have covered so much in our exploration of music. The 8th grade has been busy learning hand bell pieces for a final performance to be held on our Young Authors Day / Spring Art Fest. Performance times yet to be determined.
After our unit on folk and square dance, the kindergarten through fifth grade classes will be exploring tone color. This includes vocal and instrumental tone color. That means our annual Instrument Show and Tell is coming up! This year it will be the week of May 14-18. Here are the rules:
- If you have an instrument you would like to bring to class to show, make sure your name is on it. You do not have to be able to play the instrument. We love seeing the “real” thing even if it doesn’t work.
- If you play the piano or take piano lessons we invite you to play for your class BUT you must bring written music with you that you will play. Even if you have the music memorized please bring your sheet music with you.
We will only do this one week so don’t forget!
During the month of April we are listening to many different composers starting off the month with one of my favorites, Aaron Copland. We followed with the Russian composer, Sergei Rachmanioff, listening to his Italian Polka for piano duet.
Be sure to attend our weekly Masses. Our students prepare each week for Mass and the student leaders work hard to help us celebrate the Mass.
As always, thank you for your continued support of the fine arts programs at St. Elizabeth School.
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Mrs. Green – PK, K, 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, 7th, 8th Grade Art
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Michelle Green, under Art.
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“The arts teach students that small differences can have large effects.”
Lesson 6 in 10 Lessons the Arts Teach by the NAEA
All classes are in the process of creating their silent auction projects. Most of the classes will be painting. Each child will get to participate in painting their classes canvas. Make sure you attend on April 28th to view and bid on your child’s artwork. Here is the list of what each class will be doing.
PK is creating a heart painting similar to the artist Jim Dine.
Kindergarten is making two paintings, one is an abstract with bright colors and the other is a monochromatic abstract.
1st grade is making a drip painting similar to artist, Jackson Pollock, and the other will be reminiscent of Vincent van Gogh’s, Starry Night.
2nd grade is creating their version of Leonardo da Vinci’s, The Last Supper, as well as a fun abstract painting.
4th grade is making a floral painting very much like van Gogh’s, Twelve Sunflowers.
6th grade boys are painting a beautiful seascape, and the girls are still deciding.
7th grade is painting a cross inspired by Georgia O”Keeffe.
8th grade boys are making a series of paintings similar to artist, Andy Warhol and the girls are making a Georgia O”Keeffe inspired stained glass.
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