And just like that it's Third Quarter!

Welcome back from break! We are excited to get the second half of the school year started. Here is what the specials team is up to this quarter.

PE

PE is gearing up for Jump Rope for Heart. Permission slips and collection envelopes will be distributed the last week of Jan. We will start our cardio jump workouts and challenges in Feb.

Visitation is always a leading school in the State of Missouri for participants and donations.

Thanks for being Heart Healthy.

TECH

As noted on my previous post this semester we will be focusing on the importance of being a good Digital Citizens. Students will be learning about internet safety, copyright, plagerism, online bullying, and using good ettiquette online.

In 5th and 6th grade we will once again complete the No Impact Man challenge. This challenge was inspired by a writer in New York who decided his family would spend a year reducing their carbon footprint on our world. In 5th grade students will focus on giving up a piece of technology and what that means to them. In 6th grade we will focus on Paying-it-Forward, or using technology for good. This year we will be doing online blogs and videologs instead of traditional journals.

For more information check out my website.

ART

Students continue to work hard on their new projects. A select number of Junior High Students are working on two special projects. The first is the new Latin American style Madonna outside of Mrs. Archer's Room and the other is painting our virtues of the month around the first floor attrium windows.

SPANISH

Welcome to Visitation 2016 and Feliz regreso a clases! During the 3rd quarter we will continue to follow each grade level’s Spanish study guide. To best help your child prepare for Spanish class, please make sure he/she is familiar with the month’s words. If you lost your copy of this, you can download a copy from my website at www.VisitationSpanish.weebly.com. All grades mainly practice conversational Spanish with speaking activities around the room with prompts. This explains why there are not many papers sent home during the year, however they might come home with flashcards or a game we made in class. The goal is for the student to be able to converse with a native speaker on a variety of topics. Don’t forget that youtube has a lot of interesting Spanish clips for kids to watch with the English words at the bottom! I have a few on my website if you need some ideas.

This quarter 6th grade is working on conjugating verbs. This is a difficult concept but we will be using our verb wheels and different hands-on strategies and games to get the hang of it. Students will have homework this quarter so please check MSP regularly to see if your child is missing an assignment.

5th grade is learning breakfast, lunch, and dinner food words as well as setting the table. We are a little behind so we are working November, December, and January words this month.

4th grade is learning clothing words the first couple weeks of January and then moving to verbs the last week of January. An example of this is: Senor Cascone va a estudiar en la escuela, Senor Casey va a pintar en la clase de arte, and Senora Edwin va a cantar en la clase de musica.

3rd grade is finishing the body parts unit and will begin verbs, sports, and likes at the end of January. We are using inside/ outside circles and quiz/quiz/ trade strategies to learn these.

2nd grade is working on environment and weather words and will begin fruits and common food words at the end of January. We are using surveys where students ask each student a question and record the answer in Spanish and the interviewee is to respond in Spanish.

1st grade is finishing their animals unit and will begin weather words soon. We have made a memory game with animal words and keep these in the classroom.

Kindergarten is reviewing common phrases and classroom commands and classroom objects from the first part of the year. We use team games as well as class Total Physical Response activities to learn these new phrases.

MUSIC

Thank you for supporting another successful Christmas Program. We greatly appreciate the hard work all of our wonderful students put in to make it rock! We are currently starting work on our Spring Program.

Upcoming music events for the 5th-8th grade:

Feb 3: 7-8th Grade Choir will participate in the Annual Catholic Schools Junior High Music Festival. Students from Catholic schools all over the area will go to Bishop Miege High School for the day to work with a clinician and will perform their pieces that evening at 7:00 PM. This is a very exciting opportunity for our 7th and 8th grade singers!

Tuesday, April 19: Visitation Spring Music Program for 5th-6th grade, including those students in 7th and 8th grade Drum Circle and Choir this semester. Also joining us will be the Visitation School Band!

April 26: Link Up Field trip to the Kansas City Symphony for 4th and 5th grade students.

http://dedwin1.wix.com/visitationmusic

Library

The Library Website has been updated to reflect the newest information for the new quarter. Please stop by and take a peek!