Monday, September 29, 2014

Tasting the Fruits of Their Labor

Though the school year is young, lots of learning is going on. 

In honor of Johnny Appleseed's birthday last week, several kindergarten and first grade classrooms turned their studies to the apple. 

Some classes learned how to make applesauce from scratch and got to enjoy their freshly made treat.



  Mrs. Donahue's kindergarten class made applesauce. Student Jacquelyn Gangemi worked with teacher assistant Mrs. Agen to peel the apples.

Amelia Bleskoski helped Mrs. Malbone stir the apples in her kindergarten class.

First grader Michael Koltakov in Miss Munley's class loved the applesauce.



In Mrs. Cunningham's first grade class, students studied buoyancy and tried to determine if an apple would sink or float in a pot of water. Be sure to ask your child if he or she thinks an apple would float! 


Several classes tasted the different types of apples and then created graphs based on students' favorites. Here, first graders Necessidy Odom and Jacob Dalton in Miss Elmer's class point to the results in their class.

 To learn more about Johnny Appleseed and try some fun activities, click here.


Second Grade Students Learn about the many Cycles in Nature
Second grade students have been involved in an amazing area of study called Cycles in Nature. It is one of the many content-driven units of study offered for grade two. It supports the Common Core Learning Standards and introduces students to the many natural cycles that make life on Earth possible. 

Students first learn that a cycle is a sequence of events that repeats itself again and again. The unit talks about cycles that create day and night, our four seasons, the water cycle, and the life cycles of a flowering plant, tree, chicken, frog, and butterfly. Your budding scientist will have exposure to vocabulary words such as: axis, cycle, rotating, equator, hemisphere, tilt, adapt, germination, metamorphosis, larva, and molt just to mention a few!  


Above, young scientists from Mrs. Lizzi’s class, Alexa Pallone, Liam Tyler, Jonathan Shoults, and Samantha Casson examine butterfly larvae. If you would like to learn more specifics about butterflies and their life cycle, click here.


Matthew Pietrafesa in Mrs. Prosser's second grade class points to the egg step in the life cycle process, which begs the question: Which came first the chicken or the egg?

To learn about butterflies and their life cycle, click here.

Eric Litwin, Author of Several Pete the Cat Books, is Coming to Stonehedge!
Beloved children's author Eric Litwin will be presenting assemblies to all Stonehedge students on Thursday, October 2. The PTA is sponsoring the author's visit which promises to be an exciting, musical, entertaining, and educational experience. We've got our school shoes on and we can't wait! Mr. Litwin's visit helps to kick off the PTA's month-long reading program called PARP (Parents as Reading Partners). Look for information to come home soon with your child. 


 


Be on the Lookout for New Transportation Forms

In an effort to simplify the dismissal procedure and make it consistent, Stonehedge is providing new Transportation Change Request and Dismissal Procedure for Student Pick-Up forms. The forms provide a quick and easy way to let your child's classroom teacher and our offices know any changes taking place for the day. You will be getting forms home in your child's folder shortly and you are strongly encouraged to use them.  


Thanks,
Lori