Parent Conferences This Week!

Thursday, March 21 and Friday, March 22

Sign-up Portal Closes Monday

If you have not yet chosen your parent conference time, please do so now! The registration system will close on Monday at 11:59p.m. Please refer to an email from Mr. Hostetler with specific instructions for how to sign up. Note that there are no regular classes on Parent Conference days, and those days lead directly into Spring Break.

Seedling Shenanigans

Alumni of The Seedling School have fond memories of building leprechaun "traps" in preschool. On St. Patrick's Day the leprechauns come out to play! Every year, they cause havoc on the Seedling campus, dumping over tables and chairs, leaving green footprints, and gold dust. This year they surprised us early! This is what the TK students (also pictured at the top of this week's Notes) endured today!

2nd Grade Scientists Take a Field Trip

2nd grade visited the California Botanic Garden right here in Claremont. Challenged with a scavenger hunt, they studied biodiversity as they sought out different species of plants and animals. They found turtles, birds, and even a bunny! Can you find it?

You Need to Fly In -- NOW

Spring Gala tickets are more than halfway sold out!

Don't delay, buy your Spring Gala tickets today. This event WILL sell out. With your flight leaving on Saturday, April 20, you won't want to be late. Visit FalconAir.GiveSmart.com for details!

Last Game This Week

The 8th Boys team and the Girls team ended their season last week. Finishing up the basketball season is 7th Boys with a home game on Tuesday.

Tuesday, March 19

7th Boys vs Water of Life HOME

Can you believe we surpassed 100 days of school?

It is officially spring, because we passed the 100 day milestone. Here is what Kindergarten did to celebrate!

Spanish Speaking Doctors

Sra. DeDiego's eighth-grade students have diligently crafted dialogues between doctors and patients, showcasing their grasp of vocabulary, expressions, and grammar related to injuries, illnesses, and medical advice. As part of their preparation, students were encouraged to bring or wear props that complement their dialogues during class presentations. This task not only reinforces their understanding of medical terminology but also enhances their presentation skills, fostering a dynamic and immersive learning environment.

Strawberry DNA Extraction

7th graders are learning about DNA and how scientists investigate answers to their questions. Students extracted DNA from strawberry cells. This experiment elicited numerous smiles and moments of awe. Some students expressed realizations such as, "It wasn't obvious before, but now, of course, it makes sense that strawberries have DNA," while others amusingly likened the appearance of DNA to that of a booger. The DNA extraction experiment ignited many interesting questions we'll be exploring soon!

Well-Made Ice Cream 1st Grade Science

First grade scientists enjoyed the fruits of their labor- ice cream in a bag! After mixing solids and liquids (half and half, sugar and vanilla), students shook their mixture inside a bag of more solids (ice and rock salt) for about 10 minutes. Since the salt melts the ice so quickly, it actually removes heat from our bag of liquids, turning our liquid cream into ICE CREAM! We worked hard to make this and we even enjoyed our ice cream with sprinkles on top. Yum!

Sharing Our Stories: Foothill Families

International Days 2024

This week Paulina D. (2nd) shares her family's immigration story from both Columbia and Mexico. She shares some of their traditional food as well. Over the Winter holidays, we asked families to tell us something about their cultural traditions. These videos were so inspiring that we thought we would bring them out of the classroom and to our whole community, via Friday Notes. Look for a new video each week!

5th Grade Matters

Ms. Leeper's 5th grade classes started a new unit a couple of weeks ago, on the properties of matter. Their first investigation gave each table group 4 film canisters filled with 4 mystery objects. The students had to work together and use various methods (shaking, tapping, rolling and weighing them) to try and figure out what was in each cannister. Out of both classes, only two students were able to successfully identify 2 canisters!

Today, the classes continued the unit by testing a few different powers with iodine, water, and vinegar. They observed their chemical reactions to ascertain what each powder was.

BWO General Meeting Friday, April 5 8:30a.m. Join us to catch up on all the Gala fun, BWO leadership nominations, and more!

4th Grade Biography in a Bag

4th graders honed their skills this month using Canva and created these awesome posters to accompany their biography book reports. Students presented their "Biography in a Bag" reports to the class while the posters were displayed behind them. Using Canva shortcuts, they were able to have a curtain opening and closing on their poster, complete with applause sound effects. There was also confetti, bubbles, and a mic drop! So much fun! Enjoy a few examples here:

• Joshua whose "Biography in a Bag" was after reading about LeBron James. He wore a crown to represent the nickname of "King James" people gave him;
• Clare whose "Biography in a Bag' was after reading Who Was Lucille Ball? Not only did Clare "dress up" for the occasion, but she also brought 5 meaningful objects to talk about Lucille Ball's life. In the pic, she is showing an open Lego door which represents taking all opportunities she could get;
• Serena is presenting on Marie Antoinette. Serena brought a picture of a drum to represent how Marie Antoinette "marched to the beat of her own drum." Serena also brought a piece of blue cloth to represent a river, which demonstrates Marie Antoinette's perseverance (always flowing, never stopping).

Other students created biographies for people such as Stephen Hawking, Lewis Carroll, and Anne Frank.

We're Having a Dori Moment:

Finding Nemo Jr. Pics Coming Soon

Sadly, the photos from the Upper School production of Finding Nemo Jr. have not quite "found" us yet. Keep swimming, and we'll share them after Spring Break!

Happy St. Patrick's Day from Kindergarten!

Have a Wonderful Spring Break!

*there will be no Friday Notes on Friday, March 22

Monday, March 25 - Friday, March 29

Spring Break

Monday, April 1

Return to school in Formal Dress Uniform Friday, April 5 BWO General Meeting 8:30a.m.