Exploring Balance in Nature!

Written by Layla Carter, kindergarten teacher

Eight of our 4th and 5th graders traveled to Jefferson, Maine to stay at Camp Wavus Leadership School! Together they bonded and strengthened their team building skills while exploring nature. They had opportunities to rock climb, sleep in cabins, complete rope courses, and enjoy themselves in the great outdoors. Let’s hear what they have to say about the trip!

“My favorite part in Maine was probably the food or the Catwalk. It was a rope course where we had to balance. I also liked Gaga ball.” – Ben

“Going on a boat.” – Euree

“We did this thing called the Whale Watch and we also pet a lobster, and we also went to two lighthouses! And we played lots of lots of lots of lots of Gaga ball!…And the food was great too!” – Nomi

“It was really cool. We went to the beach, and we did a lot of nature hikes. And we got to eat delicious food and go rock climbing and do a ropes course. So, it was a lot of physical activity, but it was definitely worth it cause I got awesome muscles and I got to eat food every day!” – Priscilla

“It was pretty good! We had lots of fun. And I love the counselors, especially Rosie. We had lots of fun.” – Jayla

“So I liked it personally. I didn’t realize my phone and tablet were taken away because we were just so busy. I couldn’t even recognize that phones weren’t there. We did rock climbing. I didn’t do the ropes course. We went on a Lobster boat, and a bunch of cool stuff.” – Morgan

“My trip to Maine was good. And I actually loved nights where we were laughing so hard.” – Tiana

Written by Karen Falcon, 4th grade teacher

In 4th grade history we began the year with students learning about twentieth century history from Jubilee’s student created textbook “Journey to the Core of the Twentieth Century”. The class decided they wanted to write a book about people who refused to give up their seats. For example, Morgan let me know that she was very excited about Claudette Colvin, who was getting her name cleared after having been arrested in 1955 for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus at the age of sixteen. They are finished with the writing piece and are now working on illustrations.

They also interviewed a professor at Penn who wrote a book called “Travelling Black”, and the interview was broadcast on a local radio station. The following is the introduction to their book, which they wrote collaboratively:

“This is a story about segregation on public transportation and how people refused to give up their seats. They kept fighting for their freedom; they were braver than brave and stronger than strong. There is a growing awareness about some of these people, but not a lot of them are well known. We should know how they fought for justice and civil rights because they are our history and our blood, and our past affects our present and future. If we neglect these legends we are neglecting what is beautiful about humanity.”

Written by Layla Carter, kindergarten teacher

Block building is an essential element in Jubilee’s early learning curriculum. Young children are developing their fine motor skills, spatial awareness, as well as fundamental math and science skills. Block building advances these skills while encouraging teamwork, a sense of community, and parallel play. Kindergarten has built houses, skyscrapers, parking lots, and neighborhoods all with their imaginations. We can’t wait to see what they come up with next!

Written by Brigette Cassell, 1st grade teacher

Yay! We are excited about the Spring! In the first grade, for the next few weeks we will be learning all about plants. Today, Mrs. Helen ( former kindergarten teacher) joined us via Zoom. We learned and discussed what a plant needs to grow and the parts of a plant.

Do you know the parts of the plant? If not ask a 1st grader!

Written by Latifah Jordan, kindergarten teacher

The Kindergarteners are working on an environmental print project. What better way to explore the world of reading around them then to read the logos and package wrappers of the things that they see every day! Symbolism is an important part of the world and students recognize symbols in their environment like the logo of the Target store or even the McDonald’s arch sign. This week they are going to create a collage of the logos that they see on a regular basis to display in the classroom on Friday!

Written by Lavondra Ham, 3rd grade teacher

For the month of March and into April, the Third Grade has been learning about the human body! Before students began working in collaborative groups students learned about some of the different body systems that make the body work.

Students were then divided into different partnerships and groups to research and discover more in-depth information about the body system. The topics covered include the digestive, circulatory, nervous, and skin systems. They will all have different responsibilities for each part of the project. This gives them the opportunity to be research writers, visual aid artists, speakers, games and activity planners, and experiment creators.

The class has really been excited to work on this project. Students have come up with creative and interesting ways to express how they will teach each other about their body system. The best part is watching students come up with new ideas and learning how to collaborate on a project together. I look forward to seeing more of what they come up with!

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!