Tales Of A 4-5 Something

️In the beginning of the year we always do community games in P.E. The first game that we did was the river challenge. The river challenge is where you place down 13 carpet squares on the gym and try to get across with a group of 14 people without stepping on the ground. Another game that we did was the countdown challenge. In the countdown challenge you have to countdown from the number of people that you have to 1, you can not have a predetermined pattern. We did one more challenge that is called toxic waste. In that game ropes are attached to bucket with small balls inside that you have to pour into a crate with only the ropes. It is harder than it seems. by Elijah and Alden

Today we went to the Farmer’s Market.First we walked to the Farmer’s market from Waynflete and we did a scavenger hunt .The scavenger hunt had interviews, drawings and questions. Then we got apples and then we had to walk back to school . On the way back to the school we walked past the Portland Art Museum and Riechie School and the Cross Insurance Arena. It was a fun thing to spend 2 hours on this Wednesday. by Liam and Ty

On September 3rd 2015, 4-5 did an art project with Riki. We painted different lines on a canvas without talking while music was playing. We put Nancy’s ipad on the  projector. Everyone made a time-lapse of their painting then we put all of them together. We painted for 35 to 40 minutes. It was really fun and the time lapse was really cool!! by Morgan and Rosie

We had convocation this Thursday September 17, 2015. There was music, readings, and a gong and an interlude. Convocation  was about 30 minutes, it started with students arriving for the event. When we came there was music. Then Geoff Wagg welcomed us to the event and said some words about the school and then some students read some comments written by students about the topic of perseverance. Then we had an interlude with music and then there was a gong where the oldest student held the gong and the youngest student hits the gong 3 times that represent the 3 divisions of the school. Then Geoff Wagg said some more words, then we left with music. It was a good way to spend  30 minutes of the day. by Ty and Liam

Sum of Subjects #1 We have four “special” subjects; art, P.E., music and chorus. We are doing zen tangles in art, group challenges in P.E. and songs in music and chorus. I have decided to find out what topic is most popular. by Neil xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx people art 16 P.E. 25 music 2 chorus 4 The next sum of Subjects will be right before Christmas break.

In themes at the moment we are studying local foods and we had a soil class with Nancy. We did a science experiment using golf balls as grains of sand, marbles as silt and corn kernels as clay. Which all are all minerals found in ideal soil. We poured in water. I observed that the smaller particles filled in the spaces. This was the final result ⬇️ by Jasper, Yen, Elijah and Alden

Last week 4-5 did a cook off. I was in Tim's group. We had to make pancakes with greens from the garden. We had  sugar, 3 eggs, ginger, pancake batter, Swiss chard, chives and cheese, and a tomato. We competed against teams called the Yummy  Face, The Leaning Tower of Pancakes,  The Garden Pancake Beasts Heart. It was really cool to see the group come together. -Morgan

Pachanga is a spanish word meaning party and joyful gathering. Today was the school year's first Pachanga! We have Pachanga every Wednesday. At Pachanga we sing songs as a Lower School and celebrate people's birthdays. Normally, there are two 4-5 announcers who lead the assembly. Soon we will get to sit with our K-1 Buddies at Pachanga. Today we sang Down By The Bay, Say Hello (an EC original), and Gotta Go To Mexico, Dos Elephantes. Pachanga is a great part of our week. Charlie L., Iris, Keegan, Tobias, Seth, Jack, and Sasha

Today we walked to the Farmer's Market at Monument Square in Portland. We brought clipboards and we split up in groups of nine or ten. We are studying Local Foods in school so we interviewed local farmers. The questions were what was their name, the farm's name, their favorite part about their job, what is the hardest part about the job, and what do you do when the season is over. A farmer named Brandon told us it was hard picking potatoes in the mud especially with giant worms crawling around his legs. Another farmer, who had honey, was able to keep working even though it was winter because she had bees. We also had to sketch flowers, greens, a root vegetable, and a fruit. We liked this trip because at the end we all got an apple from Snell's Family Farm or Uncle's Farm. Sasha, Charlie D., Charlie L., Iris, Seth, Tobias, Cole, Eliza, and Jack.  

At Opening Reception we got a list of things we had to do in 4-5 to get to know the teachers and the space. For example, in Tim's room we created a handmade wordle. We described ourselves using ten or more words. Bigger words meant that we liked something more or it was more important to us. Smaller words meant we liked it less. In Kai's room we made a MadLib sentence about eating something this summer. Dan had us do a Spanish Words search. These things, and the others, were fun! Charlie D., Keegan, Jane, and Jack

For the start of school we went to the Big Gym to do activities with Elicia and Mr. Solloway. We did two group activities that were called Barnyard and the Dot Game. The Dot Game was when you got a color dot sticker on your back with a number on it. You didn't know what it was because you could not see it. Without talking you had to find your color group. Once you found your group with the help of other people you had to put yourself in number order. Then we used those numbers to play Barnyard. We had to keep our eyes closed and find other animals that were like us. The only thing we could do was move and make the sounds of that animal. We were chickens, cows, and other farm animals. These were fun games, Rose, Iris, Seth, and Ivy

On the first day of school we went to the Big Gym and did some group activities. One of the activities was the lap sit. We do a lap sit to learn to trust one another. First, we got into a circle with our toes touching the heel of the person in front of us. Then we extended our arms for balance. Next we felt for the knees of the person behind us. Lastly, we sat down. The weight gets evenly distributed around the circle. It took us a lot of tries before we got comfortable. In the end we held the lap sit for 63 seconds. We think that is a record. By Charlie L., Sasha, and Jaden

On September 4th 4-5 played a game to get to know all the students. We each got a bingo board and had to go around and ask people questions. If they fit one of our squares they wrote their name in the square. Some of the questions were:      Do you have a younger sibling?      Do you have the same birthday month as me?      Did you read more than 4 books this summer?      Do you walk to school each day? Bingo was its name-oh.  By Tobias, Cole, and Eliza