IASD students participate in 

the international event: 

"An Hour of Code!"

Some examples of the Doodle4Google submissions Enrichment Support 4th and 5th graders created for this years competition: "What Makes Me...Me!"

Elizabeth Wooda @EwoodsWooda

#D4GTeacherContest pic.twitter.com/MUkhDgPVX2

Two Poems 

by Lee

JUPITER

Deep in space,

wandering about,

I see an object,

the largest of them all,

red, tan, and brown,

being harassed by a storm,

Jupiter

Deep in space,

this wandering object,

holds many moons,

and among these moons,

an everlasting horizon,

scarred by the winds,

Europa.

SATURN

  

Deep in space,

I see an object,

caged in by rings,

trapped for eternity,

forever lonely,

in it’s cage of rings,

Saturn.

Deep in space,

I see an object,

that has caged,

the titan of the east,

without them,

Insanity,

Darkness.

Friday The Thirteenth

by Lee and Mohammad

The thirteenth and Friday is today.

Oh no, I better hide away.

I don’t want to be seen.

Today my brother is being mean.

I don’t want a black cat in my way.

Oh, today is a terrible day.

I don’t want to dump my breakfast in the trash.

for it could fall on my foot in a flash and make a big gash.

Friday 13th

By Tori and Emma

It’s Friday the Thirteenth, an unlucky day,

there is a hurricane outside.  It is too wet to play.

In falls the roof, Watch Out!

Even my fish is starting to pout.

My mom is gone

but I must live on.

I can't call my friend.

Why won’t this day end?

5th Grade students from Eisenhower and Horace Mann appear here with Mr. Tim Toy showing off their poetry projects they wrote and created today during our Poetry Master Class.

Today students learned about, listened to, and wrote poetry.  Their couplet and free verse poetry was compiled in a Chapbook that each student was able to take home and share with their families. 

Feather of a Turkey

By Maura

One year ago, all 365 days past,

on Thanksgiving at Grandma`s house

there was a feather.

The feather flowed on the chill of howling wind.  

The speckled bird’s down dropped

to the cold and frosty bed of grass

off the back of the fowl most popular on the day of thanks.

Down it floated, making the crisp and common sound of autumn,

it sat listening to the wind in the tangled branches of the trees.

The winds slowed, rustled, then picked up speed.  

It was time to leave, thought the feather.

The soft fluff let go of the ground and flew.

Soon it was intercepted by a hand,

I caught the soft feather and brought it home.      

I find myself reflecting on the beginning of the school year and wanting to share what stands out to me with you.

Since pushing into multiple classrooms this year to co-teach with my colleagues, the number of people that I work with has increased dramatically.  I am beyond grateful to have the opportunity to work with so many inspiring people.  

One of the reasons I became a teacher is because I love people, so to have the opportunity to work directly with more people makes my life more full of love.  

The opportunity to collaborate with teachers, parents, and my students fills my heart, increases my connections, and helps me  become a better teacher and person.  

The past nine weeks when pushing into classrooms, I concentrated on writing instruction.  I introduced narrative writing and opinion writing to several classes.  Reading the texts that were written and seeing my students' self concepts grow to include the title, "author" fills me with joy.  

I get goose bumps as I realize that I am living my life's purpose here at East Pike and Horace Mann.  I look forward to the rest of the year, when I will be teaching informational writing and how to make and support claims by quoting evidence from texts.   

Another aspect of this school year that I am so thankful for is the opportunity to increase my use of Google apps and tools.  This year, I added the Google Classroom to my toolkit.  I also continue to practice and improve my skills using WeVideo.  

WeVideo provides an incredible platform for documentation, as does Blogger.  These tools transform my teaching, enabling me to teach engaging lessons that speak to the present moment, what is and what will be relevant in my students' lives now and in the future. 

I embark on the second nine weeks of my thirteenth year of teaching with total happiness and full of gratitude because I co-create curriculum with my colleagues and students.  

 

we work, write, learn, and grow together. 

Poetry in Two Languages 

By Mohammad

Please enjoy this mini-documentary, "The Perfect Pumpkin."

This educational event took place at East Pike Elementary School on October 29, 2015.

Third graders in Mrs. Higbee's class and Mrs. Jones's class enjoyed this learning experience.

Many thanks to the parent volunteers and student teacher 

who helped made this event a huge success!

Enrichment Support

Field Trip Information

October 30, 2015

5th Grade Enrichment Support students from HM and IKE will take part in a poetry master class presented by Tim Toy on Friday, November 13, 2015.

We are thrilled to share this Creative Writing experience with our students!

Accomplished poet, Tim Toy, will teach a poetry master class at Horace Mann on November 13, 2015 for Enrichment Support 5th Graders.  

Mr. Toy’s poetry has been published in the Atlantic Monthly, Yale Medical Journal, and the Literary Review at Penn.  He was invited to guest speak at poetry classes at Penn, Harvard, and Yale.  

We will meet from 10:00-1:20.  Students can pack tree nut free lunches or order from the cafeteria the day of the Field Trip.  

Students will be reading, discussing, and writing poetry during this master class.

Thank you for your support of the Enrichment Support program!

-Mrs. Sorce and Mrs. Woods

The Great Kaaba

By Mohammad

On January 24, 2009, my family decided to take a trip to Makkah from Riyadh. I was not even three years old then.  At first, my family went to a hotel to stay the night, we woke up and went to the Kaaba.  The steady air passed as the warm air took its place in.  The beautiful scene attracted animals and people.  The humid weather trapped the sensible smell.  There was delectable lickable food at the exclusive restaurant, Al-Baik, mmm!  They had the best fried chicken!

Secondly, we went and found a spot to rest and pray the daily salat.  I remember that
I did not like the rough sound of people talking. It made me a little annoyed and sweat made my nose crumble.  However, I enjoyed the amazing view of the high chained black mountains and doves flying around. I played with the free birds and ran back and forth. It was the best part!

Soon, my family went around the Ka’aba and the two mountains Safa and Marua seven times. This ritual is performed to remember, commemorate, and live the experience of the prophet Abraham’s family when they first arrived at this place. Our feet tangled together and were sore after more than an hour of walking, running, and hiking the mountains. Yet, the exciting view we got when we reached the top point of the mountains encouraged us to keep going.

Finally, after we were done, we drank a lot of Makkah’s special water, Zamzam. It is so special that it exploded from the ground right next to the Ka’aba. That was when the angel Gabriel hit the ground with his wing for Ismael (Ishmael) to drink after his mother’s desperate attempts hiking the two mountains up and down looking for water to give to her baby. Zamzam water does not taste like regular water because it comprised of a different formula of minerals than regular water. It tasted interesting. It is also used for healing purposes. I felt good when I drank it, so I liked the way I ended my journey.