Third graders read Mae Among the Stars, the story of Mae Jenison, the first Black American woman to go to space. They celebrated the historic launch of Artemis II and designed their own mission badges celebrating their future goals. They discussed and included the character traits they would need to achieve these goals. Just like Mae and the astronauts on Artemis II we are reaching for the stars! Third graders at LaPerche dream to be scuba divers, veterinarians, professional gymnasts, teachers, smoke jumpers, scientists, horse jumpers and more. This is a group destined for greatness.
In the art room, third graders were challenged to build their own color wheel. This was not an ordinary color wheel. First, they had to divide the circle into 12 equal parts. Then, they had to label the primary, secondary and tertiary colors. Next, they added a shape and a line to add spaces for a tint and a shade. The students worked at their own pace and supported each other through challenging times. Wait until you see the results at the art show on Thursday, May 14.
LaPerche students love playing in the snow together. With the warmer temperatures today, we were able to get outside and build all sorts of snow people, structures and creatures. What a great time with friends!
At our school spelling bee today, two students from each fourth and fifth grade class came together to battle for spelling bee champion. The students went 14 rounds before we found our winners. Congratulations to Logan and Irene for being the top two spellers. They will represent LaPerche in the district spelling bee on Friday, February 6. Congratulations to all of our spellers who did an amazing job calming their nerves, speaking slowly and clearly and spelling some very tough words.
Third, fourth and fifth graders, had a blast at recess today at LaPerche. We are so fortunate to have so much space to run and play together.
During PE at LaPerche, fifth graders worked in teams to pass a ball as many times as they could without it falling to the ground. They couldn't pass to the same person two times in a row or to someone on either side of them. Their goal was to make it to 30 and then they added a second ball. Kids were so excited to work together and beat the challenge. Miss Field, our new PE and health teacher, complimented the students about how they worked as a team, encouraged each other and use positive talk. There was no negative comments when a friend dropped the ball. Way to go fifth grade!
During art class, third graders at LaPerche are turning shapes into 3-D forms using bingo daubers filled with black ink. They used their sketchbooks and pattern sheets to plan the design. The end result will be 3-D hot chocolate mugs inspired by the contemporary artist, Heather Galler. Students love the art room because they get to let their imaginations loose.
In second grade at LaPerche, Miss Day reviewed the partner reading routine, and had students model the practice. Then she asked the students what they noticed about the pairs who were modeling. Students noticed their friends were focused on the book and supported each other's reading. Everyone quickly moved into pairs, engaged with the text and discuss the questions. Second grade is an amazing place to learn!
Fourth graders at LaPerche are reading Anatomy of a Volcanic Eruption. They discussed vocabulary, and read the text and answered questions with a partner. Working with a classmate helps students stay focused and engage deeper with the text. Kids love learning from each other.
After reading, On the Town, a Community Adventure, kindergarten students discussed all the places that Charlie and his mom visited in their community. They are learning how to write opinion pieces and each chose their favorite place that Charlie visited and provided a reason why they feel it was the best place. Kindergarten students used the TREE graphic organizer from SRSD to make a plan for their writing. Kindergarten students are amazing!
In fifth grade today, students worked with a partner to read their book Night of the Spadefoot Toads. They discussed and answered the close read questions before coming back as a group to discuss. LaPerche students understand the importance of going back into the text to understand the story. One goal at LaPerche is for everyone to find a genre they love to read.
In kindergarten today, the class discussed two dimensional and three dimensional objects. They discussed the corners, faces and edges. The kids learned about a sphere, pyramid, cube, rectangular prism, cylinder, and more. The students went on a scavenger hunt around the room to find actual objects that were three dimensional. Kindergarten is a fun place to learn.
Preschool is focused on a unit called Together in Our Community: Caring for Others. Through stories and center activities, students learn the importance of being a family and caring for that family. In the classroom, Styles and Smiles, a hair salon is open for business. Students bring their children for a new hairstyle, while others wash and care for their babies, and the other friends work on the farm. Integrated throughout is lots of language, including static boards with core vocabulary. Preschool is a wonderful place to learn.
In fifth grade today, partners read "Secrets of the Canyon Cave" and worked on understanding how the characters feelings and attitudes changed and how that was reflected in the text. They quoted the text to support their ideas. The two classes came back together to discuss the reading and share their thoughts. Reading with a partner is engaging.
Kindness squad at LaPerche is in full effect. All third graders serve on the Kindness Squad and once a month, they greet families, staff and students as they arrive at school. Music is playing, kids are cheering and everyone is excited to go to school! Beep to show your love for Kindness Squad!
During center rotation in second grade, some students were working with the teacher on their weekly phonics skill. Students wrote the sentence that the teacher dictated and then checked their partner to see what they were missing. Being the teacher for your partner is a great leadership opportunity. Other students read and illustrated a story. They found the words that ended with -ed. They shared that the ending -ed means something happened in the past and it makes three sounds, -t, -ed and -d. Second graders are such hard workers!
Students in third grade started with math W.I.N. time, What I Need Time. Some students worked in small groups with teachers, while others emptied their Freckle backpack. Freckle is an online math program that individualizes practice. Third graders are mathematicians!
Students in second grade worked with partners to count a collection. They discussed counting efficiently and decided that meant fast and accurate. First, they estimated how many items were in their bag and then they figured out a plan to count them. Some grouped by tens, some put tens into hundreds and some counted by ones. Which was more efficient? Then, they recorded their math work to show their plan and did a gallery walk to observe how their classmates organized their collections. Second graders are mathematicians!
During gym class, students in third grade played four-way pinball. They worked as a team to defend their bowling pins from being knocked down by the other teams. They rotated through the four colors so they each were responsible to defend the different spaces. When there were only two teams left, the teams who were out were able to go into the common areas, find the balls and throw them to knock down the team's pins. Students showed great sportsmanship when they won AND when they lost.
Students in kindergarten read the story a House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle. They discussed the characters and the home they live in. Each student chose their favorite character and sketched it, added the environment and labeled their drawings. Students were challenged to use at least four colors in their drawings. These are the first steps to becoming writers.
