Natural Science Museum Field Trip

The third through sixth grade classes went on a field trip to the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science on Tuesday, October 20, 2009. The weather was perfect (not a cloud in the bright blue sky)! All classes were able to attend a hands-on session in the classrooms about reptiles. Cory Wright, and education specialist with the museum, shared turtles, snakes, and alligators with us. He knew a lot about the animals and was able to answer all of the great questions students posed to him. He also encouraged the students to get the most of their education so that they can find a job that allows them to get paid for doing something they love. Mr. Cory clearly loves his job. His enthusiasm is contagious!

Pete the gopher tortoise (in the first photo) was my favorite reptile, but I was amazed by them all. Even Mrs. Luke touched their scaly skins! All classes were able to tour the museum exhibits, and were required to fill out a scavenger hunt to direct their observations. The outside trails were also tempting, but we could not go too far down the bluff because the Pearl River had flooded. One entire observation deck, the newest one built, was under water.

Below is a slide show of my photos.



I left the field trip grateful for the opportunity to spend such a beautiful day learning with the children and teachers of St. Therese in such a quality museum and natural setting. Thank you, also, to all of the parents who accompanied us!

Book Fair Fun!

Clifford and Geronimo Stilton visited the St. Therese Book Fair on Thursday. Today is the last day for the fair, so stop by between 9:00 am and noon. Happy reading!

Read Around the World!

The St. Therese Fall Scholastic Book Fair will be held from Tuesday, October 13 - Friday, October 16, 2009.

Check out the book fair homepage here!

Tuesday: 10-1:30
Wednesday: 8 - 2
Thursday: 8 - 4:30 (3-4:30 is Family Afternoon!)
Friday: 9-12 during parent teacher conferences

Save your money to buy exciting, new books!

Poetry Club

September 24th was the first meeting for this year's after-school library club. We are focusing on poetry this year! Twelve students from fourth through sixth grade signed up to be in the club and nine of these students were able to come to our first meeting.

We started our meeting with snacks, of course. Then we each read a poem that we had found and prepared to share with the group. The students read from Langston Hughes, Emily Dickinson, William Carols Williams, and others. Some of the poem were easier to understand than others, but we worked our way through the language and structure.

For our writing exercise, we worked with a cinquain form from Read, Write, Think. I'll post these on a bulletin board in the main hallway so that you can see their work and creativity.

This was mine:

Butterfly
orange and black,
fluttering, sipping, floating,
once an egg, then a caterpillar
Monarch.

Compare and Contrast

Two books: Swimmy and Frederick by Leo Lionni
One diagram: Venn or overlapping circles
Two teachers: Mrs. Owen and Mrs. Tarleton
3 classes: Pre K/K, 1st, and 2nd grade
Lots of great ideas and questions: From everyone!
Fun? Of course!

Welcome!

photos from Thursday, August 13, 2009

checking out books for the first time this year,
making promises through our Library Covenant,
and filling out reading interest surveys

A Library Covenant

Third through sixth grade students visited the library for their first literature connection of the year. We spent some time going over expectations for the year by talking about and signing our "library covenant" below. Then, we got to know each other by playing a "Meeting Through Books" game. We found out things like who has read the entire Harry Potter series, who took a book to the beach over the summer, and who likes to read mysteries (Mrs. T.) or fantasy novels (Mrs. Owen). Through the game, I was able to highlight some of our new books and some books that I'm reading that I can't wait to share with the students. It was also fun to meet our newest students to St. Therese and introduce them to the library.

The library covenant below is based on the mission statement of St. Therese Catholic School. Library orientation continues today with all classes visiting the library for read-alouds or checking out the first books of the year! I can't wait to see what everyone chooses.

Respect

• For each other
• For teachers and parents
• For our books and materials
• For ideas, questions, and creativity

Responsibility

• For returning library books on time and in good condition
• For following directions and controlling our voices and bodies in the library
• For keeping our library neat and beautiful for the community

Reverence

• For God
• For learning
• For our community and school