Busy, Busy, Busy!!!

Wow!  Boosterthon Fun Run, Walk to School Week, Student-Led Conferences, Awards Day, Red Ribbon Week, the Fall Festival, and on and on and on! Could we possibly squeeze anything else into the month of October? Oh yes, we can - Career Day is this Thursday!

What a hectic, whirlwind time of year, but it's so rewarding to see the wonder and excitement in the eyes of our students. They are learning so much each and everyday!

So let's catch up on what's been going on. As you know, our class raised the most money in the Boosterthon Fun Run! As a reward, we got to throw a pie in Dr. Patterson's face and spray him with silly string. It was a hilarious experience for all of us!

What a great sense of humor our leader has!

Go ahead and watch it again; you know you want to!

This week is Red Ribbon Week, and students are asked to wear different things each day to support our pledge to "Just Say NO!"

We will encourage our students to “Believe, Achieve & Succeed…Drug Free!”  Here is a sneak peek of next week’s events:

·       Monday – Bulldog Spirit Day (wear red & black)

·       Tuesday – Dress for Success (dress in your best)

·       Wednesday – College, University, & Military Day (wear a favorite college/university/military shirt)

·       Thursday – Career Dream Day from 8:30-10:30am (dress in clothing that matches future career)

·       Friday – OES Spirit Day (wear an OES shirt or school colors)

On Monday, students will receive a “dog tag” to wear throughout the week.  

Next, here is a picture of our class pumpkin book character, Skippy Jon Jones. We are raising money to support Relay for Life. Each classroom decorated a pumpkin as their favorite book character. My sweeties fell i love with SkippyJon Jones last week when I read one of his books for the first time. Skippy is a Siamese cat who wants to be a renegade chihuahua. Here is a link to learn more about Skippy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCoeGJLWnYc 

Students can vote on their favorite pumpkin each day through Thursday by putting money in a jar next to the book character of their choice.

Congratulations to Mrs. Mac's Firsties!

Wow! What a wonderful, busy, whirlwind it has been at school this week! We celebrated Walk to School Week and the Boosterthon Fun Run. Yesterday was the actual Fun Run, and all of my students ran 35 laps. They were awesome, and I'm so proud of their endurance! Best of all, we found out that our class raised the MOST money in our whole school!!! 

Woo hoo! Way to go Mrs. Mac's Firsties! 

Kool and the Gang - Celebration

Our class raised over $2400.00! What is our reward for raising so much money to create a hands-on "makerspace" in our library?

We get to put a pie in 

Dr. Patterson's face on Monday!

Poor Dr. P and Mrs. Skinner were great sports last week as they rode on tricycles, danced on the roof, and got duct-taped to a pole! They are so enthusiastic about our students and our school!

Dancing on the roof!

Just hangin' around!

Not sure I can breathe!

You gotta love being the OES AllStar principal!

How did I get "stuck" doing this?




Walk to School Like a Pirate Day

The Boosterthon Fun Run

What a week!   

Looking Back and Ahead

Happy Fall Y'all! It 's finally starting to feel a little cooler and the trees look a little more colorful. Stores are coming out with pumpkin spice latte flavored everything... from coffee to gum to marshmallows!

Last week at OES was fun-filled as usual. On Monday we dressed like pirates as a fun way to jump-start our week! Here are some scurvy dogs to admire:

On Wednesday, we went to the Wonder Room (our science lab) and conducted an experiment. We wanted to see what would happen if we mixed baking soda with vinegar. It was very bubbly!! We talked about safety and the scientific process.

On Thursday, I attended an educational consortium at Furman University. The speaker, Georgia Heard, addressed best practices when teaching non-fiction writing, and I came back to school Thursday afternoon with a lot of new ideas, Please be on the lookout for a letter coming home about WONDERful Wednesdays and non-fiction writing.

Finally. on Friday we had Spirit Day and all students got to wear their new OES t-shirts, donated by a local dentist. We all matched!

As we look forward to the week ahead, I wanted to share the following quote with you:

We encourage students to find wonder in all things, not just in the extraordinary but also in everyday objects and events. I invite my students to bring in an object from nature this Wednesday that we examine and write about, something that will pique the natural curiosity found in all children. One of our students brought in a cage with crickets a few weeks ago; my students could have watched and discussed those insects all day. Their conversations were inquisitive and observant, and such wonder fosters innovative thinking! I can't wait to see what they will bring to share. My goal is to encourage thoughtful, descriptive non-fiction writing!

A Peek at Last Week

Wow! We had another busy week in Room 109 at OES! Goodies with Grandparents, PTA/Open House, Interim Reports, and more. 

Let's start with Monday: I introduced my firsties to what I call "The Most Magnificent Monday Morning Magic."  I started off by reading a book, The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires.

Here is a link to a short trailer that will explain more about the book: https://vimeo.com/89499612

After reading about a little girl who showed great perseverance (coincidentally, our vocabulary word for last week!), I challenged my students to do the same through a STEM activity: to build the tallest tower they could, using nothing but plastic cups. The students learned that first tries don't always work, and it's okay to start over with a different approach. They also learned how to work together and how to effectively communicate their ideas to their teammates. Here are some pictures:

Mt students will be presented every Monday morning with a new challenge! What a great way to start off the week!

Last Tuesday, we enjoyed Goodies with Grandparents, and it was a great turnout! Here are some children who love their grandparents!

 I tried to get a picture of all those who joined us for juice and muffins. Thanks for coming!

Also last week, my students worked in literacy stations, and it was a success! It's taken a few weeks of training, but they are finally ready to work independently.

Writing the Room with Special Glasses!

The A-B-C  F-U-N Station

Word Work

Writing Station - Sequencing story cards

Computer Station