FEB 15, 2022
SCHOOL YEAR 2021-2022
NEWSLETTER
DEAR PARENTS: The great celebration of the Lunar Year has concluded, and we hope that this year of the Tiger will be one of great prosperity and health for each and every one of you. We would like to extend our thanks to all those who collaborated with the decorations for our great party and especially to recognize Mrs. Ellen Lee for her invaluable contribution to promote Korean culture and traditions around the Lunar New Year celebration. I would also like to welcome Mr. Frank Ansari, who is a renowned teacher of the departments of mathematics, physics, and chemistry, and who will be in charge of these subjects in Upper School. On the other hand, we are preparing activities related to Valentine's Day in which students can bring gifts or treats to share with their friends. In this dynamic, students will be able to reflect and write their ideas about the importance of love and family union in order to share them with their classmates. At The Woodlands Preparatory School, we are sure that love and other universal values should always enjoy primacy in the field of education. Our goal is not only to provide a first class education to our students, but also to teach them to be happy. We hope that all of you find love in your lives and that this feeling fills your lives and covers you with blessings at all times.
Sincerely, Mr. Jorge Cervantes ACADEMIC DIRECTOR
MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL
MATH
In Math, we are working on the topic of ‘INDICES’. A number or a variable may have an index (plural: indices). The index of a variable (or a constant) is a value that is raised to the power of the variable. The indices are also known as powers or exponents that show the number of times a given number has to be multiplied. The students have shown great interest in this topic.
SCIENCE
In Science, we are working on measurements, including units, fundamental quantities, etc., as the foundation of physics. In Environmental Systems, we began the study of atmospheric phenomena and their impact on various ecosystems.
MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL
1st and 2nd:
LANGUAGE & LITERATURE
In Language and Literature, we have continued to work on essay writing, vocabulary building, and grammar. We have looked at pop art and have learned new words related to art, and we have studied prepositions and prepositional phrases, gerunds and gerund phrases, infinitives and infinitive phrases, and appositives.
HISTORY In History-E class, the students finished their DBQ essays about the Cold War, examined the fall of the Soviet Union, and continued to look at important Chinese dynasties. In History-D class, the students finished their DBQ essays about feudal Japan and learned about the Seven Years’ War (also known as the French and Indian War) and the American Revolution.
MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL
DEBATE AND UNITED NATIONS MODEL
In Debate/United Nations Model class, we had a General Assembly meeting during which the students discussed the role that China plays in the United Nations and in the world. We also had a formal debate about animal testing.
MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL
GLOBAL GEOGRAPHY AND CULTURE In geography, students are gathering information about European countries. At the end of these two weeks, students will be able to report important facts about all the countries of North and South America and Europe. This tour through the world will give them a global perspective on each of the countries that are recognized by the United Nations.
MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL
VISUAL ARTS In Visual Arts, students completed their work for the "miniatures" exhibition, a collection of pencil drawings on themes from Far Eastern countries. This exhibit is currently on display in our school lobby and represents a major advance in drawing and shading technique in our Da Vinci Arts program.
MUSIC & PERFORMANCE In Music & Performance, students have continued to develop their vocal and piano skills in preparation for the endof-the-year concert. In addition, they have continued with their presentations on the music of the 20th century. These weeks were the turn of the Big Bands, music in the Weimar Republic, and the advent of dance and lounge music: an extremely interesting cultural tour.
MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL
GASTRONOMY In Gastronomy, the students did research on the traditional dishes of Asian cuisine and some of its variants. Likewise, and as a closing to the tour of the cultures in the Americas, they learned to prepare one of the most representative dishes of the Mayan-Yucatecan cuisine, the Cochinita Pibil, and they learned to cook with the exotic achiote, a condiment used since ancient times in the Mesoamerican cultures.
MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION SPANISH In the Spanish and Hispanic Cultures class, the students learned to identify lipograms, which are writings in which some of the letters of the alphabet are deliberately omitted. In the English language, for example, one of the most remarkable lipograms is Ernest Vincent Wright’s novel Gadsby, which has over 50,000 words but not a single letter E. FRENCH In the French and European Cultures class, students learned the use of singular and plural indeterminate articles and practiced gender and number agreement in sentences, such as Il y a une personne à la maison - Il y a des personnes à la maison.
They also began a tour of Europe through videos entirely in French and without subtitles and answered questions about the documentaries in order to train their ears to the sounds and cadence of the French Language and its regional variants. MANDARIN In the Mandarin and Asian Cultures class, we will learn the Chinese Zodiac legend; we will get familiar with the 12 animals and their order; we will also need to know the 12 animals’ pronounciantion, pinyin and charaters.
For upper level students, we will encourage them to match the characters with the pinyin and practice the presentational speaking and writing skills. They need to recognize the characters according to the pinyin. Also, the Lantern Festival is coming, we will introduce the cultures and the arts. We will continue working on it we will not complete these two subjects in the two weeks.
MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL
INNOVATION AND DESIGN We are thrilled to start our new unit. This unit is about Film Production, and students have to make a short-film, but first, they brainstormed their ideas and came up with the plot of the stories they want to tell. They learned some important filming techniques that they have to take into consideration and started their scripts. Next week, they have to start making the storyboard, and I hope that they can enjoy each part of this process as much as I do
MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT
We have been learning about studio management and the importance that each role plays for broadcasting the news. Our researching skills have improved and we feel more confident reporting things that we find interesting. This week we talked about Lunar New Year traditions and started an historical-figure segment for the Black History Month. We are excited because we will be starting a new project that is related to Social Media. Stay tuned to know more!
MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL
PHYSICAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION
Upper school students' power week has involved resistance bands and battle ropes to create strength with more loads. They have continued to work on their Anatomy and Physiology quizzes and exams as well.
REMEMBER
UPCOMING Tennis Lessons for WP Students Tuesday, February 15th, 4-5 PM We invite Grades 6 to 12 to join our free tennis lessons. Students should wear the appropriate dress (white clothes and tennis shoes) and bring a racket. Wednesday, February 16th, 1:30-2:20 PM Free Tennis Lesson for students (Grades 3 to 5): Students should wear the appropriate dress (white clothes and tennis shoes) and bring a racket. Friday, February 18th, 2022. 10:00- 10:30 AM Free Tennis Activity for Pre-K and Kindergarten: Students should wear the appropriate dress (white clothes and tennis shoes) and bring a racket. Friday, February 18th, 2022. 10:30- 11:00 AM Free Tennis Activity (Grades 1 to 5): Students should wear the appropriate dress (white clothes and tennis shoes) and bring a racket. Saturday, February 19th, 2022. Free Tennis Class for Parents, Teachers, and Staff: Students should wear the appropriate dress (white clothes and tennis shoes) and bring a racket. 9:00 to 10:00 AM - Group 1 10:00 to 11:00 AM - Group 2
REMEMBER
UPCOMING Extracurricular Activities (February-May 2022) We aim to contribute to the physical training of our community. Prevention of illness is important for our well-being; also we need to keep positive habits to maintain our good health. Our extracurricular activities are available for parents, too. Further information will be provided upon request via admissions@woodlandsprep.org Open House 2022. We invite your family and friends to be part of our next Open House on March 2nd, 2022 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm in the Lobby Area. Further information is available via our website or by email to admissions@woodlandsprep.org