Spring 2016 - Johnston Community School District
Transcription
Spring 2016 - Johnston Community School District
Friends of Johnston ELP Newsletter Spring 2016 Supporting the Needs of High Ability Students in the Johnston Community School District 2015-2016 Board Members Our board members represent all schools within our district, as indicated below. Feel free to contact us with any questions, suggestions, or to volunteer to help with any of our activities. Amy Johnson, President Wallace [email protected] Congratulations to Johnston Mock Trial Coordinator and ELP Coordinator Kathy Paul for being inducted into the Mock Trial Educator Coach Hall of Fame! Beth Frantum, VP & Secretary Lawson [email protected] A special thank you to Jane McDowell for her many years of dedication and service to the Friends of Johnston ELP board. Jane has served as treasurer of the Friends of Johnston ELP board for most of those years and has decided to step aside after this school year. Thank you, Jane, for everything you have done to help make Friends of Johnston ELP the largest and most active ELP parent organization in the state of Iowa! Valerie Thacker, Treasurer JHS, JMS, TR [email protected] Jane McDowell, Ass’t Treasurer JHS [email protected] Jill Boeschen, Database Coord JHS [email protected] Jenny Lashier, Communications BC, SMS [email protected] 2015-2016 ELP Staff Kathy Paul 515-278-0476 [email protected] Easiest to contact by e-mail Hena Guo, New Member Liaison Horizon [email protected] JCSD ELP Coordinator MS 8-9 ELP, Assessment, training Sue Cline ELP Teacher at JHS Advanced Placement 515-278-0449 [email protected] Contact after 3 pm or via e-mail anytime Jean Sweet, Fundraising Lawson, SMS [email protected] Mitzi Hetherton ELP Teacher at Wallace and Lawson 515-278-0478 (Lawson) 515-278-6977 (Wallace) [email protected] Contact by e-mail or phone Nicole ParadiseWilliams ELP teacher at Timber Ridge Kristen Hartman ELP Teacher at Beaver Creek Colleen Ites Kate Florer Kathy Paul, ELP Coordinator 515-278-0476 [email protected] Contact us anytime at [email protected] OR Like us on Facebook at Friends of Johnston ELP! 515-331-4379 [email protected] Contact by e-mail or phone [email protected] 515-278-6228 Contact by e-mail or phone ELP Teacher at Summit 515-986-0318 [email protected] Contact by e-mail or phone ELP Teacher at Horizon 515-986-1121 [email protected] Contact by e-mail or phone News from Johnston Elementary Schools Submitted by Mitzi Hetherton, Nicole Paradise-Williams, Kristen Hartman, Kate Florer STEM AWARD FOR K-3 Last spring the ELP staff received a STEM Scale-Up Program award from the Governor’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Advisory Council. This program helps bring quality STEM learning opportunities to our ELP classrooms. This fall we attended training at Drake University on A World in Motion curriculum. As a result of that training, students at various elementary schools have enjoyed or are enjoying the following units: The ELP staff received a similar program award a few years ago for STEM curriculum from Engineering is Elementary for 3rd – 5th graders. Some 3rd graders have been working on a Acoustical Engineering unit in which the students have to visually represent sound using the terms pitch, duration, and volume. At Wallace students have been working on a Biomedical Engineering unit. Students use the engineering design process to create a knee brace for an injured leg. Dr. Barron Bremner, an orthopedic surgeon, came in to give tips and share his expertise. Rolling Things – Students study toy cars and car performance. Launching the cars from ramps, the students investigate the effects of different ramp heights and car weights have on distance traveled, measuring and recording data gathered through variable testing. MATH OLYMPIADS It’s hard to believe that another contest season has come to a close. 4th and 5th grade mathletes took their final contest before spring break or shortly after. Look for contest results in our next newsletter. Pinball Designers - Students design a homemade pinball game and explore the behavior of the difference components, such as the pinball, ball traps and bumpers. The students test the launch ramp to explore how launch position affects the behavior of the pinball and then learn how to optimize their games to make them more challenging and interesting. Straw Rockets - Students explore the early life of Dr. Robert Goddard while reading the biography, The Rocket Age Takes Off. After investigating Goddard's early trials and tribulations in creating the first liquid fueled rocket engine, students begin to uncover the work necessary to optimize a design with the goal of creating a straw rocket that flies the farthest and highest. ADVANCED LANGUAGE ARTS HAPPENINGS Various grade levels are using Vocabu-Lit to enrich students’ vocabulary. Students learn new vocabulary within the context of a story, biography, or nonfiction text. Literature Circles/Book Clubs Research/Self-Selected projects Fourth and fifth graders are continuing their study of Latin and Greek stems and classic vocabulary. Right: 2nd graders Zoe Z. and Luca F. during the Pinball Designers unit Engineering Inspired by Nature - Students investigate methods in which seeds are dispersed in nature through the story Once Upon a Time in the Woods. The story leads the students to further explore how seeds are dispersed by the wind. Using the designs found in nature, the students develop paper helicopters and parachutes then perform variable testing to improve their performance. Left: Audrey D., Chloe L., and Nathan J. during the Pinball Designers unit Lawson 2nd graders studying a STEM unit on Straw Rockets 2 Happenings at our Elementary Schools Submitted by Mitzi Hetherton, Nicole Paradise-Williams, Kristen Hartman, Kate Florer Fourth Grade Fun—Wallace Elementary Wallace 5th grader Audrey is holding authentic roman coins Christian Renaud sharing his travel experiences in Rome and the history surrounding the area to tie in to our study of Latin words in Caesar's English. (Wallace—5th) Dr. Barron Bremner visited Wallace 4th graders and shared his experiences as an orthopedic surgeon. The students designed their own knee braces to stabilize an injured knee. Lawson 5th graders Olivia F, Emma L, Sophie E, and Regan V performing skits they wrote after studying the Civil Rights movement in an anthology of short stories, poems and nonfiction called Free at Last. 3 Happenings at our Elementary Schools Submitted by Mitzi Hetherton, Nicole Paradise-Williams, Kristen Hartman, Kate Florer Timber Ridge 2nd graders Jacob & Andrew building a Sierpinski Triangle Wallace first graders working on a STEM unit called Rolling Things. They are doing various experiments with vehicles of different sizes and ramps of varying heights. Timber Ridge 2nd graders Luke, Tristan, Lilly, Jacob, Matthew, and Andrew with the finished Sierpinski Triangle Timber Ridge 5th grader Kayla solving an algebra problem Timber Ridge 4th graders presenting their Environmental Declaration projects 4 Happenings at our Elementary Schools Submitted by Mitzi Hetherton, Nicole Paradise-Williams, Kristen Hartman, Kate Florer Timber Ridge 5th graders participating in STEM challenges Timber Ridge 2nd graders sharing their finalized animal research projects Timber Ridge 5th graders Aidan, Kayla, Aldin, and Meredith work on programing a Sphero to drive through a "city" they're building. Right: Timber Ridge 1st grader Elizabeth brainstorming a list of "magnificent" things she can make from Legos after reading The Most Magnificent Thing Below: Timber Ridge First Graders playing Bananagrams Third Grade Fun at Timber Ridge 5 History Day Results Submitted by Kathy Paul, Colleen Ites, and Sue Cline, ELP Teachers Nearly 60 students in grades 6-12 in Johnston participated in AEA 11 District History Day on April 2 at Grand View University in Des Moines. Johnston also had 6 students in grades 6-12 participate in the AEA 11 East District History Day on March 30 at Central College in Pella. Students created projects centered on the theme “Exploration, Encounter, and Exchange in History” which they researched and developed over the past four to six months. These students learned to utilize extensive primary sources, including interviews, newspapers, and documents. Grades 9-12 competed in the senior division and grades 6-8 in the junior division. 6TH & 7TH GRADE COMPETITORS 8TH & 9TH GRADE COMPETITORS Exhibit: Teja Jetty and Tarun Sirkaran, Marandah Mangra-Dutcher, Ava O'Brien, Julia Chen and Vivian Chen, Gordon Hu, Joshua Schumacher, James Grimm, Jamison Cunningham, Mikayla Dobson and Maryam Mohammed, and Morgan Lee and Karshana Kalyanaraman Exhibit: Sarah Andreasen, Erin Anderson Paper: Zoey Kloewer Documentary: Sam McDaniel, Dylan McLaren, Chase McLaren Group Performance-*Megan O'Brien, Jillian James, Camille Furer, and Megan Jones *Advancing to State Competition Special awards in the 6-7th grade category were presented to Marandah Mangra-Dutcher for Creative Entry, and to Julia Chen and Vivan Chen, Teja Jetty and Tarun Srikaran, Gordon Hu, and James Grimm, Jamison Cunningham, Mikayla Dobson and Maryam Mohammed for Unusual Topics. Morgan Lee and Karshana Kalyanaraman were presented with the Best Use of Props Award. 10TH GRADE COMPETITORS Exhibit: *Olivia Hrubetz and Hannah Hoffman, Isla Chowanec, Gwynna Miner, Meredith McDonald and Natalie Voss, *Maddie Gregurek, *Caroline Aldrich * Advancing to State Competition Special awards were granted to Maddie Gregurek for Superior Knowledge of Topic and to Isla Chowanec, Gwynna Miner, Meredith McDonald and Natalie Voss for an Outstanding Bibliography. Web site: Shreya Shrestha and Joanne Wu, Paxsen Picken, *Mark Liu, Zach Abbey and Joe Arthur and *Andrew Yu Paper: *Mathew Ding Documentary: *Akshaya Kumar, Joe Hoffman and Karson Lee, Jackie Liang and Makenna Gregurek, *Brooklyn Dilley, Anna Janni, Taylor Siebert, Madison Dunn and Kayley Gehrels, *Will Morlock and Austin Ledesma *Advancing to State Competition Special awards in 8th grade were presented to Andrew Yu for an Unusual Topic , to Akshaya Kumar for Outstanding Bibliography and to Jackie Liang and Makenna Gregurek for Superior Knowledge of Topic. 9TH GRADE COMPETITORS Exhibit: *Kennedy Ortmeier and Dana Thacker *Marianne Aldrich, Paige Berry Web site: *Katie Michalski, Nicole Gilbert and Maille Sheeley, *Lauren Fergus, Parul Srivastava and Obsee Abbajabal Paper: *Hannah Jensen Performance: * Allie Tubbs *Advancing to State Competition A special awards in the 9th grade category was given to Katie Michalski for Outstanding Use of Resources and Paige Berry for Unusual Topic. 6 State Mock Trial Submitted by Kathy Paul, ELP Coordinator Four Johnston High School mock trial teams competed at the state level on March 28-30 with great success, with one team taking home the semi-finalist trophy. The JHS sophomore team, Big Mock Candy Mountain, earned 10th place after facing tough opponents through the first three rounds of the competition on March 28-29. A junior team, Oro Judicium, received the prestigious Critelli Sportsmanship Award, also at the awards ceremony. Overall, three Johnston students were awarded outstanding performance medals: Mark Nagel (sophomore, Outstanding Witness) Prakhyath Bujimalla (sophomore, Outstanding Attorney) Lauren McDowell (senior, Outstanding Witness) The senior team, Incendio, continued on to the semi finals on March 30, missing the final round by half a point to the eventual state champions from Marion Homeschool and taking home the semi-finalist trophy. Mark Nagel, Outstanding Witness Prakhyath Bujimalla, Outstanding Attorney Lauren McDowell, Outstanding Witness Team Oro Judicium Team Squandra Team Big Mock Candy Mountain Team Incendio 7 Belin-Blank Summer Institute Submitted by Kathy Paul and Colleen Ites Students underwent a rigorous nomination process from the school district and were submitted along with students across the state for the opportunity to be selected for a one-week summer residential institute held in Iowa City. Each student will receive a partial program scholarship, as well as a scholarship towards future admission at the University of Iowa. The students work with specialists in the chosen area and have an opportunity to take advantage of many opportunities on campus. Every JMS student who was nominated was accepted for the program. This is a high honor to have so many chosen to represent Johnston Schools. JOHNSTON MIDDLE SCHOOL PARTICIPANTS Matthew Ding—Advanced Science Erin Anderson—Global and Cultural Studies Owen Smith—Social Sciences Mark Liu—Math Problem Solving Akshaya Kumar—Creative Writing Marshawn Gunn—Invention and Innovation Stella Zeng—Visual Arts Madison Dunn—Performing Arts SUMMIT MIDDLE SCHOOL PARTICIPANTS Gordon Hu—Advanced Science Abbie McLaren—Math Problem Solving Maryam Mohammed—Social Sciences Morgan Lee—Global and Cultural Studies Karshana Kalyanaraman—Invention and Innovation Bri Cox—Visual Arts Morgan Dunn—Alternate, Creative Writing Back row: Erin A., (Global & Cultural), Akshaya K., (Creative Writing), Madison D., (Performing Arts), Stella Z., (Visual Arts) Front row: Mark L., (Math Problem Solving), Matthew D., (Advanced Science), Owen S., (Social Sciences) Back row: Gordon H., (Advanced Science), Maryam M., (Social Sciences), Bria C., (Visual Arts), Abbie M., (Math Problem Solving), Front row: Karshana K., (Invention and Innovation), Morgan D., (Creative Writing-alternate), Morgan L., (Global and Cultural Studies) 8
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