Spreading Holiday Cheer Throughout IWCS

If you were in any of our schools today, you may have seen a very festive group of people walking through the buildings. That  would have been me and my Executive Team.  We started a tradition where we visit all the schools, and hand out candy canes to elementary students.  There are also toys, donated by Toys for Tots, distributed to Kindergarten through 2nd graders. The costumes are loud and bright, and you really need to see them for yourself.  Here's a short video of our visit to Windsor Elementary School.  Just look at their faces light up as the candy canes and toys are distributed.  And the students were excited too!

Central Office Elves at Windsor Elementary School  (video)

Keeping it Cool at SMS

Last week I wrote a blog about the Cell Expo in Mrs. Peterson's room at Smithfield Middle.  While I was there, I stopped by Mrs. Browder's science class, where they were building insulation cubes. The students were preparing to test their cubes to see what insulation materials worked the best.  During my visit, I talked to the students and the teacher about the projects and captured their comments in a video.  I hope you will watch the movie below and see the deeper learning taking place in Mrs. Browder's 8th grade science class.  This is definitely a "cool" project.

Mrs. Browder's Insulation Project  (Video)

A Cell-a-bration of Cells in Mrs. Peterson's Science Class

There is always something exciting happening in Ellen Peterson's 7th grade science class at Smithfield Middle.  When I stopped by last week, the students had created Giant Plant and Animal Cells and were serving as tour guides inside of the models.  They were also studying cells under the microscope and using Virtual Reality goggles to simulate a roller coaster ride through a cell.  I had a great time visiting the class and could see, and hear, the learning taking place from the students.  The video below highlights my visit to her class and shows the importance of giving students hands-on, deeper learning opportunities.  And I'm sure you will enjoy a few laughs, possibly at my expense, but it was worth it.

Mrs. Peterson's Cell Expo  (video)

Reading Buddies

Members from the Central Office read to elementary students weekly as part of the Reading Buddies program. The video highlights our program and includes comments from some of our readers and our students.  I hope you enjoy the video.

Reading Buddies (Video)