Week in Review Oct.22 - 26

Mystery Number

This week we tried a new type of Mystery Skyping!  Instead of trying to find the location (state) of the class we were skyping with, we were trying to figure out their mystery number (0-100). We had a mystery number as well (26).  Both classes asked yes/no questions to try and figure out the other classes mystery number. Below are some of the questions we asked during our Skype. Students had a great time during this new and exciting experience and we can’t wait to set up another Mystery Number Skyping with another class!

*Is your number greater than 50?

*Is your number odd?

*Does your number have a ______ in the ones place?

*Does your number have a ______ in the tens place?

Garden Harvest

Putting the Garden Beds to Rest

On Monday the 2nd Grade team harvested our garden beds. Below are photographs from the harvest. We fed families throughout the Porters Point Community as a result of this harvest.

Once our garden was harvest it was time to put our garden beds to rest for the winter. On Wednesday our 2nd Grade PBL Super-Star volunteer Mr. MacAuley came to help us prepare the beds for winter. Mr. MacAuley has been helping the 2nd Grade team with our garden beds for the past four years. In addition to Mr.MacAuley’s support he brings all the materials we need for our garden bed donated by Claussen’s. We would like to thank Mr.MacAuley and Claussen’s for their continued partnership and support.

Week in Review: Oct.15 - Oct.19

Week in Review: October 8 - 12

4-Winds -- Leaf Eaters

On Friday afternoon we had our first 4-Winds lesson of the school year -- Leaf Eaters. This lesson would not have been possible without our amazing 4-Winds volunteers Mr. & Mrs. McCarthy (Owen's parents). During our lesson students learned about habitats, why leaves change color and why leaves have holes in them this time of year (because insects such as beetles and caterpillars eat them).  After the puppet show students went outside and explored the leaves surrounding Porters Point School.  We even noticed that some leaves had worms, beetles and rather large holes on them.  We ended our 4-Winds lessons with an exciting game.  Thank you so much Mr. & Mrs. McCarthy!  We can't wait for more wonderful 4-Winds lessons as the year continues!

ECHO

Our class had a wonderful day at ECHO on Wednesday! We went for a walk to explore the areas surrounding Lake Champlain, explored ECHO and even participated in the Wetland Wonders Program. To view a full description of the program click here. During the program students discussed the important skills a naturalist needs; used a wetland model to determine where animals and plants live in a wetland; and explored the regions of a wetland and simulated a wetland at night. 

A big thank you to Karen (Connor's mom), Ashley (Brookelyn's mom) and Mindy (Natalie's mom) who took time out of their busy schedules to join us on the field trip! 

Mystery Skyping!

We had a very exciting week in Room 6 filled with 2 Mystery Skypes.  On Thursday, we Mystery Skyped with a 4th grade class from Virginia.  On Friday, we Mystery Skyped with a 2nd grade class from Massachusetts.  We are become real experts at asking geographical questions to find out where our Mystery Skype classrooms are located.  If you see one of our Mystery Skyping experts in the hallways at PPS be sure to ask them what types of questions we ask during our Mystery Skypes and what they have learned from the states that we have Skyped with so far this year! 

Water Shed

Last Wednesday we had a guest teacher in 2nd grade. Ms. Stephanie Larkin from ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain came in and taught our class about the Lake Champlain Basin by bringing in a replica of the Lake Champlain Basin. Together we discussed what pollutants are around the lake such as fertilizer, dog waste, oil leaking from cars, manure, sand/dirt, etc. We polluted the replica with different food items (sprinkles for the dog waste, cinnamon for dirt, etc.). After our replica was all polluted it rained! Students were amazed as to how the fertilizer from a farm runs down the mountain, into a stream and then into the lake, along with many other pollutants. By the end of the demonstration the lake was rather dirty. Students learned that what we do at home and in the community has an impact on Lake Champlain. Check out our blog for photographs from the presentation.

Week in Review: Sept. 1 - 5