Great News for Christmas

My 24 students each performed a random act of kindness over the last 24 hours. That is their Christmas gift to the world! Enjoy this holiday season and start off 2010 with spreading joy and kindness to others!

Make a Smilebox greeting

Merry Christmas to all!

Make a Smilebox greeting

Meet our friend Elfis

Do you know about Elf on a Shelf? Of course you do! Our classroom elf is named Elfis, the children picked this due to their love of the King of Rock. They also have a love for sideburns and fried peanut butter sandwiches, and so does Elfis! He watches over our class full of children and reports back to Santa each night on our behavior. He doesn't text, email, or IM with Santa...he actually flies to the North Pole EACH AND EVERY evening. He has left notes and candy on our desks, watched us in the hallway, played in the snow, climbed our Christmas tree, and today he was planted in our poinsettia! The rule is that children can not touch their elf, or he will not fly home each night. Poor Alani bumped into him the other day and was MORTIFIED! She wrote him a sincere apology!



Where will you be tomorrow Elfis?

Happy Bill of Rights Day!

Today we had some guests to help us celebrate Bill of Rights Day. What an important portion of the U.S. Constitution and I know I'm one American that is quite thankful for the part that these rights play to govern our society. Our special guests included Florida Supreme Court Justice Fred Lewis, Judge James Wolf from Florida's First District Court of Appeals, Annette Boyd Pitts who serves as the executive director of the Florida Law Related Education Association, and a team of lawyers. We had a lot of expertise for a LOT of questions posed by my fifth graders. After thoroughly reviewing the Bill of Rights, students were able to participate in a simulation. It got a little heated, but in the end I think they came out with a new understanding and respect for our Constitution including the Bill of Rights.

Judge Wolf explains some basic rights to a group of students.



Judge Lewis helps this group of students prioritize their rights.


So, what's your favorite right?

Happy Hanukkah!

We had such a special Hanukkah treat from the Byrne Family on Friday. Mr. and Mrs. Byrne came in to our classroom to share about their heritage and the magic of Hanukkah. Mrs. Byrne taught us the dreidel song and answered all our questions!
Happy Hanukkah Byrne Family!

A Job Well Done!

Congratulations Reid for representing our class so well in Friday's Tropicana Speech Contest. It's a hard task, but Reid has taken on the challenge for two years! He is a great speech writer, and I wonder if the White House is in his future some day! Teachers around school kept commenting about how much they related to his speech topic. Well it was about surviving five principals in six years!

It's the most wonderful time of the year, and we have no great news to report. Be on the lookout and email us at great.news.grizzlies@gmail.com. We know you are doing great things!

On another note, we are quite happy that our Elf on the Shelf, Elfis, is watching our kind deeds. He reports back to Santa each night, so we are minding our P and Qs!

The Cow Jumped Over the Oreo Moon!

We could have really used a cow today during science to supply us with some nice cold milk to go with our Oreo moons. My science students had to create the eight phases of the moon by doing a little Oreo creme sculpting. Make sure to ask your child to point out the different lunar phases!

Our Snow Day!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Forecast: Snow Day at Gilchrist Tomorrow

Wait, wait, wait. Don't tuck yourself in bed for a long winter's nap quite yet. With snow blanketing much of the country, we don't want to miss out on the fun. For my Floridian children, snow days are quite a possibility. However, tomorrow we will be celebrating all things snow with our science buddies in Ms. McKnight's 3rd grade class. Stay tuned for our weather report!

The Lost Colony of Roanoke

I don't know about you, but I am captivated by U.S. history. I have a few students that are too, and I am trying to convenience the others that it's a pretty cool subject. For the last week we have been discussing early colonization of North America. Our topics have been far and wide, but today we discussed the lost colony of Roanoke. What a fascinating story to read, teach, and contemplate. Today student groups had to work on a simulation that put them in the position of colonist that was commissioned by Sir Walter Raleigh to make the voyage from England to the Roanoke colony. They were only able to choose some of the people listed on their sheet to make the trek with them. It was quite interesting to listen to my students debate with one another about who they thought should be able to make the trip.

Great News of the Week!

Our great news of the week comes from Phoenix, Arizona. We received the sweetest email from one of the ladies at the Arizona Humane Society. They have received our package and were so grateful for our generosity. We'll keep you posted to see if we get some pictures of the animals enjoying their toys and sporting their bandannas!

Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors, Oh My!

Last week we were busy learning about all the planets our solar system has to offer, but this week we've moved on to other objects out there in space. We've learned that a comet is much like a dirty snowball, a asteroid is a minor planet, and that meteors come from meteoroids and can turn into meteorites. Here are a few great sites to visit on your journey through the asteroid belt and beyond!

Asteroids and beyond

Information about NASA's Stardust Mission

Do you have what it takes to be a colonist?

Tomorrow we will begin to explore a period of time in our nation's history that is pivotal to the later success of our young country. Students will act as historians and research topics like the French and Indian War, agriculture in the colonies, Jamestown, etc. A very useful website can be found here.

Put yourself in the shoes of a Jamestown colonist by playing the Jamestown Game here.