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Co-Curricular Newsletter
Episcopal Collegiate
LOWER SCHOOL
Wassily Kandinsky
A Note from the Teachers
Welcome to Episcopal Collegiate School, and welcome
to the Lower School Co-Curricular Newsletter
extravaganza! Our goal is to send you information
every month about what your child is learning. This
newsletter includes a written note from each cocurricular teacher along with fun facts related to
each subject.
The Art, Music, PE, Spanish and Science teachers are
all working together with the classroom teachers to
ensure your child is receiving the best cross
curricular education possible. We thank you for your
support and your ideas during this new and exciting
time of learning.
Thanks,
Co-Curricular Teachers
Our Artist of the month is
Wassily Kandinsky. A Russian
artist, Kandinsky’s work focuses
on color and rhythm. He notes in
many of his journals that he was
fascinated and stimulated by
color as a child. "Color is the
keyboard, the eyes are the harmonies,
the soul is the piano with many
strings. The artist is the hand that
plays, touching one key or another, to
cause vibrations in the soul."
During the 19th century, the
world of art was undergoing
radical change. Traditional
approaches were being altered.
Abstraction became the new
mark making for many artists
including Kandinsky. The picture
below is an example of what the
students have learned while
studying Kandinsky.
CO-CURRICULAR NEWSLETTER
SEPTEMBER 2009
The Artist’s Studio
Hello parents! Welcome to the Artist’s Studio. My
name is Anna Dickinson, and I am your child’s art
teacher. Already the children have begun their
studies in the thrilling world of art. I would like to
share with you some of the things we have planned
and what we will be learning.
Every month, there will be an Artist of the Month,
which will be posted in the art room. Every week
your child will learn new facts about the artist and
will study his or her body of work. Some grades will
create art in the style of the artist using his/her
theory and technique. All art lessons will be
planned by following the Lower School Curriculum
Guide and by co planning with different grade level
instructors. The projects will be kept in the art room
and will be sent home in bulk at the end of the year
after a portfolio has been created. Keeping the
artwork will allow for evaluations and assessments
throughout the year. If you would like to see what
is being created, please contact me and I will gladly
show you your child’s work.
Kindergarten: All About Me, exploring with skin tone
to create a self-portrait, studying the shape of the face;
Community Helpers, what are they and what do they do
Following is a list of what each grade level is working on
this month:
1st Grade: Clowns and Shapes what shapes are in a
clowns face, using oil pastel to create a work of art
Pre-K3: Intro to Painting, how to hold the paintbrush,
2nd Grade: Landscape Art, drawing and creating a
mixing, painting different lines and shapes to create a
background, primary colors (red, yellow and blue)
horizon line, working with wax resist
3rd Grade: Overlapping Hands, different types of lines,
Pre-K4: All About Me, exploring with skin tone and
color wheel, color choice
painting a body, adding hair color and eye color and a
background, primary colors (red, yellow and blue)
4th Grade: Kandinsky and Abstract Work, using
watercolor technique to create a work of art like
Kandinsky’s work, color theory, line theory
5th Grade: Laurel Burch Felines, using design patterns
and shapes to create a detailed composition, applying
the use of a border to the edge of the paper, applying
color theory and choice
Anna Dickinson
Visual Arts Teacher
2
CO-CURRICULAR NEWSLETTER
SEPTEMBER 2009
Let’s Go to the Gym for PE!
Where the Wildcats Are
flexibility in those muscles. Working with
everyone in his or her grade allows us to
increase the socialization aspect of learning.
To build upon our School’s core values of
Respect, Reverence, and Responsibility, we
use cooperative and small group activities.
Whether yours is a little kitten or mid-sized
Wildcat, Lower School students have been
encountering many new things to learn and
to play with in Physical Education class.
The focus in class has been to learn how to move
our body in space while manipulating it and/or
an object. Beanbags, hula-hoops, cones, jump
ropes, bowling pins, and so much more,
have already been used during activities.
Being expressive with movements while
music is playing allows them some freedom
to enhance their imagination.
Pop your head in the window and see what
your Wildcat is doing any day.
Mr. Campbell
Mrs. Farnan
Wildcats will learn the names of their
muscles and how to increase strength and
What is a Wildcat?
Pronunciation: \ˈwī(-ә)l(d)-ˌkat\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural wildcats
Date: 14th century
1 a : an Old World cat (Felis silvestris) that resembles
but is heavier in build than the domestic tabby cat and is
usually held to be among the ancestors of the domestic
cat b or plural wildcat : any of various small or
medium-sized cats (as the lynx or ocelot) c : a feral
domestic cat
3
CO-CURRICULAR NEWSLETTER
SEPTEMBER 2009
Hola Escuela
Espanol
Pre-K 3-1st grade:
We have been having a lot of fun learning
vocabulary utilizing songs and motions. Using
action-based vocabulary-building techniques,
and accompanying songs, we learn. We have
been learning how to greet each other and have
been moving through colors and numbers. We
have been using actions to learn body parts and
movements. We also read Spanish books to
enhance our learning.
classroom and classroom
objects. Also, 3rd grade just had their first quiz
on parts of the body and greetings. They did
very well!
4th-5th grades
In fourth and fifth grades, we are utilizing the
same techniques and materials, however the
“TPR” or action-based parts of the curriculum
are moving more quickly. They are receiving
action-based commands and learning the
vocabulary of the classroom as we go along.
We just had a quiz on parts of the body and
greetings. We employ actions, objects, written
work, and the “interaction board” to build
vocabulary and to apply the new vocabulary
and to use it or produce it in a novel way.
Adios,
Senor Pippins
Spanish Teacher
2nd-3rd grades
We are using TPR (total physical
response), action-based learning along with
songs and real world objects to build vocabulary
and learn action verbs. We are learning about
greeting each other during different times of the
day and about parts of the body, numbers, and
colors. We are utilizing actions to move about
and learn the vocabulary related to the
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CO-CURRICULAR NEWSLETTER
SEPTEMBER 2009
The Science Lab has Come Alive
We are studying Life Science in all the grade
levels and having the best time! Here's a look at
what we're doing:
In the Downstairs Lab:
Kindergarten is growing and changing! We're
looking at living and non-living things, and
studying the life cycles of butterflies, frogs and
lady bugs.
1st grade has been looking at the needs of plants
and animals in different habitats. We're currently
studying the life cycle of the Monarch and
mapping the Monarchs as they migrate to
Mexico. We'll be having a Monarch Migration of
our own on September 24th.
3rd grade has finished researching and reporting
on Endangered Animals and this has led us into
our newest topic: Arctic and Antarctic. We'll be
studying the two habitats and comparing/
contrasting the plants and animals that live at each
pole.
Butterfly Update: We have Painted Lady butterfly
caterpillars in the Downstairs Lab and we should
have several chrysalis over the weekend! Stop by
and take a look!
4th grade has gone from plant cells to adaptations
of plants and animals. We examined which type
of bird beak was best suited for different types of
food. We’ve been dissecting fruit and examining
the different seed types, and we'll be dissecting a
flower soon!
5th grade is studying human bodies and body
systems. We just finished the skeletal system and
really enjoyed dissecting owl pellets! We were
able to find lots of bones and reconstruct a rodent
skeleton. Next up is Circulation and Respiration!
Butterfly Update: We have Painted Lady
caterpillars in the Upstairs Lab, too. They are
huge and should become chrysalis over the
weekend.
In the Upstairs Lab:
2nd grade is studying the four layers of the
rainforest and building our own rainforest in the
hallway. We're discussing the uniqueness of this
environment and looking at all the wonderful
plants and animals who call the rainforest home.
Come up and take a look anytime!
Susie Bridges
Science Teacher
5
CO-CURRICULAR NEWSLETTER
SEPTEMBER 2009
Musical Genius in the Making
We're listening, playing musical
games and even doing art
projects to learn about steady
beats, melodic direction, and
musical dynamics. These are the
building blocks for a lifetime of
music appreciation. You can
help by drawing attention to the
rhythms and sounds you
experience in everyday
life. Try singing a favorite
song first loudly and then in a whisper, or
encourage your child to dance to the rhythm of a
song - and you dance along, too!
I'm Karen Clark, the Music
and Drama Specialist.
We've begun our year
singing and playing music,
playing drama games, and
exploring individual
creativity. We're learning
how to be part of an
ensemble with a conductor or
director and how there may be
multiple answers to a
question.
Wildcat Chorale
Wildcat Chorale has just begun with our 4th and 5th
grade students after school on Tuesdays; our first
rehearsal was a wonderful success. With a large
turnout, we sang in English and Latin, learned body
percussion, and began working on 2-part music
already! We'll be singing at the Capitol, and also
with a high school and a college choir.
Grade 2
We're off to a great start in music. In the first unit,
we're exploring some basics about beat, rhythm, and
melody, including the pitches mi and so. We will
also explore loud and soft sounds and the tone colors
of different instruments. We begin our Creative
Unit Project with a composition; students will write
and sing their own short song!
PreK
We're starting off the year with a unit on farmyard
animals. Your child will be singing, acting out
stories, moving, playing instruments, doing fingerplays, and just having fun moving to the steady beat
of music. One of the early favorites is "Peanut
Butter and Jelly" where we make pretend
sandwiches: mashing up peanuts, smashing grapes,
spreading peanut butter, smearing jelly, and eating
our pretend sandwiches.
Grade 3
Our first big unit in music we'll learn about rhythm
and beat in music: reading, writing, singing, and
playing through musical games, body percussion,
pitch (do, re, mi), and special sounds (tone color) of
various instruments. In our unit project, students
will create a layered speech piece using the rhythms
of their names. The 3rd grade sounded wonderful
singing “Chan Mali Chan,” a song from Singapore.
Kindergarten
In Music/Drama we're playing a fun game called
"Upstage, Downstage," and moving to the beat in
different tempos. In our first unit, we'll learn about
the violin, play different rhythm instruments, and
begin working on good breath control and posture
for singing. We will listen to songs from the Maori,
Hispanic and African American cultures. All along
the way we will move to the beat. Sometimes we'll
stay in place, but more often, we'll walk, skip,
gallop, and dance through the unit.
Grade 4
In Music the 4th graders will go global! We'll be
studying beat, rhythm, pitch, melody, and meter
signatures using songs and forms from around the
world. In our unit project, students will create a
rhythmic word chain using interesting facts about
the seven continents, and use it in a canon form in a
piece called, "A Journey." Soon we will begin
playing recorders and xylophones, creating unique
performances where the children design parts of the
piece.
Karen Clark
Music Teacher
Grade 1
6