February Newsletter

VANGUARD CLASSICAL SCHOOL- EAST CAMPUS
THE HAWK’S EYE
September 2015
HONESTY & JUSTICE
Core Virtue of the Month of February
IMPORTANT DATES
2/9: PARENT INFORATION MEETING @ 6:30 PM – WEST CAMPUS
2/23: PARENT INFORATION MEETING @ 6:30 PM – EAST CAMPUS
3/8: PARENT INFORATION MEETING @ 6:30 PM – WEST CAMPUS
3/22: PARENT INFORATION MEETING @ 6:30 P M – EAST CAMPUS
2/15: NO SCHOOL – PRESIDENT’S DAY
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Parent Conferences are requirement for all parents to attend. Forms will be sent home on 2/11/2016 asking for
parents’ availability. On March 4th, parents will receive the time notification form, sent home with their
student. Conferences are on March 18, 2016 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
7th Annual Barnes and Noble Fundraising weekend from April 14-17th. More information to come!
Spring/Class Pictures on Tuesday, February 23rd
KG Family Night, Monday, February 22 @ 5:30
1st Grade Parents/Guardians Appreciation Night, Monday, February 25 from 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm (1st parents only)
February 17th – 100th Day of School
GIRLS ON THE RUN
Registration is now open for Girls on the Run! Girls on the Run inspires girls to a lifetime of selfrespect and a healthy lifestyle through an innovative program that combines training for a 3.1 mile
run/walk race with a fun, health education lesson plan. The program is open to 3rd-5th grade girls.
Practices will start the week of March 7th. We will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays. To register,
go to: www.girlsontherunrockies.org
Questions? Contact your site coordinator, Christine Putnam, at cputnam@vanguardclassical.org
CHANGING THE COURSE OF CANCER!
Bring Donations to class from February 12 – 26, 2016
Raise money for childhood cancer research and earn dress down days. Donations given to St. Baldrick’s
Not only will we help a great cause, but we can win dress down days for our school
$1,500.00 – Hoodie Day! Wear a hoodie instead of uniform tops!
$3,000.00 – Hat Day! Wear a hat all day!
$4,500.00 – Sports Day! Wear any sleeved sport shirt!
$6,000.00 – Jean Day! Wear jeans instead of uniform pants!
$8,000.00 – Free Dress Day! Wear what you want! *Following Typical Dress Code Regulation about
length and tightness.
Volunteer Fair – Thursday, February 25th from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm. Need fingerprints done so you can
volunteer in your child’s classroom or help chaperon a field trip. No appointment needed just bring your ID.
If you have not filled out the volunteer packet yet, please pick up one at the front desk.
WHAT IS YOUR CHILD STUDYING?
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Kindergartner Upcoming Dates to remember
2/15 No school – President’s Day
2/17 100th Day of School!
February 2016
Core Virtue: Honesty and Justice
We will be celebrating our 100th day on the 17th. Your child has the
option to dress as a senior citizen that day—no uniform is required.
Have fun with it!
If you have not already done so, please bring a KINDERGARTEN
JOURNAL (one in which there are lines to write and a space for a
drawing) for your student as soon as possible. We have already begun
journal writing and having those journals will help tremendously!
UPPER SCHOOL
English/ Literature:
8th Grade Literature: This month, we will be studying short
stories and speeches by a variety of authors. Students will be
analyzing literature and learning about the elements of a short
story.
8th Grade Composition: In Composition, we will be learning
about and practicing descriptive writing. Students will be writing
descriptive essays and further developing their writing and
communication skills.
Classical Literature: We are nearing the end of The Odyssey, and
we will be moving on to The Aeneid at the end of February.
Grammar & Composition: We are working with diagramming
increasingly complex sentences in Grammar, while Composition is
moving forward with editing rough drafts of our short stories.
10th Grade British Literature: 10th grade is working on reading
John Milton's poetic masterpiece, Paradise Lost!
11th Grade American Literature: 11th grade is (finally!) finishing
reading Moby Dick
1st Grade - Happy February, All! Second Grade is going to be History:
very busy this month! We will be reading some classic stories and
poetry in Reading, such as Beauty and the Beast and "Something
Biographies of Founding Fathers: Throughout February we are
continuing our reading of John Adams by David McCullough. This
Told the Wild Geese." In Writing, we will be doing a cross
curricular project with our History Unit. We will be starting our 50
month we will examine Adams' role in the forming of the
Declaration of Independence, and as a Foreign Diplomat to Europe.
states writing project, where students get to write to someone in
another state to learn more about our United States of America!
We will be learning how to construct a friendly letter. This goes
perfectly with our History unit, where students will be learning
about each of our 50 states. In Science, we will be learning about
This month in Western Civilization 1 we are finishing up our study
of the Hellenistic period and transitioning to a study of the early
years of Rome's existence. Along the way, we're learning about
the scientific, philosophical, and artistic developments in this
time period.
magnets and how they work!
7th Grade History: Students will be studying about the Roaring
20s in the United States. Students will be analyzing the large
domestic changes and the lead up to the Great Depression.
7th Grade Supplemental History: Students will be studying
Ancient Greece and its contributions to the Western World.
8th - In history this month we are going to be studying the civil
rights movement. We will be taking a look at how our country
moved from legal segregation to mandatory integration, and we
will be taking a close look at the people who made that possible.
8th Grade Supplemental History:
- This month, we will finish our exploration of the
Enlightenment Period. We will also examine the Protestant
Reformation.
10th - In history this month we are going to be studying the
Crusades and the Black Death. We will be examining how
feudalism, religion and the struggle for power all played equal
roles in these holy wars. We will also be taking a look at how the
Black Death ushered Europe out of feudalistic societies and
moved it into a new era.
11th Grade United States: - During the month of February, we will
look at American Westward Expansion into modern-day Texas,
Oregon, and California. We will look at Antebellum South
society, and evaluate the causes of the Civil War.
11th Grade United States:
- During the month of February, we will look at American
Westward Expansion into modern-day Texas, Oregon, and
California. We will look at Antebellum South society, and
evaluate the causes of the Civil War.
2nd Grade: History We have just wrapped up our Ancient Greece Mathematics:
unit! The students loved learning about the gods and goddesses,
Grecian
armies, and how life was like back then! In February, we
will be starting our unit on the United States of America! We will start
by learning about our New England, Mid Atlantic, and South East
states!
Science: We loved learning about simple machines in Science last
month. We realized that many of the things we use each day are
actually simple machines! This month, we will be learning about
magnets and how they work!
Literature: For Reading this month, students will be reading some
classic stories. We will start with Beauty and the Beast and move
In Algebra I we are currently studying systems of equations and
inequality. Other topics scheduled for this month include exponents
and exponential functions. If time permits we will start studying
polynomials and factoring.
Mr. Stafford’s Geometry class:
In Geometry, we will be studying areas and volumes of prisms,
pyramids, cones, cylinders and spheres.
Mr. Stafford’s Algebra 2 class:
to The Fisherman and His Wife. For poetry, we will be reading the
poems “Something Told the Wild Geese” and “Rudolph’s Going to
the City.”
2nd Grade class libraries are still in desperate need of
donations. If you have any chapter or non-fiction books we
could use for the year they would be greatly appreciated. Seeing
when we come back from break we will be halfway through the
year, if you have any extra school supplies laying around we will
gladly take it off your hands. Thank you!
In Algebra 2, we will be studying ellipses, hyperbolae, circles, and
parabolae.
Advanced Singapore will begin exploring Geometry: Lines and
Angles. We will look at types of angles and how certain angles
relate to each other. We'll also look into parallel lines and
transversals and the angles associated with those.
Geometry will wrap up their exploration of triangles and the
relationships within them, and begin looking into polygons.
3rd Grade - In Science this quarter we are ending our unit on
Science: In Foundations of Science, learners are quantifying
hearing and starting our unit on space. In History we will study
Native Americans. We have been and will continue to read Wind
in the Willows in our reading groups along with a selection of
poems. In Literacy we are working on persuasive paragraphs and
story writing. As always, we will continue learning new Riggs
words each day. In grammar we are focusing prepositions ,
contractions, and apostrophes.
motion, position, velocity, force, mass, acceleration, time,
momentum, gravity, buoyancy, and pressure. They will conclude
the lesson in practical physics with an examination of work, energy,
and simple machines.
Assistance Opportunity
We are always open to having new volunteers
in our classroom! We would especially love
lunch and recess coverage each day!
In Earth Science, students are leaving behind 4 billion years of
Earth History to examine the more recent Permian, Triassic,
Jurassic, and Cretaceous. They will be examining the flora and
fauna of a long-changed world, including dinosaurs and early
mammals. They will conclude the module by looking at more
recent history, and will begin work on the quarter-end project (a
paper or an art project).
Chemistry: In chemistry, we are finishing stoichiometry and
moving on to gas laws, properties of gasses, and molar
conversions.
7th Grade Science: In 7th grade science, we just finished our
radioactivity unit, culminating our chemistry content. We are
currently studying cellular biology.
Algebra I: Having just finished our work with linear functions, we
are beginning our study on systems of equations and inequalities,
and we will study exponents soon.
4th Grade:
This month in 4th grade we are learning
about the circulatory system and the respiratory system
in science. We had a guest speaker from Bonfils Blood
Center come in and talk with our students. In history, we
are finishing up Colorado History and then starting the
American Revolution. We are continuing to read about
the adventures of Robinson Crusoe on an island all
alone. We are also working on a poetry unit where we
are learning about great poets and poems as well as
having the students writing their own.
5th
History:
Music
Seventh grade core music is currently studying German
romanticism and the profound effect composers such as:
Beethoven, Schubert, Wagner, and Brahms placed on the
Russia and Japan – We will be studying how Russia gained its
territory and where their power came from. For Japan, we will
be looking at how their geography and location resulted in its
unique culture and history.
Science:
Cells- We will be studying plant and animal cells! Cells are the
basis unit of every living thing. We will be comparing and
contrasting plant and animal cells. In addition to studying cells,
we will be doing projects, so keep a look out in your child’s
planner!
Literature:
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – As a grade, we are finishing A
Midsummer Night’s Dream. For the majority of our students,
this is their first exposure to Shakespeare. This book is a
comedy and so far the students are absolutely loving it!
Secret Garden- The next book we will be reading
world. We are examining the composers as characters, musicians,
and how the world around them changed and was changed as a
result of their contributions.
Our middle school instrumental program is making strides as we
select pieces for our May concert and progress through our
beginning instrumental books.
Our high school musicians are heading-off against their most
challenging music to date. With expanded range, harmonics, and
metric deviations, our students are breaking through musical
barriers while developing the discipline that is required to
become fine musicians.
 Choir-Middle School and High School choirs are
preparing for their concert on March 17th at 6:30 pm. This
concert will feature classical music, spirituals and Irish folk
music as well!
 8th Grade Core Music-Students are learning more and
more about the history of operas and their composers.
Students will be watching selections from three operas and
working on a culminating final which is due March 9th.
6th Grade:
Outdoor Lab May 4th – 6th
Art:
6th Grade is currently learning about the Industrial Revolution,
Socialism, and Capitalism in history. We just finished our unit on
Astronomy and are beginning to start our study of energy. In
Literature, we are finishing up the literary text of The Odyssey. Ratios
will be our next topic of study in math. We have been successfully
fundraising for our Outdoor Lab field trip and will have a McDonalds
percentage night and a Family Fun night in March. Please be on the
lookout for information sent home with your student
that abstraction can take. We will continue looking at abstract art
In 7th grade Core Art we have spent the month of January
looking at and learning about abstract art and the different forms
in February and focus on Cubism and Surrealism.
Eighth Grade Core Art students began the month by looking at
famous architecture of the 20th Century. Students are working in
groups of three to design a building of their own. Each student
has a specific role in the group including an Architect, an Interior
Designer, and a Landscape Architect. Students will be presenting
their final plans to the class at the end of the month.
Latin: 6th Grade: We are finishing up a section on Colloquial Latin In the 7th and 8th Grade Studio Art Elective we are studying
and dialogue. Mid February, we are focusing on the Roman
calendar, numbers, and continuing on in the Grammar and
form. Students will take what they have previously studied of
line and texture and add it to a paper star that they will be
assembling.
Vocabulary textbook.
Music:
Kindergarten: Our focus in February will be on “The
Carnival of the Animals” by Camille Saint-Saens. We will learn about
the mood and style of music through body movement and playing
rhythm instruments. We will also continue singing songs from the
Core Knowledge curriculum list, specifically “Go Tell Aunt Rhody”
and “The Hokey Pokey”.
1st Grade: This month we will learn about how music has timbre or
tone color. We will use music to learn how emotions can be conveyed.
We will learn new songs: “Billy Boy”, “There’s a Hole in the Bucket”,
and “La Cucaracha”.
2nd
Grade: We will use February to finish our learning about songs of
the civil war and slavery. We will also continue with our study of notes
and note values. We will then begin our study of instruments in the
High School 3D Design classes are continuing their studies of
hand building techniques with clay. They are completing glazing
their sgraffito projects and are beginning a project to build a
creature. They will be compiling images to reference as they take
on the challenge of creating a creature and making it as life-like
as possible. This project will additionally count toward a science
assignment for students who are enrolled in Earth Science as
well. Design students are enjoying spending time during their
block class period to begin to learn to throw on the pottery
wheel.
Latin:
7th-8th Grade: We are continuing progress in Ecce
Romani, focusing on derivatives from the Latin vocabulary.
High school Latin sections are continuing work on vocabulary,
grammar, and Latin translation and composition from the
percussion family and the music of Carlos Chavez, Toccata for
Percussion.
book. Both sections are beginning a semester long research
project.
3rd Grade: We are continuing our study of reading music and how
musical symbols are interpreted. We will be learning about meter
through songs such as Down in the Valley, My Bonnie Lies Over the
Ocean, The Man on the Flying Trapeze and The Sidewalks of New
York.
Music has an impact on our lives daily and I strive to give students the
knowledge to understand music and make it more meaningful. I hope
your children share with you what they learn in class.
 6th Grade Core Music-We are going to finalize our
oratorio unit and get started on our symphonic unit in
March. They will be watching/listening to selections from
three different oratorios while doing a variety of activities
around them.
 5th Grade Core Music-Is starting a new unit of learning
about musicians with disabilities and how those musicians
succeeded in music while overcoming hard battles. They
will be working on a group project and presenting them to
the class.
 4th Grade Core Music-Is learning all about the
orchestra! They are studying Britten's A Young Person's
Guide to the Orchestra along with Haydn's Surprise
Symphony. They will be doing activities in class, along with
in the computer lab.
Fundraising Events
Family School Community Partnership (Parents Group)
February 12th – Used Uniform Sale from 3:15 PM – 4:30 PM
Scholastic Book Fair – March 18th from 8:00 AM – 7:00 PM
6th Grade Outdoor Lab
March 10th – McDonalds Night
8th Grade Washington DC Trip
February 12th – After School Concession Stand
February 26th – After School Concession Stand
Community Supplies – With the end of the school year approaching, we are running low on these supplies – Kleenex,
hand sanitizer, & Clorox Wipes. We appreciate any help with these donations.
Reminder: Order Your Yearbooks - $20.00 - Final day to order is March 18, 2016.
After School Activities
Mad Science – Mondays from 3:15pm – 4:15 pm (1st – 5th)
Whiz Kids (Chest Club) – Tuesdays from 3:15 pm – 4:15 pm (KG – 6th)
Taekwondo – Wednesdays & Fridays from 3:15pm – 4:15 pm (KG – 8th)
Lunch Menu
East Campus Traffic
Pattern
Please see the lunch menu at www.vanguardclassical.org.
Remember
to replenish your student’s account and pay
outstanding
balances.
Free and
reduced lunch
forms are
available
at ensure
the front
Following the
traffic pattern
at drop-off
and pick-up
times
helps us
thedesk.
safety of our students and staff.
Please
make
a habit of first driving around the back side of the school to enter the pick-up lanes. When in the
Current
Prices
traffic pattern, please ensure all cell phones are down and full attention is paid to the flow of traffic.
K-5: $2.20
6th- 11th- $2.70
Milk: $.65