4/7 February Newsletter

February 2017
Heath Extended Day 4/7 Newsletter

What has been happening in 4/7
2017 has been off to a busy start with so much accomplished already in January!  On Thursdays, students have been involved in clubs here at HEDP.  In Creative Handwork Club, students made duct tape wallets, felt stuffed animals, and oil pastel drawings on canvas.  Students in Art and Technology are working on self portraits using technology:  Students took “selfies,” enlarged them, changed the color contrast, and then printed them.  They then used masking fluid to block out portions of the portrait and then water colored the entire portrait.  Once the masking fluid is peeled off, it turned into a beautiful, colorful self portrait!  Students in Lovable Lunch Club have learned how to make lunchtime favorites such as grilled cheese, macaroni and cheese, and bagel pizza!  Students in Ball Games Club have had a great time playing basketball, kickball, and dodgeball!  Each of these clubs will run for three more weeks in February and each club will have another new exciting plan each week!

In January, we also held a variety of cooking activities to help students achieve some of their Annual Goals.  Students made ice cream cake, eggless donuts, and chocolate chip cookies!  Students have learned that with every goal we make, achieving it may take a couple of tries and we learn from the mistakes we make along the way.  During our chocolate chip cookie making activity, the cookies did not come out as desired.  It turns out a key ingredient was not added.  We look forward to learning from this mistake and trying to make them again in February.  

Another annual goal was focused around two weeks of Art in Science: a time where we delved into activities such as making silly-putty, building paper-maché volcanoes, and learning about the Earth’s atmospheric layers by beading layered necklaces. In addition to all of these small-group activities, the students have also been involved in large-group math bees, trivia games, and weekly group challenges.

On January 11th, HEDP 4/7’s Drama Club debuted their (1st ever!) play titled “The Case of The Castafiore Emerald”. It was a “who-done-it” mystery set in 1940’s Europe, and was loosely based off of the Tin-Tin comic under the same name. The production was entirely created, from inception, by the 4th graders themselves: they helped to write lines, developed plot twists, developed their characters, built a set, created a costume wardrobe, and practiced their dramatic skills weekly. The teachers we very impressed by all of their hard work! The end product was truly outstanding, and will be repeated again in the Spring 2017 with a brand-new production and team. New (and previous!) Drama Club members are welcome to sign up after February vacation.  

What to look forward to in February
During February, we will continue to help students achieve more cooking goals.  We will learn how to make key lime pie, redo our chocolate chip cookies, and learn how to make cupcakes.  We also continue on with our Thursday clubs up until February vacation!  On February 3rd we will have a football fun day in honor of the Superbowl and encourage students to wear their Patriot’s team colors on that day!  The week of February 13th we will do Valentine’s Day activities and end the week with a movie just before February vacation!


Friday Ice Skating
The kids have had such a fun time with the special event!  The next two dates for skating are on Friday, February 10th and Friday, March 3rd.

No School
Monday, February 20th- Friday, February 24th : NO SCHOOL- Have a wonderful vacation

Friendly Reminders
Please remember that the sign out sheets are a legal document.  We ask that you sign out child out on a daily basis!

We will continue to go outside on a daily basis.  Please be sure your child comes with appropriate clothing for the weather!

Kindly,
Malaina, Emily, Zoe and Brad