Speas Holiday Program

On December 7th the Speas 3rd - 5th grades presented a holiday program. The students did a wonderful job - singing carols and telling a holiday story. I appreciate the students who came - Arien, John, Axel, Malik, Avery, Ricardo, Daniela and Micah - and I'm very proud of their effort.

Creating Ecocolumns

Studying Ecosystems

This quarter we have been studying ecosystems. Students were divided into groups of three and each group built an ecocolumn. Each column consisted of an aquarium and terrarium. Our aquariums contained mosquito fish, snails, elodea, duckweed and algae. The terriums had crickets, isopods (roly polys), rye grass, alfalfa, and mustard. We observed our ecocolumns and took observation notes about the plants and animals. Here are some student drawings illustrating their group's ecocolumn. These drawings were done by Daniela, John and Avery.

A walking trip to Reynolda Manor

We took a trip to Reynolda Manor to learn how math is used in real life. First, we used a trundle wheel to measure how many feet it was from Speas to Reynolda Manor - over 6000 feet, so more than a mile. We visited several businesses to see how they use math on a daily basis. We visited the public library, Hancock's Fabrics, the Frame Gallery and Lowes Foods. What was your favorite part of the trip and what was something you learned?

Stream Tables

Tell something you learned this quarter about land, water and our stream tables.

Maps and Location

Last week we began studying about maps and how to locate places on a map. We talked about relative and absolute location and different parts of the world. Write about something you learned last week.

A New School Year

We've been in school for two weeks now. What do you think of 5th Grade so far?

Back to School

We are beginning the school year at Speas with many changes. We have a new principal, Dr. Sara Roberts and a new assistant principal, Mr. David Johnson. The building project and renovations will continue this school year. Teachers are (finally!) getting into our classrooms tomorrow, one day before the kids come back! I am excited about getting into a "fresh" room with new technology. There will be lots of work to do but should be an exciting challenge.

Goodby to the Pod

One last look at Room 5 in the pod. This fall I should be back in a renovated room at Speas School. I'm looking forward to a fresh classroom to start the year.

Boating Reward

Every year Mrs. Schwabe takes students out on her pontoon boat for a reward. She chooses the students who have the highest test scores on the EOG for reading, math, and science and also students who show most growth from 4th grade. This year Eliceo, Lavaryae, Ruben and Jaret were the lucky ones from my class. We had a great afternoon of boating on Belews Lake. The boys swam, tubed, ate dinner, and swam and tubed some more. What a great way to finish 5th Grade!

Dr. Reichert Day

One of our kindergarten teachers, Mrs. Gifford, began planning a celebration to honor Dr. Reichert. Then her baby decided to come early so she wasn't able to participate. We went on with her plans and on May 26th we celebrated the years that Dr. Reichert has been principal at Speas Elementary. Almost everyone wore red and there were speeches and presentations from all grade levels. I think Dr. Reichert was surprised and we hope he enjoyed his day.

EOG Relief

After a week of testing we took our math lesson outside. We threw paper plates to see how far our toss would go. Then we measured the distance of our throws in inches and centimeters. Some students were surprised to see that their plate wouldn't fly like a frisbee. They finally discovered that gentler was better than hard. Back in the classroom we put our data into a stem and leaf plot to determine the median, mode and range of our throws. Having a math lesson outside was a nice break after a week of EOGs.

American Shad Project

We helped Ms. Linhart's class care for American Shad eggs for a few days this spring. The eggs were delivered to Speas on April 26th. We cared for the eggs and watched them hatch. They were so tiny with huge eyes! On Thursday April 29th we took the eggs to Belews Lake for the release. The ones that live will go from the lake to the Dan River to the Roanoke River to the Atlantic Ocean. We hope some of them will come back to Belews Lake in a few years to spawn. We really enjoyed doing this project that was sponsored by the NC Museum of Natural History.

Friction and other Forces

Remember our Science Fair project last fall? How do the things we learned then apply to what we have been talking about in science this quarter?

Roll, Roll, Roll

Motion and Design

What are some things you have learned so far in our investigations about motion and design?

The Relationship Between the Bald Eagle and the American Shad

The bald eagle eats the shad for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But if the bald eagle can't find it then they'll eat things like turtles, birds, frogs and more animals. That's what their relationship is, that the bald eagle eats the shad. JM

The relationship between the shad and the eagle is that the eagle needs shad to live because the eagle eats shad. Eagles need the shad to feed their babies. Eagles need the shad for nutrition. Eagles need the shad for energy. That is the relationship between the eagle and the shad. AB

After we had been in the Pod for about a week I asked students to share how they felt about traveling from the pod to other parts of the school. These comments are from April 12th:

It takes a longer time to get to places. We got like 5 more minutes to get to places, but it is fun to get to where we need to go. Like recess, it takes longer now because they blocked the way we used to go. DB

Traveling from the pod to the school is OK. It doesn't seem like a long walk, but I am not complaining about it. I like the longer walk. So I am fine with it. KC

When we moved to the pods it took us two days to get there. Because we had to pack up. It takes us a long time to get to art from the pods. That's why we have to bring our backpacks with us. We walk a lot. TH

It's a long walk especially to the ball field and PE. If there were an elevator it would be better because you are at the classroom and then you'll be in where ever you want to be. TJ

It takes about 5 minutes to go somewhere. It's pretty fun in the beginning. I've been to places that I haven't been in a long time. Feels fresh outside. I like walking. AM

When we go from place to place from the pods it takes too long. I like being in the pods but we've got to walk too far. If I'm having a good day I would not mind, but my legs be hurting sometimes. I like the pods. LM

Traveling to the pods is fun because I like to walk. Sometimes I walk to my friends house, to the basketball court. I walk to the football field. Then I walk back home. JO

Traveling to and from the pod to other parts of the school is doing too much walking. I like it because I am getting exercise. It is too long from the pod to the school. It gets really cold in the pod so when I go outside it feels better. I love to walk. AS

It feels long and boring. Some of the places we go in the building are not that far. After we go somewhere we go to the next place. It takes a while to get to lunch. It takes a long time to the car line. DS

American Shad Project

On April 7th we were visited by Sandy Burk, a biologist who studies fish. She told us about the American Shad and their importance to our environment. We will be raising shad eggs with Ms. Linhart's class in a few weeks. It was exciting to hear from Ms. Burk about what we'll be doing.

Bye, Bye Room 24!

My first day in the pod was great. I was so happy that I got lost on the way to the pod. Then I went back up the stairs and I saw the sign. I walked until I saw another sign that said turn. Then I walked the way the sign pointed. I saw the pod and I walked in. Then I saw the pod. KC

The first day being in the pod was different, cold and noisy. The air vent in the wall was very noisy and it was cold. The door slammed. The bathrooms are different but a little better. So other than that everything else is okay. JM

Yesterday was our first day in the pods. I had fun. We were hoping it would of been bigger. It kind of looks like a hospital in here. I thought we were gonna have a water fountain. But we got all the boards and the Smart Board and that was good. It is a good way to get to the pods. We all got switched in our tables. DB

I was so excited about going to the pod. I did not know what our classroom would look like. When I went in the pod and it was wonderful. The classes were all beautiful. I liked how my class looked. The pod was awesome. It has air conditioners. RS

The Move

How strange to have the room packed up. We are moving everything to the Pod over Spring Break. When we come back to school in April we will be in our Pod classroom, #5. Next fall I will move back to the building into Room #319. Come back to visit me and see all the changes going on at Speas.

Pen Pals

Describe your experience with you pen pal so far. What do you think will come of this relationship?

Pen Pals

A Snow Creation

What do you think created this pattern? Why does it look this way?

Triangles

What have you learned about triangles this week?

Snow Days

What did you do on your snow days off from school?

Speas in the Snow

Water Cycle

Why do you think the water cycle is important?