Happy Fall, everyone! We received some exciting news this month, we have been selected as a recipient of the CSDE Afterschool Program grant. These additional funds will allow us to expand our programming! We are so excited and honored to  receive this grant and are looking foward to the additional oppurtunities this will allow us to offer our students and families. Checkout the pictures below from our trip to the zoo! 

These grant funds will be utilized to: 

• Create significant partnerships: Mystic Aquarium, CT Science Center, ECPAA

• Participate in enlightening field trips: Roger Williams Zoo, Ct. Science Center, Dr. Seuss Museum

• Hire certified teacher tutors for homework time 

• Engage in impactful professional development

• Purchase supplies, allowing us to expand our enrichments and host family and community engagement events

The month of October flew by! We created pumpkin suncatchers, spiders, scarecrows and other fun fall crafts. Many students earned a prize from the prize box this month for being caring, responsible and respectful!. We now have a morning crew of Wolverines that help us set up in the morning and many students go out of the way to help clean up when Wolverines end for the morning! Starting next week, we will begin with Thanksgiving and winter crafts. 

October was filled with fall adventures and hands on learning! We explored the letters S, J, A, and T through art, sensory play, and building activities. We enjoyed painting, creating crafts, and practicing letter recognition in fun and engaging ways. Our apple orchard dramatic play center, spooky witch's brew sensory bin, and outdoor leaf hunts inspired by our song "Autmn Leaves Are Falling Down" encouraged curiosity and seasonal exploration!  

This month, Kindergarten’s focus was on nature! Students explored the outdoors through nature walks and scavenger hunts, where they learned to identify and discuss the difference between living and nonliving things. Back in the classroom, they expressed their discoveries through drawings and creative crafts, making fun projects like leaf wreaths, snakes, and pumpkins. It was a great month full of hands-on learning and outdoor exploration!

For the month of October, first graders focused on health and fitness while learning to work together for a common goal! We did various team oriented activities such as relay races, obstacle courses, and navigation games. While working on our teamwork, we made sure to get outside in the process! We worked together to complete outdoor scavenger hunts as well as participating in a group outdoor walk to find different items around our school! 

With the Fall season upon us, Second grade went on a scavenger hunt to identify the various leaves outdoors. We made bird nests with everything we gathered. We also studied the different variety of apples and conducted an experiment to see which ones would float or sink. We learned all about pumpkins and their growing cycle. We dissected two large pumpkins and got an inside look at all the parts. It was a lot of fun! 

In the month of October, 3rd  grade explored various aspects of the continent of South America as part of our World Explorers enrichment. We looked at geography and flags, learned about cultural celebrations and holidays, explored different foods and activities, and learned about the Amazon Rainforest (especially while playing Bingo)! Students had fun making different crafts like cotton ball llamas, Carnivale masks, maracas, and rain sticks. Additionally, they were able to get outside for a friendly soccer (futbol) match! We are looking forward to starting our new enrichment in November where we will begin to explore music, dance, and instruments as part of Art Explorers! 

This month our 4th graders explored the exciting world of motion and movement! Students became young engineers as they created and tested their own frisbees, rockets, and paper airplanes to learn how force and air affect how things move. They also designed creative zip lines and marble runs, experimenting with speed, gravity, and angles. To top it off, we explored how motors work and discovered the power behind things that spin and move on their own! It was a fun and hands-on month full of curiosity, creativity, and scientific discovery.