Mrs. Lupe’s 5^th Grade Class

by Molly Campbell

There was never a dull moment in Mrs. Lupe’s 5^th Grade class. The end of the marking period meant that all their projects on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory had to be finished and posted on the board. Mrs. Lupe had constructed an imaginative unit around the book including vocabulary, spelling, creative writing and drawing. While listening to the book, the students took notes on action, character and setting. They will use these notes to compare the book to the old and newer movie versions. They also created a candy, described a new “candy room” and even written a persuasive letter to Willy Wonka urging him to produce and sell their candy. The finale project was a “candy haiku” written while Mr. Polacca (the Principal) visited the classroom and joined in the discussion over how many syllables there were in “chocolatety”. He must have liked what he heard because he later suggested that Mrs. Lupe submit sample work from the unit to the local paper.

This was my third visit with this group of children so I felt very much at home even when we started the week with a substitute. (Mrs. Lupe was visiting her son at college who was celebrating his 21^st birthday.) The substitute was more than happy to turn the math lessons over to me so I got a workout with fractions and word problems. This class begins every day with four, sometimes difficult, word problems. 

Since I had been with this class in October, I was pleased to note how much individual progress they had made in reading, writing, math and computer skills. Not to mention how much they had grown. The variety of levels in the class of 18 is a real challenge, but Mrs. Lupe seems to be able to keep her eye on each one.

Debbie Baker, HBCS Substance Abuse Program Director, and Marti Donohue, FOHF Board member. Mrs. Baker was keynote speaker at the annual meeting of the Indiana University School of Social Work Alumni Association

Ginny Rundell, FOHF Board member
unpacks microscopes at 2nd Mesa.

Flat Stanley is friendly with a Kachina
at 2nd Mesa. (Google him if you don’t know who he is.)

Learning and Fun Experience for All   
by Ginny Rundell   

The Friends of Hopi service program held from Feb. 24 - March 8, was a wonderful two weeks. There were old and new friends coming together to be of service to the beautiful Hopi children at 2^nd and 3^rd Mesa schools. It was also a fine learning experience for the participants.

The new science equipment arrived the first week for the Hotevilla-Bacavi Community School and was labeled and inventoried. There was a great deal of excitement at its arrival and many plans were made for its use. Another highlight of the first week was an evening spent with Ben Nuvamsa, the Hopi Tribal Chairman. He not only had dinner with us, but also spent well over an hour discussing his programs, plans and hopes for the Hopi people.

The second week was equally as eventful. The Second Mesa Day School science equipment arrived and was also labeled and inventoried. In addition, World/US maps were presented to the two sixth grade classes. Hopefully we will be able to purchase maps for all of the classrooms. Each map set cost $275 including shipping and we need about 10 more.

During the second week both schools had in-service days on Wed. afternoon and our coordinator, Ray Coin, arranged a very interesting and informative field trip for us. We were able to have a behind-the-scenes tour of the collections of the Museum of Northern Arizona. This was a fabulous experience and gave us a much broader understanding of the museum and it's contribution to Arizona. It was a fun-filled and educational two weeks. We hope you will consider joining us in the autumn!

THANK YOU NOTE FROM  MS. ALBERT

Dear Friends of Hopi Foundation,
 
Thank you for the much needed science kits. We had a lesson using the Big Thermometer.  I am sure it will be easier for the children to read and understand temperature. We are now learning about life cycles and the butterfly kit will come in handy.  It sure makes my planning easier when I have the supplies on hand like the kits provide. I really do appreciate your generosity.
 
I have enclosed letters from the second grade students. I hope you enjoy them. We are a week away from our spring break and I hope when we come back we will be rested for the Terra Nova. (test)
 
How is everyone there? We are fine, as I hope this letter finds you all.
 
Sincerely, Ms. Albert   Hotevilla-Bacavi Community School

FUNDS RAISED IN LAST NEWSLETTER USED TO MAKE PURCHASES  

The funds raised through the December 2007 FOHF newsletter were put to good use in supplying many      of the items on the wish list at the two schools. Thanks to all of you who contributed to that request for funds we were able to make a huge dent in those lists. We were able to provide a science kit for each teacher who requested one, along with World and United States maps for four classrooms. We also provided 10 microscopes and 5 slide sets to each school, including a variety of models suitable for different age groups.

We are currently waiting on a large electronics firm to answer our request for a donation of equipment for four listening centers for each school. Listening centers will permit up to three students at a time to listen with headphones to a story being read on cassette or compact disc while they follow along in the print version of the story. This is designed to increase their reading fluency.  Each center cost $300.

SOME OF YOU ARE RECEIVING THIS NEWSLETTER BY EMAIL.  IF YOU WOULD RATHER RECEIVE IT BY REGULAR MAIL, TELL BOB at  mrtutor156@hotmail.com