Written by Anika Falcon, 2nd grade teacher

This week in 2nd grade we are reading “I am Malala.” Here are a few quotes about the book by 2nd graders.:

“Reading about Malala makes me a little bit happy and a little bit scared. It makes me happy because Malala shows that girls can do anything. It makes me scared that the Taliban is destroying her city.” -Zuri

“Malala is trying to save her town. She wants peace. She wants to go to school. Malala is a lot like W.E.B Dubois. Dubois wanted black people to go to school and Malala wants girls to go to school. Malala and W.E.B Dubois both fought to make the world a better place.” – Meghan

Written by Maciré Daffé, 4th grade teacher

In class we explore various topics across the science sphere. This includes physics, space, geology, engineering, and most recently magnetism. During the week, each grade has two periods. One period we spend time learning about the mechanics, or the overall topic chosen. During the next period we perform a lab to demonstrate the concepts learned in the previous class.

The class is student run, and they choose the topics we discuss (usually slime). As we studied magnetism, we learned what makes things magnetic; how it connects to electronics/electricity, and what a magnetic field looks like compared to a gravitational field. For this week’s lab we used a piece of string and suspended a magnet in the air to create a “levitation” device. This project was based on the properties of a magnetic field.

My goal is for the children to explore their scientific passion. I want their ideas to be heard and questions answered as we explore a variety of topics. Some of our topics are challenging, however; we learn together. Our goal is to host a science fair to show off their projects in a bigger way.

I look forward to exploring science with your children and seeing what they create.

Written by LaMonika Bannister, PreK teacher

For the past few weeks, PreK 3 and PreK 4 students have been studying signs. As part of this exciting study the children have been exploring and discussing the attributes of signs from many different locations around the world. As the children dig deeper, they will discover the important ways that signs are used to help find what you are looking for, to know which way to go, and to stay safe.

As children create their own signs throughout the study, they will discover and compare the characteristics of signs and engage in meaningful literacy, mathematics, and arts experiences. They will also explore concepts related to social studies as they investigate how people use signs every day. At the end of the unit, the classrooms will showcase what they have learned with with a celebration of learning!

Written by Karen Falcon, 6th grade teacher

The sixth grade class began the year by adding a few paragraphs to a book they wrote last year on the Black Press. They have been creating beautiful collages to illustrate their book. Along with researching and writing individual pieces for Volume II of “Journey to the Core of the Twentieth Century” they wrote a collaborative piece on Romare Bearden, who helped to inspire them with their collage work. They are now working on a book about people in history who fought for voting rights, and will be interviewing the granddaughter of someone who won two cases in the Supreme Court, one in 1924 and the other in 1927 to protect voting rights for people of color who were not allowed to vote in Texas primaries. Their interview will also be broadcast on a local radio station.The following is the introductory paragraph for the student’s book “The Black Press”:

“The Black Press gave a voice to Black people because in the white press they were invisible unless they committed a crime. This press exposed how the white press was covering up the truth about what was really happening. The Black Press also impacted many people around the world by uncovering the truth about what America really wanted from other countries: their resources.”