"Readers Theater"

Our students study and perform short stories in a reader’s theater setting. They look forward to these classes which are not only fun but enhance fluency, listening and speaking skills, and confidence. 

 Dress-Up Your Vocabulary

Dressing up is a fun activity. This past Halloween the students dressed up as a vocabulary word of their choice from a list. Many interesting words were presented including somnambulism, infantile, nefarious, and equestrian. (Everyone got out their dictionary!)

 Oh My--Literary Pumpkins!

In October, the students picked a famous literary character and turned him/ her/it into a pumpkin! Visitors who saw these pumpkins were very impressed. The students put a lot of work into their pumpkin characters. They also wrote a character sketch and presented it to their class.

 Fun Language Arts Theater Field Trip

The middle school students went to see a performance at the Phillips Center in December to see the Chamber Theater Productions. It was a collection of stories by five famous authors: Edgar Allan Poe, Washington Irving, W.W. Jacobs, Guy de Maupassant and Mark Twain. Along with the plays a short biography of each author was presented.

 After School Program

An after school program is in the planning stages at ALC. The program will run from 1:45 to 5:30 Monday through Friday. It will be available for both elementary and middle school students. The program will include enrichment classes like Spanish, yoga, cooking, and Ms Jipson’s Science Club. There will be outdoor activities like sports and tournaments. Computer Lab, Homework Lab, snacks, tutoring and Fun Friday round out the schedule.

 Social Studies Student

Displays The middle school students prepared for the December Multicultural Expo Parent Night. It is the focus of social studies in the second quarter. The sixth graders investigated ancient civilizations throughout history. The seventh graders researched different countries around the world. The eighth graders explored different immigrant groups that developed the United States.

Math is a part of everyday life. In order for the students to understand how math affects their lives, they completed a special project. The sixth grade project involved planning a road trip. The trip required students to choose three destinations, and calculate the distance and time needed for travel as well as all related expenses including lodging, meals and gasoline. Each student did their own research. They needed to rent a car big enough to hold the required luggage. All of this done within the allotted budget! The seventh grade project asked the students to plan their own educational zoo. The project included researching the animals and figuring out their lifespan, care needs and projected expenses. This was all displayed in various types of graphs. The eighth graders were asked to pick a cruise they would like to go on. Finding an actual cruise from the internet, the student were asked to balance their needs with their wants while staying within their budget.

 Challenging Middle School Art

Sixth Grade

 The students in sixth grade are currently working on surrealist landscapes. They have studied Salvador Dali and the different aspects of surrealism. Now they are applying what they have learned to their own artistic endeavors. Later in this quarter the class will be working with symmetry and negative space while creating a project based on Notan, the Japanese word for the interaction between dark and light.

The seventh and eighth grade classes have just finished a project on recycled art. Four students have decided to submit their pieces to the recycled art competition called “Trashformations”. This is an annual competition sponsored by the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners, the Office of Waste Alternatives and the Florida Museum of Natural History. Michael Byers, Dustyn Holmes, Srivas Barsaleau, and Melody Schmaltz will have their projects on display.

 Physical Education

Physical education has been greatly reduced or even cut in schools across America. Education officials state that the demands of budget cuts and the push to improve academic test scores have decimated PE programs throughout the country. Yet published studies have shown that students who participate in physical activity perform better in the classroom. In fact, in some cases, more PE time resulted in improved grades and better test scores. ALC is dedicated to providing a great PE program for all students. The middle school students will be enjoying a variety of PE activities this quarter including football, soccer, volleyball, kickball, capture the flag, Presidential Challenge, cops ‘n robbers, choo, death lane, gatorball, and tails.

 Music and Dance

Our music teacher, Ms. Sarah, chose two songs for the middle school Multicultural Expo that celebrates America. Ms Romeo was thrilled with the enthusiasm shown by the students to sing -not only together, but also solo! They also learned how to dance the Salsa for parts in the Parent Expo Night presentation.

 Family Literacy Night

Parents, students and staff enjoyed a fun-filled night. There were raffles, stories, books, snacks and games for everyone. Elementary school teachers gave mini-seminars on how to encourage reading at home. Middle school teachers hosted a “Jeopardy” game show for students andtheir family members. Scholastic brought a book fair with lots of new books to explore.

 Special Projects

The children have completed their study of bats. Elementary students prepared a Batty Fact Bulletin Board. It had over 100 bat facts! The students loved being andacting like bats.

 Fire Fighters Visit

The Alachua County Fire department came to ALC for a visit. Kindergarten through fourth grade met with the fire fighters. Students watched as the emergency team put on many layers of clothes, goggles and helmets. If there is a real fire, the children will know, “There is a real fire fighter behind that mask!”

 Amazon Field Trips

The elementary students had a great time and learned a lot at their visit to the Museum of Natural History. The exhibit was a wonderful voyage to the Amazon. There were hands on activities, multimedia presentations, artifacts, vicious fish, dance, music and live presentations.