Field Day 2019

On May 24, 2019, Physical Education Teacher, Mr. Barry Friedman, organized a variety of Field Day activities for the school. 

All students, Pre-Kindergarten through Fifth grade, attended.  Younger students enjoyed Field Day for the first half of the day, and Third through Fifth grade students participated in the afternoon.

Students and teachers followed a rotation that took them inside and outside, a strategic plan to help manage the temperatures.  It was a beautiful, sunny day that felt like Summertime with temperatures in the mid to upper 90s.  Students ran relays, filled buckets with water, played basketball games, bowled, danced, flipped cones and much more. 

The day would not have been possible without Parent, PTA, and YMCA Volunteers.

One big highlight of the day was learning Taekwondo control and self-discipline techniques from Master Andrew from Tiger Kim's Martial Arts. 

Throughout the Field Day, students also enjoyed Popsicle and Gatorade breaks. 

Field Day was a fun and exciting way to end the week before the Memorial Day Weekend.  Thanks Mr. Friedman, teachers, and volunteers for planning, organizing and presenting such a fun day for students.

Visit the links for additional photos:

PreK-2 Field Day Photos

3-5 Field Day Photos

Art & AIG Integration Unit

We are the WSFCS Elementary A+ Magnet School for Arts Integration and Performance.  We uphold the 8 Essentials of A+ Schools: Climate, Infrastructure, Arts, Enriched Assessment, Multiple Learning Pathways, Collaboration, Experiential Learning, and Curriculum as well as the 5 Pillars of Magnet Schools, which include Diversity, Innovative Curriculum and Professional Development, Academic Excellence, High Quality Instructional Systems, and Family and Community Partnerships.  We have been looking closely at these Essentials and Pillars to align them with their School Improvement Plan and School Mission/Vision.  One step in this process involved a very deliberate, recent Integration Unit and Community Partnership. 

Over the last couple months, the Art Teacher and AIG Teacher planned a unit that would bring together Art Club, the 4^th & 5^th grade Art Focus Groups, and 3-5 AIG Students for three culminating events.  The unit included an AIG unit utilizing a Tic-Tac-Toe Graphic Organizer that allowed AIG students the choice of activities that reflected Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles.  The AIG, Art Focus Group and Art Club students came together on three difference occasions to explore art media and learn about several styles and techniques of American Artists, particularly Edward Hopper and Jackson Pollock.  Students were able to apply all they learned, research and observed to paint a landscape in the style of Edward Hopper and then paint through inspiration of Jackson Pollock’s style in an outside activity: shoes were off, the sun was shining, and 32 students in grades Kindergarten through fifth were enjoying an authentic learning experience.

As the culminating event, the students and teachers, along with Assistant Principal, Dr. Ian Olsen, school guidance counselor, Mrs. Barbara Sexton, Instructional Facilitator, Mrs. Laura Wilmoth, and a few parents traveled to Reynolda House Museum of American Art to tour the house and see the current exhibit “Hopper to Pollock.” 

Read the full story on the WSFCS District Blog: https://bit.ly/2JxlfbP

Click the links below to view photo galleries of the following activities:

Integration Intro & Painting Landscapes like Hopper

Painting like Pollock

Reynolda House Field Trip

Band & Orchestra Spring Concert

On May 16, the Band and Orchestra Focus Group students in 4th & 5th grade, along with a select group of 3rd grade students, performed for the school in the morning and for parents that evening.  The Band, under the direction of Band and Music teacher, Mr. Rick Sigler, and the Orchestra, under the direction of Orchestra teacher, Mrs. Lisa Morris, showcased all they had learned throughout the year.

Band students opened the concert with "Ode to Joy," a composition and historical piece by Beethoven, arranged by Mr. Sigler especially for the students to better fir their range and ability level.  Next, Band played "Whale Song," a composition that utilized the recorded cries of a whale in Hawaii and an arrangement by Mr. Sigler that provided students with an accompaniment for the cries of the whale.  During this song, students even utilized a rainstick and an ocean drum to add some additional sounds that mimicked sounds of ocean waves.  Finally, Band played "Battle for Mars," a final arrangement by Mr. Sigler, written in the style of an exciting SciFi Movie but in a range that fit the students current grade, age and ability level.  The Band students especially enjoyed the unique approaches to their concert through the last two playful songs.  The band was comprised of students playing flute, clarinet, trumpet and trombone.

Orchestra students kicked off their concert with "First Scale March" by Mark Williams followed by "March of the Metro Gnome" by Fred Hubbell; these songs showed the D Major Scale.  Each student's instrument was adorned with a series of ribbons hanging from the instrument's neck that symbolized their progress in the steps of the Suzuki system utilized in the Orchestra classroom.  In the middle of the Orchestra Concert, 3rd grader, Aubrey, took the stage to solo with Mrs. Morris on cello; they played "French Folk Song."  The Orchestra ended their concert with "Sahara Crossing" by Richard Meyer, which taught new finger patterns, and "Fiddles on Fire" by Mark Williams, which was a playful piece that students enjoy and taught how to use the bow more effectively.  Throughout the concert, Orchestra students added a few surprises such as a foot stomp before ending a song.  The Orchestra was comprised of students playing violin, viola, cello, and bass.

The Diggs-Latham Band and Orchestra students have had a successful year.  They met for before and after school rehearsals and partnered with the Winston-Salem Symphony P.L.A.Y. Music Program and the University of North Carolina ArtistCorp program.

Congratulations to 5th grade Band and Orchestra students for a successful, last concert in Elementary School, and we wish you much success in middle school.  To our 3rd and 4th grade Band and Orchestra Focus Group students, we look forward to your future concerts.

Click here to see more photos of the concert.

A Visitor from Kenya, Africa

Recently, Lucy Kamau, the Director of Social Work for New Life Home, visited our school.  In Kenya, she works with New Life Homes to help rescue abandoned children and wanted to see a Child and Family Services team in an American School to discuss programs and serves we offer our students.

In the United States, New Life Home is supported by Amani, a store here in town on Robinhood Road, which sells handmade arts and crafts from Kenya.

While visiting our school, Lucy Kamau met with several members of the Administrative Team, the Child and Family Services Team, and others for a question and answer session as well as a tour of the school, during which she was able to watch a student dance performance.

Read the full story on the WSFCS News Blog at https://bit.ly/2QbXt5E

Koo Koo 4 Kindergarten

Our Kindergarten Spring Musical, "Koo Koo for Kindergarten," was a huge hit. 

The musical, under the direction of Dance Teacher Mrs. Nelson and Band Teacher Mr. Sigler, supported by Arts Team Members Mrs. Morris and Mrs. Gordon, was a year-in-review of things learned in Kindergarten through the use of Koo Koo Kanga Roo songs. 

Thanks Koo Koo Kanga Roo for the use of your music! 

The musical was a comical review of school lunch time, recess, character education, and more. 

Our kindergarten students were excited about their first official appearance on stage as they begin their journey through our K-5 A+ Schools - North Carolina, Magnet Schools of America, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Program.

Multicultural Fair 2019

Our second annual Multicultural Fair, under the direction of ESL Teacher Mrs. Abadesa Ochoa and PreK teacher Mrs. Lisa O'Brien, along with committee members, was held on the last Friday of April as a culminating event for our annual Multicultural Celebration. 

Parents, teachers and students created artifacts, food, decorations, and more to represent their countries of origin, and over 20 countries were represented. 

Throughout the evening, visitors enjoyed entertainment from Polynesian Dancers, classes performing traditional Latino dances, a community Zumba group, the Easton Elementary African Drummers, and more. 

The evening ended with a flash mob of teachers commanding everyone's attention as they danced in the middle of the crowded room.

For more photos from the Multicultural Fair, click: https://photos.app.goo.gl/1PjSmZZUYEDfdyn2A

Multicultural Parade

We take great pride in our Multicultural Week and Celebration.  Among our staff and student body, we have over 20 countries of origin represented.  So, for the last day of our Multicultural Week, students, staff and parents were invited to dress in traditional clothing of their culture, carry flags representing their country of origin, and march in a parade of colors, flags and countries around the school.  It was an exciting activity of team building and celebrating the beautiful diversity within our school and school community.

To see more photos from the parade, click:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/2oYrjBN8mkyYs4zw9

Multicultural Week Wax Museum

Toward the end of April, the Multicultural Committee planned a week of events that celebrated culture and diversity among our staff and student body.  Classes were invited to participate in a series of events that fit their schedule and curriculum.  For their Social Studies and ELA unit, Mrs. Lizarazo's 5th grade class researched famous people from their country of origin and presented a wax museum for a day.  Classes signed up to visit them in the media center.  During the wax museum, the 5th grade students wore costumes and props and presented the information through slides and powerpoints as the person they researched.

Kick Off to K

Each Spring, we invite rising Kindergartners and their families to visit the school, meet the Kindergarten teachers, complete activities with the Arts Team, and meet administration for a question and answer session. 

We have a morning session during the day and an evening session after school to make sure everyone's schedule is accommodated.  This year, not only did we have our mascot, Taz the Tiger, join us but also Ready Freddy, the WSFCS Ready for Kindergarten mascot, joined us as well. 

It was a very exciting day as parents and students prepared for school for the first time; incoming students enjoyed a time of drawing, singing, dancing, and more.

Spring Spirit Week

Spring Spirit Week was a blast as students and teachers dressed in a theme each day as we completed our last week of school before Spring Break.  

Mismatch Monday

Tye Dye Tuesday

Workout Wednesday

Throwback Thursday

Floral Friday

Spring Extravaganza 2019

The annual WSFCS Spring Extavaganza is always an exciting time.  All schools and all grades Kindergarten through twelfth exhibit a collection of student artwork in downtown Winston-Salem at the Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts. 

The exhibit represents each art program and all students have learned and created over the year in art class. 

This year, we had approximately 25-30 students with artwork in the show, around 12-13 students and their families attend the event, and 4 students earn gold seals for their artwork, which is the highest award for this exhibit.  Congratulations to Alex, Dilan, Joseph and Nancy for being Gold Seal Winners for our School.