The Laureate School - San Luis Obispo California USA

September 8th 2010

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 18:32:42 -0000

Good afternoon Laureate Community!
To begin our first Wednesday Communication for the 2010-2011 school year we would like to welcome our new and returning Laureate families who were not able to join us for our Classroom Visitation and Parent Orientation on August 31st! Thank you to the Foundation for sponsoring the ice cream social that followed - yum - as well as the Parent Coffee on the first day of school. The spirit of enthusiasm and positive energy that was evident was exciting to all of us at The Laureate. We look forward to sharing the family and school events planned for the school year.

And with this year dedicated to our working together as a school-wide learning community, we look forward to learning together as well! Please begin our “learning year” together by attending our Back-to-School Night (see below); we look forward to seeing you at the Wine and Cheese Social! - Roz Reymers and all of us at The Laureate School

Laureate School Events:

Back to School Night September 14th from 5-7pm (Note: Revised Date)
The Foundation will begin the evening at 5pm with a Wine and Cheese Social as a chance to chat informally and get to know new parents. The remainder of the evening will be spent in your child’s classroom with his/her teacher, learning about the curriculum, class events, and procedures. (Those with more than one child will be visiting both classes; please do think about the order in which you plan your visits and the possibility of “splitting up” for the two grades.) This is an important time to get to know your child’s teacher and what he/she will be working on this year!

Child Care will be made available for Primary and Elementary children. (We are sorry that we can not accommodate Toddler children.) Pizza will be provided Advance sign-up is necessary: Sign up in the Front Office by Friday, September 10th end of the day. A sign-up sheet will be made available in the office. Cost for childcare is $10.00 for the first child and an additional $5.00 for siblings. Important: Back-to-School –Night Child Care and Pizza is separate from the regular Extended Care program, which closes at 6pm. If you intend for your child to be included in the Back-to-School-Night Child Care and Pizza you must sign-up on the sign-up sheet in the Office.

Character Assembly: September 10th
The first Character Assembly will be this Friday, September 10th from 8:30-9am. Middle School students will be presenting the first Character Program attribute for the month of September – COOPERATION – to K-5 students through entertaining skits and activities. Parents are invited. Come join us and learn about “cooperation” with our students!

General School Announcements:

Attendance and Tardy Slips
The Laureate School will begin requiring Tardy Slips for K-8 students on Monday, September 13th. Please take the time from now until then to plan to make any changes needed to your morning routines and/or routes to ensure that your child arrives to class at time.

Emergency Contact Information
If you have not yet done so, please turn in the pink Emergency Contact Sheet for 2010-2011. It is important that a new sheet I provided to the school each school year. Please have this turned in by this Friday and extra copies are available in the Front Office if needed.

The Laureate Parent Handbook and The Laureate School Directory
Both publications will be ready and handed out at Back-to-School Night on September 14th. If you have not yet done so, please turn in your Publishing Information Sheet so we can know your preferences for your listing in the Directory!

First Day of 5th Grade

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 19:12:51 -0000

Hello, here's some information about Catalina Island Trip plus more class news.

MUSIC CLASS

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 21:00:00 -0000

Welcome to Music Class 2010-11!!!

It's hard to believe that the new school year has started! This 2010 -2011 year marks my 9th year at the Laureate! I am very excited to be able to once again add the Pre-school classes as well as Toddlers to my schedule!

This year will bring many new things to all of the music classes. A major new addition to the music program is the use of classical guitars. We will be beginning with the 5th grade this year. By the time this class is ready to graduate in 2014 they will be ready to go pro!

We are also planning on introducing the sopranino recorder to the second grade class. Traditionally, we start the third graders with the soprano recorder. This year, the two classes will be combined for music. The introduction of the sopranino recorder, a smaller version of the soprano, makes it possible for the younger students to adapt their smaller hands to the instrument. This way, both classes will be able to share the same experience of learning this wind instrument!

Fourth graders will be doing some work with Garage Band this year. Don't expect to hear anything 'typical'. We are going to really explore this application and stretch the limits of our students' creativity.

As mentioned earlier, our Fifth graders will be studying guitar along with many different composers and styles of music.

Plans are already underway for our winter performance as well as our spring/year end show! Can you tell we are anxious to get started!?

Looking forward to a fantastic musical and fun year!

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!! It is hard to believe, but now that it's Spring, we are already gearing up for the Spring Musical.

This year's musical will be something a little bit different. It is going to be a musical revue, written by our very own Susan Townsend, First Grade Teacher. It is a play about the music of the 50's, 60's and 70's.

All grades are going to be participating in many different aspects. There is going to be acting, singing, props, lighting, and more. The students have auditioned for the parts that interested them the most and parts have been assigned.

Rehearsals have begun and the enthusiasm level is almost out of control!! Everyone is having so much fun and putting so much into this production.

The show is called "Remember When" . It will be held on the last day of school, June 10th at 10:30AM at The Agape Center.

Looking forward to seeing everyone there!!!

January & February

Happy New Decade! 2010 is here and so are the guitars!

I am so happy to share the news with everyone that one of my dreams has come true at The Laureate and we now have beautiful new classical guitars available for us!

The first grade to reap the benefits is the 6th Graders. They are so excited and enthusiastic about being able to learn guitar that we are never ready for class to be over! The time flies and everyone is enjoying the experience so much. Many of the students already play a bit of guitar, so it is exciting for them to have a chance to develop their current skills and learn even more about the guitar.

February has been a busy month musically! The SLO Music Van made its annual visit for the Fourth and Fifth Graders. It is quite apparent that if given the opportunity, our students would all be playing an instrument. Some shine with the string instruments, others have an amazing knack for getting a good sound out of a difficult wind instrument. Enjoy the attached pictures of the classes having fun trying out all of the instruments that the SLO orchestra brought for us to learn about.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009

A T T E N T I O N ! ! ! !

WINTER HOLIDAY PROGRAM FRIDAY DEC.18TH 10:30

"WE WISH YOU A SWINGIN' HOLIDAY"

We finished up October by celebrating with fun spooky and crazy music. All classes got into the spirit (no pun intended!!) of the Halloween holiday. Now all classes are preparing for our annual winter program.

Kinders sang about Jack-O-Lanterns of all kinds. They practised using their group and solo voices singing our version of "Frere Jacques" with original lyrics. The actors and actresses in class definitely enjoyed expressing their 'angry' , 'happy', 'sad', and 'mad' singing voices! For our Winter Holiday Program, the Kinders are singing seasonal songs about snow and the holidays. Their favorite part of the songs is when they can either act out the sledding or snowball making, or playing the different air instruments sung about! This is sure to be a precious and wonderful performance so don't miss it!

First and Second Graders continue to learn about the elements that make music what it is. We have been focusing on instrument groups and sounds, as well as dynamics and tempo. Ask any 1st or 2nd grader to be a 'Largo Kitty' and they will know exactly how fast (slow!) to move. Or if you want to see some real action, ask one of them to show you what a "Presto Puppy"- but stand back! This year we are having extra fun preparing for the winter program since the 1st and 2nd grades are combined for the year! The students are putting on their dancin' shoes and getting into the jazzy swingy feeling of the music. They are really enjoying the song selection and are putting everything they've got into their performances! If you have half as much fun watching the show half as much as they do performing it, you are sure to have the best time ever!!

In the Third Grade music classes we have been exploring the different forms that make a song a song. Students learned about song forms such as ABA or ABABCA (Rondo). They have had the chance to compose their own original pieces of music using these different song forms. Sometimes they use only rhythm instruments, sometimes they combine tone instruments as well. Their song forms have to be simple and clear enough that the rest of the class can make an educated guess as to what form the song is! They have all been doing a fantastic job of composing and recognizing the different sections of the song forms. We definitely have some talented composers in this group.

Since the theme of this year's winter program is a jazzy one, the Third Graders are letting all of their natural talents shine for this one. They will be dancing and singing plus doing a little acting and commentary during one of the pieces. Be ready to tap your toes and snap your fingers to their song selections. This class is guaranteed to get you ready for the upcoming holiday parties!

Fourth and Fifth Grade music class have been learning about how many different kinds of musical styles there actually are. When they get right down to it, the list is pretty much limitless when they start combining styles, such as country and rock, or rock and folk, or rap and rock............It is eye opening for them to realize what types of music that their classmates like or don't like! Seems that it is pretty much safe to say that the common denominator for everyone is some sort of rock! So, we have incorporated that preference into the songs they are working on for the winter program. This has made the fact that there is a jazzy element to some of the music much more tolerable for these older students!

I am looking forward to also working with the Middle School for the winter program as they will be sure to add a dynamic element to the rest of the grades' songs!

Happy Holidays and hope to see everyone on the 18th!!

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2009

I am happy to be starting my 8th year at The Laureate!! There are many familiar faces in class as well as lots of new ones.

It is the beginning of the 2009 school year, and all of the classes are already in the swing of things. Even the brand new students have gotten into the groove and are joining in with their classmates with singing and playing instruments. I don't see a shy or timid student in the bunch!! This should make for some wonderful performances!

We are continuing with the Daily Etudes in all of the classrooms. The students are being exposed to Bach and Bartok as well as Beethoven, Mozart and Vivaldi. Impressively, many of the students remembered Vivaldi and The Four Seasons from LAST YEAR!!! More proof that good music stays with you.

Kindergarten students have been studying rhythm and rhythm instruments. We have performed as our own Rhythm Band in class, and all of the kids would tell you 'they are all fine musicians'!

First and Second Grades are combined this year and are getting along well and learning a lot from each other. We have been concentrating on good music behaviour practices which involve good listening skills, cooperation and consideration of our fellow classmates. They are using these good skills to play instruments together as well as listen to rhythms and copy movements carefully.

Third Grade students are quite the talented bunch this year! We have been singing songs, learning song forms and even composing our own songs using the forms that we have been studying. Everyone is very eager to explore his/her creative side and the amount of imagination and talent being expressed is very impressive. Look for a lot of great music to come from these kids!

Fourth and Fifth Grades are combined and are exploring musical forms and expressing emotions through music. There are a lot of ways that we can use to express our feelings by using different musical forms, instruments, and even words/lyrics. This is a good age to take this opportunity to let students show their emotions in an artistic way. We are looking forward to some beautiful creations!

Welcome to the '10-11 Physical Fitness Program

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:00:00 -0000

Another great year starting with K-5 getting back into the flow of fitness with exercises, stretches, jogging, and cooperative games. Please have all students wear appropriate PE attire, especially tennis shoes. See you at the Show!

August/September Classroom News

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:30:00 -0000

Dear Toddler Parents,

The toddler teachers would like to welcome all of you back to school. We have a wonderful new addition to our room, her name is Mrs. Cindy Taylor.

This month we will be focusing on getting to know each other and the rules and routines in our room. We are welcoming a lot of new students as well as returning students.

CLASSROOM

Class begins at 9:00 and ends at 3:00. Extended care is available from 7:30 am to 9:00 am and also after nap from 3-6:00pm. Parents we suggest that you arrive on time, if you are able to get here early that is actually best because it gives your child time to acclimate. Please know that for some children drop off time can be very hard, but always know that the shorter the good bye the better the transition will work. If your child does not calm down after a while we will be in contact with you.

SHARING

Our classroom does encourage sharing and even though we do not have designated days we always welcome this. Toys, however, will not be allowed to be brought to class due to the fact that they cause too much of a distraction.

AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER EVENTS AND SCHOOL CLOSURES

August 31st- 10-12 class visitation and ice cream social.

September 6th- Labor day school closed

September 14th- Back to school night wine and cheese social 5-7pm

Middle School Science and Math Welcome

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:20:00 -0000

Welcome to Middle School Science and Math!

This year will be full of exciting discoveries. It is a time of personal growth, emphasizing self-responsibility, organizational skills, project development, and emerging independence in learning. Science will be full of hands-on, inquiry based projects that bring the critical thinking and organized reasoning found in the scientific fields into real-world, practical applications. We will be looking at science from a very foundational understanding of atoms and elements, all the way up to the most complex interactions such as planetary and galactic systems. In math, we will be exploring algebraic and other problem-solving strategies that allow students to take advanced inquiries and translate them into a mathematical language for solving. We will investigate practical, inquiry-based geometrical concepts, using logical reasoning and problem-solving strategies to solve real-world questions.

I am sincerely looking forward to developing strong relationships with both the students and the parents during the next several months, and I hope everyone has a wonderful school-year!

Classroom News

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 21:20:00 -0000

Dear Room B Family,

Welcome to the 2010 - 2011 year at
The Laureate School! My name is Aimee Gandy and I am really excited to be a part of the Laureate team this year. Ms. Caligari and I look forward to a very exciting year with your children!

You are invited to the CLASS VISITATION AND PARENT ORIENTATION DAY on Tuesday, August 31 from 10:00-12:00.
This is a time for your child to see his/her classroom and so we can
all meet one another, as well as, for you to go to a parent orientation
meeting with our administration. There is an ice cream social to
follow. This is a busy time, so if you have any specific concerns,
please give me a call so we can then arrange a time to talk.

The first day of school is Wednesday, SEPTEMBER 1. Our program begins at 8:45 and ends at 3:15.

The following guidelines will help your child to have a successful and enjoyable school experience:

BE ON TIME:
Both when you drop off and when you pick up your child. Being on time,
allows your child to be a part of our daily routines, such as
announcements, calendar and group lessons. This helps your child know
what to expect during the day and feel like s/he belongs. Arriving on
time for pick up helps him/her feel safe. Please call if you will be
late arriving or picking up so we can ensure your child feels welcomed
and cared for.

CUBBIES: Each child will
be given a cubby that includes a small space about the size of a lunch
box, and an area with a hook for a jacket , etc. Please leave
backpacks and large bags at home so that we may keep this area, easy to
get to and tidy.

DRESSING: It is helpful
for you and your child to choose clothing for school that can get dirty
and that they can get in and out of by him/herself. Shoes should be for
running, climbing and sitting cross-legged on the floor.

CHANGE OF CLOTHES: Please send a change of clothes, including underwear, socks, shirt, and bottoms appropriate for the weather. Please label all of your child's clothing. We give away unclaimed clothing periodically during the year.

NAP ITEMS: Please send a crib sized blanket and small pillow for nap-time.

PHOTOS: Please send one photo of your child that will be used for their cubby.

SHARING: This year in Room B, we will be using a sharing bag for children to share items from home. One child at a time will have an opportunity to take the bag home and bring it back with an item to share with the class. Please help your child choose something that pertains to our unit of study or our sound of the week. Please LEAVE TOYS AT HOME, they cause disruption, get broken or lost.

FOOD: Please send your child to school with a healthy lunch. Your child will be provided with healthy snacks to prepare and eat during work time.

BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT IS
ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, FROM 5:00-7:00 PM. There will be more
detailed information regarding your child's class, as well as, sign up
sheets for room parent(s), bringing in a healthy snack, activities,
etc.

COMMUNICATION: Email is a great way to communicate with me as I will be checking daily. Please also feel free to call me at the school between 8:00 and 8:30 or 3:30 and 4:00.

We are looking forward to a wonderful year of growth with your child!

Sincerely,

Aimee Gandy and Whitney Caligari

September Welcome News

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 21:10:00 -0000

Welcome to the third grade classroom. Our classroom is a cooperative learning evironment and a family of friends. We strive for independence, critical thinking and resolving conflicts with positive discipline. We learn from each other and honor differences.

The following is meant to provide a brief overview of the key elements of our curriculum for the school year.

Laureate students use the Accelerated Reader (AR) computer software program. The results of research in schools across the nation show that the AR program has had great success in stimulating a child's enthusiasm for reading. (The office has a copy of the research summary issued by School Renaissance Institute if you would like to peruse it.) Teachers provide students with lists of books within their reading range and their particular interests. Once a book is read, the child takes a quiz for comprehension on the computer and is provided with immediate feedback

As part of our language arts curriculum, we use a variety of stories to reinforce skills such as reading comprehension, critical thinking and literature analysis. Reader's Theatre scripts are used to challenge oral skills and to create interactive knowledge of the story and subject. We also focus on spelling, writing procedures, grammar, editing, and vocabulary . We also practice writing in both informative and expressive form. Since third grade students begin the transition to cursive writing, we also stress the correct formation of cursive letters.

In Everyday Mathematics, the content strands for grade 3 are Number and Numeration, Operations and Computation, Data and Chance, Measurement and Reference Frames, Geometry, Patterns, Function and Algebra.

Social Studies in third grade involves learning about Native American cultures of North America, pioneers, national symbols, and our national resources, black american history and geography skills.

Science covers nutrition and health, anatomy, properties of matter energy and motion, air, water and land as natural resources; and adaptations in the physical structure of organisms that improve their chances for survival.

Ms.Rowlands, Teacher

Mandarin Lessons for September

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:40:00 -0000

欢迎新的学期 Welcoming the new term!

Welcome to Middle School!

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:00:00 -0000

Meet the Teacher for Middle School Language, History, and Technology!

Melanie
Snowdy Middle School Teacher –
English, Technology & History

B.A.
English – Cal Poly

CA
Teaching Credential & Supplementary Authorization for English – Cal Poly

This
will be my 6^th year of teaching and my second year at The Laureate
School. I’m very excited to be
returning to The Laureate for a second year and am looking forward to watching
the class of 2011 graduate the 8^th grade.

Outside
of school, I am involved in Big Brothers Big Sisters. I have an 11 year old Little who I enjoy doing fun
activities with. In the summer, I
am the Daytime Director at Camp Hapitok in San Luis Obispo. I also enjoy reading, spending time at
the dog park with my dog, Harper, helping my family make wine, and all the
outdoor activities our beautiful area has to offer.

Welcome Letter

Welcome to Language Arts and History for the
Middle School! This is a year of
growth, maturity, and reaching personal goals for students. They will experience greater
independence and practice the organization and time management skills that will
make them a success during these years and beyond at the high school
level.

This year we will be reading some wonderful
American authors, focusing on creating dynamic writing portfolios, and
mastering the conventions of language.

We will also be studying World History as well as
Ancient History and creating some great projects designed to make history come
alive. In addition we will be
incorporation technology into our classroom and our studies by creating
Podcasts, PowerPoint presentations, and a classroom website showcasing all the
things we are learning about.

I hope to provide each student with the motivation
needed to do their best, and the support needed to make that possible.

Thank you for visiting and I look forward to a wonderful school year together!