ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NEWS

Grades 1 and 2 Spelling Bee

First and Second Grade students cheered on the four finalists during the first and second grade Spelling Bee! The four finalists earned their spot after competing against their peers in a grade-level spelling competition. All students tried their best, and we are proud of how the Second Grade finalists, Nikhil and Milan, performed – as well as the good sportsmanship the participants received from audience members!

Grade 3 Mystery Readers

On Friday January 6th, Third Graders were treated to a mystery reader in the morning. Saina’s mom came and read a short story from a wonderful collection called Lucky Dog: Twelve Tales of Rescued Dogs. The students were very invested in hearing about a sweet dog that would later be adopted by a loving family. This collection is full of heartwarming and hilarious stories about the Pawley Rescue Center where rescued dogs find their way into people’s hearts and homes. You’ll meet Foxtrot, a feisty Pomeranian who can’t bear the thought of leaving her best friend. And Beatrice, whose bark is definitely worse than her bite. And Pumpkin, one of the 101 Chihuahuas who turn life at the center upside down! Whether drooling, dueling, or just fooling around, these captivating canines will show you why a dog is a kid’s best friend! Thank you to Saina’s mom for entertaining us first thing on a Friday morning and also educating our students on how rewarding rescuing a dog can be.

On Friday, January 13th, Third Graders were treated to a mystery reader in the afternoon. Aarush’s mom came and read a book entitled Lunch From Home. In a classroom of sandwiches, four students particularly stand out with their homemade, culturally-specific lunches. But before they can dig in and enjoy their favorite foods, their lunches are spoiled by scrunched noses and disgusted reactions from their sandwich-eating classmates. The book follows each of the four students as they learn to cope with their first “lunch box moments” in this picture book that encourages empathy and inspires all readers to stand up for their food! Inspired by the “lunch box moments” of four acclaimed chefs, Ray Garcia, Preeti Mistry, Mina Park, and Niki Russ Federman, this heartwarming story reminds us that a person’s food is a reflection of self and an authentic celebration of culture. This story was extremely relevant to our students as they bring many different cultures through their lunches every day! In the end, this story was about accepting all cultures and appreciating them – which is something we strive to do every day at CHP! Thank you to Aarush’s mom for this gem of a story!

Third Graders welcomed their mystery reader with a drum roll on Friday, January 27th. Ayesha, Isra’s mom, read the book Our Diversity Makes Us Stronger by Elizabeth Cole. This book talks about a child who learns to accept himself and others as they are. This was a wonderful read! It helped the third graders learn about respecting all the differences that make us unique. With gorgeous colorful illustrations and rhyming text, it was a great way for kids to learn that being different is OK. Thank you, Ayesha, for coming to read to us!

Peaceful Demonstrations in Grade 3 Social Studies

On Tuesday January 10th, third graders took part in a peaceful demonstration. We have been learning about different types of government as well as the process of voting. The students pretended to attend a public meeting, speak their opinions, and create signs that voice those opinions. They also practiced voting on whether their community should use budgeted resources to start a STEM or Sports club. Students got to create posters and march in their respective groups, chanting their slogans to practice speaking out about their ideas!

Grade 3 Super Students

Every month, Third Grade students are selected as Super Students. They exhibit the qualities of exceptional behavior both inside and outside of the classroom. They complete a poster that showcases who they are, including their “Super Student Power” and what they would do to make the world a better place. The Super Students for the month of January were Siyana, Laila, Saina, and Geetha.

Siyana describes herself as a wonder writer and an amazing artist. She wishes she could fix Covid-19 and loves to draw and read.

Laila describes herself as a tremendous team player, an awesome athlete, and an amazing artist. She wishes she could fix pollution and she loves to draw in her spare time!

Saina describes herself as a mighty mathematician, a ravenous reader, and an amazing artist. She wishes she could fix water pollution and absolutely loves to read in her spare time!

Geetha describes herself as a wonder writer, a ravenous reader, a marvelous musician, an awesome athlete, and an amazing artist. She wishes wars did not happen and also loves to read in her spare time!

Grade 3 Martin Luther King, Jr. Bulletin Board

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Martin

Luther King,

Jr.

During the month of January, in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, Third Grade students created hearts that illustrated their dreams for the world. Students thought about how the world could be a better place and the improvements that could be made. Some dreams included there being no more pollution, no more violence, and no more homelessness in the world. Children are extremely sensitive to the current issues we face as a nation, and we are looking forward to seeing all that they will accomplish in the future to make our world a better place!

Grade 3 Science

Students in Third Grade are learning about climate and seasons. They have learned that climate is the pattern of weather in a certain place over a long period of time. They’ve gathered data for the average monthly air temperature in Sacramento, California. And they’ve interpreted the data in the form of a bar graph which helped them learn that organizing gathered data in a bar graph makes it easier to see a pattern.

Congratulations Grade 4!

When we returned from Winter Break, Grade 4 students participated in the Grade 4 Spelling Bee. After over 1 hours, the winners were declared. Congratulations to Yajur Subramaniam and Isha Gupta for placing 1st & 2nd, respectively! Both students then advanced to the school-wide Spelling Bee for Grades 3 – 8. Congratulations to Yajur for placing second in the CHP Spelling Bee!

Grade 4 students then participated in the International Academic Competitions Online Regional Qualifying Exams for the International Geography Bee, National History Bee, and National Science Bee. Congratulations to ALL of the 4th graders for qualifying to participate in at least one of these Bees at the Regional Final Competitions on March 11th at Princeton University!

Lunar New Year Celebrations

4th Grade celebrated the Chinese Lunar New Year and the Korean Lunar New Year. The students created holiday crafts and enjoyed learning about how different countries celebrate this Lunar New Year holiday. A very special thank you to Alex Peng for sharing his family’s Chinese New Year traditions…and to Alayna Han & Nehemiah Kim for their presentation about the Korean Lunar New Year celebration!

LA / Social Studies

Grade 4 students have been reading stories that reflect the many ways we can have a positive impact upon those we interact with. Although some of these stories focus on the lives of those people whose names we are very familiar with, several stories have taught us that anyone, regardless of their age, can make a difference in the lives of others. In their writings, the 4th Graders have had a chance to reflect upon ways in which they have helped others. In Social Studies, Grade 4 has been learning about the early settlers in the Americas, their reasons for leaving their homelands, and the contributions they have made to American culture. The 4th Graders are already working on their Black American Living History Museum presentations. After the students selected the inventor/scientist they are interested in learning about, they have begun their research. We can’t wait to see the finished presentations on February 23rd!

Math / Science

Grade 4 students have completed the Unit on Fractions and are now learning about angles, perpendicular and parallel lines, and quadrilaterals. GEOMETRY, HERE WE COME! In Science, we made a bulletin board of pictures of many groups of invertebrates and discussed the different body systems, complete & incomplete metamorphosis, and the life cycle of animals.

Birthday Celebrations

This month, another Grade 4 student joined the double-digit birthday club! Congratulations to Aiden Nguyen on the occasion of his 10th birthday! Following Aiden’s birthday, Grade 4 students, their parents, and Mrs. Gadaleta surprised Mrs. Yurman on her birthday! Mrs. Yurman wants to thank everyone for their kindness and for making her birthday so special!

To our CHP Community….Grade 4 wishes all a joyous and peaceful New Year!!!

Grade 5 and 6 NJIN Trip

Grade 5 and 6 students went on a full-day trip to NJIN on January 10th. The farm is as beautiful in the winter months as it is in the summer. Being at the NJIN farm showed students how to develop the gift of curiosity. Students examined real bird nests, finding some nests still housed in trees. Students then hunted across the acreage for supplies to mimic the bird’s nests with their own creations. The horses encouraged even more curiosity as students learned how the feed for horses in these cold months differs from their diet during the abundant grazing season. After a communal lunch, the students returned to the cold outside and tried their hands at making bird nests from their supplies. They realized how much effort goes into this not-so-simple life necessity for our feathered friends. All in all, it was a day of seeking and hands-on learning that will be remembered for a long time to come!

Grade 7 and 8 NJIN Trip

The 7th and 8th Grade classes visited New Jersey Institute of Nature on January 18th. The day started off with a visit to the horses in which the students learned about the horse’s dietary habits. Next, the 7th and 8th graders focused on trees for their lesson. Ms. DiMuccio and Ms. Villafranca led a tree meditation followed by a writing activity in which the students wrote from the perspective of the tree. Ms. Lekhi and Mr. Deisher led an interdisciplinary lesson in which the 8th Grade students used geometry to calculate the height of a tree. Time was given after lunch for the students to explore the area in front of the farm.

Lastly, the 7th Grade students collected samples of lichen, moss, and fungus to take back to the classroom and look at under a microscope. This really added a lot of depth to their classroom study of symbiotic relationships.

We are happy to announce that, starting this year, CHP is offering the Future City competition as an elective for Grades 5-8! Future City is a regional to national competition organized by DiscoverE and is a Middle School STEM program designed to bring STEM to life for students.

This year, students were required to design a future city. Students’ cities had to provide one climate change mitigation, one climate change innovation, and a moving part within the model. Along with their city ideas, participants were required to build a model, write a 1500 word essay, create a project management schedule, and present their plan to a board of industry professionals.

CHP had four teams of students participate and they did an UNBELIEVABLE job! Many of our students were first-timers to the competition, up against seasoned Future City teams. Aside from one other school, we were the only school to be awarded two prizes!!

Congratulations to Aarnaa Desai, Motunrayo Odukoya, Narayan Lekhi, and Riya Dagli (Team Mi Aire Mi) who won 5th place! Congratulations to Mahadev Menon, Nitara Baruah, Rishabh Dagli, and Sahith Mangu (Team LiMere) who won the Special Award for Best Project Management Practices. Your futuristic elements (thirsty concrete; recharge wells; aquifer storage) were practical and ingenuitive. They are currently being explored at the industry level.

A HUGE thank you to all of our parents and teachers who supported our students and made this competition possible. Future City will be offered as a club during the Spring in preparation for next year’s competition. Be sure to sign up!

Grade 5 Advertises Life in the 13 Colonies

5th graders studied the 13 colonies and created posters to persuade others to move to their colony. They wrote slogans, sang jingles, and used creative advertising techniques to entice 7th Graders to choose their colony. This was such a fun and creative project!

Grade 6 Play Production

6th Graders studied the Olmecs, Mayans, Incas, and Aztecs this month. In order to understand what life was like in these tribes, they created mechanical dioramas. Each student chose a role: Director, Props, Script Writer, and Art/Scenery. We saw ancient dances, sports, rituals, artwork, and more! Bravo to the 6th Grade!