March Update - Classroom Champions

We're a little late posting our update for the month of March. It has been a jam-packed month! Our challenge this month is all about leadership.

We brainstormed characteristics of a good leader and who we thought were good leaders in our community:

One leader that we agreed upon was a policeman. We were actually approached by one of our local police chiefs about the anti-bullying activities we did last month. He insisted that WE were leaders because we are taking a stand against bullying in our school. Vince Pryce came to our school to speak to our students about this. Some students were even selected to be interviewed for our local news station. We appreciated the recognition and agreed that we will continue to be leaders in our school. As sixth graders, we are the examples for all the other younger grades at Sabal. 

Another leadership role sixth graders took was to host a car wash to help cut costs for our field trips this spring. Not all students are able to come up with money to go on the trips. We want everyone included, so we were proactive with fund raisers this year. The car wash was our biggest and we raised over $1000, thanks to the leadership within sixth grade. Students did all the work greeting each driver, collecting donations, rinsing, washing, and drying ALL cars. It was a proud day for all sixth grade teachers!

Our Spring Break is FINALLY next week! We have accepted Clark's new challenge for April and will focus on that during our time away from school.

~ Mayor James

February - Friendship

Students were challenged by Clark this month to make new friends! Our students are getting to know younger students at our school and making new friends in other sixth grade classes through our House System. Each student was put into one of four houses at the beginning of the school year and we meet periodically as Houses so that students can get to know each other whether or not they are in the same homeroom. We see more interactions during recess between all classes.

We also honored Pink Shirt Day using this awesome lesson:
http://www.rundesroom.com/2015/02/think-pink-anti-bullying-resource.html

Ms. Runde is an incredible teacher and I get ideas from her often! This link takes you to her post about Pink Shirt Day and a link to the activity we used through Teachers Pay Teachers.

Students were randomly assigned a role: the bully, the bullied, the bystander, and the brave. They wrote "I Am" poems from that point of view. Then, students designed a Pink Shirt Day Anti-Bullying t-shirt. It was a very powerful lesson. Students were reflective of themselves and things they have seen and done.

On of my students created this video as a result of our Pink Shirt Day lesson. 

In another class, students wrote encouraging messages that were posted throughout the school. This inspired other students in different grades to do the same.

Looking forward to March and new challenges on Leadership!

Perseverance Walk

Clark challenged us to learn about people who have persevered to attain a goal. I found a great lesson online called "Perseverance Walk". In the past, I have done this in the Gifted Student Program, but I do believe it is something that all students can learn very valuable lessons and learn a little something new about a family member.

Here is the link to the lesson:
https://www.edutopia.org/research-made-relevant-grit-perseverance-walk-video

My students this year had a great time interviewing friends and family. They learned that not everything comes as easy as it may look.

Dawson interviewed his dad about climbing a mountain. His dad may several attempts before being successful, but never gave up. Dad even took the family dog on the hike with him!

Kirra interviewed her cousin who is a Jet Ski racer. He had to overcome injuries to continue his dream of being an award winning racer.

Connor interviewed his dad, who now works with aeronautics. He had lots to learn and it was not easy. Connor's dad was in the military to get the experience he needed.

Spencer interviewed his mom. She works with kids who are autistic. She definitely had to work hard to learn everything she can to help these students. Mom has earned several awards for her work.

Kierra interviewed her aunt who is a teacher here in town. She loves what she does, but each day is a challenge. Becoming a teacher took a lot of hard work and education.

Christie interveiwed her mom who is a Speech Pathologist. Her mom went to school after she had a family, so there were many obstacles to her goal. Taking care of a family AND going to school takes loads of perseverance!

Sarah interviewed her dad about his goal of becoming a Black Belt in Martial Arts. Her dad admitted that even though he was working so hard, he became jealous of people that were advancing more quickly than he was. Sarah's dad is now a Black Belt. The hard work paid off! The lesson learned...things come to each of us differently. It is ok if it takes you a little longer to reach your goal.

Brodee's dad works in aviation. Brodee learned that there were many hurdles for his dad, but in the end, he reached his goal and has a job that he loves.

Kyle's mom is still on her perseverance walk! She continues to go to school while caring for her family. Her ultimate goal is to be a nurse. Time and money are obstacles that she is overcoming daily!

I love this project! I highly recommend it. As a teacher, you learn a little more about the students in your class. Who they decide to interview and what they learn is invaluable. Such a great lesson to learn!

On a side note, we continue to make our community a better place daily! To help defer the costs for students' field trip fees, our sixth graders hosted a breakfast fund raiser at Applebee's! This is Brodee in our car loop drumming up business! 

We continue to work with our custodial staff to keep our campus beautiful!

Thank you for taking a look at our month!

~ Mrs. James' 6th Grade Class

Classroom Champions ~ November/December

Jamestown 6th graders have been very busy the last two months at Sabal! Our challenge from Clark was to better our community. Students had many ideas. We collected donations for our local animal shelter and delivered them after our last day of school before the winter break.

We also met with our Head Custodian to make plans for keeping our campus beautiful! We will be a part of a committee that will not only pick up the trash around school, we will encourage others to do the same.

Mrs. Cwiklinski, one of our kindergarten teachers, came to speak with our class about raising money for MS. We plan to participate in the MS Walk in March. She has asked us to create a team name and t-shirt design to help raise money for the cause. Mrs. Cwiklinski was diagnosed two years ago with MS. Our participation will not only help Mrs. Cwiklinski, but the entire community. Students are very excited to help with this project! We would even like to invite Clark to join us for the MS Walk in March if he is able to make it!  This is the link that Mrs. Cwiklinski shared to begin her talk with the students:

https://www.youtube.com/watcj?v=Naecv3h868c

On top of all our community service, we have had visits from some of our middle schools in the area to discuss Life After Sixth Grade! Stone Middle School came to discuss their STEM program and Johnson Middle School came to discuss their STAR/Cambridge program.

Sixth graders also went to Kennedy Space Center for an incredible field trip. They participated in a bridge building activity, toured the center, and got to ride the Shuttle Experience. This is a free program to all public school sixth graders in our county. We are fortunate to live so close to this history and science!

I am personally looking forward to January's challenge! Perseverance is definitely an area for improvement for many students. 

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from Jamestown Sixth Graders!