Kids, staff, and parents are always in high anticipation mode before Spring Break, but we still had lots of learning taking place all over campus. Here's a snapshot of our week...
Ms. Ferguson's Students are gearing up for St. Patrick's Day, with some cool creations, including writings, outside her door. Pot o' Gold at the End of the Rainbow.
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| Ms. Farmer's Rock Unit P & P Display |
Process and Product Displays are still happening up and down the halls, showcasing the all important processes behind those student final products. Not to mention, detailing any and all creative teaching strategies that were implemented during the learning. Thanks to Ms. Farmer and students for sharing the work during their recent Rock Unit - she tells me her students were super motivated to keep learning about types of rocks - as well as to Ms. Snell for her P & P display connected to 4th grade social studies TEKS on Stephen F. Austin's colony. Students researched the original letters of recommendation written to the Mexican government, paying special attention to the type of character traits the government deemed important for potential settlers. Once researched, students then compiled a list of common character traits that seemed to be most in high regard, wrote their own letters of recommendation for applicants, and then tied all to their own lives. The students had great discussion around those traits, specifically their continued importance to today's employers, and most relevant for them, their importance on all those middle school applications they'll write early next year. Never too early to think ahead...
Thanks to Ms. Proffer for inviting me Wednesday to see book illustrator and parent Nate Jensen share his craft with her kinder students. Seymour the snake from the book Rattlesnake Rules was in attendance and delighted students through his sharing of the story. We were all fascinated to hear about artist processes, from sketching with a pencil to the use of oils to computer generated prints to the actual book illustrations on display. Mr. Jensen also stressed to students the discipline it took to hone his craft...he studied, practiced, and went to college to learn to be the best illustrator he could be...lots of hard work! Annie and others had some very good questions of our visitor - "where do you get your pictures?" - and we all agreed that rattlesnakes are best left alone if we ever see one while on a hiking adventure. An awesome talent to have and a pretty cool way to spend your day.
Cathy McHorse, our resident Future Problem Solvers teacher, shared last week that she is taking 3 teams to the upcoming FPS Bowl. So glad they were invited to participate in the April 20 event, I hear the topic this year is Ocean Soup, and congrats to those who qualified for state. Going in April are Ethan Ripp, Trevor Anderson, Allison Rauch, Jeannine Bradsby, Riley Pennell, Gabrielle Jabour, James Ray, Sarah Mines, Samantha Rauch, Alexis Altenbaugh, Benjamin Fern, and Sarah Murphy. We have some alternates attending as well and big congrats to Ms. McHorse and all FPS kids. The work you do with the 16 step problem solving model never ceases to amaze me.
Thursday was a big day for HP as second grade students hosted parents for the annual Japanese Fair. In addition to sharing their displays on all they had learned about Japan, the actual student choral play reading was well done. Something new this year was the interpretive dance Dynamic Earth, tied to Science TEKS, performed to the book EarthDance. Per the second grade team, "Dynamic Earth is a lesson written by Natalie Reed and choreographed by Emily Roe. Ms. Reed is the current dance director at Lamar Middle School as well as the director of the pilot elementary school dance program. Mrs. Roe is currently student teaching with Ms. Reed and has been assisting with the instruction of the elementary programs this semester. Dynamic Earth is inspired by the book EarthDance, written by Joanne Ryder, and performed to the song Tears which was composed and performed by Ai Otsuka. Ai Otsuka is a Japanese pop-singer, songwriter, pianist and actress from Suminoe-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Students used this dance to reinforce their classroom instruction on landforms, rocks, natural v. man-made resources, and weathering." It was simple, lovely, and moving, giving those second graders an arts based way to solidify their learning.
Have to say a special thanks to Dr. Peter English, UT professor, for his staff development after school on Thursday as well. Dr. English reached out to HP to help spread the word on all things science inaccuracies, we had a quick lesson on common misconceptions of photosynthesis, before touching briefly on genetics. He has offered to be a resource for us as needed because he truly believes teacher foundational science knowledge at the elementary level is key for university level success. Couldn't agree more.
And today it's all about Scottie Olympics. Somehow Coach DeLine and Coach Supak pull it all together with a host of parent and student volunteers. Always a fun way for Scotties to spend their Friday before a long spring break rest.
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| Anticipation! |
Finally, a little humorous picture I'll share as we look ahead to our break. I saw it posted on Mrs. Golliher's classroom door and couldn't resist sharing. What a fun and creative way to stress the importance of punctuation. Loved it!