Dear Summer Program Families,
This week:
Rising Kinder explored the look, feel, and sound of different emotions during their morning meeting check-in. They learned the Spanish words for parts of their body. For math learning, they exercised their number association skills using manipulatives, color patterns, and number games to identify numbers and sequence from one to one hundred. Here is a number video in Spanish that the children listened to and danced to that you can play at home. For literacy, children practiced the sounds of the letters in their first and last name. Rising Kinder C students had a cooking workshop and made waffles! On Wednesday, they went to the Smithsonian National Zoo where they visited the small farm, giant cats, and great ape exhibits.
Rising 1st-2nd practiced their number fluidity through addition and subtraction of numbers between twenty to one thousand. Students practiced place value. In literacy, they reviewed basic writing norms to include sentence and paragraph structures. Both grades made progress, evidenced in their writing fluency, imagination, and comprehension. Students enjoyed the small group format, actively talking to others about setting, characters, and plot!
Rising 3rd worked on math problems that required adding and subtracting in single equations. They focused on place values up to one thousand. They also created their own multiplication tables and began to review measuring units by measuring the furniture in the classroom. In literacy, students worked on vocabulary for developing their characters and the setting of their stories. Ask your child what they enjoy best about their writing project to learn more about his/her writing process.
Rising 4th practiced multiplication and division with numbers up to one thousand. They worked on their skills for understanding mixed equations (knowing when to add, subtract, multiply, or divide). They continued to identify place values up to one thousand using games. In writing, they made decisions about story structure and plot. They talked about their characters and were encouraged to draw from personal experience to deepen connection between characters.
Rising 5/6th practiced place value using manipulatives and determining complex multiplication equations. They compared decimals and whole numbers. Students progressed in their creative writing workbooks and began to transfer draft content from the workbook to the final books. Teachers noticed high levels of creativity and fluidity of ideas and words. The small group format allowed teachers to give students individualized attention and honor each student’s pace and writing process. The author Debra K. Dent, visited with students and did a popcorn read aloud of her book “Nigel”.
PROGRAM SCHEDULE
Families can view the program schedule for the last week of the program (from July 24-28) below:
SY23 Summer Program Schedule - Week 3
SPECIALTIES
Art with Ms. Zoila: Children in the Rising K-1st grades cut and pasted paper of mixed colores to strengthen finger muscles and to reinforce number and letter representations, while building their Spanish vocabulary. They made flowers, a porcupine, and an aquarium to flex their association skills. They also made a lunch box and packed it with paper images of food types, which they sorted out by nutritional value after a discussion about food nutrients.
Cooking and Gardening with Ms. Katherine: Children in Rising 2nd-6th grade made griddled cheese pupusas, the thick flatbread from El Salvador, made with cornmeal flour. They talked about how the pupusa is El Salvador’s national dish. They learned how it is usually stuffed with one or more ingredients, which may include cheese (such as quesillo or cheese with loroco buds), chicharrón, squash, or refried beans. They learned that the pupusa is typically accompanied by curtido (a spicy fermented cabbage slaw) and tomato salsa. They also talked about how the Washington, D.C. area is currently the only metropolitan area in the US where Salvadorans are the majority among Hispanics.
STEAM: Rising 1st-6th grade children worked in small groups to assemble a solar paneled electric car from pre-cut wood. They placed them under the sun and raced them. They practiced their ESPICA norms and especially their team building and conflict resolution skills to successfully assemble one car per group of four to five children.
Movement and Recess: Rising Kinder students played in the arroyo everyday. Rising 1A, 1B, and 4A played floor hockey in the zocalo with Coach Jorge. Rising 2A, 2B and 4B played soccer in the New York Park with Coach Kelley and Coach Mario. Rising 3A, 3B, and 5/6A played basketball in the backyard cancha with Coach Howard. On Friday, the coaches organized water games and gave the children popsicles!
REMINDERS
Daily Attendance
On the best day during the first week of the program, 113 Rising 1st-6th students out of 170 students who registered for the free program attended. This 66% rate of attendance has impacted the program’s budget and left fifty-seven slots empty that could have been given to other students in our community. If you are experiencing barriers with attendance, please email summer@mundoverdepcs.org, so we can help find solutions. For example, families unable to get to the school on a daily basis can receive transportation support. Our summer program is focused on maintianing and developing literacy and math skills during summer time when many students experience summer loss.
We thank the families who registered and continue to participate daily. We are especially grateful to the families who proactively communicate with us about attendance, late arrivals, and early pick-up. If your student must be absent, please send a notice 24 hours in advance to attendance@mundoverdepcs.org.
Upcoming Field Trips
Families are reminded to put sunscreen on their children, to make sure they have a refillable water bottle, and a sun hat to protect them from the day’s heat. Also, make sure you sign the permission form, which teachers will have for you at drop-off or pick up the day prior to a field trip. Rising 3rd-6th have their fieldtrip on:
July 26 - Bladensburg Waterfront Park
School Meals
The third week of summer school was yet another delicious week. The students were eager to identify the aromas coming from the kitchen and indulge in the various meals like beef tacos, mac and cheese, and more.
If you would like to enroll in summer meals, please email meals@mundoverdepcs.org.
Please remember to log into your parent portal to pay or add funds to your account to cover each meal which is $4.85. Here is a link for assistance: Add Funds
Arrival and Dismissal Process
As we go forward, we seek your support with the Arrival and Dismissal Process. We ask you to walk your student(s) to the daily entrance point where teachers are waiting to greet you. We do not have sidewalk supervision. Please help us keep your children safe!
Please review the arrival and dismissal procedure for the summer program SY23 Summer School J.F. Cook Arrival and Dismissal Procedures
Payments
We ask families in the Rising Kinder to make their final payment for the summer program. If you do not know what your remaining balance is please email summer@mundoverdepcs.org. Families with outstanding balances in their family accounts from last year’s Extended Day Program or the SY23 Summer Program will be ineligible for the SY24 Extended Day Program.
We are committed to communicating with you on a weekly basis in this format. If you have any questions do not hesitate to email summer@mundoverdepcs.org.
Sincerely,
Gloria Quirarte
Director of Extended Day Programming