17: What Is Your Superpower?

 “There is a superhero inside all of us. We just need the courage to put on the cape.”

In literature, one of the most famous character archetypes is The Hero. The Hero is oftentimes the protagonist of a story, the one who rises up to the challenge and gives people hope. The Hero is often gifted with extraordinary powers, a sense of courage, and the will to do what is right. 

Everybody knows a hero, whether it’s from the books we read or the movies we watch — even the news tell stories of modern-day heroes who contribute so much to society. It’s easy to notice the qualities that make a hero in others, but the truth is, all of us have the capacity to be a hero in our own way. 

In our inquiry this week, the kindergarteners unleashed their inner heroes and learned how to save the earth, one recycled material at a time. 

To deepen the children’s understanding of the concept of recycling, we read Michael Recycle by Ellie Bethel, a story about a polluted town that is neglected by the people who live there. Through Michael Recycle’s help, the townsfolk learned how their actions affect their environment, and how they can make better choices. 

This story was the perfect invitation for the children to dress up as a superhero just like Michael Recycle, and share what superpower they have that can save the earth. 

Recycle Queen

I can recycle!

Superhero Emma

I can save the animals!

Super Rainbow

I can make rainbow flowers!

Superboy Kai

I can clean the trash!

Captain Planet

I can clean everything!

The Garbage Man

I can pick up all the garbage!

Clean Boy

I can throw away trash!

Garbage Cat

I can put things in the trash can!

Go Green Girl

I can take care of plants and trees!

Planet Lucky

I can plant!

To better understand the meaning of the word recycle, the children watched a short video that explains how recycling works, and identifies the different materials that we can use for this process. The kindergarteners learned that we can recycle paper, glass, plastic, and metal.

We then used our super abilities to help Michael Recycle save the earth by learning how to segregate -- a big new word that we learned this week. This simply means to separate the trash according to the same materials. 

Using the posters we made and some old cardboard boxes, we segregated the trash in our classroom to see how we can recycle, reuse or upcycle them for our upcoming class projects.

The most trash that we collected? Paper, just as we thought. We also have a lot of plastic bottles, which we have slowly collected for this unit.

(donations from home are still very much welcome!)

We truly can't wait to see what we can make using the trash that we segregated!

This week, the kindergarteners rose up to the challenge and their choices give us hope for a better world. While they may not have extraordinary superpowers, their small, meaningful, and sustainable actions make a big difference --  and they are, in my book, superheroes in their own right.

 

It’s true what Commisioner James Gordon said, “You’re going to make a difference. A lot of times it won’t be huge, it won’t be visible even. But it will matter just the same.” 

How about you, when did you last use your superpower?

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Your Kindergarten teacher, 
Pam

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Emergency Contact Form
We would like to ask all parents to fill out the emergency contact form by Friday, January 19th.

Three Way Conferences
We would like to invite you to sign up for the upcoming three-way conferences starting on the 29th of January to the 2nd of February. The three-way conference is an opportunity for your child to share about how they are learning, their goals, and how they plan to achieve them with the support of their teachers and parents. Your child should attend this meeting with you. To schedule your conference, kindly click on this link.

Earthquake Donations

If any families would like to help the earthquake hit communities by the Sea of Japan, our dear Emma has taken action by designing and making a donation box. 

If you would like to help, please send your cash donation in a sealed envelope with your family name written on it to school with your child next Monday, January 15th . Emma will call around each class in the morning and ask for any donation, which can then be dropped in the box.

Thank you, Emma, for this wonderful initiative!

Whole School Upcoming Events

January 2024

• 22 - 26

  Tracker Day 2 
• 25

  Assembly (K1/PreK) 

  9:00
• 26

  End of Term 1 report cards go to parents 
• 29 - 02

  3-Way Conferences