Special Areas Newsletter
Thursday, February 1, 2018
PE Notes
Martial Arts at Boone – February 5th, 6th, and 7th
On February 5th, 6th, and 7th, as an “in-school field trip”, your child will have the wonderful opportunity to work with a martial arts instructor during their regular Physical Education class.
Traditional Martial Arts Academy (http://traditionalmartialartsacademy.com), will be partnering with Boone Elementary, in order to offer this opportunity for our students. Mr. James Espy, owner and founder of TMAA, is a tremendous role model for kids, and has created a martial arts school which provides learning experiences in the physical, emotional, and social realms.
When TMAA visits our PE classes, the students will be doing fun fitness work (animal walks, light kicking and punching). There will be no hand-to-hand contact. The kids will also get to watch a demonstration by TMAA instructors and students. There is no cost for this event.
5th Grade Parents,
Each year the Austin Association for Physical Education and Recreation (AAPER) hosts an event called Volleyball Playday. The Playday is designed for enjoyment and to provide an opportunity for students to play volleyball. This year Volleyball Playday will be held on March 3, 2018 at the Rec Sports Center, on the campus of The University of Texas.
Volleyball Playday will consist of teams from other Austin ISD elementary schools. All teams will play three games, lasting 12 minutes each. Prior to the start of the Playday, students will participate in a volleyball clinic hosted by the Texas Volleyball team. Students will need to arrive on time, and provide their own transportation.
In order to be able to participate in the Volleyball Playday, your child will need to attend each practice. Practices will be held in the Boone Elementary Gym, and will be after school. Practice dates are, February 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th, from 3:00 - 4:00 pm.
3rd 9 Weeks PE Units:
Skill Units: Gymnastics & Volley
Health: Muscular System & Stress ManagementTaylor Summy
Music Notes
Kindergarteners are seasoned veterans in the music room now and enjoy all kinds of songs with body movement, dances, and games. One of our favorite songs to sing together is “I am a Pizza”. It’s a silly song (as you might gather from the title!) but we also touched on the speech piece “The Sun is in My Heart” that lets us appreciate nature.
First Grade is doing a fine job on xylophones with “Hot Cross Buns” and learning a pitch system to describe and show what they are singing and playing. We have learned do, re, mi, and so-–the first four notes of the pentatonic scale!
Second Grade is doing some “Music Math” and learning how to add up the value of notes in a number sentence just like they do in their classroom. They are singing “Down the River” and performing a double line dance that provides kinesthetic learning of triple meter!
Third Grade has buckled down with “Old Brass Wagon” and is notating the melody with rhythm symbols. The practice is paying off as their writing skills improve with every assignment.
Fourth Grade is preparing the musical “I Have a Dream” for Black History month and will perform it February 22nd and 23rd. The musical features some favorite standards like “Down By the Riverside” but also has some original pop songs that they can really relate to. It’s hard work but FUN!
Fifth Grade has been constructing a multi-layered instrument rendition of “Tideo”. The text has been replaced by instruments—a challenging but very interesting way to orchestrate a familiar song and bring some fresh ideas to class.
We have enjoyed artists performing for us—the Austin Jazz Workshop visited 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade to prepare them for an assembly about “American Songs”. They performed several “American Songs” and students sang along to “Bye Bye Blackbird”. A woodwind group from the Austin Symphony will visit February 2nd to perform for Pre-K through 2nd Grade. These visits allow students to hear live music and think about what types of musical instruments they might way to play some day.
Jan Peterson
Visual Arts News
In the works:
Kinder is starting to learn about the art of the Bogolanfini (Mudcloth) from Africa.
First grade has been working on collage, drawings, and ceramic pieces inspired by the pop artist Jim Dine.
Second grade just finished a printmaking unit and will be beginning a ceramic project inspired by Pop Art.
Third grade is working on radial symmetry and will soon be starting a paper weaving project based on the Kente cloth from Gahna.
Fourth grade is working on self-portraits inspired by pop artist Roy Lichtenstein.
Fifth graders are working on yarn weavings inspired by the Kente Cloth.
Google is holding their annual Doodle 4 Google contest. I am giving 3rd and 4th graders time in class to work on a doodle to submit. I am NOT requiring the students to submit their work, but I am encouraging them to do so. I have given them the option to work on them at home as well. If any student in other grade levels wants to submit a work I am more than happy to help them with their idea, supply the submission sheet, and send it in, but unfortunately I cannot work with the all the students during class time. I encourage parents to help their children who want to send in a doodle with developing their idea. The theme is “What Inspires You”. Also, for the students that work on these in class, I will be sending their submissions home to be signed by the parents for permission to do so. The students will then bring it back to me and I will send it to Doodle 4 Google. The deadline is March 2. First place will receive a $30,000 scholarship!
Here is the link for all the information and the submission forms, and of course, if you have any questions email me any time. https://doodle4google.com
Important Upcoming Dates:
2/25: Youth Art Month Show and Reception at the PAC
3/2: Google4Doodlle submission deadline
3/28: Art projects are due for the Fine Arts Night art contest.
4/5: Fine Arts night/ Fourth Grade Art ShowJennifer Schroeder