Alligator News

May 29, 2012

        

It’s been a busy month and there’s still a lot to do in the few weeks remaining in this school year.  Here’s a brief update on a few of the things we’ve been doing and planning recently:

Cylinder Racers:

Students have completed competitions in drag racing (speed), distance racing and uphill racing.  Still to come are a break dancing competition and the ever-popular demolition derby.

Shakespeare:

Our examination of Shakespeare and his times have included a look at London in the late 16^th century (great theater and interesting clothes, but a fairly disgusting sanitary system and fairly harsh judicial system).  Students also listened to Susan Cooper’s historical time travel novel, King of Shadows, in which a young man travels back to Elizabethan England and gets to act on stage at the Globe Theater with William Shakespeare.  Besides being a great read, this book held added interest as the play being performed is A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the same play we’ve been rehearsing in class.  Students are getting into their roles, growing accustomed to the beautiful but unfamiliar language in this abridged script, and working to learn their lines so they can focus on becoming better actors.

Our hope is to get to the point where we feel comfortable performing this version of the play before a live audience.  More information about this will be sent home soon.

Keynote Presentations:

As part of our study of Vermont, each student chose and researched a topic of interest with a Vermont connection.  Under the guidance of Kay Marcelle, students then used the Keynote program to put together a slide show on the computer, then presented their shows to the rest of the class.  Topics covered a wide range, from dairy farms and maple syrup to Abenakis and Vermont veterans.  This was an excellent opportunity for students to practice both research and presentation skills.

Roman Numerals:

As students read through their scripts for A Midsummer Night’s Dream and I began to hear questions such as, “Am I in Act eye-eye-eye or Act eye-vee?” I realized most students had, at best, only a passing familiarity with Roman numerals.  So we’ve played around with the basics, and by now most students can figure out what act we’re in (and many will be able to look at the credits in a movie and tell when it was produced).

Auction:

In anticipation of an end of year auction, students have been earning “Auction Points”—awarded for bringing in reading charts and home/school folders, completing assignments in a timely manner, performing a.m. and p.m. classroom duties, showing courtesy and kindness to peers and adults, scoring well on weekly quizzes (math facts, spelling, geography) and attempting optional weekly math problems. 

During the last week of school students will be asked to bring in donated items for the auction.  These may be gently used toys, games, stuffed animals, books, CDs, etc. that are no longer used in your home but might be of interest to another child.  Students may also bring in baked goods or other homemade items—or any other items that might be attractive to 3^rd and 4^th grade students.  Please no live animals (including siblings)!  More information about the exact date of this event will be sent home soon.

A lot more has been happening, but hopefully your child is filling you in on some of that.

So it goes,

Thom McAllister