On the move

Our school has gained a new benefit this year. We are an "Everyone Eats" school. This means breakfast and lunch are free for all students. This change has made our mornings busier as many more students are eating their breakfast at school. It is great to know that everyone has the opportunity to start their day with a full stomach. We also begin our school day with a morning assembly. Most mornings we keep the assembly short with just a quick message to get all of us "flying in formation." We then recite our school pledge and then stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance facing one of our large American flags. I enjoy seeing all of our students together in the morning saying the school pledge and showing reverence to our country. One of our 6th Graders reads to the Kindergarten students as they wait for the morning assembly to begin. This is just one example of our incredible school community.

We have exciting new learning opportunities and challenges happening at our school. The 6th Graders have embarked on a boat building challenge with the organization,  Wind and Oar Boat School .  The students move through 3 stations every Friday. The stations include boat design, boat construction and lessons on the water cycle. This project should be completed in December and will produce two full sized row boats. The sound of power tools is not the only buzz being generated in the 6th grade classrooms. Our Americorps Member has added a new challenge, chess club at lunch time. This club is for all levels of chess players. Many students are learning to play chess for the first time. It is great to see the students challenging themselves and to hear their conversations about the game of chess. I overheard one student say, "I've got checkmate." His friend replied, "Show me how you got there." What a great way for students to engage in sharing their strategie