Dear Fourth and Fifth Grade Families,

Last week, the class started our new block on Ancient Mesopotamia, a civilization dating back about 6,000 years. Mesopotamia comes from the Greek words meso and potamia, meaning between rivers. Ancient Mesopotamia is known as the cradle of civilization and is located in the fertile land between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, mainly covering parts of modern-day Iraq and Kuwait.

On Friday, the students listened to a Mesopotamian creation story. Its story of a flood has much in common with the Hebrew creation story in the Old Testament. As the story begins with the sky god, Any, and the earth god, Enlil, we can draw parallels to other cultural myths, for example, Uranus and Gaia in the beginning of the Greek creation myth or Father Sky and Mother Earth in Native American creation stories. In the way the Waldorf Curriculum is designed, the students will be able to discover the parallels and gain a deeper understanding of various cultures as they proceed through the semester.

This week, the students will be hearing more stories from Ancient Mesopotamia. At the same time, they will learn about its climate and terrain, how people lived, and the great inventions the Mesopotamian culture brought into the world.

In grammar, the students explored conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) and quotations.

Announcements and Reminders:

Please remember winter coats and two water bottles are required daily.
The first Community Work Day of the Spring Semester is on Saturday, February 3rd, from 10:00 - 12:00. Please come if you are able, and add to your volunteer hours! Children are welcome, and there are typically both indoor and outdoor tasks available.
Please also plan to join us for the All School Meeting following the work day at 12:30. A soup lunch will be served at noon, and the meeting should be around an hour to an hour and a half long. The meeting is a grownups-only event.
Teacher Conferences are just around the corner! This Spring semester, they will be held on Thursday, February 8th (half day) and Friday, February 9th (no school). Please sign up for your child’s conference here.

Upcoming Events:

First Grade Risers Informational Meeting - TBD
2/3 Community Work Day 10 am - 12 pm
2/3 All School Meeting 12:30 pm
2/8 Half Day - Parent Conferences
2/9 No School - Parent Conferences

Warm regards,

Gaby