Muse December 2014

As the end of the calendar

year is soon approaching

and we can take a quick

look back over the first four

months of school, it is very

obvious that the first

trimester has been a very

active and eventful one here

at the ACS Athens

Elementary School. The

children are involved in

learning in so many ways.

First trimester report cards

will be posted on Skyward

Family Educator Access for

all of our students. All of

them deserve a pat on the

back for their efforts. If, for

whatever reason they may

not be performing up to

their ability then we need to

work together to help them

be more successful next

trimester. The key once

again is the home—school

connection and it makes all

the difference in the world.

Thanks again for your

continued support and

interest.

Now that we are off for our

holiday break, the work will

be interrupted for this short

period of time but learning

Message from the Principal

Volume 4, Issue 1

December 2014

ACS ATHENS

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

THE MUSE

your children have been

involved in throughout each

trimester.

The last day of school before

our holiday break is December

19th. Classes resume

January 7th, 2015.

With the New Year just

around the corner let me

thank each of you for your

support during the past year.

Coming to work each day is

indeed a pleasure for me. Let

me also, wish you and your

family the very best wishes for

the year to come. Cherish the

magic of the holidays with

your children, family and

friends.

Sincerely,

C a t h y M a k r o p o u l o s ,

Elementary School Principal

will continue is so many ways.

When the children come back in

January they will be bursting

with stories of their vacations

and the exciting things they did.

We will welcome them back to

our learning community for the

activities of the months ahead.

For updates or changes in our

calendar, please check our

website at www.acs.gr. Visiting

our website is a quick and easy

method to stay informed. Also

please be reminded that

Elementary School parents now

have access to moodle where you

can find documents such as the

Elementary School Handbook as

well as the Curriculum at a

Glance. Furthermore, The

Muse, our newsletter, will also

be available on the website at

the end of each trimester. There

you can be informed about all

the wonde r fu l l e a rn ing

opportunities and experiences

devour their books and really enter the world created for them on the page.

Reading aloud:

helps our children know

what it is to lose themselves in the drama of a story

develops a positive atti-

tude toward books as a source of pleasure and information

increases vocabulary

expands the child's knowl-

edge base

satisfies and heightens cu-

riosity

stimulates imagination

stimulates understanding of language patterns

sharpens observation skills

enhances listening skills

promotes self-confidence and self-esteem

offers many new friends

since book characters can be-come quite real

helps develop problem solv-

ing skills and critical thinking

encourages positive social interaction

helps them to become suc-cessful readers who love books

So how can we link our souls to help along all these wondrous happenings?

Pearls on a String: How Reading Aloud Links Our

Brains and Souls

By Ginger Carlson, Assistant Principal

The poet Julius Lester says literature is a way to "link our souls like pearls on a string, bringing us together in a shared and luminous humanity." As you head into this holiday season and new year ahead, there is no better way to use literature to "link our souls" than through the family read aloud.

Cuddling up for a good read is one of the most special times in the lives of a family. Yet, as our children grow as readers, a n d b e c o me m o re independent in their reading, it becomes easier and easier for us to give up our read-alouds. But, we mustn't. If there is one single thing that parents can do to continue to help our children grow as readers and learners (even when they may already reading Chaucer's Tales independently) it is

continuing to read aloud.

The Benefits of a Read Aloud

Reading aloud is perhaps the single most important thing we as parents can do to help create proficient and avid readers who

Reading aloud can happen in many ways, at many times, for many different purposes.

Begin Your Day with Reading

Take a few moments in the morning to read a shared few lines of poetry or introduce a new story. Or, before children even get out of bed in the morning, continue reading the same chapter book you fell asleep reading together the night before. Use it as a point of connection as you begin your day.

Revisit Old Favorites

Revisit books that your kids have loved or even just kind of liked in the past. Find new magic in them together. Let the stories be re-experienced and see what comes up. Revisiting books again and again can offer your readers new ways to look at a story they already know. They will see new richness in the piece when given the opportunity to hear it time and again, and may grow to have a deeper understanding of messages that lie within the text.

Read What They Love

Support your child's interests by reading aloud non-fiction books about what really lights your kids' fires. Start with simple texts that

introduce the subject they are interested in and move to more complex text. By starting simple, you will poise your children to learn more so that they can get more out of the more complex texts. Once you do move to the more complex texts (often being something they wouldn't be able to comfortably tackle on their own),

Message from the Assistant Principal

Happy Holidays! It’s December and that means there’s lots of seasonal festivity and fun in our classrooms! This month will be an exciting time for your child. We will learn about the winter season and some of the traditions that take place during this holiday time. Your child will bring home many p r o j e c t s , c r a f t s a n d decorations to share with you. Take the time to discuss these activities with your child. A lot of time and effort are put into these projects and you can show your child that their work at school is important by displaying them at home as well. You can continue your child’s learning fun at home by:

Observing and dis-cussing the weather with your child.

Sharing holiday tradi-tions that are unique to your family.

Helping your child make holiday decorations.

Reading hol iday and “wintertime” books with your child.

We will also continue to ob-serve and discover how we use our senses as we conclude our unit on “All About Me”. Upon our return in January, we will begin our next unit on Fairy Tales and Nursery Rhymes.

Junior Kindergarten News

So grab your choice and make read aloud time special again. Turn off the lights. Get that cozy lamp going. Flop on pil-lows in the living room or curl up in bed together. And don't forget to try to do it every day. Even as your children become

older and seemingly don't need you for that bedtime story anymore, revive your read alouds. They can, once once again, be the most special, and important time of your day.

Ginger Carlson,

Assistant Principal

you will help them increase their vocabulary and their understanding.

Model a Love of Reading

One of the single most important habits we can help children develop in

their reading is an engagement of text and love of literature. So as you are reading with your kids, go there, really get involved in the characters as they take their journey. Ask questions. Wonder about the storyline or a character's choices.

So, if I can, I would like to leave you with this, written by Strickland W. Gillian from the poem The Reading Mother:

You may have tangible w e a l t h u n t o l d ; Caskets of jewels and c o f f e r s o f g o l d , Richer than I you can never be - I had a mother who

read to me.

Message from the Assistant Principal

continued...

During this holiday time, please also take the opportunity to incorporate some of the math skills your child has been learning at school. For example, if you are expecting guests, your child could help you set the

table by counting the number of plates, silverware, napkins, etc. that are needed; or as you hang decorations on a holiday tree, have your child identify the colors on the ornaments. Even some of your daily routines can be a great learning opportunity!

Have a wonderful holiday season!

Sincerely,

Ms. Korinna and Ms. Angela

The children have been

adjusting very well to the new

challenges of Kindergarten

such as taking more

r e spons ib i l i t y th rough

unpacking their bags,

cleaning up their tables,

playing nicely together and

sharing. During this first

trimester they have been

working on letter names,

sounds and vocabulary.

During Halloween week, they

put together 3 sounds to

begin forming words like bat,

sat, cat, etc. They are reading

high frequency words in their

decodable books.

In Math, we have been

covering many concepts

during our morning calendar.

We have been working on

number recognition and

fluency from numbers 1-10.

W e a r e a l s o u s i n g

manipulatives to show that

numbers represent quantities

and to create patterns and

structures. Additionally, we

have been busily graphing the

weather each morning, as well

as recording our likes and

dislikes.

We then discuss our data and

decide which is more, less, or

equal.

We completed our first unit I

Am Special in which we

learned more about ourselves,

Kindergarten News Junior Kindergarten

News continued.. comparing our similarities

and differences with others.

Our current unit of study is

Trees. We began this unit by

taking a schoolyard walk to

observe, smell and touch the

many trees we have right here

at school. We encountered

olive, conifers, palm, orange,

and mulberry trees. We

discussed that they are all dif-

ferent but have the same

structure including leaves,

branches, trunks and roots.

We will explore trees and

leaves more closely as we

determine how they are

affected by seasonal changes.

We look forward to continuing

our adventure of fun and

learning throughout the

school year.

Ms. Anna and Ms. Eleftheria

Hello to All, and especially our Fantastic First Grade Parents!

We have successful ly

completed our first trimester

and enjoying our year thus

far, as children have settled

into the classroom routines

and are becoming responsible

and respectful first graders.

Children are making great

strides and effort in their

writing. As growth in reading

and writing are closely

united, it is imperative to

c o n t i n u e p o s i t i v e l y

reinforcing children and

boosting their self esteem

throughout a l l the i r

endeavors, both at home and

at school. Remember that at

this stage in your child’s

writing, using phonetic

awareness for inventive

spelling, environmental print,

sight word spelling and word

walls are all part of the

process. We want to

congratulate the enthusiasm

your children have shown for

the Captain Chip Reading

Club. Keep up the daily oral

reading to improve fluency,

comfort, self-esteem and

enjoyment for the written

word.

Our dinosaur unit has

definitely provided fodder for

the imagination in journal

stories, directed writing

assignments and on the playground as well. The rehearsals for our Dino-Daze play have been amazing! We thank you for helping your children practice their lines at home. We hope you share in the excitement and success of each and every effort made during the process of our much-acclaimed dinosaur

play. We would like to thank our parent volunteers in advance for helping construct dino-costumes with Ms. Stauffer. Save the date, for our Dino-Daze show will be on Friday, January 30th at 10:00am. A sneak peek into the near future will reveal a common thread based on our discussion of dinosaur extinction – we will be studying about contemporary endangered and extinct animals. On a lighter note, as we were looking forward to the Christmas Holidays — a time for giving — all of us were looking forward to choosing a “Secret Santa”. Your child pulled a name of a peer out of a hat for which they put a gift under our classroom Christmas tree. The gift was an English storybook. All students were so excited about this gift exchange. Speaking of the holiday season,

in school, we focus on holidays presented in the United States. In order to enrich our curriculum, we remind you of our open invitation to present your favorite holiday from your heritage to share with your child’s homeroom (does not necessarily need to fall on the date of the holiday). Again, just

let us know which holiday you will be presenting and your preferred date.

Saving the best for last, Captain Chip and your children have made such an amazing connection and we are delighted to have your support in this endeavor. Not only is Captain Chip an inspiration in self-esteem he is also inspiring children to read to him and write about him and more over, care and empathize with others. This is truly wonderful and you all should be as proud of your children as we are of them!

We look forward to our year ahead with all of you.

Jubilantly,

Ms. Birbil and Ms. Lamprou

1st Grade News

Second graders have been working hard during first trimester learning about various topics, such as, Air & Weather, The Moon and its phases, Pioneers and solidifying their computational skills daily! Air & Weather is always a big hit with 2nd graders, as the

students get to experiment with trapping air under water, studying wind & air pressure and even observing cloud types and how their movement effects weather. Students learned about different types of clouds and weather conditions. Weather conditions included tornadoes, winter storms, lightning, and floods. They are also expanding their knowledge on air pressure, wind, and air resistance. Our Moon connection was even more exciting as it gave us a chance to learn about the sun & earth’s orbits, axis, and lack of gravity on the moon. In addition we read some fascinating stories about the first people in space along with the first animals in space. Apparently, the students enjoyed designing moon phases on OREOS…what a yummy lesson that was! Learning about Pioneers has exposed us to life in the past. Some of these shocking details lead us into our more recent topic of Thanksgiving. Students learned about traditions and the daily life of the Pilgrims and Native Americans. Through various virtual field trips and reliving the Mayflower boat ride

2nd Grade News

students have experienced the lifestyle of these groups and more. Students are able to slide up and down the time line to make comparisons about the Pioneers, Pilgrims Native Americans and how their life then differs from our life in the present.

Second grade math has been focusing on learning alternative ways to add and subtract by being exposed to various strategies. They are working hard on becoming fluent in both addition and subtraction skills covering facts from 1-20. Recently, place value has been introduced in order to build knowledge of how larger number concepts will be constructed. In reading, all students have been assessed and assigned a Daily 5 Reading group that suits their reading at an independent level. Now students practice daily reading at their level for a minimum of 15 to 20 minutes per day. Students have completed reading at independent levels they work hard on learning Story Elements ( se t t ing , p lo t ,

characters, problem and solution, as well as sequence of events). Students have also been introduced to more in-depth strategies depending on their independent reading levels. Strategies include decoding i n s t ru c t i o n , t e x t - t o - s e l f connections, and comprehension techniques. These skills will assist them in connecting with

t h e c h a r a c t e r s a n d understanding why the characters change throughout the story. Grammar lessons have been the consolidating piece for all of these units, as students have been practicing writing Personal Narratives and

beginning to learn about paragraphs. These writing pieces include a focus in constructing stories with a beginning, middle and end, sequencing and using correct grammar and punctuation. We are looking forward to continued success and excellent work from all our students as the year c on t inue s w i th mo re

”funtastic” lessons! Ms. Moros, Ms. Safaris and Ms. Spiliot

The Third Grade has enjoyed an action packed first trimester! Students have been involved in a wide array of educational experiences that has fostered critical thinking and teamwork across the grade level. In Reading, our focus has been on comprehens ion and

vocabulary deve lopment. Students have been connecting skills taught in class with fiction books read in small groups. Skills such as main idea, author's purpose, and compare and contrast, have been reinforced through this literature. In addition, students have been participating in the Strive for 25 reading challenge. They will have the entire school year to read 25 books from m a n y d i f f e r e n t g e n -res. Furthermore, students complete one standard book report per month alternating between fiction and non-fiction topics. Our classes have been involved in the Writer's Workshop program this year. Our focus for the first trimester was descriptive writing through the exploration of the Personal Narrative. Through the application of strong verbs, adjectives, and a step by step writing structure students have learned new techniques to engage their readers. We have also linked the weekly challenge spelling words to support our writing goals. In Math, we are currently

working on the concept of multiplication. Students have been learning this skill conceptually through the use of hands-on manipulatives. To enhance student interest, we have dedicated one day a week to math stations. For an hour, students partake in 4 different math activities or

games. As this has proved to be a successful addition to our third grade math program we plan on continuing these fun filled learning stations into the second trimester. We have also implemented a new format of small group support four times a week which allows students to explore math topics and concepts more in-depth.

In Social Studies, students have been learning about world geography with a focus on Greece. Students from both classes constructed globes labeling the continents and oceans. In addition, they have been learning what key components communities h a v e i n c o m m o n . Mr. Maloff's homeroom started the creation of a community. There were five

groups: the architects, builders, city planners, regional planners, and land-scapers. Students met in small groups, developed a plan of action, and came together to build a beautiful community complete with a zoo, hospital, a skyscraper, and se ve ra l houses .

3rd Grade News

Heree’s to

a great fi

Ms. Dimas’ class will continue this community in the upcoming weeks. In Science, the third graders have embarked on a journey of discovery in the wonderful world of sound. Students are observing and comparing sounds through a series of

experiments, projects and small group discussions which lead to fascinating results. This project based unit has enabled students to reflect on their every-day lives and the importance of their senses. The third graders have explored (Ms. Stavi’s class) or will explore (Mr. Maloff’s class) no t i ons such as the relationships between pitch and volume, sound source and receiver, and also how sound travels through solids liquids and air. In addition to this, the students uncover some of the mysteries of molecules and gases and how they function in our world and beyond. We are so excited to continue on our journey together into the second trimester. Go Third Grade! Ms. Dimas and Mr. Maloff

The first part of the trimester found the 4th graders learning by doing!!

In Science, some students examined ‘Structures of Life’, while others began with the unit on ‘Water’. In the ‘Structures of Life’ unit, the students learned about the life cycles of plants and animals. Students were fascinated with this unit as they had the opportunity to watch small bean seeds turn into enormous plants and examine snail struc-tures! Students who began with ‘Water’ dove into a variety of experiments examining the water cycle. The students also came up with their own scientific questions and through the scientific process, reached a conclusion.

In Regions of Our Country, students have been thinking as social scientists, economists, geographers, and political scientists! They have been reading, writing, and using their newly developed map skills to learn detailed information about what makes the U.S.A such as beautiful and diverse country.

They have also transported themselves back into the past,

playing games, reading primary sources and listening to music which helped shape the United States.

In Language Arts, 4th graders had the opportunity to delve into all the details that make realistic fiction interesting and appealing to their readers.

They have worked hard to create characters like them and stories which they wished existed in the world. The fourth graders have carefully created well thought out stories, with the help of story maps, which have a clear beginning, middle and end. In Reading, our students have learned to closely examine a text

and discuss how they feel connected to it, to discern the story plot from the moral of the story, and make statements about the text with the use of supporting details from the story. They have also learned how to pick a book at the right level for them and to carefully monitor their reading habits to e n s u r e t h a t t h e y a r e comprehending what they have read.

Finally, in Math we have been reviewing the importance of place value and how knowledge of place value can help us solve addition, subtraction, and multiplication problems.

4th Grade News

In addition, we have been paying special attention to the promotion of critical thinking skills. We have given and we will be giving our students numerous opportunities to solve novel problems that require the use of strategies that have been thoroughly practiced in class.

Thank you for your continuous support! Ms. Killam, Ms. Mukri, and Ms. Vagras

“I honor you!” These were the words of our first literary hero, the brave, little mouse, in the novel, Despereaux. Fifth graders have started the year honorably, demonstrating that they are responsible, caring students and good role models for younger children. Through discussions and writing assignments about our c l ass l i t e ra tu re book , Despereaux, students are examining qualities that make writing excellent. They have already learned literary terms to evaluate character traits and numerous reading strategies during our very popular Read-ing Workshop, the favorite part of the day for many of our students! The special feature of this cycle of lessons in our reading program is that students participate in a mini

lesson focused on a reading skill before having time to read independently from self selected literature. Students then apply the skills learned in class in their book notes for homework. We are proud to see our 5th graders building reading stamina and learning the love of reading.

Fifth graders have been learning how to write well w h i l e the y acqu i r e d knowledge about their first u n i t o f s t u d y , Exploration. Additionally, students started researching and finding facts about individual explorers. They

practiced paraphrasing information, taking notes, and organiz ing them into logical, sequential paragraphs to create a simple research project a n d a n e x p l o r e r presentation. Students used their notes on their famous explorers to write a report. Furthermore, students have been studying geographical locations and plotting longitude and latitude coordinates. These skills will be useful for fifth graders to understand international c o n n e c t i o n s , i d e n t i f y countries and continents, and locate the journeys of different explorers on maps.

Definitely, we have all seen how exciting those early days of exploration must have been! Our new unit of study is Mixtures and Solutions, an introduction to lab work and chemistry. Everyone enjoys the hands on science labs

and the opportunity to work collaboratively in teams. As part of this unit of study, students will research an element and share their information with the class! Ms. Kynigou, Ms. Evloyias and Ms Maratou

5th Grade News

In this issue of the Muse newsletter, I would like to offer you a brief list of websites that consist of educational games. The skills contained within touch on skills our students are learning, so they aim to support and reinforce what is being taught throughout the school day. Please take a moment and browse through them – your child might find multiplication facts slightly more fun and engaging if he/she is shooting and blasting fruit at the same time.

www.sheppardssoftware.com click on math games and map skills.

www.bbc .co .uk/ski l l swise browse through, it is full of useful games for literacy and

math.

h t t p : // w w w . b b c . c o . u k /schools/ks1bitesize lower elementary grade levels for numeracy and literacy (you may opt for sound off, but I find students prefer it).

h t t p : // w w w . b b c . c o . u k /schools/ks2bitesize upper elementary grade levels for numeracy and literacy (again, sound is an option).

http://www.iknowthat.com so many game resources!

h t t p : / /www.learningenglish.org.uk/kids/ focused on ESL learners, but applies to aspects of the English Language.

http://www.numbernut.com/index.html tons of math skills and games.

http://www.softschools.com literacy and numeracy games.

http://www.education.com/games/educational/ a whole selection of games.

http://pbskids.org/games/ same as above.

These are only meant to reinforce what has been presented and worked on during the school day. If there’s additional time after homework, or on the weekend, and your child is willing to continue working then the

Optimal Learning News

above might offer a nice “recreational” exercise.

On a different note, please be alerted that as a part of the Inclusion/Partnership model, I have been participating in both Ms. Killam’s Friday’s math lesson, and in Ms. Spiliot’s 2nd Grade Monday and

Friday math lessons.

Have fun,

Ms. Kaldelli

Greetings from the Art Room!

Currently grades K-4 are

collaborating on a large banner

celebrating the 70th year of ACS.

We are using texture painting,

recycled materials, tissue

collage, and papier mache to

create the artwork.

K inde rgar ten has been

exploring line and feeling

portraits as well as the primary

and secondary colors in a

variety of projects. We created

books with all of our feeling self

-portraits using a different

media, and have moved on to

wintertime landscapes. We will

next be moving on to clay

specifically working with

impressed texture.

First grade students made

beautiful autumn leaf, mixed-

media artworks and dinosaur

wax resist paintings both

incorporating use of the horizon

line. We are now finishing up

texture fish while practicing

mixing paint. Next we will paint

our Dino Daze hats in

preparation for the upcoming

theater production!

Second graders used pattern

and texture while creating

Gustav Klimt—inspired self-

portraits. We have spent the

past couple of weeks using a

tape resist technique for a tree

covered landscape.

Color blending and the

incorporation of foreground,

m i d d l e g r o u n d , a n d

background were major

themes in this project. Next

we will create texture paint-

ings and animal self-portraits.

Third graders just finished

warm and cool color

silhouettes collages with

a b s t r a c t w a t e r c o l o r

backgrounds. We are just

starting to papier mache our

juice or milk boxes to make

Tap Taps (colorful buses in-

spired from a visit to Haiti).

Thank you for your donations!

Fourth grade students

recently wrapped up abstract

sculptures using sticks

collected from the tree

trimmings in front of the

Elementary school. We

installed them for a short time

in the trees. We then

discussed the spectator’s

experience in Art museums in

preparation for our field trip

to the Vorres Museum of

Greek Contemporary Art.

News from the Art Room

F i f t h g r a d e r s h a v e

successfully completed two

projects studying value: one

with charcoal and chalk, and

one with painting using tints

and shades. We next hope to

collaborate in small groups to

study either an artist’s style

or a technique which will

then be applied to a papier

mache owl. These owls will

be used as our school’s

mascot of sorts. Be on the

lookout for owls around our

school campus in the coming

months!

Thank you for donations of materials and for supporting the work we do in the visual arts! I look forward to creating more with our Elementary students.

Ms. Stauffer

I am thrilled with the progress students have made these past three months and am excited to see continued growth in their abilities to more fully understand and communicate their ideas in English! Way to go! 1st & 2nd grade After having learned or revised the English alphabet (through the booklet “Look, I can read”), 1st and 2nd graders (beginners) are now able to read CVC words and several sight words (that frequently appear in texts); they are always eager to read the stories from the “Starfall” series and work in the workbooks. Besides reading, they are expanding their vocabulary on units of study we focus on every week; so far we have worked on thematically based words connected to the body parts, feelings, the colors and the clothes and also the farm ; they have managed to acquire many words and grammar patterns through rhyming, singing (“Sing and Learn” booklet), playing and story reading; they love it when we play charades, trying to guess what each one is doing, thus working on verbs and grammar at the same time! Great job 1st

ESL News

and 2nd grade! 3rd , 4th & 5th grade Doing projects with 3rd, 4th and 5th graders has been really fun! Students are asked to conduct 1st and 2nd drafts on particular units like sports, natural d i s a s t e r s , m u s i c a l instruments, etc., before they can actually present their work in class. (“It’s on the tip of my tongue” t h e m a t i c a l l y b a s e d vocabulary and grammar pattern). Besides working on this and their textbooks and workbooks, 3rd, 4th and 5 th grades work on grammar as well, through the method of noticing; no rules are given to be learned, but students try to find a pattern through repetition of grammatical structures and syntax, so that they understand the “how” and the “when” something is used.

Last, but not least, please continue encouraging your child to practice their English outside of school! Reading a book together in English is a great way to familiarize your child with old and new words while also working on comprehension. The internet has some fantastic sources, like http://reading.ecb.org/ for reading material or you can have fun together at www.pbskids.org Ms. Gaki

how to use Mathletics and

Raz-kids for math practice

and reading. They also

began using Microsoft Word

f o r t h e i r w r i t i n g s .

Additionally, they are

learning how to use

Storybook Weaver to

illustrate and write about

the Pioneers!

Third grade students are

learning how to format font,

insert images and format

text with Microsoft Word.

They have also created a

PowerPoint presentation

about themselves which will

be included in their

E-Portfolios.

Fourth grade students

used Learn TCI, History

Alive to enforce their

learning about States and

Regions. They just finished

creating a PowerPoint

presentation about a State

of their choice and they had

December 8-15, 2014 is

Computer Science Education

week. Students from around

the world participate in “The

Hour of Code”, where they will

b e l e a r n i n g c o m p u t e r

programming with 1 hour

tutorials available in over 30

languages. All ACS students

from kindergarten to fifth grade

participated in this event. Our

kindergarteners, first and

second graders learned a visual

programming course called

Tynker, www.tynker.com. Third

g r ade r s use d Sc ra t ch ,

www.scratch.mit.edu/ to create

interactive cards, stories and

animations. Fourth graders

used CODE, www.code.org and

fifth graders used CODE and

CODE with Anna and Elsa from

Frozen!

In addition, kindergarten stu-

d e n t s h a v e u s e d

www.starfall.com to work on

beginning reading and math

concepts and Tux Paint for

illustrations.

Our first graders have been

using www.morestarfall.com for

reading and math. They also

went on a virtual dinosaur dig

from the Smithsonian Museum

of Natural History where they

learned how paleontologists

excavate a specimen and the

whole process of finding a fossil!

Second graders have learned

News from the Computer Lab!

to present it to their

classmates. Furthermore,

they have worked on their

keyboarding skills.

Fifth grade students have

been busy learning how to

research a topic, using the

5W’s (who, what, where, when

and why) for evaluating a web

site. They have researched a

famous explorer and they are

currently working on the

elements of the periodic table.

The y a re a l s o u s i ng

www.typ ingweb .com fo r

keyboarding practice. They

have also learned how to login

and navigate “Moodle” and

Student Webmail. They have

been active users of this

platform.

Ms. Sarantes

News from the Music Room

ACS students welcomed again

this year with music from

around the world. First grade

sang and played music from

the Caribbean. Second grade

played African drums and sang

songs from different parts of

Africa. Third grade students

were introduced to recorders

and explored Chinese music.

Fourth graders continued

developing their recorder skills

through the performance of

Greek music. Fifth grade

students explored Russian

music and performed using

tuned percussion instruments.

Our Kindergarteners used

games to learn the meaning of

some of the elements of music

such as pitch, dynamics, and

tempo. They developed their

learning and understanding of

elements through playing

u n t u r n e d p e r c u s s i o n

instruments. All students

have developed their creative

self and their confidence

through various music

making activities. Rhythm

and appreciation of music

through the use of percussion

instruments and body

percussion have also been key

features of lessons this

trimester.

With great excitement

students prepared for our

Winter Concert. Singing and

dancing as well as other

strands of music were once

again integrated in order to

produce an entertaining

event. As always the

educational elements of such

a show are not only music

related but also touch upon

other disciplines and

develop various musical and

non-directly musical skills.

This year again opportunity

was offered to our 4th and 5th

grade students to perform

Christmas carols during the

PTO Bazaar.

Presentation and performance

on stage are key skills that all

musicians need to possess.

At ACS Athens Elementary

School we aim to give as many

opportunities as possible to

our students to showcase

their work, their talents, to

boost their self confidence,

and to express their emotions

through music, dance and

acting.

Have a wonderful academic

year and very happy holidays

everyone!

Ms. Apostolou

“Building our character

through the sports of the

world”

All Elementary School

students have been super

busy since the beginning of

the school year. During the

month of September, students

were learning and executing

different locomotor, non-

locomotor and manipulative

skills. They learned how to

p e r f o r m t h e s e s k i l l s

appropriately and how these

skills are relevant to their

p hys i c a l pe r f o rmance .

Students were also introduced

to running patterns and

manipulative skills using a

variety of equipment.

During the month of October,

with great pleasure we

witnessed the students being

engaged in jump roping skills

with great success, more than

that we had the chance to

explore our balance, our

coordination and the

capabilities of our bodies with

gymnastics.

November started with

students accumulating skills

in throwing and catching.

They learned all about the

different types of throws and

in which sports or activities

they can be used. They also

learned how to catch

appropriately and effectively.

News from P.E.

respectfulness. 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 play.

“How you play shows some

of your character. How you

win or lose shows ALL of

it!”

Mr. Kourtis

Students are now able to

see the relationship and

connection between eye and

hand coordination.

Currently students have

begun to acquire basketball

skills. They are performing

various drills to further

improve their skills in

basketball. Students are

learning all about dribbling,

passing, shooting as well as

the basic rules of the game.

During all of the P.E. units,

students are realizing even

more the necessary value of

teamwork. Character

education is an essential

part of sports, and students

a r e s h a p i n g t h e i r

sportsmanship attitude and

behavior by noting that it

takes more than one person

to make a team. Students,

through each and every

physical education unit, are

being exposed to and

taught about the six

components of character

educat ion : f a i r ness ,

responsibility, citizenship,

trustworthiness, caring, and

News from the Greek Classes

The Greek Language Beg inn ing / In te rmed ia te classes worked on thematically based vocabulary, reading, writing and speaking according to grade and level. In grades 3 – 5, apart from the thematically based vocabulary students learned through the dialogues and texts that their books contain, they also started working on basic grammar rules that refer to the articles, the gender of the nouns and the adjectives, thus improving their speaking and writing. Kindergarten students learned vocabulary connected to everyday school instructions, colors, shapes, wild and domestic animals through various games, songs, stories and activities. In grade 1, we worked on the units of fruit, vegetable, food, everyday instructions, objects in the classroom and

animals; students also worked on the letters of the alphabet (focus is placed on sound) and practiced writing. Students in grade 1 also worked on what to say on various occasions, through role playing games, such as “at the greengrocer’s” and “at the tavern”. In grade 2, students worked on copying words and reading short dialogues with words from the themat ica l ly based vocabulary they were taught in class. In all grades students are en-couraged to borrow books from the Greek classroom library. We l l done to a l l our hard-working students! Ms. Papageorgiou, Ms. Rovoli and Ms. Stratoglou

The first months of school have been very productive for Greek classes. Besides working on speaking, reading, spelling, grammar and vocabulary, students did a wonderful job learning about OXI Day. Our 4th graders had a very exciting t ime present ing the historical account of OXI Day, at the ACS Theater. All other grades (JK-5) worked on poems, songs and various texts, according to level. Special thanks to parents who encouraged students to make the most of this learning experience. In the month of November, besides their regular work on language: The Greek Language Arts and Advanced classes Students in grades 3-5 worked on their history books: 3rd grade Mythology, 4th grade Ancient Greek His-tory and 5th grade Byzantine history. Our JK students worked on the unit: “All about me”, ”Feelings” and listened to relevant stories. They also learned Greek poems and songs. KG students learned the letters of the alphabet and a song for each letter. In grade 1, students worked hard on reading and writing. In grade 2, students worked on reading, writing and grammar activities.

News from the Arabic Classes

The Arabic classes are f u l l o f enthusiasm and joy for learning the language.

Our f r iendly c lassroom welcomes grades KG through 5.

In the month of October, the Parent-Teacher conferences in

the Arabic class were very positive and reflected the appreciation of both parents and students regarding the Arabic language and the learning experience at the elementary school. In the month of November, s tudents we re busy expanding their skills in

speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary and spelling.

News from the Library

In JK, we read several fun books, e.g.,” Clap Hands”, with some moving around to help the students feel more relaxed in the library. In Kindergarten, we started by reading fiction and non-fiction books related to their first unit – We are all Different. We read “My Many colored Days” and colored a picture of ourselves to show what colors we were feeling. We continue to work with the grade level teachers by reading non-fiction and fiction books related to the science and social studies units that each grade level is studying in class. In first grade, we read all kinds of books about dinosaurs some true books and some stories. “The Mouse and the Dinosaur” is one of our favorites. Second graders learned some usual weather words like drizzle and blizzard in the “Weather Words” book. In third grade, we read about sound and talked to each other through our paper cup telephone. The fourth graders

Library class was off to a good start this year with our discussion about what it means to be respectful, responsible and ready in the library. In addition, in order for us to help us get to know each other better the second and third graders filled out a short questionnaire and the fourth and fifth graders wrote a paragraph about themselves. We were reading two of these cards or para-graphs each week to see how well we know each other by try-ing to guess who the person is. During the next couple of weeks the first through fifth graders learned ways to find books in the library. In first and second grade we focused on where the red and blue picture and reading books are and discussed how you can find non-fiction books by looking for the pictures that are on the shelves (e.g., car books where there is a picture of a car). The third through fifth graders learned about the Dewey Decimal system then used their knowledge to find books.

who are studying water learned why snowflakes have six sides and saw how the same piece of aluminum foil could float and sink. During their explorer unit, the fifth grade learned to use Britannica online and how to do a bibliography for their research. Later, they began learning to use the ACS Library system to find books in the library. At the end of each class we are helping the students find at least one book that is at the student’s reading level. We would appreciate your help in making sure that they are bringing home books that they can read or listen to and understand. Please let us know if this is not the case. We hope this will help them begin to develop a lifelong desire to keep reading. Ms. Anderson

Through various activities and projects, learning is fun and students look forward to coming to the Arabic class to learn something new everyday!

Ms. Accari