I can’t think of a better way to begin our spring newsletter than the exhibitions of student learning that was showcased with the 5th grade play fol- lowed by the 4th grade South American Museum! The 5th grade play, “The Quest for Courage” is a demonstration of students’ hard work and commitment. It was a huge success and the students gave a remarkable performance. Congratulations to all who contributed to this wonderful experience! The 4th grade “South American Museum” was another display of our students knowledge and skills. It involved a lot of collaboration, organization, information management and public speaking skills to put together such wonderful work. Kudos go to all involved in carrying out this outstanding project! Apart from these two remarkable events, there is a number of projects and activities that are going on in the Elementary School. The Greek Independence Day celebration is scheduled on March 22nd at 9.15 a.m. in the ACS Theater. Our Greek classes have been preparing hard for this very promising performance. We are looking forward to it! Additionally, the Office of Student Affairs has scheduled a variety of wonderful events that will take place during Wellness Month (March 4th- 15th & April 1st-12 th ) this year in the Elementary School. As part of our holistic education, the children in grades JK-2 will receive information on developing a healthy lifestyle and making healthy life choices. Proper oral hygiene will be part of this process, as well as information sessions on alcohol, tobacco, legal & illegal drugs. Students in grades 3-5 will be involved in large group discussions on internet safety. Moreover, our dedicated PTO moms have organized their traditional “Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week” (March 19th — 22nd) with a series of events to express their appre- ciation. Your support is greatly appreciated by each and every one of us! We thank you for your valuable assistance throughout the year! Grades will be posted on Skyward on March 26th. You can access your child’s report card after 3.30 p.m. on this date. At this point I would like to remind you that if your child is absent from school for any reason it is imperative that you notify Ms. Xiggi in our main office at 210-6070-229 or by email [email protected]. Attendance is recorded daily and absences will be marked on the report cards. Parent Teacher Conferences are scheduled on April 16 th from 4:00-6:30 p.m. and April 26 th from 9:30- 12:00 p.m. A letter will be sent home to you with details in the following week. Teachers will be contacting you to arrange appointments. Spring Break begins April 29th—May 7th. This time is an opportunity for all to relax, enjoy family and friends and escape from daily routine. Enjoy the Spring Break with your loved ones. Cathy Makropoulos Principal Message from the Principal Volume 2, Issue 2 March 2013 ACS ATHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL THE MUSE
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Third grade students have been developing their recorder skills and their u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f
traditional notation. They also
learned about Structure in
music and have implemented
their knowledge through
c o m p o s i t i o n s a n d
performances of their and
other peoples' music. Group
work has been at the core of
music lessons with students
learning how to work success-
fully in teams and how to
solve problems. Their presen-
tation during the Winter con-
cert was met with great suc-
cess. During this show they
acted, sung, and played body
percussion as well as record-
ers, hoola-hoops, and
basketballs! Well done to all
involved!
Fourth grade students have
been deve loping the ir
recorder, music notation, and
team work skills. They learned
the very important musical
device in music called ground
bass and performed music in
two part harmony. They
l e a r n e d b a c k g r o u n d
information on the music of
the Americas, and danced and
performed music from this
part of the world. A handful of
students also gave a beautiful
demonstration of salsa music
during the museum event
which was a commendable
thing to do! Fourth grade as a
whole also developed their
rhythmic skills and gave an
excellent performance during
our Winter Concert. During
this show they sang, acted,
and used sticks, chairs, and
Music continued
In the month of March Greek
classes have been learning
about “Apokries” Greek Car-
nival) and the customs that
take place during this time.
They have also started pre-
paring for the Greek Inde-
pendence Day celebration.
The Elementary School
performance will take place
on March 22nd at the Thea-
ter at ACS. Please mark your
calendars. All grades (JK-5)
will perform on stage.
In the months of January
and February:
Greek Language A classes
(Greek native and near-
native speakers): Students
in grades 3-5 started to work
on their history books: 3rd
grade “Odyssey”, “Stone Age”,
“Cycladic Civilization”. 4th
grade “Persian Wars” and
“Ancient Athens (Golden
Age)” and 5th grade Byzantine
history. They have also been
working hard on various
writing activities and
grammar units (i.e. 10 parts
of speech, verb-endings,
conjugation of nouns and
tenses).
Our JK students have
worked on the units:
“Numbers”, “Fairy Tales” and
learned fun songs. KG
students have completed
their second alphabet book.
They are now working on
their final alphabet
workbook.
the floor of the stage of the Arts
Theater at ACS to perform music
of a high standard for this stage of
their music education. A very well
done to all involved!
Fifth grade students worked hard
on preparing the songs for the 5th
grade play. They also listened to
and learned Classical Music, the
periods involved and the basic
characteristics of every era, about
the work and music of different
composers, and about some of the
i n s t r u m e n t s a n d t h e i r
development. Fifth grade students
gave a fantastic performance of
many challenges during the
Winter Concert. They sung music
and performed rhythms using
brooms, and dust pans and dust
brooms. Their performance was of
a very high level for this stage of
their development and music edu-
cation. A very well done job to all
involved!
Ms. Apostolou
News from the Greek Classes
Our JK students have
worked on the units:
“Numbers”, “Fairy Tales”
and learned fun songs. KG
students have completed
their second alphabet
book. They are now
working on their final
alphabet workbook.
In grade 1, students are
progressing in reading and
writing.
In grade 2, students have
been working hard on
Greek grammar, especially
with articles and nouns.
They have also read many
interesting stories and
poems.
Greek Language B classes
(non-native speakers)
KG students are doing a
wonderful job practicing
songs connected to various
units of study! After the
winter break we have been
working on fall and winter,
the weather, the clothes;
also we have talked about
feelings and body parts.
With our 1st grade students
we have completed the first
part of the book that refers
to the recognition, the
sound and the writing of
the letters of the Greek
alphabet. We are reviewing
all the vocabulary taught so
far through speaking
(recognizing / labeling
objects in pictures) and
singing.
News from the Arabic Classes
The Arabic classes have been busy working on their curriculum and doing their best in
every level.
In the current month, KG
students have already completed
the alphabet in Arabic and will
start reviewing the letters in their
new alphabet book. In first grade
students are excited working in
their new textbook and have
started to read paragraphs and to
fill in sentences correctly.
Our second graders are reading short stories and answer reading comprehension questions in writing.
In grade three, along with reading, students are focusing on grammar, writing sentences and spelling.
Our fourth and fifth graders
have done a great job
reading stories, spelling new
vocabulary and working on
cha l l eng ing g rammar
activities.
News from the Greek Classes continued
In 2nd grade, students are still
working on thematically based
vocabulary through rhyming.
They have finished books 2 and 3
from the textbooks and have just
started with the 4th, through
which they are familiarized with
the combination sounds, like γγ,
ου, τσ etc.
3rd grade students are still
trying to help Zoggo, their
textbook hero, learn Greek
and teach him some
grammar!
After having worked hard
on all units of study from
the book so far and having
mastered the grammar that
refers to plurals, adjectives,
present tense and personal
pronouns, 4th grade stu-
dents have started working
on a project about the rain-
forest ….in Greek!
In 5th grade, students are
still learning the Greek
language using all skills
(reading , writing, speaking
and listening) through
e v e r y d a y s i t u a t i o n
dialogues.
Last but not least, we
would like to congratulate
all students who took a
placement test in January
and succeeded in joining
the advanced level of Greek!
Well done to all our hard-
working students!
Ms. Gaki, Ms. Papageorgiou
Ms. Rovoli
Well done for all the effort
and progress.
Ms Lamia Accari
“A VARIETY OF CHALLENGES IN P.E.”
Are you ready to be chalenged?
Are you ready to be stopped?
We’re the mighty ACS Athens
Elementary students
And we’re reaching for the top!
Many units have been taught
in P.E. since December. All
students, K-5, were introduced
and challenged in the units of
soccer, and vol leybal l .
Students learned about each
sport’s history, rules and
regulations, and all the skills
involved in executing each task
successfully. Students were
also assessed on each unit’s
content standards and
benchmarks, and they got the
opportunity to see what
assessment in P.E. is like
through mini and fun
tournaments.
Students in Kindergarten and
1st grade also learned all about
the fast and furious game of
broomball. Broomball was first
played in Canada in the early
1900’s by street car workers
using a ball and corn brooms!
The sport evolved and was
brought down to the U.S. It
was reportedly played in
Minnesota, which is considered
the birthplace of U.S.A.
broomball. Broomball is very
similar to ice hockey, and it
contains most of the same
rules and regulations. The sport of broomball helps students to acquire many skills, some of which include: hand-eye coo rd ina t i on , shielding, trapping, throwing, and dodging. It also teaches students social skills, some of which include: teamwork, sportsmanship, guidance, cooperation, motivation.
While broomball was being
played, grades 2-5 were
acquiring the necessary
knowledge and skills needed to
play street hockey, and they
have begun to see the
connection between eye and
hand coordination. They have
had loads of fun learning and
mastering the skills involved in
playing street hockey, as well
as the rules and regulations,
and what it takes to be a
united team.
Currently, all students, grades
K-5, are learning and acquiring
skills in the sport of softball.
Each grade level is obtaining
the skills that are relevant to
the i r ag e g roup and
capabilities. We are having fun
learning all about the
vocabulary included in softball,
its history, the rules, and all
the equipment needed to be
worn for s a f e t y
reasons.
Overall, all students are realizing even more the necessary value of teamwork. Character education is an essential part of sports, and students are shaping their sportsmanship attitude and behavior by noting that it takes more than one person to make a team. Students, through each and every physi-cal education unit, are being exposed to and taught about the six components of
cha rac te r educa t i on : fairness, responsib il i ty , citizenship, trustworthiness, caring, and respectfulness. They are learning to display these traits not only in P.E. class, but in their entire world.
Still to come….. our mini golf unit is up next, followed by our swimming unit which will begin on April 1st.
The students are continuously being challenged to open up their horizon and see how many different and unique sports are played all around the world. They are so enthusiastic to learn, and I enjoy watching them mature into fantastic athletes and
citizens. So let’s all celebrate our healthy minds, bodies, and souls, and remind students that: