Scientists in Action!

The year is off to a great start.  Our first unit in science focuses on animal and plant populations.  The kids and I are excited to explore this topic!  We began with a vial of tiny, brown items and the question- Is it a seed or an egg?  Students created a hypothesis and we designed an experiment to hopefully find the answer to our question.  We will be carefully observing our vials daily.  We have also began examining different types of seeds and will be growing several different ones in our classroom.  On Wednesday of this week we enjoyed a "field trip" to our school's butterfly garden where we quietly took some time to observe what plants and animals were living there.  Wow!  Living things are all around us and it was fun to talk about what we saw and recorded on our observation sheets.  Below are some pictures from our science class in the butterfly garden.  We love science!

Welcome to a New Year!

New Classroom, New Faces, New Friends......

Wow!  There is a lot of "New" this year including for myself as a teacher.  With the school redesign, we have many new friends in our classroom.  We are off to a wonderful start.  It is hard to believe that we already have two days under our belts.  We have spent a lot of time this first week getting to know each other and learning classroom routines.  This will continue in the next few weeks because it is very true that in education it is important to start slow to go fast later!

Excited Bloggers!

This week we also began our careers as "Bloggers"!  We will be using a kid safe blogging account called Kid Blog, and we encourage everyone to check it out.  Blogging is a great way to get kids excited about writing and expressing themselves.  It is always nice to have an audience.  Feel free to leave a comment or two.....

End of Year Goodbyes!

The end of the school year has arrived.  It has been a great one and I will really miss this group of kids.  Best of luck to all the students from Lime Springs/Chester Elementary wherever their trails will lead!  We will miss you and we will miss our small community school.  Here is to the future!

 Future Fourth Graders!

 This is the class I know and love!

Balloons to represent all of our wonderful memories.

Read S'more

A big thank you to Mrs. Shekelton, our library/media specialist who organized the Read S'more activities during the month of May.  Students were given a reading log with unique reading challenges (read in a tent, read with a flashlight, and so on) to encourage their reading at home.  Those that returned their logs earned paper s'more pieces to decorate their locker.  On Wednesday, May 21st parents/grandparents were invited to come for the final half hour of the day to read with their students.  Parents had donated ingredients for our s'more snack mix (golden grahams, chocolate chips, and mini-marshmallows) to enjoy while we read.  It was great to see parents, grandparents, and students all enjoying a good book together.  Keep that wonderful reading going over the summer!

Lime Springs/Chester Career Week 2014

Lime Springs/Chester Elementary

Celebrates Career Week

            Preschool through fifth grade students at Lime Spring/Chester Elementary celebrated Career Week from May 5^th through May 9^th.  Classroom activities and guest speakers were planned to help students start exploring and thinking about occupations they might have in the future. 

            The Lime Springs/Chester PATT (Parent and Teachers Together) group kicked off the week on Monday, May 5^th with a visit to each classroom by President Amanda Keller.  Amanda led the kids in several activities to identify different jobs and then read the book I Know I Can to each class and discussed thinking about college and future career plans.  The PATT group also purchased a copy of this book for each student preschool through fifth grade to take home.  

Amanda Keller reads I know I Can with the help of some 4th and 5th Graders

            Classrooms hosted different speakers throughout the week.  Students were asked to consider their strengths, weaknesses, and passions when thinking about future occupations.  Students also blogged and wrote about the different jobs that were presented.  Third grade through fifth grade also explored websites to help them start thinking about their future career choices.  The week culminated on Friday, May 9^th, when students could come dressed as their future occupation.  We had a building full of nurses, veterinarians, artists, farmers, football players, astronauts, scientists, and more.

What job would you choose?

 

Exploring PAWS Job Land

            A big thank you to all of our community members and parents who came into the classrooms to talk about their jobs and answer questions.  The students learned so much! 

Dr. Nancy Goetsch- Veterinarian

Jim Ott- Bus Driver

Dave Fritcher- Farmer

Amanda Keller- Banking/Loans

Abby Smith- Dental Assistant

Kelly Olson Jessen- Post Office

Amy Henry- Banking

Chris Keller- John Deere Implements

Cheryl Brannon- Nurse

Sandy Sullivan- Daycare

Jami Schwickerath- Career Counselor

Shannon Reis- Dairy Farmer

Jaime Anderlik- Cosmetologist

Kim Bentz- Pilot

Jay Burns- Engineer

Christina Gibbs- Nurse

Brett Van Sloten- Iowa Hawkeye Football Player/Signed 
Free Agent with the Baltimore Ravens

First through third grade students with Brett Van Sloten

We are excited to teach all of these future Howard-Winneshiek scientists, engineers, artists, pilots, farmers, and more.  In the words of Dr. Seuss, “You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself any direction that you choose!” 

Kim Bentz speaks about her experiences as a pilot.

Working on Career Activities

Shannon Reis shares about life on a dairy farm.

Cheryl Brannon speaks about her nursing job at Mayo Clinic.

Brett Van Sloten, Former Iowa Hawkeye Player and NFL Draft Hopeful, talks about the importance of education, planning for your future, and following your dreams.

Chris Keller speaks about his responsibilities at Bodensteiner Implement.

 Jami Schwickerath discusses her role as a career counselor.

Kelly Olson Jessen teaches Kindergarteners about the Postal Service.

Jaime Anderlik discusses cosmetology and owning her own business with several classes.

Christina Gibbs shares about her experiences as a nurse.

Students learn more about the banking industry from Amy Henry.

Dr. Nancy Goetsch answers questions about being a vet.

Students sort money!

Dave Fritcher shares about farming with the preschool.

Jim Ott shares information about driving bus with the preschoolers.

First in Math

Our district has been given an opportunity to explore the First in Math program to help keep kids excited about math.  Students have been given their log-in information (it is taped in their blue take-home folders), and have been using First in Math at school.  They can use it at home also (both on a computer and iPad) to practice their math skills.  It is a self-leveling program, so it will adjust to your students needs.  I encourage you to "check it out" with your child.  Have fun!

Arbor Day Field Trip

We finally managed to get our Arbor Day Field Trip at the Cresco Nature Center accomplished.  The weather seemed to be against us for awhile!  Today with the two hour late start due to fog, the field day organizers were wonderful about reorganizing the schedule and shortening sessions, so we could enjoy this beautiful Friday outside!  Enjoy planting the tree your child brought home.  Here is a recap of our day in pictures: