May 18: Parent Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week we started our new unit: Humans have an impact on their environment and other living things. We opened up the unit learning about some animals that are extinct and also watching a video about a diver in the ocean which was full of plastic. We also started to gain some basic information about animals learning about what different animals eat. Next week we'll learn about the food chain.

In Math we're learning about 2D and 3D shapes. We learned all their names and learned to count their sides and angles (2D) and the faces, vertices, and edges (3D).

Today we started our research on an endangered animal of their choice. The students are going to gather information about their animal and then later learn why it's endangered and create some ideas on how we can help them.

We had a great Open House today as well!

Thanks for your support!
Ms Casey

**June 8: International Day-Students can wear international clothing on this day. If you would like to bring in some food, that's be great!

**June 11: Sports Day BangNa- Students should wear their House Team color for this. Since G2 went to the On Nut Sports Day, they will be acting as leaders and helpers during this Sports Day. They will be helping the younger students complete their activities. It will be a great way for them to be caring and responsible.

**June 15: Last Day of School!

Updates for this Week

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Friday is the Christmas Show! Grade 2 students don't have to wear anything special because Mr. Tata has choir robes that they will wear over their clothes for the performance. This is also a half day of school; students leave after the Christmas show.

Please send in any donations that you have. We can accept clothes, hygiene products, school supplies, toys, and non-perishable foods. The boxes for these donations are at the Early Years building.

We will be having a House Team swim event on Thursday. Please have your child wear their team color to school and bring their swimsuit!

We will be having a classroom Christmas party on Thursday. If you would like to bring in some snacks/food for the party, that would be great! It would be best to bring in healthy foods but some unhealthy foods is ok too.

Thanks for your help!

Ms Casey

A Serendipitous Lunch

So I was invited to go to a lunch with representatives from SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) because LaGrange College is going through their accreditation process (which every school goes through every few of years to make sure they retain their accreditation). LaGrange College is implementing a new QEP (Quality Enhancement Program) focused on Global Engagement, which I'm really excited about. The college is putting a lot of time and effort to get it's students more engaged in things happening around the world. Something that I've always loved about LaGrange College is that they offer a Study Abroad Program during the month of January (during our Jan Term). I took advantage of this twice: my Freshman year I went to Paris for two weeks and then my Senior year I went to Greece for two weeks. They were both fantastic experiences! However, the college is now offering a voucher program that all students receive their Junior or Senior year (if they began at the college as a Freshman) which will cover $2,500 of the Study Abroad trip! I wish they had that when I was there! Those trips were pretty expensive, they range from around $1,000 for domestic trips, to $4,000 for international trips... but they are worth it. They are also about to start implementing study abroads that last for an entire semester or more which is really exciting. They are increasing the amount of time spent in classes here that focuses on global matters and we have a new program called 3-D Journeys (whose primary audience is the community around LaGrange College but is open to students as well) where professors at the college lecture about different aspects of a certain country and a group of people end up going to that country after all of the lectures are over. Brazil is the focus of this year's 3-D Journeys and it has had quite a turn out! So basically it's all very exciting and really resonates with me since I'm planning on going to Peru!

So the most exciting part of this story is that I sat next to Ana Maria Wiseman from Wofford College. She's the Dean of International Programs there. When she told us about her background, she mentioned that she grew up in Latin America so later during the lunch when the conversation had lulled I asked her where she grew up in Latin America. She was born in Argentina and grew up in PERU! I'm pretty sure my entire face flushed with excitment when she said that! So I told her my interest to move to and teach in Peru and we started talking about Peru and some of her experiences there. She even mentioned that she has sent 2 students from Wofford College to Lima to study abroad and is sending a third soon. She gave me her business card and told me that I can contact her with any questions that I might have about Peru! I just couldn't believe my good fortune!

By the way, we got a fantastic review from the SACS representatives! We impressed them so much that we are now their QEP model school.

Mate de Coca

Mate de Coca is a tea that many locals claim help with altitude sickness (but it hasn't really been proven) and it is used pretty often to do just that. What makes this drink interesting is that the leaves that are used to make the tea can also be used to make cocaine. Now, this drink is not the same as cocaine. Cocaine has about 20 and 30 miligrams of the alkaloid that is found in these leaves whereas the tea has about 4 miligrams. So it's not going to get you high but it can be a stimulant (like caffeine found in soda). However it is illegal in the United States unless it is decocainized (just like you can decaffinate a soda!).

Altitude

I mentioned in my post about Machu Picchu that you have to be aware of the altitude while in Cusco. I figured I would talk a little about this because it's something that you don't really think about. LaGrange, Georgia has an elevation of 238 m or 781 ft above sea level. While Cusco's elevation is 3,400 m or 11,200 ft above sea level. That's a huge difference! Everywhere you look there are warnings about when you get to Cusco it will take you some time to adjust. The air is thinner and that can really mess with your body. The usual symptoms include headaches and shortness of breath sometimes even nausea. It takes a few days to get acclimatized so it's suggested that you take it slow the first few days in the city. It is also suggested that you stay hydrated and avoid heavy meals. Some hotels even have ocygen tanks that guests can use for awhile for assisted breathing! There is medicine that you can take that may relieve some of the symptoms but if the symptoms persist you might have to leave the city for one with a lower elevation. One other thing that can be done (that the locals use) is drink mate de coca which helps you adjust to the thin air. I'll talk more about this drink later.

I kind of had to make this picture really big so that you could read it... sorry it looks awkward.

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu is an ancient Incan city that were found up in the Andes mountains near Cusco. The city is in pretty good shape because when the Spanish conquered the Incans, they never found this abandoned city. In 1911, Hiram Bingham discovered the city and since then it has become a major tourist attraction. It has gotten so bad that they have placed a limit on how many people can visit the ruins (2,500 per day).

There are two main ways to get to Machu Picchu. You can take a train from Cusco or Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes. Then you can take a 30 min bus ride up there or you can walk 8km.

Or you can take the Incan Trail. There is a 2 day and a 4 day trail and you must go with a touring agency. There is a 500 person limit for the Incan Trail. It looks like, the current cost for the 4 day hike (45 km) is around $400 and the entrance to Machu Picchu is about $90. There are other less popular trails that can get you to Machu Picchu as well.

I have wanted to go to Machu Picchu ever since I heard that it existed! It won't be one of the first things that I do because you have to be very careful with the altitude when you get to Cusco but I'm really looking forward to it! I want to hike the Incan Trail but I'm also nervous about that. I'm not much of a hiker so I don't know if I can really handle several days of hiking and then sleeping in tents. But I'm going to try and I'm trying to start hiking more often now to get used to it.

Llama vs. Alpaca

So when you google images of Peru you will find at least one picture with a llama... or is it an alpaca? (Even one of my Peru Travel Books has one of these creatures on the cover.) I've seen both of these terms used and both animals look very similar if you don't know what you're looking at.

So one day while I was hard at work (i.e. on pinterest) I came across this helpful chart that actually explained the difference between llamas and alpacas. Since it seemed relevant (and funny) I decided to share it one my blog so that everyone will once and for all know the difference between these guys!

The quote to go along with the chart: "And to put it simply: Alpacas are pleasant looking and Llamas look like they’re constantly judging you."

Enjoy!

By the way, I'm going to try to write a post a week about something I think is interesting about Peru or about something I'm working on to get to Peru. They will probably show up on Friday or Monday each week (unless I forget, which is definitely a possibility).