We were honored today by the visit of Jimmy Kanizius, a student leader from Uganda. In the two hours he spent with us he shared stories of how he escaped the brutal conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, time he spent as a refugee in Uganda, and how he became involved with the non-profit agency, Think Humanity. http://www.thinkhumanity.org/ Although he has endured many difficulties in his young life, he is committed to helping others help themselves through health, education, and small business programs. The children asked questions ranging from what he enjoys doing in his spare time to the effects of malaria. They were truly touched by his kind spirit and gentleness as well as what he's done. Many wanted to help those in Uganda and we brainstormed ways we can help. Stay tuned... The heads got a facelift from a professional -- Berndt Savig, a professor from Red Rocks Community college and friend of Kara's. Students were amazed at his work, knowledge and skill. Over the hour, he demonstrated how the children could use techniques to apply to the heads they are sculpting. Thanks to a Classroom Innovation Grant from the Impact on Education Foundation (written by Lauren), we are able to launch a multi-genre biography project. Students chose an individual who has had a positive impact on the world and, over the next few weeks, use a variety of ways to convey information about this person. Kara launched the art portion of this project by introducing the students to sculpting techniques and three-dimensional design. The kids are becoming quite attached to their heads because whenever there is a free moment in the classroom, they rush to add details to their sculptures. After a month of investigation, inquiry, and meeting with mentors, students began presenting their dream homework--the fourth and fifth grade independent learning project. It was clear that many were passionate about what they studied and it showed during the class presentations and the dream homework museum. We started a series of math investigations this week to introduce or integrate math concepts. Today we started a three day project around estimation, probability, graphing, fractions, decimals, and percents using M&Ms. Only after gathering the data were the candies eaten! |
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September 2019
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