Words from Primary

Dear Families,  

I hope you had a great week! During my first few months at CDS I gained a better understanding of our STEAM curriculum. I’ve also heard from families about ideas for future improvements. My observations along with your input have led to exciting school updates. As you may know, we’re in the process of enhancing our curriculum through a partnership with Texas Tech, the opening of our Elementary School Makerspace, and increased involvement in Global Campus and MIT challenges. 

Thank you to our elementary school families for sending in materials for our STEAM Makerspace Drive. We appreciate all of the amazing donations that will support innovation, problem solving, and engineering. For our next round of donations, we will be collecting specific items by grade level. Here you’ll find information about our STEAM Makerspace Donation Drive Challenge which will kick off during our Elementary School House Morning meeting on May 2nd. 

Throughout Primary, we continue to engage in STEAM education through hands-on learning within the classroom. During each quarter children engage in the exploration of an interdisciplinary study that combines standards from across disciplines with a focus on either STEAM or Social Studies learning. Here are a few examples of what STEAM looks like in the classroom.

Prep children invent and experiment with simple machines and protective materials to find ways to trap a leprechaun and protect a falling egg. 

First graders test their handmade sundials after learning about the orbits of the earth, moon, and sun.

Third graders apply their understanding of forces of motion in order to invent, build, and share carnival games.

These fourth-graders built a working chinampa, an ancient water-based agricultural system, after learning about pre-colonial civilizations in the Americas.

Fifth graders explain their ecosystem models and apply their understanding of fractions to scale recipes. 

We’re looking forward to much more STEAM learning in Primary and appreciate your partnership as we grow our program!

Wishing you a great weekend!

Ariel

Class Placements for Next School Year

Next school year is around the corner! In May, counselors, teachers, and administrators will meet to work on class placements. We use formal and informal assessment data, observation notes, and parent input to make the best class placements for each child. If you would like to request a type of learning environment (not a specific teacher) for your child, you may do so in writing to Ariel Weissburg (ariel.weissburg@cds.ed.cr) before May 10th. Please note that late requests or requests that include a teacher’s name will not be considered.

Fifth Grade Transition Planning 

Elementary and middle school administrators and teachers worked together to develop a transition plan for our fifth grade students. This will ensure a positive transition for our 5th grade students into middle school and will include:

• Meeting with current 6th graders, who will share letters written about their own experiences and answer questions from 5th grade partners

• Experiencing a mini-day as a 6th grader, where students will tour the Middle School, meet their future teachers, and transition between classes with a condensed schedule  

Please stay tuned for more information on these transition activities from your Grade 5 teachers.

Thank you for supporting an amazing Earth Day celebration! Elementary students raised over $1000 for the Earth Day Summit organizations and students learned all about bees in Early Childhood.