We Have New Laptops

It was like opening a birthday present!
Mrs. Ellis's Class cracked open the new laptop cart today.  It was fun working with this class as we set up the brand new laptops.  This class was so excited!  Students have not had laptops at Proctor School before and the novelty was evident in their smiles.  The students handled this like 21st Century Pros.  Using google chrome, students first created a bookmark for the Proctor School website. Then it was time to work.  The Fifth Grade had taken a field trip to Sturbridge Village and their assignment was to write a blog post about it.
Visit Mrs. Ellis's Kidblog page to read about their experience.  Leave them a comment.  They would love to hear from you.  Have you ever been to Sturbridge Village before?

Students use their username and password to login.

Kidblog was the site today.

Happy faces logging in to kidblog.

Creating a post about their Sturbridge Village field trip,

Airplanes Around the World

As part of the Global Read Aloud, First Graders have been listening to the books written by local author and illustrator  Peter Reynolds . The book that was read aloud last week was I'm Here.

"I’m here. 
And you’re there. 
And that’s okay. 
But…
maybe there will be a gentle wind that pulls us together. 
And then I’ll be here and you’ll be here, too. 

Pure, powerful and deceptively simple, bestselling author and illustrator Peter H. Reynolds reminds us that children—and the friendships they make—can take flight in unexpected ways."  Amazon

As a grade level, students sent a paper airplane to one another.  

Click on the airplane below to follow the paper airplane from Steward First Grade Class to Steward First Grade Class.

We also submitted our video to Mr. Balcom who collected other videos from across the world and complied them into one video for everyone to view.
Click below to see the path of the airplanes.
Keep an eye out for the Topsfield Planes.

Miss Sideri's First Class wrote their ideas on how to learn about others on their own paper airplanes. Click on the picture below to hear all the ways this class shares how to make friends.

Blogging Friends

Miss Klipfel and I have been teaching a course on blogging to fellow teachers in our district.  We have enjoyed sharing all the tricks on how to set up a blog and improve a blog post by adding more details.  We have talked about adding pictures, captions, links, essential questions, student work, posing questions, and the Common Core Standards.

This week teachers are participating in a Blogging Challenge.  The Blogger who has the most comments on a recent post by Tuesday morning will be crowned The Blogging Challenge Winner.

Hop on over to some of these blogs listed below.  Click on the title and see what is happening in their classrooms.  If their post has inspired you, please leave them a comment. Click on  NO COMMENT at the bottom of each post and add your own thoughts.  Bloggers LOVE Comments!

Kindergarten Friends

First Grade Friends

Second Grade Friends

Third Grade Friends

Fourth Grade Friends

Specialist Friends

Tech Talk

Tech Talk 2014-2105 is off to a great start!

During the school year teachers meet on Wednesday afternoons to TALK TECH.  Our Technology Committee has created a flyer listing over 60 workshops being offered by teachers for teachers during this school year. As part of Professional Development in our district, teachers choose the workshops that best suit their needs. 

The first workshop was on how to use the snipping tool on your computer. If you have never tried this, search your computer for snipping tool.  Have fun and discover what you can use this tech tool for.

A special thanks to Creative Teaching Press for our raffle prizes.

Prizes from Creative Teaching Press:

The Original Scratch n Sniff stickers

Fall Perfect Pairs Boarder Pack

Stick Kids Designer Cut Out Pack

The Fourteenth Goldfish

Students at Proctor School have begun the Global Read Aloud Project and are reading The Fourteenth Goldfish  by Jennifer Holm.  GRA is a project started by teacher Pernille Ripp.  

"The project was created in 2010 with a simple goal in mind; one book to connect the world."

This will be Proctor School's second year participating in this Global Project.  

Who is reading The Fourteenth Goldfish?  Click on the map to find Proctor School.

Students had an All School Assembly to kick off to the project.

Principal O'Leary gave the students a brief background on the Global Read Aloud.

Students shared their ideas as to how one book can connect the world.

Students watched the trailer of The Fourteenth Goldfish with author Jennifer Holm.

Click on the picture below to view the video.

As you walk around Proctor School, you will find many students discussing the book and making predictions about what might happen next.  

Why do you think the title is THE FOURTEENTH GOLDFISH?

David Goes to the Steward School Library

Mrs. DeFrank, our librarian, read No, David by David Shannon to her grade 1 students as a way to introduce how to be safe in the library. As a class the students brainstormed Yes David and No David rules for the library.  Then students wrote their own rules for the library which will be bound into a big book.  I bet a lot of boys and girls will be waiting to check that book out of the library.

Using the camera on the iPad we recorded the eager students performing these rules.  There was no shortage of enthusiastic volunteers for this project especially for the No David rules.  All the video clips were then added into iMovie for the final project.

Students created their own rules

Students practice their parts for the video.
Quiet on the set!

 Click on the book below to see the First Graders' Masterpiece!

Calling All Scientists

A fifth grade student in Mrs. Ellis's Class took on a Science Challenge posed by her science teacher, Mrs. Boucher.  This young lady went home and using the scientific process asked the question:

How many drops of milk will fit on a penny?

State your own hypothesis before watching her video.

Do you accept the challenge?  Now conduct your own experiment!
Leave us a comment.