Happy Holidays!

We just wrapped up the first half of the year with our Christmas party. We had plenty to eat and drink and then opened the presents. Santa was very generous with our class and made some kids very happy; a reward for lots of hard work so far this year!

Here are some pictures of the festivities and a few shots of the Mr. Hales Class holiday tradition: Silly Stringing our good sport Principal, Mrs. Bock, who can dish it out as well as take
it! Mr. Fenton took a few hits, as well...

Rocking Around the Christmas Tree!

We broke away from a hard day of studying Quantum Physics and decided we needed to get into the holiday spirit and dusted off our Christmas tree and decorated it with the ornaments my mother hand-picked from her huge assortment of Christmas decorations. Trust me, I have hauled dozens of boxes into and out of the attic every year so she has plenty to spare :)

We even get Mr. Fenton in on the fun!

CJ Goes Hollywood!

CJ, one of our students sold enough school fund-raiser products to earn a limo ride to CiCi's Pizza in a limo. We sent a camera along so he could share his adventure with everyone. Here are some of his pictures:

Geometric Kids!

Students from our class and Mrs. Callahan and Mrs. Reimer's class got together and laid down on the playground. The reason? They were making parallel lines, intersecting lines, and acute, obtuse and right angles.

Geometric Shapes

We used modeling clay and toothpicks to make 2-D and 3-D geometric shapes. We started out making a triangle and graduated to pentagonal pyramids.

Bobbing for Apples!

Halloween was here and since they have taken most of the fun out of it, we decided to do one of the fun things that is a Halloween tradition and bob for apples!
We dumped out our Lego container, the kids washed it out and we filled it with water and apples!
Each student took turns and had one minute to grab an apple using only their teeth!
Griselda was the only one with a mouth big enough to snag one! She also proudly showed us that she can get her whole hand in her mouth, too. Quite impressive! Ms. Petree chickened out and decided not to show how big her mouth is and didn't bob.

Learning to Email

My students are using FirstClass (same email software the teachers use) to learn how to email. Something most of us take for granted, email, is something my students will find necessary to use in today's world.
They are emailing a college friend of mine and former teacher, Lauren, who is currently a kinda-stay-at-home-mom-that-is-out-and-about-with-her-kids-at-school-and-everywhere-else, who has offered to be our email pen pal.

Woo Hoo We're Writing!

We have been laying the groundwork for the students writing works and now we are getting serious! The children are working on either computer or paper and pencil (their choice) with varying topics of their choice. I am amazed at how much they like writing on computer.
Most of the kids have asked to continue writing during their free time; which is a first in here!

MoreFun@School

Fun@School

Getting Dirty!

In Science, we are studying the properties of soil. We had 5 different types of soil that we examined by sifting different levels of the soil samples. Students had to determine the color, texture and note any items found in their sample.

Arrays

You know, anytime you can eat your math well, that's the best way to learn!
We were studying arrays using M&M's instead of markers or beans. It certainly keeps the kids minds on their work!

The Tools of Science!

We laid out a lot of different tools for the students to check out and investigate. Students got to speculate what each tool was used for. We then had the students separate the tools that they thought would be used for studying the weather as we will be collecting weather data this week and graphing it.

Science Lab Don'ts!

In Science, we are learning about lab safety. Here is an example from TeacherTube, a great resource for schools. Click the video to start.

Leapin' LeapTracks!

Students are using our LeapTrack system as an assessment tool. We can use information from the LeapTrack, along with other means of assessment, to help position our students in the correct reading level, math level, etc.

We can also have the students continue using the LeapTrack to do different activities in Language Arts, Math, and Reading. LeapTrack, after the assessment data cartridge is plugged into the computer, LeapTrack creates what they call a Learning Path.

Using the Scientific Method!

Tuesday we learned why scientists use the Scientific Method when trying to solve a problem.
Here the students are determing which of an assortment of items will float or sink.

Welcome to Mr. Hales Class!

Welcome to Mr. Hales Class 2007-2008!

Today was day one of many more great days here at Memorial Intermediate School. It was a day of getting to know each other and learning what our expectations are.

I will post the class schedule and other information of what we are doing and what we will be doing.

So...stay tuned!