MARCH 2019
"THE PRICE OF SUCCESS IS HARD WORK, DEDICATION TO THE JOB AT HAND, AND THE DETERMINATION THAT WHETHER WE WIN OR LOSE, WE HAVE APPLIED THE BEST OF OURSELVES TO THE TASK AT HAND."
VINCE LOMBARDI
VINCE LOMBARDI
Message from the Principal
Having the privilege of spending five days a week with our precious Kindi kids, I have learned this to be true about the majority of children:
Children in 3-6 (pre 4- KG)
Give them the indepence they need to learn, but more importantly let them know that you are ALWAYS there for them when they need you.This builds the trust they need to navigate everyday. And the confidence to know that you will be there to catch them when they fall.
Children in 6-9 (1st-3rd)
Give your child the respect they need to start building leadership traits. This age, kids start to form their “big boy/big girls” personality. Don’t break their spirit, by putting them down, disrespecting them, or ignoring their needs.
4th-5th Graders
This is the age kids start to know who they are and they internalize that knowledge. Meaning, if they think they are strong leaders, they will act like leaders. If they think they are weak, they will believe they are weak and they will act weak. Which, if not remedied could have a lasting impact.
6th-8th Graders
This is when your child acts like a baby one day and a mature young adult another day. These are the years to affirm the positive characteristics they have built over the years, and try to correct some of the negative ones. They will try to test you, but that is when you have to affirm your unconditional love to them, while always maintaining the parent-child relationship and not the friend-friend relationship.
Always be cognizant of your child’s milestones and address his/her needs in a timely fashion. This will also ensure a positive relationship between you and your children.
Spring break is already here, I want to wish you all a happy and safe holiday!
Rania Sadeq, Ed.D
Kindi Academy - Principal
Children in 3-6 (pre 4- KG)
Give them the indepence they need to learn, but more importantly let them know that you are ALWAYS there for them when they need you.This builds the trust they need to navigate everyday. And the confidence to know that you will be there to catch them when they fall.
Children in 6-9 (1st-3rd)
Give your child the respect they need to start building leadership traits. This age, kids start to form their “big boy/big girls” personality. Don’t break their spirit, by putting them down, disrespecting them, or ignoring their needs.
4th-5th Graders
This is the age kids start to know who they are and they internalize that knowledge. Meaning, if they think they are strong leaders, they will act like leaders. If they think they are weak, they will believe they are weak and they will act weak. Which, if not remedied could have a lasting impact.
6th-8th Graders
This is when your child acts like a baby one day and a mature young adult another day. These are the years to affirm the positive characteristics they have built over the years, and try to correct some of the negative ones. They will try to test you, but that is when you have to affirm your unconditional love to them, while always maintaining the parent-child relationship and not the friend-friend relationship.
Always be cognizant of your child’s milestones and address his/her needs in a timely fashion. This will also ensure a positive relationship between you and your children.
Spring break is already here, I want to wish you all a happy and safe holiday!
Rania Sadeq, Ed.D
Kindi Academy - Principal
News from our 3-6 Class
This February flew by! Our children focused on love and appreciation. We were working on caring for each other, our classroom and our belongings. We talked about what love is and incorporated it into our art.
We talked about how to show love with our actions and not only words. Maria Montessori said, “Of all things love is the most potent.”
Animal Quest came for a visit this month and brought some interesting animals. We learned all about the brown skunk, rodents, and reptiles. We got so excited we added three African Dwarf Frogs to our classroom. Alvin, Arilla and Arthur are a great addition to our classroom as they are teaching the children how to care for pets.
“The education of even a small child, therefore, does not aim at preparing him for school, but for life.” – Maria Montessori
We talked about how to show love with our actions and not only words. Maria Montessori said, “Of all things love is the most potent.”
Animal Quest came for a visit this month and brought some interesting animals. We learned all about the brown skunk, rodents, and reptiles. We got so excited we added three African Dwarf Frogs to our classroom. Alvin, Arilla and Arthur are a great addition to our classroom as they are teaching the children how to care for pets.
“The education of even a small child, therefore, does not aim at preparing him for school, but for life.” – Maria Montessori
Updates from Our 6-9 Classroom
We had many special events in the month of February, which made it one of our busiest months of the school year.
We are done with our parent/teacher conferences. Each conference was wholesome and productive. Thank you for coming on time to the conference. We enjoyed meeting with each one of you and sharing your child's progress.
The students researched and presented a famous African American hero during African American History Month. We were very excited to hear the students' reports and view their poster boards depicting their heroes.
Our First year students are stepping in to the journey of grammar. They have been introduced to the first lesson about article and noun. In history, they are enjoying discussions related to food and nutrition. They understand the timeline and the events as they occurred during the Prehistoric, Egyptian, Greek, Middle Ages, Renaissance, and the Modern Time. The students are practicing and memorizing all of the fifty U.S. states in geography. In math, we will be working on abstract addition and subtraction, problem solving, money, measurement and fractions.
Our Second year students are working on writing paragraphs and the grammar box for interjection in language. In math, the students are working on fractions, measurement and times tables 8. In geography, the students will work on advanced landforms, and map skills.
Our Third year students in math are learning equivalent fractions, reducing fractions, angles, estimation problem solving and long division. In science, the students are studying the systems of the body. In geography, they are working on map skills and Ancient Civilization.
We are done with our parent/teacher conferences. Each conference was wholesome and productive. Thank you for coming on time to the conference. We enjoyed meeting with each one of you and sharing your child's progress.
The students researched and presented a famous African American hero during African American History Month. We were very excited to hear the students' reports and view their poster boards depicting their heroes.
Our First year students are stepping in to the journey of grammar. They have been introduced to the first lesson about article and noun. In history, they are enjoying discussions related to food and nutrition. They understand the timeline and the events as they occurred during the Prehistoric, Egyptian, Greek, Middle Ages, Renaissance, and the Modern Time. The students are practicing and memorizing all of the fifty U.S. states in geography. In math, we will be working on abstract addition and subtraction, problem solving, money, measurement and fractions.
Our Second year students are working on writing paragraphs and the grammar box for interjection in language. In math, the students are working on fractions, measurement and times tables 8. In geography, the students will work on advanced landforms, and map skills.
Our Third year students in math are learning equivalent fractions, reducing fractions, angles, estimation problem solving and long division. In science, the students are studying the systems of the body. In geography, they are working on map skills and Ancient Civilization.
Updates from upper elementary classroom
February was all about How To...! How to make caramel brownies, how to make the best paper airplanes, how to make a derby cart, how to make a snowman! 4th and 5th grade presented their research papers to the class and demonstrated How To...make something special. Thank you to all the parents for your assistance.
Our focus moving forward is letter writing. We are excited to begin writing letters - the 4th exchanging letters with 3rd, and the 5th exchanging letters with 6th and 7th graders. Additionally, we are finalizing plans to exchange letters with pen pals from other countries. We are expecting mail from Switzerland, Poland, and Morocco!!
During this month, we are reading and discussing the novels I Will Always Write Back - How One Letter Changed Two Lives by Caitlin Alifirenka & Martin Ganda with Liz Welch and Regarding the Fountain: A Tale, In Letters, of Liars and Leaks by Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise ~ all about letters! The class also receives mail from ¨Isabelle¨ who travels around the world, shares her adventures and sends a few extra stamps with her letters.
Our bird feeder is a success! We have spotted sparrows and juncos! Fourth grade science class has also been keeping tabs since January on their avocado pits that they have been trying to sprout...and it looks like the first root has been spotted! We also transplanted all our seedlings to pots. Our book work is focusing on Biomes, Food Chains, and Natural Resources. This week we are using Montessori materials to learn more about the different biomes that make up our world and the plants and animals that have adapted to live there.
Social studies in fourth grade ~ the students made different stations to present and educate other students about: poisonous plants, bird identification, animal tracks, animal identification, how to make a squareknot, and how to make a compass with a needle, some cork, and water. These stations included posters, handouts, and games. We were able to have practice time presenting to 5th grade before we invited the 3rd grade for a visit. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed this project!
Fifth grade completed a map reviewing the original thirteen colonies of the United States. We have begun to study the events and battles that preceded the American Revolution. The French & Indian War has been the current topic of discussion - Why did the French win their battles? What did they do differently than the English? Why did the English not change tactics? Imagine George Washington being in charge of soldiers at the age of 21!!
Our focus moving forward is letter writing. We are excited to begin writing letters - the 4th exchanging letters with 3rd, and the 5th exchanging letters with 6th and 7th graders. Additionally, we are finalizing plans to exchange letters with pen pals from other countries. We are expecting mail from Switzerland, Poland, and Morocco!!
During this month, we are reading and discussing the novels I Will Always Write Back - How One Letter Changed Two Lives by Caitlin Alifirenka & Martin Ganda with Liz Welch and Regarding the Fountain: A Tale, In Letters, of Liars and Leaks by Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise ~ all about letters! The class also receives mail from ¨Isabelle¨ who travels around the world, shares her adventures and sends a few extra stamps with her letters.
Our bird feeder is a success! We have spotted sparrows and juncos! Fourth grade science class has also been keeping tabs since January on their avocado pits that they have been trying to sprout...and it looks like the first root has been spotted! We also transplanted all our seedlings to pots. Our book work is focusing on Biomes, Food Chains, and Natural Resources. This week we are using Montessori materials to learn more about the different biomes that make up our world and the plants and animals that have adapted to live there.
Social studies in fourth grade ~ the students made different stations to present and educate other students about: poisonous plants, bird identification, animal tracks, animal identification, how to make a squareknot, and how to make a compass with a needle, some cork, and water. These stations included posters, handouts, and games. We were able to have practice time presenting to 5th grade before we invited the 3rd grade for a visit. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed this project!
Fifth grade completed a map reviewing the original thirteen colonies of the United States. We have begun to study the events and battles that preceded the American Revolution. The French & Indian War has been the current topic of discussion - Why did the French win their battles? What did they do differently than the English? Why did the English not change tactics? Imagine George Washington being in charge of soldiers at the age of 21!!
Happenings in the Science Room
5th Grade students are creating and naming their own constellations and also making stars collapse, 8th Grade students having fun in the Shedd Aquarium and 6th Grade students getting ready for Science.
News from our Middle School
Hello Everyone,
It was pleasure meeting many of you on the Parent-Teacher Conferences day. It has been quite a whirlwind during the first few weeks as Middle School Social Studies Teacher at Kindi Academy. We have done our best to transition from Ms. Neiman to me, all while getting to know one another along the way and look forward to working with everyone. I am picking up the various curricula where Ms. Neiman left off while putting my own personal spin on how we go about exploring the different topics and skills as yet to be covered this school year. A brief recap on what we have been doing in the three grades:
8th - We have been learning about the value of working with Primary Sources and exploring a few Primary Sources during our Constitution Unit. The students have gained a better understanding of the time period in which the U.S. Constitution was written, and its evolution throughout the years, specifically with relation to the Civil Rights Movement. We have been studying the background of the landmark Brown vs. the Board of Education case, in order to better understand how the Constitution and the U.S. government actually functions and have situated that discussion on the middle of Black History Month. The students better understand that just because of a law change, doesn’t mean that the thoughts, feelings, and attitudes of the nation towards a group of people, change along with it.
7th - 7th Graders have been progressing through their European websites project, adding details and persuasive elements to the website to attract as many customers as possible. They have done a great job finding amazing pictures, using their descriptive language, and persuasive techniques to really sell their audience, or potential customers, on why they should visit the city the students chose and why the potential customers should want to purchase their trip using these websites. We have also been honoring Black History Month by working with Primary Sources such as the arrest record, the municipal code, and even diagram of the Montgomery bus, to get a better and deeper understanding of Rosa Parks, her actual story, and her impact on the Civil Rights Movement.
6th Grade has also taken some time to honor Black History Month by working on a mini-research project. Using the Biography.com website, students have been researching about some famous and some not-so-famous African-Americans from history and the present. The students have been compiling summaries of three different people or events from Black History and then selecting the one that interests them the most, to do further research on. In the end, they will have a MLA referenced research paper to submit and a short presentation to present to the class to tells us more about someone from Black History that we might not be as familiar with.
It was pleasure meeting many of you on the Parent-Teacher Conferences day. It has been quite a whirlwind during the first few weeks as Middle School Social Studies Teacher at Kindi Academy. We have done our best to transition from Ms. Neiman to me, all while getting to know one another along the way and look forward to working with everyone. I am picking up the various curricula where Ms. Neiman left off while putting my own personal spin on how we go about exploring the different topics and skills as yet to be covered this school year. A brief recap on what we have been doing in the three grades:
8th - We have been learning about the value of working with Primary Sources and exploring a few Primary Sources during our Constitution Unit. The students have gained a better understanding of the time period in which the U.S. Constitution was written, and its evolution throughout the years, specifically with relation to the Civil Rights Movement. We have been studying the background of the landmark Brown vs. the Board of Education case, in order to better understand how the Constitution and the U.S. government actually functions and have situated that discussion on the middle of Black History Month. The students better understand that just because of a law change, doesn’t mean that the thoughts, feelings, and attitudes of the nation towards a group of people, change along with it.
7th - 7th Graders have been progressing through their European websites project, adding details and persuasive elements to the website to attract as many customers as possible. They have done a great job finding amazing pictures, using their descriptive language, and persuasive techniques to really sell their audience, or potential customers, on why they should visit the city the students chose and why the potential customers should want to purchase their trip using these websites. We have also been honoring Black History Month by working with Primary Sources such as the arrest record, the municipal code, and even diagram of the Montgomery bus, to get a better and deeper understanding of Rosa Parks, her actual story, and her impact on the Civil Rights Movement.
6th Grade has also taken some time to honor Black History Month by working on a mini-research project. Using the Biography.com website, students have been researching about some famous and some not-so-famous African-Americans from history and the present. The students have been compiling summaries of three different people or events from Black History and then selecting the one that interests them the most, to do further research on. In the end, they will have a MLA referenced research paper to submit and a short presentation to present to the class to tells us more about someone from Black History that we might not be as familiar with.
Novels: We have been covering Black History Month in literature. We started To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961. Told through the eyes of a little girl Scout, the book follows the trial of a wrongly accused African American man. We have been watching video clips to further understand the historical context of the depression, Jim Crow laws, and the deep south.
Students in 6th and 7th grade will begin Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson, which won a National Book Award in 2014. Brown Girl Dreaming is a 2014 adolescent novel told in verse discussing the author's childhood as an African American growing up in the 1960s in South Carolina and New York.
Speech/ Presentation: Students are required to present one topic for black history month in the form of a speech and powerpoint. They are encouraged to include an audio/video clip, and/or song.
Writing: Students in 6th and 7th grade are writing film reviews for The Miracle Worker, focusing specifically on building strong voice and opinion. Students in grades 6-8 will all be continuing with their memoir writing. Students will write journal prompts and small summaries of their readings.
Grammar: We recently took our test on sentences and will continue with the chapter on punctuation. Students are also applying their grammar skills in every day writing.
Updates from our spanish classroom
The 3-6 yr. old Spanish classes have been learning the Spanish alphabet and how to tell they're age in Spanish. In addition, we have practiced terms for family members and learned about tortillas and their importance in Mexican food, culture, and family life. We used a real tortilla press to flatten out dough and make "tortillas para mamá"!
1st grade Spanish students have learned an expanded list of food vocabulary. They are using the verb "quiero" to tell which food they want and adding the word "de" to specify the type or flavor of a certain food.
2nd grade Spanish students are learning to express where they are going and what they are doing within the school. This involves tackling -AR verb conjugation for subject-verb agreement. Their list of verbs includes "hablar" (to speak), "usar" (to use), and "estudiar" (to study).
With our box of props at the ready, 3rd graders have begun their much anticipated Spanish novel: "Las Aventuras de Isabela." They will follow Isabela's adventures as she and her mother visit Guanajuato, Mexico! We will explore Mexican culture and food, as well as learn lots of high frequency Spanish vocabulary as we journey through!
1st grade Spanish students have learned an expanded list of food vocabulary. They are using the verb "quiero" to tell which food they want and adding the word "de" to specify the type or flavor of a certain food.
2nd grade Spanish students are learning to express where they are going and what they are doing within the school. This involves tackling -AR verb conjugation for subject-verb agreement. Their list of verbs includes "hablar" (to speak), "usar" (to use), and "estudiar" (to study).
With our box of props at the ready, 3rd graders have begun their much anticipated Spanish novel: "Las Aventuras de Isabela." They will follow Isabela's adventures as she and her mother visit Guanajuato, Mexico! We will explore Mexican culture and food, as well as learn lots of high frequency Spanish vocabulary as we journey through!
Updates from our Arabic Room
February was filled with may fun Arabic language activities across all grades. But most notably for this month was the Arabic Spelling Bee. Kids did a good job practicing their words and the winners were announced. Congratulations to everyone who worked hard to learn the spelling of new and sometimes difficult
The Arabic department continues to find ways to make learning a language exciting and meaningful.
The Arabic department continues to find ways to make learning a language exciting and meaningful.