The Pitcher Plants wrapped up the year with a series of fun and collaborative activities. The social studies unit on Native Americans of New York State concluded with field trips to the American Museum of Natural History and Museum of the City of New York. Here students were able to view artifacts that they had learned about during their research on the Iroquois Society. Following this trip, the Pitcher Plants completed their research papers and designed dioramas. Lastly, they presented their work to other classes and teachers. The alumni dance was a great success with many alumni returning to participate in the panel and join in the festivities celebrating the graduating class. Linda’s room hosted the dance party, Sam’s room hosted the delicious food, and Michelle’s room hosted games. Lot’s of fun was had by all! This was followed by the achievement ceremony, where everyone was recognized for their accomplishments during the year. On the Wednesday before the last day of school, students completed a new Time Capsule questionnaire. On the last day, they opened up the Time Capsule they had completed back in September and compared the findings! Some things had stayed the same….but much had changed!
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Today the Pitcher Plants had a special, super hero guest visit the classroom. Piggy , a 3-legged dog, was found by his owner Tod in the Dominican Republic. Piggy was discovered hungry, limping and hairless. He needed many hours of surgery and medicine, but then made a full recovery and moved to NYC with Tod. It is said that Piggy has the super power of finding and comforting those in need! The adventure's of the 3-legged super pup can be found in his comic book "A Piggy's Tale" written by his owner Tod. During the visit from the super-pup the Pitcher Plants learned the correct way to approach and pet a dog. Then each of them had a turn to politely ask Tod if they could pet his dog and where is the best place to pet him. The class loved petting Piggy and asking Tod questions about having a 3-legged dog. On Thursday, the Pitcher Plants started "book buddies", an activity in which they are paired up with a younger student and spent time reading with them. The Pitcher Plants practiced their read aloud skills by reading with expression and making sure their audience was engaged in the story. The class learned that it was not always easy to keep their listener's attention, but they were very patient and respectful with the younger students! On Friday, February 2nd the Pitcher Plants welcomed their V.I.P.’s to their classroom. In connection with their social studies unit on New York State, students presented their research projects. Five different towns or cities were studied: Albany, Buffalo, Syracuse, Beacon, and Lake Placid. Each student did their own research and created a brochure that illustrated important facts, places to visit, maps and pictures of their respective cities. In teams of two, the students presented their findings to the group. Following this, they shared the brochures with their V.I.P.’s. They are so professional-looking and we plan to put them on display for the school as a public service! It so happened that the visiting time corresponded to the Choice Time slot in our schedule, so V.I.P.’s joined their students in a typical “choice time” activity. Some favorites were Blokus, UNO, Battleship, and demonstrations of PowerPoint prowess on their laptops. It was a fabulous day! Here are some pictures of the students hard at work on their research projects as well as pictures from V.I.P. Day. The Pitcher Plants had a very special (and furry) guest come visit the classroom. As part of the Delta Society animal-assisted therapy program, Nina and her dog Lily came into the classroom to help teach the students about being responsible and safe with animals. Nina started by introducing herself and Lily, then all of the Pitcher Plants went around and introduced themselves. Many of them were very excited to see if Nina and Lily recognized them from when they were in preschool! After the introductions and doggie kisses, each student had the chance to walk Lily down the hallway. Nina and Lily will be coming back to the Pitcher Plant classroom once a month for some more doggie fun! In Art class, the Pitcher Plants have been studying the human body in motion. Using bendable wire and eventually clay, they will create a model of a body performing a certain movement. This study has been enhanced by a collaboration with the Alvin Ailey II Dance Company, in which the dancers visited the school before and after a field trip to the City Center to watch the company perform two pieces: “Breaking Point” (2017) and “Revelations” (1960). During the first visit, the dancers Ariana and Martell explained the background stories behind the performances. The dancers demonstrated how they create and sequence their moves, and the students copied them. On the day of the performance, students were welcomed by the artistic director Troy Powell, and were thrilled to see Ariana and Martell on stage performing the dances. Following the performance, the dancers returned to the school and they led the class in a lesson on how to choreograph their own dance moves. The Pitcher Plants had an amazing Thanksgiving Feast today! The students all enjoyed some free time at the park with other Gillen Brewer students. Then they came back to an awesome feast set up by their awesome parents! It was great to have all the students and families together to celebrate an early Thanksgiving. The Pitcher Plants hope everyone has a very happy Thanksgiving! On October 20th, the Pitcher Plants welcomed grandparents and parents into our classroom. The students were terrific hosts, showing their relatives around the room and introducing classmates. Our game of "Scattergories" was a great success; now we know everyone's favorite pizza topping! Welcome to the Pitcher Plants website! We are very excited to finally have chosen a plant name. Pitcher Plants are a type of carnivorous plant that get their name from their look; each hanging leaf looks like a water pitcher. The Pitcher Plants chose their name by first brainstorming different types of plants and walking around the Upper East Side community to see what kinds of plants they could find. Then the class began researching options for our class name; they used their laptops and a variety of plant books. Once each student chose a name and conducted research, they each wrote a persuasive paragraph that they presented them to the class. Then it was time for the vote! And the winner was..... the Pitcher Plants! On Friday the students of Room 209 took a field trip to John Jay Park. Throughout the summer they have been learning about having a healthy mind and body; this particular NYC park has an area with outdoor exercise equipment, perfect for an exercise circuit. Each of the students had a chance to use the different equipment and exercise different parts of their bodies. They had a picnic lunch and then finished the trip with some more exercising in the nearby playground. To get to and from the park, Room 209 rode the local M31 bus, and made sure to be respectful and polite to fellow bus patrons! |
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March 2018
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