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WCS eighth grader, Ella, has been honing her skills in photography this fall. As a budding nature photographer, Ella primarily focuses on capturing close-ups of plants and natural elements. She specializes in using unique and beautiful angles to look at the world and capture her subject. 

Below are samples of her unedited work from October 2023. Photos were taken with a Canon PowerShot Camera SX130IS.

Copyright © 2023 by Ella Slusher

All rights reserved. These photographs are the property of Ella Slusher. They may not be reproduced, distributed, modified, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder.

Creating a Class Motto at Fisher Mitchell

Third-graders at Fisher Mitchell spent the first few weeks of school forming a classroom motto. This motto encapsulates their beliefs and also serves to remind them how they should treat themselves and others. Students put their heads together to create a motto that encompasses all the values and beliefs that we use in school every day. They started by taking notes on what a “perfect” classroom looks like to them. Once they had their notes, they created categories within those notes, dividing them up by rules or standards that fit well together. They came up with four themes within their notes: safe, responsible, respectful, and kind. Using these words, they then began brainstorming ideas for their motto. There were two specific features that they wanted for their motto; it had to rhyme and it had to have the word fun! Each student had their own role in some part of the brainstorming, and after lots of discussion, a motto they all loved was born. The way this crew of students works together and communicates is so fun to watch, and I'm excited to see what else they come up with this year!

Roadtrips Across the U.S. at Fisher Mitchell and Phippsburg Elementary

Fifth-graders at both FMS and PES have spent the last month or so working on their roadtrip projects. For this project, students first learned about the different regions within the U.S. They then used this knowledge to pick a region that they would be most interested in learning more about and taking a hypothetical trip through. Students picked different sites to see within these regions that were of interest to them. From national parks to aquariums to nuclear power plants, there were some fascinating stops. One part of this project that got all of the students excited was that they got to choose the vehicle they would be driving for their trip. These vehicles ranged from fuel-efficient hybrids to multi-million dollar RVs featuring a helipad on the roof! Once students decided on their vehicles, they learned about the gas mileage of their vehicles, determined the average price of gas in their region, calculated how many miles they were going to be traveling using Google Earth, and followed an equation that would give them an exact number for how much they would spend on gas for their trip. They quickly realized that driving a Toyota across the U.S. would be more affordable than a Lamborghini. 

Students are heading into the final stages of their projects and are looking forward to sharing their finished products. At FMS, students have been putting the finishing touches and last few details on their posters. At PES, students are preparing their pictures and organizing their information so that they can begin putting it onto their posters. Stay tuned!

A student at WCS took special interest in fingerprint analysis after an introductory lesson earlier this fall. At home, this student has been enjoying fingerprinting his family members, and he has developed several games which incorporate this new skill. In December, he brought in two of his case files for Ms. Hoskins and classmate to solve. One case involved the analysis of a print and finding an exact match to a suspect, and the other, more sci-fi and X-Files inspired, involved using theory to solve a mystery which he uncovered for us in story form bit by bit as we got closer and closer to the answer. It was so fun, we invited a couple office staff members to come give it a try for the next class session!

Those Who Wander

With the help of Ms. Burch, former fifth grader from Fisher-Mitchell School, published a book over the summer and sold out of all her copies at the Bath Book Bash! We can't wait to see what is coming next!

"My book started when we were doing creative writing for gifted and talented in fifth grade. I decided I wanted to write a spooky story, and so I started writing. After I finished my story, our  GT teacher said that she was going to try to professionally print our books, and we created covers and got a copy of our small books printed. After that, I decided to show my librarian my book. She said that she really liked it and told me that she could use another student author for the Bath Book Bash. I of course said yes, and then got nicer copies of my book to sell at the Book Bash. It was really fun to show off my work, and I’m excited to do this again next year!" ~Clara S., 2013

Copyright © 2023 by Clara Smith