Specialist

General Music Hello Cannon Road! With the marking period is almost over, we’ve done a lot of learning in music class. Our kindergartners are learning about making two sounds in one beat which is preparing them for reading notes. The first graders are learning about AA (same) and AB (different) form in music. The second grades are learning to name the families of instruments in preparation for their trip to Strathmore Arts Center in November. In third grade we are learning three different song forms: call and response; verse/refrain; and cumulative. In fourth and fifth grade we are also reviewing form and part singing. Our Chorus will be performing December 16th. We have some great things planned so mark your calendars!

Instrumental Music

The Instrumental Music classes are going great. Mostly everyone now has their instruments although we are still waiting on a few from our Eagle Scout Program, a few from our County Music Supervisor and a few parents to rent instruments. The students are doing a great job of remembering their instruments on their lesson day and are doing really fantastic with the rotation schedule. Please continue to encourage your young musicians to practice and remember to bring their instruments. The Instrumental Music Winter Concert will be on Thursday, January 15 at 7:30pm. The students will be asked to wear black pants/skirt and a white blouse or shirt.

Art

We have been busy in the art room this year. We now have a county-wide mandatory art lesson and written assessment for the first, second and third grades each quarter. Eventually the county will be giving us an art curriculum for all of the grades.

The first grade animal clay sculptures should have arrived home by now. They had a lot of fun creating them.

Second graders worked very hard on their still-life collages. They drew their work using beanie babies as models. They learned about overlapping, balance, and contrast as they arranged their still-life collages.

The third graders made clay slab relief sculptures. They were inspired by Aztec calendars.

Using Native American picture writing and motifs the fourth and fifth graders made sand paintings and cut and decorated paper pots with oil pastels. The paper pot below is one of their creations!

Many thanks to Mrs. Cris Biamonte, Mrs Marla Myers, Mrs. Carol Guerrera, Mrs. Bea Pena, and Ms. Penney Hughes for all their help on the decopage project. These were a great success at the silent auction!

Mr. Art Ho and Mr. Nick Barnes are doing wonderful work with our fifth graders. Their club meets on Fridays at the fifth grade recess time. I am also extremely grateful for their help preparing large animated creatures for our spring musical. Ms. Blossom Lue continues to keep the art room running smoothly with sharp pencils, full glue bottles and more. Four hundred children go through a lot of pencils each week! I am grateful for all the help I am getting! Mrs. Pescarmona

Physical Education

Pumped Up In PE

In honor of “Red Ribbon Week,” which will be celebrated at Cannon Road the week of October 27, 2008, students will be participating in our annual “scoot through the heart” activity. We are bringing our units of basic locomotor skills (K-2) and dribbling (3-5) to a close and beginning (at all levels) to concentrate on our “healthy hearts.”

In the upcoming weeks, I will be setting up an obstacle course in the shape of the human heart. Students will be given the opportunity to pretend to become “blood cells,” as they use a scooter to travel through the course. Along the way, they will drop-off CO2 and pick up oxygen at the lungs and get stopped by the valves (doors) of the heart. It will be a lot of fun learning about the way that our heart functions. With this, we will discuss topics such as: the effect of exercise on the heart, heart rates, and heart disease. When exercising, students in grades 3-5, will learn how to find their heart rate and how it should increase to different levels with certain activities. Make sure to take the time to talk to your children about what they did in Physical Education class.

If you ever have any questions regarding Physical Education, please contact me at Angela_Seufert@mcpsmd.org or call me at Cannon Road Elementary School.
Look for these Physical Education events in the future:
Jump Rope for Heart February
Field Day May

Counselor's Corner

Mrs. Valenta

Counselor's Corner: Hello Cannon Road Families! The guidance and counseling program is in full swing as we go to press. We start our mornings with morning announcements that currently feature 5th graders speaking about our character word of the month- responsibility. They briefly relate how they demonstrate this trait, such as; chores at home, completing and turning in homework and other ways they take care of themselves. They have also been speaking about Hispanic Heritage Month. Our word for November is “citizenship,” and you can be sure to hear your children reminding you to vote!
Counselor

In Kindergarten the children are learning how to problem solve. Using our school wide strategy of ‘D.E.B.U.G.’ we work with puppets and role play what to do when someone is ‘bugging’ us. So far we have practiced step 1:Decide to ignore, and step 2:Exit, walk away. In upcoming weeks we will add 3:Be friendly, talk friendly, 4:Use firm talk and 5:Get adult help. We will also be talking about tattling and personal space. Please encourage your child to use these strategies at home whenever appropriate and be sure to ask them to show you how they are done. I’m sure you will have eager volunteers!

Although it’s early in the year for the 5th graders, Middle School seems to be very much on their minds. I am presently working with the 5th graders to find out what they know, what they want to know, and how they feel at the prospect of going to 6th grade. We are also talking a lot about changes in general and the keys to success in Middle School and beyond. These include organization and self-management, but for now, our children are mostly concerned with making sure they can work the locks on a locker!

You might be interested to know that I am receiving many more self-referrals, so far this year, than I have had in past years. Our children have a lot on their minds! They come to talk about everything from friendship issues to problems with siblings, to concerns about school and home. I believe that although not stated outright, the stress that we, as adults, are under from the troubled economy and other “grow-up” issues, is taking an indirect toll on them. So please, leave adult conversations for adult ears only, ask your children about what they are thinking, and give them lots of reassurance that you will always take care of them and love them just the way they are! Be well……………Mrs. Valenta

Media Center

Mrs. Brand and Mrs. Burns

Primary students are enjoying listening to stories and thinking about how the stories reflect real life. Students have demonstrated understanding of fiction and nonfiction. Grade 2 students have also looked at books and videos about butterflies. Grade 3 students have been learning about encyclopedias.

Some Grade 4 students have started doing research on Native Americans. Students will use reading strategies to find information and take notes. They are gathering information from books, websites and videos. They are learning how to cite their sources. It should be a great experience!

Grade 5 students have been reviewing how to use the patron’s catalog and locate books in the library. We have been sharing recommendations for good books! Mrs. Brand