Once Again it is time for the

PRESIDENTIAL FITNESS TEST

This assess fitness level by seeing how many Push-ups, Sit and -ups that can be done in 1 minute along with timed shuttle runs and miles runs with a flexibility test in the sit and reach box.

We will be testing for 3 weeks at both schools. Please make sure that you bring you gym shoes, and a water bottle.

ACES - All Children Exercise Simultaneously

May 5, 2010

Each May, millions of school children all over the globe will exercise simultaneously in a symbolic gesture of fitness and unity. This non-competitive program has proven to be educational, motivational and fun. Starting its 21st year worldwide, ACES has reached millions of children, parents, and teachers including participants from more than 50 countries.

2010 marks the 12th year for ACES Day in Michigan with the continued support of Farm Bureau Insurance. Sponsorship from Farm Bureau Insurance has allowed the Michigan Fitness Foundation to provide an educational newsletter and sticker for each ACES participant.

Take a look at the entire school exercising at the same time. We exercised to Latin music and had a moment of silence observe Cinco De Mayo and National day of Prayer.

PE in the 2nd trimester of school

In the Gym or Classroom

In the gym at the Ellen Thompson Campus we have been jumping rope for cardiovascular health and playing exciting games of floor hockey. The winners of our Jump Rope Contest were:

Village Winners

K and 1- Lighthouse

Salaya Martin

2 and 3- Ujima

Alexus Roberts

4 and 5 - Amani

Nina Williams

In the classroom we are still focusing on the 5 components of fitness, but this time we put them into a workout video. We all learned the proper ways to follow an exercise video and how to get a "total body" workout.

~ Coach Marbry

1,000 Paper Cranes

ATTENTION TO PARENTS AND TEACHERS!

In the coming weeks your 4th and 5th graders are going to be starting a very ambitious project. As an Art Teacher I try to involve my students in cultural awareness within and outside of the realm of their own cultures. In the past 24 weeks we have talked about Native Americans, from Pre-Historic Inuit tribes to Meso-American Mayan civilization. Now the Dream Builders Village is learning about Japanese folklore. This is not entirely new to them as Ms. Ginger and Mrs. Melkonian have introduced songs from Japanese culture.

The aspect that my 3-D Art students are going to focus on is the tale of Sadako and The Thousand Paper Cranes. The story tells of a girl who suffered from terminal radiation as a result of the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan. Long ago it was believed that if any person folded 1,000 paper cranes they would then be granted one wish but in modern times the folding of 1,000 paper cranes is viewed as an image of Peace. It is my goal to have the 4th and 5th grade Village complete this project, but here is the catch, we are doing it with 100% recycled materials. What this means is I will set up a box in the main office for paper donations. These donations can be anything from old magazines, flyers from the mail, sheets of paper that you no longer need, newspapers, advertisements etc. It can be anything that you were planning on throwing away. This project teaches the students about the importance of recycling and it also shows them how many things can be done with an old newspaper.

The box will be labeled as CRANE DONATION STATION. It is not mandatory to donate but anything will help!

Here is a link that shows you how to make your own Paper Cranes and the Wikipedia link to help fill in the rest of the story. Your kids would love it if you joined in! Thanks for your help!

http://homepages.tig.com.au/~masonda/UNESCOpack/sadako/sadako.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadako_Sasaki

Paper Sculptures

Hello Bloggers! Your students have been working with 3 dimensional shape development in 3-D Art with me, Ms. O. The assignment was for each student to create their own shape out of a small piece of paper, starting with a basic shape like a square or rectangle, and then adapting it to take it from a flat piece of paper to a dimensional shape. After they found their shape they recreated it dozens of times to create a final product.

Here are some examples from Mr. Bruner's 4th grade class. I hope you enjoy them!

Steven Anderson



Joshua Chapman



Felicity Moore



Kiara Gibson



Lauryn Brown



Corey Rich

Metal Masks by Mrs. Martins 5th grade class

Ryan Sparks

Timothy Hatley

Andrew Blackmon

Amari Flowers

Daniel Dixon

Nina Williams

Music Field Trips

Our young musicians were fortunate enough to experience some field trips in the last week. Please check out the music blogs for more details! Our links are on the sidebar to your right.

Mrs. Melkonian

ATTENTION PARENTS!

The art room is collecting things for art projects again; if you have any of the fallowing, please bring them to the school!

-Paper towel/ toilet paper rolls

-Metal or plastic bottle caps

-Tissue boxes

-Wrapping paper tubes

-Caps off of milk or juice containers

-Newspapers

-Egg cartons

-Newspapers

If you have anything that could help, please bring to UPA or have your child give to Ms. Seikaly.

Thank you,

Ms. Seikaly

Hello all

In the word of Physical Education...

Ellen Thompson Campus- PE 1

We have played football, badminton, and starting floor hockey. We have also been working on learning body organs, developing cardiovascular endurance with running laps and aerobics, and starting our jump rope unit. Ask your Kindergarteners and first graders to show you a greatvine.

Check out Mr. Wetherbee's class in their badminton unit.

Mark Murray Campus- PE 2

We have been slowly covering the 5 components of fitness. Which are:

1. Cardiovascular Endurance

2. Muscular Strength

3. Muscular Endurance

4. Flexibility

5. Body Composition - I have substituted agility as the fifth to line up with our fitness testing through the Presidential Fitness Council.

This past 6 weeks our focus has been flexibility. Watch Mrs. Pearsall's class show you some dynamic examples of what that looks like.

Remember that bring gym shoes to class is the first step for being prepared for movement and exercise.

Coach Marbry

Music and Martin Luther King, Jr.

As we get ready to celebrate the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mrs. Melkonian's music classes have been preparing songs in his honor. Our students already know so much about the life and impact of Dr. King, but can now make connections to some important music of his time. Whether we are singing the simple words of Martin and his focus on love, caring and peace or the grown-up hymn "Lift Every Voice", our students are tying music to the Civil Rights Movement. Can you sing this song at home?

Woke up This Mornin'

Woke up this mornin' with my mind

Stayed on freedom

Woke up this mornin' with my heart

Stayed on freedom

Woke up this mornin' with my soul

Stayed on freedom

Hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelu-jah!

I'm gonna walk, talk, sing, shout

Hallelu, I got my mind on freedom!

Walk, talk, sing, shout

Clap my hands and keep my mind on freedom!

Walk, Talk! Sing, Shout!

Clap my hands!

Mrs. Melkonian

Music in the New Year

Hello Everyone!

The new year will bring us new music. Second through fifth graders have begun a new unit on Ludwig van Beethoven- a German composer who is remembered today for his magnificent musical compositions. Head over to the Music Blog to hear Beethoven for yourself!

We are also getting ready for AMPP Exhibition #2 which will take place Wednesday, January 20 at both elementary schools. We are excited to share our songs with our village.

And it's never to early to mention! Our spring concert will be given this year by kindergarten, second and fourth graders- stay tuned for dates and times.

Keep up the music!

Ms. Ginger

Happy Holidays

Wishing everyone in the UPA family a very happy holiday and a restful break. Looking forward to seeing you in 2010!

Mrs. Melkonian

Dear UPA Elementary Families,
For our upcoming Holiday Concert, we are going to celebrate family by including some of your favorite family pictures. All UPE students are participating in the show, so we hope to have as many families as possible represented. One photo per family, please.

Digital Photos may be sent to Mrs. Melkonian: smelkonian@uprep.com

Hard copies of photos may be given to your child's classroom teacher or put in Mrs. Melkonian's mailbox. Photos will be returned if they are clearly marked.

Thank you,
Mrs. Melkonian

Congratulations!

Congratulations on a set of WONDERFUL exhibitions yesterday! It was truly enjoyable to see what the students have learned this trimester. Through their art work, physical demonstrations, acting and music-making we can see that we have a school of extremely expressive and talented students. I am looking forward to our next exhibitions already.

With Thanksgiving coming up tomorrow, I am giving thanks for our fantastic students and wonderful group of dedicated AMPP teachers. I am blessed to work with all of you.

Mrs. Melkonian, music

Just a reminder that the UPA AMPP exhibition is on Tuesday November 24th, the last day of school before Thanksgiving break. We encourage parents and family to attend.
Each village will be showcasing Physical Education, Vocal Music, Theater, 3d art and 2d art.

schedule
Mark Murray campus - in the gym
4-5 village 9:00 am - 9:55 am
2-3 village 10:00 am - 10:55 am
K-1 village 11:00 am - 11:55 am

Ellen Thompson campus - in the gym
K-1 village 12:30 p.m. - 1:25 p.m.
2-3 village 1:30 p.m. - 2:25 p.m.
4-5 village 2:30 p.m. - 3:25 p.m.

Please come and show your support for your child and the AMPP program!

Art Update

Here are some Greek temples made by Mr. Weatherbee's class. enjoy!

ZaeShawn Reynolds

Brandon McDonald

Channon Gilbreath

We are really "moving " in the gym. We have received the Blue Cross Blue Shield grant that has brought new materials that were are in incorporating into the school culture and especially in physical education. The first program is HOPSports. HOPSports has the unique ability to combine lessons that have been proven to increase overall movement and participation while being entertaining. The fitness and health components are delivered by sport celebrities. HOPSports has over 100 lessons of multiple displays, sport-specific skills, nutritional information, "music choice lessons" and much more combine to create a well-rounded experience for our students.

Health and nutritional elements will be reinforced with a program called The OrganWise Guys Inc. The OrganWise Guys bring science-based nutrition, physical activity, and other lifestyle behavior messages to our students in a fun and interesting way. Beyond simply teaching children about nutrition, proper exercise and other beneficial practices, it instills a healthy habit mindset early on which they continue to build on throughout life that focuses on maintaining a low fat diet, consuming high fiber foods, drinking plenty of water, and performing regular physical activity. The OrganWise Guys uses charter organs with names like,"Harty Heart", and the "Kidney Brothers" that has stuffed dolls, CD's DVD's, books and handouts that will keep even adults engaged in the lessons.

The last component of the grant is the Walking Club program. Every student in UPAE will be encouraged to walk or run as much as possible and to track their walking. A trail will be mapped out in our playground and the students can track their and for every 5 miles walked, they will receive a toe tag to reward and positively reinforce their hard work. Our hope is that the increased walking and toe tag incentive will explode into a child who will fall in love with movement and a school culture that strongly support that passion.

Make sure your child bring their gym shoes to school EVERYDAY so that they are always prepared for action.

Shara Marbry

Physical Education is really "moving"! We have receive the Blue Cross Blue Shield grant that has brought new materials that were are in incorporating into the school culture and especially in physical education. The first program is HOPSports. HOPSports has the unique ability to combine lessons that have been proven to increase overall movement and participation while being entertaining. The fitness and health components are delivered by sport celebrities. HOPSports has over 100 lessons of multiple displays, sport-specific skills, nutritional information, "music choice lessons" and much more combine to creates a well-rounded experience for our students.

The say that the health and nutritional elements will be reinforced with a program called The OrganWise Guys Inc.The OrganWise Guys bring science-based nutrition, physical activity, and other lifestyle behavior messages our students in a fun and interesting way. Beyond simply teaching children about nutrition, proper exercise and other beneficial practices, it is instill a healthy habit mindset early on which they continue to build on throughout life that focuses on maintaining a low fat diet, consuming high fiber foods, drinking plenty of water, and performing regular physical activity. The OrganWise Guys uses charter organs with names like,"Harty Heart", and the "Kidney Brothers" that has stuffed dolls, CD's DVD's, books and handouts that will keep even adults engaged in the lessons. The last component of the grant is the Walking Club program. Every student in UPAE will be encouraged to walk or run as much as possible and to track their walking they ALL will be given one pedometer. A trail will be mapped out in our playground and the students can track their and for every 5 miles walked, they will receive a toe tag to reward and positively reinforce their hard work. Our hope is that the increased walking and toe tag incentive will explode into a child who will fall in love with movement and a school culture that strongly support that passion. Make sure your child bring their gym shoes to school EVERYDAY so that they are always prepared for action.

Physical Education

Physical Activity is important we are, therefore implementing a walking program called the Feeling Good Mileage Club.

The Feeling Good Mileage Club provides opportunity for students to walk for fitness. The mileage club will be held from October 19, 2009 until June 1, 2010 to walk for fitness. The mileage club will be held during recess and physical education classes. The walking course is a 1/8 mile loop on the playground of our campus.

Your child needs no special equipment or shoes (expect for gym shoes physical education) to participate. Simply have him or her dress appropriately for the weather. Each student is free to walk as little or as much as he or she desires in the designated time. The Feeling Good Mileage Club is noncompetitive.

Awards will be given. For each 5 miles your child will receive a toe token to place on the shoe laces. At each 10 miles your child will receive a certificate, at the 15 mile mark a shoe take will be given and they can sign the 15 mile poster and at 20 miles a runner tag will be given.

We think your child will enjoy the Feeling Good Mileage Club. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Shara Marbry at 313-874-9800.

First Six Weeks!

Hello from the UPA Mark Murray Music Room! Students were eager to get started in music this year and so was I! They have already shown improvement that could only be made through hard work and concentration.

The fourth and fifth graders are in the midst of an African Drumming unit. They have been working hard on their drumming technique, specifically hand position. As we continue, we will begin adding singing and dancing to our drumming ensemble pieces.

Third graders are continuing to develop their singing voices by singing songs in English, Swahili, and even Yiddish! We will also work on Orff instrument (xylophone) technique as we add challenging accompaniment to the songs we have learned.

Second graders are doing a unit entitled "Carnival of the Animals". This unit is centered around a musical suite consisting of 14 movements, all based on a different animal. It is called "Carnival of the Animals" and was composed in 1886 by a French composer named Camille Saint-Saëns. Each class period, students listen to the piece, move as the animal does, and sing a song about each animal. So far we have done the Lion, the Tortoise, the Bird, and the Rooster.

First graders are continuing to work on keeping a steady beat. They are also learning new songs that will help them move forward in their music making, both singing and playing instruments. But we will always love one of our favorites from last year; "Skinny marinky dinky doo". If you need a pick-me-up in your day, just ask your first grader for a round of this song and you will feel better in no time!

I was so excited to welcome the Kindergartners into the music room this year! They are cheerful students who do their best and who are excited to try new activities. We have been learning about the different voices we use. These include speaking, whisper, shouting, and singing voice.

We are hard at work here in the music room, and are looking forward to a year of harmonious music making! Check back soon for upcoming concert information!