Ahoy Matey!

Shiver me timber, these pirates are looking for some map skills. On their voyage of the sea they ran into a few islands.

Peace, Love, and Organs

Today is the International Day of Peace. Our students celebrated this day during special area with song, poetry, and pinwheels (ask them more about this!). Thank you to our special area teachers for making this day possible.

We used this day to kickoff Celebrate Freedom Week in our classroom. Have I mentioned before that I love U.S. History and all that it entails? Our class discussion revolved around, "What does freedom have to do with peace?" What a great dinner table topic!

On a completely different note, we are studying about organs in science right now. We hitched a ride on the Organ Trail today so that we could explore the systems inside our body. Click here for a great website to help you with your project. Do you feel like your brain is doing this sometimes?

Great News of the Week!

We have a few great news stories to share with you, but we need you to keep them coming in!

This week great things happened all around us, here are a few to share with you:

* A kind neighbor lends a hand to others in the neighborhood by mending clothes, and bringing goodies for the children.

* A group of middle schoolers no long stand by themselves at the bus stop, they have started talking, smiling, and even laughing (this is hard for middle school children!) as they wait for the bus.

* A family with no school aged children of their own sponsors three children to attend fall field trips.

Make it a great week,
Mrs. Whitaker's Class

Celebrate Freedom Week!

Why the red, white, and blue in September? Our class along with the rest of the United States, will be celebrating our freedom this week! Something that I feel that we all take for granted. September 21st through 25th is Celebrate Freedom Week, with the main focus on the Declaration of Independence. Check back with us throughout the week to learn more about good ole Thomas Jefferson and some other interesting facts about the Declaration. Remember to take time to cherish your freedom this week!

Cells and the Constitution

Today just happens to be the 222nd birthday of the United Statues Constitution. Happy Birthday! I love American History, I get that from my father, and times like today excite me. It excites me to think of the intellect, forward thinking, and perseverance of our founding fathers and of the framers of the Constitution. If you are an American History buff too, visit the National Archives site and the National Constitution Center site. Both are amazing!



Switching gears completely (unless you consider that the framers were made up of cells!), we made model cells today in science. Students decided on everyday items to represent organelles within animal cells. We got a lot of great information from Cells Alive. Do you know what a vacuole is???

Where The Wild Things Are

Yes there are a lot of WILD things in fifth grade, but today there was a rare (thank the Lord) exception. We had a snake visitor named Heidi. She and her owner Mrs. Bryan shared a ton of cool information with us about vertebrates, reptiles, and more specifically snakes.

Some of us that aren't scared of snakes had a little meet and greet with Heidi. (Note to self...don't let someone 1 1/2 feet shorter than you take your picture, you will look like a GIANT!)


Some others, were very brave to get up close and personal with Heidi



Then others could not be convinced, no way, no how! (Just look at that expression on his face, priceless!)



We also read a great book today with fabulous illustrations. The author, Arthur Dorros, does an excellent job of mixing fun words with actual science concepts. What if a fungus ate our school?

Our Great News of the Week!

We read all of the great news that you sent us, and we couldn't pick just one entry. We'll share with you news that brought smiles to our faces this week:

* A sister and her family visited a family member in the hospital after an accident and brought her a basket full of goodies, since she does nice things for others all the time. Good things happen to those who do good for others!

* A group of middle schoolers took time out of their busy lives and served food at a soup kitchen! Way to go guys!

* A Tallahassee volunteer spent her weekend in the magical place of Disney World as she chaperoned child cancer patients during a bonding trip. What a special place to bring such deserving children.

* A mom passed a child waiting for the school bus in pouring down rain, but turned around and stood with him under her umbrella until the bus came. Way to go mom!

* A neighbor passed out back to school goodies and notes of encouragement to children in her neighborhood.

* A customer in the Starbucks drive through had her coffee paid for by the person in front of her. After being short on patience, she realized that the wait was worth it!

Our class project can only continue with your help. Make sure to share those random acts of kindness sightings with us at great.news.grizzlies@gmail.com.