Dear Families!

 

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to help guide your children through this important phase of their lives.  Each one of your children brings a special gift to share with our community.  I am so grateful for landing at Westgate Community School. As I reflect on all that I am grateful for this season, I always think of those who do not find themselves in a warm embrace surrounded by friends and family with a delicious bounty of food to share.  I hope that each of you feels valued and loved this holiday season.  I can't wait to see your students back at school in a week to continue all the amazing learning we have been doing. There is so much gratitude to share.  If things are rough for you right now, please know that I care deeply and would love to help if you need it. Blessings to all.  

 

Happy Thank-ful Celebration,

Ms. Tanya Muftic

Social Studies This Week: Mapping Our World

In Social Studies, we are continuing our work as young geographers. Students will be deepening their understanding of how maps and globes help us make sense of our world.

🧩 Hands-On Mapping with Continent Puzzles
Student groups will be using our continent puzzle maps to create their own political maps. They will trace each puzzle piece, label the continents and begin to understand how political boundaries are represented on a flat map.

🎃 Pumpkin Globes & Lines of Demarcation
We’re bringing geography to life by transforming pumpkins into 3D models of the Earth. Students will map the Equator, Prime Meridian, hemispheres, and other important lines of demarcation directly onto their pumpkin globes. This creative, tactile project supports spatial reasoning and helps students visualize global geography in new ways.

📍 Latitude & Longitude Adventures
Using their new globes and classroom maps, students will practice identifying places using latitude and longitude coordinates. They will locate points around the world and explore how coordinate systems help travelers, scientists, and geographers pinpoint exact locations.

This week, we’re beginning our study of map skills! 🗺️ Students will explore different types of maps and learn how to read and use them effectively. We’ll discuss both relative and absolute location, helping students understand how geography shapes the way we describe places in our world.

We will also focus on the five themes of geography—location, place, region, movement, and human-environment interaction. Through hands-on activities and map exploration, students will begin to see how geographers use these concepts to better understand the relationships between people and their environments.

We’re continuing our hands-on unit on cartography. Students are constructing globes modeled after historical examples. Once all three types of globes are complete, we’ll compare them and explore how cartographers developed flat maps from spherical models. Expect creativity, collaboration, and lots of hands-on learning this quarter!

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns—I’m always happy to connect.
Wishing you a wonderful week ahead! 🌎

 

This week in Social Studies, we will be learning the history of mapmaking (cartography). Students will continue to explore and construct mapmaking using landmarks and stars. We will also explore the scientists who helped develop mapmaking.  It will be lots of fun and creating!

 

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns. I am always happy to answer your questions. If I do not know the answer to your questions, I will find them out!

 

Have a lovely week!