Week of April 27 - May 1

Dear Parents,

This week we are going to be working with the letter Ww. The vocabulary that we are going to be focusing on is the following: wagon, watch, watermelon, web, water, wheel, whistle, wing, wink, worm, walrus, wreath, well, window, and windmill.

If you have any items at home that begin with this letter, send them over with your child and we will be discussing them in class, we will display them on a table and we will return them back on Friday. The kids get excited to bring things from home.

Some of the stories that we will be reading this week are:

Everyone wants a ride in worm's wagon, but will worm be able to pull the weight? The children will laugh and learn as we read this wacky tale that teaches the letter W.

The story focuses on a young boy named Max, who, after dressing in his wolf costume, wreaks havoc through his household and is disciplined by being sent to his bedroom. As he feels agitation with his mother, Max's bedroom undergoes a mysterious transformation into a jungle environment, and he winds up sailing to an island inhabited by malicious beasts known as the "Wild Things."

A little boy, called Peter, would like to whistle to call his dog Willie and try very hard but couldn't figure out how to do it. Peter sees other children whistling for their dogs. He tried to whistle in varieties of ways between spinning, hiding in boxes, coloring with chalks, pretending to be his father, walking the cracks in the sidewalks but failed. After many attempts he finally whistles for his dog Willie. He showed his parents he can whistle. When his parents sent him to buy some grocery for them he whistles to and from the grocery store.

We will continue working with the sight words introduced last week: then, little, two, red, and here

The children are becoming experts in recognizing what a noun, a verb and an adjective is. This week we will be working on plurals. The only rule that we will be introducing to them is whether or not they should add an “s” to a singular noun or not. For example dog-dogs, cat-cats.

We will continue working on the concepts of greater than, less than, and equal to.

Mateo's birthday is on Tuesday, April 28th his parents will celebate with the children on this day with pizza and cake. Children do not need to bring lunch this day, only snack. 

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WEDNESDAY – This Wednesday, April 29 students will be dismissed at 11:45 a.m. and we will follow PM Schedule.

PROGRESS REPORTS - Midterm Progress Reports for the fourth quarter will be sent home this Thursday, April 30.

**INFORMATIVE TALK FOR PARENTS - Mrs. Anna Lucía Acosta, specialist on family counseling, will be giving a presentation to the parents on the topic “Educating today is different”. This event will take place on Tuesday, April 28, at 1:00 p.m. in our Library. You are all invited to come and acquire some insight on this valuable education topic. Refreshments will be served.

SPRING GENERAL ASSEMBLY – We want to give all our school community a heads up and ask you to mark your calendars for Saturday, May 16 at 9:00 a.m. We need to reach a quorum for this General Assembly and be able to vote on budget, calendar and school improvements. The DPTO is offering a Pizza Party to the Grade that has the most parents attending the General Assembly.  

HEAT WAVE – We all know this is the hot season in Honduras, but it has been unprecedentedly hot the last couple of days, and the weather forecast predicts higher temperatures for next week. Here are some tips to keep in mind: 

1.    Wear light colored, loose fitting, lightweight clothes (cotton preferably)

2.    Students should be encouraged to bring water bottles, caps/hats to wear outside and to use sun block every day, especially on P. E. days.  

3.    Students may use their recess time for playing board games, reading, watching videos.

4.    Stay hydrated – drink lots of water even if you don’t feel thirsty.

DISCOVERY IDOL AUDITIONS – Our annual talent show is around the corner! Students can audition their songs, dances or other talents on Thursday, May 7, and Friday 8. The talent show will take place on Wednesday, May 20 at 10:15 p.m. 

COWBOY CARNIVAL AND PICNIC DINNER & MOVIE UNDER THE STARS- The DPTO is working very hard to put together a wonderful fun filled evening for our students and parents. This will take place on Friday, May 8 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Cowboy theme games and great food will be available for everyone, and there will be a great family movie – The Book Of Life – projected for everyone at 6:00 p.m. Dress up in cowboy gear, bring a blanket and come have a delightful family experience.

SUMMER CAMP – Discovery Zone 6 is back! Get an early registration! The Summer Camp will run from June 8-26, from 8:00 to 11: 50 a.m.  Please ask Ms. Valencia Duron for more information vduron@discoveryschool.edu.hn 

Week of April 20-24

Dear Parents,

This week we are going to be working with the letter Qq. The vocabulary that we are going to be focusing on is the following: quarter, quail, queen, quiet, quick, question mark, quilt, and quiche.

If you have any items at home that begin with this letter, send them over with your child and we will be discussing them in class, we will display them on a table and we will return them back on Friday. The kids get excited to bring things from home.

Some of the stories that we will be reading this week are:

Quincy Quail can’t stand Dotty Duck’s loud quacking. We will learn how a noisy friend can be quite wonderful in this touching tale that teaches the letter Q.

A celebration of a child's growing self awareness, and a prime example of how books can contribute to this. Whether brave or shy, strong or weak, in the end the young boy celebrates all different, apparently contradictory parts of himself.

A pioneer mother lovingly stitches a beautiful quilt which warms and comforts her daughter Abigail; many years later another mother mends and patches it for her little girl.

We are going to continue working with magnetic letters to form words. We are going to dictate words for the students to look for each letter they hear. They will surely have lots of fun. This might be an excellent game for you to play at home also. Try it out and you will all be amazed of what an excellent job they are doing.

The five new sight words for this week are: then, little, two, red, and here. Please practice these words at home.

In Math we are going to work with the concepts of “greater than” and “less than.” We are going to do a lot of activities where the children will identify the correct sign.

This week we will be talking about Planet Earth. We are going to be brainstorming ways to help the Earth stay clean. The children are all very excited to be the Earth´s super friend and you may have already noticed it at home. To wrap it up, on Friday we would be watching a movie called “The Lorax” which is about the environment. We will have popcorn and juice. Children are allowed to bring a pillow to watch the movie this day.

Last week I started reading aloud a chapter book to the students. They are all very engage with the book and making predictions of what they think might happen. Reading aloud builds many important foundational skills, introduces vocabulary, provides a model of fluent, expressive reading, and helps children recognize what reading for pleasure is all about. We are currently reading the book “Dinosaurs Before Dark” from the Magic Tree House series. Ask your little one what is this book about and you will be amazed of their responses and how much fun they are having with it.

The children in charge of donating the materials for Kinder Kafe are Vilma and Alejandro. Thanks in advance!

IMPORTANT SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS

GO GREEN MONTH:  students are encouraged to wear green each Friday this month.

BRICKS4KIDZ – Session 3 is this Friday, April 17. The sessions run from 3:15 to 4:15 and will be open for students in from kindergarten to grade five. There are spaces still available! You can register on Friday!

Week of April 13-17

Dear Parents,

This week we are going to be working with the letter Xx. As you know, there are not that many words that begin with this letter. For this reason, we are also going to talk about words that have this letter at the middle, or at the end of it. The vocabulary that we are going to be focusing on is the following: xylophone, x-ray, taxi, box, mix, fox.

If you have any items at home that begin or end with this letter, send them over with your child and we will be discussing them in class, we will display them on a table and we will return them back on Friday. The kids get excited to bring things from home.

Some of the stories that we will be reading this week are:

 X-ray fish wants a xylophone for his birthday, but will he get his wish?

Christina’s mother gets a new refrigerator… and with it, a giant box — a child’s dream!  It becomes a castle, a clubhouse, a racing car, a dance floor, and more.  Christina’s mother is going crazy and wants the box gone — but Christina always has one more idea.

Matthew's mom is just like all the other moms. She has ordinary hair, ordinary clothes, and a nice smile. Matthew's mom is just like all the other moms . . . EXCEPT she has X-RAY VISION! How else could she always know what Matthew is up to? She knows when he jumps on the bed, or when he uses her pots and pans outside, and she even knows when he is wrestling with sea monsters in the bathtub! Matthew is sure his mom can see through things just like a superhero!

We are going to be working with magnetic letters to form words. We are going to dictate words for the students to look for each letter they hear. They will surely have lots of fun. This might be an excellent game for you to play at home also. Try it out and you will all be amazed of what an excellent job they are doing.

We will continue working with the following sight words: make, out, time, him, who. Please practice them with your child at home!!!

In Math, we are going to continue working with Time to the hour. We are going to be looking at differences on digital and analog clocks.

The children have been practicing counting by ones, by fives and by tens. This week we will continue these counting exercises.

Please practice the following IXL skills with the students. We have noticed that children are not using IXL and this is a great tool for them to practice at home.

Time

M.1     Match clocks and times

M.2    Read clocks and write times

We are having a sensational time learning about our Solar System. We have learned about the Sun, the Moon, and Mercury. This week we are going to be talking about Venus.

The children in charge for donating the materials for Kinder Kafe are: Sebastian Ortez and Tammy Rodriguez. Thank you in advance!

SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS

GO GREEN MONTH:  Our students and parents are reminded to take green actions in their classrooms and at home.  Students will be keeping a “GO GREEN” chart in their classroom to record these actions.   Recycling is one of these actions, so students are encourage to bring from home their cleaned and sorted paper, glass, aluminum, and plastic containers for recycling.   Also, our students are encouraged to wear green each Friday this month.

GO GREEN CLASSROOM COMPETION FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD AND ELEMENTARY - The environmental science students should have bought a poster chart to your classroom.  On this chart, students can keep track of their "green" actions.  They may add a dot/stick/X to each box when they:

- Recycle aluminum, paper, or plastic in the appropriate bin

- Save energy by turning off the computers, lights, and fan when leaving the classroom

- Conserve resources by using both sides of the paper

- Prevent waste production by using a reusable lunch box or thermos

BRICKS4KIDZ – Session 2 is this Friday, April 17. The sessions run from 3:15 to 4:15 and will be open for students in from kindergarten to grade five. There are spaces still available! You can register on Friday!  

Week of April 7-10

Dear Parents,

We hope you all have had a wonderful Semana Santa / Easter break! We hope this break has helped us all re-charged our batteries and enthusiastically begin the last portion of this school year.

 This week we are going to be working with the letter Zz. The vocabulary that we are going to be focusing on is the following: zebra, zero, zipper, zoo

If you have any items at home that begin with this letter, send them over with your child and we will be discussing them in class, we will display them on a table and we will return them back on Friday. The kids get excited to bring things from home.

Some of the stories that we will be reading this week are:

What will it take for Zack to wake up? We will find out in this zippy tale that teaches the letter Z.

Spot, a polka-dot leopard who can change colors and even juggle his own spots, tries to convince two children that he is special enough to be exhibited in the zoo.

This absolutely stunning picture book is all about Za-za and the effect that the new baby has on a household. When Za-za, the little zebra gets a baby brother, the usual routines in her life change radically. Mom returns from hospital, and she's tired, and Za-za is looked after by Granny. The baby receives all the attention from both her parents as well as visitors and Za-za is feeling neglected. Everyone is so busy that there is no time for toys or stories. So how does it all turn out for Za-za?

We will introduce five new sight words: make, out, time, him, who. Please practice them with your child at home!!!

In our Social Studies unit, the children are having a blast learning about SPACE. We have learned about the Sun and the Moon. This week we are going to be talking about the Planet Mercury. Ask your little ones about what they know, and you will be amazed to hear their responses.

In Math, we will begin to work with TIME. The children will be exploring clocks and matching the correct time with cards.

We will also be reviewing solid shapes. Please practice this vocabulary words with them: sphere, cylinder, pyramid, cube, and cone. Ask them to look for objects around the house that are these particular shapes.

The children in charge for bringing the ingredients for Kinder Kafe this week are: Mateo Jacome and Nicolas Martin. Thanks in advance!

IMPORTANT SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS

GO GREEN MONTH -  April is the month in which we will celebrate Earth Day, and Discovery School students will participate in a variety of activities that will educate them about all the things the Earth does for us and how we can help preserve it.  We will kick off the month’s celebrations with an assembly on Friday, April 10th from 10:25 AM-10:45 AM.   We encourage all students and teachers to wear green each Friday in the month of April!

BRICKS4KIDZ - The second module for Bricks4kidz will begin this Friday, April 10. The sessions will be held on Fridays (in April 10,17 and 24; in May 8,15 and 22) from 3:15 to 4:15 and will be open for students in from kindergarten to grade five. There are spaces still available! You can register on Friday!