Dear Parents,

What a lovely thing to do, to hug your best friend! I have known this friend of mine
for about 10 years. I can proudly say that she is my best friend, the best listener, a
wise person who gives me advice and a mom who is always there for me.
I have not seen her about 10 months although I talked to her over the phone and
emailed her from time to time. It was such a long, long time!
She is a kind of person who understands me without words. Although I didnt see
her in person for this long she never asked me why I didnt visit her. I know that she
missed seeing me and wondered how my life was like. She is a kind of person who
senses others. She is very good at reading what is on my mind. Again, without
words, she senses how I feel and what I am up to. She and I are a bit alike. The way
we want children to be and the way we perceive things around us, just like a 6-7
year-old. The most amazing thing about her is that she is always giving and offers
help. She turns the worst thing happened in my life into not that bad thing, not a big
deal. She laughs about what I worry about and makes me think in a most positive
way. I simply love the way she is. Between us there is love, respect, gratitude and
some more love!
Seeing her made my day and I was in a good mood all day. No matter what
happened around me it didnt bother me because I was glad and I felt fortunate
again that I have someone like her who has helped me become the person I am now.

We began to greet each other in our class differently. Aloha is our way to show
gratitude towards each other. Here is what I found and fascinated the children and
myself. What a wonderful way to feel each other!

THE DEEPER MEANING OF ALOHA
by Curby Rule
For those who follow the path of Huna, or are fortunate enough to live in Hawai'i, it
is common for us to use the word Aloha. We use it in greetings and farewells and in
expressing love. But the word means even more, it is a way of life.
Besides these common meanings, the word Aloha holds within itself all one needs to
know to interact rightfully in the natural world. These insights describe an attitude
or way of life sometimes called "The Aloha Spirit" or "The Way of Aloha".
The spirit of Aloha was an important lesson taught to the children of the past
because it was about the world of which they were a part. One early teaching goes
like this:
Aloha is being a part of all, and all being a part of me. When there is pain - it is my
pain. When there is joy - it is also mine. I respect all that is as part of the Creator and
part of me. I will not willfully harm anyone or anything. When food is needed I will
take only my need and explain why it is being taken. The earth, the sky, the sea are
mine to care for, to cherish and to protect. This is Hawaiian - this is Aloha!

As the child grew, the need for a fundamental code of ethics was taught. This code is
found within a deeper layer of the meaning of the word Aloha. The code is derived
from one of the acronymic meanings of Aloha.

A, ala, watchful, alertness
L, lokahi, working with unity
O, oia'i'o, truthful honesty
H, ha'aha'a, humility
A, ahonui, patient perseverance

Express Yourself
A feeling, miserable
We shared our definitions about feeling miserable after Alexandra, Anabelle,
Abdullahi, Aidana and Milica shared the story, Alicia Has A Bad Day by Lisa Jahn-
Clough. Then we talked about the setting where we feel that way and what we can
do about it. Here are our some strategies to deal with or cope with the feeling.
Read a book
Take a one-minute vacation
Give a hug
Think on a bright side, be positive
Write down a list of things that make you feel better and try some.

Sakurako suggested that we may be able to use some of the strategies for dealing
with anger that Ms. Iamundo talked to us about.

Ms. Iamundo came to our class to share a poetic story, What Is A Thought". It
reminded us that our thoughts are powerful and that we are the only ones who can
turn negative thoughts around. We felt powerful after the story and discussion
followed after the story.

We listened to a story of Peter and the Wolf by Vladimir Vagin from the Symphony
by Sergei Prokofiev.
After we listened to the story we shared the feelings that the characters experienced
in the story.

Scared, frightened, nervous, afraid, surprised, angry, disappointed, proud, brave and
accomplished.

Then we listened to Prokofievs story with music that was played by a Canadian
orchestra. The music themes change by the melodies and pitch. A different musical
instrument represents a different character. We also learned that the volume of the
music, melody, pitch, the sound of instruments would affect how you feel in a certain
way.

Here are some of the responses for the Peter and the Wolf by Prokofievs version.

Adama: I felt like I was in the story. I felt that the wolf was next to me. I pictured the
story in my head.

Josh: I felt like the bird was right next to me. The bird was flying around my head!

Caroline: I felt scared when Peter was getting closer and closer to the wolf.

Alex: Grandpapa learned a lesson from Peter. Stopping him from doing something
that is risky is not such a good idea. Giving him a chance to take a risk worked out.
He was able to do something.



Opinion Writing
Should Ms. Saito take her next J1S class to the Queens Zoo next year? We were asked
to state our opinions, add at least three reasons to support and restate our opinions.
Some of us began to use comparisons to make the reasons more persuasive. We
were also asked to include transitional phrases such as the first reason is, Another
reason is and the last reason is/Finally/Lastly. We will share our work when all of
us complete them.

Math Workshop
Measurement introduction
We listened to a story of Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni. We discussed the following.
Did an inchworm measure the nightingales song? Was he able to? What is your
opinion? What is your inference?

Tools for measurement

What can we use to measure an object? What are the tools for measuring?

As the children came up with different tools I listed them in two columns.

Connecting cubes rulers
Sticks measuring tape
Pencils inchworm
Crayons
Markers
Erasers
Shoes
Dominos
Blocks
Books


We worked with partners to use one of the kinds of tools to measure the height of
book, Inch by Inch.
We made sure that the tools are aligned correctly.
We also talked about fraction such as , 1/3, and .

What about shoes? Shoes come with different sizes. What if I use a baby shoe?
Would the measurement be the same? Ezra puzzled. Then some nodded.

After we shared our measurements with the tools I asked, Lets go back to what
Ezra said. What if I used my shoe instead of Enzos shoe? Would the measurements
the same? No! What if I used different sized books, not the ORT books? Would
the result the same? No!
What are the headings for each group of tools?

Milica exclaimed, This group is the kinds of tools that may come with different
sizes. On the other hand the other group has the tools that their sizes are decided
like inches and centimeters.


We practiced measuring the drawings of fish with rulers. We talked about how we
can recognize between inches and centimeters. We learned that an inch is longer
than a centimeter. We also learned to add units for measurement such as in for
inches and cm for centimeters.
We estimated the length of the fish and measured them in inches and centimeters.


Measurement game online
http://www.pearsonschool.com/live/images/custom/envisionmath_ca/games/flea
11.html


Sincerely,
Junko Saito

P.S. There are only 8 full days left for all of us to be together as J1S 2013-2014. We
felt excited that the summer vacation was waiting for us around the corner at the
same time we became a bit emotional.

Wow! Take a deep breath. Take a pause. Lets enjoy, appreciate and celebrate one
thing and one day at a time.