Yo estoy feliz…
Posted by Isabel TapiaThird and fourth graders are learning how to express feelings and sensations in Spanish. To review, both classes drew faces to express different feelings: Yo estoy feliz (I am happy), yo estoy triste (I am sad), yo estoy aburrido (I am bored), yo estoy emocionado (I am excited). We put these faces on the wall to form our “Facebook,” after which students were given “Me gusta!” (Like!) stamps to vote on their work in the “Facebook.” The top voted works will be laminated and left up as examples, while the students will decide how to organize the rest of the works for posterity.
2015 Science Fair
Posted by Carlene GordonCan you power a lightbulb with a lemon? Why does a ball bounce? How do tiny houses benefit the environment? If you attended The Unquowa School 2015 Science Fair you already know the answers to these scientific questions and many more! Our fourth, fifth and six graders worked carefully over the past several weeks researching a topic of their choice to answer a Big Question and find support for their hypothesis. The end product was a well written lab report, a bold, creative trifold poster and an interesting model or demonstration. Fellow students and adult visitors alike were impressed with the in-depth knowledge our scientists presenters shared at this year’s science fair.
恭喜恭喜！
Posted by Teresa HsiaoOn Wednesday February 18th, the day of Chinese New Year Eve 2015 the Unquowa School bid farewell to the Year of the Horse and welcomed the Year of the Goat with a holiday celebration performance staged by the Lower School and a Chinese New Year Eve feast made from scratch by Chef David and team. The program began with a handful of third and fourth grade students presenting eloquently, in their own words, what is Chinese New Year Eve and how it is celebrated. Next, the Lower School enacted a popular folktale about the Nian Beast to explain why the Chinese eat dumplings, wear red clothes, hang red papers and light firecrackers on Chinese New Year Eve. Four fourth graders narrated the story in English while the rest of the Lower School acted out the story in Mandarin Chinese! Finally, the performance ended on a high note when the entire Lower School, including our little PreK-3 and PreK-4 students sang a song to wish everyone a happy new year.
The celebration continued on at lunch when the students enjoyed a traditional Chinese New Year Eve meal filled with symbolic food such as long noodle soup for longevity, whole fish (with heads and tails on!) for abundance, pork and vegetarian dumplings for prosperity, Chinese Broccoli for longevity and clementine for gold. In addition, the students devoured roasted chicken, which is considered to be a special treat to have for the New Year celebration. Lunch adjourned on a loud note when the students gathered outside to throw party snaps on the ground (instead of lighting firecrackers) to scare away the Nian Beast and other evil spirits!
We wish everyone a very happy, healthy and prosperous Year of the Goat!
Fourth Graders Investigate Mushrooms
Posted by Mary CurranDid you know that mushrooms were considered to be plants for hundreds of years? Fourth graders learned that they are now classified as fungi and we discussed some of the characteristics that distinguish them from plants. They removed the caps from shitake mushrooms and carefully examined the gills. In addition, students drew detailed botanical drawings, labeled parts, measured the caps and stipes, and recorded their observations. We are looking forward to spring so that we can look for mushrooms and other examples of fungi on our campus.
Studying the States
Posted by Bobby BrennanToday, we turned social studies class into a competition. Students were separated into groups of four and given a puzzle of the United States to complete. They used teamwork and their knowledge of geography to quickly place the states in their correct positions before the other team. The competition was tight! The students were composed and surprisingly dexterous under pressure. They were able to match up the states with their capitals. They created complete maps of the United States in less than five minutes. The students showed off their excellent knowledge of states boundaries today – way to go!
What to Do?
Posted by Pat BrunoWhat do you do when there are so many good books to read? Give everyone a choice! Fourth grade settled on three different titles with three different methods of reading. Several students chose to listen to Indian in the Cupboard on tape. Others used their Chromebook to listen and follow along with online text of Holes. Finally, some students preferred to read There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom silently. A final due date was established for all three novels as students learned about time management skills.
