Digestive System Project!

The 5th grade class is studying the human system and their functions. This week's lesson was the digestive system. They studied how food enters the mouth, travels to the stomach by way of the esophagus, before entering the stomach. They also learned that in the stomach, food is broken down into a soupy paste before it is ready to leave our body. The stomach squeezes the paste into the small intestines. They learned that the liver and pancreas send chemicals to the small intestines to assist in the digestion of food. When digestion is complete the particles of digested food move into the blood vessels through the walls of the small intestines while food that cannot be digested passes through our large intestines as it leaves our body. They used poster board to make a stencil of a torso. Different color yarn was used to create the organs in the digestive system.

Thanksgiving Food Drive 2012

Ms. Anderson organized a Thanksgiving food drive to help 17 of our families have a joyful holiday. Donations and staff purchases will allow us to give a healthy and hearty meal for the Thanksgiving holiday. All classes k – 12 participated. A contest was held for friendly competition. Winners were, in elementary Ms. Bondi-Smith’s kindergarten class, middle school was Ms. McIntosh’s 7^th grade class, and in high school Ms. Moreland’s class. All food boxes will be picked up Monday and Tuesday. A big thank you goes out to the Ms. Anderson and her committee, teachers, staff, students, and most of all parents who made this wonderful event possible.

May The Force Be With You

Ms. Lewis' second grade class did an experiment on how much force it takes to move an object! Photos below, look like they had a great time!

Congrats Megan Anderson for receiving a Ken Woodruff Mini Grant!

Last night Ms. Megan Anderson was awarded a Ken Woodruff Mini Grant to host an after school program called "Building Literacy with Legos." The grant is given by The Northwest Indiana Literacy Coalition. The NWILC is a non-profit organization that promotes public awareness, cooperative partnerships, information sharing and referrals between literacy programs and communities. They connect with basic skill providers to help individuals, organizations, businesses, and governmental agencies to assist with literacy and literacy related issues. Ms. Anderson received a check for $200 to fulfill the needs of her new program. The program will begin in September and conclude in June. Below is a photo of Ms. Anderson receiving her grant and below that is a copy of her grant proposal!Way to go Ms. Anderson!

Bee Keeper Visit

Ms. Tucker and Ms. Misner invited a professional Bee Keeper to come in and show the students the ropes of bee keeping! He brought all of his gear and materials with him and showed the students what all of it does. He even left them with their own bottles of honey! 

Mrs. Bondi-Smith's Native American corn lesson

Mrs. Bondi-Smith's Kindergarten class has been learning about different Native American tribes and nations. This lesson has taught them about different cultures and traditions of the tribes including what houses were like and how they preserved food. Mrs. Bondi-Smith taught the students how Native Americans preserved corn back in the 1600's. They dried the corn out so they could store it for long period of time, like through the winter. When they were ready to eat the corn they soaked it in a water and ashes mixture for two days. When the corn kernels puffed up and split open they drained and rinsed them. Lastly, they stir-fried them over a fire to make hominy. Below are some photos of the students creating their own dried corn art projects! Such a cool lesson! Great work kids!

Ms. Anderson's Reading Bulletin

Today Ms. Anderson put up a "Reading Bulletin Board" for her students. The board teaches them what skills it takes to become better readers. Some of her tips and tricks include: predicting words, chunking, reading on and summarizing! What a great idea!