by Sarah Segall | Jul 16, 2020 | 2nd/3rd Grade News, 4th/5th Grade News, First Grade News, In The Loop, Kindergarten News, Preschool
What will the 2020-2021 school year look like for Spanish With Sarah?
We will update this page as more information becomes available. We are also working on a handbook and will email and post that to all families the first week of August.
We will need to follow health and safety guidelines set forth by the state of WA for all public and private schools.
We are working on a plan for staggered arrival and dismissal times to help with the flow of traffic. The current plan of thought is (subject to change):
Drop Off Times by grade levels:
8:30-8:40 – 2nd-4th Grade Families
8:40-8:50 – Kindergarten – 1st Grade Families
8:45 ( or 12:30) – Preschool families will enter through the back door of the school, maintaining 6’ social distance from other families.
Parents will drive up to the yellow area, cars will be met by either Ms. Marilu or Maestra Sarah, with parents remaining in their cars. We will ask to see your written temperature check from home or we will do a temperature check on your child, help them to exit the car, and escort them inside.
We will be able to help two cars at a time, please be sure to pull into the nearest spot. Children, at this time, are required to wear masks and have it on before the car doors are opened for temperature checks.
Students will wash their hands upon entering the school each day.
Preschool families will escort your children to and from their class via the back entrance, closest to the preschool room. We will ask anyone on school property to wear a mask to properly cover their nose and mouth.
Pick-up Procedures and Times
We will have students lined up, hands washed, and ready to escort them to your car.
Alternating pick-up times:
3:00-3:15 – 2nd-4th Grade families
3:15- Preschool Families will enter the back door of the school for pick up (please maintain 6’ distance from other families)
3:15-3:25 – Kindergarten – 1st Grade Families
The current plan is to have in-person classes (we already have smaller class sizes)! We have also acquired a larger room upstairs for our oldest class (with it’s own bathroom). This will help reduce the number of students in the downstairs hallway and bathrooms.
We are currently planning to:
- Have in-person classes.
- Ask parents to drop their children off outside so we may escort them to their classes. (This will reduce the number of people in our hallway as well as reduce the points of contact in the school.)
- Ask preschool families to enter and exit through the back door (the door closest to the preschool room).
- Ask students to stay home when they are sick.
- Wear a mask while at school. (Following recommended guidelines.)
- Arrange classrooms for maximum student distance of 6′, including alternative seating options.
- Conduct classes outside, when possible.
- Record and/or broadcast lessons so sick children can join from home.
- Take temperatures regularly (following the guidelines that have yet to be sent out).
- Have extra and frequent cleaning methods in place.
- Have all individual, non-shared, supplies.
- Have specialist teachers come to classes so that students will not be moving to different rooms on Wednesdays.
- Split the students during lunch and recess so we have half as many kiddos eating or playing at one time.
- Have teachers bring their class outside for dismissal.
- Have students bring their own snacks so we are not handling their food.
- Limit field trips until we have been advised to lift this restriction.
- Divide preschool classes in half to separate students during table activities and rug/calendar activities.
- State guidelines state that music and some PE activities may not be safe and will need to be offered in a different way. We are awaiting further guidance while making plans to use larger spaces or have these student activities outside.
We will have Google Classroom and other virtual sites set up so that students will be familiar with them in the event students are ill and can join class remotely or watch a recording of lessons when they are feeling better.
Last year we really didn’t miss a beat and our teachers immediately began recording lessons and hosting live lessons every single day for the classes. Like every classroom in the country, we will need to be prepared to move to a short-term distance-learning model should someone in the class test positive. Unlike last year, distance learning should be for limited periods of time only.
by Ivary & Paola | Jun 14, 2020 | 4th/5th Grade News
Mathematics
Students will be able to join any small group meeting on Monday and Tuesday to ask questions.
We will have a final meeting on Thursday in Google Meets with both teachers!
This week we will finish learning about Three Dimensional Shapes. Our objectives will be:
- Identify and classify prisms and pyramids
- Identify the solid figures that can be formed from a net
- Identify and classify cylinders, spheres, and cones
Videos will be available for Chapter 16 on Google Classroom over the summer. I strongly recommend that students complete the Chapter 16 pages in their workbook, as well as the chapter reviews and the full year review.
History
This week we will continue learning about The Civil War. Our objectives will be:
- Explain how the Dred Scott decision, John Brown’s raid, and the election of 1860 increased the disagreements between the North and the South.
- Describe the challenges Lincoln faced when he took office.
by Sarah Segall | Jun 13, 2020 | 2nd/3rd Grade News, 4th/5th Grade News, First Grade News, In The Loop, Kindergarten News, Preschool
Dear Parents,
We are excited to celebrate the end of the school year with our students. We know the normal end of the Performance and Field Day can’t occur under the current circumstances. In light of that, we would like to share how we will celebrate our students’ accomplishments from this year and wish them a wonderful, safe summer.
On June 17, we are inviting all students and parents to a drive-thru celebration at Spanish With Sarah where students will be cheered and celebrated by staff. All preschool-5th grade students and parents are invited from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM. In order for us to facilitate this, we need to follow specific guidelines and expectations laid out by the State of Washington:
- Parents are encouraged to decorate their cars to celebrate their students!
- Students and family members will NOT be able to get out of their vehicles.
- Vehicles with students and immediate family members will enter the parking lot from 23rd street (closest to the big trees) and follow the loop, pause to greet teachers, and exit out 23rd street (closest to the house).
- Staff will be stationed in front of the playground fence to wave and celebrate students.
- Staff will have signs acknowledging students and will decorate the fence and their cars.
- Each vehicle will stop at the designated TEACHER area: award appropriate certificates, give end-of-the year items, and take an optional photograph. Students will NOT be able to get out of their cars.
- Please do not pull ahead of the vehicle in front of you but rather follow through the procession.
- Anyone who did not have their yearbook mailed to their home will be able to pick this up during the parade.
We know this is not the way we had all planned to celebrate the successful completion of the school year, and we appreciate your understanding as we do our best to celebrate.
PLEASE take a look at the MAP to help make things run smoothly!
by Ivary & Paola | Jun 7, 2020 | 4th/5th Grade News
Mathematics
This week we will finish learning about the Properties of Triangles and Four-Sided Figures. Our objectives will be:
- understand and apply the properties of parallelogram, rhombus, and trapezoid
- demonstrate understanding of the properties of triangles and four-sided figures on the chapter test
History
This week we will continue learning about The Civil War. Our objectives will be:
- Summarize the political background and events that led to the Missouri Compromise.
- Identify the abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison and his publication The Liberator, and abolitionist Frederick Douglass.
- Explain how the growth of manufacturing in the North and the plantation system in the South increased the economic and social differences between the two regions.
Lectura y Ciencias
Thank you Adi for your outstanding science presentation! This week, students will continue presenting their end of the year science projects. I have posted a sign-in sheet in Google Classroom so they can schedule the day they would like to present. This is how the schedule looks like so far:
Monday: Emilie, Alora, Ben
Tuesday: All slots available
Thursday: Natalie, Naomi, Marisol
In literacy, Students have been working on a writing assignment. We will be publishing our pieces this week.
by Ivary & Paola | May 31, 2020 | 4th/5th Grade News
History & Geography
This week we will take the Westward Expansion Before the Civil War test and begin learning about The Civil War. Our objectives will be:
- demonstrate understanding the events and changes that occured during Westward Expansion on the chapter test
- Understand the institution of slavery and the basis of the antislavery movement
- Explain the different types of jobs done by slaves
- listen to and compare Two African American Spirituals
Mathematics
This week we will continue learning about the Properties of Triangles and Four-Sided Figures. Our objectives will be:
- understand that the sum of the length of any two sides of a triangle is greater than the length of the third side
- understand and apply the properties of parallelogram, rhombus, and trapezoid
Lectura
This week we will continue with our literature studies and narrative writing. Students have been assigned a reading from our book Beisbol en abril. During our meetings, we are discussing the elements of short stories and el genero narrativo. Students should be ready to provide the class with a short summary of their story on Tuesday. We are getting ready to write our own narrative pieces this week. The objectives are:
- Identify the elements of a narrative piece: characters, setting, storyline and plot, themes, word choice, dialog, etc.
- Go through the writing process to write your own original short story.
- Use descriptive language and figure of speech in your writing.
Ciencias
This week we will continue to explore the marine ecosystems. On Tuesday, I have invited my daughter, Valentina, to talk to us about her work as a marine biologist.
Students are expected to continue to work on their end of the year science projects. Projects will be presented the week of June 8th. This week, I will put up a sign in sheet so they can schedule their presentations. An example of a project, a rubric and the requirements for the project are posted in Google Classroom under the science tab. I can wait to see their science projects!
by Ivary & Paola | May 24, 2020 | 4th/5th Grade News
History & Geography
REMINDER: There will be no Google Meets meetings on Monday May 25!
This week we will continue to learn about Westward Expansion Before the Civil War. Our objectives will be:
- Understand why the United States went to war against Mexico.
- Explain why the Mormons settled in the Far West.
- Read an excerpt of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Mathematics
This week we will continue learning about the Properties of Triangles and Four-Sided Figures. Our objectives will be:
- understand and apply the property that the sum of the angle measures of a triangle is 180
- understand and apply the properties of right, isosceles, and equilateral triangles
Literatura
This week in lectura, we will be studying short stories of El género narrativo . Students have been assigned a reading of our book “Béisbol en abril”. We will be having our book club discussion on Friday. Please make sure you remind your child to be ready for our discussion.
Science
This week we will review and summarize the main concepts seen these last few weeks during our Sensory Systems unit. To bring closure to the study of systems, students will read about the North Atlantic Ocean ecosystem and its importance in the carbon cycle. We will use this reading to talk about our science studies this year, and brainstorm ideas on how we can apply these concepts for our end of the year science project. Students have the freedom to choose any topic or area of interest for their science research project.
Students have been given a rubric, as well as an example of how the project should look like. They are welcome to include any and all their creative ideas during this project. Science Research Project will be presented the week of June 8th.
These are the guiding questions for the project:
¿Cuál es el tema de tu informe de investigación?
(What is the topic for your research project?)
¿Cuál es la pregunta de enfoque de tu proyecto?
(What is your guiding question?)
¿Cuál será tu plan de investigación para tu proyecto?
(How do you plan to develop your project?)
¿Qué fuentes confiables piensas usar para tu investigación?
(What sources will you be using?)
¿Cómo planeas hacer tu presentación a la clase?
(How do you plan to present to the class?)
by Sarah Segall | May 19, 2020 | 2nd/3rd Grade News, 4th/5th Grade News, First Grade News, In The Loop, Kindergarten News, Preschool
If you are a parent or guardian of minor children also struggling with child rearing, I want to personally invite you to our virtual town hall, featuring notable child psychologist Dr. Allison Briscoe-Smith of the Wright Institute. The lively town hall discussion will be moderated by Sara Ellis Conant, co-founder and CEO of A-Plan Coaching. Dr. Briscoe-Smith will address your tough parenting questions and provide you with practical coping strategies to help you and your family promote resiliency during these uncertain times.
https://helpamotherout.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5e8087dc5992e8fc2893d0b49&id=91b0e98efa&e=3f23087ab6
by Ivary & Paola | May 17, 2020 | 4th/5th Grade News
History & Geography
This week we will continue to learn about Westward Expansion Before the Civil War. Our objectives will be:
- Explain the significance of the Alamo
- Describe the significance of the Oregon Trail, the use of wagons, and the hardships endured by travelers.
- discover art and music from the nineteenth century
- Understand why the United States went to war against Mexico.
Mathematics
This week we will begin learning about the Properties of Triangles and Four-Sided Figures. Our objectives will be:
- classify triangles by their side lengths and angle measures
- Understand and apply the property that the sum of the angle measures of a triangle is 180°
- Understand and apply the properties of right, isosceles, and equilateral triangles
Literatura
Congratulations to our students on their outstanding presentations of our literature studies’
final project, La llamada de la selva. Once again, we were moved by the level of the quality of
our student’s work! We are ready and excited to kick off our narrative studies through our last
book club of the year, Béibol en abril.
Science
In science, students have been learning ways that animals communicate through sound, visual
displays, and smell. We have been studying the role that instinct and learned behaviors play in
the life of living organisms. We studied the monarch butterflies and their instinctive migration
over several generations.
This week students will be participating in a collaborative writing assignment. If your child
hasn’t yet, please have them choose an animal they would like to do their research on. Students
will be studying that over long periods of time, species must gradually adapt to meet the
challenges of their environment, or they will not survive. They will address the difference
between physical and behavioral adaptations, as well as distinguishing between behaviors that
are instincts and those that are learned.
Students have been developing their independent science research projects. This
week we will discuss all the details about this end of the year science project.
Continue to:
● Read books in www.Kidsa-z.com
● Read books in www.getepic.com
● Book Club with Maestra Paola on Fridays!
by Ivary & Paola | May 10, 2020 | 4th/5th Grade News
History & Geography
This week we will continue to learn about Westward Expansion Before the Civil War. Our objectives will be:
- Explain the ways settlers and government officials pushed Native Americans out of their homelands, including broken promises and treaties.
- Identify the improvements made in transportation, and explain how these improvements affected travel.
- Explain how the Erie Canal boosted the country’s economy and westward expansion.
- Explain the concept of Manifest Destiny
Mathematics
This week we will continue learning about Angles. Our objectives will be:
- understand and apply the property that the sum of angle measures on a line is 180*
- Understand and apply the property that the sum of angle measures at a point is 360*
- Understand and apply the property that vertical angles have equal measures
Lectura
This week we will write a new short story together during our class time. We will work together to include this week’s spelling words as well as to focus on synonyms and antonyms. (Students who do not participate by adding several sentences to the stories will be asked to write spelling sentences for the week……). Our learning objectives are:
- Work collaboratively to use our spelling words in context.
- Form detailed sentences focusing on: agreement, sentences structure, correct punctuation, etc.
- Identify common mistakes and peer-edit during class writing time.
- Correctly identify synonyms and antonyms and discuss how they are useful to writers and readers.
- Read books in www.Kidsa-z.com
- Read books in www.getepic.com
- Book Club with Maestra Paola on Fridays!
Spelling list for the week. Have it for each class!
Grammar focus for the week. Have it for each class!
Ciencias
Students will work to complete their study of the body systems using www.fossweb.com and their Tuesday meetings with Maestra Paola.
