Weekly PWA Family Email
Week 9
October 19th, 2018
We had an exciting week here at school, with field trips and lots of classroom projects coming together. Our 4th – 8th graders visited the Marine Corps Museum this week to watch the IMAX movie We, The Marines, and our 1st and 2nd graders visited Belvedere Farm on Friday for their fall festival. We have other elementary field trips coming up, so stay tuned!
The weather is changing fast, so please be sure to swap out your little one’s extra clothes at school for warmer items. Older students may want to keep a sweater or sweatshirt in their classrooms.
Join our own Ms. Ruth for after school French! She’s offering small group tutoring sessions; the cost is $25/half hour, or $50/hour, and groups can meet one or two times per week. Please let the office know if you’re interested. This is a wonderful opportunity for your child to learn to hone their language skills!
We offer after school tutoring sessions in Math, Language Arts, and Foreign Languages. Please contact the office for details! And please recommend our tutors to a friend–students from other schools are welcome!
Do you own a business? Are you crafty? Do you have something fun to give away?
Please donate something to our raffle basket! It can be just about any small item, foodstuff, or gift certificate. The PTC hopes to start selling tickets for the basket at the Fall Festival, and to do the drawing at our Thanksgiving Luncheon.
This is a great way to advertise your business or skills, and to make someone else’s day (who doesn’t love to win a raffle basket)! You can also support our fundraising efforts by purchasing tickets to win yourself! They’ll be three for 5 dollars, for sale starting at the Fall Festival.
Speaking of creative, business-savvy parents, check out PWA’s own Lola Bolorunduro! (https://wjla.com/features/good-morning-washington/spooky-halloween-drinks)
Our signup sheet for the fall festival is available by the front desk. You can volunteer to run a station (there are many!), to donate an item, or be part of the setup or cleanup crew.
We also are seeking donations of veggie trays and fruit plates to share with the kids.
We’re looking forward to this fun annual event!
Big thanks to those families who are already following the new policy concerning birthday parties! We’ve already had a couple fun, cupcake-free celebrations! See pictures below.
Please remember that, as of November 1st, we will no longer allow cookies, cupcakes, or candy to be served during kids’ birthday celebrations in class. This helps ensure that kids aren’t eating more sugar than their parents are aware of, and takes into account the many cases of food allergies at our school (to dyes and artificial colors, to nut products, etc). It also teaches our kids that treats can be healthy.
Don’t worry–you can still plan a birthday celebration in your child’s classroom! We simply ask that you bring a healthy alternative to cupcakes or cake: fruit, cheese and crackers, or popcorn for example. As always, be sure to plan with the teacher beforehand and be aware of any allergies in the classroom. And please: if you choose to give out gift bags, don’t include candy.
School Picture Day is scheduled for Monday, October 29th! Students and staff members will have their pictures taken that day. Students Jr K and up should wear their school uniforms.
Makeups, retakes, class photos, sibling photos, and our school photo will be Tuesday, November 13th. Students do not need to wear uniforms in sibling photos, but should have them to change into afterwards.
Congratulations to second grade student London Wellington, who represented PWA at the Scholastic Chess Tournament last weekend. London won 3 out of 4 rounds, and received a trophy. We’re so proud of you, London!
PWA’s Chess Club meets on Friday afternoons, and is hosted by the
Royal Knights Chess Academy (http://www.royalknightschessacademy.com/) . Students Jr K and up are welcome; please see the front office or click the link above for more details.
Weekly Class Updates
Our kindergartners talked about fall and learned about pumpkins this week. They even dissected a pumpkin in Ms. Kim’s class!
Our first and second graders visited Belvedere Farm today and enjoyed a beautiful day outdoors.
Our third graders talked this week about travel to distant lands, and learned about the Great Plains of America, buffalo, and Native Peoples.
Our fourth graders worked on proper nouns, and their upcoming state projects, which are due October 26th. They also worked on creating stories with a graphic organizer.
Our 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th graders took a field trip on Wednesday to the Marine Corps Museum, where they watched the IMAX film, We, The Marines.
Our fifth grade level students covered chemical changes in science, and more fractions in math.
Our sixth grade level students covered chemical properties and changes in science, and expressions in math. Our fifth and sixth graders also learned about Mesopotamia this week, and its technology, government, and legends.
Our seventh grade level students covered the structure of functions, and linear and nonlinear functions in Algebra.
Our eight grade level students further explored atoms in science, and rigid transformations and symmetry in Geometry. Our seventh and eight graders also learned about suspense, and worked on group projects, “Ten Days in a Madhouse.”
Our 2s preschoolers talked about pets this week, and spent lots of time outside in the lovely, crisp air!
Our 3s preschoolers learned about sports this week, and played soccer in the gym. They also worked on counting to 30!
Our Jr K students learned about fall and changing seasons, and on a chilly afternoon had an indoor “picnic.” Our Jr K also welcomed a new teacher, Ms. Jalicia Lewis. She’s a terrific addition to our team and we love working with her already!
All bundled up for a buggy ride!
Music Notes
In Music class with Ms. Noh this week, the Jr K worked on “Do You Want to Build a Snowman,” and played with rhythm sticks to learn the basics of rhythm. They also worked on correlating music and movement.
The K classes worked on songs from The Sound of Music, and on learning the musical alphabet with the xylophone.
1st – 4th grade have been working on a new song, “Make a Difference.” They’re also learning basic fingering for the recorder. 1st and 2nd graders will learn on the soprano recorder, and 3rd and 4th on the alto recorder.
5th – 8th grade learned some music theory and the basics of reading music, and are working on technique for bucket drumming.
