February 2017

Dear Parents,

      We enjoyed meeting many of our new parents at the Orientation meeting! If you weren’t able to attend the meeting and would like the PowerPoint presentation, please let us know. We’ll be happy to send it to you.

       Our 1^st grade Target students have had a great start! We have been working on building a Target community which includes recognizing individual strengths and weaknesses, listening to the input of others and taking shared responsibility for group activities. They are doing such an amazing job with our STEM activities. I think we have some future engineers in this group!

       Speaking of future engineers, our fifth graders are working very hard on Inventure! Inventure is an annual STEM competition sponsored by Georgia Tech. We are entering the planning and creating phase of the engineering design process. Be on the lookout for information about our local competition on February 15^th, where you will have the opportunity to see your child’s project on display!

       Tuesdays have been very dramatic! Our 4^th grade students have embraced the ‘Reinventing Shakespeare: Problem Based Learning’ unit. They showcased their individual strengths during the Shakespeare Tic-Tac-Toe project. Thanks for your support in helping ensure the projects were completed and turned in on time. We have been honing our divergent thinking skills through Tableaux. A Tableaux is a group of models or motionless figures representing a scene. Shakespeare was a master at the mannequin challenge!            

      2^nd and 3^rd grade students are about to begin our cubism unit. Part of the cubism unit involves practicing visual-spatial skills through solving the Rubik’s cube.  If you happen to have a Rubik’s cube lying around, we would love to borrow it!

       Genius Hour presentations for will be due the weeks of April 17^th, 24^th and May 8^th. Letters and calendars for Genius Hour will be going home for 3^rd and 4^th grades soon. 1^st and 2^nd graders will be doing Genius Hour Jr. Their letters will go home at a later date.  

      As always, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.

                     Thanks for your support,
                             Mrs. Parsons and Mrs. Sanders

     

ALP Parent Newletter

Please click the link below to see the ALP parent newsletter.

Target Parent Newsletter

                                                                  January 2017
Dear Parents,
    We are excited to have new friends joining our Target classes! Due to the snow days, we will need to re-schedule our new parent meeting. We will send home information about the new date shortly. Please attend if you are able. We’ll have some information about our program curriculum, routines and expectations to share with you. For now, new students need to bring 2 pocket folders and a composition book. 
    We’re also excited to have our old friends back after a long break. We are looking forward to continuing the fun and learning with our spring units.
     5^th grade will continue with Inventure, focusing on the latter stages of the engineering design process. We’re excited to put our plans into action! Please be on the lookout for information about our local competition and needed supplies for prototypes.
     4^th graders will be Reinventing Shakespeare! This unit is an interactive introduction to Shakespeare - his work, his times, and his continuing impact. It is also an exploration of the 21^st Century 4 C’s – Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity.  Students will actively engage in Shakespeare’s works and creative responses to his work. They will read, write, discuss, recite, perform, and create.
      It’s getting chilly on Fridays! 3^rd grade students will be completing a STEM mini unit called The Great Arctic Circle Challenge. Each team will be completing weekly STEM challenges to help a stranded arctic exploration team get back to safety.
      1^st and 2^nd grader graders are Sailing the STEM-y Seas with our pirate-themed STEM mini-unit. Weekly challenges include building a floating pirate ship and creating water-proof treasure chests. STEM can be challenging, but our youngest Target students have shown that they are very capable!
     After our STEM mini-units, 2^nd and 3^rd graders will be exploring our new problem-based learning unit, Cubism. We will study art (mosaics) and art history (Cubism), while incorporating math-based lessons about perimeter and area.  
      1^st graders will be working through our introductory Target unit, with a focus on convergent and critical thinking and primary algebra. We will also be completing additional STEM mini-units as an extension.
   2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th graders will receive information on Genius Hour expectations soon.
   As always, please feel free to contact us with questions or concerns.
              Welcome back!
                  Mrs. Parsons and Mrs. Sanders