Coles Ferry Elementary

It is hard to believe that we only have 9 weeks of school left.  This will be an extremely busy 9 weeks, with TCAP testing, as well as testing for next year EXTEND classes. Students that are presently in EXTEND do not have to be retested for EXTEND.  I will be busy screening the second grade students that qualify, as well as other third-fifth graders that are nominated.

The Invention Convention went very well.  We had three different entries to win awards.

Hannah Lawson-Fourth Grade Individual Champion

Mary Caroline Minter and Anna Dozier–Fifth Grade Best Presentation

Lucas Oakley and Nolan Rolley–Fifth Grade First Place Invention

Congratulations to these students and to all of the participants.

Have a wonderful remainder of the school year and let me know if I can be of any help.

Invention Convention is almost here.  Just another week and we will be traveling to Murfreesboro for the 20th Invention Convention.  We have 47 students attending, and they are entering 28 various games and inventions.  We plan to leave promptly at 7:45.  I am asking the students to arrive in my classroom by 7:40, AFTER they have checked in with their homeroom teacher.

Students will need to bring lunch from home, or money to purchase lunch.  We will be stopping at McDonald’s (near the VA hospital) for lunch.  I know the students are excited about attending the Invention Convention.  I will be taking a camera, and make a picture of each student and their game or invention.  I will have duplicates printed so each child will receive a picture about a week after Invention Convention.

I have already explained to students that if their game/invention wins an award, and there are two or more members of their group, we will order additional awards so that each member of the group receives an award.  It usually takes a couple of weeks for the additional awards to arrive.  Until that time, I keep the awards at school and will present them during the Awards Day ceremony (provided the additional awards have arrived by then).  We will display our games/ inventions at school on Friday, February 24 outside the library for the entire school to observe. Then the students will be free to take the games/inventions home.

Welcome back to the second semester of our school year.  I hope each of you had a restful holiday break.

We have many activities taking place this month.  The bulk of our time in EXTEND class for fourth and fifth grade students will be spent on working on our Invention Convention projects.  Students may work on these outside of class, however we will have class time available as well.  Students will be able to work on their presentation boards and projects for about 45 minutes each class period for the month of January.  They will have access to computers to print information they will need to place on their display boards.  They can also have letters cut for use on their display boards.

I sent the guidelines for the Invention Convention projects home earlier  (November) and they are also posted on this website.  If you need another copy, please let me know and I will get one to you.

Remember Invention Convention is Thursday, February 23, 2012.

The Invention Convention is an annual competition for fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students. The competition requires that the students actually make their inventions/games using their own creative imaginations.

There are two categories for the Invention Convention:  Inventions that are games or Inventions that will somehow make our lives easier.

In the “games” category, students may invent games that could be entertaining or challenging for any age group.  In the “invention that makes life easier” category, students may invent any device that would somehow make our lives more convenient or more comfortable.

Parents and teachers are NOT allowed to participate in the actual construction of the invention.  However, they may serve as consultants to students as they have questions and develop their project.  Parents may assist students with any use of tools–hammers, saws, etc.

Students may work as individuals, or in a group of up to 5. The cost of the actual invention/game may not exceed $15.  Students working in groups should make sure everyone in the group contributes to the cost of the invention.

The dimensions of the inventions/games may not exceed 24″ x 24″ x 24″.

Each group will need to have a display board–the three sided project board.  The cost of this board IS NOT to be included in the $15 limit.

We will be working on our Inventions during January and February in class.  Students may begin working on their project at home at any time.  I have discussed with students the importance of selecting their “team members” based on the ability to get together outside of school, having a common idea for a project, etc.

IMPORTANT DATES AND DEADLINES

January 20–I must have a description of the invention/game, along with the rules or directions for playing or operating. This includes an itemized list of all parts and cost (each part of the invention/game must have an estimated cost, even if it was free).  The total cost must not exceed $15.   Students may work on this information at school during class.

February 17–ALL INVENTIONS/GAMES must be completed and brought to school.  I need to have all of these by this date so I can send final information to MTSU.  We will have 48 students from Coles Ferry participating, so I will not have room for all of the inventions and games to be housed in my room until February 17.

I will send a written copy of the rules and guidelines home in the next week or so.  Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Welcome back from Fall Break!  We are extremely busy in EXTEND, and it will not slow down any time soon!

Last week our Time for Kids article dealt with Panda Bears being on the endangered species list.  Students were given the task of researching and selecting TWO endangered animals and writing a paragraph about each animal.  These reports are due the week of November 7 (whatever day they have class that week).

Third graders have been working hard on solving Sudoku puzzles and have gotten much better. Fourth graders have moved on to Medium difficulty Sudoku puzzles, and our Fifth graders have started Hard Sudoku puzzles.  These puzzles help with problem solving skills.

This week the Time for Kids article is entitled, “Trick or Treat for Troops”.  It discusses the concept of dentists buying back Halloween candy from children, and sending the candy to our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.  This is handled through Operation Gratitude.  After reading the article, students discussed with their tablemates the favorite treats from Trick or Treat, and named three benefits of the Halloween Candy Buy-Back.  After the table discussions, we enjoyed a class discussion.

All classes have been working logic puzzles.  The third grade logic puzzle was discussing Halloween treats–students had to know which person had twice as many of one kind over another student.  This involved some addition/multiplication skills to solve the puzzle.  The fourth grade logic puzzle dealt with nine students learning their multiples of nine.  So the students first had to solve the math facts in order to determine the answers to the logic puzzle.  The fifth grade puzzle dealt with students from five states receiving an order on different dates, and having to determine which state the students were from and when they received their package.

All classes have worked on transformations as well.  This is taking a partial picture and turning it into something completely different.  A new book that I recently purchased gives students the opportunity to take a situation and draw their interpretation of that situation.  These activities have been very enjoyable.

FOR FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADE EXTEND STUDENTS AND PARENTS

Invention Convention is set for February 23, 2012 at MTSU.  Parents are welcome to attend, so make your plans now.  I will post the guidelines for Invention Convention in the next few days.

Parents,

I want to let you know about a wonderful opportunity for your EXTEND children.  Western Kentucky University has a program called, “Super Saturdays”.  Students may select from an abundance of courses to attend for four Saturdays.  The classes are two and one-half hours in length, and the cost for the four week program is $80.  The Fall sessions are October 29, November 5, 12, and 19.  There will be also be a Winter session held January 28, February 4, 11, and 18.  I am including the link to the program

http://www.wku.edu/gifted

and look for the Super Saturdays section.  There will be a registration form you can download, and a description of the various courses.  There is a section that requires my signature before you mail it in, so just send the form to me at school by your child and I will be glad to sign the form.  I realize everyone has many weekend commitments, however, I wanted to make you aware of this opportunity.

We are experiencing exciting times in EXTEND class at Coles Ferry.  The week of August 29-September 2 was filled with many adventures.

Fourth grade classes met on Monday and Tuesday.  The students completed a Sudoku, and discussed two new vocabulary words–wary and dread.  The Time for Kids article was about the earthquake that hit Virginia and the East coast last week.  We had a lively discussion about earthquakes, and the students then drew a representation of the Washington Monument and created a sign telling visitors why the monument was closed.  The students had a great deal of fun looking at the “All About Me” sheets that the other fourth grade class had created, and then guessing whom the sheet was about.  We then completed a transformation.  The students started with a picture of a peanut, and had to brainstorm five ideas that could be developed from that picture.  After they had five ideas, they had to select one and illustrate that idea.  When we finished, each student shared their creation with the class.

Fifth grade classes met on Wednesday and Thursday.  They also completed a Sudoku and discussed the two new vocabulary words–fetch and prototype.  They had the same activity with the Time for Kids article as the fourth graders.  The logic puzzle that we worked this week was titled, “The Marriage Game” and the students had to match a husband and wife with their careers and names.  The transformation that fifth grade completed was designing a flag for an imaginary planet.  The students will then complete their “All About Me” sheets.

Unfortunately, there was no school on Friday, so that meant no EXTEND class for third grade.  I look forward to seeing the third graders next week.

Thanks to everyone that sent in supplies and materials.  There are still a few students that need to bring a three ring binder that remains in EXTEND class and two sharpies.   Just send that at your earliest convenience.

I hope that you enjoy the new webpage.