Special Events
How Kids Can Still Have Fun
By Charles H. 10/14/21
Now, if you went to School #4 and were in fourth grade, you probably would remember the assembly where you would see all the things that Native Americans used and how they lived, but every year, that assembly changes. It starts off with a simple video, then gets a lot more interesting. After the video, you get to see artifacts similar to what Native Americans used when the technology was less advanced and harder to get. But the fun part is, sometimes you even get to use some of the stuff! Read on to find out more.
Before I get to the things they did, I will tell you why the fourth grade has these assemblies. In fourth grade, you learn about what native Americans are and how they lived. This field trip is to give you a taste of what it feels like to be one. I personally loved this field trip when I was in fourth grade. When my grade did it, we got to see the instructor shoot a blow dart at a box to show how some tribes hunted animals. And now, for the moment you’ve all been waiting for . . . a 60 paragraph essay on giraffes! Just kidding, it's what they did!
This year, for the Native American assembly, they got to watch a video and then see animal furs from bears and other animals, and then they went outside to throw spears. I tell you SPEARS, but of course, because they were still in school, they had to be modified so they would not hurt anyone. In the accuracy round, the instructor for the assembly had to throw a net, and kids tried to get the “spears” through the net. The next round was the distance round. I think that this round was the hardest to win because there were some pretty strong winds here and there, but team four was fighting through that and eventually won the round!
These past two years have been tough with coronavirus and so much more. However, this is the beginning of the entire thing turning around.
Thank you
The Native American Experience
By: Cole O.
I got a very lucky opportunity to observe Mrs. Rosario’s during their “field trip” aka the back field. They got to learn about the Native American culture by listening to instructors and even playing some of the games they used to play! They got to do some spear aiming practice, and they even got to have a spear throwing contest to test the lengths in which they are throwing the spears. Let me tell you, in my eyes, they can throw them so far! Yes, that was a compliment to Mrs. Rosario’s class.
Anyways, I was even listening in on some of the conversations they were having, and this was one of the ways that they spent their time during the long days. Something that I noticed was there is a very important technique to throwing the spear far and accurately. Something else that made this interesting is how competitive everyone made these games! I remember this experience from fourth grade and I am very glad to see everybody having fun!
Journey into American Indians
By Cora Mae M.
Journey into the American Indians is an annual presentation by Bob and Maryanne. Bob is a cultural anthropologist. He has been studying American Indians since 1980. “We started doing this presentation in 1993,” says Bob and Maryanne. On October 14th, the presentation was for Miss McGrath’s class, in the gymnasium. The fourth graders got to walk around and look at all of the displays. They got to ask questions and help out with demonstrations.
This is a child’s clan mother doll. It has no face because they believed their worth was on the inside, not the outside.
“My favorite part was the stations. We were able to grind corn, touch animal fur and look at tools/ceremonial pieces from back then.” said a fourth-grader. Here are some things I found interesting about the American Indians. Birchwood is waterproof and is used for baskets. One cool thing was the medicine man mask. The medicine men believed they had to heal the mind, body, and spirit. Women had the job of weaving and making lacrosse balls. American Indians had special items for celebrations. Here are some of my favorites. Deer were often hunted and their parts were used for clothes and dancing bells. They also had bowls and cups that were decorated according to the tribe. A cool stick was passed around and the one to hold it got to speak. The kids said that they loved the presentation! Shout-out to third graders! You're going to have lots of fun next year! Handing the stick on to The Hummingbird Post! Thanks!
SRP Day
By Jacklyn K.
If you guys are wondering what SRP day is, then read this article. SRP day stands for School-Related Professionals, so SRP day is for the lunch monitors, security people, custodians, bus drivers, nurses, and the desk ladies and for the teachers that help with the special needs classes and help us learn reading and math. It is also for the teachers that work in the office, Mrs. Pantaleo, Mrs. Callan, and Mrs. Peckham. Everyone in the school makes cards for the SRPs.The students usually make them for their lunch monitors. Thank you, SRPs for all you do!
