Welcome to an Enriching and Exciting New School Year in the One and Only One-Day G.A.T.E. Scholars Program!!!
Hi, I'm Karen Girardi, and I have been teaching
in the Bakersfield City School District for 27 years. My husband and I moved here from Stockton in 1983, where I taught 4th grade for five years. I then taught 2nd and 3rd grade here in Bakersfield at Mt. Vernon Elementary for 11 years and was their Program Specialist for my final 2 years there. This is my fifteenth year teaching in the wonderful One-Day G.A.T.E. Program at Owens Primary. When not teaching, you can probably find me reading or playing with my beautiful, enchanting, 5 year old granddaughter, Emma Sky!
What goes on in One-Day G.A.T.E. ? Just keep reading!
March 2010: Students enjoyed their art project at the Bakersfield Museum of Art
January - 2010
A Sea of Ocean Foldables!
December - 2009
Our Study Trip to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California, was a hit with students, parents, and grandparents!
Two of our favorite exhibits were the Shark Touch Tanks and the Lorakeets in the Aviary!
November 2009
One week of Life Science was devoted to Botany. After learning about the names of different leaf shapes ("Details") and the ("Big Idea") of Photosynthesis, students collected leaves and made leaf print art in autumn colors. They followed their art project with a different type of composition: Haiku poetry.
February, 2009
Students enjoyed our out of town study trip to Chaffee Zoo and the Fresno Metropolitan Museum!
September - 2008
ECOSYSTEMS: LANGUAGE OF THE DISCIPLINE
We have been studying all about the six key elements of our Ecosystem. Here, students are investigating the "abiotic" element of temperature, as they discover changes in temperature in different locations on the campus; observing a variety of consumers in their different habitats, and writing group observations on their data sheets.
Our students have also been busy researching the diversity of plant and animal life in the different biomes of the world:
October, 2008
We went to Hart Park one day to study its special ecosystem. Students tested the water's pH level at the pond and river, checked the "turbidity" of the pond, and observed and took notes of the different plant and animal life in different areas of the park. Students were able to see and discuss how the biotic elements of an ecosystem are interdependent.
SEPTEMBER-2007
"Apples and Oceans"
Students are engaged in finding out just how much of the Earth is habitable land and how much is productive coastal zone by using an apple as a model of Earth; then create a circle graph to illustrate their findings.
OCTOBER-2007
Students learn about the amazing artist, Georges Seurat, who developed "Pointillism", then work patiently to apply this technique to their own artisitic creation. Students also discuss which concepts of Depth and Complexity are relevant to each artist they study. These paintings will be a part of an art collection, which will be on display at the G.A.T.E. Fair in May, 2008.
Study Trip !
Our One-Day G.A.T.E. students enjoyed their visit to the Bakersfield Art Museum the week of October 22 -26. While there they toured the current exhibits, which included the Renaissance and Baroque periods, then were able to participate in an art lesson.
Learning about Henri Matisse
Students work in cooperative groups to research the artist, Heni Matisse.
Students work together on a "teaching" poster about Matisse from information they gathered during their research.
Students present their findings about Matisse to the class and work on their public speaking skills.
November-2007
As we come to the end of our Oceanography study, students switch gears. Instead of being scientists today, students looked at sea creatures from a different perspective and became Food Critics for a day. They tasted bits of seafood including crab, shrimp, tuna and seaweed, then rated each on taste, texture, looks and smell, using a scale of 1 - 4 STARFISH. Students were divided on their favorites but everyone had a great time!
See more pictures on the Food Critics link!
Samples from 2006-2007
BIOMES & BOTANY
Our students have been increasing their knowledge of desert, rainforest, arctic, river, grassland and wetland biomes this quarter. They've each become an "expert" in one of these areas and reported their findings to the rest of the class. Among several experiments we have completed in class was one in which students looked at three different types of soil and their capacity to hold water. A more recent study had the children"reading plants". They learned how to tell which leaf shape adapts better to which biome, such as deserts and rainforests, and why.
Some examples of our Language of the Discipline this quarter are: ecosystem, biology, adaptation, saturation, chlorophyll, stoma, transpiration, carbon dioxide.
**
CENTERS !!!
We're into our second quarter now and everyone is enjoying the new "Centers" activities. Students are able to choose one specialized center per week. Their choices include Art, Drama, Entomology, Creative Writing, Ecosystem Webs, Espanol, "Creativity" & JigSaw Puzzle. Students have to work independently for approximately two hours, which includes reading and following directions, staying focused and on-task in order to finish their project on time, then completing a self-evaluation. Projects are shared with the class, then taken home. More Centers will be added after the Christmas break.
Spanish Fun & Games
The Clothing Game: A race to see who can get dressed the quickest in clothing named in Spanish!
Trying to get dressed is difficult when you're laughing so hard!
Singing songs in Spanish can sure be fun!
Welcome Back to School!
Important Announcements and Dates:
August 30 - September 3: First week of One-Day G.A.T.E.
September 6: Labor Day
Week of Sept. 6: Please return all emergency cards and papers with signatures!!!