Annual Thanksgiving Feast Fun for 1st and 2nd Graders

Our first and second graders gathered together for a meal of vegetable soup and corn muffins on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. 

Wowzers!

One week ago, our kids had 15,600 AR points.  They were challenged t 16,600 points by Thanksgiving Break.  Here's how they blew us away.

Third Grade Comic Writing

Our third graders are creating comics in various programs to support our learning of personification and dialogue.

Goal Accomplished! Demonstration of Habit 2-Begin With the End in Mind

Exactly one week ago, our kids had 15,600 Accelerated Reader points with 83.9% accuracy.  I told them if they could grow that number by 1000 points and maintain an 83.9% accuracy rating, they'd receive a movie treat the day before Thanksgiving Break.  If you're not a Longhorn you have NO IDEA how rare this is.  We don't watch movies at our school so this is a real treat for them.

They accomplished the goal in 4 days.  FOUR DAYS!!  1000 points in 4 days.  And they bugged me ENDLESSLY to run the numbers several times a day to see if they'd accomplished their goal

I'm super proud of them, but mostly proud of them for maintaining that accuracy percentage.  That speaks volumes.

WAY TO GO, KIDDOS!  Frozen and Lego Movie it is on Tuesday afternoon.  Holy cow!  You earned it.

What We're Thankful For

Fourth Grade Gets "Hands Dirty" With Learning

Is there any better way to learn about Kentucky geography???  We don't think so!

Fourth Graders Express Their Learning Through Their Pencils

Teacher Leaders Explore Leader In Me School in Carrollton

Creativity and Culture Collide

Today in 2^nd grade, we’re working on prepping our Native American vests to wear at our feast next week with 1^st grade. We’re using Native American symbols to tell a story on our vests.--Ms. Samantha Baumann

Turn your head to the right.  Trying to get this pic to rotate but it's fighting me.  :)

Lattice Multiplication Success!

Mrs. Heinze shared these great pics and this annotation today.  Celebrate learning! 

"Students in my math class were challenged to the strategy of lattice multiplication. They were hard working and 100% successful with 4 digit by 1 digit. Yeah!!"

Hard at Work on Writing

Students completed a writing task last week, self assessed, and completed peer assessments using a rubric.   Our teachers finished analyzing the results this week.  Here are the results of the analysis.  We are loving the stamina the kids are developing for completing writing tasks. 

Longhorns Collect Most Candy

Longbranch families donated 752 lbs. of candy to Treats for Troops earning the students a supersized recess.

Snow Day #1

November 17, 2014
Clearing the lot and sidewalks to welcome our kids back.  The snow is soooo pretty.

Longhorns Win Calendar Contest

Julia Conley and Jaydin Rohrer, 4th grade students, and Noah Milner, Kindergartener, have received recognition as artists and slogan writers for the 2015 Quit the Littering calendar contest.

Julia and Noah have both been recognized for their drawings.  Julia's is seen below.  Jaydin has been recognized for her slogan:  "Alert, Litter is so Last Season!”

COSI from a Teacher's Eyes

At COSI –

We rode a unicycle in the air, saw pumpkins blow up, watched rats play basketball, learned all about our bodies, played a game with color words, shocked one another with static electricity, saw how we would look as we aged, experienced the ocean, played with gadgets, were blown by tornado-like winds, rode a simulator, took our resting and active heart rates, were energy explorers, saw a town as it was long ago and as it looks now, and much, much more.    

Yes, we were tired at the end of the day – it was amazing!!!!

Math Videos

Parents have asked for a library of math videos to assist with math homework so they can support their student's learning at school.  We will be working on establishing a home base for these videos on our website.  Until then, here are a few good videos and a link to a library of videos for your reference.

Fractions:  http://bcove.me/oo2kxlc1

Why the shift?  http://vimeo.com/110807219  (But, I should add...I taught the area model and partial products 10 years ago when I taught Everyday Math to my 5th graders.  This isn't really "new" for our kids.)

OpenEd Library:  https://www.opened.io/search

Khan Academy:  https://www.khanacademy.org/

OASIS Awards

Longbranch Elementary is the recipient of 6 OASIS (Outstanding Achievement in School Information Services) Awards this year presented by the Kentucky School Boards Association.
 
Distinguished Awards for:

• Social Media Pages
• Longbranch Lowdown

Proficient Awards for:

• Academic Achievement Promotions
• Parent Engagement Events

Honorable Mention Awards for:

• Special Events (series of events)
• The Leader in Me Parent Book Study

Habit 2: Begin With the End In Mind

In October we focused on Habit 2:  Begin With the End In Mind.  We learned that we have to have a goal and then we need to learn how to create a plan that will allow us to accomplish our goal.  Here's one way we are showcasing our Habit 2 goals.

Habit 1: Be Proactive

In September, we focused on Stephen Covey's Habit 1:  Be Proactive.  We learned that we are in charge of ourselves.  We can control our own actions.  Here's one way we are showcasing our habits this year.

Reflections Celebration and Awards 2014

Many of our creative scholars were recognized on Tuesday evening at our annual school Reflections celebration and awards ceremony.  Congratulations to our winners who will now move on to district competition!  Thank you to Mrs. Kenworthy and Mrs. Hall for organizing this event and thank you to our PTA for sponsoring it yearly.

Northern Kentucky Youth Orchestra Performs

For our opening reception at this year's Reflections awards, the Northern Kentucky Youth Orchestra performed for our guests.  They sounded simply amazing.  We're so proud to have hosted these talented instrumentalists.

Treats for Troops Collection

Each year we collect candy to donate to troops overseas to extend the service project Megan Kelly started years ago when she was a student at Cooper High School.  Megan, now a student studying to be a teacher, still helps local schools donate to this neat cause.  This year, Longbranch collected 752 pounds of candy.  WOW!!