A visit from award-winning children’s book author, Kentrell Martin
Each of our Peabody classes up through 2nd grade enjoyed a very special visit this week from Mr. Kentrell Martin, author of the Shelly’s Adventures book series. In his words to the children, “In my books, my main character, Shelly, speaks a different language than most of us in this room, and it might not be one you’re familiar with. If you go to another country but keep speaking English even if the people around you aren’t familiar with it, does that make you less of a person when you are there? Does it make you weird?
“No!” the class answered in emphatic unison.
“Well, some people who aren’t able to hear or speak use a language called American Sign Language. My brother and my nephew both are unable to hear, so I learned ASL to communicate with them. But when I noticed that some people treated them differently just because they spoke a different language, I decided I wanted to help the world understand that deaf people are no different from other people. So today I'm gonna read you a book about a girl named Shelly, who herself is deaf but who teaches her friends and her readers how to “speak” her language. And you might not believe this, but as we read this book together, I promise you you're going to learn more than 25 words in American sign language.”
“Whoaa!” many gasped.
And for the next 25 minutes, Mr. Martin guided the class along a captivating journey, students enraptured by the author’s resonant voice, by Shelly’s adventure through a zoo, by the myriad new facts about animals woven into Shelly’s journey, and by the new ASL sign to learn on each page. Intermittent pointers, mnemonics, and reviews were cleverly woven into the storytime…
“If you forget the sign for ‘lion,’ think about the lion's mane.”
“OK, now are you ready for a little quiz? What is the sign for yes? How about for no? Applause?”
And lo and behold, in this way it turns out they did learn 25 words (probably more): right, wrong, maybe, good, awesome, forget, favorite, color, lion, tiger, bear, snake, monkey, fish, blue, yellow, red, rainbow, applause, thank you, see, you, later, and alligator.
While the plan for each classroom’s visit was consistent and clear, each experience was unique, adaptable, and responsive to the students’ interests, questions, and personalities. We are so grateful to Mr. Martin for sharing his talent, heart, and wisdom with us this week, and look forward to joining Shelly on her next adventure.
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"Let There be Light" Peabody Exhibit Tonight!
All are invited next Friday night to an evening of light-centered artworks illuminating the outdoors as the longest night of the year approaches. Besides being one of the best family-oriented art events in town, this PVCC-sponsored event will include an exhibit created by a cohort of Peabody’s Middle School students, who under Mr. Haske’s guidance created this contribution as part of the evening. It is an honor to be accepted to exhibit amongst local artists and a wonderful opportunity to create an immersive, interactive piece that blends art and technology.
When: Friday, December 10th TONIGHT
Time: 6:00-9:00 PM
Where: PVCC
We hope to see you there! The Peabody exhibit is truly magical!
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What’s Making in the Makerspace: A Day in the Life of ENIAC6
The new ENIAC6 Makerspace, named after the first programmable, electronic, general-purpose digital computer made in 1945, seems always to be a very busy place. In just one day, one can find 1st and 2nd graders using MIT’s Scratch programming language to design their own video games; 5th & 6th graders designing and programming their robots to either perform basic tasks or annihilate one another; 3rd & 4th graders applying their developing understanding of simple machines to scheme up elaborate chain reactions & Rube Goldberg machines; 6th graders assembling electric circuits and LED’s to create dazzling greeting cards, and 7th & 8th graders amalgamating concepts in art and technology to realize a collective vision for an upcoming art installment at PVCC’s Let There Be Light holiday exhibition. We are so grateful to the donors who helped make this special space a reality, and to Ms. Brudin and Mr. Haske for their thoughtfulness and inspiration guiding the students to learn and gain so much from the opportunity.
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Join Us for Peabody Partners in Action during the Holiday Season
We are so grateful to all the Peabody families who volunteered over the Thanksgiving Break to deliver meals to homebound families in our area. The Volunteer Manager from Meals on Wheels reached out to us afterward to share these sentiments: “I just wanted to reach out to once again thank you so much for all of the work that you did for Thanksgiving. I cannot tell you how much each volunteer helped out for that week, especially with this being my first holiday season coordinating for Meals on Wheels. You guys are amazing!”
Sunday, December 12th, 4:00-8:00 PM: (Date change): Wintersong, an evening of music, food, warm drinks, and artisanal gifts, at Rivanna River Company. Hosted by The Front Porch.
Winter Break: For anyone who will be in the area for any part of the winter break, there may be more opportunities to help deliver meals to homebound families. If you might be interested, just email [email protected] and we will explore from there.
Saturday, January 8th, 3:00-5:00 PM: Details to come!
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Annual Fund
It is not too late to participate in the Annual Fund! Your participation in the Peabody Annual Fund provides essential operating support to Peabody. Income from tuition does not cover all of our operating expenses. The generosity of our community supports almost everything that keeps Peabody running, from salaries and classroom technology to arts and supplies. Lastly, the Fund supports financial aid as we ensure that any student can share in the Peabody experience. We hope that you will support Peabody in this area and that you will keep in mind that your Annual Fund gift, of any size, really matters to the school. Let's all MAKE AN IMPACT!
Thank you in advance for your consideration of a gift to Peabody School for the 2021-22 year and for being such strong supporters of our wonderful school! Please remember to keep us in your plans for the end of tax year giving.
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Teacher Holiday Gifts
It is that time of the year again! As is our tradition in years past, the Peabody Parents Association will be coordinating group gift giving for the holidays for our Peabody Teachers & Staff. Parents who are interested in contributing to this year’s Holiday Gift collection can do so using this donation link. Please do not feel pressure to contribute. Some parents and their children choose to give individual teacher gifts. This is completely optional.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Marianne Kish ([email protected]).
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Sustainability Blip of the Week
Ocean Health December: Marine Protected Areas (MPA)
What are Marine Protected Areas?
Marine Protected Areas are bodies of water that the government puts restrictions on. They often limit human activity, such as fishing, tourism, and damage the environment. MPA’s are often done so the environment can heal/be protected.
Interesting Facts:
If Marine protected areas are all put together, the area is larger than Europe!
The percent of the world’s oceans that are under fishing restrictions is only at 1%!
Germany has the most water protected of all of Europe, having 40% of their water protected!
What Can You Do?
Help support areas that are protected around the world by donating or writing letters to the government supporting marine protected areas. One example that is good to use is Cabo Pulmo. In general, you can just support any body of water near you. The most important thing is to make sure that you clean up your own waste!
Challenge of the Week:
Have each person in your family write a letter, or collaborate on a letter, to send to the government that supports marine protected areas. Some Ideas to explore, 30 x 30 (Example Letter and ideas) and Build Back Better Act.
What People are Doing:
One example of a place that protected its marine areas was Cabo Pulmo. They protected the area because the fish were declining and after a while, there were so many more fish! Then the fish expanded out of the protected areas and they had more fish to eat that wasn’t protected!
Check out this Youtube Video to learn more about the Cabo Pulmo story!
Sources:
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Upcoming Webinar Featuring Peabody 6th Graders: Using Community Science to #MonitorWater |
On Wednesday, December 15, 2021, at 1:00 PM (ET), any interested Peabody parents are invited to join our 6th-grade scientists-in-training, Earth Echo International, and Scientist in Every Florida School for a conversation with scientist Audrey Goeckner. Led by EarthEcho Water Challenge Ambassador Faith Blackall, the webinar will dive into the importance of monitoring your local water bodies and will help you learn how our environmental science classes at Peabody are implementing water health in our curriculum. You'll have the opportunity to hear from teachers in Virginia and Florida about how they use this activity in the classroom to engage students in applied sciences and local issues.
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Panther Ball...Save the Date!
We are excited to announce that we will be hosting the Panther Ball and Silent Auction on Saturday, March 26, 2022, at the Bradbury/Vault Virginia on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall. This biennial event honors Peabody’s outstanding teachers, with all proceeds dedicated to supporting them, their professional development, and tangible classroom needs.
If you would like to make a donation or have any suggestions, please feel free to contact our event chairs Sarah Krishnaraj (parent of Priya and Nayan) or Kiran Chapman (parent of Hank). The Auction’s success relies upon donated goods, including specialized services (landscape design, personal training, tutoring); gift certificates/baskets; sports tickets or museum memberships; vacation home stays, etc.
If you are interested, please complete the Auction Donation Form and return it to the Front Office at your earliest convenience.
We will be sharing a lot more information over the coming weeks, including COVID-19 safety protocols which we will be carefully following.
Thank you in advance for your support and hope to see you there!
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Parent Information Center
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Here is a computer science winter camp opportunity offered by Squiggly, an indie game studio & EdTech startup building mixed-reality learning games for K-5 learners and was founded by amazing alumni of the University of Virginia. Please see the flyer HERE!
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We Love our Peabody Community! |
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