100th Day Celebration!!!

It is hard to believe we have been in school for 100 days! That's roughly 21 weeks! The year is flying by! They say "Time flys when you are having fun," and that is just what we did on Friday!

We started our day by bringing in 100 pieces of our favorite breakfast cereal. We had cereal with milk, fruit, juice, yogurt, and granola bars during our 100th Day Breakfast! We also had a drawing every 100 minutes of the school day and the kids whose names were drawn received "school supply" prizes--mini dry erase boards, calculators, highlighters, oversized pens etc.! We also had 100th Day Celebration Tasks that we worked on throughout the day. What a super end to our 21st week of 4th grade!

Yum!
Cereal!

Chowing Down!

100th Day Tasks!

100th Day Buddy Fun!!!

To add to the fun of the 100th day, we got together with our Kindergarten buddies for some more 100 FUN! We helped our buddies make necklaces made out of 100 Fruit Loops! We worked with them on counting and patterning! We took advantage of the beautiful Arizona weather and did this outside...then we played on the playground! What an end to a great day!

Discovery Speeches!

Each Friday, a group of the students present DISCOVERY SPEECHES. Discovery speeches are oral activities that familiarize the students with public speaking and independent research skills. Students participate once a month for a total of 6 presentations over the course of the year! I cannot believe we are on our 4th installment of speeches! Here are some students presenting!

All about the History of Dogs!!!

Tribute to Rosa Parks...

Personal Poetry...

The Dream of Being a Professional Ballet Dancer...

Becoming a Zoologist...

A favorite Author...

Our Heard Museum Field Trip: Learning about the Native People of Arizona!

This week we explored the native cultures and art of Arizona at the Heard Museum! The Heard was a great field trip which correlated with our current studies of the Native Americans of AZ.

We really enjoyed the journey we took, via our personal guide, through the Southwest and the vibrant arts and cultures of Native people.

We saw jewelry, cultural items, pottery, baskets, textiles, beadwork, a Navajo hogan, Hopi katsina dolls , and a 30-foot stunning glass and clay art fence by local artist Tony Jojola. We were able to try out a traditional pump drill and also create a bracelet using handmade beads! During our lunch, we were entertained as two men practiced hoop dancing!

We learned a lot, and the students were on their BEST behavior, as usual! It was another successful field trip! Thanks to Hiba's mom for sharing the pictures she took during the trip!

The fence...

Beading...

Trying out a pump drill...

Hoop Dancing....

The Students' Generosity Makes For a Wonderful Christmas...

We raised enough money this holiday season to purchase some GREAT things for our "Christmas Angel!" I was able to bring in the items that the generous donations allowed us to buy! In addition, each family registered not only received gifts for their children, but a food box which contained enough food to feed a family of four for one week.

The students were so enthusiastic throughout the process! I love that we were able to help the less fortunate this holiday season! What a super way to end 2008!

Lilia, our angel, received a bike, helmet, clothes, gloves, sneakers, and "girly" things!