The Public Speaking class (aka Speech class) recently completed a lesson on reading children's books. The students had to choose a book and deliver it knowing their audience would be young children. They had the opportunity to practice their speeches when the class presented their books to the kindergarten and third grade classes. Not only did the high school students get to share their fun stories but they also got to work on important speaking skills. Skills the students focused on included vocal variety, vocal characterization, eye contact, and body language.
The 5th Grade students are starting a new unit in Language Arts! We will be learning about the Early American Civilizations, focusing specifically on the Maya, Aztec, and the Inca civilizations.
After reading our first informational text, we learned that a successful civilization is defined by people living in a well-organized way. The components of a civilization include structured cities, farms, government, religion, social classes, art and architecture, as well as a system for recording information. We are excited to take this journey where we learn how to analyze and synthesize informational text.
Seventh grade social studies students debate which Mesopotamian invention is the most significant. Students debated such inventions as the wheel, the lunar calendar, the plow, literature, laws, chariots, and sailboats.
Middle and High schoolers are working hard on their pass-off scales due every Monday. Practicing these scales prepares them for honor band auditions that are coming up in October and November. Although not required, they are highly encouraged to audition!
The beautiful fall weather means secondary PE will be spending time outside taking hikes and playing disc golf.
Colorado Applies Month (CAM) is a campaign that guides students along the application and career planning process. This year Colorado Applies Month runs from Sept 18 – Oct. 17.
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Colorado Free Application Days: Mark your calendars—students will be able to apply to any public college or university and many private institutions for FREE from , Tuesday, Oct. 18-Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022.
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For more information please use the following link: https://highered.colorado.gov/cofreeappdays
Sixth graders are diving deeper into writing narratives. They are working on understanding point of view, transitional words, dialogue rules, expanding, and creating stronger sentences and will be starting their first narrative writing piece this week. I'm excited to see everything they learned transfer into their writing over the next few weeks.
In high school art students have been working on different techniques using drawing pencils. High school ceramics students created Lego-style figures out of clay. Next up, ceramics students will create a mixed media piece incorporating clay and glass.
Preschool visited the school library for the first time this year! Ms. Cruz read the children a story that she checked out from the library! Also, one of the preschool's licensing regulations is to have at least a 30 minute rest period for those kids that stay all day. One of the children organized the shoes just before rest time - he used his matching skills and laid them side by side (concept practice). We have a great time at preschool!
High school students in Chemistry class are doing an experiment to help them understand endothermic and exothermic reactions. They quickly found out exothermic reactions produce heat and endothermic reactions take up heat, turning cold.
NO SCHOOL: Due to power outages at the school, classes will not be in session for all students, PK-12, today, Thursday, September 22. Activities for this afternoon are still possible, so please look for updates from Coaches.
Kindergarteners have a new motto. "Kindness! What if everybody did it?" We read a book with the same title and we highly recommend it! ~ Mrs. Coleman & Kindergarten students
REMINDER that the FREE Dental Clinic is being held next week on Friday and Saturday (9/30-10/1) in Pueblo at the Colorado State Fairgrounds. COMOM provides dental care at no cost to patients and all are encouraged to go.
First-graders have been enjoying some adventures with our friends the Superkids. We read a story called “Help!”. This story was about Cass’s cat Coconut getting stuck in a tree after being chased by a dog named Golly. Cass and her friends had to work together to figure out how to get Coconut out of the tree. The Superkids are great at teaching us life lessons like problem-solving and teamwork. We can’t wait to see what other adventures will join them on this year.
The 7th grade Shop Skills class used a handsaw to cut out several new door stops for use all over the school. Since the beginning of the year, we have been laser focused on shop safety. Needless to say, everyone was very excited to start this project!
The third grade has been working hard on learning Self-Concept during our Social-Emotional Learning time. The students have learned that Self-Concept means how we think and feel about ourselves. We created timelines of important events in our lives that helped shape our Self-Concept using construction paper and red yarn!
Our 5th graders revisited the writing process today! We reviewed how to write complete sentences containing a subject and predicate, as well as how to write a strong paragraph using the Hamburger Graphic Organizer since we all love hamburgers and writing! Reminding ourselves how to write using complete sentences and how to structure our paragraphs will strengthen our writing and impress our readers.
Watch tonight's School Board Meeting at 6PM on Youtube Live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiZ4xO7GTrM
With a small class of six, the Valley Cutlass newspaper staff are working hard to write, design, and produce their first publication of the year. The variety of articles include sports features, a fun page, and school events. Throughout a series of papers, the group is also planning to spotlight all teachers and staff. The first edition will highlight mostly elementary staff with secondary to follow next month.
Elementary and secondary PE classes kicked the fall season off by learning about volleyball and striking skills. Football and throwing skills will be next.