K & 1st grade Update 10/23

 This week students started preparing for their field trip to Morehead Planetarium. All grades will learn about earth and outer space in their classrooms, so this is a great chance for students to learn the concepts and vocabulary they will need to understand their classroom lessons.

Students started learning the following vocabulary, and more: earth, moon, planet, sun, star, day, night, constellation, around, close, far.

We also had a guest astronomer, Ms. Kathy, join us to share many new facts about space. The students had many questions to ask, and worked very hard to communicate their questions in English! Ms. Kathy taught our kindergarten and first grade students about constellations. Students looked at the star pattern from the constellation Leo, and made their own constellations. Students can keep practicing at home this week any time they see the sky!

2nd, 3rd, & 4th grade Update 10/23

This week students started preparing for their field trip to Morehead Planetarium. All grades will learn about earth and outer space in their classrooms, so this is a great chance for students to learn the concepts and vocabulary they will need to understand their classroom lessons.

Students started learning the following vocabulary, and more: moon, planet, sun, star, galaxy, orbit, constellation, around, group of, part of, close, far.

We also had a guest astronomer, Ms. Kathy, join us to share many new facts about space. The students had many questions to ask, and worked very hard to communicate their questions in English!

International Community Festival, 10/23 5:30 to 8 pm

Come join the Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools International Welcome Center tomorrow night at Lincoln Center!

We will have:

• bouncy houses
• free meal for each attendee
• free treats---snow cones, cotton candy, popcorn
• live music and demonstrations/entertainment
• TIME with ESL teachers
• soccer and/or taktraw "space" for impromptu demonstrations/games
• face painting
• multiple local agencies/organizations providing information, etc.

We will offer a park-and-ride service from FPG to Lincoln Center. The bus will run every fifteen minutes beginning at 5:15. 

Students can get a prize for coming! If students come and say hello and sign the attendance sheet for our school, they'll get a red ticket to pick up a special "prize". 

We look forward to seeing you there!

Morehead Planetarium Field Trip

On Wednesday, October 28, newcomer ESL students have the opportunity to go on a field trip to Morehead Planetarium. Morehead Planetarium is on the UNC Campus on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill. Students will be learning about the earth, moon, and sun. This will be a great chance for them to learn important vocabulary that will help them in their classroom studies.

Students will be preparing for this field trip over the next week. Here are some of the topics students will learn:

• Names of common objects in space (Earth, moon, sun, planet, star, solar system, orbit, constellation)
• What makes day and night?
• What is the difference between a star and a planet?
• What are the planets in the solar system?

2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade Update 10/16

This week in Newcomer ESL:
We took pictures of the classrooms and in the school and people in Scroggs. - Sojiro
We learned you don't say "my school have", you say "my school HAS" an art room. - Sofi
I learned that in America, some people don't say the "t" in "art room". - Yuna O.
We learned that there are 15 students in Constanze's class in Germany. - Sarah
We heard students read their journals about their school in Japan and everyone's country. -Rubi

We wrote about our specials in Scroggs. - Yuna U.
We learned about what we do in the school. - Bomin
We talked about the places in our school.  - Constanze
We talked about comparing schools. -Kevin
We practiced words for places in the school. -Isaac

I wrote about my school in Kenya and America. - Yvan
I wrote about school in Japan and America and what my school has and doesn't have. - Kotaro
My school in Israel has two playgrounds. -Oren

These are some of the places in our school that we learned about:

• cafeteria
• gymnasium
• art room
• music room
• classroom
• Spanish classroom
• bathroom (or restroom)
• playground
• ESL classroom
• nurse's office

2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade Update 10/1

Second, third, and fourth grade students have worked hard this week!

Students read non-fiction books, learned to take notes on graphic organizers, and learned words that they will hear often in their reading and writing lessons, like title, topic, fact, different, and alike.

Students also made VoiceThreads about animals, using vocabulary and concepts they've learned through our studies in class and their field trip to Lazy 5 Ranch. Students planned out their VoiceThread, wrote and revised their script, and recorded their scripts. Check back later to see our students' VoiceThreads!

This is what our students said about this week:

“This week we made voicethreads about Lazy 5.” - Yuna U.

“We learned about feathered animals, scales and fur, and animal body parts.”  - Kevin L.

“I learned that buffalo’s mouth is very funny!” - Yuna O.

“Every Friday we have fun friday to buy toys and stickers.’ - Sofi

“I liked speaking on the voicethread.” - Constanze

“I loved hearing about Lazy 5 because there are a lot of animals.” - Rubi

“This week I learned about non-fiction books. I learned non-fiction is real things.” - Sojiro

“I liked when we read about heat sense because snake can find food by heat.” - Yuna O.

“I liked when we read about mystery senses because octopus is color-blind but he can change color.” - Sojiro

“We did lots of writing this week. I feel happy because I have done a lot of work.” -Sarah

Toes, Knees, and Tails

Where is your elbow? Where is your knee? How many legs does a giraffe have? What is the difference between a monkey and a chimpanzee? (Hint: one has a tail, and the other doesn't!) Second, third, and fourth grade students learned to ask and answer these questions and many more at the beginning of this week.

First, students reviewed how to say, read, and write the names of common body parts. Many students knew words like eyes, ears, and nose, but realized that using the correct word for toe, foot, knee, and leg was actually trickier than they thought. Students worked together in pairs and groups to strengthen their speaking, reading, and listening skills using these words. Finally, students used what they'd learned about body parts to write lists, sentences, and paragraphs describing common animals.

Animal Explorations

Our 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade students have been busy learning about animals this week. Many of us will put these lessons to immediate use next week when we go on a field trip to experience animals in real life!

Students learned words to describe animal body coverings (feathers, scales, fur, etc.) and specific body parts (tail, wing, beak, etc.). Students practice sentence structures like "A ___ has ___."This is a great unit for learning to sort and classify, so students practiced sorting animals by their body coverings and features.

Students have also been reading both non-fiction and realistic fiction to learn more about how animals body parts and body coverings help them survive in the wild. For example, did you know that some lizards can drop their tails so they can run away free if a predator catches them? Did you know that a platypus has a sense of electricity? After reading this week, our students do!

Star Interviews

Our kindergartners and first graders are superstars - and we have the autographs to prove it!

Target language:
1. "What's your name?" "My name is..."
2. "How old are you?" "I'm __ years old."
3. Reading and writing names

Students used our target language to ask other students' names and ages, collecting their friends' "autographs" in their journals. Students learned about their new classmates, became comfortable greeting new people, and learned more about the sounds letters make by learning to read other students' names. 

What is Newcomer ESL?

ESL stands for English as a Second Language. Newcomer students are new to the American school system and the English language.

Our school is proud to be the home of the ESL Welcome Center! In the newcomer classroom, students are provided with a safe learning environment where they can take risks in learning social and academic English. 

The goal of the program is for students to learn basic language skills that will allow them to actively participate and succeed in the traditional classroom. In the beginning of the school year, students spend several hours of their day in the Welcome Center, and the rest of the day in their regular classroom. As their English language skills progress, students gradually transition to spending their full school day in the regular classroom.


Watch as our frogs leap ahead!