Auditions at Community High School for Arts and Academics

Call for Actors and Singers (age 9 and up)

Auditions Saturday, October 8, 2011 from 10am to 1pm

Bring one Song

Folk Opera: Miss Lucy

A Story about Roanoke & Lucy Addison

A Production by Community High School and Friends

(November 17, 18, and 19, 2011)

Community High School for Arts and Academics

302 Campbell Street

in the new June M. McBroom Theatre

soloists and chorus parts available

For more information please contact les@communityhigh.net.

Fall into the Arts Series

Just a little information about the next performance in our Fall into the Arts series.

The Hudson Trio
October 26th at 7:30
Talmadge Hall, Hollins University

Talk back (question and awnser period) after the show but no reception this time.
Free babysitting for 6:30-9:30 for Community School families.
The musicians have offfered to do a masters class the following morning free of charge for our students and any other local students who might be interested.

Field Trip to Camp Roanoke

Here are pictures of our wonderful trip to Camp Roanoke. We divided into two groups so please remember to check out Betsy's blog as well - http://www.betzbuzz.blogspot.com/.

Virginia History

Today we finished our letters to County Chambers of Commerce throughout the state. We hope to get travel brochures and information soon. We did Virginia puzzles and a scavenger hunt. How many questions can you answer?

• Virginia's motto is "Thus always to _________."
• What is Virginia's state beverage?
• When did Virginia gain statehood?
• Who are the 8 Virginia born presidents?

We also reviewed state borders with a card game called Borderline.

Here is a slideshow of our visitor from St. Francis Service Dogs. She was cute, very sweet, and playful.

We read and had lunch with our buddies in Ruth Ann's class.

Upcoming Events

September 24  Fired Up for a CURE!

Location: Roanoke Civic Center Parking Lot at corner of Williamson Road & Orange Avenue off of I-581.

Activities:

·        9:00am – 5K / 10K Race

·        10:30am – 2:00pm – Exhibits & Kids Activities

·        12:00pm – 3:00pm – FREE Ice Skating

·        Child Safety Seat Checks!

·        FREE Food!

·        FREE Kids Activities!

·        FREE Health Screenings!

·        Zumba presented by Golds Gym - Electric Road

·        Come see the Fire Safety House and the Chesapeake “Pink” Firetruck

Don’t think Cancer!

Think CAN SURvive!

September 27th Field Trip to Camp Roanoke and the first book project is due

September 28th Upper Elementary Picture Day

September 30th Poetry Day

Math Games

During math, we play games to help build our skills.  Below is a list of games and a description from the students in my math class.

• Plus-Minus-Stay - This is fun.  It will be a homework game to play with our family.  You add and subtract.  You also can use strategy to help you win.
• Zigity - It is a Cranium card game.  This game has adding to a given sum.  Other skills include problem solving and strategy.
• Logic Links - You solve patterns using clues.  You use dots to help create the described pattern.
• Noodlers - You put sticks on a card to divide the designs.  It is great for spatial relations.  (See if your kids remember what the term, spatial relations, means.)
• Addition War - It is a card game.  It is an adding game where the higher sum lets you take someone else's cards.  It builds addition speed.  It can also be done as Multiplication War.
• Number Ninja - It is a game where you solve word problems.  It is really fun. There is a golden dragon and a lot of traps.  Another player gives you questions and you move when you get them right.  Some of the questions were telling time, addition, and subtraction.  They are all word problems.
• Q-bitz - You try to match the pattern on a card with special cubes.  It is like trying to make a puzzle with dice.  It is really hard.  It works on spatial relations.

Today we learned 3 different letters of the alphabet. It was fun. We also learned about optical illusions.  It was fun.  We also wrote a poem about me in the looking glass right now and wrote in our journals using a picture from a magazine to help us come with a story idea.  Now, we have music.

by Misha

Holly time is when Holly reads a book to us .

Then we went cooking with Betsy's class and Tulie we made a yummy recipe called blintzes!


By Daisy

Gatherings Tonight

Please remember Upper Elementary Gatherings is tonight. I will be in my room on the second floor of the big house from 6:55-7:25. Our informational session begins at 7:30.

Buddies with Beth

Photos of Playground Skits

Math Measurement Photos

Class Name

We worked on class name skits today. We also have math, art, music, computers, and buddies with Ruth Ann. Can you guess our class name?

Your first clue is...

Itched Eve Test.

In class today we did lots of things like find our poems for Poetry Day, make a talent chain, read to Kim, talk about our class name skit, and write in our journals. We had lots of fun.

by Daisy

Kim's Math Workshop

I am very excited about math. We are beginning the year with Mathematical Thinking and Math with Meaning. The Mathematical Thinking unit will help your child get used to solving problems that take considerable time, thought, and discussion. While solving these problems, your child will be using materials like pattern blocks, cubes, and calculators, and will be writing, drawing, and talking about how to do the problems. Emphasis during this unit will be on thinking hard and reasoning carefully to solve mathematical problems.

During this unit your child will explore even and odd numbers, create symmetrical designs, look for number patterns, and combine and compare different amounts of money or handfuls of objects. This class will also collect and organize data about themselves as a group.

While our class is working on this unit and throughout the year, you can help in several ways:
- Your child will have assignments to work on at home. Sometimes he or she will involve your participation.
- Often children will work out number problems by using real objects. So, when they are working at home, it would help them to have a large collection of objects for counting, such as beans, buttons, or pennies.
- In class, students will be making a set of Addition Cards. The goal is for each child to develop effective strategies for combining numbers. Sometimes for homework, children will choose a few combinations that they are working on and think about strategies for combining number. (For example, What's 6 + 7? Well, I know 6 + 6 is 12, and 6 + 7 is one more than that, so it's 13.) We begin with the more simple problems so students master these strategies and are able to use them with more and more difficult work.

Math with Meaning is based on math strategies used in Singapore's Primary Math Curriculum. These strategies were developed by the Curriculum Planning and Development Institute of Singapore. Again we begin with more simple problems to help students master the topics.

The strengths of Singapore's Primary Mathematics Curriculum are:
- The curriculum is highly coherent; it spirals and is taught in a logical step-by-step manner that builds on students' prior knowledge and skills.
- Fewer topics are taught in greater depth. The goals are conceptualization and mastery.
- The curriculum emphasizes conceptualization before procedures (algorithms) through the concrete-pictorial-abstract sequence of instruction.
- It teaches computation methods that facilitate mental math.
- The curriculum uses metacognition to encourage students to use alternative methods for solving problems and to develop logical thinking.

The above text was adapted from Investigations in Number, Data, and Space by Susan Jo Russell and Karen Economopoulos and Math with Meaning: Resource Book by Staff Development for Educators.

We had science for the first time with Betsy today. We looked at optical illusions and how one picture could be two different things. We also rolled up paper and looked through peoples' hands and heads. Outside Sarah, Tallulah, and I all played vacation and we got on the plane to Puerto Rico. In Social Studies we drew pictures of ourselves while looking in the mirror. Later, some of us read to Kim. We also wrote down some "a" words.

by Daisy

September 9, 2011


Dear Parents,

It has been a great first week. Upper Elementary is full of wonderful students and I am excited about the year ahead. My blog address has changed and it is not correct on the website. My blog is http://uekimsclass.blogspot.com/. Please look at my blog and Betsy's (http://www.betzbuzz.blogspot.com/ ) regularly.

During the summer my family and I started volunteering with St. Francis Service Dogs. This organization raises and trains service dogs for children and adults with disabilities. My family has housed and cared for two different puppies. We will have Asia, a 3 month old puppy, staying with us the week of September 19th. I would like to bring the puppy to school. All dogs with St. Francis are crate-trained. Asia would spend time in her crate during class, but students could help with walking her. I will not bring the puppy if there are any students in Upper Elementary with allergies or fears. Please email me by September 18th, if you have concerns about Asia's visit.

On a different note, my classroom has window air conditioning units, which makes it difficult to make the whole room a comfortable temperature. Please encourage your child to wear layers and bring an old sweatshirt that they could leave outside my room. It is a wonderful room and your children are making it their own. Please come up and look at the room and the “Great Mathematicians” bulletin board that my math class made, whenever you are on campus.

Thank you all very much,

Kim

At the beginning of the day we played outside. We had math. In math, we learned how to play different math games and had an assessment. We went outside for fruit break. We had Hollytime. Holly reads to us. In Drama, we played "Kitty in the Corner" and all kinds of different games. We also had recess and lunch. We went to Computers and learned about 10 things we need to learn how to do for Computers. We went to Spanish. We reviewed our colors in Spanish. Then we read and talked about things we like.

First Day of Kim's Math

We made a bulletin board. It is red with mirrors on it in different shapes. There were famous mathematicians, shapes that were measured and the same size, math facts, and math words.

by Misha

Betsy's Blog

If your child is in Betsy's math class, please remember to check out her blog. She also takes wonderful pictures of the kids. Our classes spend a lot of time together so please remember to check her blog. http://www.betzbuzz.blogspot.com/

First, we did the class question. Then we went to math. We had fruit break and we actually got to go outside. We had class. We played a name game and the nonsense game. We went to music. In music, we worked on steady beats. We played on instruments while we listened to "The William Tell Overture." We played outside for recess. We had lunch with Ruth Ann. We made people. We made our own shirt and then cut out pants in any color we would like. That was fun. Next, we have art and we will be working on our journals.

by Sarah P.

Our First Day according to Benjamin

We got our homework.  We met with Betsy's class and played games, including hula hoop challenge.  There are pictures of this.  We had Spanish (my favorite thing in the world, aside from ice hockey) and Art. 

SPECIAL NOTE:  Please remember the Wiley Concert this Thursday!