Curriculum Enrichment Updates - Fall 2024 

 

School-Wide: (K - 5) Fall 2024

  • For Latin American Heritage Month, Tere Luna led an interactive music performance introducing Mexican culture through folkloric music, song, and dance for grades K-5.

  • For Native American Heritage Month, the Redhawk Native American Arts Council shared their culture through dance, music, audience participation, and a Q&A for grades K-5.
  • Author and speaker, JJ Vulopas introduced K-5 students to the Land of Can. They discussed health related topics such as asthma and allergies with a focus on empowerment through empathy, resilience, and leadership.
  • Lisa Graff, author of “The Great Treehouse War,” spoke with grades 4-5 students about her journey to becoming an author and her writing process.
  • Grades 3-5 participated in a very exciting Spelling Bee. The School Spelling Bee Winner will get the opportunity to participate in the Regional Bee in Hartford.

  • Some All School CE events to look forward to for Spring 2025 include: Sounds of A&R will visit for Black History Month, STEAM Museum, Bagpipers on the Plaza for St. Patrick’s Day, Paul Koh Lion Dance for AAPI Heritage Month, and the National Circus Project.

A very special thanks to our All School Curriculum Enrichment committee members, Megan Berendowski and Nicole Sherwood (Author Visits), Megan Ward and April Hardwick (Music and Heritage Months), Maria Oliveira (Science and Environment), and Helene Lee (Spelling Bee) for helping plan these and our school-wide curriculum enrichment programs throughout the year.

 

Grade-Level Programming (September 2024 - January 2025)

 

Pre-K

  • Participated in a hands on story workshop, No Elephants Allowed, run by the Eli Whitney Museum

Kindergarten

  • Visit from the Greenwich Fire Department where they discussed  fire safety and toured a fire truck

  • Visit from the Greenwich Emergency Medical Services (GEMS) where they learned about emergency procedures and toured an ambulance.

  • Visit from the Greenwich Police Department where they discussed how to stay safe, the role of a police officer and toured a police car

  • Visit from storyteller Heather Forest with Story Arts where they experienced a storytelling concert

  • Visit from the New Canaan Nature Center where they interacted with live animals to learn how animals survive during the coldest months of winter.

Grade 1

  • Visit from the Greenwich Fire Department where they discussed  fire safety and toured a fire truck

  • Visit from the Greenwich Police Department where they discussed how to stay safe, the role of a police officer and toured a police car

  • Visit from Animal Embassy where students interacted with live animal and learned about unique animal adaptations and the importance of animals living in their natural habitats

  • Visit from storyteller Heather Forest with Story Arts where they experienced a storytelling concert

  • Went on a field trip to the Bruce Museum where students received a guided tour of its current art exhibits and their permanent science gallery.

  • Participated in an interdisciplinary workshop run by the Eli Whitney Museum called Building Bugs.  Students discussed the needs of living things and learned that all insects have certain characteristics, such as three body sections, an exoskeleton, and six legs

Grade 2

  • Visit from Greenwich First Selectman Fred Camillo, where they discussed the roles and responsibilities of our Town leadership and how democratic principles are important to our community

  • Went on a virtual trip to the Tenement Museum where students interacted with a character named “Victoria.” and had the opportunity to visit her 1916 home, explore how her family keeps their culture alive through food, language, holiday celebrations, and more.

  • Visit from Steve “the Dirtmeister” and participated in a Lights & Mirrors workshop, which explored the nature of light energy and how it interacts with different types of matter 

Grade 3

  • Visit from Anne Pasquale from Arts for Learning Connecticut where they experienced a living history performance which brought to life the legendary journalist Nellie Bly “who gave voice to the voiceless” and changed the role of women in journalism forever

  • Visit from the Maritime Aquarium where using the Aquarium’s stream-table models, students conduct an inquiry to discover the role erosion and deposition play in creating rivers and landforms

  • Participated in Storm Trackers, a Science in Motion Traveling Program from the Connecticut Science Center where students participated in a meteorology experiment to investigate how weather patterns move in the Northeast, using a hands-on model to explore how wind influences cloud movement

Grade 4

  • Went on a field trip to the Greenwich Botanical Center where students explored art in nature

  • Participated in an interdisciplinary workshop run by the Eli Whitney Museum called Pinball Machines which teaches game design (beginnings, middles and ends), logic (rewards for difficulty), marble movement (caroms, momentum) and creative design (good games must still attract players.)

  • Visit from the Stamford Nature Center where students learned about cartography and studied the map of Connecticut

  • Participated in a fun and interactive workshop with Shakespeare on the Sound, introducing them to the work and language of William Shakespeare

Grade 5

  • Participated in two of three scheduled workshops with Middle Years Matters where they continued to learn the skills necessary to feel confident and be successful in the middle school environment

We want to thank and highlight the Grade Level Curriculum Enrichment reps who have coordinated and executed these wonderful enrichment opportunities throughout the school year:  Jane Anderson (Grade 5), Ali Stevens and Lauren Weintraub (Grade 4), Erin Petrausch and Lauren McDermott (Grade 3), Kristin Toretta (Grade 2), Melissa Meahl and Rachel Weitzman (Grade 1), Cata Zamorano (K), and Marcel Schwarzberg (PreK).