Congratulations to the 5th Graders who are moving on to middle school! This is my last class at Speas Elementary. Next year I will be teaching at another school. I have enjoyed my years at Speas and wish all the best to my coworkers and the Speas Bees.

Trip to Civil Rights Museum

This has been such a crazy year that my blog has been neglected! We have been busy 3rd Quarter studying weather and geometry as well as our language arts skills. Last week we visited the Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro. We had a very interesting visit - the museum is very well done. I would like for my students to leave a comment about our visit. Tell something you learned or describe your favorite part.

Welcome Back to School!

We're starting a new school year at Speas Elementary. Our building project is approaching an end. There are lots of new spaces at Speas and some updates on old ones. What do you think of the new "face" of our school?

Ice Cream Party

To celebrate the end of school, students earned an ice cream party by showing how they could be their BEST at Speas. Students got to eat their own sundae and then made sundaes out of the principals. What a great way to finish out the school year. Happy summer!

5th Grade Celebraton

The fifth grade at Speas had the end-of-grade celebration last Friday, June 10th. We dressed up to be recognized with awards and a certificate of completion of Elementary School. Now it's on to a new adventure in middle school!

EOG Testing

Soon it will be time for the EOG tests. Do you feel as if a dark cloud is hovering over your head? Do you think you are prepared? Is there something more you plan to do before the tests begin on May 23rd?

Shad in Schools project

For four days, 5th graders at Speas took care of shad eggs. The eggs were delivered on April 11th from Edenton, NC. Lynn, from the NC Museum of Natural History, brought the eggs to us. They stayed in a tank in Ms. Linhart's room. Students took turns checking the water for ph, ammonia, chlorine, and temperature levels. We looked closely at the eggs and took out dead ones (they are fuzzy and white). The eggs hatched quickly, in just two days. On Friday, April 15th we took the fry to Belews Lake where they will eventually end up in the Roanoke River to get to the Atlantic Ocean. We hope some of our babies will make it!

Black History Month

Last month our class researched famous black Americans. Every 5th grader at Speas learned about a different person. Students researched musicians, inventors, politicians, writers, civil rights leaders and more. The culmination of our research was a presentation in the media center. Each student shared what they learned during the course of their investigation.

What did you learn from our investigations? What did you enjoy most about the project?

White Christmas

What a surprise to actually have a white Christmas this year. Everything looked so beautiful! I was sorry I didn't get to visit with my father's family but I enjoyed just being at home. What did you do in the snow?

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.