Gratitude

Wishing all our friends and families who are celebrating Thanksgiving a joyous celebration! 

We are profoundly grateful for all of you who are part of our community.

The San Antonio Experience...

Last week Alicia and Catalina, our Middle School Spanish teacher, had the opportunity to travel to San Antonio, TX for The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language Convention. The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language (ACTFL) Annual Convention and World Languages Expo brought together over 6,000 language educators from around the world of all languages and levels.  The conference presented an incredible selection of professional learning and collaborative networking opportunities.

While Alicia and Catalina attended a variety of workshops covering a wide range of language education topics, another of AFS’s very own provided an experience for French language educators.  Dina Cohen, the Upper School French teacher (and a Lower School parent), presented a very successful session on “Teaching French for the 21^st Century.” What a superb opportunity for our French Language colleagues!

Other than attending magnificent workshops, Alicia and Catalina had the opportunity to network with other professionals in the field. They had the chance to attend a breakfast event hosted by the National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL). This experience provided them with the opportunity to network with other educators and to have conversations on the latest in early language learning from leading professionals in the field such as Helena Curtain and Carol Ann Dahlberg.

Their mid-day dining experience was just as rewarding. Alicia and Catalina joined other Spanish-speaking professionals for an Embassy of Spain luncheon. The luncheon, conducted in Spanish, highlighted the culture of Spain, including a very scrumptious Spanish ménu. This gathering was an opportunity to network as well as gain information about “full program scholarships, institutes, and services available to teachers of Spanish, the business community and the general public through the Embassy”.

What an amazing opportunity to be part of our global community! It is no wonder that this is one of the most anticipated events for language educators.

Thank you, AFS community, for all your encouragement and support in providing teachers with outstanding professional development opportunities like this. This is truly a remarkable “family.”

Here’s Catalina and Alicia with the view of the Exhibit Hall where more than 250 companies showcased their latest products and services for educators and their students.

Here’s Catalina and Alicia with the view of the Exhibit Hall where more than 250 companies showcased their latest products and services for educators and their students.

Alicia with the director and founder of Spanish Workshops for Children, Marcela Summerville.

Guess who will be on the next cover of The Language Educator publication?  Nah! :) Just a nice souvenir...

The Skeleton Dance - First Grade Assembly

Día de los Muertos - First Grade Assembly

This Fall, first grade studied Monarch butterflies.
We learned about their migration, the places they pass through, the people living in those places and we learned about a special celebration, Día de los Muertos, that happens as the Monarchs arrive in Mexico.Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead is a holiday in Mexico, Central America and in other parts of the world, where many people remember and honor loved ones who have died.

Many traditions are connected to this holiday, like parades, arts and crafts, foods and fiestas, creating a time of joy celebration as an expression of their love and memories.

To see the video from Friday's assembly click HERE!


The music is called Fossils from Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saens. The first graders came up with different ways they could move like a skeleton. Aedín correographed the dance based on the movements first graders created in class and then put it to the music.

Fourth Grade Dream House Project

Fourth graders recently finished creating the floor plans for their dream house project, a fun, hands-on project that was an extension of our study of area and perimeter.  The guidelines set out were that each one story house needed to have between eight and twelve rooms and that at least half of the rooms needed to be irregular shapes, with the other half being squares or rectangles.

We had recently learned how to find the area of irregular shapes and we wanted the students to apply what they had learned.  We also stressed the importance of knowing your multiplication facts when finding the area of a rectangle or square because it is much easier to count the length and width and multiply than it is to count each square on the blue print grid!

After creating a blue print on grid paper, students transferred their plans onto construction paper.  They measured each room using centimeters and then carefully cut out the rooms and placed them onto their poster.  Many students found that once the rooms were cut, a couple of them did not quite fit, and they then had to go back and remeasure and cut one or more rooms.  All of the students were very invested in the final outcome of their dream house poster and so their willingness to redo rooms that weren't measured or cut quite right wasn't surprising.

The dream house posters will soon be hanging up in both fourth grade rooms, so make sure to check them out!

 

Thanksgiving Community Service

Kathy, Jaime and Michelle's Kindergarten was prepared for a walk through the neighborhood last Monday to visit the Breathing Room Foundation in Jenkintown to work on a Thanksgiving project.  Unfortunately, Mother Nature altered those plans by sending a rainy day that prohibited our walk.  To our delight, she did not keep us from completing the project here at school. We were also fortunate that one of the student's mom was able to deliver our sweet treats for us.  We created turkey cups filled with chocolates as part of the Thanksgiving baskets being delivered this past weekend.

The Breathing Room Foundation provides care and support to local families affected by cancer.  They reach out to families in many ways to give them 'breathing room' while dealing with very difficult circumstances.  Holiday baskets are one way they reach out to these families.  It was an honor to help fill this year's baskets.  To learn more please visit their website.

We are planning another walk for a new project and hope that the weather will cooperate!

Thanksgiving wishes for a beautiful holiday to all of our families.  We are grateful everyday to work with your children and to be able to reach out to our community with them and share our 'simple gifts.'

Third Grade Reading Music Notation

As the third graders dive deeper into their understandings of reading notation, we have begun looking at repetitive patterns found within music.  While reading and playing the song "All Through The Night," our third graders reflected on the many patterns they saw within the music's structure.  Some children shared about what notation was occurring in each measure.  Others noticed notation patterns that were repeating.  We discovered that using patterns to help us read and play simplified the work involved in practicing our music and performing on the soprano recorder.

 

Winter Care Over Break

Did you know that AFS offers care for our students over Winter Break?

On Wednesday, a letter and registration form will be coming home to all families interested in having their children participate in the full-day childcare during four of the days Abington Friends is closed over our Winter Break.  

The dates available for full-day childcare are as follows:

Week #1 of Winter Break, Monday and Tuesday, December 22nd & 23rd

Week #2 of Winter Break, Monday and Tuesday, December 29th & 30th

AFS will re-open on Monday, January 5, 2014

Care on these days is open to ALL Early Childhood and Lower School families, and will take place in the Early Childhood classrooms.  In the mid-morning, children will separate into two groups for age appropriate play outdoors and other fun activities.

Each child will need to bring a full lunch, two snacks and two drinks.  Early Childhood students will also need a complete change of clothes and a blanket or mat for quiet time.  Children are welcome to bring soft toys, quiet games, activities or books that support our school’s Quaker values and practices.

If you have any questions, concerns, or need further details about this offering, please contact our Extended Day Coordinators, Christina Wagner at cwagner@abingtonfriends.net, 267-784-4083 or Beverly Weems, at bweems@abingtonfriends.net, 215-837-9053

Winter Program Information and Concert Attire

As our winter program performance approaches, we wanted to make sure everyone has advanced notice of our concert attire.  Please review the message below.  An accompanying letter will be coming home in December.  If you know that your child will not be able to participate in the winter program on Friday, December 19, please inform Jason and Aedín as soon as possible.

~ Winter Program Concert Attire ~

Friday, December 19, 2014

10:00 a.m.

Muller Auditorium

 All children, 3 years old through 4th grade should dress in black shirts, long, black pants, and comfortable shoes.  All children are encouraged to bring their concert attire clothing to school on Thursday prior to the winter program.  Children will be given the opportunity to change at school on Friday morning prior to the 10 a.m. performance.

Please note that all children will be involved in movement activities on stage and should wear pants and comfortable shoes (no heels please).  In addition, we ask that first, second, third, and fourth grade students wear black socks for their movement performances.

We look forward to celebrating our accomplishments with you on

Friday, December 19^th in our Muller Auditorium beginning at 10:00 a.m.

If you have any questions, please contact Aedín Larkin, alarkin@abingtonfriends.net 

or Jason Novak, jnovak@abingtonfriends.net.

Holiday Gift Collection and Wrapping Party

We invite you to help us bring children and families a more joyful holiday season and a happier New Year.

We are collecting new toys for Youth Service, Inc. a program that is dedicated to meeting the changing needs of children and families in Philadelphia.

 Youth Service, Inc. offers:

    * Emergency shelter for homeless and runaway teens

    * 24-hour emergency care for children

    * Foster care and placement services

    * Parenting skills and counseling

    * Truancy prevention

    * Family-based services in the home

A collection box will be located in the Lower School lobby entrance.  Please refrain from giving video games, DVDs, or toys that are violent. 

Come to the GIFT WRAPPING PARTY!

On Friday, December 12^th at 3:15 students and families are invited to join us after school to create gift-wrap and wrap gifts that have been collected.  All are welcome and there is no cost to participate. To register yourself and/or your child, please e-mail Andrea at aemmons@abingtonfriends.net

 For information about Youth Service, Inc., please visit their website: http://ysiphila.org/

Sharing Our Gifts

Second graders used their reading skills on Friday to share some of their favorite read aloud books with kindergarteners!

Thank you families for helping facilitate this.