I Wonder ....How Much Can We Learn?

Students, teachers, staff, and volunteers have been immersed in the world of Winter "Wonder"land. Children are wondering and learning about all sorts of things! The research portion of the sessions is finished, and the project creating is well underway.

In kindergarten, students are wondering about penguins and getting ready for their field trip to the Rosamond Gifford Zoo later this week.

First graders visited the zoo last week and are delving deeper into their research about large mammals like lions, zebras, and hippos. The braver of the students are slithering open their books and learning about snakes.

Hurricanes! Tornadoes! Tsunamis! Our second graders are filling their heads with meteorological information about nature's wildest disasters. 

Yesterday second graders welcomed guests from the American Red Cross who presented information about how to stay safe in different emergencies. The American Red Cross provided each second grader with a special pillowcase as part of The Pillow Project. Learn more about it here. 

American Red Cross representatives Rachel Bowers, Danielle Cicero, and Ellyn Glashinski talk about how to stay safe during a flood. 

 

Remember to save the date for the Winter "Wonder"land event Thursday, February 5 from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. Don't miss the opportunity to view all of the students' hard work on display. 

Reminder: There is no school for students on Friday, January 30. This is a Teacher Workshop Day. 

~ Lori

Winter "Wonder"land Begins!

Stonehedge Blue has kicked off our Winter "Wonder"land projects! Every student participates in the two week-long project that allows students to delve deep into a particular topic. They work to answer the questions that they 'wonder' about.

"What would happen if a hurricane collided with a wildfire?" wondered one curious second grader.

Second graders kicked off the research portion of the project this week. As a whole, second graders are learning about natural disasters. Each teacher is focusing their research and teaching around a specific topic and the students chose which area of study interested them. For instance, all second grade students interested in learning more about hurricanes headed to Miss Finger's room to explore. Those interested in wildfires joined together in Mrs. Prosser's room and began researching.

Students will work in small groups with teachers, teacher assistants, and parent volunteers to research and then create projects about the topic they are learning about. Representatives from the local chapter of the American Red Cross will visit classrooms and talk to students about disasters.

First grade students are studying large mammals and will enjoy a trip to the zoo. Kindergarten students are exploring the chilly world of the penguin and will also journey to the zoo to witness a penguin feeding, hold a penguin egg, and feel their feathers. 

A save-the-date card recently went home with students for the Winter "Wonder"land project finale. We hope you can join us on Thursday, February 5 from 6:30- 7:30 p.m.

There is no school on Monday, January, 19 in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Happy Holidays from Stonehedge

First Graders Travel Around the World
Our first grade students learned about holiday traditions as part of a unit that studied Holidays Around the World. As each group visited different classrooms, they were told about a different country's traditions. They even created passports to document their journey.

These first grade students learned about the tradition of spinning the dreidel in Israel. 

 

After learning about holidays in Germany, children sampled gingerbread men. 

Miss Elmer stamped passports as students left her classroom after learning about Mexican traditions and dancing to "Feliz Navidad".

Mrs. Cunningham, dressed as Sweden's Saint Lucia, taught the children about Swedish traditions.

Kindergarten Plays Their Reindeer Games

Classes took turns preparing magical 'reindeer food': some special oats and glitter. 

  

After making these fantastic reindeer hats, everyone listened to a reindeer story. 

These second graders were so excited to read their personalized letters from the elf!

A little party-time break and a different kind of holiday wrapping!

Welcome to First Grade, Mrs. Harris

Welcome to Mrs. Harris--first grade's newest addition. She will be filling in for Miss Munley until her return.  

Students Take Part in CODE Presentations 

Thank you to Officer Brand for talking with students yesterday as part of the Community Oriented Drug Education (CODE) program. Here she addresses second grade students about anti-bullying. Maureen Foran-Mocete from the McMahon /Ryan Child Advocacy Center also spoke with students. Topics were as follows:

Kindergarten - My Body Belongs to Me

Grade 1 – Building Self Esteem 

Grade 2 - Bullying Awareness.

 

Did you know that Stonehedge Blue is now on Twitter? Be sure to follow us @Stonehedgeblue to see snapshots of your children's days and other important information!




Please remember that school is closed beginning Monday, December 22 and reopens on Monday, January 5, 2015. 

Happy Holidays,
~Lori

Volunteers Needed for Winter Wonderland...Please Respond by Friday, December 19!

Dear Stonehedge Blue Families,

I know how busy you are and what a premium time is for everyone. Sometimes it seems that there is not enough time in a day for all that we have to do. With that being said, I am asking for volunteers for a very special upcoming event. A note detailing this information is going home today with students.

Our 2^nd Annual Winter “Wonder”land project for grades K-2 will be beginning soon.  For those of you new to Stonehedge, this is a project based learning opportunity where students will be researching topics of interest and preparing a project to showcase and share what they have learned. 

Volunteers are needed to help children research and gather information and then to design and create their projects. This is done with small groups of students within the classroom. It all culminates with an evening event where families come to view the final projects. Last year, this proved to be a very exciting and motivating time for students as they explored and became experts about a variety of topics! 

The established schedule is as follows:

January 12-16, Topic Research, (Volunteers needed during the morning time frame ranging from 9:30-12:00)

January 20-23, Project Work, (Volunteers needed during the morning time frame ranging from 9:30-12:00)

January 26-29, Additional time if needed to complete projects (9:30-12:00)

February 5 Evening Presentation, (Need support to decorate and display projects after school 3:00 – 5:00)

If you are interested in helping out as a volunteer and are available during any of the above mentioned times, please complete the form included with the letter that went home today, or one is available online (by clicking here) and return to the main office by Friday, December 19^th.  If you have any questions, please contact the main office at 487-4633.  

I have scheduled a meeting for all individuals who wish to volunteer for Monday, January 12 at 9:30 in the Blue Cafeteria prior to the first day of the program. This will be a nice opportunity to meet you and share some of my requests for volunteering. Thank you in advance for considering volunteering. I look forward to hearing from those interested soon.

Sincerely,

Lori Keevil