Previously Email on January 24, 2014
Global Languages and Cultures
Student presentations in all grade levels will begin February 18th. Each student group will have 10 minutes to present to the class. Guidelines for all projects are available to students at Exploris on the public drive under the Global Cultures folder.
7th Grade Global Market: Monday, February 10th 10:30 a.m. – noon
In preparation for their trip to the Heifer Village, 7th grade students have been studying the cultures and economies of Appalachia, Guatemala, Kenya, Mozambique, Thailand, and Tibet. They have been learning about supply and demand, and are looking to put their knowledge and research in action on February 10th. Each student in 7th grade will be selling a product indicative of the culture or economy of one of the Global Village cultures, and have been working diligently to do market research to ensure success on the market day.
Sixth and eighth grade students will have the opportunity to browse and shop the market, and parents are more than welcome to partake in the fun! All profit from the market will be used by the seventh grade to offset the costs of buying snacks and drinks for the field trip.
Wellness & Body Life
Our present focus is Soccer, Volleyball and, with our trailblazing Eight grade students, the option for Swim.
In Soccer we are working on passing, teamwork and field spacing skills, using a 4 Quadrant approach, where players must remain in a designated area of the playing field. Players are matched up in their zone with an opposing player of similar skill level. The effect is that players have to play the ball as in comes in their quadrant, without higher skilled players to depend on. It forces more skilled players, especially if not in the one offensive zone, to think pass to help their teammates learn the game and to score. It has been rewarding to watch our students gain confidence and become stronger team players.
Soccer Video
Our Volleyball play is limited due to our low ceiling and inclement weather. We are fitting this in as we can and as weather allows. We will also be adding a twist with a new game called Eclipse Ball. It is a fun combination of Volleyball, Badminton and Tennis.
Swimming – Yeah!!!! Our first group of Exploris Eighth Grade students we excited to begin our pilot swim program yesterday at the beautiful Pullen Aquatic Center. We walked to and from the Center, with @40 minutes of pool time for both the girls and boys groups. Meeting their instructors and assessment of swim levels were the focus of the 1st of 6 lessons. A second group of 8th Grade students will begin lessons February 12th.
Cycling – More to come on this, but we hope to begin a unit on Cycling!
Cardio workout on the machines
Exploris Aquatics Group – at Pullen Park
Our first walk to Pullen Aquatics!
Visual Art
All students painted a resolution flag in the new year. I was impressed with their thoughtful resolutions! Many want to get more sleep in 2014, study harder, give to others, learn to play an instrument and get more play time (stress less). These colorful flags will decorate the art room as weekly reminders to follow through with our resolutions.
My son, an Exploris alumni, came in to show the kids how to draw comic stripes. He is now an art major at Warren Wilson College and enjoyed sharing his talents with such eager students.
Both 7th and 8th graders will be working on clay projects the next couple weeks.
Exploris PTO 