By Eileen Taveras
December marked the start of a very busy and diligent month in Classroom 2. This is because December is Career Month!
The girls have been having so much fun learning about various occupations all month long. From a professional singer, photographer, bus driver, and even a firefighter - who knew there were so many things you could grow up to be and do for a living! Our presenters have been excellent at inspiring a spark of creativity in each of our students. We see this creativity blossoming in each student’s Career Day Project. In our very own classroom, we have a police officer, singer, ballerina, and even a server! We are bustling with excitement for Career Day at the end of the month, where we will turn the tables and allow students to give their own career presentations!
SOCIAL STUDIES:
This month in Social Studies, we’ve continued to discuss the Westward Expansion of our country. One particularly exciting lesson was when our class worked together to construct a model Transcontinental Railroad out of cardboard, popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, glue, and staples! The cardboard portion represents our country’s land from Sacramento, California all the way to Omaha, Nebraska. Our class was divided up into the Union Pacific Group and the Central Pacific Group. Both groups began at either end of the cardboard and laid down popsicle sticks until they met in the middle. Students were able to get a hands-on feel for the amount of work, labor, and communication that went into the construction of the actual railroad.
LITERATURE:
This month in Class 2, we’ve been reading the book The Juice box Bully. This book tells the story of a new student named Pete. In the story, Pete engages in hurtful and unkind behavior toward his peers - he is a bully. Mr. Peltzer’s class has taken a stance against bullying. Pete’s new classmates make an effort to steer him in the right direction by telling them about their class Promise. By the end of the story, Pete learns a very valuable lesson on the importance of being an upstander, and that being a bully is never the solution.
Class 2 has learned to identify the differences between an upstander and a bystander. We have also learned to identify why it is important to be active as an upstander. Students have also learned to describe ways in which they can act as upstanders at school, at home, and in the community.
Our social-emotional-oriented lessons and ac- companying activities have helped our girls develop their advocacy skills, and exercise their ability to assert themselves when necessary. Class 2 even decided to make the same promise that the children in the story made! By doing so, we’ve worked to foster an even greater sense of belonging within our classroom and the school community at large.
MONTHLY SHOUT-OUTS:
Another reason why December has been so busy for us in Classroom 2 is that we have had so many birthdays!! Happy birthday to Ayali (12/24), Sarah & Yehudis (12/26), and Ms. Natalya (12/29)! We hope your special days were as incredible as each one of you is.