Quarter 1, Week 2 (8/21-8/25)

Summary

Week 2 is still our boot-up phase of the year. For some of the Specials classes, week 2 follows the content and structure of week 1 pretty closely. Other classes are incrementally adding new routines and content. In this week's post, check out Mrs. Balmer's introduction. Mrs. Balmer is our new 3-5 Music teacher.

Table of Contents

Mrs. Balmer

Miss Hibler

Mrs. Keller

Dr. Lee

Sra. Puopolo

Miss Schosek

Coach Walsh

Mrs. Welch

Coach Woods

Mrs. Balmer (Music: 3-5)

Hello! I am Mrs. Balmer, the new 3rd-5th grade Music teacher. I am excited to be a part of the GHNO family and thrilled with how well the first week of Music Classes went with our amazing Scholars! 

This week, all classes reviewed procedures and routines, learned about proper singing posture, sang folk songs, and were introduced to our Composer of the Month. Below, you will find links to the Grade Level Playlists. We listened to these pieces in class this week, and I know your Scholar would love to share them with their family. I have also included a link to our warmup exercise that teaches proper singing posture. Ask your Scholar to show you how it’s done! 

Finally, I have linked a copy of our Depth of Inquiry/Sense of Wonder Rubric so you are aware of how your Scholar will be evaluated. All Scholars will receive a DOI/SOW grade every day that they come to Music Class. If you have any questions or concerns as the year progresses, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I am happy to be of service to you and your Scholar! Viva la Musica!

Composer Playlists

3rd Grade (Composer of the Month: Johann Sebastian Bach)

4th Grade (Composer of the Month: François Couperin

5th Grade (Composer of the Month: Domenico Scarlatti)

Warm Up Exercises

Feet Are Firmly Planted (Posture)

Depth of Inquiry/Sense of Wonder Rubric

Miss Hibler (Art: K-2, 3A&B)

Kindergarten

Scholars are learning about lines and directions of lines: horizontal, vertical, and diagonal. Then they are beginning to practice identifying and drawing shapes.

Grades 1-3

Scholars are reviewing the Elements of Art and creating examples viewing Master images.

Mrs. Keller (Drama: 6)

Week 2 - Theater Vocabulary, Acting is Reacting

Dr. Lee (Latin: 3-6)

This week we're starting to read our textbooks.

3rd and 4th grade

Our book in 3rd and 4th grade this year is Minimus. In the past we've used Lingua Latina: Familia Romana for 3rd and 4th grade. This textbook, while excellent, eventually becomes an imperfect match for the particular learning needs of 3rd and 4th graders. While Minimus is less systematic in its presentation of grammar and vocabulary, it is overall a more approachable book - with stories in comic book format and Greco-Roman myths built in - that nevertheless does teach important Latin grammar concepts and vocabulary that support what the scholars are learning in their ELAR (English Language Arts and Reading) classes.

I have a class set of this book which I will distribute and pick back up each class period that we use it. If, however, you should want to purchase a copy for yourselves to keep at home (if your scholar just cannot stop talking about how much they love the book), you can find these books on Amazon (https://a.co/d/jfdWGf8). But let me be clear - it is not necessary to purchase this book. This is not a "Classic to Keep".

5th grade

The 5th graders this year will be the last batch of 5th graders to use Cambridge Latin Course, Unit 1. We are in the midst of transitioning our Lower School Latin curriculum for two reasons: (1) Cambridge Latin Course is generally fine as a Latin curriculum, but after several years of evaluation, we have found that it does not serve our particular needs at GHNO Lower School; (2) starting next year, 5th and 6th grade will both be using Lingua Latina: Familia Romana, the same book our 7th and 8th graders are currently using, meaning our 5th and 6th grade can finally truly function as a "Latin 1" to the Middle School's Latin 2 and Latin 3. ***If your purchased a copy of this for your 5th grader, keep it! We'll use it next year, and there will be opportunities for your scholar to read it at home for their Latin practice logs***

This year, your scholar will be assigned a school copy of Cambridge Latin Course. They can bring this book home with them (so long as they bring it back!), but I will rarely assign homework that requires this book. I do not recommend purchasing your own copy. Unit 1 is far too expensive for how little it teaches. Cambridge Latin Course is not a "Classic to Keep".

6th grade

For 6th grade, we are transitioning to the excellent Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata: Familia Romana. This is a "Classic to Keep", and I support families purchasing their own copy, as this will be the textbook that your scholars will use for the next three years. This book is not only an excellent textbook, it's also an excellent value, being an entire Latin curriculum in a single volume that costs less than $30 (https://a.co/d/ifuCDpU). Nevertheless, I have a class set that I will distribute and pick back up each period, so your scholar will never be without a textbook in class.

If you have any questions or concerns about the curriculum decisions, please feel free to email me at kerry.lee@greatheartstxschools.org.

Sra. Puopolo (Spanish: K-2)

All grades will continue to:

• Practice introductions in Spanish
• Review and practice classroom routines
• Learn Spanish words for our school supplies and for things around the classroom.

Miss Schosek (Music: K-2 & 6)

Kindergarten

• Develop tuneful singing. 
• Develop beat and listening skills.
• Learn classroom repertoire.
• Learn facts and musical compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach.

1st Grade

• Review known classroom songs.
• Review performing and reading high and low melody.
• Learn facts and musical compositions of Francois Couperin. 

2nd Grade

• Review the aural presentation and notation of la. 
• Review kinesthetic and aural awareness of 2/4 meter.
• Learn facts and musical compositions of Domenico Scarlatti.

6th Grade

• Review note names for the treble clef and bass clef. 
• Identify note names and their placement on the keyboard. 
• Aurally analyze concert repertoire.

Coach Walsh (P.E.: K-2, 3C&D)

Scholars in all grades will continue to practice procedures by working on locomotor movements around the gym.

Mrs. Welch (Art: 3C&D, 4-6)

All classes are working on designing and decorating their personal portfolios.  All of the students’ finished artwork will be placed in these folders, and they will bring them home at the end of the year.

Coach Woods (P.E.: 3A&B, 4-6)

The scholars in all grades will be working on basketball drills and fundamentals.