Last Friday, December 11, the PALs held their annual Giving Workshop. Students had the opportunity to make several crafts. They made gifts to be given to others. One of the items they made will be given to a Secret PAL in their homeroom during the winter party next week. They also had to make one craft to be donated to the Fitchburg Community Senior Center. The seniors will have their annual Christmas luncheon this week, and each senior will be able to take home a gift made by one of the PALs. Thank you very much to the parents that were able to come in and help with workshop last week. Your help is greatly appreciated!
Seven sheets of newspaper, two feet of masking tape, teamwork and perseverance combined for another successful PAL Picnic activity.August 10, 2015 Dear Multiage PAL (Partners Actively Learning) Families, Welcome to a new school year and the Multiage PALs program! We’d like to provide a little background information. The program was started in 1992 with the intent of allowing parents, students and teachers to work together for more than one year. The program philosophy statement (below) tells a little bit more about our mission as teachers. While many students begin the program as they enter first grade, additional students are placed in the program at various grade levels each year. Due to larger class sizes at 4th and 5th grade at Stoner Prairie, students are added to the 4/5 classrooms annually. We are looking forward to the new school year and the upcoming 24th Annual PALs Picnic, which will be held on Thursday, August 27, in the Stoner Prairie multipurpose room. This is our chance to start the upcoming school year with a warm welcome to the new families joining the program and a welcome back to returning PALs. As reflected in our program philosophy, the social time for families to get to know one another is fundamental to the sense of community we’re trying to foster through the PALs program. After eating, we’ll include all children and adults in a group activity to demonstrate learning strategies we use in our classrooms. The evening will start with “school supply drop off” for PALs students and a chance to meet teachers and take a look at classrooms from 5:30-5:45. Please bring along any school supplies that you’ve gathered by that time. See the agenda below for our scheduled activities. Please also bring a picnic dinner if your family is staying for the picnic and group activity. There will be tables set up in the multipurpose room for eating. Agenda 5:30-5:45 Supply drop off and meet with teachers in the classrooms. 5:45-6:10 Families bring a picnic dinner with them to eat in the multi-purpose room. 6:10-7:00 Group activity Thank you for your support. We look forward to seeing you and your family on Thursday, August 27, at Stoner Prairie. Sincerely, 1-3 Teachers Liz Buerger, room 218, 845-4268 Jodi Moll, room 219, 845-4269 Jennie Johnson-Corless, room 220, 845-4270 4/5 Teachers Sue Cook, room 221, 845-4271 Paula Wick, room 222, 845-4272 If you are unable to join us for the picnic, please call 845-4269 (Mrs. Moll’s extension) and leave a message or send an email to [email protected]. Thanks! Within our community of learners, children engage in handson, developmentally appropriate activities and are given numerous opportunities to interact with peers and adults. Teachers and parents are partners in facilitating and fostering each child’s education. Our approach is integrated, inquiry-based, and process-driven. Teachers and children work together to select, plan, and assess learning activities that build upon district standards along with students’ experiences, strengths, needs, and interests. Each child is viewed as a unique person with individual learning styles and growth patterns. We honor the development of the whole child in our multiage classrooms by providing a safe and nurturing environment that promotes the physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development of our children. (revised 2012)
A lot of neat things were happening during our second week of Interest Groups. The smell of basil was flowing through the rooms as the pizza making group prepared their sauce and made cheese from scratch. The gardening group planted onion bulbs and tomatoes and visited the Savanna Oaks garden. They also worked on their composting with worms. Kids in the mosaic group grouted, made a stepping stone and cut more glass to be used in the piece they are making for the first letter of their name. The cooking group found some good deals when they traveled to Copp's Food Center to buy groceries for next week. The Sharpie artists designed t-shirts and pillow cases using Sharpie markers. Edible turkeys made of peppers, fruit and cheese were created by the health and fitness group before they headed outside for a bootcamp. Kids in the strategy games group played a variety of games including chess, spoons, Jenga, and Sorry. The technology group was busy interviewing members and taking video from each group in preparation for a tech project which will feature each Interest Group. The knitting group learned how to tube knit and began to use needles. Students in the money management group were given a budget for grocery shopping and learned how to write checks. The junk art group designed vases and other art out of junk. The team building and drama group worked on the piece they will perform next week. The energy was high this past Friday morning as the PALs kicked off the 2015 Interest Groups. This year's groups include: technology, strategy games, team building/drama, Sharpie art, junk art, pizza making, health and fitness, mosaics, knitting, cooking, money management, and gardening. Thank you to everyone that was able to come work with us this morning. Check out the slide show below to see more! We had planned to start Interest Groups next Friday, April 24. Unfortunately, at this time, we do not have enough adults to lead the number of groups needed to provide meaningful experiences for students. We sent a form home with students prior to spring break asking for volunteers and only heard back from a few. So at this point, if we do not hear back from enough people, we will not be able to have Interest Groups this year. We are looking for parents, family members, friends, etc. with an interest in something that they are willing to share with students. Some examples of groups we’ve had in the past include: gardening, flower arranging, woodworking, puzzles and games, and exercise. We understand that many of you work during the school day and are unable to join us. So we are asking if you know of any one who might be interested in leading a group, please contact them and see if they would like to help us out. The three Fridays are April 24, May 1 and May 8 from 8:00 until about 9:30. Please let us know by this Thursday, April 16 if you are able to help or know of someone else who can. Thank you to those who are already planning to lead or support a group.
Link to Interest Group Videos All five homerooms will be having a Friendship Party on Friday. Just a reminder, if your child wants to bring in Valentines, they can not contain food or candy of any sort. We'll be doing a small art project and we could use fingernail polish. If you have any polish that you could donate, please send it in with your child. Thank you in advance for checking and supporting us. Happy Valentine's Day!
PALs kids enjoyed the opportunity to pair with book buddies to participate in the school hour of code this week. This included work with several iPad apps and the code.org website. Coding is highly engaging problem solving that we urge you to learn more about from your child(ren).
Apps featured include:
Our 4/5 kids have access to a code.org course to monitor their progress with coding exercises. |