Opening a Success

     On Tuesday of this week we had our "Opening" reception for our Civil Rights Exhibit at the Marshall County Historical Museum.  We had between 50-60 people there to view the students work and to watch some of their multimedia projects.  Those that attended were very excited and happy with the results and enjoyed the cookies and punch!  The project (that do not require the computer) will be on display until the end of March.  If you did not get a chance to come to the opening please take some time to visit the museum.  They have some very interesting exhibits.  They are open Tuesday-Saturday 10-4. 
     We are finishing up our Civil Rights PBL project and we have seen some really great items.  The stories the students are writing are wonderful and the use of the green screen has been very cool.  We have enjoyed the excitement about this project.  We are planning our next project now!  The kids are already asking. 
     Next week we will go back to a traditional schedule as we prepare for ISTEP.  ISTEP will begin March 4-8.  We will test each morning.  We will run a different schedule for our entire building where everyone will be testing at the same time.  It is VERY important that if you have to pull your child out for an appointment that week that it be after 10:15.  This helps the students and the school.  Makeups are hard on us and on the kids.  Make sure your student has a good breakfast, gets lots of sleep and is prepared and ready to go. 
     This week in addition to our project we worked on learning our helping verbs, we learned how to find surface area and we tried some new food with Professor Popcorn.  Students have been working on states and capitals as well as working on Achieve 3000.  Our team has won the Achieve 3000 spirit stick for many weeks and we are very proud of the achievements in this program.  We also have an incentive program for math IXL encourage your child to work on these at home. 

     Have a great weekend.  

 Photos of Museum Opening

Short Week---Long Weekend?

     Another busy week here at Riverside.  We are still working on our Civil Rights projects.  Acuity testing and Explorations have slowed down the progress a bit.  We are still very happy with the progress and the discussions that are going on with our students.  They are really doing a great job.  We have had some visitors in our classrooms recently from subs to administrators and they have had some great comments about out PBL projects.  One said that she was impressed with the amount of independent learning that is going on.  Students have done a great job explaining to our guests what we are doing and why we are studying this topic.  These students have really taken hold of this project and are really working at finding out things they need.  They come to us and through questioning are able to figure things out on their own.  They have the power and it is remarkable the conversations we are having and hearing. 
     We know that after school is a very busy time and our kids are very involved but we hope that as many students as possible are able to attend the opening of our Civil Right's Exhibit on Tuesday at the Marshall County Historical Museum.  The opening will begin at 3:30 and run until at least 4:30 (the museum is staying open later for us)  Even is students have practice and can't come until 4:15 please still have them come so they can at least be a part of it for a little bit. 
     We had our second round of Explorations this past week and as always it is a favorite of the kids.  We will be having the first round of ISTEP in a few weeks and we hope that you will encourage your students to do their very best on these tests.  Also, encourage them to practice their skills on the sites we have provided them.  This first part is not on the computer so they will be writing and answering question on paper. 
     We just finished our third week of the nine weeks.  Be sure to ask your child how many AR points he or she has.  We would love for everyone to make their AR goal. 
     Have a wonderful long weekend and we hope to see many of you at the museum on Tuesday.

Busy Week!

     This week has been a big blur!  Students have been working very hard on the Civil Rights project.  The students have really been doing some great things.  The first projects are looking good.  Some groups spent some time refining their original projects and they are taking ownership and pride in their work.  The second set of projects involve using their computers and filming something.  We have figured out how to use a green screen and it has been so neat to see the groups helping each other figure things out with out having to ask us for every little bit.  They are becoming self directed learners and we are becoming true facilitators.  It is a very neat time.
     Some exciting news!!!  We are going to have a Civil Rights exhibit at the Marshall County Historical Museum.   We will be setting it up next week and they are going to have an opening day reception on February 19th from 3:30-4:30.  Students will be able to come and show their computer projects as well as their hanging displays.  We hope to have as many students and parents come as possible.  We know that time may be tough for some of you and we understand that.  The exhibit will be on display until after spring break.  The museum is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10-4.  We are very excited about the opportunity.  There are going to be refreshments at the opening so the kids were very excited about that!!
     We are entering the toughest time of the school year with ISTEP coming and the winter blahs kicking in.  Please help us by encouraging your child to try their best each and every day.  We want to end this year as great as we started.
     Have a great weekend!

February 1st----Really??

    This week marked the final part of our Indian project.  Our final four groups traveled to Washington Discovery Academy and presented to some of the students there.  The kids came back so excited and I heard one say it was the best.  One of the groups had their computer get what we have named the "wheel of death" on their Mac during their presentation and they did not even miss a beat.  They handled it with ease and continued on to another part of their presentation until the wheel stopped spinning!  These kids are amazing and we could not be prouder of all of the kids this year and how they have adapted to the different projects.
     We have really been diving into our current project dealing with the Civil Rights Movement.  The students have been working well in their new groups with very few problems.  They have attended "break out" sessions on different choices where they attend if it pertains to their group.  It is very cool to see them make good choices.  We have had lots of discussions about involving everyone in the group in the project and they do really work at including everyone and trying to make everyone feel comfortable.   It is a process and they are for the most part truly "getting it!"
     In math this week we worked with polygons and learning to find the diameter and radius of a circle.  Mrs. Dennie was not here for two days this week but the students were still able to get the information she wanted them to get through podcasts.  Technology is a wonderful tool and we are working to use technology to enhance our students learning.
    In language arts students have been working on writing skills.  In social studies they have continued to learn some more information on the civil rights movement.  Professor Popcorn has been visiting us in science class for the past few Thursday's.  Ask your child what they thought of the spinach smoothie!  Their answers may surprise you!
     Next week we will be taking another round of Acuity tests.  These tests help us see where students are in regards to being ready to take the ISTEP.  We may not have covered everything yet that is being tested but it gives us and idea of where our students are and what we need to work on the next few months. 
     If you are on Facebook please follow Riverside Intermediate PCSC.  If you are on Twitter then follow Mrs. Dennie (@tldennie).  We are trying to get with the times a bit and are trying to Tweet some and to post some of our happenings on Facebook.  We hope that everyone has a great weekend and stays warm. 

 Students used pretzel sticks to make polygons.

 Olive and Kylie presenting at WDA!

Adam and Konnor getting ready!

Lyndsey and Syndi presenting.

Konnor showing their Keynote.

Getting the kids up to look at their model.

Alyssa and Kyla showing items they made.

New group watching Olive and Kylie!

New group listening to Adam and Konnor who dressed very nicely for the day! 

Kyla and Alyssa with a small group.

Lyndsey and Sydni all dressed up!

More of Kyla and Alyssa in their outfits!  

    
Olive and Kylie also looked good in their Indian gear!