NEW SCHOOL PREPARATORY
OCTOBER 2010
In The News
from the Director
Dear Parents,
Barbara Colorosa is the author of Kids are Worth It!, Just Because It’s Not Wrong, Doesn’t
Make it Right, and Parenting Wit and Wisdom. She always seems to know just the right way,
with both wit and wisdom, to speak to children as make their way through their tween and teen
years. I would like to share some of her wisdom from her book Kids are Worth It!
One Side Shaven with Two Stripes in It –Hairdo Rebellion
“Don Shaw, the former “sex and sin director” (health education director) in our school
district, said that if you let your children make most of their own decisions (decision that are
not life-threatening, morally threatening, or unhealthy) before they reach puberty, they rarely
take the quantum leap into serious rebellion in the teen years, because it’s hard to rebel against
one’s own decision.”
Dates to Remember
November 3-5 (Wed-Fri)
Pathfinder Outdoor Education
Grades 5-8
November 12 Friday
Parent Conferences
Non-Student Day
When my son, Joseph, was eleven years old, Don’s line really hit home. Joe came to me and
announced he wanted to get one side of his head shaven with two strips in it. I told him I was
sure I wasn’t going to like it, but since it was not life-threatening, morally threatening, or
unhealthy, and it would grow back, I could live with it. I sat in the hair salon reading a good
book as the beautician washed Joe’s hair and commented that lots of girls would give their
eyeteeth for a head of hair like his. Then he told her what he wanted. She came over to me and
asked, “Is it all right if I shave one side of your son’s hair and put two stripes in it? I said that I
wasn’t going to like it, but it was not life-threatening, morally threatening, or unhealthy, and I
knew it would grow back. She looked at me and said, “He said the same thing.” How quickly
kids learn the lines.
The beautician shaved one side and put two stripes in it. She even got it to look good for about
a day-- which is a knack beauticians have. The next day Joe could do nothing with his lopsided
head of hair. His sisters, who usually give him grief, were in the bathroom with hair spray and
mousse trying to help him out. He survived that haircut, and the seven or eight even more
interesting haircuts that year. Then he started seventh grade with a fairly traditional hairdo.
We also survived his sixth grade year, although family get-togethers were sometimes difficult.
You should have heard some of the relative, “Barb, you’re on the road too much.” It was my
fault that my kid did that to his hair. I’m on lecture tours five to seven days a month, home
twenty-three to twenty-five days a month, but it is my fault Joseph wanted a part of his head
shaven with two stripes on the side. (If you have recently returned to work outside of the home
after being at home for any length of time, be assured, if anything goes wrong with you kids
now, it’s your fault, because you “went to work.” And if you have stayed home with your kids
for any length of time and something goes wrong, it’s again your fault; you smothered them.
Can’t seem to do it right either way.)
The next most common comment was, “If you let him do this at eleven, what’s he going
to do at sixteen?” I believe if you let kids make choices and mistakes when they are
cheap, they rarely make the expensive ones later. Kids grow and learn from the
cheap ones.
One aunt in particular berated Joey for his haircut. His sister Maria came to his defense
and said, “Aunt, it’s not life-threatening, it’s not morally threatening, it’s not unhealthy,
and look, it’s already growing back.”
Morris Sorin
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NEW SCHOOL PREPARATORY
OCTOBER 2010
KINDERGARTEN
The Kindergarten is singing and dancing their way through
a unit on the human body! They are marching around
playing instruments and singing “Dem Bones, Dem Bones,
Dem Dry Bones” as they name the body parts! In the
classroom the tune of “The Hokey Pokey” is being hummed
and sung and danced to. After learning about the joints in
the body, we sang the Hokey Pokey putting in elbows, hips,
knees, ankles, etc!
The unit began with a discussion of the skin; why we need it
and what it does for us. We have had discussions about
muscles, joints and bones and in the next weeks the children
will learn about their heart, lungs, ribs, brain and skull.
Each child’s body was traced on large paper. The children
cut out the life-sized bodies and as they learn about a new
body part, they color it, cut it out and place it on the body.
The ribs will open to show the heart and lungs and the face
will be lifted up to see the skull and the brain. We are using
many books, the computer and videos as resources for
research. The children are also making a book about the
parts of the body. On each page they illustrate the new body
part and tell in writing how the part functions.
In math the children are working with complex patterns
using unifix cubes, pattern blocks and anything else we can
find! Each child is working with pattern blocks and making
a creation using six pattern blocks. The children then rotate
seats and duplicate the creation they see in the new seat. The
pattern blocks are triangles, squares, rectangles, trapezoids,
diamonds, and hexagons.
The Kindergarten is working on a “Reader’s Theater”
performance that they will perform for the first and second
grades. They love the book “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt”
and have been created a way to tell the story with everyone
taking parts. “It’s a beautiful day!” is a favorite line in the
story.
In the classroom we have a life-sized skeleton, “Mr. Bones”.
The children love to play “teacher” and point to bones and
joints and ask the other children to name them. We have a
life-sized puzzle of the skeleton which they work to put
together each day. We will use the classroom stethoscopes
to listen to hearts and feel each other’s pulse.
FIRST and SECOND GRADE
In Language Arts our unit of study is "Cinderella." After reading
different stories and discovering the elements that make them a
fairytale, we are taking a closer look at the different versions of the
story of Cinderella and focusing on the elements that make it
Cinderella. Our novel and the 2nd book in "The Sisters Grimm"
Series is all about discovering that living in a community of
fairytale characters means always being ready for trouble. We are
also very busy preparing for our big surprise at the end of the unit:
The Fairytale Museum and our performance: Once Upon A
Time….The End. The arts are supporting the learning taking place
in our language rich environment with two great performances: in
music, the children will perform Hansel and Gretel and in dance,
they will perform Swan Lake. This magnificent opportunity to
demonstrate our love of reading, writing and language abilities,
will take place on the last week of October. You will receive your
invitation, shortly.
In Social Studies our students will gain an understanding of the
culture and lifestyles of an Ancient Civilization as we begin a case
study of Ancient Egyptian people. The history of people of
different cultures around the world allow students to investigate the
way historians learn about the past if there are no written records, to
describe the effects geography has on societies and to compare and
contrast various aspects of family life, structures and roles in
different cultures as well as the significance of their customs and
traditions. Our students will learn about the many fascinating
artifacts that have been unearthed in the more recent years and have
hands-on experience recreating many of these ancient treasures.
This unit will culminate in another big surprise in which you will
have the opportunity to be guided by you child through this "ancient
world."
In Math, developing the concept of place value goes hand in
hand with experiences that build a foundation for understanding so
that children will be able to make sense of the rules they learn and
determine for themselves that they are following the proper
procedures for getting reasonable answers. The most basic concept
is that our number system is based on groups of ten. With that
concept in mind we will begin to experience place value with the
grouping games, discovering number patterns and working with
groups of ten. As usual, the amount of time children need to work
with the activities vary according to their pace and level. Our
Money and the Bank we started at the beginning of the school year
will continue throughout the year and reinforce our place value
concepts.
In our "Science of Mummification Unit" we have begun the process of mummi5ication with our hot dogs, eggplants and chicken. We are focusing on the changes that are taking place. Observation, communication, writing data and analyzing it to reach a valid conclusion are the key concepts for this month.
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NEW SCHOOL PREPARATORY
OCTOBER 2010
THIRD and FOURTH GRADE
Math
Students are working with money, fractions, percents,
multiplication and division, all the skills they will
need to open their store, Ye Olde New School
Shoppe. The target date for opening is October 15,
2010. Prices have been established to ensure that
loans for the items have been repaid and profits can
be realized. The young entrepreneurs are deciding
whether to keep initial profits or expand their
business to acquire more wealth.
Language Arts
Students will complement their upcoming Renaissance
studies by reading Sid Fleischman's The Whipping
Boy. This story has a wonderful plot revolving around
the orphan Jemmy, who must take the whippings for
the Prince. Jemmy plans to flee this unfair arrangement
until "Prince Brat" beats him to it, and takes Jemmy
along. Jemmy is then charged with the Prince's
abduction! Children relate to the many complex themes
in this book including fairness, power, and social
position. Third and Fourth Graders will continue to
deepen their understanding of parts of speech as they
continue to practice recognizing and using verbs
including action verbs, linking verbs, and helping
verbs.
This month the emphasis continues to be on using
mental imagery and reasoning to develop students’
ability to compare fractions while simultaneously
increasing their fraction sense of number. For
example, students are using manipulatives and
drawing pictures to learn how to compare 4/8 of a
pizza with 5/12 of a pizza to determine which is the
larger fraction.
Students are also working hard on memory and
mastery of all math facts. This will help them to
quickly solve problems without a great deal of effort.
Social Studies
Third and Fourth Graders have completed their
study of native Floridians. This survey of native tribes
has also made students more geography will be put to
good use re of Florida geography. This knowledge of
tribes and geography will assist students in making
connections when we learn about the explorers who
came to Florida.
While learning more about Florida exploration,
students are also preparing themselves to enjoy their
trip to St. Augustine. The multi-national history of this
magnificent city will come alive on October 7th.
Florida studies is a great bridge into the next Social
Studies topic - the Renaissance. Students will be
attending a Renaissance Fair November 5th in period
dress as a kick-off to this unit of study.
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NEW SCHOOL PREPARATORY
OCTOBER 2010
FIFTH and SIXTH GRADE
Math
Language Arts
In our Scary Stories unit, we’ve transitioned from
the fantastical world of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline to
the very real and very scary world of Ann
Rinaldi’s A Break With Charity. This novelisation
of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 tells the story of
one young girl envious to join the group of
Puritan girls who are accusing some of the town’s
leading figures of witchcraft. In writing, we’re
doing character studies and exploring how both
the strengths and vulnerabilities of characters
combine to make them interesting and
compelling.
In addition to our daily math work, all 5th-8th
Graders have learned to create spreadsheets
using Apple’s Numbers program. Students have
learned such complex topics as functions, relative
cell-referencing, and circular logic while creating
budget spreadsheets for the model bridges they
are building. They will track material and labor
costs in virtual dollars. They must not only build
strong bridges, they must do so in a cost efficient
way so that their bridges come in under budget.
They can earn bonuses for early completion and
beautification to help offset the effort it takes to
build their bridges neatly and efficiently.
Social Studies
In
October, students will begin a study of
American government. In particular, they will
learn how the Constitution organizes our
government and how it protects our basic rights as
citizens. This, in turn, will make students better
able to understand the current controversies over
"big, active government" vs. "small, limited
government". Concepts to be addresses include
constitutional government, our federal system of
government, and how the Constitution guarantees
rights. These studies are a continuation of the
middle school law program.
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NEW SCHOOL PREPARATORY
OCTOBER 2010
SEVENTH and EIGHTH GRADE
All of this shaped the document we know today
as the Constitution of the United States of
America. Students cannot fully appreciate the
importance of this document without knowing the
circumstances which surrounded it. These studies
also help students as a preparation for the state
Congressional Hearing competition
January 7, 2011 in Orlando. Details concerning
exact location will be provided soon.
Math
Language Arts
We’re stepping into the world of Science Fiction
with our new novel, Orson Scott Card’s acclaimed
Ender’s Game. This tale of a young boy called
upon to enter training that will prepare him to
save all of humanity from invading insectoid
forces won both the Hugo and Nebula awards for
outstanding Sci-fi novel.
After studying the techniques and influences of
propaganda, students are launching into their own
clandestine propaganda campaign. Their goal is to
create posters, flyers, newscasts and commercials
which exploit psychological techniques and get
people to accept pre-determined beliefs as their
own. By employing these techniques themselves,
students will gain a keener insight into how to
deal with these techniques when they encounter
them in the outside world.
In addition to our daily math work, all 5th-8th
Graders have learned to create spreadsheets
using Apple’s Numbers program. Students have
learned such complex topics as functions, relative
cell-referencing, and circular logic while creating
budget spreadsheets for the model bridges they
are building. They will track material and labor
costs in virtual dollars. They must not only build
strong bridges, they must do so in a cost efficient
way so that their bridges come in under budget.
They can earn bonuses for early completion and
beautification to help offset the effort it takes to
build their bridges neatly and efficiently.
Social Studies
Students are continuing their studies of
Constitutional Law by examining the events and
ideas that led to the end product - the Constitution
itself. Students will learn the history of where the
Founders got their ideas for the concepts within
the document, the historical steps that went into
writing the Constitution, and the difficulties the
new nation was having during implementation.
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NEW SCHOOL PREPARATORY
OCTOBER 2010
SCIENCE
NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL
Grades 3-4 are exploring the structures of the eye and how we
see. They are relating the concepts of pressure to the vitreous
humor and blood vessels of the sclera. We have discussed the
way that the brain will fill in the blanks and create a picture for
us, even when all of the data is not there. Because we, as
educators, are constantly trying to get students to see the “big”
picture, one of the hardest skills to learn in science is to see the
“little” picture and not to create an impression without looking
at all aspects individually. Students are using an artist’s
technique to practice the art of “seeing” with the eyes and not
the brain. We are also using the very interesting life of Blaise
Pascal to hone our research skills and identify credible
sources. The students are looking forward to our next
historical prodigy, Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss.
Kindergarten
The kids love learning songs to practice the vocabulary learned
in class. In this month, we will spend most of the time learning
and practicing body words, such as cabeza (head), ojos (eyes),
boca (mouth), etc. They will also learn the shapes: circulo
(circle), rectangulo (rectangle), and cuadrado (square). They will
continue learning new songs and games to reinforce the
language.
1st and 2nd Grade.
We will work on objects used in class, such as lapiz (pencil), mesa
(table), pizarra (chalkboard), cuaderno (notebook), etc. We will
continue working with the mini-booklets related with current
topics according with each grade level. We will also work with
basic verbs: hablar, comer, cantar, mirar etc and the expression
“me gusta…”, “no me gusta…”.
3rd and 4th Grade
The class will work on expression related to the weather and time;
they will practice the concept of gender and number of nouns and
adjectives. They will learn about the subjects and activities that
they do at school everyday. We will work on verb ir + verb: Voy a
cantar, voy a estudiar etc. We will work on a reading
comprehension story called: "El horario de Fabio".
5th Grade
We have been working on the gender of the adjective: masculine
and feminine. They are learning how to describe themselves and
tell about some of their likes and dislikes (Me gusta ayudar en
casa) and some adjectives to describe people (Yo soy muy
desordenado). They are also learning about teen activities and the
concept of friendship in Spanish-speaking countries. The students
need to practice and study the new vocabulary every day.
6th and 7th Grade
The students will start working with demonstrative adjective to
point out people and things, as well as direct object pronouns (lo,
la, los, las) to replace nouns; we will dedicate several classes on
this concept of direct object pronoun, since it takes time to
conceptualize the idea. We will discuss where people shop for
clothes in Spanish-speaking countries and in the United States.
8th Grade
So far the students have been working with verbs in present
tense. Spanish has two ways to express past tense, preterite and
imperfect tenses. We will start working on the preterite tense
starting with the conjugation of regular verbs ended in -ar, such
as hablar (talk), caminar (walk), cantar (sing). We will also
work on the preterite ir (to go). The students will be asked to
compare and contrast a Hispanic community with a community
they are familiar with. It is very important to study the new
vocabulary daily.
Grades 5-6 are in the planning stage of their physics projects
and some of the students are also working on the Future City
competition with the 7th and 8th Graders. The projects will
utilize various concepts in the field of physics and are chosen
by the student based on their individual interest.
Demonstrations and creative presentations will allow students
to share their enthusiasm with their school mates. As many of
the concepts central to physics rely upon theories and
principles developed by great mathematicians and scientists,
we will continue to introduce and discuss the minds behind the
laws.
Grades 7-8 are beginning the Future City competition and
planning is well under way. There are three phases of the
competition with separate deadlines and committees have been
formed to address each one. The students are very excited
about designing their city and some really innovative ideas
have been proposed. Anyone who is, or knows, an
engineer that would like to act as mentor for some of the
planning or building (scale model) aspects of the city, please
contact me ([email protected]) as soon as possible. We
would love to have a variety of expert consults in the various
components; transportation, residential, commercial,
recreation, utilities, waste, sustainability,
renewable resources, etc.
(SPANISH NEWSLETTER)
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NEW SCHOOL PREPARATORY
OCTOBER 2010
COACH’S CORNER
Physical Education
All students have been participating in a variety of
activities in Physical Education since the start of school. An
early focus included respecting our health by discussing
hydration. With the heat and their excitement of being with
their friends at school there has been a great deal of activity
on the playground. To ensure they take a minute to slow
down, we have identified the signs of dehydration and the
dangers of ignoring them while encouraging them to stop at
that water fountain!
We also participated in several team building games as
well as games to improve our skills in sports and ball
handling. Volleyball has been a favorite with Grades 3-8,
while K-2 have begun playing a variety of space awareness
games and games which introduce rolling, kicking, throwing
& catching balls of all sizes.
Knights Athletics
Our Fall Season started with a very successful Crazy Hair
Day and Pep Rally! This year we are proud to have an
enthusiastic Girls Volleyball program
Come out to support your Knights!
Check our Web Page for game dates, times and locations.
We are looking forward to a successful Winter Basketball
program, coached by our own Kevin Reilly. Good luck
Knights.
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