Message from the Director
“If you’re trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I’ve had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”
– Michael Jordan
Dear Kindians,
Amazing semi-normal a year it has been! It was, and still is, very fascinating to me watching children grow through the year on many fronts. Humans, and especially children, are very intriguing in the way they develop, adapt, and learn. Besides the physical growth since August, I’ve seen children come not able to sound letters to being able to read and write, from not knowing numbers, to counting fluently and adding and multiplying digits, and from not knowing where Antarctica is, to knowing the world’s map by heart. Such a mind-boggling what children can achieve when they have the right environment and the proper mentors. On top of that, new students adapted well to their new social surroundings, made friends, went on playdates, attended birthday parties, and just had fun making new friends.
Well, the school year is coming to an end soon. However, that should not bring and end to learning. We offer a Summer Camp for children ages 3 to 3rd grade. These guarantees building on what our children learned during the year and advancing further their education and skills. The most disheartening situation for us as teachers is when a child comes back in August with a considerable share of his or her learning lost in the summer. This Summer Drainage and it holds back children. Children MUST stay engaged in the summer to avoid discontinuity in their education. Summer Camp is also a time where we spend lots of time playing and exploring the world around us through the various themes we offer for each week of the camp. We encourage all children to attend Summer Camp and keep the Learn & Play motto live and well!
I am fortunate and blessed to have such a great team of talented and dedicated teachers. Their love for your children has no limit. Their care about their education sees no ceiling. The ideas they bring to the table are truly wonderful. Kidi’s teachers is what makes Kindi one of the best environments for education. I can confidently say that you’d have to search long and hard to find an environment that comes close. We are all proud of what we offer and how we do it. We had families who’s kids graduated Kindi many years back still call us saying their kids enjoyed Kindi the most. This fills our hearts with delight and humbles us. Our mission in complete!
A year’s end comes with some tears for our eyes. This is a time when we bid farewell to our eighth-grade students, many of whom where with Kindi since Pre-school. It is emotional to seeing them leave u now, but life demands that. They will move on to the next stage in their learning and the next milestone in their lives. We wish them all the success and happiness in the year to come. We will dearly miss them!
Looking back at 2022-2023 school year, I feel so proud fulfilled considering all what took place. It was a year full of action. From monthly field trips, to morning hot chocolate sales, to International Club to STEAM club to Soccer Shots to winning the Southwest Conference Girls Volleyball Tournament, to Peter Pan and the Spring Celebration, to Quran Competition, to Spelling Bee, to Kindi Night-In, and many many other functions, this was a BUSY year! You can feel this viobrant spirit and joy the second you step into the school. We are looking to have an even busier year next school year.
For next year, while we cannot guarantee it, we are working on bringing again or anew a Basketball Club, Soccer Club, Karate Club, Drama Club, Quran Club, and the Science Fair. Towards the end of next school-year, we will start packing and getting ready to move to the Lisle location. Those would be exciting times for us with lots on hopes and plans for the future.
We hope that you all continue your children’s learning journey with Kindi and stay to be part of Kindi’s future and success.
Thank you all for a great year, and looking forward to many years to come together.
Have a safe and amazing summer!
Hatem Elagha
Executive Director
Kindi Academy
– Michael Jordan
Dear Kindians,
Amazing semi-normal a year it has been! It was, and still is, very fascinating to me watching children grow through the year on many fronts. Humans, and especially children, are very intriguing in the way they develop, adapt, and learn. Besides the physical growth since August, I’ve seen children come not able to sound letters to being able to read and write, from not knowing numbers, to counting fluently and adding and multiplying digits, and from not knowing where Antarctica is, to knowing the world’s map by heart. Such a mind-boggling what children can achieve when they have the right environment and the proper mentors. On top of that, new students adapted well to their new social surroundings, made friends, went on playdates, attended birthday parties, and just had fun making new friends.
Well, the school year is coming to an end soon. However, that should not bring and end to learning. We offer a Summer Camp for children ages 3 to 3rd grade. These guarantees building on what our children learned during the year and advancing further their education and skills. The most disheartening situation for us as teachers is when a child comes back in August with a considerable share of his or her learning lost in the summer. This Summer Drainage and it holds back children. Children MUST stay engaged in the summer to avoid discontinuity in their education. Summer Camp is also a time where we spend lots of time playing and exploring the world around us through the various themes we offer for each week of the camp. We encourage all children to attend Summer Camp and keep the Learn & Play motto live and well!
I am fortunate and blessed to have such a great team of talented and dedicated teachers. Their love for your children has no limit. Their care about their education sees no ceiling. The ideas they bring to the table are truly wonderful. Kidi’s teachers is what makes Kindi one of the best environments for education. I can confidently say that you’d have to search long and hard to find an environment that comes close. We are all proud of what we offer and how we do it. We had families who’s kids graduated Kindi many years back still call us saying their kids enjoyed Kindi the most. This fills our hearts with delight and humbles us. Our mission in complete!
A year’s end comes with some tears for our eyes. This is a time when we bid farewell to our eighth-grade students, many of whom where with Kindi since Pre-school. It is emotional to seeing them leave u now, but life demands that. They will move on to the next stage in their learning and the next milestone in their lives. We wish them all the success and happiness in the year to come. We will dearly miss them!
Looking back at 2022-2023 school year, I feel so proud fulfilled considering all what took place. It was a year full of action. From monthly field trips, to morning hot chocolate sales, to International Club to STEAM club to Soccer Shots to winning the Southwest Conference Girls Volleyball Tournament, to Peter Pan and the Spring Celebration, to Quran Competition, to Spelling Bee, to Kindi Night-In, and many many other functions, this was a BUSY year! You can feel this viobrant spirit and joy the second you step into the school. We are looking to have an even busier year next school year.
For next year, while we cannot guarantee it, we are working on bringing again or anew a Basketball Club, Soccer Club, Karate Club, Drama Club, Quran Club, and the Science Fair. Towards the end of next school-year, we will start packing and getting ready to move to the Lisle location. Those would be exciting times for us with lots on hopes and plans for the future.
We hope that you all continue your children’s learning journey with Kindi and stay to be part of Kindi’s future and success.
Thank you all for a great year, and looking forward to many years to come together.
Have a safe and amazing summer!
Hatem Elagha
Executive Director
Kindi Academy
News from our 3-6 Class
Ms. Radhika & Ms. Heather's Class
“The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say, ‘The children are now working, as if I did not exist.’” --Maria Montessori
The end of the school year is near, and the next few weeks will be busier than ever! We started off April with another in-school field trip! Mary Macaroni visited Kindi, and she put on a great show for the children! She entertained them with songs, movement, dancing, magic tricks and more! The children were laughing so hard and really enjoyed themselves!
Our children have been making great strides in academics, especially in reading! All of them have advanced in either blending or reading/comprehension, and we are so proud of how much progress they have all made! Our kindergartners have been learning many different grammar concepts, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, syllables, compound words, and homophones! In math, many children are working on subtraction and multiplication as well as adding four-digit numbers without regrouping! We will also introduce division to the kindergartners before school lets out for the summer. In science, the kids have been working on many life cycles, including the life cycles of bees, butterflies, chickens, frogs, turtles, and plants! Overall, the children have been actively learning and working very hard!
Earth Day was on April 22nd, and we had a special visit from the Indian Prairie Public Library. Ms. Erin read a story about Earth Day to our class, and each child created a personal trash bag to pick up trash around their community and help keep the Earth clean! Also, our very own Spanish teacher, Ms. Maria, taught the children a song in Spanish about Earth Day! As an extension, we sat and discussed what items can be recycled and what happens to those items when they go to the recycling facility. We also talked about what they can do at home to help conserve the Earth’s energy and save water!
With kindergarten graduation around the corner, we started practicing our class poem and the songs that the kindergarteners will be performing on graduation day, which will be on Wednesday, May 25th. They are looking forward to putting on a great performance and graduating to first grade!
Finally, the last field trip of the school year will be taking place on May 18th, and we will be taking the children to Cantigny Park in Wheaton!
This year went by quickly, but we enjoyed every moment of it! We are truly proud of our kids and how much they learned! We will miss them all greatly and hope to see them over the summer and next Fall!
Ms. Krystyn & Ms. Nosheen's Class,
We started April off by celebrating Jenna’s birthday! The children have been learning about Ramadan. They colored, poked out, and created a Ramadan craft with stars and a moon. We then decorated the craft with everyone’s favorite, glitter! We also sent Eid cards home before the holiday. The children really enjoy reading books and singing songs geared towards the holiday. Aside from celebrating Ramadan, another highlight of the month was the in-house field trip featuring Mary Macaroni! The children enjoyed singing, dancing, and watching magic tricks.
Another important day we celebrated this month was Earth Day! In the classroom, we read books and did a sorting card activity to learn about the three R’s. The children were taught all about reducing, recycling, and reusing waste items. We had another visit from a librarian who talked about what we can do to protect the earth. Then, the children decorated their own bags for collecting garbage. They also learned a song in Spanish about taking care of the earth!
In language, the children have really taken interest in writing stories that we call journals. They draw wonderful pictures and we help them bring their stories to life. These stories are creative, hilarious, and entertaining majority of the time! The kindergartners have been working hard on reading with more focus on comprehension. Each kindergartner has also been working on their very own project for the end of the school year! This project involves picking a country from different continents. From there, they research about fashion, food, animals and various other facts about the country they chose. I am so proud of the hard work they have put into this assignment and cannot wait to share it with the rest of the class once completed!
The children have been really creative during recess outdoors. They made drums and musical instruments out of wooden blocks as well as made some cakes by drawing chalk on wood. We went on several nature walks, weather permitted. We also enjoyed seeing the wildlife right outside our classroom. The children love the local geese that hangout around the school.
In science, we switched out materials to make room for our life cycle works! The children have enjoyed learning about butterflies, frogs, chickens, and turtles. They all have a better understanding of what a life cycle is and how it works. We also discussed how a life cycle can be affected and cause extinction. The kindergartners wrote journal pages about the transformation of a butterfly and colored photos. Some of the other children completed life cycle of frog books.
Aside from education, the children have been practicing mediation and yoga in the classroom. At the end of the day, they can choose to lead mediation with different tools or do yoga with yoga cards. I am very proud of them for learning how to self-regulate their own needs. Hopefully, they return home more relaxed and recharged as well!
Ms. Brooke, Ms. Sabera, and Ms. Huda's Class
Welcome to this year’s last monthly news! This has truly been an amazing year! We have enjoyed being a part of the academic accomplishments, new experiences, and valued friendships your child has developed this year. During the formative years, Montessori states, “At no other time will the early child learn so much or as quickly then during these introductory years.” As their teachers, we have enjoyed observing these many moments -- from the very basic of milestones, to very impressive advanced skills.
As we near the homestretch of our school year, our class remains busy on end of year lessons, completing the unfinished work basket, and preparing our kindergartners for their upcoming graduation. There is still much to conquer!
April showered us with lots of continued learning, fun activities, and celebrated holidays for everyone. These were great opportunities for teaching community, and respect for one another’s traditions and values.
We had a great time at our music concert hosted by Mary Macaroni. She performed a variety of upbeat songs which included eclectic, folk, and some kid-classics! We sang along, waved our colorful scarves, and shook egg shakers. What a musical blast!
For Earth Day, we honored our planet as our local librarian came for another visit to talk about this important day. She did a group reading and presented a craft teaching about appreciation for the earth and the responsibility each of us have to the planet. Even preschoolers have a job of keeping our planet clean and safe!
In class, we dove into the sciences learning about life cycles of butterflies, frogs, and chicks. We are awaiting on the arrival of our caterpillars to observe first-hand on how this amazing experience happens. Your children will keep you posted I’m sure! In addition to our daily sound/reading work, kindergarten has worked with our Animal Encyclopedia. They chose a favorite animal and wrote interesting facts about diet and habitat. To connect with our habitat study in geography, they located the animals to several different parts of the world. In math, they were presented with the Number Roll. The kids absolutely love this work! It is always a Montessori favorite for practicing linear counting to 1,000. Numerals are written on grid paper while writing them in their place values. The rolls are growing and we can’t wait to see how far they will stretch at the end of the month!
Our lesson on Life Cycle of a Chick grew into a very engaged group discussion on eggs. It seems that almost everyone in 103 loves eggs! We decided that a cooking lesson on how to make an omelet would be fun. Each child practiced cracking an egg, then using a whisk, learned to “poke” the yolk, and beat until well blended. They seasoned their mixture with a pinch of salt then had the option to sprinkle shredded cheese into the mix. Pour the egg into the “teacher monitored” electric skillet and “sizzzzzle.” The Incredible Edible Egg was yummy! Every child ate and enjoyed their own homemade Omelet!
And that was April!
Welcome to this year’s last monthly news! This has truly been an amazing year! We have enjoyed being a part of the academic accomplishments, new experiences, and valued friendships your child has developed this year. During the formative years, Montessori states, “At no other time will the early child learn so much or as quickly then during these introductory years.” As their teachers, we have enjoyed observing these many moments -- from the very basic of milestones, to very impressive advanced skills.
As we near the homestretch of our school year, our class remains busy on end of year lessons, completing the unfinished work basket, and preparing our kindergartners for their upcoming graduation. There is still much to conquer!
April showered us with lots of continued learning, fun activities, and celebrated holidays for everyone. These were great opportunities for teaching community, and respect for one another’s traditions and values.
We had a great time at our music concert hosted by Mary Macaroni. She performed a variety of upbeat songs which included eclectic, folk, and some kid-classics! We sang along, waved our colorful scarves, and shook egg shakers. What a musical blast!
For Earth Day, we honored our planet as our local librarian came for another visit to talk about this important day. She did a group reading and presented a craft teaching about appreciation for the earth and the responsibility each of us have to the planet. Even preschoolers have a job of keeping our planet clean and safe!
In class, we dove into the sciences learning about life cycles of butterflies, frogs, and chicks. We are awaiting on the arrival of our caterpillars to observe first-hand on how this amazing experience happens. Your children will keep you posted I’m sure! In addition to our daily sound/reading work, kindergarten has worked with our Animal Encyclopedia. They chose a favorite animal and wrote interesting facts about diet and habitat. To connect with our habitat study in geography, they located the animals to several different parts of the world. In math, they were presented with the Number Roll. The kids absolutely love this work! It is always a Montessori favorite for practicing linear counting to 1,000. Numerals are written on grid paper while writing them in their place values. The rolls are growing and we can’t wait to see how far they will stretch at the end of the month!
Our lesson on Life Cycle of a Chick grew into a very engaged group discussion on eggs. It seems that almost everyone in 103 loves eggs! We decided that a cooking lesson on how to make an omelet would be fun. Each child practiced cracking an egg, then using a whisk, learned to “poke” the yolk, and beat until well blended. They seasoned their mixture with a pinch of salt then had the option to sprinkle shredded cheese into the mix. Pour the egg into the “teacher monitored” electric skillet and “sizzzzzle.” The Incredible Edible Egg was yummy! Every child ate and enjoyed their own homemade Omelet!
And that was April!
Updates from Our 6-9 Classroom
6-9 Classroom
"Real world, experiential learning prepares your child remarkably well for any environment"
--Maria Montessori
Our students have shown tremendous growth in all areas of learning. They have prepared themselves for the next level of independence and creative thinking. This is the time for celebrating their accomplishments.
Our first year students have been busy practicing of parts of speech, descriptive writing, word study exercises, reading comprehension, and proofreading as key components of their learning. Abstract addition and subtraction is laying a solid foundation for the next level. Multiplication and division with scientific math material is being explored. Students are enjoying all social sciences projects and take pride in their work. They have planted their own seeds this month and are learning to take care of them as they discover how plants grow.
Second year students' enthusiasm is reflected in the consistency of their work. All the concepts of language arts are well practiced, leading them to step to the next level with confidence. The ability to think beyond the learned math concepts with materials has advanced their learning tremendously. They are ready to step up to the leadership roles next year. Their hard work within their social sciences projects is truly commendable.
Our third year students have shown immense progress in all learning challenges and their approach to multitasking has set an example for second and first year students. They have taken up leadership roles and have demonstrated maturity in every area of development. They have fully prepared themselves to enter to the fourth grade with heads held high. Three cheers for our third grade students!
We are looking forward to a fun-filled overnight trip to Nature's Classroom!
"Real world, experiential learning prepares your child remarkably well for any environment"
--Maria Montessori
Our students have shown tremendous growth in all areas of learning. They have prepared themselves for the next level of independence and creative thinking. This is the time for celebrating their accomplishments.
Our first year students have been busy practicing of parts of speech, descriptive writing, word study exercises, reading comprehension, and proofreading as key components of their learning. Abstract addition and subtraction is laying a solid foundation for the next level. Multiplication and division with scientific math material is being explored. Students are enjoying all social sciences projects and take pride in their work. They have planted their own seeds this month and are learning to take care of them as they discover how plants grow.
Second year students' enthusiasm is reflected in the consistency of their work. All the concepts of language arts are well practiced, leading them to step to the next level with confidence. The ability to think beyond the learned math concepts with materials has advanced their learning tremendously. They are ready to step up to the leadership roles next year. Their hard work within their social sciences projects is truly commendable.
Our third year students have shown immense progress in all learning challenges and their approach to multitasking has set an example for second and first year students. They have taken up leadership roles and have demonstrated maturity in every area of development. They have fully prepared themselves to enter to the fourth grade with heads held high. Three cheers for our third grade students!
We are looking forward to a fun-filled overnight trip to Nature's Classroom!
Updates from upper elementary classrooms
4th Grade English Language Arts and Reading
Students have been enjoying our talks about literature. They have been looking at the difference between dynamic and static characters, themes, and lessons that the author is trying to convey. Students read Number the Stars by Lois Lowery. Since students learned about World War II last semester during World Regions class, they were able to make deeper connections to the story by having this supportive background knowledge. As a result, fourth graders were able to get a better understanding of the struggles people in occupied countries had to go through. They learned about bravery and friendship. Now, students will continue to learn about bravery by reading the book Coraline by Neil Gaiman.
Students are also making sure to practice their grammar and writing throughout the week. Writing has been a focus for fourth graders as they have been creating paragraphs and working on their written expression.
4th Grade Social Studies/American History
Students continue on to learn about the beginning of America; as we fought through the American Revolution. Students were able to feel the frustration of the different acts and taxes that the British put on colonies by making their own propaganda posters. Students also learned about the different battles the Patriots fought against the British. The students also understood how the newly formed country of America was the underdog against the goliath that was Britain. Students are learning about our newly formed country and how their ability to ignore many issues will lead the country into the Civil War.
Creative Expression
3, 2, 1, and action! The 4th-8th classes are working on honing their acting abilities. First, these students had to practice and work on a monologue which they performed to their class. Then, 6th-8th graders took it a step further and worked on duo skits in which they had to act in different scenes. This is all leading to their big end of the year project which they must memorize, direct, create sets, find costumes, and bring in props which will help make a scene come to life. Students are excited to perform. Like we say in theater, “The show must go on!”
Students have been enjoying our talks about literature. They have been looking at the difference between dynamic and static characters, themes, and lessons that the author is trying to convey. Students read Number the Stars by Lois Lowery. Since students learned about World War II last semester during World Regions class, they were able to make deeper connections to the story by having this supportive background knowledge. As a result, fourth graders were able to get a better understanding of the struggles people in occupied countries had to go through. They learned about bravery and friendship. Now, students will continue to learn about bravery by reading the book Coraline by Neil Gaiman.
Students are also making sure to practice their grammar and writing throughout the week. Writing has been a focus for fourth graders as they have been creating paragraphs and working on their written expression.
4th Grade Social Studies/American History
Students continue on to learn about the beginning of America; as we fought through the American Revolution. Students were able to feel the frustration of the different acts and taxes that the British put on colonies by making their own propaganda posters. Students also learned about the different battles the Patriots fought against the British. The students also understood how the newly formed country of America was the underdog against the goliath that was Britain. Students are learning about our newly formed country and how their ability to ignore many issues will lead the country into the Civil War.
Creative Expression
3, 2, 1, and action! The 4th-8th classes are working on honing their acting abilities. First, these students had to practice and work on a monologue which they performed to their class. Then, 6th-8th graders took it a step further and worked on duo skits in which they had to act in different scenes. This is all leading to their big end of the year project which they must memorize, direct, create sets, find costumes, and bring in props which will help make a scene come to life. Students are excited to perform. Like we say in theater, “The show must go on!”
Happenings in the Science Room
The 4th graders while learning about the weather, they worked on the water cycle, the different types of clouds and how to observe them to predict the weather, the atmospheric pressure and the different instruments used to measure and predict the weather.
As we go deeper into the solar system, 5th grade has been learning about the inner planets, gas planets and everything else that is part of it, including the Kuiper belt and the Oort Cloud.
In 6th grade we continue learning about the different body systems as well as conditions and diseases that affect them. In March, we covered the digestive, the endocrine, the reproductive and nervous systems. The kids specifically enjoyed the lab were they got to see how food goes through the digestive track and how is processed and how it changes along the way.
The 7th graders got introduced to organic chemistry! They have been learning all about hydrocarbons and their classification, the different ways to represent them, as well as learning the rules on how to name them.
As we wrap up the year, 8th graders have been getting deeper into their understanding of DNA replication, transcription and translation!
As we wrap up the year, 8th graders have been getting deeper into their understanding of DNA replication, transcription and translation!
News from our Middle School English Classroom
English
Hello Kindi Families,
As the end of the year approaches, I'd like to offer a little update on the happenings in the English room.
5th Grade English
This past month, the 5th graders finished reading The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. They completed a fun and hands-on dodecahedron analysis project (which they should have brought home). In addition, the students have been practicing improving their paragraph writing skills. This month also brought the students a new book, Among the Hidden. Through this book, the students read about the structures of various governments, and most specifically, learned about China's former one-child policy. They have debated various aspects of what ideal governments should look like, and they have been very thoughtful with their decisions. They finished reading the novel last week, and unanimously, the class decided it was their favorite book of the year. They will finish out the year with a combined Social Studies and English research project ending with their final paper of the year.
6th Grade
This past month, the 6th graders also finished reading their last novel of the year, The Westing Game. Throughout the reading, students analyzed the characters, the story, and tried to solve the mystery. Although most did not figure it out until they read the ending, the students did enjoy reading the story. They also have been practicing their analysis skills by reading other short mysteries and some non-fiction unsolved mysteries. The students are working on their final project... creating a newscast based on the novel, and can't wait to share that with their families. They are finishing the year with a combined Social Studies and English research project ending with their final paper of the year.
7th & 8th Grade
The 7th and 8th graders have finished one of the most challenging units of the year.....Shakespeare! They read the play, The Twelfth Night, and did an amazing job working through the difficult language and the complicated plot. They enjoyed reading the play aloud in both the Shakespeare language as well as the more modern English translation. They are also working on their last project, which has them writing a script to go along with an old black and white version of the play. Just like the other grades, the 7/8th graders will also finish the year with a combined Social Studies and English research project ending with their final paper of the year.
All Grades
The students in all grades have been continuing their work with vocab, completing their last vocabulary unit of the year, and diagramming sentences. Additionally, they have spent time the past few weeks practicing test taking strategies and various reviews in preparation for Iowa tests the second week of May.
As the year winds down, I want to express my gratitude for all the families and the support that you provide to your students and the school. The last month is filled with fun experiences for the students and I appreciate all the work that you do to help make the end of the year special for the students! Thank you!
-Ms. Andrea
Hello Kindi Families,
As the end of the year approaches, I'd like to offer a little update on the happenings in the English room.
5th Grade English
This past month, the 5th graders finished reading The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. They completed a fun and hands-on dodecahedron analysis project (which they should have brought home). In addition, the students have been practicing improving their paragraph writing skills. This month also brought the students a new book, Among the Hidden. Through this book, the students read about the structures of various governments, and most specifically, learned about China's former one-child policy. They have debated various aspects of what ideal governments should look like, and they have been very thoughtful with their decisions. They finished reading the novel last week, and unanimously, the class decided it was their favorite book of the year. They will finish out the year with a combined Social Studies and English research project ending with their final paper of the year.
6th Grade
This past month, the 6th graders also finished reading their last novel of the year, The Westing Game. Throughout the reading, students analyzed the characters, the story, and tried to solve the mystery. Although most did not figure it out until they read the ending, the students did enjoy reading the story. They also have been practicing their analysis skills by reading other short mysteries and some non-fiction unsolved mysteries. The students are working on their final project... creating a newscast based on the novel, and can't wait to share that with their families. They are finishing the year with a combined Social Studies and English research project ending with their final paper of the year.
7th & 8th Grade
The 7th and 8th graders have finished one of the most challenging units of the year.....Shakespeare! They read the play, The Twelfth Night, and did an amazing job working through the difficult language and the complicated plot. They enjoyed reading the play aloud in both the Shakespeare language as well as the more modern English translation. They are also working on their last project, which has them writing a script to go along with an old black and white version of the play. Just like the other grades, the 7/8th graders will also finish the year with a combined Social Studies and English research project ending with their final paper of the year.
All Grades
The students in all grades have been continuing their work with vocab, completing their last vocabulary unit of the year, and diagramming sentences. Additionally, they have spent time the past few weeks practicing test taking strategies and various reviews in preparation for Iowa tests the second week of May.
As the year winds down, I want to express my gratitude for all the families and the support that you provide to your students and the school. The last month is filled with fun experiences for the students and I appreciate all the work that you do to help make the end of the year special for the students! Thank you!
-Ms. Andrea
Physical Education
PE NEWS: GRADES 1 -3
This month, students practiced following directions and were reminded about safe behaviors in the gym. We practiced using safe body movements to complete activities and rhythm games like different variations of Walking Song, Freeze Dance, Listen & Move song. Students also enjoyed active games such as musical chairs to encourage fair play and sportsmanship, tug-of-war, and limbo for some springtime fun! Each grade has also begun an fun end of the year Ladder Toss Competition. Students practiced 4-Square motor skills with bouncing and catching a ball. Students practiced variations such as "Switch" or "Rock, Paper, Scissors Tag" that uses the 4-Square boxes.
PE NEWS: GRADES 4 -8
Through team building games and sports we work cooperatively with others to accomplish a set goal in both competitive and noncompetitive situations. This month 4-8th Graders enjoyed some beautiful weather to practice sports (gross and fine motor) skills. We played pick-up games of flag (non-tackle) football, soccer, and kickball where students help share responsibility for refereeing their own games and cooperate with each other to score points. Teamwork and being a good sportsman is practiced for life skills. Indoor games consisted of inverted volleyball, volleyball, and pickup-basketball.
ART NEWS: 3-6 Students
This month, students spent time on Ramadan crafts! 3-6 created a multi-step Ramadan single string mobile to bring home and hang! They colored with colored pencils, poked out shapes of moons and stars, then added glitter with Ms. Nosheen for some added shine. Students also practiced fine motor skills by tracing their ¨helping" hands with pencil, then adding their own personal ¨henna¨ decor with markers to explore lines, shapes, and patterns.
ART NEWS: 6-9 Students
This month, 2-3rd grade students have completed their 1-point perspective Aquarium which they have brought home. Students 1-3rd grade enjoyed a collaborative coloring Ramandan lanterns and moon/star decorations to hang in the hallway with the help of 4-8th grade students. 1-3rd grade students also created a multi-step Ramadan single string mobile to bring home and hang!
ART NEWS: 4 - 8th Grade
This month 4-8th grade students completed a collaboration with younger grades of 3-6 and 6-9 by hanging their Ramadan lanterns in the front hallway and by adding beautiful calligraphy for the younger students' stars and moon on display next to the front office. To explore the magnificent colors of springtime, students created a multi-step project following a listening lesson around color theory and adding texture to an illustration. Students enjoyed making colorful and textured ¨Dragon Eyes¨ which will soon be on display for your visual enjoyment.
-Ms. Jackie
PE NEWS: GRADES 1 -3
This month, students practiced following directions and were reminded about safe behaviors in the gym. We practiced using safe body movements to complete activities and rhythm games like different variations of Walking Song, Freeze Dance, Listen & Move song. Students also enjoyed active games such as musical chairs to encourage fair play and sportsmanship, tug-of-war, and limbo for some springtime fun! Each grade has also begun an fun end of the year Ladder Toss Competition. Students practiced 4-Square motor skills with bouncing and catching a ball. Students practiced variations such as "Switch" or "Rock, Paper, Scissors Tag" that uses the 4-Square boxes.
PE NEWS: GRADES 4 -8
Through team building games and sports we work cooperatively with others to accomplish a set goal in both competitive and noncompetitive situations. This month 4-8th Graders enjoyed some beautiful weather to practice sports (gross and fine motor) skills. We played pick-up games of flag (non-tackle) football, soccer, and kickball where students help share responsibility for refereeing their own games and cooperate with each other to score points. Teamwork and being a good sportsman is practiced for life skills. Indoor games consisted of inverted volleyball, volleyball, and pickup-basketball.
ART NEWS: 3-6 Students
This month, students spent time on Ramadan crafts! 3-6 created a multi-step Ramadan single string mobile to bring home and hang! They colored with colored pencils, poked out shapes of moons and stars, then added glitter with Ms. Nosheen for some added shine. Students also practiced fine motor skills by tracing their ¨helping" hands with pencil, then adding their own personal ¨henna¨ decor with markers to explore lines, shapes, and patterns.
ART NEWS: 6-9 Students
This month, 2-3rd grade students have completed their 1-point perspective Aquarium which they have brought home. Students 1-3rd grade enjoyed a collaborative coloring Ramandan lanterns and moon/star decorations to hang in the hallway with the help of 4-8th grade students. 1-3rd grade students also created a multi-step Ramadan single string mobile to bring home and hang!
ART NEWS: 4 - 8th Grade
This month 4-8th grade students completed a collaboration with younger grades of 3-6 and 6-9 by hanging their Ramadan lanterns in the front hallway and by adding beautiful calligraphy for the younger students' stars and moon on display next to the front office. To explore the magnificent colors of springtime, students created a multi-step project following a listening lesson around color theory and adding texture to an illustration. Students enjoyed making colorful and textured ¨Dragon Eyes¨ which will soon be on display for your visual enjoyment.
-Ms. Jackie
5th-8th Grade Social Studies News
Our Social Studies classes have been hard at work this past month, and are ready to close out the 2021-2022 school year on a strong note! The students have all been working on independent Research Projects, and we’re closing out our final units of the school year before Final Exams!
5th Graders have been hard at work since coming back from Spring Break! We learned about the Islamic World and the kids made lots of connections to what they’ve learned in Islamic Studies class. We also learned about the Early African Civilizations of Ghana, Mali, Songhai, and Great Zimbabwe! The kids made awesome flip-books to help them organize what they’ve learned. We are now studying the Mesoamerican Civilizations of the Aztecs, Incas, and Mayas, and working on a combined Research Project with English Class. The kids have been researching and will culminate their work into a Board Game they will play with their peers in class! I am always amazed at how creative these kids are, and I can’t wait to see what they create!
6th Graders have been working on their Country Research Projects. They have finished the research process and are now putting together their Adobe Spark pages to highlight their country. We have also been exploring the continent of Asia, looking at South Asia, Southeast Asia, and now East Asia. In the weeks to come, we will be closing out our Unit on Asia, take the World Map Test, and learn about Australia before turning our attention to Finals Prep! I am looking forward to the wonderful research presentations as well on May 19th and 20th in class. The kids are excited to share their knowledge (and in some cases, foods!) with the class!
7th Graders have finished their units on the Roaring Twenties and Great Depression. We also just finished our unit on World War II, paying attention to the causes of the war and the role the United States played in the war. We are now turning our attention to the 1950s and 1960s in American History- looking at the Administrations of Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson, with a focus on their domestic policies. We also will be studying the Korean and Vietnam War, as well as learning about the major events of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s in American History! The kids have been working very hard on their Research Projects as well, finishing up the Adobe Spark pages this week and getting ready for their Presentations in a few weeks, too!
8th Graders have just finished up their study of World War II. We are now reviewing the Cold War, and studying the Korean and Vietnam Wars. We will also be looking at the effects of Decolonization in Asia and Africa in a couple weeks with a short group research activity. The students are also doing a great job working on their Research Projects, finishing up the Adobe Spark pages and getting ready for their Presentations in a few weeks.
It has been an amazing year. Final Exams are coming up in a few weeks- study guides will be posted on Google Classroom along with links to Practice Tests. Let’s finish the year on an amazing note!
4th-8th Grade Technology News
Our Technology classes have been hard at work the past few weeks! Lots of fun and engaging projects have been happening.
In 4th grade, students spent time learning how to effectively search the web and learned how to determine if a website is credible or not. Then, we began our research projects on Revolutionary Figures. The kids took their research to create websites using Google Sites to display the information about their Figures! They did a tremendous job! In the weeks to come, we will be playing the Oregon Trail Game in class to supplement their exploration unit in Social Studies, and starting our Final Projects for the year!
5th graders have been working hard in the Coding course on Code.org. Students learned more about how to code Animations, creating Interactive About Me Posters. Then, we switched gears and learned more about Google Sheets, working with conditional formatting. The kids practiced this valuable skill by creating their own Battleships game and playing them in class. We are now completing a project on Google Drawings creating a Pop Art image, taking an image from the web and using polyline tools to outline the shapes and fill it in with brighter colors!
Our 6th-8th Graders have been working with Code.org’s Animation Unit. They have created their own Captioned Scenes and will be programming their own original animations as well. We also learned about the history of Animation from Walt Disney himself by watching short video clips about Animation throughout history. The kids were impressed to see how much technology has helped make Animation so much easier! In the coming weeks we will be closing out our Animation Unit and working on our Final Projects.
All classes have been practicing their keyboarding skills with Typetastic. Please remind your child to continue to practice typing regularly.
I am so impressed with the creativity the kids have displayed this year! Thank you so much for your support and I hope everyone has a great summer!
Best,
Sevim Memisovski
Technology Teacher
Our Social Studies classes have been hard at work this past month, and are ready to close out the 2021-2022 school year on a strong note! The students have all been working on independent Research Projects, and we’re closing out our final units of the school year before Final Exams!
5th Graders have been hard at work since coming back from Spring Break! We learned about the Islamic World and the kids made lots of connections to what they’ve learned in Islamic Studies class. We also learned about the Early African Civilizations of Ghana, Mali, Songhai, and Great Zimbabwe! The kids made awesome flip-books to help them organize what they’ve learned. We are now studying the Mesoamerican Civilizations of the Aztecs, Incas, and Mayas, and working on a combined Research Project with English Class. The kids have been researching and will culminate their work into a Board Game they will play with their peers in class! I am always amazed at how creative these kids are, and I can’t wait to see what they create!
6th Graders have been working on their Country Research Projects. They have finished the research process and are now putting together their Adobe Spark pages to highlight their country. We have also been exploring the continent of Asia, looking at South Asia, Southeast Asia, and now East Asia. In the weeks to come, we will be closing out our Unit on Asia, take the World Map Test, and learn about Australia before turning our attention to Finals Prep! I am looking forward to the wonderful research presentations as well on May 19th and 20th in class. The kids are excited to share their knowledge (and in some cases, foods!) with the class!
7th Graders have finished their units on the Roaring Twenties and Great Depression. We also just finished our unit on World War II, paying attention to the causes of the war and the role the United States played in the war. We are now turning our attention to the 1950s and 1960s in American History- looking at the Administrations of Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson, with a focus on their domestic policies. We also will be studying the Korean and Vietnam War, as well as learning about the major events of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s in American History! The kids have been working very hard on their Research Projects as well, finishing up the Adobe Spark pages this week and getting ready for their Presentations in a few weeks, too!
8th Graders have just finished up their study of World War II. We are now reviewing the Cold War, and studying the Korean and Vietnam Wars. We will also be looking at the effects of Decolonization in Asia and Africa in a couple weeks with a short group research activity. The students are also doing a great job working on their Research Projects, finishing up the Adobe Spark pages and getting ready for their Presentations in a few weeks.
It has been an amazing year. Final Exams are coming up in a few weeks- study guides will be posted on Google Classroom along with links to Practice Tests. Let’s finish the year on an amazing note!
4th-8th Grade Technology News
Our Technology classes have been hard at work the past few weeks! Lots of fun and engaging projects have been happening.
In 4th grade, students spent time learning how to effectively search the web and learned how to determine if a website is credible or not. Then, we began our research projects on Revolutionary Figures. The kids took their research to create websites using Google Sites to display the information about their Figures! They did a tremendous job! In the weeks to come, we will be playing the Oregon Trail Game in class to supplement their exploration unit in Social Studies, and starting our Final Projects for the year!
5th graders have been working hard in the Coding course on Code.org. Students learned more about how to code Animations, creating Interactive About Me Posters. Then, we switched gears and learned more about Google Sheets, working with conditional formatting. The kids practiced this valuable skill by creating their own Battleships game and playing them in class. We are now completing a project on Google Drawings creating a Pop Art image, taking an image from the web and using polyline tools to outline the shapes and fill it in with brighter colors!
Our 6th-8th Graders have been working with Code.org’s Animation Unit. They have created their own Captioned Scenes and will be programming their own original animations as well. We also learned about the history of Animation from Walt Disney himself by watching short video clips about Animation throughout history. The kids were impressed to see how much technology has helped make Animation so much easier! In the coming weeks we will be closing out our Animation Unit and working on our Final Projects.
All classes have been practicing their keyboarding skills with Typetastic. Please remind your child to continue to practice typing regularly.
I am so impressed with the creativity the kids have displayed this year! Thank you so much for your support and I hope everyone has a great summer!
Best,
Sevim Memisovski
Technology Teacher
Updates From our Spanish Classroom
Spanish with Maestra Maria
¡Hola familias!
I can't believe we are already in the month of May! In a few weeks, we finish the course, and my little Spanish students surprise me more and more every day with everything they are learning.
April 22nd was Earth Day, and I took advantage of my Spanish class to work on making our children aware of the importance of caring for planet Earth. We work on "Tierra Feliz" (Happy Earth) and “Tierra Triste” (Sad Earth) concepts. The children learned that small gestures in their daily routines are very important, such as turning off the light when we are not using it, recycling, using the bicycle… We sang the song “Little Planet” again, the song we sang during the Spring Celebration.
Besides, we continue to work on their communication skills. Every day all the students must answer a question at the beginning of the class such as: What is your name? How old are you? What is your favorite color?... The question is different every day, and that allows us to develop their listening comprehension and practice speaking.
The 3-6-year-old students have worked on the parts of the body, the animals in the zoo, Spring, verbs involving movement... Last Friday we built a house, working in that way on the vocabulary of the parts of the house, and reviewed the vocabulary of the family.
On the other, the 6-9-year-old students worked on vocabulary related to the celebration of Ramadan, and they explained to me with great passion many details of this important celebration. We have also worked with the stores in the city. We did a fun activity where we had to build a city on the whiteboard and the students had to move around it using concepts such as “arriba”, “abajo”, “derecha” and “izquierda” (up, down, right, and left).
With great enthusiasm, we start this last month of the course. Go for it!
Spanish with Maestra Alicia
4th Grade: Fourth graders have been learning colors and shapes and we have just started officially learning and describing animals! Kids are very engaged as we read a fun book “El chivo que no podía estornudar” which includes excellent content to introduce the animal vocabulary.
5th Grade: Fifth graders have been learning to name various school subjects, such us el ingles, las matemáticas, la educación física, etc. They have also been focusing on how to use singular forms of the -er and -ir verbs such as aprender, comprender, leer and escribir.
6th Grade: Students have worked very hard on their project called “ El tiempo en cuatro países de habla hispana” (The Weather in 4 Spanish Speaking Countries). They incorporated most of the weather vocabulary and were super creative in their descriptions.
7th/8th Grade: These Seventh and eighth graders overall did an “EXCELENTE” job on their student choice “Nuestras conversaciones” (Our dialogues”) project. They incorporated all the things we have been learning for the past year in Spanish and worked super hard to make it not only accurate, but engaging for their classmates! Fantástico y Espectacular!
¡Hola familias!
I can't believe we are already in the month of May! In a few weeks, we finish the course, and my little Spanish students surprise me more and more every day with everything they are learning.
April 22nd was Earth Day, and I took advantage of my Spanish class to work on making our children aware of the importance of caring for planet Earth. We work on "Tierra Feliz" (Happy Earth) and “Tierra Triste” (Sad Earth) concepts. The children learned that small gestures in their daily routines are very important, such as turning off the light when we are not using it, recycling, using the bicycle… We sang the song “Little Planet” again, the song we sang during the Spring Celebration.
Besides, we continue to work on their communication skills. Every day all the students must answer a question at the beginning of the class such as: What is your name? How old are you? What is your favorite color?... The question is different every day, and that allows us to develop their listening comprehension and practice speaking.
The 3-6-year-old students have worked on the parts of the body, the animals in the zoo, Spring, verbs involving movement... Last Friday we built a house, working in that way on the vocabulary of the parts of the house, and reviewed the vocabulary of the family.
On the other, the 6-9-year-old students worked on vocabulary related to the celebration of Ramadan, and they explained to me with great passion many details of this important celebration. We have also worked with the stores in the city. We did a fun activity where we had to build a city on the whiteboard and the students had to move around it using concepts such as “arriba”, “abajo”, “derecha” and “izquierda” (up, down, right, and left).
With great enthusiasm, we start this last month of the course. Go for it!
Spanish with Maestra Alicia
4th Grade: Fourth graders have been learning colors and shapes and we have just started officially learning and describing animals! Kids are very engaged as we read a fun book “El chivo que no podía estornudar” which includes excellent content to introduce the animal vocabulary.
5th Grade: Fifth graders have been learning to name various school subjects, such us el ingles, las matemáticas, la educación física, etc. They have also been focusing on how to use singular forms of the -er and -ir verbs such as aprender, comprender, leer and escribir.
6th Grade: Students have worked very hard on their project called “ El tiempo en cuatro países de habla hispana” (The Weather in 4 Spanish Speaking Countries). They incorporated most of the weather vocabulary and were super creative in their descriptions.
7th/8th Grade: These Seventh and eighth graders overall did an “EXCELENTE” job on their student choice “Nuestras conversaciones” (Our dialogues”) project. They incorporated all the things we have been learning for the past year in Spanish and worked super hard to make it not only accurate, but engaging for their classmates! Fantástico y Espectacular!
Updates from our Arabic Room
Salam for all, عيد مبارك
Greetings form us to our families.
To those who celebrated Eid to have a blessed one.
Kindi Arabic and Islamic Departments were busy during Ramadan in learning about this holy month and the traditions that are practiced during it around the Arab countries.
Several events has been completed during the past month:
-Ms. Hayat
Greetings form us to our families.
To those who celebrated Eid to have a blessed one.
Kindi Arabic and Islamic Departments were busy during Ramadan in learning about this holy month and the traditions that are practiced during it around the Arab countries.
Several events has been completed during the past month:
- The Quran Recitation Competition for grades pre-kg up to 8th grade. MashAllah, the kids showed a fantastic job.
- 5th graders made Eid card at the end of Ramadan for their families.
- We organized a gift exchange and Eid Party for the classes from 4-8, to show love for each other, and all the students were amazing in surprising their friends with what they brought. Lots of love and happiness were seen on the Eid party which we held in school after coming back from Eid break.
- The 8th Graders were busy preparing candy bags for the younger classes to bring happiness for them.
- The most wonderful event of this month was the fundraising that we did in school to collect money to build wells in needy villages around Africa through the Zakat Foundation, Al-Hamd to Allah then to our generous community and families in Kindi we collected more than $15,000.00 dollars! With that amount we hope to build 5 wells in the needy areas. Thank you all for your generosity and may Allah accept from us our good deeds.
-Ms. Hayat