On Thursday, January 12th, the fifth grade class received our Rainbow Trout eggs! We received approximately 100 eggs from Nebraska Game & Parks as part of the Trout in the Classroom program. We will raise them in our classroom tank until April when we will release them at the pond at Chadron State Park.
To the Lakota people the Sunjkawakhan(horse) is a four legged friend and companion that provided transportation, friendship, and pride. The horse is revered in Sioux culture for its grace and courage. On Thursday, January 19th, Hay Springs Elementary students had the opportunity to learn about the impact the horse has had on Lakota culture and the impact the horse is making today in the area of mental health. Patty Coleman, an equine therapy specialist with St. Joseph’s Indian School in Chamberlain, South Dakota, developed the school’s equine therapy program from scratch and has enjoyed watching the program grow and positively impact youth of all ages. Patty discussed with students a horse’s ability to listen and make no judgments which allows students to make a deep connection, process their emotions and become much more productive in and out of the classroom.
Kindergarten is exploding with excitement! We are adding, subtracting, working on our shapes (2D and 3D) as well as reading CVC(consonant vowel consonant) words and writing stories. Each week we study new spelling words and learn 3-5 new vocabulary words. So if you see a Kinder please ask them what they have been learning and be prepared to have a great conversation! Ms. Meeks is super proud of all of her Kinders!
First grade applied for and was awarded a $100 grant through the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation to study where our food comes from and where it is produced in Nebraska. Our first lesson this week was about milk. We learned about a dairy farm and milking machines in Diller, Nebraska. Locally we also were fortunate to have community member Megan Reimann send us a video about how to care for and milk a dairy cow! She also sent us fresh cows milk. It was very interesting to see the difference between fresh milk and store bought!
We also used some of our grant money to buy the ingredients to make homemade ice cream in a bag! Our main reading story this week was “From Cows to You.” We are able to tie in our Agriculture in the Classroom activities to include reading and social studies content as well!
Our curriculum has 10 different food items raised and produced in Nebraska so be looking for more updates!
4th graders started the quarter by traveling the Oregon Trail through Nebraska. We started at the Little Blue River where we ate Skeeter cakes (cornmeal pancakes with mosquitos in them, really it was flax seed). Next we traveled to Ft. Kearney where we accidentally pulled water hemlock (poison) and ate it killing 3 wagon members. Windlass Hill and Ash Hallow were very beautiful and had refreshing water but some of our wagons got stumped (rolled down the hill and crashed). One family even had a new baby here, which they named Ash. At Jailhouse and Courthouse Rock we saw rattlesnakes and tried hardtack. Our next stop was Chimney Rock were we learned to make a toy named a “humdinger”. Our last stop is Scott’s Bluff. Hopefully, we can finish through Nebraska without digging any more graves!
Elementary HAL students met after school on Wednesday, January 11th, and explored chain reactions and the transfer of energy with Rube Goldberg machines. They had to troubleshoot and think like engineers to fine tune their ideas. They are already planning on how to improve them for next time. Be sure to click the links below to check out the videos!
Hal Video 1
Hal Video 2
Hal Video 3
Hal Video 4
Elementary students attended an assembly today for Red Ribbon Week. Nebraska State Patrol Sergeant Horak spoke with students about the dangers of illegal drugs and what to do if someone offers them an unknown substance. She also told students to watch for strange or abnormal substances, such as pills that may look like candy, but are loose or in a zip lock bag instead of a sealed, candy package. She reminded them not to touch or eat anything that looks strange, but to tell an adult right away.
4th graders had a presentation today by a local author. She explained the writing, revising, editing and publishing process. We learned there is a lot of hard work that goes into making a book and marketing a book, but the rewards are priceless.
With the help of Julie and Erika and the Cravath Memorial Library, 4th graders were able to find answers to the Sheridan County Tourism Boards Hay Springs Scavenger Hunt. They were very excited to learn about their town.
Fourth graders attended the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies presentation on bird banding. While we were there we saw the nets the birds fly into, banding of the birds, weighing of the birds, and we got to hold a felt bird that was a model of a real bird. Students also got to use binoculars and bird books to identify birds and play a bird survival game. We found out that only around 30% of birds that migrate make it to their destination.
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