Palestinian & Israeli Conflict

    The girls have been learning about the Palestinian and Israeli conflict.  They have read 'accounts' from both sides of the conflict, then were divided into two camps - Palestines and Israelis.  We had two groups in each camp.  They were given 30 minutes yesterday to prepare an argument why they should have the land from the perspectives they were assigned.  The assignment was very open-ended.  I told them they could present it in any way they saw fit.   Three groups designed PowerPoints.  One group rewrote the lyrics to "Why Can't We Be Friends" and sang it to the class!  So clever and so creative!  I loved it!

International Week KIck Off

BONJOUR! 
    We were able to join the school for the assembly that kicked off Internation week today, then dined on delicious French food for lunch!  Tomorrow is Japanese day!  Yummy!  The students are divided into 4 continent teams and have begun competition today with relay races and volleyball matches.  (Yes, volleyball origniated in Massachusettes, but hey, it's in the Americas!) 

Mrs. Liotta in Belize

   Last week, Mrs. Liotta spent time with our pen pal class in Belize.  She visited the school and with her daughter, helped foster a soccer program.  She had an amazing trip.  Check out her blog to see more details!  http://liottafifthgrade.blogspot.com/
   She returned with a bag full of beautiful cards and letters for the girls.  They excitedly opened them and eagerly responded.  We have sent two letters (one electronically and one with Mrs. Liotta last week.)  The girls also grouped themselves by topic and created videos that we sent with Mrs. Liotta, as well.  They created videos, such as, role-playing to teach about Ocean City and instruct about field hockey.  Mrs. Liotta told us that the students loved  the videos, so they sent them of themselves as well. 
    Her trip will be a valuable resource as we begin our Latin America unit in the coming weeks!

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

Today, we attended an assembly, which included Chinese acrobats!  They were AMAZING!  There were cheers and 'oohs' and 'ahhs!"  And many times, we even gasped thinking they were going to drop their prop or each other!  The 5th grade was treated to pizza for lunch from Papa John's - a highlight of the year, I'm sure!

Middle School Musical

  The girls just finished their final performance of their play.   They did such a great job!  I'm always so amazed and impressed by the talent we have at Calvert.  The girls worked hard and practiced A LOT!  I think I know the songs as much as they do now.  I've included some pictures from today's performance.  They asked me over and over to bring my daughter to see their play, and we were able to make it work today.  She, too, thought the girls were wonderful!  Congratulations Girls - I'm so proud of you!

Student Reaches New Heights

Our classmate returns from her trip to South America tomorrow, but not before reaching new heights.  She and her family climbed to the top and took this amazing shot!  We can't wait to see her tomorrow.

Classmate in Ecuador and Peru

   Well, it's back to school and everyone seems to be coping pretty well - especially our classmate who is in Peru and Ecuador!  She sent us a picture of her and her sister on the equator!  The girls were very excited to see them standing in different hemispheres.  We turned the picture into a quick geography review!