Elementary students made Rosca de Reyes in the Sandbox Kitchen during Spanish Class last month! Rosca de Reyes is a traditional bread in Latin American culture that is enjoyed with family and friends on January 6, Día de los Reyes Day, or "Kings Day." Every year on January 6, gatherings are held with family and friends to partake in the celebration of Día de los Reyes by cutting a slice of the rosca. A small plastic figurine representing baby...
With a generous grant from the Ellen Browning Scripps Foundation, we were able to acquire multimedia equipment that allows our upper elementary students to create, produce, and edit Gillispie activities, programs, and events. Media production is part of our overall media literacy program where we help students develop communication skills as well as learn how to interpret various forms of information, whether conveyed orally, visually, or in writing. Our multimedia literacy program is geared toward upper elementary...
Student voice, participation, and leadership are vital to our Gillispie Library program. Students regularly request books to be added to our collection. Students also frequently add their ideas and creativity to library displays. The winners of this year’s Gillispie Library writing contest have their writing featured in the Library for other students to read and enjoy. This year, a small group of students have become Library Volunteers. These students come to our Open Library hours before school...
Walt Ritter from Write Out Loud visited the third graders last week to share some stories in the Japanese Kamishibai tradition as a kick-off to their next project in Science & Design class. Kamishibai is a form of Japanese storytelling and literally translates to "paper theater". The Stories are performed by Kamishibaiya (Kamishibai Narrator) using sets of illustrated boards that are placed in stage-like boxes and narrated as each image is changed. The third graders' next design project will involve...
We are energetically jumping into the new year in the art bungalow and garden. Here are some of our current art projects: Kindergarten Painting dinosaur landscapes and planting tulips with Ms. Metcalfe in the art garden We will watch these tulips grow and use them for art inspiration throughout the grade levels. Did you know tulips were first found in Persia? First Grade Painting Chinese New Year watercolor dragons to celebrate the upcoming Year of the Rabbit Second Grade Painting winter watercolor resist landscapes Third...
Our Book Buddies program pairs upper elementary students with their younger cohorts for weekly meetings spent reading or playing together around campus. It is back in action after a long hiatus and the students are loving it. In this photo, children in Ms. Hurley's Grade 3 class teamed up with our Prekindergarteners in Juniper and Sequoia for a community storytime where the Elementary students read some of their favorite stories to their young friends. Both classes enjoyed the camaraderie and...
In P.E. this week, Early Childhood students have enjoyed improving their throwing and catching skills using various objects ranging from balloons to volleyballs. Meanwhile, Elementary students are wrapping up their volleyball unit and continue to work on passing, setting, and hitting. Most of these activities have been performed indoors in our gymnasium due to the rain! Ed Whelan and Cheyenne Kibblewhite, P.E. Teachers...
In December, more than 25 Gillispie families (more than 60 parents and students) volunteered for Feeding San Diego. Volunteers sorted and bagged 1400 pounds of kiwi and 6800 pounds of onions—it was messy but rewarding work! We learned that 1700 families were going to benefit from the food we sorted, and 700 families came through the parking lot food pick-up line just while we were there. Food insecurity is a real challenge in our community, and...
We'd like to welcome the three newest members of Ms. Cohn's Grade 4 class: Pumpkin Pie, Pecan Pie, and Pudding Pie! As you may have guessed, these three little cuties aren't students—they're guinea pigs from the San Diego Humane Society! The Grade 4 students are fostering these little friends while they wait to find permanent homes. A representative for the Humane Society came to campus last week to teach the students how to care for their temporary class...
A recent EC Parent meet-up, where we discussed Technology and Our Young Children, served as an important reminder that it takes a village to raise and educate healthy, happy, and tech-balanced children. With this in mind, we thought we would share some relevant tips that came from that meet-up, which we believe could come in handy over the winter break. While the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends screen time and other media limitations, especially for younger...