Hola, Señora Gates has Begun Our Spanish Instruction!

We a very busy day!  In the computer lab, the students are learning to use Microsoft Power Point.  Today, we learned to set up a new Power Point presentation.  The students learned to add and format a text box, rectangle and oval.  The students can now add a new text box and format it for color, size, style of font and location on the page.  After today, they can also insert a rectangle, square, circle and oval.  They can format their figures for color, size and position.  They are able to fill the shape with a single color, gradient colors, a pattern or a picture.  Today we practiced layering objects and how to change the position of an object by using the send forward and backward tools.  If you have Power Point at home, I would encourage you to let your child explore some of its possibilities.  It is a great application for writing a report, making a card or doing a book report.  It is user friendly and very adaptable for inserting photos and video.

The students completed their first full page "Squiggle" as a part of our creative problem solving.  These exercises teach students to be more flexible in their thinking and elaborative in their projects as they combine the squiggle marks to create a single, cohesive picture.

In the afternoon, the students worked at their individual Exploratory Centers.  We have robotic models being built, original castle plans being designed, origami figures being folded, illustrations of the Titanic striking the iceberg, a coded message written with coordinates on a grid, a butterfly puppet under construction, a student compiling a Monet timeline and more.  Ask your child about their work.

Today was also our first day of Spanish with Senora Gates!  Each of the students selected an optional Spanish name.  We also learned about:

1.     Greetings.  Hola, Buenos días. 

2.     Names- Me llamo…¿Cómo te llamas? Mucho gusto.

3.     Friends-Amigos- Pablo, Livia, Antonio, Rosa

4.     Colors-rojo, azul, blanco, negro, amarillo, verde, anaranjado, rosado, morado, gris, azul cielo, café o marrón.  Game-Levántense- Siéntense

5.     Numbers 1-20 Los números 1 hasta 20

6.     Calendar –El Calendario

Days and Dates-Días y fechas

With the additions of several new students, we are looking like a complete class!  The boys and girls are doing a nice job welcoming new classmates and our new students are settling in to our routine and expectations.  They are a great group!

Have a great week!