By KAYLEE NELSON, TAYLOR THRASHER, ELAINE MOORE and SHELBY ANDERSON
At Foley Intermediate School, our Teacher of the Year is Mr. Ronald Nero. He teaches a fifth and sixth grade resource class. He has two sons named Ronald and Kenyan. He is married to Kathy and she is a counselor on the college level. He has been teaching for 14 years, and this is the first time he will be Teacher of the Year. Congratulations, Mr. Nero for being our school’s Teacher of the Year.
The Foley Intermediate School Book Fair was Dec. 5-12. The theme of the Book Fair was “Reading Is Out Of This World.” There were many things you could buy including new books such as “Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever,” and “Judy Moody Girl Detective.” On Family Night there was a drawing to see who would win a $50 shopping spree at the Book Fair. The winner of the drawing was Andrew Beasley. We all enjoyed the Book Fair. We would like to thank Mrs. Judy Thomas, our librarian, for doing this for us.
Mrs. Stonicher’s class made volcano projects in science. They used clay and other items to make the volcanoes look cool. The students were allowed to get creative with the models, so they painted them different colors. The students got to show Mrs. Stonicher that their volcanoes would erupt. They had to bring in their materials like baking soda, vinegar, etc. The students had an exciting time making and exploding their volcano projects.
We hope that all of our Foley Elementary families have a safe and happy holiday. Christmas holidays start today and last until Jan. 2. School will resume on Jan. 3.
Ms Hayes’ third grade class has been studying Earth materials. They just completed a rocks and minerals unit and had many great hands-on learning experiences with different rocks and minerals.
Currently the class is studying matter and will soon start exploring chemicals in the next AMSTI unit. They are learning all about multiplication concepts and learning our multiplication facts. They are reading “Henry and Beezus” by Beverly Cleary aloud in class. The students love reading about Henry Huggins, his dog Ribsy, and his entire neighborhood friends. They love third grade.
Mrs. Wortham’s Pre-K class is getting in the holiday spirit and working on their standards. In math they practiced counting and patterning with holiday symbols. In reading they are enjoying some wonderful holiday-themed stories. One of their favorites is “It’s Christmas, David.” The students followed up reading the book by writing their own letter to encourage David to try to be on his best behavior for the holidays. Mrs. Wortham and her students hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.
Mrs. Smith’s kindergarten class has busily been preparing for their December DIBELS testing and their hard work is paying off tremendously. They are learning and practicing lots of wonderful math concepts such as patterning, shapes, colors, coin identification and counting to 100. Their science and social studies lessons are teaching them lots about the world around us and how things grow and change. Keep up the good work, boys and girls.
Christmas break begins today at 3 p.m. We hope everyone has a safe and restful holiday and we will see you back at school bright and early Jan. 3.
Gulf Shores Elem. School
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in the library at GSES. Thanks to a very special parent volunteer, we have all sorts of reindeer in our library now.
Kindergarten took a field trip to Wales West. This was a wonderful experience. We have been studying holiday traditions for the holidays. A special thank you to all our parents who volunteer for us each week, we really do appreciate you so much.
First grade has been very busy with AMSTI math. We have all learned how to collect data so a representation can be made of the collected data. The students took a survey from questions like: Would you paint the school blue or red? Would you rather eat a hotdog or a hamburger? Would you rather explore the ocean or outer space? Ask your first grader if they had fun collecting data from each other.
Second graders enjoyed Anansi folk tales this week in reading. Even though Anansi is SO shrewd and sneaky, he sometimes is the one who is tricked. We’re also learning all about place value in AMSTI math. We can decompose numbers like crazy.
Ms. Cribbs’ class is learning about different Christmas traditions from around the world. We will compare and contrast the traditions of two different countries using a Venn diagram. We are also activating our previous knowledge of Christmas symbols by creating a list of things we see only at Christmas time. We will use a KWL chart to write what we Know about, what we Wonder about, and what we Learned about the symbols. Finally, we will let of creative juices flow by making ornaments.
Ms. Laroque’s fourth grade is finishing up their AMSTI unit on Sound. They have enjoyed trying to guess what an object was just by the sound. They also completed Internet research about sound. They shared some very interesting facts. AMSTI math is going great. We find using a number line to “jump” to find the answers in addition and subtraction almost fun. We made individual 1,000 books and a class 10,000 chart. We were surprised at how many numbers there were in 1,000 and 10,000 when you saw them all lined up on a chart.
In fifth grade, the students are working towards meeting their Accelerated Reader goals for the second quarter. The students who meet their goals will go to lunch at Lambert’s Cafe in Foley.
We had another great turnout for our Spirit Night at Chick fil A. Thanks so much to the restaurant for being so generous to sponsor this fundraiser each month.
The Gulf Shores Fire Department came to visit Mrs. Anderson’s kindergarten class last week. The students learned all about what firefighters do and got to explore their equipment and fire truck. Thank you for coming.
Mrs. Luanne Peterson’s first grade class recently took a field trip to Five Rivers. We enjoyed seeing the different animals that are part of the delta. We especially liked the lessons on reptiles and mammals which went along with our recent science lessons at school. Thanks, Five Rivers, for such an informative and fantastic day.
All of the second grade classes at GSES have been learning about Christmas traditions around the world. Our five teachers travel from classroom to classroom to teach the country they’ve chosen. Our students have learned about customs and traditions in Mexico, Italy, Israel, China and Holland. The students are also so excited about today with a very special breakfast at school in their P.J.s.
Third graders are busy learning their multiplication facts. Those mastering all of the multiplication facts will be rewarded with an ice cream sundae party. All the third grade teachers and students would like to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday. See you back in 2012.
Fourth grade is so proud of our grade level co-worker, Mrs. Nicole Godbold, for winning Teacher of the Year. She is a wonderful and very deserving of this prestigious award.
The fifth grades at GSES finished their Variables Science AMSTI kit this week. They found the capacity of their lifeboats, and tested the buoyancy of their lifeboats. The fifth graders also LOVE the iPads they get to use to help them complete web research projects.
The sixth grade students have been using the iPads to create projects.
The following students were winners in the Thanksgiving card contest sponsored by Kaiser Realty: First place was Sally Caroline Davis in Mrs. Robinson’s fifth grade, second place was Luci Hall in Mrs. Wallace’s fourth grade, third place was Payton Ross in Ms. Laroque’s fourth grade; and Honorable Mention went to Laney Barnes in Mrs. Hart’s second grade. Many thanks to our art teacher, Mrs. Jones who worked hard helping all of the students enter the contest.
Orange Beach Elementary
Mrs. Cahn’s kindergarten is exploring Christmas around the world and using their five senses. They looked for objects with their eyes, sounds with their ears and smelled mint when they made peppermint candy canes. They touched with their skin and discovered sticky oranges, sharp clove seeds and smooth cinnamon bark when they made pomander balls. They tasted sweet icing and cookies when they constructed gingerbread houses.
Mrs. Cahn’s kindergartners are learning to estimate and measure in math. They get a picture of an amount in their head and then compare that amount to a new set. They decide if there are more, less or about the same number of objects. A “good guess” is an estimate.
The third grade has been learning lots of information about different landforms around the world, as well as how to help save and conserve our natural resources. The Alabama Coastal Foundation will be coming to do a presentation on Tuesday to teach them how to “Be a Bay Buddy.” Students will learn about basic conservation principles such as water and energy conservation, recycling and putting litter where it belongs.
The third grade will also be taking a field trip to the Mobile Exploreum on Wednesday to learn more about landforms. The exhibit and IMAX film to be shown is called Kangaroo Kraze and will focus on the life and landforms in the land down under, Australia. Students are still learning their multiplication facts and doing a fantastic job. As a specific factor is mastered, they get to add a body part to their personal snowman, in hopes of having a completed Frosty by Christmas break.
Kindergarten students in Mrs. Brantley’s Sea, Sand, and Stars classes have been studying shells. They are practicing sorting, grouping and graphing their data. First grade has been studying soil. After collecting soil samples, they investigated the contents of their soil and recorded their findings. Dinosaurs and fossils have been the focus of second grade’s study. Students have measured and compared the length and width of sauropods, elephants, and humans. After learning about track ways and fossils, they made sponge fossils using salt as the minerals to harden the “bone.”
Third grade has completed their study of rocks and minerals. They tested 12 minerals to determine streak color, luster, light, magnetism, hardness and shape. They have concluded the study by making crystal snowflake ornaments.
A mixed bag of science continues for Mrs. Allen’s upper elementary at Sea, Sand and Stars. Fourth grade classes are identifying and studying the ecology of plankton, fifth graders are engaged in the study and dissection of squid and sixth graders are investigating parameters of water chemistry relative to aquaculture.
Field trips continue this month at Sea, Sand, and Stars with third grade classes
visiting from Robertsdale Elementary, and fourth grade classes from Christ the King and Magnolia School.