Principal's Newsletter Upcoming Dates

RCC registration—3/18 & 3/19

You Make a Difference—3/22,

7:15 AM

RKA Talent Show—3/23, 2:00 PM

School day PSAT—3/26

School day SAT—3/27

RCC Youth Expo—3/27, 6:15 PM

Parent/Teacher Conferences

—3/28

RKA Spirit Day—3/29

RKA Parents’ Associating mtg—4/1,

7:00 PM

NYS ELA exam—4/2 & 4/3

District 10 Parent Symposium (at In-

Tech Academy)—4/6, 8:30-2:30 PM

RKA Color Run—4/13,

Senior Spirit Week—4/15-4/18

Spring Recess—4/19-4/26

RCC 3rd session starts—4/29

NYS Math exam—5/1-5/2

End of Marking Period 1—5/3

RCC Teen Theater—5/3 & 5/4,

7:30 PM

RKA Roar Film Festival—5/18,

2:00 PM

STUDENT-LED

CONFERENCES

THURSDAY, MAY 16TH

5:30-8:00 pm

ALL PARENTS INVITED!

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Thurs, March 28th

1:00-3:00

5:30-8:00

Half-day of classes!

School-Day PSAT

Tuesday, March 26th

Grade 10

School-Day SAT

Wednesday, March 27th

Grade 11

Each grade will enter though the doors next to the Boys’ Locker Room on these days….PROMPTLY!

Everyone MUST bring their own calculator! The school is not permitted to hand out calculators for

these tests! Please remember your pen and (non-mechanical) pencils!

Please get a good night’s sleep and eat a good breakfast.

Good Luck! Grades 6, 7, & 8

ELA

4/2 & 4/3

MATH

5/1 & 5/2

Hello, Everyone!

Here we are, almost halfway through the second semester! Where does the time go?

March is a long month, and we’ve been keeping very busy. Our March Into Reading initiative continues, and soon we will be announcing the class winners

and individual winners for who’s read the most books. We expanded the program to include parents this year, and I’d like to thank all of you who took part.

Juniors and Seniors will be taking the School-Day PSAT and SAT, respectively, on March 26th and 27th. It is important for students to arrive on time (see below) and well-rested. The PSAT is an important first step in preparing for the SAT, and as we all know, doing well on the SAT is an important part of college admissions. We encourage our students to take the SAT more than once, as then their “super score” (taking the highest marks from each test) can be applied to their college apps. We are working harder than ever with the Dep’t of Ed’s College Access for All, and the One Goal program, to prepare our

students for college.

Save the date of May 16th for Student-Led Conferences. We are trying something different this year. In the weeks to come, you will receive an invitation from your child. On the big night, you will visit two of your child’s classes with him/her, and get to review one-on-one their student work portfolio. Each teacher will help to “moderate” the visits. Through this process, we hope students will develop ownership of their learning, and take pride in their success-es as they also identify areas they can do even better. They will share with you what excites them about school and what they hope to accomplish by the

year’s end. Please make it a point to join us.

Lastly, the New York State Exams are coming up for students in grades 6 through 8. The ELA Exam is on April 2nd and 3rd, and the Math Exam is on May 1st and 2nd. It is ultra-important on these days especially, that students get a good night’s sleep, eat a good breakfast, and come to school on-time and

prepared. We want everyone to be able to do their best.

Thanks, as always, for being an active partner with us in our students’ education! Lori O’Mara

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sixth grade family newsletter

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Restorative Circles

Recently, we have been discussing submissive, assertive, and aggressive behaviors through role-playing, “I Am” poems, socioeconomic maps, and quadrants of arms. With these, our classes were asked to write down their communities, relationships, and traits that are valuable to them, allowing them a deeper understanding of what principles are significant to them. Furthermore, our students are beginning to understand the main differences among submissive, assertive, and aggressive behaviors, and are practicing assertive behaviors, language, and actions in each circle.

ELA

Students have been writing letters and creating signs welcoming immigrants into the United States in the style of the Emma Laza-rus poem, The New Colossus. They recently read stories about immigrants, and considered the trials, tribulations, and excitement of being an immigrant to the United States. We encourage you to talk to your child about what they read. We look forward to your taking a look at their projects, which will be on display at Parent/Teacher Conferences on March 28th.

Science

Students have just recently finished writing essays examining their preference for either fossil fuels or nuclear energy along with a discussion of alternatives forms of energy. Moving forward, we will be focusing on Ecology. This unit will include a performance task where students will explore how changes in population sizes of one species can affect the populations of other species. Part of the performance task will involve a game where students will model changing populations of wolves, deer, and plants in an ecosystem from one year to the next. We will examine how changes in each of the populations affects the other two.

Literature

Many of our students have been reading Walk Two Moons, a story about a thirteen-year-old girl on a road trip with her grandparents across the country to see her mother. Students have also been working on elaborating their written answers with textual evidence and longer ex-planations. While other classes have been

learning similar concepts, they are reading The Outsiders. Don’t forget this month at each of the Literature classes in the middle school are competing in our March Into Reading con-test. Students (and parents!) can log their independent read-ing books using the link on the RKA website. Please encourage your child to participate! Social Studies

The last few weeks have been an enriching period where students learned about religions and belief systems in the ancient world. Students learned about five different religions, including the Hindu religions—which is one of the oldest in the world—and Confucianism, with its emphasis on the family. Students will continue their explorations of ancient civilizations in a unit entitled: “Comparative Classic Civilizations in the Eastern Hemisphere.” The opera-tive word is “classic;” the civilizations will include China, Greece, and Rome, and special focus will be on the Golden Age of each civilization. Students will come to understand how and why some of these civilizations’ achievements were lasting contribu-tions to the present day.

Mathematics

Students are learning about expressions and equations. They are learning to use the new mathematical terms. They are representing collections of equivalent ratios as equations and make connections between tables, graphs, and linear equations they represent the same relationship. Every home-work includes review questions— make sure that we are completing all questions and reviewing every day. Please read the "Lesson Summary" before completing the home-work questions to help reinforce the material learned in class. This also provides absent students the opportunity to complete and receive full credit for homework. Find home-work answers on Google Classroom, and use it to check and correct work. These practice problems are an excellent re-view when studying for exams. Please feel free to reach out if you are having difficulty accessing grades on Pupil-Path. Next up: rational numbers.

Math Through Technology

Students will begin working on expressions and equations in Unit 6. They will explore how variables can be used to represent nu-merical values.

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seventh grade family newsletter

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ELA

Students have been hard at work preparing for the New York State ELA Exam. Prior to this, they were engaged in a unit on the Civil Rights Movement, Democracy, and Black History Month. Afterward, they will be writing a compare/contrast essay on the texts they have read throughout this unit. After the state exam, Mr. Schiller’s ELA classes will take part in their second theater project of the school year, which will involve a visiting guest artist and also a trip to see Frozen on Broadway. After this, they will engage in a novel study.

Literature

We are deep into the young adult classic novel, Fever 1793, by Laurie Halse Anderson. It is historical fiction following a young girl and her family from Philadelphia as they try to deal with and survive a deadly outbreak of Yellow Fever. The young protagonist, Mattie, has survived the disease, but upon her return to that ravaged city, loses her grandfather and is forced to survive on her own. Tutoring is always available every Tuesday after school. The book reports for this marking period are: 4/10 and 5/2.

Social Studies

Seventh graders continue to build on their now very strong American History background. Students are bridging from understanding to applying Constitution-al principles. Chronologically, we are making our way to “Westward Expansion.” In addition to content, advancing skills support preparation for eighth grade; both speaking and listening skills and essay writing continue to advance student growth. We hope to speak more about eighth grade readiness as we prepare for our upcoming Parent/Teacher Conferences on March 28th and our Student-Led Conferences

Mathematics

In the last section of Unit 6, students are working with equivalent linear expressions and using properties of operations to explain equivalence. They are also representing expressions with area diagrams and using the distributive property to justify factoring or expanding an expression. They have taken their end-of-unit exam to close out this unit. We will postpone Unit 7 until after the New York State Math Exam and go straight into Unit 8 now, which focuses on probability and sampling.

Math Through Technology

We are starting to "spiral" back and work on prob-lems in topics that the students have learned in the past. This will act as a review to prepare them for the New York State Math test on May 1st and 2nd. and eventually their finals in June.

Spanish

We are working on Unidad 3, of the Level 1 Avancemos program, focusing on the culture and communication using Spanish in Puerto Rico. It practices reading, writing, listening, and speaking, and introduces students to culture typical of Puerto Rico. Through completing the activities, students will employ critical thinking skills as they compare the language and culture of Puerto Rico with that of their own community. They will connect to other academic subjects, using their knowledge of Spanish to access new information. They are learning to discuss food and beverages, dates, months, family members, question words, and numbers from 200 to 1,000,000. They are also learning grammar— the verb tener (to have), the verb hacer (to make or to do), and present tense –er and –ir verbs.

Science

Students have just completed a fascinating Geology unit where, among other things, they compared the Rock Cycle to the process of recycling aluminum. They recently finished studying about fossils. Now, the class will move onto

studying the Earth’s interior and all about the movements of tectonic plates. Currently, they’re working on a classroom lab. They are learning to identify minerals based on their properties. Please remember to keep up with your

child’s progress (in all subjects) on Pupil Path.

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eighth grade family newsletter

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Social Studies

As we enter the new marking period, eighth graders continue to build on their American His-tory timeline toward World War II and the Post-War Era. In addition to content, we are ad-vancing our skills to support high school readiness. Daily application of speaking and listening skills, as well as re-search-based essay writing, continue to advance student growth. We hope to speak more about the transition from middle school to high school as we prepare for both Parent/Teacher Conferences and Stu-dent-Led Conferences.

Algebra

Students are wrapping up their unit on quadratic functions, where they learned to use graphs, algebraic rep-resentations, and their graphing cal-culators to find the x-intercepts of the functions. We are moving into the last and final unit of the year, Statistics. This will leave us plenty of time to dig deeper into the material and prepare for the Regents exam. Don’t forget, there’s tutoring every Tuesday after school.

Spanish

Students have finished creating an ad to sell a house in Ecuador. We will continue our work on Unidad 5, lesson 2 of the Level 1 Avancemos program, focusing on the culture and communication using Spanish in Ecuador. Students are learing to plan a party, talk about chores and re-sponsibilities, tell someone what to do, and say what they just did. We are learing the verbs decir, venir, irregular yo form verbs, affirmative tu commands, and acabar de + infini-tive. Through completing the activi-ties, students will employ critical thinking skills as they compare the language and culture of Ecuador with that of their own community.

Mathematics

Our mathematicians completed a short unit on statistics, concen-trating on displaying different sets of data. Our main focus was scatterplots, then we shifted to two-way tables. The next unit will cov-er comparing and calculating very large and very small numbers using scientific notation.

Math Through Technology

Students have been receiving extra sup-ports to what they have been com-pleting in their Core Math classes. Math Through Tech classes have been echoing the math curriculum using the online platform classes. These activities help students delve deeper into those math concepts.

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ELA

We have successfully finished our debates. Everyone performed excep-tionally well. The speeches were carefully researched, edited to fit the three-minute or ninety-second timeframe, and artfully delivered. If your child did not read his/her speech to you, please ask to hear it. We are now starting our poetry unit. We are working to achieve a sense of the development and history of poetry, and also an in-depth knowledge of particular poets and poems. Students are welcome every Tuesday after school for tutoring. The book reports for this marking period are 4/10 and 5/1.

Literature

We have just finished the the young adult classic, Monster, by Walter Dean Myers. We will next read an award-winning graphic novel by Vera Brosgol, Anya’s Ghost. The story concerns Anya, a young teenage immigrant from Russia, who has difficulties finding friends and fitting in. She frequently cuts class to go smoke with a friend or avoid tests. Once day, while cutting class, she falls into an abandoned well and finds the skeleton and ghost of Emily, who died in the well 100 years earlier. It is an exciting combination of coming-of-age and ghost story. Students will analyze the work as a work of literature expressed in graphic terms. For example, they will analyze how particular lines of dia-logue or incidents in a story propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision, and how the illustrations con-vey or add to this. Walk-in tutoring is available for students every Tuesday after school. Book report dates are 4/11 and 5/1.

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eighth grade family newsletter

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Living Environment

Some of the questions to be asked in the upcoming unit on comparative reproduction will be: “Why do organisms have different types of reproductive strategies? How can comparing reproductive strategies provide us with evidence for the evolution of all life? In this unit, we will study various forms of reproduction, including mitosis, meiosis, fertilization, and various forms of asexual reproduction.

Science

Students are studying evolution, and adaptations over time, answering questions like: “Where do humans come from?” and “How have humans evolved?” next, they will discover the use of technology and advances science has made to increase our awareness of the unknown; technology such as satellites that are used to record events in space, and to help guide you and your family on road trips. Never before have we had the advantages we have today. From cars that can park themselves to hover trains that use the energy of magnetic-electricity, we are watching our imaginations come to life!

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English Language Arts High

School

Family

Newsletter

College Prep

This marking period, we read The Hate U Give, a realistic novel by Angie Thomas, which centers on the theme of hope as the female protagonist becomes politicized after her childhood friend is shot before her eyes by police. Students taught chapters of the book to each other in class, and connected it to real-worls events. They will also prepare a visual research project and write a thematic essay. We have been writing poetry and will attend a professional poetry slam in Brooklyn, as well as participate in our own RKA Poetry Slam in April. Following this novel, we will begin a classic novel about anoth-er teenage, J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye.

Grade 10

Students are exploring the Realist movement in literature by reading A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams. While reading this text, we will review the conventions of drama—especially dialogue, monologue, stage directions, and inflec-tion of voice. Students will read aloud and act out scenes on a daily basis to keep them engaged. We will also focus on how a playwright uses literary themes centered around isolation, lost youth, and one’s inability to accept reality.

9th grade

ELA is all about Shakespeare right now! To prepare for our unit, we first explored Shake-speare’s use of language and its impact on English. Next, we devel-oped original skits using “Shakespeare-ese,” and performed them. Now we are in the middle of reading, and performing, one of Western Literature’s most famous plays: Romeo & Juliet.

Grade 11

Students are reading The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas. So far, they have researched and given presentations about some real-life events that inspired Thomas to write her novel. As we continue with the book, students will teach assigned chapters to the class. The goal is to make each student an “expert” on one chapter, and to be comfort-able articulating their analysis in front of their peers. Our last activity will be to write about how society should respond to issues relating to race relations in America.

AP Literature and Composition

The class is engaged in a comparative study of Shakespeare’s trage-dy, King Lear. Students acted out the play in class and will then write essays on the Fool’s Soliloquy from King Lear. They will attend a Broadway production of the play in May. To explore versions of the story told in different formats, students also read the realistic novel A Thousand Acres, by Jane Smiley, set in 1970’s in the Midwest, and will view Run, by Akira Kurosawa, and epic re-telling of the Lear story set in feudal Japan. Next in our reading lineup is The Mayor of Casterbridge, by Thomas Hardy.

Senior Bethelihem Gebresilasie (AKA “Beth G”) has been accepted to the prestigious Moth “Story Slam” Team! Read more about this city-wide program at Themoth.org.

AP Language and Composition

We are wrapping up our intro into Black Lit, and will soon complete Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me. Coates makes many illusions within the book, and we have made a point of reading the poetry that he refers to, including Robert Hayden’s narrative poem about the slave trade, The Middle Passage, Richard Wright’s poem with the same name as the book, and short poems by Sonya Sanchez and Amiri Baraka. Students wrote their own poems from the unit, “Inspired By…” We are now working on an I-Search research essays on a topics each student selected from allusions made by Coates in his book.

Grade 12

Seniors have finished their Short Story unit, where they’ve studied a variety of short stories and poems and written their own stories. Next, they will have the chance to take control of the classroom in the “Flipped Classroom” unit. They will study The Life of Pi and teach the book to each other, allowing them to focus on aspects of the novel they find compelling and to take control over their learning. Pairs of students will be responsible for teaching one lesson to their classmates.

Film Studies

Students are working in groups on their feature films, which will be submitted to the RKA Roar Film Festival in May. These films are entirely student-made—from the script to the acting to the filming to the editing. This project is a culmination of our entire year so far from learning about shots, to watching films, to writing short scripts.

Mathematics High

School

Family

Newsletter Statistics

Students recently finished the unit covering discrete probability distribu-tions and a project analyzing binomial distributions with statistics related to the number of hits Derek Jeter gets in a game. There was recently an exam covering various probability distribu-tions, including bino-mial distributions, geometric distributions, and poisson distributions. In the next unit, students will learn about normal distri-butions and standard normal curve.

AP Calculus AB

Students have completed the ninth unit of the course, which covered separable differential equations and the net change theorem. They re-cently completed a project related to estimating the area under a curve with various estimation methods. In the next and last unit, we will cover areas between curves, volumes of solids of revolution, and volumes of solids by cross-sections.

Algebra 1

Students are working on a unit called “Fireworks.” This focuses on quad-ratic functions and quadratic equations. Students will use their calculators more than they have in previous units. They have started to realize the importance of having a graphing calculator, since they are used in every class, and it is needed to complete homework assignments and exams. Students will continue to work on “Problems of the Week.”

Geometry We have covered isometric transformations (reflections, rotations, and transitions). Students have developed rules for each of these, finding generalizations for all cases of the transformations. We recently completed a fourth POW, where we explored the patterns that exist when you hit a pool ball at a 45-degree angle. Students had to experiment through trial-and-error with pool tables of various dimensions. This work will be going into student portfolio folders. Next up, we will cover dilations, coordinate geometry, and composition of transformations.

Precalculus

In Precalculus we have continued our study of limits. We have also begun our investigation into calcu-lating Average Rate of Change and Instantaneous Rate of Change. We started by thinking about how things like average heart rate can change over time. This has led us to examine nonlinear functions and calculate a rate of change around some interval. We have examined this connection to veloc-ity and distance.

Social Studies

High

School

Family

Newsletter Global History 9

Students have just finished an intensive unit on Ancient Rome. They learned the fascinating history of how Rome developed from a small Italian city-state into a global empire. Furthermore, students learned about historical figures, includ-ing: Julius Caesar, Brutus, Pompey, Octavian, Cicero, Mark Antony, Cleopatra, and the First and Second Triumverates. During this unit, students read primary sources on the Punic Wars, Julius Caesar’s assassination, and Caesar Augus-tus’ (formerly Octavian) rule. They were introduced to “Constructive Respons-es,” which are a new style of question that will be given on the 2019 Global regents. These questions require students to analyze the historical context, point of view, bias, purpose, and finally to identify a turning point and how this turning point was a significant moment in history.

Global History 10

Students are in the middle of a unit entitled, “The World Between the Wars/World War II.” Class work and homework assignments have focused on: economic policies in the USSR, the Great Depression, the rise of nationalism in the Middle East, the rise of totalitarian regimes, Axis aggression leading to World War II, and the effects of World War II. They are considering thought-provoking questions like, 1) Are extreme actions by leaders to achieve national golas ever justi-fied? 2) What would it be like to live under totalitarian rule? 3) Did President Truman make the correct deci-sion in dropping the atomic bombs? 4) Should the use of atomic bombs been considered a war crime? As assessments for the unit, students will take a multiple-choice test and will write an “Enduring Issues” essay.

AP U.S. History

We have wrapped up our seventh unit of study with an in-class essay on Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency and a 40-question multiple choice test. We have just two more units after this, which will cover post-World War II. Students will complete a substantial review project over the Spring Break. The national AP Exam is right around the corner—Friday, May 10th!

U.S. History

We finished the first marking period of the new semester with a unit on the Progressive Movement, as students wrote a DBQ essay on the extent to which reformers were able to fix the problems that had developed during Industriali-zation. We are about to start our unit on World War I, the 1920’s, and the Great Depression and the New Deal. Our DBQ for the next marking period will examine the effects of World War II and the early Cold War, or the U.S. home front.

Participation in Government

We just completed our first project on persuasive political speeches about different forms of govern-ment. Students previously submitted their first research paper on a controversial political issue. Now we will be completing our study of the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, Federalism, and public policy issues in the United States. We will conduct class-wide debates on a variety of topics. And write a second public policy paper on an important issue in American Government. Class discussions on current events in American politics is ongoing.

Science High

School

Family

Newsletter

Physics

Classes are running on electric this month! The topic of study is all about electricity, which includes electric fields, static shocks, circuitry, and even a little about magnets. This unit sets up our students to construct a small electric vehicle. A strong understanding of circuitry will help them to build the fastest car. The race is on!

Chemistry

Sour candy and soap are some of the topics being studied in the RKA Chemistry classes. Sour candy is coated in a weak acid to give it that sour zing, and soaps and most cleaning products are just chemical bases in disguise. Students will be responsible for solving a mystery involving acids and bases to determine what kind of poison was used in an attempted (fictional) assassination , and how best to neutralize that poi-son. Hopefully our young scientists are up to the challenge!

Earth Science

We are learning about the importance of Earth’s surface processes on our planet. Earth’s surface is the arena for most life and human activity, yet what lies beneath our feet is as mysterious as it is familiar. We recognize hills, mountains, glaciers, deserts, rivers, wetlands, and shorelines as part of our dynamic landscape. If a good deal of rain falls, floods may occur; if a storm strikes the coast, the beach may erode, if we are careless with our soil, we may damage or even lose it. These ideas are well-known, but with just a few ques-tions we arrive at the edge of our knowledge and face gaps that matter to our safety, our food and water security, the infrastructure of roads and river navigation, and the survival and diversity of ecosys-tems and services they provide. These are

AP Biology

We recently completed units on heredity and molecular genetics. Dur-ing this topic, students investigated Mendelian genetics, explored the history of DNA’s discovery, and looked at the relationship between genes and traits. We are presently studying evolution and the diversity of life. In these units, students will explore the mechanism for evolution, speciation, and the origins of life.

Research

We recently finished the balsa bridge challenge. Students were asked to research, design, and build the lightest and strongest truss bridge. The winning bridge was only 19.3 grams, and held over 5,100 grams! Now, students a creating magnetic levitation trains.

Human Biology

We recently completed a unit on the muscular system. Students explored the anatomy (structure) and physiology (function) of all major muscles. Now, we are studying the nervous system.

Psychology

In Psychology, we are learning about child devel-opment. We just finished discussing pregnancy, and we are now learning about the experiments/theories of Piaget, Harlow, Erikson and Kohlberg.

Spanish High

School

Family

Newsletter

Spanish I

We have begun Unidad 3, of the Level 1 Avancemos program, focusing on culture and real-life communication using Spanish in Puerto Rico. It practices reading, writing, listening, and speaking, and introduces students to culture typical of Puerto Rico. Through completing the activities, students will employ critical thinking skills as they compare the language and culture of Puerto Rico with that of their own community. Students are learning to discuss foods and beverages, dates, months, family members, numbers from 200, 1,000,000 and question words. They are learning about grammar—the verb tener (to have), bacer (to make or to do), forming questions with interrogative words, and present tense –er and –ir verbs.

Spanish II

We have begun Unidad 2, of the Level 2 Avancemos program, focusing on culture and real-life communication using Spanish in Argentina. It practices reading, writing, listening, and speaking, and introduces students to culture typical of Argentina. Through completing the activities, students will employ critical thinking skills as they compare the language and culture of Argentina with that of their own community. Students are learning to discuss sporting events and athletes and ways to stay healthy. They are learning to point out specific people and things, retell events from the past, discuss their daily rou-tine, and clarify sequences of events. They are learning about grammar—adverbs with –mente, preterite of –er and –ir verbs, demonstrative adjectives and pronouns, pensar + infinitive, reflexive verbs, and the present progressive.

Spanish Regents

This month, we are covering “La Ninez.” Students will learn to talk about past events using the preterite and the imperfect; specifi-cally, they will be able to discuss in detail their childhood. We will learn now vocabulary related to the topic; it is important, since it is used on a day-to-day basis in “real life.” Please encourage your child to study and to speak in the target language as much as possible.

AP Spanish Language

This month, we are covering health. Students are learning new vocabulary related to the topic, and also the perfect and present perfect tenses. They will be required to write three 250-word essays, and to do various oral presentations in class. Please encourage your child to study and to speak in the target language as much as possible.

Physical Education High

School

Family

Newsletter The Phys Ed Department had a very busy February!

We concluded our Volleyball unit, and started a unit

in Soccer. Fitnessgram testing in all grades continues.

We had a very competitive (and fun!) Volleyball game

where parents faced RKA students and staff.

With the weather starting to warm up, we hope to move

our classes outside soon. We’ll be doing a

number of different things between now and the end

of the school year. Stay tuned!

RKA

Yes! You MUST come to Phys Ed class prepared!

This means sneakers, and an RKA hoodie or t-shirt!

Your grade depends on it!

Middle School Health

Students are being taught the importance of good nutrition. Eating right is the foundation of a healthy lifestyle. Maintain-ing a healty weight and avoiding obesity is the single most important thing a person can do to avoid Cancer, Diabetes, and Heart Disease. And we all need to get our exercise, too!

High School Health

Students are studying mental and emotional health. In a recent debate project in class, they argued “Does music cause violence, or vice versa?” High school students are also touching on the topic of nutrition,. They will be bringing healthy foods into class, and soon will be taking part in a walking challenge!

Ms. Emsworth’s Visual Art

Sixth grade students have been working on collage and mixed media; they are currently creating mosaics. In the seventh grade, students have been painting—currently creating Pop Art using onomatopoeia. Eighth graders are also painting,

beginning with a color wheel that focuses on hue, tint, and shade. In High School, we have been working on a mixed-media unit. Students created paper mache masks

and are currently creating collage animals, focusing on texture and color.

Ms. Emsworth’s student, Lydia Dufour, had her work, Beloved Deception, selected to be displayed in the fifth annual Bronx Borough Visual Arts Festival! The grand opening is a the Lehman College Art Gallery on May 17th!

Congratulations, Lydia!

Ms. Kaminski’s Visual Art

In AP Studio Art, the second marking period of this semester is actually the last oppor-tunity for students to create work for their portfolio. The completion and submission of their work is the exam for AP Art, which takes place during the first full week in May. The final submission date is Friday, May 9th. Ask your kids to show you the work they’ve been compiling on google drive. It’s quite amazing. The Introduction to Ceramics class is getting ready to celebrate spring with a tea party. Not just any tea party though—we’ll be using the teapots and cups that have been invented, designed and created by each class member! Painting Through History has been a whirlwind exploration of style, music, and self. As students become more proficient and confi-dent with the painting process, we’ll explore even bigger ideas on larger canvas-es. Next up: Dreamscapes, Using Text in Paintings (as opposed to sign making) and Painting a Social Commentary piece.

Design a Bookmark for

Women’s

History

Month Theme:

“Nevertheless, she persisted.”

Design a bookmark that honors

a woman or women in history

who fought discrimination.

Deadline for submission:

March 29th

See Ms. Loving in the library for

full details!

Ms. Loving and the Identity-based Africana Understandings Club will be studying Tap Dancing History, and Africa’s influence on the art form.

The Nicholas Brothers

The GSA continues their

fundraising sale of rainbow

slickers and ribbons in the

RKA library.

Please support them!

Ms. Castiner’s Music

Sixth and seventh grade Band students have started class folders and begun learning music for the Spring Arts Festival on Thurs day, May 23rd. Con-cert attire is white shirt/black bottom. Young men should wear a tie of any color. Eighth graders have been working on listening skills and ear training. Their most recent pro-ject we to figure out by ear, and then write their part to the beginning of the song, Happy. Weekly home practice logs are ten percent of Band grades, showing they are working toward becoming more efficient at reading notes/

rhythms, developing speed when changing note to note, and building a strong embouchure to reach the higher notes of their range. The High School Guitar Classes got to break into groups of their own choosing to put together their own “band.” They chose band names, band songs, and then worked together to perform as a group for the class. The class will also be performing on May 23rd.

RKA Spring Arts Festival Vocal—May 21st

Instrumental—May 23rd

7:00 PM

Mr. Salinas’ Music

Our young vocalists have been working very hard on their pieces that we look forward to bringing to an enthusiastic audience at the Spring Arts Festival in May!

Mr. Klein’s Art

Students continue to learn about layout, composition, texture, form, and dimen-sion through mulit0media: watercolor, marker, pastel, collage, and pencil. Projects have included: Auto-Biography, Master Parody, Cityscapes, Imaginary Beasts, Ob-jects as Letters, Analogous Sneaker Design, Album Cover Design, and Ethnic Recipe Books.