2018 has passed, 2019 is ready for NVA.

“‘I wear the chain I forged in life,’ replied the Ghost.  ‘I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on with my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it.  Is it’s pattern strange to you?...Or would you know,’ pursued the Ghost, ‘the weight and length of the strong coil you bear yourself?  It was full as heavy and as long as this seven Christmas Eves ago.  You have labored on it since.  It is a ponderous chain!” - A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

North Valley Academy wishes you and your families a warm and joyous Christmas season!  Go look at Christmas lights, play games, sing Christmas carols...but most of all, spend quality time together and enjoy your families!  As 5th grade English is studying A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, I am reminded solemnly of the fact that children learn a tremendous amount from those in their sphere of influence.  The old adage of “Do and I say, not as I do,” rings in our ears but is unrealistic.  Children learn to value the things we value by watching what we allow to control our lives.  Like old Jacob Marley and Ebenezer Scrooge in this classic Dickens novel, we forge our own chains out of the things we allow to shape our days, things that many times hold us back from being our best self, things our children see and learn from, eventually forging their own chains.  In a symbolism activity we did, students anonymously added to our classroom chain things that hold back either themselves, or someone they love, from being the best, joy-filled person they can be.  Can I just say, Wow!  Children are so observant and understand more than we sometimes give them credit for.  Some of the items on our chain include:  fear, jealousy, smoking, video games, cell phones, social media, addictions to shopping, vaping, stress, selfishness, drinking too much alcohol, always working, being a workaholic and missing out on all the fun in life, and my mom works so hard she isn’t herself.  The top three responses had something to do with addiction to alcohol/smoking, working too much, and electronic devices.  Friends, colleagues, and parents, in the Spirit of Christmas, let us remember that love and family are so very much more important than all these other things!  Like Ebenezer Scrooge, let us endeavor to change our perspectives and lead by example, showing our children what really matters most!





Mrs. Stephenson’s English classes are all about reading!! 

Thank you to the Idaho Lottery for providing our classroom with books to support our Battle of the Books program this year!!  Your support of reading and our school is appreciated!!

Earlier in November, in the spirit of giving and in celebration of National Young Readers Week, Mrs. Stephenson’s 5th grade English class spent time in Mr. William’s 2nd grade classroom.  For this service project, each 5th grader was paired with a second grade student to buddy read for an hour.  Our students read Diary of Greg Heffley’s Best Friend, by Jeff Kinney, and after reading together, 5th grade presented a copy of the book to each 2nd grade student to keep.





Mrs. Stephenson’s 6th grade English has been studying Greek Mythology and is just finishing reading The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan.  Students have been learning to compare informational texts about mythology with this literary work based on common themes.  We are also studying how the hero of this novel follows, like many other stories, “The Hero’s Journey.”  Students have worked hard on making connections between texts and learning to write literary analysis! 




From all of us at North Valley Academy, have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!  We’ll see you back in January!

Feel the Music - North Valley Academy Orchestra Playing up a Storm

William Shakespeare wrote in Twelfth Night, “If music be the food of love, play on; Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die. That strain again! it had a dying fall: O! it came o'er my ear like the sweet sound That breathes upon a bank of violets, Stealing and giving odour.”  Music is not only beautiful to the ears, it gives our heart voice and it provides balance in a world that might otherwise seem crazy and unsettled.  North Valley Academy is extremely proud of our Strings Program taught by Mrs. Danielle Winton.  Recently, eight NVA strings students participated in a two-day honor clinic, a wonderful opportunity.  The honor clinic gave our students the opportunity to work with a special clinician, meet other strings students from around our district, and perform.  NVA was one of eight schools to participate.

Our Strings Orchestra Concerts and elementary classroom programs are coming up in early December at NVA.  4th-6th grade will perform on December 11, 2018, and our Advanced high school students will perform on December 13, 2018.  Both concerts will be from 6:30-8:00 p.m. in NVA’s cafeteria.  Please join us as we celebrate the joy of music and pass on that wonderful tradition to our children.

Please enjoy these photos of our students at the honor clinic.

   

Buzz Buzz Buzz

North Valley Academy Started school off with a BUZZ

Buzzz…..it’s a fly, no it’s a mosquito, [sting]......Ouch, it’s a wasp!  Wasp stings are so painful and seem to take forever to heal.  At NVA, our wasps won’t sting you, but they are sure to bring a smile to your face!  Mr. Williams, the newest member of our amazing teaching team, has joined North Valley Academy this year teaching 2nd grade.  His class started off this month by creating wasp models, and can I just say...they are amazing!  Check it out!

Upper Elementary English started off the year learning about September 11, 2001, or 911.  Fourth grade learned about figurative language as we read a beautifully illustrated story called The Little Chapel that Stood, fifth grade learned about first and second-hand accounts of 911 by walking through an interactive timeline of events, and sixth grade watched a documentary called The Boatlift which discusses the unlikely heroes of the water rescue on 911.

Sixth grade English students researched the story of their name which proved enlightening!  One of our student’s found out he was related to a king, now he feels like royalty himself!  After researching their names, students created a mandala art project using their name.

Blowing in Spring Changes!

Spring has officially BLOWN into North Valley Academy classrooms (literally, with 60 mph winds over spring break)!  With it, our elementary classrooms have been busy studying the natural world with some amazing projects.

As we visit Kindergarten, we are reminded of spring showers through the beauty of rainbows...fruit loop rainbows to be exact.  Who doesn’t love fruit loops! 

🌈🌈

Moving on to first grade, astronomy is the topic with a focus on the solar system…

Next, we visit the unnatural world in our second grade classroom through their study of Greek mythology!  Students were able to choose a character from one of the myths they studied, write a biography, and then create a portrait of their character.  These characters really spice up our hallway - great job!

Happy Spring!

February Musings

February Musings ~ Fallen Snow

Ebony clouds

Bright hearts

Roaring Winds

Ushering in March

All

Ready for

Yes, the dog days of summer

Mrs. Stephenson’s 4th and 5th grade Language Arts students finished a unit on poetry.  
Oh, to have the creative mind of a child! Enjoy these samples from our Poets in training:

What would I be? - by Saydee

What do you want, what do you seek?

A diving board on a silver peak.

What do you long for, what do you crave?

Only treasure in an underwater cave.

What do you have, what do you need?

Only some flippers and an underwater steed.

Where would you go, how long will you be?

1,000 years later under the sea.

Who would go, who would you ask?

Me, my teacher, and my class.

Oh, what would you be, what would you be?

A marine biologist, that would be me.

I Am - by Kiera

I’m made of the ocean, wild as the waves.

I’m made of the cliffs, whose curves shape me.

I’m made of stone, thick as my bones.

I’m made of wildflowers, their petals soft as me.

I’m made of wild horses, free as my spirit.

I’m made of trees, standing strong in the storm.

I’m made of nature, as wild, strong, and free as me.

These Were the Good Old Days - by Nicole

These were the good old days,

Where I was a baby,

While love was going through my heart.

These were the good old days,

Where I was young like my sister,

While love was going through my heart.

These were the good old days,

Where I played with my sister,

While love was going through my heart.

Those were the good old days,

So fun, while love was going through my heart.

Long ago, with love in my heart.

Rainbow - by Uriah

The rainbow comes on like silent peacock feet.

It sits staring over me,

Adorable blue, green face, and feathers,

With gray, blue, green, and purple.

Tornado - by Campton

The tornado comes on big.

Tasmanian devil, it runs

Looking at the tornado valley,

On silent haunches, and then,

Moves on.

History Class - by William

When I was in History,

When my teacher droned on and on,

When my head fell on my desk,

When I yawned,

I thought of Star Wars,

I thought of Legos,

I thought of Star Wars cards,

I thought of Yu-Gi-Oh, and,

Oh My!

The Graceful Fox - by Rylee

I came across you in the chicken coop,

You were a graceful color of red and white,

Your eyes were glittering with a color of blue.

You were graceful and calm,

You growled as you stood there staring at me,

If I were to see you again,

I would say, you were the most graceful fox,

I have ever seen.

White Beauty - by Niyah

White wolf, white wolf,

Come nearer to thee,

I saw you running through the trees.

White wolf, white wolf,

Will you ever leave me,

Your fur, so soft, is softer than silk indeed.

Your fur is not mangled nor tangled,

I lay on my back,

Watching the clouds as the cross the sky.

You sat next to me,

I felt the warm summer breeze.

I looked next to me, but alas,

You are gone...

3rd Grade Experiences Different Cultures (Happy Chinese New Year)

A Second New Year
A Chinese New Year

Educating a student is more than making them sit in a class, listen to a lecture, and recite information back. At North Valley Academy we strive to teach students about life, to expose them to the wonders and joys that the rest of the world has to offer. On Friday our third-grade class was welcomed with "Happy New Year" as Friday was Chinese New Year. To stay most students were shocked would be an understatement. The students continued a mast of questions wondering what is going on. A few students already knew about Chinese New Year and were excited to share their knowledge. To start the morning off students learned how to write numbers using Chinese symbols. This is a difficult task. They completed math problems using the traditional English numbers, and also completed problems using Chinese symbols. Students completed the lesson by writing all the Chinese symbols 0 to 10, then 100, 1000, and 10000. Learning to see the world can happen at any age and at North Valley Academy we hope to create those leaders that are ready to change the world for the better. Check out some fun pictures of our students with their Chinese symbols.

Creative Learning: No bones about it!

February 8, 2018 - Elementary

At North Valley Academy, we are all about creative learning and it’s happening now in our elementary classrooms! Check it out….

Did you know there are 206 bones in the human body? Our first-grade students do! They are learning all about bones - the different types of bones and what they protect in our bodies. Flat bones, long bones, short bones, and even irregular bones...

Bones! Bones! Bones!

In our upper elementary classrooms, students are learning about acids and bases through some creative hands-on projects.  Thank you Mrs. Rossman for these great pictures from the fifth grade science class!