Elixir of Love

On November 11, grades 3-8 went to see The Elixir of Love, presented by Lyric Opera of Chicago's Opera in the Neighborhood program. The students were very excited, and what follows is a review written by Clarissa.

"The Elixir of Love" was an amazing opera. I thought when the actors all sang without microphones it was surprising. It surprised me because when Adina had to sing those high pitches, it was so incredible. When the pianist played, he was so amazing, playing the piano for the orchestra. The costumes were so beautiful! The costume I liked best was Adina's. Adina walked in it and danced in it. The setting was very nice because the people who drew the picture painted it nicely. I thought the best part was when Adina kissed Nemorino because Nemorino wanted to fall in love with Adina so I think that he was waiting for his true love. The play a lot of fun because they sang well, and tried to make all the kids laugh at some of the parts, like when the doctor said, "Hit that funky music."

Last week, the class finished the unit on How to Eat Fried Worms. Above, you can see pictures of the students acting out important scenes from the book, eating gummy worms and "dirt" that I made for the class, and some of the brave students trying real fried worms. This week, we're going to begin looking at how to read non-fiction and some of the important features of non-fiction text.

We are also almost done with our unit on nouns. The test will be next Tuesday, and I will be sending home a study guide towards the end of this week. I will be spending a lot of time in class on the difference between plural and possessive nouns. This would also be a good area to make sure your student reviews as they study for the class, as in the past this has been a hard concept for students to grasp.

In art, we have been looking at the artist Georges Seurat and his style of pointillism. The students created their own pointillistic drawing on the computer, and on Thursday, we will be painting in this style. I need one or two parents to come in Thursday to help with this project, so if you are available, please let me know.

Church Bulletin Article

Our class will be featured in the church's bulletin this Sunday. Here is what the article will say:

"Day of the Dead at St. Sylvester School

People often think of skeletons as scary and death as only a mournful time, but as the fourth graders at St. Sylvester School have recently learned, the Mexican celebration of Day of the Dead remembers the lives of those who have died with joy, decorating skeletons and creating ofrendas in memory of the deceased. To learn more about this holiday, the class has visited the National Museum of Mexican Art to tour their Day of the Dead exhibit, read books, and created skeleton masks with their younger buddies.

The centerpiece of the unit allowed the students to honor a relative who has died. Each student selected one person in their family that had passed away and conducted interviews to learn more about this person. While there were many grandparents who were remembered, there were also children and parents who were honored, giving students a chance to both learn more about their ancestors and remember people they loved who are no longer with us. They then took these interviews and wrote paragraphs about their relatives. The students learned about the hardships others faced: moving to a new country, taking care of their family from a young age, or not being able to get an education, but they also learned about the love their relatives showed to their families and the simple things they did that their parents, aunts, and uncles now remember. The students brought in shoe boxes to create altars in celebration of this person's life. Inside the altars, they placed mementos, photographs, candles, flowers, and sugar skulls. After they were done, they shared these altars with their classmates, parents, and other students in the school.

Throughout the project, students not only had the opportunity to learn about a holiday that others celebrate, but they also found ways to celebrate their own families and backgrounds. Completing the interviews, paragraphs, and altars allowed them to both learn more about their loved ones and to keep their memories alive."

We have a social studies test this Wednesday. Students will not have a spelling test the next two weeks since we are completing a review unit. Conference times will be sent home tomorrow, and conferences will be held on Sunday.