Let’s take a look at everything that happened during April and what’s to come during May.
“Hands on”, project-based learning was the focus of a couple of April happenings. The students explored different professions from Chef to Hairstylist and more at Career Day. And after Winter Storm Uri decimated the winter garden a new spring “Growing Garden” has been planted. Speaking of support, special thanks to partners Who is Hussain? and CST for all their support these past two semesters! Read for more details!
Career Day
Special thank you to all of our career advisors!
Stephanie McGary, licensed professional counselor Donny Sirisavath, chef Patty Kim, teacher Emily Wilson, licensed master social worker Clint Anderson, hairstylist Brian Powell, marketing professional David Loi, photographer Rosha Khosravi, attorney
“Growing Gardens” teaches the K to 2nd graders all about the life cycle of plants and they witness it firsthand as the seeds grow and plants bear fruit and vegetables. Once they harvest there will be a special feast with their families, where they enjoy the food they helped grow and prepare. Special thank you to Highland Park United Methodist Church for their time and support of “Growing Gardens”.
Celebrating milestones is important to each of us. Monthly each classroom has a “Birthday Celebration” to highlight those students born that month. Who is Hussain?, an international humanitarian group, has generously provided treats, balloons, and happy birthday signs for each classroom this entire school year!
Center for Survivors of Torture (CST) has been another very consistent partner. Dedicated social worker Meg has tuned in weekly via Zoom to lead a group art therapy session with each class – exploring issues like fear, isolation, and home. This mental health support makes all the difference to the students. This summer one on one counseling with CST will return.
H3: Head, Heart, and Hands
Each of the sites create lessons based on the H3 program.
- Head – Homework help and STEAM activities (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math)
- Heart – Social emotional learning (SEL) activities to develop lifelong characteristics, such as resilience, self awareness, persistence, and curiosity.
- Hands – Project-based and experiential learning opportunities, such as Lemonade Day (3rd-8th) and Growing Gardens (K-2nd).
Let’s take a deeper dive into each of the sites!
Wildflower (K-2nd)
After using their “Heads” to learn about superheroes in the classroom, the Dallas Museum of Art helped bring out the students’ creativity and confidence by turning them into super heroes! We think that all of their “Hearts” are their super powers!
Park Lane (3rd-5th)
The Park Lane students learned about the different habitats. While integrating fun into the classroom, the students played a matching game to place the animals in their habitat.
Pineland (6th-8th)
To celebrate the May flowers that April showers bring, the students created their own flowers out of construction paper, hot glue, cotton balls, and a lot of creativity!
Things to look forward to this month!
May brings flowers and an open house with parents, playground renovation, and updated testing & results to show strengths and growth by the students.
If you’re interested in volunteering during the summer at the special reading program, click here.
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