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Click here for the May/June 2010 school calendar.

News from the 1-2 Class

The end of our school year is drawing near, as evidence of all of the strong writing pieces, stunning African art projects and the blooming Journey North tulip garden. The last few weeks of school will be spent applying the skills we’ve been learning throughout the school year in our inquiry learning.

This past week we were fortunate to have drummer Dr. Eddie “Ade” Knowles come into our classroom to teach the children various Afro-Cuban drumming rhythms. The students performed these rhythms on their own drums.  Ade also taught the children about where the drumming styles he demonstrated for us originated from and the reasons why people use drumming. The students learned that drumming can be used as a means of communicating with others. Ade also taught us that “if you can sing, you can play the drums”. The students were eager and energetic participants in this very special program and look forward to seeing Ade perform in the future.

For our final project in our Western Africa unit the students will be making tunics in the style of the Dogon tribe. These tunics will be decorated using a wax-resists technique embellished with the vivid colors and dynamic geometric patterns found in the textiles that the Dogon people construct. The class is looking forward to have the parent community coming into the classroom to support the class for this very special project.

The RPI Astronomy Night was a hit! Students observed the moon and Saturn, enjoyed a presentation about color from CMOST, created UV necklaces, ate astronaut ice cream, and created Starfinders. This late night was packed with excitement, creative thinking and inspiration to learn more about the sky above us. A very special thank you to Lisa Trahan who organized the Astronomy Night as well as the African drummer, Dr. Eddie “Ade” Knowles experiences.

If you are interested in learning more about our class and what we do, please visit our class wikispace at: http://missphilbin.wikispaces.com/Miss+Philbin+1-2+Class.

Happy summer,

Jennifer