NUACHTÁN ELEMENTARY | November 2021
Among the activities that students enjoy the most are Halloween and Day of the Dead Celebrations. Within these, the students have the opportunity to live the experience from two different perspectives. On the one hand, getting to know the traditions that characterize us as a Mexican culture such as the ‘altar of the dead.’ On the other hand, the Anglo-Saxon, wearing costumes and trick or treating. Knowledge is a fundamental part of promoting respect for cultures.
Never stop asking
By Prof. Omar Alcázar
Have you ever wondered why can water cook a raw egg and make it hard, while that same water can soften a raw potato, leaving it soft? How is it that a balloon inflated with air falls slowly, even though it weighs more? Why can we see a rainbow when it rains and there is sun? What color is the sky?
Many times, as adults, we take for granted that things happen and it is so common that it ceases to get our attention, but do we really know why it happens? Or if it is normal for it to happen? Man has tried to answer these and many other questions, which is why he created science, in order to understand the everyday.
Science exists due to the man’s innate curiosity seeking to find the meaning and operation of natural phenomena, as well as everything that surrounds him. One of the first steps that leads man to create, invent and innovate is due to observation, which generates questions, leads him to inquiry and, finally, to put into practice, test or improve what he has created and what has allowed him to satisfy his curiosity to understand the world, this is… experimentation.
At Colegio Celta, we exploit children’s curiosity and, in a guided way, from the earliest years children are allowed to explore, create, test, check, repeat, all through experiments, so that they begin to understand their world. Everyday things as germinating seeds, objects falling to the ground, a bouncing ball, the ice melting, they generate curiosity. For children, these phenomena are impressive. They begin to build their ideas and concepts. We take advantage of the children’s need to understand everything that happens and we provide them with the appropriate and safe environment that allows him to answer these questions. In the science laboratory we demonstrate that science can be simple and that is at everyone’s reach, it is not limited to people with high academic levels and great degrees, it simply takes curiosity to learn and to find a way to satisfy that curiosity to understand the world; your world, which starts from home, where you already have a laboratory, where wonderful things happen … the kitchen.
Socialization in young children
By Prefirst Teachers
From an early age, human beings begin to acquire and to expand our capacity to socialize; that is, what helps us relate to others. If we take into account that more and more children are attending preschool or daycare, where they maintain contact with other children, children’s socialization begins more often before and outside the family environment. However, learning to socialize is an important skill that should be taught as a family.
From a very young age, children seek to establish a relationship with their peers, using their social instinct. These relationships, little by little, take place in a more conscious way.
At first, the little ones are able to play together, although at no time do these games intersect, this is called parallel game. Later, the child’s interaction in the game changes: what is known as symbolic play begins; that is, playing with something different «as if it were», a box as a racing car, a pencil as a hair brush, etc., in which the rest of their peers can intervene. Therefore, it will be important to foster this capacity for socialization in a natural way, giving opportunities for him to play with others «as if it were». All this is learned through imitating adults. Thus, the child learns to function in society, and this learning is transferred to the relationship with his peers. Therefore, if we want our children to learn a series of social values that are important to us, we must begin by modelling the social behavior that we want to transmit, so he can see it.
It is important to know that in addition to imitation, in the game, the child manifests his own temperament and character. Therefore, during early childhood, the control of the child’s emotions should be the task of adults (mainly parents), so that the child is gradually taught to self-regulate his social behavior. As teachers of the Prefirst grade within Celtic School, we favor socialization based on empathy, dialogue and game. We are currently working on our first unit of inquiry where children learn the importance of each individual within the groups they belong to, as well as their duties and commitments. Children begin this process by recognizing the roles of their family members and how each of these brings benefits to an entire community, which ultimately impacts globally.
Television influence
By Leyla de Cima | Coordinator of Student Activities and Discipline
The popularity of the programs called “tele-trash”, are obtaining a large audience and it is undoubted that television and these programs have their influence on education, socialization and the formation of attitudes in children, taking into account that they see 25 TV hours average per week and that they are excellent imitators of what they watch. (Aldena M Serafin, 2018)
Our children face a great change in their social and emotional environment after being in isolation for a long time as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic. Now they return to school eager to play and spend time with their classmates. However, it is a reality that they have been and continue being exposed to television messages, programs and virtual games in which a great variety of violence is shown replicating it in their real-life games.
As parents we must be very careful in what we allow our children to watch; and, above all, to have an open communication with the family in such a way that we can guide and locate our children in reality.
References
Recovered from: https://www.psiquiatriainfantil.org/numero5/tv.pdf
Let’s work together on our school adaptation
By Psic. Gabriela García Santillán
‘Happiness comes from a curious adaptation to life.’ -Hughw Walpole-
During these first days, we have realized that our beloved students have begun to resume their school activities for this school year 2021-2022 with adjustments that have allowed them to establish again eating, sleeping and study habits coexistence strategies in face-to-face -school.
They have also been experiencing periods of school adaptation through new routines, schedule changes, comparison of teaching styles, norms to learn in the different modalities, discovering new recreational spaces, considering the importance of assuming responsibilities to comply with what is established in carrying out their activities: in or outside the classroom, or at home; individually, or as a team.
These changes that have occurred since the first day of school will continue to be progressive and with important, necessary and relevant elements for their development, training and learning.
To continue supporting Elementary students, we share some recommendations that can promote their well-being and school adaptation:
- Continue making adjustments in routines to avoid setbacks, unnecessary imbalances and to keep your day organized, as soon as possible.
- Anticipate your children with what they will find at school, with concrete, brief and specific explanations.
- Motivate them, creating expectations of the activities they will carry out and ask them after the completion of their experiences in them.
- Show a positive attitude when saying goodbye or receiving them as an opportunity to respect the routine.
- Join their school life with patience and understanding, fostering their confidence and self-assurance.
- Provide them with spaces so that they can express their feelings in situations that arise in the school, giving them advice that will help them analyze and get to the solution from different perspectives.
- Guide them in life values with firm foundations that help them apply values and strengthen their confidence.
- Seek harmony and coherence between what is established at school and at home, favoring proximity, empathy, respect and affection before the adaptation process of our students.
- Show empathy and positive thoughts through speech, considering the needs of the school, where students in any modality will be able to show self-management when waiting their turn to speak, listen, participate and clarify doubts in all of their classes.
The more tools we provide them, the more opportunities they will have to face what is presented to them in the different stages of their development.
In Academia
By Consuelo Zamudio
At Elementary we are working with Pearson’s Interactions, language and communication, and mathematics books. This series of books is attached to the new educational model, strengthening the skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary in each grade.
In the language and communication series, students delve into the culture of six countries. In first grade, we present countries whose official language is Spanish. In second grade, they cover countries where English is spoken, and in third, French. In upper Elementary, children know different countries with a great diversity of languages. Each country is worked for two units. Fostering interculturality and promoting the understanding of differences, individual reflection, active participation and dialogue.
In mathematics, the series encourages the student to express their concepts and proposals to use them as a starting point in class (question-based learning), it is an active agent in the construction of their learning (guided and autonomous practice) in the same way, it invites the student to get involved through contextualized learning (daily life situations).
Finally, you will find a lesson dedicated to Pearson on the institutional platform, in which you will be able to access the digital resources that the publisher offers.
Dates to keep in mind
• NOVEMBER 1st & 2nd – CLASS ADJOURN
• NOVEMBER 3rd – 2nd Unit of Inquiry begins
• NOVEMBER 3rd – First Parent-teacher Conferences period begins | Date and time will be sent via email, be attentive
• NOVEMBER 12th – Administrative Discharge | No classes
• NOVEMBER 15th – CLASS ADJOURN
• NOVEMBER 23rd – 1st period grades publishing
• NOVEMBER 24th – Parents Making a Difference
• NOVEMBER 26th – CTE | No classes
