Tales Of A 4-5 Something

Many people have come to the U.S. from away.  We have learned about immigration in the past and immigration going on right now.  Part of our study was to interview people who immigrated to this country so we could learn from them.  We met people from all over.  Here are our interviews: Check in often.  Tim and Nancy will add the remaining interviews shortly.

Students responding in character: I am Elmer Mackworth and I met a blacksmith whose shop burned down so he came to America for a better life.     Griffin Traveling to America was rough.  During the intelligence test I could feel the pressure gleaming on me.  During the medical test I knew they were not happy with the fact I had lice on the boat.  At the leagal station the people weren’t happy that I only had $1.50 to come across with but I pail all my money to get a ticket on the Baltic, the ship I took to America.  The boat ride here was filled with sickness and sadness.  When I arrived in Ellis Island I felt freedom.  All of the people were happy with diversity.  Now I am going to live with my sisters to get a job and live a happy life.   Sarah The experience was frightening.  I passed all the tests and I did not have to go to detention.  The tests were scary and fun and I was treated like a no...

We had fun today because it snowed.  We like it when it snows because we can make snow people and we can use the sleds.  We have a big hill that runs next to EC.  You are free to catch air and bump into things like the fence at the other end of the field.  You can also be pulled in the sled but look out for oncoming traffic.  Today we just wanted to flop into the snow.  We also put snow down the slide and then went after it.  The snow made us go faster.                                                                              Willow, Amber, Tafari, Raines, and Thysie.                                                     ...

On November 15th we went to the Lowell Mills. We got to see a replica of the Boot Mill when it was still running and how cotton went from bale to bolt. We saw real looms running on their own. Then we got to weave some of our own cloth on floor looms. There were different sized looms and different color thread. We also got to learn about the boarding houses that the mill workers lived in and the food that they ate. It was really very interesting. While we were in the boarding house we had hunts for information we could find in the exhibits. It was a good experience and here are some moments that we learned there. Sarah        

After our quizzes Senor Dan asked us to write down as many Spanish words that we could think of.  We typed up our words on GoogleDoc and sent them to Senor Dan.  He used those words to make a word cloud .  We looked at the word cloud in class and we could see what words we know as a group.  There were a lot of words.  The big words are the ones lots of people wrote and the small words are the ones that weren't written that much.  This was fun to see.

There is a good chapter book called Because Of Mr. Terupt .  In the book the teacher asks his students to find dollar words.  If A = .01 and B = .02 and C = .03 and so on to Z that = .26 then what words would equal $1.00?  Right now we have 5 words.  They are: Scuttle Shovels Smitten Mittens Molecular Can you think of some at home?  Add your dollar words to this entry by writing it in the comment section.  We think we can come up with more than the people outside of our classrooms. On Dec. 18th we added turkey!!  Thanks Willow. On Jan. 7th we added grumpy!!  Well done Tafari. On Feb 11th we added weavings!!  Yippee Willow.

In P.E (A.K.A Physical Education Class) we played scatterball and the other half had open gym. In scatterball you put out three dodgeballs and you can only have one.  Then you try to hit people with the dodgeballs. The only way to move with the balls is to roll them on the ground. I you get hit you go to jail and the only way to comeback in is if the player who got you out gets out. There were a lot of people to start but many of the people got out because sometimes they were trapped. In some other schools they play by giving players 8 jumps to move with the ball and two steps to shoot.  Here we roll the ball but you get two steps to shoot.  It was our first time playing this year and it was hard because there were a lot of other people trying to get the balls. We played about three games but one game never ended. Tafari did a really good job at keeping the balls close. We hope we can play again this year.           ...

Every morning we have Morning Meetings. On Tuesday I made up a greeting for our meeting in Tim's Homestation.  This particular greeting was special.  You had to greet someone and say when you think it will snow one inch or more.  Below are the estimates of who said what day.       Abby 11/28          Tafari 12/5         Sarah 12/12           Nahum 12/12       Julia 12/15      Kaitlyn 12/16        Tim 12/18          Owen 12/20           Raines 12/22       Thysie 12/23     Griffin 12/25         Eliza 12/25       ...

Everyone at school came to the Big Gym to drop off the food we collected.  It was nice to see how much food that would be going to families so they could have a nice Thanksgiving.  There were 8 tables full of food and the Middle Schoolers put on a skit.  It was nice to see how much people care about the people who are hungry this Thanksgiving.  There was a jug band made up of the Directors, some teachers, and some students.  Divya played the washboard, Ben played the ukelele, and Lowell played a box of rice.  The whole Lower School sang All Of God's Critters to the rest of the school with Mark Segar leading us.                           Nicholas, Sophi, Aidan, Skyler, Aubrey, and Clara

In Studio we made felted soap rocks.  We used many different kinds of fibers.  You can use the rocks we made to wash your face and hands.  To start we used the cheese grater to make the soap in the shape of the rock.  Then we took the fibers, one by one, and put them on the soap.  We wet the fibers and stuffed them into a sock.  See the video below to watch the process. Another part of the Fiber Extravaganza was making felted snakes.  Some of us will give the snakes as gifts.  10 out of 10 student liked the Fiber Extravaganza.                               Aidan, Maya, Nicholas, Oliver, Clara, Skyler, and Elizabeth

Two weeks ago 4-5 students started shipwreck in PE. Shipwreck is a game we like to play. Your ship just crashed and you have to get to land and kill all the sharks. To get to the land you have to go from island to island. Shipwreck is awesome! We wish they did it in Middle School. Shipwreck is a community building game and we always look forward to it.                                                                                                         Theo and Oliver PS - Now we are doing yoga in PE.

We have had three days of Boot Designs in 4-5. Each day has been different. 1st Day Attributes: Snacks, music, no pressure, low demand.  Notes: Getting used to the project. Only one pair of boots needed. We were artisans and each person worked on their own boot. 2nd Day Attributes: No snacks, low volume music or none at all, pressure, normal/medium demand. Notes: No routines, two pairs of boots or more needed. Each person worked on their own boots. 3rd Day Attributes: No snacks, music on and off, tons of pressure, very high demand.  Notes: Figured out that music helps. Why? If you have music you are more likely to not shout or talk and you will keep your head down and work. If your head is upright you are probably talking or distracted. Personal best number of boots were needed. People took one small job and did that part then passed the boot to someone else to do another part. On Day 3 we needed of efficiency and volume. Making boots is very tedious work especially ...

Two Mexican artists visited Waynflete last Monday and all of the 4-5  students were able to visit the art studio where they were carving  wooden masks.  We had a chance to ask them questions in Spanish and we  feel fortunate that they gave us the mask that they were working on  while they were here!  Take a look at the video below to see the mask  and hear students talk about the experience.

Here are the results of our bill voting.  Two of the bills passed.  Now the executive branch will sign them into law or veto them.  What do you think about out bills?

Today we took a trip to LL Bean's factory in Brunswick.  There were 5 different spots in the factory.  One was a bike shop where they put together bikes, put them in boxes, and shipped them to people.  Another spot was where they made Boat and Tote bags.  It was cool to see how they assembled them and we saw how they customized them.  The sewing machines moved super fast.  This place also makes the dog beds.  They pump up sacks with fluffy fluff.  They looked liked life rafts and seemed very comfortable.  They also had an embroidery section where you stich names or initials on something.  Probably the most famous LL Bean product are the boots. At this factory they make the boots from scratch.  We saw them press the hides and cut out the parts.  Then they sewed it together.  There is also a place where they fix old boots.  People send their old boot from everywhere to be fixed. They may have old soles or the rubber may...

We have been talking about government and how bills become laws. We have learned how a bill has to go through the Senate and House. We also learned that our government has three branches so there is a balance. The three branches are: the Legislative Branch,  t he Judicial Branch, and the Executive Branch. Now we don't get much say with the Judicial Branch but we do get to elect legislatures and the President. We also have say in some ideas. We can give ideas to the Legislative Branch and if it passes the idea could go to the Executive Branch unless the President vetoes it. But then it could mean the bill would go back to the beginning and get voted on again. If it got enough votes it could skip the President. A law would go the the Judicial Branch if it goes against the Constitution! In 4-5 we made some bills. Each homestation came up with an idea that would make our school a better place. Today the ideas were shared in front of the Student Congress. The teachers are th...

In 4-5 we are making boots because we are studying the Industrial Revolution. In Kai’s home station our boot factory is called Harry’s Bootylicious Boots. We were bootmakers who had to make their own pair of boots that we unique.  We had music playing and there were snacks so we could stay creative. We are competing for making the best pair of boots. It is really fun. For example, my pair of boots are U.S.A. boots. It is also really cool to see all the other peoples boots that are hanging all over the program. After we color in the boot outline on paper we have to cut them out. Then they hang for people to see. We will have another boot making day later on. Simon