Relay for Life

Congratulations to the students from Laurelville Elementary for being recognized as a Silver Team at the Pickaway County Relay for Life. Silver teams raise from $2500 -4900. Laurelville's total was $2842. The Pickaway County Relay for life raised over $40,000 to help in the fight against cancer.

Some notes from the Relay:

Libby Schwalbauch was the star of the Relay. She participated in almost every activity, and stayed for the entire Relay.

Mrs. Stevenson only walks one speed, but she can walk about a million laps.

Mrs. Griffey is the teeny little power walker and hung in there until the end.

Mrs. Caudill has long legs and she can zoom around the track.

Chris Linton is an outstanding card player (and he can tell you all of the rules).

When there is a fire truck, misting water, Seth R., Chris, and the KW's are going to get wet.

Ms. Bowlby can even use the Relay as a reason to stop and eat at Olive Garden. :)

No other group had support from someone like VanCurren's Graffics, like we did.

My daughter, Megan is a great kid, who joined in and helped from start to finish.

Seeing Hannah and Molly Caudill, and Libby walk around the track with the banner congratulating Laurelville on being a Relay school makes you feel proud to be part of our school.

When you see an entire track, lined with luminairs, paying tribute to survivers, and honoring those lost, you realize just how important it is to do more next year.

Relay for Life

THE RELAY IS HERE!!!!!!!! (well almost)

The Relay for Life is at the Circleville High School Football field. The Relay starts at noon on Saturday, July 19. It ends at 7:00 A.M. on Sunday, July 20.

Laurelville students, their family, teachers and friends are invited to join us at the Relay. Come when you can and stay for as long as you can. You are welcome, whether it is for an hour, or all 19 hours.

We will furnish water and juice. Also, we will be grilling hamburgers. If you can bring a bag of chips, or a snack that would be great, but most important, just come and join us.

You may want to bring sunscreen, and extra pair of shoes and socks, a hoody or jacket, a hat, and a chair. You may even want a recliner (for your teachers to borrow).

There are a lot of activities planned, so join us in this great event!

Relay for Life Car Wash

The Relay for Life car wash raised $222. We will add this to our total to donate to help in the fight against cancer.

A special thanks to the students that helped out--Kari, Katie, Trevor S., Nathan P., Dakota B., Molly V., Justin H., Connor H., and Trey W.

And thanks to the parents that helped--Mrs. Haynes, Matt and Kim Cook, and Lisa Deluse.

And thanks to the teachers who participated--Mrs. Griffey, Mrs. Stevenson, and Mrs. Caudill

And thanks to Tom McGuire for grilling the hotdogs!

Details will be posted soon about the Relay on July 19 @ noon at the Circleville High School football field.

Relay for Life and Relay Car Wash

Hey sixth grade Relay for Life Team,

The dates are set for the Relay for Life and the car wash.

The car wash to raise money for the Relay is set for Sunday, July 6 @ 1:00 at the school. There will not be a charge, but we will be accepting donations to go to the Relay for Life. Invite your family and friends to bring their car in to the school.

The Relay for Life is at Circleville High School on July 19 starting at 12:00 until 7:00 A.M. on Sunday morning. Someone from the Relay team will be contacting each member with details, but you can post questions on the comment section and I will be glad to answer them.

If you have the phone number of a member of the Relay Team, give them a call and let them know about the dates.

If you know for sure that you are attending one or both of the events, jump in with a comment to let me know.

See you soon!

Relay for Life

Great job Laurelville students! We raised $2,590 on our Relay for Life. You can read all of the details in the Circleville Herald. This was a super job by all of the students who helped raise money for this worthy cause.

Sixth Grade Outdoor Ed. Camp

We are back with a few bruises, scrapes, and a little poison ivy, but a good time was had by all. The Laurelville students did an awesome job facing challenges, and working with their group to succeed.

GREAT JOB, LAURELVILLE SIXTH GRADERS!

A special thanks to all of the staff members who made this possible including Mrs. Griffey, Mr. Congrove, Mrs. Stevenson, Mrs. Blubaugh, Mrs. Cartee, Mrs. Bower, Ms. Fraley, and Mrs. Caudill. Also thanks to our special guests, Mr. Guthrie, Deputy Thomas, and Ms. Bowlby.

More on camp later.

Relay for Life

Today is the kickoff for the first Laurelville Elementary Relay for Life. A kick off rally was held in the gym at 2:45. A special thanks to Lori Reid (Lori.Reid@cancer.org) for coming down to help get us started. Students took home envelopes with an explanatory letter on the front. Hopefully parents, grandparents, friends, and neighbors will support us as we work to help this worthy cause.

We do have some great news already. VanCuren's Graffics sold Laurelville Elementary Relay for LifeT-shirts for $10. They donated $5.00 of the cost for each shirt sold. Over 90 T-shirts have been sold!

Also, the sixth grade students have been selling window stars for $1 each in the cafeteria every day at lunch. They have sold over 150 stars.

Great job to parents for your help! Hopefully this weekend students will be able to build on this great start!

Where am I #6?

The McGuire family prepares for a trail ride. Just like in the old west, we are heading out. Where am I?

Group Work

As part of the Sixth Grade Outdoor Education Camp experience, students must cooperate and work as a group. In order to prepare students, they will have several opportunities to work together, and get their group ready for camp.

Today students had to make 2 lists:
The Top 10 Things That will Help a Group Succeed The Top 10 Things You Don't Want to Happen at Camp

After making the lists, students then shared their top three with the entire sixth grade class. Their lists were interesting, and the groups worked well together. Below is a compilation of the lists.

The Top 10 Things That will Help a Group Succeed

1. Teamwork
2. Encourage each other and be supportive
3. Respect group members
4. Follow camp rules/behave
5. Try your best
6. Don't give up
7. Respect Oty Okwa staff and teachers
8. Believe in yourself
9. Be Understanding
10.Have fun

And on a lighter note

The Top 10 Things You Don't Want to Happen at Camp

10.Don't forget to pack your underwear
9. Don't talk to Mrs. Stevenson before she gets a diet Coke in the morning
8. Don't pee in the pool
7. Don't run out of hot water after you go through Fat Man's Squeeze
6. Don't make Mrs. Griffey yell
5. Don't sleep in the bunk next to a snoring female teacher
4. Don't break a leg
3. Don't get poison ivy
2. Don't pass gas at dinner

1. Don't get sent home

Outdoor Education Camp

All thoughts in the sixth grade are centered around Sixth Grade Outdoor Education Camp at Camp Oty Okwa. Tonight (5/19/08) is our parent informational meeting at 6:00 in the cafeteria. Students will receive their Camp Book at this time. It includes a schedule of activities, supplies needed, camp rules, and camp groups.

Sixth Grade Camp motivates students to work as a group member to achieve common goals. Activities also push students to achieve individual success and overcoming fears to reach goals.


PLUS, CAMP IS THE MOST FUN YOU CAN POSSIBLY HAVE IN SCHOOL!

10,000 Hits!

Today The Reading Workshop blog passed 10,000 hits. This means that the blog has been viewed 10,000 times. WOW! Thank you to parents, students, teachers and visitors for reading. There have been over 4,000 unique/different visitors.

This is remarkable for several reasons.

1. Students are listening.

2. Parents are using this resource.

3. Teachers tune in to see what we are doing.

4. This proves the value of a blogs in education.

5. Parents, students, and teachers are all reading the same thing.

6. Educational issues are being discussed.

7. Students are feeling ownership for the class and what happens here.

8. Where Am I? causes students to think critically and use map skills.

9. Student write with the knowledge that their writing has an audience.

10. Students are taking advantage of the opportunity to earn extra credit.


Thank you to everyone that has stopped by to see what we are doing!

Where am I #5?

I am not on Gilligan's Island, but I could be. Except we stayed at a resort instead of in a grass hut. You can yell and shout, and beat the drum, those thinking UP are getting close. My pap and I spent a week there last summer.



Where am I?

Congrats to Josh and Caleb, you get 17 trillion rocks from the shore of extra credit!

The Magnetism of Bad Attitudes

In this whole world, there is no attraction stronger than one bad attitude to another. Today, when two classes were together for about 3 minutes, the complainingest student from one class immediately joined the unparticipatingest student from the other class. You're shocked, I know (yeah right!).

Now, this is absolutely the hardest working sixth grade I have ever seen. This really makes a complainer, or someone with a bad attitude stick out.

What is amazing is how bad attitudes attract bad attitudes. They remind me of how

stink is attracted to armpits and old shoes or

ear wax is attracted to a Q-tip or

mustard is attracted to the front of a fat man's shirt or

grass stain is attracted to a 9 year old's knees or

spaghetti is attracted to a first grader's face or

a teenager's ear is attracted to a cell phone or

lipstick is attracted to a collar or

Mrs. Caudill is attracted to dark chocolate or

a 16 year old boy is attracted to his first car or

a sixth grader is attracted to camp or

a teenage girl is attracted to MySpace or

Mrs. Griffey is attracted to new clothes or

Those bad attitudes just love bad attitudes! Do you know of any attractions?

Relay for Life

The Relay for Life at Laurelville Elementary is moving forward. This week, students will be selling window stars for $1.00 to raise money. All of the stars will be posted in the window of the cafeteria.

VanCuren's Graffics is offering Relay for Life T-shirts for sale. Each shirt is $10.00. For each shirt sold, VanCuren's will donate $5.00 to the cause. These will be gray shirts with a Laurelville Elementary/Relay logo. The T-shirt sale will be May 12 -20. Shirts will be delivered on June 2 so we can wear them at the Relay for Life on June 3.

Relay Calendar

5/12-19 T-shirt sale

5/12-19 Star sale in the cafeteria

5/23 2:45 Relay kickoff for the whole school in the gym—envelopes & letters will go home

6/3 9:00 Turn in envelopes in homeroom

6/3 1:30 Assembly in gym with Relay for Life walk around school grounds to follow

Help the cause and purchase a star for only one dollar. The stars are available in the cafeteria at lunch each day and in the school store.

Scary Story

Today we will be writing a scary story. When I told students this last week, they thought I had lost my mind. "It's not Halloween," they said. "Why would we do it in May?" they asked.

Well, funny you should ask that. The things we will cover include:

1. The plot and developing problems;

2. Descriptive writing and adding supporting details;

3. Punctuating dialogue;

4. Character development;

5. Building a narrative to a climax;

6. Cooperation and writing with a partner;

7. Edditing-git that speling write;

8. Writing with an introduction, body, and conclusion.

The assignment is to write a scary/horror story. BUT, shooting or guns, and stabbing or knives, or killing in any way is NOT allowed! All injuries must be incidental or accidental. The focus is on scaring the reading in only the most imaginative ways!

I can't wait to read them.

Plan for Success in Jr. High

As Laurelville students head off in a few months to McDowell Jr. High, how will teacher's describe them? Will they be the organizational nightmare destroying the sweet dreams of their teachers? What do they need to do to start of their two years of jr. high on the right foot?

On Friday, May 16, the sixth grade will go to McDowell for their orientation. As they begin to think about their future, what goals should students have to face this new challenge? And, what should their plan be to succeed?


I read this recently on Polski3's View From Here.

Helpful or Coddling?

Teaching 7th graders, every school season I get a good number of them who have absolutely NO organizational skills. Our school gives each student a binder and dividers at the beginning of the school year. Most have backpacks to use for lugging their school stuff... many arrive to us with no organizational skills.

The main problem many have with this is that when it comes time to turn in their work, they can't find it. Their assignment might be in their backpack, crammed amongst the remains of who knows what else in the pile of mulch found in many of their backpacks. Their assignment might be someplace in their binder, if they have a binder.

OR

Will our students be a smiling example of success? Will they hold up "A" papers that prove their ability as jr. high students. Or will they be the Pig Pen from Charlie Brown.

What is your PLAN for success?

Problems in Writing

All good writing has problems, lots and lots of problems, with lots and lots of details. The more problems in a narrative, and the more descriptive the writing, the more the reader will be engaged. Problems are what give the story a body. They create the interest by getting the reader to insert himself into the story, to think of solutions, and to root for a character to succeed or fail.

Today, students brainstormed a list of problems that could occur in the setting where their scary story takes place. Each partnership came up with problems that might fit in a horror story. These problems had to be realistic enough to be believable, but "sick" enough to fit into a scary fictional narrative.

Once each group came up with a list of 8 - 10 problems, we came to the circle, and shared ideas. Then students revised their essays, inserting new problems and adding details. As we continue writing and improving these stories, I am sure the final drafts will be excellent and eerie.

Carinval of Education

Thanks to Bellringers for including this blog in the latest Carnival of Education. This is a series of posts hosted by rotating blogs, that feature educational blogs.

Two Person Journal

One journal, one topic, one file, but two writers make a Two Person Journal. Students were partnered with a peer from another class. A folder with a file was created on the Laurelville server. The page was divided down the middle using a two column table. For the rest of the school year, students will write each day about a different topic.

This system has an advantage over a regular journal in that the writer has an audience. Everything written will be read daily. Also, with a peer to share ideas, comments, opinions, and information, it means more. Whether students write about books, school, friends, hobbies, family, or any other topic, they know a reader cares about what they have to say.

I originally did this project with composition notebooks that students shared. Now, with the technology available in Reading Workshop, students keep a common Open Office Word file saved on our file server. They can each write to the file from anywhere in the school. Because there is a computer for each student, they can access their file during class each day, read their partner's post, and respond.

This is a great motivator for students. After all, what does every writer want? To be read, of course.

Where am I #4?

Once again, back by popular demand, everyones favorite post, Where am I?


Don't let the sun set, without this view, at the end of the day.
If you think you know, grab a seat and guess away.
If the day was bad, or just okay,
Reading a book here will whisk my troubles away.

You might think that it's a place to pray,
That's sometimes true, depending on the day.
The Church of God are where most guesses lay,
But you better swing some other way.


There is a field in front, you could say,
With horses grazing through the day.
I might soon go there, but not today,
Although this spot will keep the rain away.

In fact, it's a nice spot for a mini soiree.
Or, to get over a school day filled with disarray.
Me and my diet Dew overcoming the fray,
Of wrong guessing students at school today.

Just looking at the picture is no way to play,
Think about what the clues convey.

Dillon was so so close guessing yesterday,
But, close doesn't win this game we play.
Congratulations to the KW's because hey,
They guessed it right, I may be there today.