Actually, It Is Rocket Science!

This week, some of our students Skyped with members of the Tarleton State Aeronautical Team, or Rocket Team as we are calling them. 

Dr. Keith Emmert, our parent volunteer who helps lead our maker club, is a math professor at Tarleton State University, and he helped arrange this partnership. The plan is for the rocket team to Skype with our 5th and 6th graders, as well as our after school maker club. Then the team will visit Curtis in March, bringing their 3D printer and rockets. Fifth and Sixth grade students will be able to watch the team launch one of their rockets, after learning more about rockets and seeing their 3D printer up close.

On Tuesday, our 5th graders Skyped with the team. Michael Daigrepont and Andrew Olbrich, explained about the competitions they participate in, shared the process of building their rockets, and answered questions from the group. 

The students were very interested in how high the rockets could go and how much it costs to build the rockets! They were also able to see video footage from a competition and footage shot from inside the rocket! It was interesting to learn what all is involved in a competition, including how they track their rockets.

The rocket team, now including Suleima Rangel, repeated their presentation with our after school maker club. 

The maker club was excited to learn that they would be able to work with a partner to design their own rocket to launch. The Tarleton rocket team will use their 3D printer to print these pieces and bring them with them for our rocket day! 

The rocket team explained how their 3D printer works, and showed students some of the things that they have printed. Dr. Keith brought rocket parts that had been printed so students understood what they were selecting for their own rockets.

For our the last Skype for the week, our 6th graders listened intently as Michael explained all about their competitions, 3D printing, and what would take place during their visit on March 4th. 

During this Skype, we had approximately 20 visitors come in from the Weatherford Chamber of Commerce Leadership group.  We were happy to have them see the great things that are happening in Weatherford ISD and in education in general!

To say we are excited about the visit from the Tarleton Rocket team is an understatement! Stay tuned for news of our rocket launch! More information about the Tarleton Rocket team can be found at www.tsuaeronautics.org and on Twitter at TSUAeronautics.

Dot Day (Ish Week) Lots of Dots & Many Connections!

One of my favorite weeks of the school year is the week we celebrate International Dot Day! It turns into a whole week of connections and discussing ways to make our mark. It always seems funny to call it "Dot Day Week" so this year I heard it being called "Ish Week" which I LOVED!  This celebration is centered around the book, The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. There are many good lessons in this book including being brave, encouraging others, and making your mark, whatever your mark may be!

Before school even starts, connections are being made. Shannon Miller & Matthew Winner, two librarians and Dot Day Ambassadors, created a Google doc to manage all of the connections. Matthew has several great blog posts about Dot Day and lesson ideas! When it was all said and done, there were over 60 pages of schedules and requests for connections! We always try to connect every class that visits the library during this week, and this year we even brought in extra classes! At Curtis, connecting with people outside the walls of our school is a normal part of our year, so students begin in kindergarten learning how to interact with others through Skype and Google Hangouts. It is always fun to watch the expression on the kinders faces the first time they connect!

This year, we connected with students in Flower Mound, Texas, Illinois, Vermont , Georgia, Connecticut, Washington, Iowa, Missouri, Frisco, Texas, Wisconsin, Massachusettes, Friendswood, Texas, Austin, Texas, Maine & Maryland! We even connected with some states twice, with different schools! 

Usually, there would only be a few pictures on the blog, but this year I just couldn't narrow them down, so an Animoto presentation was created to show the great week we had!! Enjoy!

Remember the Alamo!

Curtis 4th graders were given a wonderful opportunity this morning- visiting the Alamo without leaving Weatherford! A couple of months ago, Nancy Jo Lambert, a librarian in Frisco and a member of my Twitter PLN, asked if we would be interested in participating in a Google Hangout with other schools and the Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library director and archivist. We said, YES! of course! Today was the day, so Curtis students, along with several other schools in North Texas AND a school in Bryn Mawr, PA took part in the first Google Hangout by the DRT Librarians!

Students in 4th grade focus on Texas history, so this was a perfect extension of their classroom instruction. Since their teachers had already covered the Battle of the Alamo, students were definitely prepared for our Google Hangout today! We were fortunate to also have WISD School Board Member Dave Cowley and State Board of Education Member Pat Hardy in attendance with us.

 

Leslie Stapleton is the DRT Library Director and Jaime Espensen-Sturges is the DRT Library Interim Archivist and they shared with the students various artifacts that are held at the Alamo in San Antonio. One item students were able to see was a  hand-drawn map by Stephen F. Austin. We learned that in addition to being the Father of Texas, he was also an excellent map maker.

 

There was an audible gasp when Mrs. Stapleton showed us clothes worn by Susanna Dickinson. Students were familiar with the historical people that Mrs. Stapleton spoke about, which I know made their teachers very proud!

 

During the Google Hangout, students were able to submit questions to www.todaysmeet.com/alamogho and have them answered by the DRT librarians. Mrs. Varhola typed the questions that students had created before they came to the library. After the GHO, students could go to the site and see if their questions were answered.

This was a wonderful opportunity for our students and we are so appreciative of the time and energy it took to organize this event!

Read Nancy Jo Lambert's blog post about our Alamo Hangout here: http://borchardtlibrary.edublogs.org/2014/01/14/4th-grade-alamo-google-hangout/

 



Media Maker Club, aka Digital Bookworms

As you can see by the title, our students exercised their voice and changed the name of their club. They decided, after some debate, that they wanted to be the Digital Bookworms, and so they are!

 

The club members first worked on creating an account on Biblionasium. We talked about what a great tool this is for not only keeping up with our books, but also recommending books to others. The students were very excited about logging in and making recommendations!

We have been connecting with my friend, Shannon Miller and her students in Van Meter, Iowa.  At our last meeting, we were able to connect again, which was a lot of fun!. After several students from Van Meter performed a song they were working on, we talked about ways we could connect and create. After some discussion & brainstorming, we decided to collaborate on a blog to share different types of projects. These two clubs have lots of great ideas, and I'm looking forward to seeing what they come up with!


Already, students have created videos to advertise our book fair, brainstormed questions to ask other students about making book trailers, and had some of our group members explain how to use Animoto.

At the end, we posed for a group photo that will be a part of our new blog that we are doing with our friends in Iowa. You will have to check it out!
Creative Connections Club


Our goals are to connect, collaborate & create and this new joint blog is sure to help us meet these goals!


 

Third Grade Learns About Biblionasium

Today our 3rd graders had an awesome opportunity to connect with Marjan Ghara, the founder of Biblionasium. I first learned about this site from my friend, Shannon Miller in Van Meter, Iowa. Her students even Skyped with our students last year to help us learn more about the site.  Biblionasium is a safe, online place for young readers to keep up with their books, as well as to recommend books to friends.  You can find out more about their site HERE.

 

After students sign in, they set up their shelf with book categories, such as Favorites, Recommended, and more. We can even set up challenges, so that we are reading a variety of books.

Biblionasium has offered support all along the way as we experimented with their website this summer. Several students enjoyed keeping up with their books and earning badges while reading during their summer break. And they also earned Book Fair Bucks for logging in!

I knew this was something I wanted to use more this year, so I planned on introducing it to my 3rd graders. Through Twitter, Biblionasium reached out and offered support, which is something I've noticed about their company. If I have a question, I only have to tweet or contact them and someone responds almost immediately! They listen to suggestions from their members and then make changes so their site is even better!

 

Mrs. Ghara shared with us how Biblionasium came to be, telling us about how her children were always looking for their next book to read when they were younger.

 She answered questions from our Curtis students, who asked some great questions, by the way!

Mrs. Ghara explained to students about how important reading is and also, why it is important to be safe online.

And then she gave us a peek out her window! The students were THRILLED to see a bit of
New York!

 





It was so great to connect with Marjan and to learn more about Biblionasium. We can't wait to start setting goals, logging in our books and making recommendations.

 

Thanks so much to Biblionasium and Marjan for helping us along in our reading journey!

 

Day 2 of Dot Day!

Today was one of my favorite Skype days so far! As we continue our celebration of International Dot Day and making our mark, I experienced it all through new eyes and it was AMAZING!

We started the day with Mrs. Palmatier's 3rd graders connecting with Mrs. Uribe's 4th graders in Austin, TX. Our students shared how they incorporated Dot Day into their science lesson on states of matter and shared some of their 3D ColarMix Dot Day designs. Mrs. Uribe's class shared their inspirational dot signs, which were well thought out and very creative!

 

 

 

 

 

Then Mrs. Zell's & Mrs. Massingill's classes came in for their library time. We enjoyed the Interactive Big Book version of The Dot by Fablevision Learning.  The students did a great job of sequencing the events in the book on the big screen!

 

 

 

The best part of the day, though, was seeing these kiddos connect with other students. We "practiced" with a couple of students in Minnesota, who shared the dots they made, and then our students proudly showed their projects.

 

 

 

 

The students came back to the library for their "real" Skype visit with Mrs. Sikes class in Georgia. Our students couldn't wait to show their projects again!

 

 

Rachel, one of Mrs. Massingill's students said, "Thank you for connecting us! It was so much fun!" She wanted to know if they could do it again! Best day ever! ;)

 

As these two classes were leaving, Hatcher's Heroes were marching in to share their Dot Day experiences with a first grade class in New Jersey. Mrs. Nickerson's sweet first graders shared pictures of dots they found in nature, while our students shared pictures they drew of dots they found in their classroom. It was interesting to witness our students noticing there were no boys (it is an all girl school :) ) and to notice the uniforms the girls wear. We talked about what was similar and what was different about our schools.

From the DotClub.org website: The Dot is the story of a caring teacher who dares a doubting student to trust in her own abilities by being brave enough to “make her mark”. What begins with a small dot on a piece of paper becomes a breakthrough in confidence and courage, igniting a journey of self-discovery and sharing, which has gone on to inspire countless children and adults around the globe.


Today, I watched children grow in confidence. I saw students so very excited to connect with others, both similar to them and different from them. I saw bravery, as students who don't normally speak out, had the courage to connect with other students, all centered around a book, THE DOT by Peter H. Reynolds. What a wonderful day it was! And to think, there is MORE! It is just Tuesday! :)

 

 

 

 

 

International Dot Day Celebration

We are getting excited about the connections we will make this week for International Dot Day! We will read the book, THE DOT by Peter H. Reynolds and then Curtis ES students will connect with students in Texas, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Vermont, Wisconsin AND (thanks to Matthew Winner) we get to Skype with Ame Dyckman, author of BOY+BOT and soon to be released, TEA PARTY RULES! It is going to be a GREAT week!

Check back throughout the week to see pictures & read all about the fun!