Continental Mathematics League Winners – Grades 3 and 4

The Grade Four First Place winner is Julia! Aidan and Rylee are two of the three winners tied for second place. Shown above with Mrs. Poirot.

Sunny also won a second place medal for Grade four.

Shown left to right: CML Coordinator Mrs. Poirot, second place medal winner Erik Schneider and first place winner Matteo.

Congratulations to all of our medal winners and to over eighty other third and fourth graders who participated in the Continental Mathematics League this year.

No More Technology

by Abigail Willis and Samantha Polley

Agree with us and you’ll live your life

living in a paradise

Abby and Sam both agree

there should be less technology.

 

    We recently read an article in Time for Kids called Beyond the Bubble. It was written Brenda Iasevoli. It states that  in 2014 students in forty eight states will be taking tests on tablets or computers. The tests are based on the Common Core Standards. There will be less multiple choice and more questions that require critical thinking.

       After reading this article, we started talking about how we should be able to play, use our imaginations, get fresh air and mostly, not rot our brains out. Every year we have a lot of testing. The new test will be harder without the multiple choice questions. There will be more real-world questions.

    How would all schools in forty-eight states be able to provide tablets or computers for all students to be tested on the Common Core Standards?

    That’s why we think we should keep the tests on paper with a pencil with less technology. We think other kids would agree with us.

Scientific and Artistic Drawings by Katherine and Morgan

Mr.Kellogg’s class has been working on the differences between artistic and scientific drawings.Heres a little bit of what we have learned.

This is what we learned about artistic drawings:

• Can change detail
• Sketch because it’s beautiful

This is what we learned about scientific drawings:

• Draw what they see (don’t change)
• Sketch related to work or research
• Label work

Here are the similarities between artistic and scientific drawings:

Lots of detail:

• Color
• Use pencil first

• Use tools (like rulers etc.)

We used all of these hints to help us work on artistic and scientific drawings.  Mr.Kellogg gave each table of students a material to experiment with and draw.

Here are some of the materials that we drew:

• Money plant

• Maize
• Sunflower
• Amaranth

If you want to see more of these beautiful drawings come to Kaleidoscope to see the rest of our class’s wonderful drawings.  If you are interested, you can try it at home. But come soon; they will be up for a couple of weeks.
We hope you enjoyed our article on artistic and scientific drawings.

Katherine and Morgan pose with their scientific and artistic drawings.

Keyboarding Camp

Mr. Kellogg’s class shows all of the letters of the keyboard!

Keyboarding Camp
by Taylor S. and Lauren P.

In keyboarding camp we used Type to Learn 4 to learn the keyboard.
We went down to the computer lab almost everyday. Most people started on lesson 1. After a couple of weeks, we played typing games. We colored in papers that had the keyboard on it. On the last day, we got this cool  bracelet  that had the home row keys on it. No one wanted to stop typing!

Four Winds in Kaleidoscope

Max and Shane found this beetle which was studied by the class as it shed it’s skin.

Four Winds

Max Pasley and Shane Skiff

Mr. Kellogg’s class joined together with Ms. Mary Beth’s class.  For Four Winds we’re studying insects and life cycles. We saw a puppet show about metamorphosis.  It was funny, interesting and we learned a lot.  Then, our classes split up and did different activities. For instance, our class did life cycle puzzles and read a rebus (a story with pictures and words.) It was about an insect.

Next, our group went outside. When we reached our destination, we circled up and got cups with a magnifying glass on top and started our search for insects.  We put a sheet down and shook a plant to gather insects. We found a lot including a baby praying mantis, aphids and a beetle. We also found spiders. We identified the insects, sang a poem and let them go!

Summer Memories by Kendra

At the beginning of the year, students in Mrs. Hass’ class created their summer memories. First, we wrote ideas and then chose the one we wanted to draw.

Some of my ideas were: The Long Pony Day; The Four Day Horse Show; and Going to Maine. I chose The Long Pony Day because it was a very interesting day. We got up at 3:30 in the morning to trailer my pony to Woodstock because it takes four hours to get there. We warmed up my pony, Face. Then we had to work fast to get ready for my show. In the show he had to walk, trot, canter and jump with me on him! I had to steer him, get the correct lead, get the right diagonal and get him to get going. I did really well.

In my class, after everyone chose an idea, we drew a rough draft using pencil until it was just the way we wanted it. Then, everyone painted using water colors. It took a while for us to get finished because everyone was going at his/her own pace.

When we finished, we shared out our summer memories. It was very interesting to hear everyone’s favorite memory. It was all really fun and it was worth it to see how all the Summer Memories looked on the wall together.

Back to School as a Third or Fourth Grader

By Allison   Grade 3

It was the first day of school. I was very nervous because it was new to me. The building was very big, too. I was worried that I would get lost.

It was also very exciting. I had new teachers and friends to meet. I also had some old friends in my class. Their names are Lizzie, Kendra and Isabel.

One difference that I noticed between WCS and ABS is that my old team, Horizon, had a kiva and Kaleidoscope has a meeting space between Mrs. Hass’ and Mr. Willis’ classrooms. In spelling, the words are getting bigger and harder. And that’s what I think of being a third grader.

By Sunny    Grade 4

Now, I’m in fourth grade but when I was in third grade, I remember when I walked through the doors. I was trying to remember the way to my classroom from Step-Up Day. Fortunately, I did.

When I got there all of the kids were strangers except for Carlie and Alyssa who I already knew from Preschool and Kindergarten.

Now that I’m a fourth grader, I know both ways to my classroom and I’m not worried anymore. One thing I don’t like is getting up early but I like seeing my old friends. I have a new art teacher.

I still get to meet more people. Last year, I met the fourth graders; this year I met the new third graders. Marybeth, (my teacher) moved some of the bookshelves. She got new things that we get to use this year that we didn’t get to use last year.

That’s what I think about back to school.

Be sure to watch the videos below.

VID00001

►

VID00002

►

VID00003

►

VID00004

►

VID00005

►

Kaleidoscope’s Immigration Open House

By Jami, Kayleigh, Kimberely, Max, Connor , Amelia and Jackson  

  Max found out that he had an ancestor from Germany! Do you know where your ancestors are from?

 In Kaleidoscope House, third and fourth graders studied immigration. We learned from books, videos, speakers, google earth, grandparents and researching. In Mr. Willis’s class, Kayleigh studied Ireland. She learned that between 1820 and 1860, the Irish were never less than one third of all immigrants to America. Kimberely learned that in 1608, Polish people came to Virginia twelve years before the pilgrims. In Mr. Kellogg’s class we learned about our ancestors and the country they came from. We wrote a story about life before they left, the journey to America, arriving in America and what life was like. We researched to find the information.

In Ms. Marybeth’s class we also learned where our ancestors were from. Everone made flags of the country. Connor’s ancestors were from Germany. He found out by asking his Dad. He learned that it was the second largest group to go through Ellis Island.

In Ms. Haas’s class, Jackson chose to write about an immigrant  from China because his Mom goes there and he knew a little bit about the country. Jami’s story was also about an immigrant from China because it is his favorite country. They learned that Chinese immigrants coming to America on the west coast, went through  Angel Island. The class also learned about the symbols of America including, the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bell, the American flag, the bald eagle, the Great Seal and Uncle Sam. They also wrote a family tree with grandparents on both sides of the family, with where they were from. You added your own name and birthplace, too.

     There was an Open House to show the parents all of the work that we did. Many of the students dressed up as the immigrant in their story. They displayed portraits, paintings, stories, flags, spreadsheets, Statue of Liberty pictures, trioramas with a clothespin doll as the ancestor and a few students made food from the country.

     Parents and other relatives came to the Open House. It felt exciting to tell about your journey to America.

Science in Kaleidoscope

  Wheels and Axles

  by Baker Angstman

     In Mr. Willis’ science class we are trying to see if wheels make work easier.  We all wrote hypotheses. My hypothesis was that wheels would make work easier.
    We were trying  to measure how much force it took to pull a book with wheels and without. We measured the force by how much a rubber band stretched. The more the rubber band stretches the more force you’re using to pull the object.
    We measured how much it stretched with and without wheels.
    First, we attached a rubber band to a book and pulled the band and then measured how much it stretched before it slipped under the tape. We recorded the data in our science notebooks. Our table group measured nineteen inches.
    Next, everyone got four wheels. Then we chose axles and connected the wheels and axles together so we had four wheels and two axles. There was a round piece in the middle of each axle to connect each set together so it was like a car.
     We put a book on top of the machine we made and attached a rubber band to the top of the book. We pulled the rubber band and measured how much it stretched. This time the rubber band only stretched five inches. It definitely took less force with wheels than without wheels.  We even tried eighteen and twenty-eight books and they both took less force than one book with no wheels. So my hypothesis was right; it does take less force to pull a book with wheels than without. Wheels do make work easier.

Loser by Laurynn

    Loser! Donald Zinkoff thinks he is a loser because feels he never does anything right. Mr. Kellogg’s class is reading a book called Loser by Jerry Spinelli. Mr. K chose this book because he really likes Jerry Spinelli’s work.
     We’re only in third and fourth grade but we do SO much work talking about a book, asking questions and writing about it. If someone raises his/her hand while Mr. K is reading, either he or one of the students answers the question. We don’t have to wait until until he finished reading.
    We have a motto in our school that is Good Person, Good Citizen and Good Learner and we all try to follow it. We are writing about how Donald Zinkoff, the main character in Loser, is a good person, good citizen and a good learner. He is a good person because he earned a gold star from his mom. He is a good citizen because he pays attention in school. He is a good learner because he went to school on Saturday and he tried to spell his name when he was six years old.
   We are also writing about Donald Zinkoff’s character on a map of his body. We know he was flexible because he did not do anything when his teacher, Ms. Meeks,  took his hat away from him. He is brave because he doesn’t care what others think about him. He’s a good sport because he doesn’t care if he wins or loses. Donald has an upside-down valve in his stomach and it causes him to vomit a lot. He thinks it’s normal to vomit five to seven times a week!
    Even though Donald Zinkoff is younger than us he sets a good example for people reading the book because he doesn’t get mad when someone takes something from him and he listens really well.
    It’s a good idea that Mr. Kellogg reads to us everyday so that even if we are not reading the book we all still get to know what’s really happening. It’s a good chance for everybody to share their thoughts.