2nd Grade took Dot Day to a whole new level, enjoying Dot Day-inspired learning experiences all day long! In math, they matched equations to solutions that created dot puzzles. In science, students used Oreo cookies to explore moon phases. And, of course, students used lots of creativity for different challenges throughout the day. They designed creative illustrations using one, simple black dot as inspiration. They also made concentric circle artwork, using Kandinsky as inspiration, to create a beautiful new display for the 2nd grade hallway. We loved seeing how they "made their mark" on our school today. Happy Dot Day!

Finding the mood of a text can be a tricky reading standard to tackle in 3rd grade. Thankfully, Dot Day just happened to be on the calendar! 3rd graders were able to use the book The Dot to help them better understand what mood actually means and how to find it when reading. First, they wrote down all the feelings they had as they read The Dot. Next, they used the mood color wheel to match the mood to its corresponding color. Then, students used their creativity to create their Dot Mood Masterpiece! After they finished, students wrote about the overall mood of the book and found text evidence to prove it. We love seeing our students grow as readers and creators!

Friday brought lots of Dot Day Book Buddy fun. Mrs. Lyle's Pre-K Pals and Mrs. Suggs' 4th graders enjoyed celebrating International Dot Day with their Reading Buddies. Mrs. Suggs read The Dot to both classes, then the older buddies worked with the younger buddies to create their own original dot creation that showed their partnership's creativity. Mrs. Dunahoo’s 4th grade class and Mrs. Roberts’ kindergarten class also had a great time reading and creating together for their Book Buddy partnership.

Honoring Patriot Day

On Monday, September 11th our fifth grade students participated in lessons and activities to help them understand the importance of Patriot Day. Mrs. Swierczek’s students used nonfiction articles and informational videos to practice summarizing skills as well as created artwork to help capture the emotions and experiences of 9/11. 

Writers at Work

Our kindergarten writers have been learning about how important labeling is to help communicate their ideas. (Labeling is a great strategy to help beginning writers learn to transition from drawings to writing.) They have also been hard at work streeeeeetching out their words this week. Students practiced labeling objects around their class--and even labeled their teacher! Check out the fun that students in Mrs. Harley / Holmer's class and Mrs. Holman / Kollman's class had practicing their labeling and word-stretching skills.

Exploring Cultures

Ms. Hendley and Ms. Silcott’s students had a great time last week learning about the history of Mexican Independence Day, which is celebrated September 15-16. They even made yummy cheese quesadillas! 

Hydration Station

Our new specials class, IN MOTION, has been a hit! Recently, students have been learning about hydration. They learned about the importance of hydration, the dangers of dehydration, and one simple way to self-check to make sure they are drinking enough water. They learned that younger students should be drinking a minimum of 5-8 cups of water a day, and older students should be drinking a minimum of 8-10 cups a day (depending on their activity level). They also discussed the importance of healthy drink choices and had fun investigating popular drinks, the amount of sugar they have, and how that sugar affects hydration. ARE YOU DRINKING ENOUGH WATER???

Weather Watchers

4th graders have been exploring weather tools, patterns, and prediction strategies over the past few weeks. Mrs. Dunahoo's class made their own anemometers this week, and Mrs. Dunahoo and Mrs. Stevens’ 4th grade classes had a very special virtual visitor this week too! Students were excited to welcome and learn from Chris Holcomb, 11Alive News' Chief Meteorologist. Hearing from a true expert in the field was a great way to enhance the weather unit our students have have been studying the last few weeks. Thanks, Mr. Holcomb, for helping us learn, and a special thank you to GSES student Parker and his family who arranged this special treat. 

Science Detectives

This week, Ms. Menard's 5th grade students were introduced to a natural disaster mystery. They found a mysterious case full of colored eggs and discovered that inside each egg was a natural disaster, but upon this discovery, the natural disaster went missing! It was up to students to complete the story, but first they needed to do some sticky note detective work to learn more about their natural disaster. They needed to know the causes, conditions, and how to prevent them, if it was possible. The question is…did students stop their natural disasters from causing catastrophic chaos?! You'll have to ask our fabulous fifth graders to find out!