Edition 2011, #13 - Dr. Seuss and the Kindergarteners

Dr. Seuss and the Kindergartners
by Terrance R

On March 15, the kindergartners spent Dr. Seuss Day doing a lot of creative and fun activities. They watched a movie called “Sneetchers” which was about a group that wouldn’t accept another group because they didn’t have a blue star on their stomachs.

They also made booklets about Dr. Seuss. I was able to look at one titled “Green Eggs and Ham.” The student made a booklet with rhyming words describing the actual story. The theme of the booklet was, “If you try it, you might like it.” They also colored some Dr. Seuss coloring sheets. All of the coloring sheets looked so creative and colorful.

The class had a “Mark Your Vote” board outside their room where all students could use stickers to vote for their favorite Dr. Seuss story. I think “Green Eggs and Ham” won. From my experience with the kindergartners, I can tell that they had a lot of fun that day. Dr. Seuss shall never be FORGOTTEN!!!

I notice the Dr. Seuss spirit in Ms. Boatman and Ms. Griffin. Ms. Boatman was a Cat in the Hat, and Ms. Griffin was Thing 1. Their costumes and joy really caught their students and everyone else's attention. They spread the Dr. Seuss spirit to the whole school. Even the kindergartners wore a Dr. Seuss hat to express their passion for Dr. Seuss.

It was exciting for me to write this story. The creativity from the students and teachers really got my attention. Who knew such young students had limitless creativity inside of them. I expect more stories to come from Kindergarten. They make a great addition to St. Ethelreda School.

Edition 2011, #12 - Can you spell "celery"?

2nd Grade Spelling Bee

by Chanel B and Mr. Bill

The 2nd graders had a spelling bee on Friday, March 18, 2011. They had outstanding and challenging words to spell. There were nine spellers and within 4 minutes there were only four. Sr. Sheena and Mrs. Davis have taught those little ones some very complex words. When I listened to those 2nd graders spell I said “Wow these children can spell. They must have studied and studied all day long until they got tired”.

I talked to some of the students and here are their feelings:

• Linda H – "I like spelling bees and I am very into them."
• Kendall W – "I wanted to be in the spelling bee, but I didn’t make it."
• Nekira W - "I like vocabulary."
• Briana L - "The spelling bee was fun, and I liked the challenging words."
• Mrs. Davis – "It was awesome. They had challenging words, and they were successful."
• Sr. Sheena - "I wanted them to have a spelling bee because they are very good spellers and one day they will be in a real spelling bee."
• Noadiyah J – "When I started out I was not good at spelling, but through studying, studying, studying I got good, and I always wanted to be a speller."

Celery was the final and winning word. Congrats to Noadiyah J on winning the 2nd grade spelling bee.

Thank you to Sr. Sheena, Mrs. Davis, and the whole 2nd grade class for your outstanding job.

The entire photo set of the 2nd grade spelling bee is available here:

Photo set - 2nd grade spelling bee

Edition 2011, #11 - 3rd Grade and Flat Stanley

Flat Stanley
by Dejah W and Chanel B

"Flat Stanley" is a book written by Jeff Brown. It's about a boy that is flat because a bulletin board fell on him while he was in bed.

3rd grade and Mrs. Leonard came up with a brilliant project idea to send out their own Flat Stanley's all over the world. This project started in the beginning of October 2010. The students followed the adventures of their Flat Stanleys and their travels.

3rd grade students sent out 22 Flat Stanleys with each student’s picture. They decorated and colored each to make it their own. Flat Stanleys were sent to over 15 states in the United States. They also went to 3 countries: Canada, Australia, and England.

Each Flat Stanley went out with a letter asking their friends to let him learn about their community. They sent all of them out and got 18 back.

Here is a recap of where some of the letters went:

• In a helicopter above Oklahoma
• To Ohio state to see the Buckeyes football game
• To Minnesota to visit a university
• To Niceville, Florida air force space went in a fighter plane
• To a local McDonalds
• To the White House

The kids were so excited about some of the really cool things they got back:

• Donald and Trey: "Our Flat Stanley went to the White House. We got a picture of the White House dog."
• Kentrall: "Mine went to Ohio State. I got a jacket, CD, magazines, and photos of the campus."

And Mrs. Leonard said, "Flat Stanley was a great opportunity for our students to interact with people all over the world. We enjoyed reading all about each adventure and the pictures and souvenirs that were sent back to us. It will be a project that we all remember!"

Wow, sounds like Flat Stanley had a lot of fun and even made new friends. I wonder what it would be like to become flat.

3rd Grade and Flat Stanley (photo set)