It has been a busy October at HCA! This month, the fifth grade has enjoyed visitors, exciting announcements, and school celebrations. See below for some snapshots looking back on the month.
Last Thursday, fifth grade visited with Lt. Lanni as part of our partnership with the Upper Darby Police Department.
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HCA students enjoyed a picnic lunch outside on Monday sponsored by Student Council.
Making the most of beautiful fall weather!
Enjoying the sun while it lasted this week.
Chris and Sam enjoy dining al fresco in the shade.
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Fifth and sixth graders visited the Book Fair on Tuesday.
Izzy and Gabby searching for the perfect book!
A successful visit!
A HUGE THANK YOU to the Danifo and Swain families for their donations to our classroom. The students will enjoy new nonfiction and fiction books in our library.
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Sixth graders have finished composing their original myths. On Wednesday, they printed them out and used a dying process with tea bags to turn them into ancient scrolls. They will be displayed in our hallway to showcase our mythology unit. To read a digital copy of their myths, please visit the slides below!
Grant uses a tea bag to dye his myth.
Garrett and Sean use tea bags to "age" their myths.
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A few snapshots of collaborative learning in our classroom:
Fifth graders participate in a Vocabulary Word Talk in reading.
Busy at work with their partners discussing and answering vocabulary in context questions.
Partner work and frequent movement in Stand-Up, Hand-Up, Pair-Up allows our students to socialize while constructively discussing learned concepts with all of their classmates.
Izzy and Joslyn looking for text evidence to support their discussion question.
Patrick, Aidan, and Arrington collaborate on another discussion question.
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Moments before this year's musical was announced: Frozen, Jr.!
This Tuesday, our HCA students met their new family members and spent the morning getting to know each other and creating "About Me" banners to display in our cafeteria. They look forward to a year full of memories together!
This week, the fifth grade had many opportunities to celebrate the Pascal Mystery in ways unique and special to HCA. Keep reading to learn about how we observed each day of Holy Week! On Tuesday , fifth and sixth graders joined the nursery and Pre-K students in their annual Easter egg hunt. Fun was had by all, and our older students really stepped up as helpers for their younger friends. On Wednesday , the class acted out the Passion of Christ as they reenacted Jesus' final few days on Earth. Later, they wrote Easter poems from the perspective of the apostles, which they later recorded. Please make sure to click on the 'Easter Poems' presentation below to enjoy their hard work! Sean M., as Jesus, prays in the Garden of Gethsemane while his disciples await his return. Jesus is betrayed by his followers and sentenced to death by Pilate. Jesus is crucified at Calvary while his followers look on. Jesus dies on the cross; the class p...
On Tuesday, we celebrated a new tradition, Las Posadas. A holiday custom in parts of Latin America, Las Posadas represents the journey of Joseph and Mary on their way to Bethlehem before the birth of Jesus. Mrs. Kathol, Señora Vintimilla, and our fifth graders worked together to bring this exciting custom to our school. They began with a traditional Spanish carol, "My Burrito Sabanero," (video below) which they performed for their families, followed by churros that they made with Ms. Kathol that morning. As we wrapped up our morning, all students were surprised with piñatas in the gym. Our older students really stepped up to make this a memorable occasion for our younger students, with our fifth graders taking on a special role.
