Thunder and Lightning
"A giant tumbling in the sky...""Zeus the thunder god, mad furious, throwing his thunderbolt..."
"The rain going fast, fast, fast like a race car speeding pass you..."
These are some of the descriptions that came from our class members to describe the thunderstorm that hit us early Tuesday morning. The storm definitely brought up feelings of awe, excitement, and even fear. We decided to take advantage of the show that Mother Nature was providing us and do some writing. Students thought about how they would describe this storm to someone who wasn't here to experience it. They thought about what they saw, what they heard, and what they felt. We then listened to some of our classmates' pieces and discussed how similes and metaphors help us better describe our ideas in our writing.
The thunderstorm also raised many inquiry questions in our students. How does lightning form? Are thunder and lightning the same? We watched a short video from the Discovery Channel to help us better understand what causes lightning. However, after watching the video, the students had even more questions! Students will have time in the coming weeks to research one of the many questions that they had during this storm. Our goal is to be better informed when the next storm hits!
This week we do not have a new spelling list. As a review, students will receive a new spelling list next week made up from words seen on previous lists. Students will be tested on these words on Monday, December 10. Students should be reviewing spelling patterns to help them prepare for the test.
Have a great weekend!
Posted at 7:07 AM| Permalink
Happy Thanksgiving
Today's walk for the JDRF was a huge success! We were very proud of Kristyn Yasui, who made a speech in front of the entire school during this morning's assembly. The students had a great time running across campus while raising money for a good cause!For homework last week, students were asked to write down a reason why they are thankful for each of their classmates. Today, each student was presented with their own list of "Thankfuls." Each student now knows how much they mean to their fellow classmates.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, here are some of the many things that I am thankful for:
- My loving family and caring friends.
- The wonderful and curious 19 children whom I get to see every day.
- Driving into beautiful Manoa Valley each morning.
- Having a network of such supportive parents and families!
* For the homework, students do not need to complete any of the writing assignments on the worksheets. They only need to complete the worksheets themselves. Also, there is not a spelling test or planner signature for this week. Thank you!
Posted at 1:45 PM| Permalink
Graham Salisbury Visit
Yesterday, our long awaited visit from author Graham Salisbury finally happened! The multiage 3/4 and fifth grade classes had the wonderful opportunity to visit with the award-winning author. We have been preparing for his visit by reading his book Under the Blood-Red Sun, which is set in Honolulu during World War II, and analyzing the main characters.
Mr. Salisbury started off his talk with stories about growing up on Oahu. More specifically, he discussed his adventures as a young boy living in Kaneohe. We learned about the time when he almost drowned in a sea of mud and his encounters with a bully at Mid-Pacific Country Club. His stories had our students, and teachers, laughing out loud. And through all the entertaining stories, he also sent a message to students that they should feel fortunate about where they go to school because not everyone has the same kind of opportunities.
After hearing his stories, students then asked him some questions about the books we have been reading. Students asked how he came up with the inspiration for his books, characters, and ideas. They were also able to ask him about some of his future writing projects as well as specific questions about Under the Blood-Red Sun. Ask your child about what they learned about Graham Salisbury!
After meeting with Mr. Salisbury, students are eager to read more of his work. During his visit, we learned that Under the Blood-Red Sun is the first in a series of five books. The second book, Eyes of the Emperor, focuses on a new character during the same time period, while the third book in the series, House of the Red Fish, revisits the same characters from Under the Blood-Red Sun. We even learned the title of the fourth book, which he is currently working on -- The Sword in the Stream. Both Eyes of the Emperor and House of the Red Fish are available in our classroom library. Thank you to Sachi Clark for donating a copy of Eyes of the Emperor to the class, which we got autographed! Mr. Salisbury also donated an autographed copy of his latest book, Night of the Howling Dogs. The students can't wait to start reading these new additions to our class library!
Just a reminder that tomorrow we have a field trip to Honolulu Theatre for Youth's presentation of Obake, from 9:15 to 10:15.
Please check the gallery for pictures from our recent field trips!
Posted at 10:26 AM| Permalink
Manoa Heritage Center
Yesterday, the Magical Pueos took a field trip up to the Manoa Heritage Center. The Manoa Heritage Center is focused on preserving the cultural heritage of Hawai`i, with particular focus on our valley. Since we are celebrating our 100th anniversary this year, the Manoa Heritage Center provided a fitting introduction in teaching us about the rich history that our valley holds. This year we will be focusing on our ahupua`a, a land division used by the ancient Hawaiians that started in the mountains, continued through the valleys, and down to the ocean. Manoa Valley was, and still is, a very important part of our ahupua`a.At Manoa Heritage Center, we learned many interesting facts about our valley. Do you know what Manoa means in the Hawaiian language? Do you know the uses for an o`o? These are questions that we learned the answers to during our tour. The Manoa Heritage Center also is home to the only intact heiau in our ahupua`a. This heiau was an agricultural heiau, where the ancient Hawaiians would come in hopes of productive agricultural activity. Students were able to peer inside the heiau and get a glimpse of what life was like hundreds of years ago in this valley. Please see the photo gallery for pictures from our field trip.
Today we had some very special guests. Members of the Rotary Club visited our school and gave our third grade students their very own dictionaries. Our fourth grade students already had dictionaries given to them last year by the Rotary Club, and today the third graders received their own. The dictionaries are an essential tool to learning in our classroom, whether it be vocabulary words or spelling. These dictionaries also include a gazetteer, which students use to answer geography questions. We are very thankful to the Rotary Club for providing us with these useful gifts!
Posted at 10:21 AM| Permalink
Can you believe it's already November?
November already? Time is going by very quickly here at Mid-Pacific Elementary School. We ended October yesterday by celebrating Halloween both in and out of the classroom. We started our day by carving pumpkins. Each group was able to create their own original jack-o'-lantern. They really enjoyed scooping out pumpkin seeds and carving faces into their pumpkins.
The fun continued in the afternoon with our annual Spooktivity. The entire elementary school paraded up to the high school, led by our principal, Ms. Hussey, who this year dressed up as one of the Three Musketeers! We hokey-pokeyed our hearts out and then headed back up to our campus. We settled down to enjoy a mini-concert by some of the high school students. We even got to participate, as they asked us to scream during one particularly spooky number. Students then got to trick-or-treat along Treat Street. We were all exhausted by the end of the day! Check out the gallery to see all of the costumes.
Check out the gallery for pumpkin and costume photos!
November is filled with many important events and field trips. Please see last week's entry for all the important dates coming. Tomorrow we are taking a field trip to Foster Garden to see a talipot tree, a palm making "the world's largest bouquet." Please see the envelope that went home with your child today for more information. To learn more about the talipot, you can also visit the Foster Garden website at:
http://www.honolulu.gov/parks/hbg/
I am still looking for some volunteers for some of the field trips next week. If you are available in the morning on Tuesday, November 6, or Wednesday, November 7, and are willing to chaperone our class, please contact me at 441-3817 or llorenzana@midpac.edu.
Posted at 2:37 PM| Permalink