Archive for the ‘Fifth Grade’ Category

One of our 5th Grader students recently received considerable recognition for her musical accomplishments.  When she was only five years old, Jacqueline Chew launched her violin career.  She also wanted to play the piano, so a year later she began piano studies.  Her perseverance and hard work through the years enabled her to score the top mark in the United States on the 2015 violin examination of the Royal Conservatory Music Development Program.  As a result of this honor, she was invited to perform both piano and violin at the Southern California Festival of Excellence held at the University of Southern California, Newman Recital Hall!  Cheers and congratulations, Jacqueline! 

“This is the 13th year of the Fifth Grade Play,” relates Fifth Grade teacher Ms. Kimarie Lynn, “and each year this musical is very different from the others!  We specifically tailor each year’s production to the interests and talents of the students and the personality of that particular Fifth Grade class.”” 
“There are no auditions for the roles – the students pick their characters,” continues Ms. Lynn. “ Most of them have gone to the play in prior years and have already selected the roles they wish to play.  With new students, I give them a DVD of the play from last year, ask them to watch it at home, and then they choose who they wish to portray.  We make sure that there are no minor roles in this musical; every student has an opportunity in the spotlight. 
“In addition, the production itself changes each year.  Ms. Kat Banales is masterful at sprinkling into the script little bits of very current American culture or adapting the dialogue to fit a student’s desire to take on more lines.  Mr. Miller knows the students’ voices from Music Class, and he makes suggestions for solos and duets.  Ms. Deb Wilcox designs new choreography that enhances each student’s dancing talent on the stage of the Norris Theatre.  Almost every year we change the quantity of production numbers, the duration of the musical, and the number of transitions in front of the curtain.  Ms. Terry Metzenbaum handles a myriad of tasks including costumes and props, and this year Mr. Zach Lorenz joined our team and was superb in coaching and instilling within our students the very human aspect of American history.” 
“The students truly learn early American history as well as the flow or timeline of the events in that period,” Ms. Lynn relates. “ They recognize the actions that led to the consequences of that time.  Of equal importance, they become more confident in their speaking skills in front of a group, realize the importance of preparation and practice, and come to truly enjoy the entire experience.” 
“We have our Academy Awards on a day following the play, where each student sits on a stool in front of the class, and peers share positive experiences with this child that occurred during the practices and on performance night.  There are no “bests” awarded – we feel that all the students have exhibited truly outstanding work.” 
“Finally, the children write a five-paragraph reflective essay, sharing how they employed the school’s Six Character Qualities to achieve success throughout the entire production process!” 
“We’ve found that this theatrical experience has far-reaching results; alumni who return often relate that this musical is their favorite PHS memory!” 

“This is educational theater at its best!”  explains Fifth Grade teacher Ms. Kimarie Lynn, producer and director of this annual PHS show. “ The children sing, dance, and act out important moments in early American history.  When they return to PHS years later, they share with us instances in their high school history classes when they were one of the very few who remembered key points in the history of this country!” 
Thanks go to our fantastic Fifth Grade students for developing and sharing their talents in this theatrical production, as well as to the Kindergarten and Second Grade classes that will be featured in this year’s play.  We also thank the parents of our student performers who have made the necessary changes in their schedules to accommodate the students’ rehearsals and also providing snacks for the young thespians. 
Many of our very talented PHS faculty and staff assist in presenting this fabulous event.  Kudos to Language Arts Enrichment Teacher, Kat Banales, for enhancing this often-humorous script to reflect and include current American culture at an age-appropriate level as well as the crucial role of many women in the Revolutionary War period. 
The show’s inventive choreography is the creation of our own Dance and Drama Teacher, Deb Wilcox.  Music is under the direction of Music Teacher Charley Miller, and Fifth Grade’s Teacher Support, Terry Metzenbaum, oversees costumes, makeup, and props.  Zach Lorenz works with the boys in battle scenes and in the famous “Crossing of the Delaware,” and Seventh Grade Teacher Liz Lomeli designs and produces the Playbill. 
Be sure to attend this amazing event suitable for all ages!  Purchase your tickets now in the School Office, at the Norris Theatre Box Office, or online at www.norristheatre.org (under “Buy Tickets”).  See you there! 

This was Colonial Week in the Fifth Grade, as Mrs. Lynn, Ms. Terry, and Mrs. Banales engaged the children during the last five days in real-life scenarios from 17th century American history. 
This year, the students enjoyed a unique aspect of the Mayflower voyage across the Atlantic.  By coincidence, the newly purchased flipFORM risers for the Theater Arts Department came packed in very large cardboard boxes.  Mrs. Lynn immediately saw a perfect use for these packing boxes: the Fifth Graders were divided into teams of four students, and each team received two long boxes and one very tall, narrow cardboard box to construct their simulated Mayflower ship. 
“I loved the drawing and constructing!”  reported Fifth Grader Claudia. “ It was really fun to travel with my friends!” 
“I felt it was very cramped in the ship!”  observed Mark. 
“It actually was,” continued Mrs. Lynn. “ With 102 passengers on the Mayflower, it’s calculated that each person only had a 10 foot by 8 foot space.  This simulated ‘crossing the Atlantic’ project was designed to convey to the students the extremely crowded conditions for the brave colonists on their historic voyage.  As you’ve heard, our students loved the experience!” 

Every year, the Pediatric Therapy Network (PTN), selects one of its clients as Junior Ambassador.  This year’s selection is our own PHS Fifth Grader, Cameron Orr – also known as Paul Revere for his role in the Fifth Grade’s “History Comes Alive!”  musical at the Norris Theatre in March. 
Interviewed for the PTN “Milestones” newsletter, Cameron relates his feelings about his ambassadorial role, “I’m a boy who really loves to help people and kids… I am so glad to support [PTN] that helps kids.  One day I plan on helping the world.  PTN has inspired me to do that.” 
Located in Torrance, PTN is a non-profit organization that offers physical, occupational, and speech therapy to children.  PTN partners with USC and UCLA on research studies and offers informative education and training to the community. 
Noting that Cameron has amazing poise, even in front of large audiences – as we saw in the Fifth Grade musical – Cameron shares his future plans. “ I want to be a businessman and own a really good restaurant that has a lot of good types of food… I make pretty good desserts, and I like to create my own recipes.” 
Congratulations, Cameron! 

You may have seen “History Comes Alive!”  in prior years, but we know that this Fifth Grade production never stays the same!  Be sure and join us this year to experience all the marvelous and humorous changes that have so skillfully been woven into this year’s musical!  Tickets are on sale in our School Office until 3:00 pm this Monday, March 9th. ( For the following three days, up to curtain time at 6:00 pm on Thursday, March 12, tickets will be available at the Norris Theatre Box Office.)  We look forward to joining with you on Thursday evening to enjoy the marvelous talents of our Fifth Graders – and to pleasantly review some of our amazing American history! 

“Why are the children in this class sitting on their desks wearing old-fashioned clothing?”  a visitor to Peninsula Heritage School might have asked this past Monday. 
Fifth Grade teacher Mrs Kimarie Lynn, her associate teacher Mrs. Terry Metzenbaum, Language Arts Enrichment teacher Mrs. Kat Banales, and any of the Fifth Graders will quickly explain that they were crossing the Atlantic Ocean on board the sailing ship Mayflower.  This “voyage” is only one part of the week’s simulation of colonial life experienced by this class as they study early American history. 
Since the Mayflower had to carry more passengers than originally planned, the Pilgrims were very crowded onboard.  The children learn that they will have to endure terrible storms and 65 days of sailing before the ship, blown off course, lands far to the north of their original destination.  This vessel also made several false starts before actually beginning its voyage, so the freezing temperatures and snows of December greet the Pilgrims as they arrive in North America. 
Before the children leave the ship (their desks) they create a Mayflower Compact with rules to govern themselves after they disembark.  Each student signs the document with the name of an actual Mayflower voyager, using a quill pen and sealing it with wax and a stamp. 
Colonial Week continues each day for these students dressed in colonial attire, including amazing colonial science, colonial PE, even colonial Spanish, and concluding on Friday with the Trade Fair and a Colonial Breakfast.  These PHS Fifth Graders are fortunate to have lived, felt, thought, and experienced far more than can be learned from the pages of a history book!