Digital Citizenship

This past week our class has been working with Ms. Peterson, a guest teacher from Williston Central School. Ms. Peterson has been teaching the students about what it means to be a digital citizen. They have been learning about different parts of the body and how they help you to be a digital citizen. Your head helps you to think about important things like keeping your personal information private, your heart helps you to treat other people well online, your gut lets you know when something doesn't feel right and you should get help from an adult, your legs help you to stand up for other's if they are being treated unkindly online, and your arms help you to take a break from technology and go do something active. Students worked together in small groups to brainstorm ideas about the different parts of the body, and are now working on putting together a google presentation to share with the whole team.

School Celebration- Jazzercise

 The students helped to fill our school buzzy jar. They have been working hard to use safe, kind, and responsible behavior at school. Our celebration this month was Jazzercise in the gym. Thanks to Cayce for coming and leading us through some fun and energetic routines. The students and teachers had a blast!

Harry Potter Wands

On Friday we made our own Harry Potter wands. We finished reading the first book before winter break, and are currently in the middle of the second book. Our class has really been getting into these books, and I often see kids pretending they are characters from the book. For weeks students have been rolling up paper to make their own wands, so I thought it was finally time we crafted something they would use when they play. We used chopsticks and hot glue to made the wands, and then the students painted them using brown, gold and silver paints. Once they were dry and ready the students were so excited to start casting spells and have their own wizard duels.

Stone Soup

On Thursday our whole school gathered for Stone Soup. As a tradition every fall we all come together and make stone soup. By everyone bringing in just a little bit of the ingredients we are able to make a big flavorful soup that we can all enjoy together. Usually we celebrate out in the garden, but because of cold and rainy weather we ate inside.

Engineering Challenge- Candy Launchers

 This week the students were presented with a new challenge. I asked them to design and build something that would allow me to launch candy to passing trick-or-treaters. They were given a limited amount of materials which included- a cup, craft sticks, rubber bands, balloons, a clip, a cloths pin, a spoon, and a yard of tape. They were also given a 30 minute time limit. Students worked in groups of 3-4. Together they planned out their design, worked together to build it, and then tested it out. Some groups had to go back and make changes when they discovered their launchers didn't work as planned. There was a lot of hard work and perseverance! In the end we had 4 successful launchers! One group was able to create a device that launched candy 23 feet down the hall. We had a lot of fun.

Mount Philo

We had such beautiful weather on Thursday for our trip to Mount Philo! It was the perfect day for hiking and exploring. We were so lucky to have so many parent join us for this trip. We left the lot a little after 10am and the last groups arrived at the top around 11am. While at the top we had lunch, explored the area, checked out the scenes, and worked on a nature scavenger hunt. Just after noon we got a class picture and then began hiking back down. We had an amazing day!

Engineering Challenge- Building Geodesic Domes

This week when our class was trying to decide what we should do for our next classroom celebration the idea of doing engineering challenges came up, so we decided that's what we wanted to do to. We started by talking about the 5 P's of engineering: Planning, Problem solving, Patience, Perseverance, and Presentation. Then the students were told their challenge. Using only newspaper and tape they were to build a geo-dome big enough for at least one member of their group to fit inside. We looked at some examples of geo-domes, and noticed the use of triangles to build a sturdy structure. Students because preparing materials, making a plan, and soon enough, building. I was so impressed with the level of teamwork and perseverance that I saw. This was not an easy task, and it took us a few days, but groups didn't give up.