March 2025 PS 1 Classroom Spotlight on 2nd Grade!

Welcome to Class 2-1: Learning and Growing Through Movement and Creativity!

In Class 2-1, learning goes beyond the classroom as students explore the world through dance, swimming, and digital storytelling. Through dance, they develop coordination, confidence, and self-expression. Swimming helps them build strength, resilience, and important life skills. Writing digital books fosters creativity, communication, and a love for storytelling.

By engaging in these activities, our students not only gain new knowledge but also grow as individuals—developing teamwork, perseverance, and a passion for learning in fun and exciting ways!

National Dance Institute, NDI, is a non-profit arts education organization. NDI is dedicated to bringing children together through inclusive dance and music programs. Teaching artists work closely with students to make arts education an important part of PS 1’s culture and curriculum.

“SWIM FOR LIFE” Program

Second graders learn basic aquatic skills to make them safer in and around the water. Students acquire essential safety skills while also engaging in a physical fitness activity that can benefit them throughout their lives.

Students used technology to create digital books for their informative paragraphs. They learned how to use Book Creator, a simple app that allows them to create a digital book. This app can include text, images, videos, sounds, and music.

Our second-grade Chinese learners are excited to welcome the new season – Spring! To celebrate, we made beautiful flower crafts with words related to spring on each petal. They also made our consonant caterpillar. They had so much fun learning news words in the process!

Second graders are excited to create more memories as they learn both in and out of the classroom. They are focused on building strong academic skills while developing into independent young learners.

February 2025 PS 1 Classroom Spotlight on Kindergarten!

The Kindergarteners had an action-filled Winter, and the weather did not deter the children from doing what they love to do! We welcomed in the Lunar New Year with a big bang — performing our lion dance parade, and singing songs of well wishes to our community. We also did a lot of collaboration with our wonderful teachers from American Ballet Theatre and Center for Architecture.

Our kindergarteners joyfully celebrated the Lunar New Year with a vibrant Lion Dance Parade, spreading well wishes to our entire school community. To welcome the new year, we created traditional decorations to take home, including spring couplets to share blessings with our families and lion puppets to ward off bad spirits. It was a wonderful way to honor traditions and bring good fortune for the year ahead!

Despite the cold weather, our brave troupers braved the cold and went on a neighborhood walk to visit different parks and playgrounds in the neighborhood. We saw distinct features of every playground, and found inspiration in what we can add to our own designed playground models.

ABT is back this season! Our Kindergarteners are excited to start another session with Ms. Nikki and learn more ballet techniques. We tried to match our footwork and bodies as we danced to different tempos of music.

K/1 and K-2 are looking forward to growing as learners and making more memories!

January 2025 PS1 Classroom Spotlight on 5th Grade!

Class 5-1 sharing our informational writing with partners and creating a TABLEAU, depicting the final battle and surrender of Chief Joseph and his people during the conflict between the Nez Perce and the United States Government in 1877. We read the text, “Thunder Rolling in the Mountains” by Scott O’Dell and Elizabeth Hall, as part of our first Wit and Wisdom Module, “Cultures in Conflict,” that highlighted this time in American history.

Classes 4-1 and 5-1 completed their “Dancing Classrooms” Residency with our teacher, Ms. Ilene, and we put on a wonderful final showcase of our dance steps to our families and friends!

Our 5-1 Dual Language Chinese class has been deepening student’s understanding of cultural differences and perspectives during the period of westward expansion. By comparing the lifestyles of settlers and Native Americans, students gained insight into the root causes of conflict between these groups. Class 5-2 also engaged in role-playing activities to enrich their understanding of historical perspectives. Students embodied the roles of shelters and
Native Americans, practicing oral communication in Chinese to express different viewpoints.

As we close off 2024, we wish everyone a warm and happy holiday season!

Looking forward to 2025, we have continued learning with all our units from historical and argumentative topics on war and sports to personal narrative and research writing to more and more fractions, decimals, and graphing in math. We also American Ballet Theatre (ABT), outside school trips, and of course, counting down the days to our fifth grade Graduation and moving on to middle school!