Parents Share Experiences on National Language Day!

Language Days at the United Nations is to increase awareness and respect for the history, culture and achievements of each of the six working languages among the UN community. To celebrate National Language Day on April 22nd, we invited Unquowa parents Mrs. Toolan, Mrs. Frost and Ms. Waterhouse to share their experiences about when they moved to the United States. They shared the benefits of being bilingual and discussed with Upper School students the obstacles they meet coming here without speaking the language. “A language can block understanding between people, the study of a second language opens the mind, the eyes and the understanding that a person who does not speak our language has a perception distinct from ours, a perception that we cannot understand each other without sharing a common language.” We would like to thank the parents who came to school and supported our language learners in knowing the importance of learning a second language. Good job, Gators!

Throwing Kindness Around Like Confetti

To celebrate Kindness Month in February, the lower school  has been completing random acts of kindness throughout the building…some quietly and some out loud.
Fourth graders snuck into the upper school hallways while they were at lunch on Valentine’s Day to leave small notes of positive affirmations and heart stickers on lockers. Fourth graders were so anxious to hear the reactions that they excitedly hid around corners to sneak a peek at the discovery by their upper school friends.
Third Grade made cards of appreciation for all that Nurse Tracy does for our class and the whole school!  One afternoon, students quietly went to the Health Office and surprised Nurse Tracy with special cards made by each student. “Nurse Tracy works so hard for our school, especially during Covid times. She always has bandaids, water, extra masks and she is so kind.” (grade 3 student)
Our Second Graders throw kindness all around! This month, they completed “sweets for sweets” by giving a compliment and a sweet treat to a friend.  Hearts of the giver and receiver were full!
First Graders created 21 rainbows for the 8th grade class. They wanted to “be a rainbow in someone’s cloudy day”. They tiptoed over to the 8th grade lockers one Thursday afternoon for the secret drop off!
Kindergartners decided to brighten the day of Miss Cerone with a great big, WARM FUZZY. Our kindhearted kindergarteners also each made her a card to bring her a smile and say thank you for all she does!
In PreK, to show some kindness and to thank our 5th grade buddies for our new virtual reading program, preK created small wooden heart tokens. First we did a math lesson to count by 5’s to discover how many hearts each PK students needed to make. We also made a card that read- “These hearts are small, I am too. Keep one because I love you!” Once we knew the 5th grade were safely outside for snack, we snuck into their classroom to leave our gift!

“La casa de mis sueños”/My dream house

5th grade Spanish students learned common vocabulary about the house, furniture, and appliances. “La casa de mis sueños” was a project assigned to show off students’ artistic abilities while using Spanish. The kids were encouraged to use their creativity to include the standard rooms, appliances, and furnishings, along with any other fun ideas and features in their houses. The 5th graders got creative and came up with their best interpretation of their dream house! Who will want to live in one of these houses? Check them out.

Xīn Nián Kuài Lè! Happy Chinese New Year!

Xīn Nián Kuài Lè! Happy Chinese New Year! This year we are celebrating the Year of The Tiger. On the first day of Chinese New Year students came to school all dressed in red or gold and opened the traditional Red Envelope, which symbolizes wealth and luck. Some students crafted tigers and others decorated the Mandarin classroom. Our grade 3-6 students loved making wontons to put in a delicious soup for everyone’s school lunch and at assembly our Kindergarteners boldly took to the stage to perform a song in Mandarin for the entire school to enjoy. We are grateful for sharing this culture within our community and we wish everyone a healthy and prosperous 2022!

Student Ambassador Program!

At the beginning of the school year all students in Grades 5-8 were invited to submit an application to be a part of the Unquowa Student Ambassador Program. In the application process students were required to receive at least one teacher endorsement and 30 students were admitted into the program. Once the student ambassadors were admitted into the program – it was showtime! Lights, Camera, Action! Each student was filmed sharing either their favorite Unquowa tradition, class, or reason why Unquowa is so special to them! All their individual parts were edited together into a short video ready to share with the community. At our first Student Ambassador meeting in January, Mrs. Williamson and Mrs. McCormack discussed the ambassador’s responsibilities which included; showing kindness and empathy towards others, following dress code, having a positive school attitude, maintaining good attendance / punctuality and continuing to demonstrate positive behavior in school. Ambassadors will be asked to represent Unquowa in a range of opportunities! They may serve as a buddy or friendly face guiding prospective student visits, welcoming tours, or helping at community events! The meeting ended with the premiere screening of the three-minute dazzling video featuring our enthusiastic ambassadors. To celebrate being accepted into the program each ambassador received a treat and their very own personalized green Unquowa tumbler!

Composing Across the Classrooms!

All of the students at Unquowa have been working on their musical composition skills! In music theory, one of the best ways to test your knowledge is by composing your own rhythms or melodies! Students from PreK all the way to 8th grade recently worked on these skills. In early childhood classes, students used popsicle sticks to compose rhythms in 4/4 time. In lower school classes students used staff paper to create short melodies that were then played on the piano. In upper school students used downloaded staff paper on their chromebooks to write their short compositions. Students were excited to hear what they had written! I was very impressed with all of their work!