Last week of school events

Here's what's in the news for the last week of school!!!!

TOMORROW: Monday morning will be the All-School picture. This is a very casual picture of all of the students. Please do not worry about dressing up your child for the picture.

On Tuesday, Ladybugs that are going into the Superstars class next year will go for a short visit to the Superstars classroom. Superstars that are moving up will visit in the Sharks classroom. All of this will happen between 10 and 10:45am.

Tuesday, from 2:00-3:00, is the Renaissance Faire which will be brought to you by the Explorers and the Navigators. You will see their Renaissance Research papers, their Renaissance display boards, artwork, power points and much much more!! I look forward to seeing you there.

Thursday is Beach Day. A packet went home in yesterday’s Thursday packet. Don’t forget to read the packet and return the permission form.

This is a fun day at the beach that has become an annual trip at the end of each school year. If you can drive and chaperone, that would be terrific. Especially for the Ladybugs-they will go down in the morning with the other students but may return a little earlier.

THANKS A LATTE !!

In the morning between 7:30am and 9:30am, we would like to invite all of the volunteers that helped out so much this year (this means you) to stop in for a latte or tea or mocha. Katherine Overton has arranged for a “Latte Truck” to be here. We can never tell you how much we appreciate your family and all of the help that you have provided throughout the year. We could not do it without you!! So, THANKS A LATTE !

Friday is the last day of school.
It is EARLY RELEASE at NOON.

Also, don’t forget about the PBC Skating Party at Pattison’s West, directly after the early release (12:00 noon) on Friday. Bring your child to the skating rink from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30pm. Have lunch and enjoy the company of many other Seabury families. Teachers will not be there. We will have a meeting after school. So, while your summer has begun, we are still at school working.

Summer at Seabury starts on Monday, June 16th. Check out the brochure or website for more information. There are spots left in many of the classes. Before and after care will be offered all summer. Your child can make new friends or see old ones, even invite a friend to come to camp with them.

Renaissance Faire Update

Hear Ye, Hear Ye:

News Update!!
The Renaissance Faire has been rescheduled for Tuesday, June 10th, from 2:00-3:00. All are invited.

In the past 22 years of teaching, I have rarely, if ever, altered a due date. However, this time I feel I must. The Navigators and Explorers have missed many Social Studies classes due to the music rehearsals, choir and "revised rescheduled" schedules, in-service days and federal holidays. It's been an incredibly busy few weeks. In addition, we have had more than our fair share of technical difficulties with the school printers. Ahh, never a dull moment here in the classroom.

After careful consideration, I feel in all fairness to the classes, I will reschedule the due dates to Tuesday. All Navigator and Explorer students have been working so incredibly hard on their research papers, project boards, Michelangelo reproductions (which they did by lieing on their backs and drawing under their desks on the piece of paper scotch taped to the underside of the desk, their PowerPoint presentations and their pastel Medieval and Renaissance paintings.

Please note that only the research paper and the display board are required from the Navigators. The Explorers have their research paper, display board, Michelangelo reproductions, and their pastel pictures. Many are also doing their PowerPoint presentation. There is a lot of learning going on. I am very impressed with both classes' dedication with these in-class assignments. The days are exhausting but wonderful nonetheless. Each day different students tell me something new that they have learned about their student interest generated research paper topic. I love learning something new each day and my students do too!

I certainly hope you will be able to join us a week from today when we can teleport you back in time to the Middle Ages and then into the Renaissance. It will be a wonderful journey!!

Update on Research Papers

Just a quick update on both the Navigators' and Explorers' research papers:


All students are working diligently on their note cards, putting down the source number (from their list of sources), page number, heading and one fact per card.


Virtually all students have either completed their note taking or are nearly done. Numerous students have completed their note cards and have categorized their notes. They have started working on their rough drafts. I am conferencing with each student on their note cards and their rough drafts.



Please note that there is a revision on the rough draft due date. I would like to see it prior to next Thursday, May 22th.



Final Draft is due on or before May 29th



Project trifold is due on or before June 4th.



The Renaissance Faire is June 5th

Math Time Channel 9

In case your child has ever asked you, "How many seconds have I been alive?" you now will know what the answer is. Just tell them that the answer is in Mrs. Gellert's math class.

Students in my Math class have been busily converting their weight in pounds to ounces, and believe it or not, to tons. (albeit a minuscule portion of a ton).

We are also converting the number of days students have been alive on this planet. Today we learned that one student has been alive 600, 659,000 seconds! We have done the math and these numbers don't lie. (I love math!) We've also figured out the number of years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes and, you guessed it, the number of seconds old each student is. (Students had a beginning and ending time for this assignment, or else it would truly be the never ending math problem!)

Do enjoy this math lesson with your child. It has been a springboard to a multitude of mathematical equations and explanations.

Teacher Appreciation Week, May 5th-9th

THANK YOU !!










Thank You
for the incredible showering of love and affection your children bestowed upon me this entire week!! Your generosity was amazing. I want you all to know that I consider it a privilege to teach your child. Thank you all for remembering me in such truly thoughtful ways.

Cinco de Mayo

The History of Cinco de Mayo

The holiday of Cinco De Mayo, The 5th Of May, commemorates the victory of the Mexican militia over the French army at The Battle Of Puebla in 1862. It is primarily a regional holiday celebrated in the Mexican state capital city of Puebla and throughout the state of Puebla, with some limited recognition in other parts of Mexico, and especially in U.S. cities with a significant Mexican population. It is not, as many people think, Mexico's Independence Day, which is actually September 16. Setting The StageThe battle at Puebla in 1862 happened at a violent and chaotic time in Mexico's history. Mexico had finally gained independence from Spain in 1821 after a difficult and bloody struggle, and a number of internal political takeovers and wars, including the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) and the Mexican Civil War of 1858, had ruined the national economy.

Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian
During this period of struggle Mexico had accumulated heavy debts to several nations, including Spain, England and France, who were demanding repayment. Similar debt to the U.S. was previously settled after the Mexican-American War. France was eager to expand its empire at that time, and used the debt issue to move forward with goals of establishing its own leadership in Mexico. Realizing France's intent of empire expansion, Spain and England withdrew their support. When Mexico finally stopped making any loan payments, France took action on its own to install Napoleon III's relative, Archduke Maximilian of Austria, as ruler of Mexico.Mexico Confronts The Invasion

Map showing Veracruz, site of the French invasion
France invaded at the gulf coast of Mexico along the state of Veracruz (see map) and began to march toward Mexico City, a distance today of less than 600 miles. Although American President Abraham Lincoln was sympathetic to Mexico's cause, and for which he is honored in Mexico, the U.S. was involved in its own Civil War at the time and was unable to provide any direct assistance.

Gen. Zaragoza
Marching on toward Mexico City, the French army encountered strong resistance near Puebla at the Mexican forts of Loreto and Guadalupe. Lead by Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin, a smaller, poorly armed militia estimated at 4,500 men were able to stop and defeat a well outfitted French army of 6,500 soldiers, which stopped the invasion of the country. The victory was a glorious moment for Mexican patriots, which at the time helped to develop a needed sense of national unity, and is the cause for the historical date's celebration. Unfortunately, the victory was short lived. Upon hearing the bad news, Napoleon III had found an excuse to send more troops overseas to try and invade Mexico again, even against the wishes of the French populace. 30,000 more troops and a full year later, the French were eventually able to depose the Mexican army, take over Mexico City and install Maximilian as the ruler of Mexico. Maximilian's rule of Mexico was also short lived, from 1864 to 1867. With the American Civil War now over, the U.S. began to provide more political and military assistance to Mexico to expel the French, after which Maximilian was executed by the Mexicans - his bullet riddled shirt is kept at the museum at Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City. So despite the eventual French invasion of Mexico City, Cinco de Mayo honors the bravery and victory of General Zaragoza's smaller, outnumbered militia at the Battle of Puebla in 1862.Today's CelebrationFor the most part, the holiday of Cinco de Mayo is more of a regional holiday in Mexico, celebrated most vigorously in the state of Puebla. There is some limited recognition of the holiday throughout the country with different levels of enthusiasm, but it's nothing like that found in Puebla. Celebrating Cinco de Mayo has become increasingly popular along the U.S.-Mexico border and in parts of the U.S. that have a high population of people with a Mexican heritage. In these areas the holiday is a celebration of Mexican culture, of food, music, beverage and customs unique to Mexico. Commercial interests in the United States and Mexico have also had a hand in promoting the holiday, with products and services focused on Mexican food, beverages and festivities, with music playing a more visible role as well. Several cities throughout the U.S. hold parades and concerts during the week following up to May 5th, so that Cinco de Mayo has become a bigger holiday north of the border than it is to the south, and being adopted into the holiday calendar of more and more people every year.

[Sources: Encyclopedia Encarta, Encyclopedia Britanica, Prescott's Mexico:1900, HistoryChannel.com, other sources. minor edits April 25, 2007]

Friday is Grandparents and Special Friends Day !

Tomorrow, Friday, May 2nd, is Grandparents/Special Friends Day at Seabury. That means that students are welcome to invite their grandparents or any family friends over 21 to attend a reception at school on Friday afternoon. This year, Grandparents/Special Friends Day is part of Young Authors Month at Seabury, and we'll be sharing our Writer's Workshop pieces. It will be a busy afternoon for we'll have time in our classroom, time to enjoy writing from other classrooms, and then a reception outside or the multi-purpose room if it's raining.

Here's the schedule:

1:30 - 2:00 Grandparents/Special Friends meet with students in their classrooms

2:00 - 2:40 people are free to wander to other rooms and enjoy their writing

2:40 - 3:00 reception outside; Superstars will sing and will make everyone teary-eyed.

I hope everyone can make it!