THANK YOU!!!
5/26/2018
Thank you all so much for an amazing year that went by way too quickly! I so enjoyed teaching and learning with each of your kiddos and appreciate all of the support that you gave throughout the year. Please drop by and say hello next year...I'm going to miss these amazing little people!
Our salmon mural is up! We had a little unveiling the other day in the cold and rain but that didn't dampen the spirits of the second graders who were there! Look for it the next time you head to the airport...it was definitely a labor of love for the second and third graders! This past Friday was the last round of ACE electives. These multi-age activities meet most Friday afternoons to explore different topics and activities and also to learn new skills. This elective resulted in some very colorful collages for the kids to take home. Even through the last couple days of school, students are still learning, building and exploring. Bridges 2 math class took on the challenges of building different marble ramps to meet certain parameters. A ramp with two hills, a corner and a 5 inch jump? No problem! This last full school week found the second graders working hard to finish their exhibits for the Biography Buddies Wax Museum. Normally the students themselves dress up as a famous character in history and we create a wax museum in the library, but due to timing issues and some other complications the students came up with this smaller version solution instead. Please come and take a look at our finished exhibits. The museum will be open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week.
Our Adventure
5/13/2018
The end of the year is always jam-packed with lots of fun events but one of the most anticipated is our annual overnight spring field trip. These trips are fun for the students to be sure, but they also offer a great opportunity to practice independence and personal responsibility outside of the school setting. They are designed to strengthen the bonds that have been nurtured throughout the year and are a culmination of a year of hard work. The second graders spent the beginning of last week learning how to sew knapsacks for the overnight. Even with varying levels of sewing skill and knowledge, each second grader produced a knapsack they proudly called their own. And finally we were off on our great adventure. Our first stop was the Anchorage Museum where the kids got to explore and interact with the newly updated exhibits. Afterwards we started our journey north. We made a stop at Thunderbird Falls where we all enjoyed a picnic lunch and hiked to the waterfall. We then traveled to Birchwood Camp. After unpacking and settling in, the second graders were tasked with some team building challenges. Some were easy and some more challenging, but they worked together as a team to be successful. We had some downtime before dinner and so we explored the camp a bit. There's something about just watching kids be kids, investigating and exploring the world around them. After a yummy dinner, it was time for some group activities. Students did a compliment scoot activity in which they all wrote something they admired or liked about each other. These will be going in their memory books that we will make this week. The smiles on their faces were priceless as they read all about what their friends wrote. After that, it was getting ready for bed and lights out. It was a relatively early night, most kids were out by 9. Morning came quickly as the entire class was awake by 6:45. After breakfast and getting ready for the day, it was time to pack up and clean up the cabin. We were off to our next adventure...scarf painting! This was an activity that many of the students were really looking forward to and they weren't disappointed. While we waited for their scarves to dry, we were able to explore a creek and play outside. This was also a highlight of the trip. Many second graders wished that they had a creek in their own backyards. After a stop at Pizza Man for lunch, we headed to the last part of our adventure. The closer we got to Eagle River Nature Center, the darker the sky became. By the time we started our hike, it was windy and rainy and cold! The kids were troopers though and we made it to the yurt. Here they were given a lesson on plant defenses and were able to create their own plants with their own special defenses. Thankfully, the only wildlife we saw was a snowshoe hare and a couple of birds. We did get to see these messy paw prints though!
As we headed back to PNA, the sun broke through the clouds giving us a beautiful end to a wonderful trip. Tired and happy, the second graders were already reminiscing about their adventure and wondering what next year's will hold. Biography Buddies
5/5/2018
One of the skills that students will need as they enter an ever changing and dynamic workforce is that of collaboration. They will need how to communicate and they will need how to work as part of a team. Students will need to be able to take on various roles within that team and fulfill their responsibilities within their given timelines in order to ensure the success of the team. The newest collaboration between the second graders is creating a biography buddy wax museum. Right now they are all in phase one in which they are gathering research and creating their exhibits. Soon, they will need to decide on the remaining details, such as how and where to set up the exhibits, advertising, possible invitations and when to actually have the museum open. We'll let you know when it's open! |
Marcella HitchcockMs. Hitchcock teaches second grade, is a mom of two, an avid reader, lifelong learner, and a seeker of sunshine! Archives
March 2021
Categories |