Guatamala

My son Andrew is a freshman at Gordon College. Over Christmas break he spent two weeks in Guatamala with some other students to get to know the people of that country and to help with various projects. Before Christmas (and the trip) he visited our class to see the Mayan projects that we had made. He was impressed by the projects and enjoyed learning a bit more about the country he was about to visit. I have taken some of the photos from his trip and made an Animoto video so that the class can see a bit of the people and beauty of this country that they recently studied.

Andrew likes to help people. This was the sixth relief trip of one to two weeks in duration that he has made in four years. He has previously been on three trips to the New Orleans area to clean up after Hurricane Katrina as well as a trip to Houston after another hurricane. He has also spent two weeks in Haiti, a country he had plans to revisit even before the recent earthquake. He works hard to earn money before each trip so that he can go. What more could you ask of a kid who is not yet 20 years old? Enjoy the video.

Why Should We Have Class, When We Can Party...

Instead!!!! Wow my class knows how to throw a party!
Thanks class.

Junkyard Analysis

In science we have been working on a unit called "Mixtures and Solutions" by Foss. Fossweb is their website where students and parents can find additional resources and activities. You can click on the "Mixtures and Solutions" module to do an activity on the computer. The activity is called Junkyard Analysis to find out what materials are in the elements we discard. It is an interesting review and does not take long. Plus you get to play with trash!

Manchester Monarchs Visit

Trevor Lewis of the Manchester Monarchs came to visit the fifth grade at New Searles to talk about "Winning with Wellness." We learned these numbers "5210". We should eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. We should cut "screen time" to less than 2 hours per day. We should participate in at least one hour of physical exercise each day. We should restrict drinking soda, sports drinks, and sugar drinks and instead drink water and milk.

Class Snowball Fight

Today we had a snowball fight. It was actually part of our morning meeting and we practiced self-control while having a blast. No children were hurt during the filming of this video.

Class Maya Projects

Here is an animoto video of the wonderful Maya projects that the class completed and presented today.

Holiday Luncheon

Thanks to the parents who helped put on a wonderful Holiday dress-up luncheon for the fifth grade students at New Searles. Here is an animoto video of the food, fun, and festivities.