Gym class for grades Pre-K through 2nd had a great time this year. They had so much fun, they probably didn’t realize all that they were learning. After warming up by stretching and running some laps in the gym they would start their activity. They had to be good listeners and pay attention to the directions and example to know how to play the game. Some of the games we played were: Follow the Leader, Cat & Mouse, Red Light, Green Light, Freeze Dance, Steal the Bacon, Simon Says, and Duck Duck Goose. They especially liked to play with our big parachute. We played many games with the parachute developing individual and group skills. We would put beach balls or froggies in the middle and see how long we could keep them in with out them jumping out. We also played games like kick ball, soccer, basketball and baseball. Students learned how to dribble a ball, shoot a basket, hit a ball with a bat and run the bases. They learned how to only use their feet and not their hands in soccer. We also worked with a balance beam, walked on stilts, learned how to do a bridge, tumble, do the splits and had relay races with a baton. All in all, the students were challenged and had lots of fun.
Dance Elective is so much fun. The students get a chance to really work out and it’s a learning experience. Many students came and found out that they had gifts that they didn’t know about before. The students learned how to express their emotions in a different style of dance and they learned how to worship in Spirit and in Truth
This year I had 23 boys and girls in Elementary Dance elective (grades 3-5). They danced to “Ancient of Days” with flags and streamers. They were such a blessing to work with. I was amazed how quickly they learned the steps and routine.
Finally, the time to say goodbye has come. Graduation is a very happy and exciting time for our Kindergarteners. It is a joy to see them moving up to First grade. Kindergarten students are excited to walk proudly with their cap and gowns for their friends and family to see. Congratulations KV for a wonderful year!
Every year we share in Kindergarten, the process of how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. Our students really enjoy coming every morning and seeing how the caterpillar grows, creates a cocoon and then turns into a beautiful butterfly. Once we observed this process, the butterflies were released outside to explore the world around them.
In May we began to prepare for the Jog-A-Thon. Kindergarten made sure they brought in their labels. We went to Astoria park to jog. KV had a great time jogging and raising money for our school.
In March, Kindergarten participated in the Annual Academic Fair. Our theme was on the family. Students had a wonderful time putting together family trees, special dishes and sharing family customs and culture.
In February, we visited Queens College and enjoyed watching the musical Suessical. This trip was in celebration of Dr. Seuss’ birthday. The musical was based on Dr. Seuss’ famous story “Horton Hears a Who?”
This year has been very exciting in Art. Students have learned a lot this year from Art History to the culture of others’ art work. Here are a few highlights of the year:
· Pre-K learned a lot of new things from learning about design and how to create a collage. The most exciting thing they enjoyed was their marshmallow/pretzel sculpture and worms in dirt mixture they made and ate.
· Kindergarten this year learned a lot about themselves and how they saw themselves. They made wire sculptures and large drawings of themselves.
· First grade learned about architecture. They leaned that every structure has a foundation to help support the building. With this they studied old castles and drew what their fairytale castle would look like.
· Second grade learned about overlapping and designing. They used this knowledge to create a name design where their name was the focal point of the design.
· Third grade learned about what a mola is. They learned that a lot of Indian, aboriginal and Spanish cultures use these types of symbolic pictures to tell stories and as a decoration. They then created their own type of mola.
· Fourth grade learned about self-expression by using multimedia. Multimedia is drawing, paper collage, magazine pictures and or painting to depict themselves. They did a wonderful job.
· Fifth grade had an art history lesson on the artist Piet Mondrian. They saw examples of his work and how it changed over time when he learned the different genres of Art. They then created their own style of Mondrian’s work.
This month we have had the joy of looking at the caterpillar’s life. Each day our boys and girls would peek in the closet to see the changes in the caterpillar’s life. They were thrilled when they finally saw the beautiful butterflies flying around in the cage. This reminded us of how great our God is. He made all of us beautiful!