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...
Gillispie School will host its 13th annual blood drive on Thursday, February 9, 2023! Over the years, we have collected more than 462 pints of blood; added numerous people to the national bone marrow registry; and donated over $20,000 to the San Diego Blood Bank. Here are some ways you can help support our 13th blood drive: Make an appointment to donate blood. Click here to make an appointment! Post fliers at your local gym, coffee shop, or...
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...
Early Childhood students in Willow Room have been creating art in various forms and using their art to hone other skills. From crafting with loose parts to painting at the easels, they are encouraged to express their creativity and connect with each other through sharing insights and reflecting together on their work. Manipulating with loose parts has been particularly helpful when working on fine motor, cognition, and communication skills. When the children want to design a piece,...
Gillispie School will host its 13th annual blood drive on Thursday, February 9, 2023! This service-learning project is near and dear to our hearts. Fourteen years ago, Gillispie welcomed a brother and sister pair to the third grade program. One of the siblings suffered a sudden relapse of cancer she battled as a kindergartener. Her treatments were grueling and her prognosis was grim, and our school community searched for meaningful ways to help. We decided to...
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...