SJA-EClass-K

Ice Cream Sundae Hat

2010-04-10T14:02:00.000-07:00

This year's Catholic Schools' Week money raised went towards a program started by a young cancer survivor. Her name is Tatum. Before her 6th birthday, she was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer. She makes "Tatum's Bags of Fun" which she does in honor of a friend named Gabby. Gabby gave Tatum one when she was battling cancer. These bags are filled with all kinds of goodies that help children who are going battling cancer in Indiana.

St. Joan of Arc wanted to help Tatum by giving her money and goodies to help fill her bags of fun. We were proud to present Tatum with a check for $1,500!!!! WOW!!!! Our students and families at SJA are truly amazing. It was so great to watch the look on Tatum's face when Ms. Sharpe presented her with the check. Just think about all the smiling faces that Tatum will see when she gives those children a bag of fun that was funded by the students at SJA.

Ms. Sharpe challenged our school to raise a lot of money. She told the student body that if we raised a certain amount, she would allow the class that raised the most money to make an ice cream sundae on her head!! Well, of course SJA was up for the challenge. We exceeded the total and the 7th/8th grade raised the highest amount of money. They enjoyed making the ice cream sundae (which included vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, carmel topping, whipped cream, and sprinkles) on Ms. Sharpe's head. Tatum was given the opportunity to place the cherry on top.

Butterfly Pretzels

2010-04-10T13:44:00.000-07:00

As a Thursday station, we created some beautiful pretzel butterflies. The children had a messy, but fun time making their butterflies. We had a few tears when the butterflies wouldn't do exactly what they wanted to do. This just gave us the opportunity to talk about patience and persistence. At the end, everyone had the perfect butterfly!

We will be getting some caterpillars in the next week or so. We will watch as our caterpillars start to crawl to the top of our observation container and spin their chrysalis. They will eventually turn into beautiful butterflies! This is a really neat process for the students to observe.

The kindergarten class also has their own plot in the St. Joan of Arc Community Garden. We will be planting some carrot and snow pea seeds next week during Thursday stations. We will be watching these grow as we anticipate our visit from the Purdue nutritionist. She will go with us when we pick our vegetables from our garden. She will talk with the students about the importance to eat healthy.

The Last Supper

2010-04-10T13:25:00.000-07:00

One tradition at St. Joan of Arc is a school-wide weekly prayer in the gym during Lent. We learn about The Stations of the Cross through the eyes of Mary. The students sit respectfully and listen to their peers and teachers who read the prayers.
In our classroom, we read stories to learn about Jesus' journey to the cross. The students always have many questions about this subject. It is sometimes hard for them to comprehend why Jesus did this.

During Holy Week, Mrs. Schneider helps us further understand The Last Supper. The middle school students put together a performance where they reenacted The Last Supper. The student body entered the gym on Thursday morning and sat on blankets to view His last supper. We had our hands washed by maidens that represented when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. When Jesus broke the bread and shared the cup with his disciples, we shared in this final meal. Each student was given their own cup and piece of bread.

On Good Friday, we were in the church watching the middle school students reenact The Stations of the Cross. They did a fabulous job! They are very talented.

I think it is so wonderful that our school puts great emphasis on the life of Jesus. It is important for our students to know the life of Jesus. It is a special part of being at a Catholic school. I really enjoy teaching these types of stories to your children.

Math

2010-04-10T13:14:00.000-07:00

In kindergarten we try to use manipulatives during math class. Manipulatives can be anything from corn seeds to colored plastic bears. We recently did a math lesson for subtraction using the bear manipulatives. The students love being "the teacher" and telling a math story problem.
One of my all time favorite student-made story problem is, "Once there was a family of 5 eating dinner. Then, 2 didn't like the dinner, so they left. How many were left?". They are very creative at this age. I'm sure that didn't actually happen at their house :)

Rainbow Parfait

2010-04-10T12:56:00.000-07:00

During Thursday stations, the leprechaun made a special delivery. He dropped off several snacks that were the color of the rainbow. He wanted us to make Rainbow Parfaits! YUM!!
Everyone had a clear cup and we filled it up to make a snack that had rainbow colors. We topped it off with some white clouds (whipped cream).

The students are really enjoying the Thursday stations. I try my best to think of fun and interesting subjects for them to learn about!

A Marching We Will Go.....

2010-04-10T11:56:00.000-07:00

The kindergarten class was blessed with a beautiful sunny day on St. Patrick's Day. We participated in the parade downtown along with 1st and 2nd grade. This was the first year that kindergarten was able to join the parade.
We loaded up in the bus and headed downtown about 9:30am. When we arrived, we played in a grassy area before lining up to march. The students enjoyed a Go-Gurt to energize them before their debut. We marched behind Ms. Sharpe, Father Guy, and Sophia Barney who led the St. Joan of Arc students.
We chanted "S-J-A, All the Way!" as we marched. The students loved doing this. We practiced at recess the day before. Each student was given a few frisbees to pass out to the crowd. It was really fun waving and cheering to the crowd.

I hope it is a day that the students will always remember!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss

2010-03-14T21:20:00.001-07:00

On Dr. Seuss's Birthday, we had to do the traditional activity... make green eggs and ham!!!
Mrs. Roberson came in and read the students a Dr. Seuss story to kick off our afternoon. After the story, we broke into 4 groups and completed different stations.
One was to make and eat green eggs and ham!
Second was to rate the taste and quality of the green eggs and ham. Yum or Yuck!
Third was to make a silly character just like Dr. Seuss did. The students thought of 2 different animals and smashed them together to make one silly animal. The example I gave them was a rabbit and a duck equals a dabbit.
Fourth was a task where they colored green eggs and ham onto a photo where they are holding an empty paper plate. They had to complete the phrase "I would not eat them with a ________".

I know they really enjoyed this afternoon. They talked about it for awhile afterward. They also want to continue making food items until the end of the school year. I told them that we could definitely do that! I am going to look into some easy recipes for food that they could make in the classroom. Since our school has an oven, we can bake items too.

Murat Shrine Circus

2010-03-14T21:06:00.000-07:00

We took a really fun field trip to the Pepsi Coliseum to see the Murat Shrine Circus. We packed up and left about 8:50 which helped us get front row seats! The students brought their own lunches and were able to enjoy these while they watched the circus.
Some of the acts included tiger stunts, jugglers, quick change, motorcycles inside a metal cage, trapeze act, elephants, clowns, and many more.

After the circus, we talked about our favorite parts. The students really couldn't decide which was their favorite. It seemed like they had 4 or 5 favorite parts. I really enjoyed seeing their faces when they were there. They kept saying, "Whoa! Wow! Mrs. Clouse, did you see that?!?" It is so wonderful that our students are able to enjoy these types of acts. The Shriners allow school groups to attend free of charge. Thanks to them, we were able to go and only pay for the bus ride!

Thursday Stations

2010-03-14T21:00:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks, we have been having fun filled Thursday afternoons! We have 4 stations where the students rotate to have some time to problem solve, interact, and learn new things in small groups. They are really enjoying this time because they not only have time to explore new ideas, but they get to work with new classmates each week!
Here are a few stations we have worked on so far:
Measurement using a scale, exploring with a microscope and magnifying glasses, using eye droppers to determine how many drops of water will fit on a penny, nickel, dime, and quarter, patterns, word discovery, using our breath to figure out which of 5 items is the easiest to move, and so many more!!

Special Kenyan Visitor

2010-03-10T18:03:00.000-08:00

As you may or may not know, one of our kindergartners, was born in Kenya. Bruce was adopted by very loving parents! He has been attending SJA since Pre-K with Peggy Kline.
He brought a special visitor in last week. It was a young man who grew up in Kenya. His name is Marcel. He read the students a story about 2 children that live in Kenya. They really enjoyed the story. They helped him read it by joining in the words!
Mrs. Owens' brought in items that she collected while in Kenya. The boys and girls were able to see containers that Kenyan men and women carry their milk in. They had many questions for Marcel and he was very kind to share information with them.

It is always great to have visitors in the classroom! The children really enjoy this reading time.

Martin Luther King Jr. Peace March

2010-02-28T16:33:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday this year with a school wide peace march. The students prepared for the celebration by learning a song and reflecting on their passions. They learned that MLK was a man who never backed down from his beliefs.

The students began the celebration with a silent peace march around the gym. After all of the students had gathered in the gym, they sat and listened as each class shared their talents. The kindergartners sang a song with Pre-K and 1st grade. They did fantastic!

The students also listened as some poems and essays were read about their feelings towards MLK and equality. We have many talented individuals at SJA!

As the grand finale, the students enjoyed marble cake baked by Mrs. Bartone!

Jacob Ryan Clouse

2009-12-18T15:00:00.000-08:00

My son has arrived!

Jacob Ryan Clouse was born on Friday, December 11th at 3:09pm. He is a little guy only weighing 6lbs 13oz. I think he will grow up to be tall like the people in my family because he has rather long feet! He is a very handsome little fellow, just like his dad.
Thanks for all of your continuous support, kind words, and understanding throughout my pregnancy. It was an amazing experience that I will never forget. I can't wait to share him with the students in my class. They have been so anxious to meet him. I hope to stop in during my maternity leave to visit the class.

I am very confident in my maternity leave substitute. From what I understand, she met the class this past Thursday. I will send you information about her through Homework Watcher.

I hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas. I'm sure the children are anxiously awaiting Santa Claus!

Chatard Christmas Program

2009-12-18T14:19:00.001-08:00

Preschool through 3rd grade were treated to a music program performed by some Chatard students. They did some fun skits that the students thought were quite comical. They pretended to be reindeer, Santa Claus, and at the North Pole.

Thanks Chatard!

St. Nicholas

2009-12-18T14:15:00.000-08:00

St. Nicholas visited our school on the Monday after his feast day. He shared the story of how he became a saint. The class really enjoyed his visit! Everyone placed their shoe in the hallway hoping for a special treat. Sure enough, St. Nicholas left a special surprise for each student!

Thanks St. Nicholas!!

Nature Walk

2009-11-09T15:52:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful nature walk to Bruce's home in October. While we walked along Park Ave, we observed different types of trees and plants. Mrs. Owens pointed out the ways that we could figure out what kind of tree we were looking at. We observed the leaves and fruits that grew on each tree. She also told us that many birds and other small animals enjoy eating the fruits off of trees.

When we arrived at Bruce's house, the students were given time to run around and play in their big backyard. They enjoyed some hot and cold apple cider and some pretzels. We started a small fire to keep warm while we took a break from playing.

Thank you so much to Mrs. Owens for inviting our class on a nature walk field trip. We really enjoyed it!!

Fire Station Field Trip

2009-11-09T15:42:00.001-08:00

During the month of October, we walked to the fire station on 42nd and College. It was a gorgeous day! The students partnered up while we walked along the side walk and crossed the street. When we arrived at the fire station, the firefighters were ready for us!

They told us that they were working, so if they had a call, they would have to leave and come back. Immediately after the Lieutenant told us that, their alarm went off. The students had to stand back while we watched them get into their gear, hop on the truck, and take off all in less than 2 minutes. It was pretty amazing!

While those firefighters were gone, another group of men showed us around the ladder truck. They opened all of the compartments and explained what each tool did. We walked around the truck and in the end, we were allowed to climb through the back seat of the truck! The students were able to sit in the seats and look all around.

When the firefighters came back, the engineer asked if we wanted to see the water spray. Of course the students yelled, "YES!". So, he jumped onto the truck and turned on all the pressure gauges and nozzles to spray far into the air. The students loved it!!

Finally, we watched the Lieutenant slide down the fire pole that is located in their bedrooms going down to the garage. I knew it was coming when I saw a hand raised... "Can we take a turn?!?!"

Thanks so much to all of the firefighters for taking time out of their busy day to teach our students. It is very important that the children know about fire safety.

Pumpkin Carving Night

2009-10-31T15:24:00.000-07:00

The First Annual Pumpkin Carving Night was a huge success! We had a great turnout of preschool, Pre-K, and Kindergarten students and parents. It was so nice to see all of the moms and dads working with their sons and daughters. It truly means the world to them! They love that special time together.

The night consisted of carving pumpkins, decorating pumpkin cookies, drinking some witches' brew, singing silly songs, coloring, and a special bonding time with families. It looked like everyone was thoroughly enjoying themselves. I think the night was very successful.

Thank you to everyone who came to the fun evening!

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-31T14:48:00.000-07:00

In October, we took a field trip to Spencer's Pumpkin Patch in Noblesville. We were very nervous that it would be too wet... but the rain waited until our hay ride was over and began to pour as we were loading back onto the bus.

When we arrived, we were greeted by Mr. Spencer. He split our bus load of Preschool, Pre-K, and Kindergarten into 2 groups. The kindergarten class started off with a lesson on different vegetables, fruits, and flowers that grow on their farm. We learned the different parts of the pumpkin- skin, meat, pulp, seeds, and stem. The students drew a face on one large pumpkin and the lady cut it out to make a Jack-O-Lantern for our classroom!

After our brief lesson, it was our turn to take a hay ride with Mr. Spencer. He shared many stories about his pumpkin patch while we were on the ride. He told us that there is a red tailed hawk that has lived on their farm for many years. This year she had some babies. He took us around the farm until we arrived to the pumpkin patch. The students were allowed to search and find the perfect pumpkin to take home! Mr. Spencer helped the students cut their pumpkin off of the vine.

Overall, we had a fantastic time! Thanks to Mrs. Peggy Kline for setting up the field trip!!!

Fire Captain Redd

2009-10-12T17:33:00.000-07:00

We had a special visitor at SJA last week. Fire Captain Jim Redd came to share a lot of information with K-3 students. He has been working as a fire fighter for many years, so he was able to explain and answer many questions.

He wanted everyone to go home and check their smoke detectors to ensure they work. You should have at least one in your household. He also wanted us to make sure we have an evacuation plan in place in case of an emergency!

We learned in our class to "Don't Hide, Go Outside!" Captain Redd explained why this is so important. He put on his fire gear so the students could see what he looked like. He does not want them to get scared and hide if a firefighter comes into their home. He talked about the importance of getting out very quickly and leaving all of their toys and pets inside. The fire fighters will take care of those things later.

He showed us the steps it takes to put on ALL of the gear. It's quite a process. They are expected to be ready to go in about 1 minute. Wow!! He showed us his old fire helmet. It started off red with reflective material on it, but after many uses, it was charcoal black. He received a nice new red helmet recently, though!

We learned so many things from Captain Redd. We really appreciated him coming to our school to teach us. Thanks Captain Redd!!

Library Time

2009-10-04T17:25:00.000-07:00

The students are becoming more and more familiar with the SJA library. Ms. Batt is always so helpful and patient with the kindergartners. She helps them by guiding their choices when finding books. I always encourage the students to get one book to test on for AR and one fun book.

Here are some pictures of students choosing books to check out. They may take some time to look through the books to ensure they are choosing the right ones! The students on the bean bag chairs on in the "Reading Forest" which is located towards the back of the library.

The kindergartners took their very first AR test on Wednesday for this school year. They are tested on their comprehension of the story. There are 5 straight forward questions for each story in the kindergarten reading level. There are many, many books to choose from that have a test, but not all books have a corresponding test for Accelerated Reader. If you are unsure if your child brought home a book that has a test, you can check at http://www.arbookfind.com/UserType.aspx

Letter R

2009-10-04T17:22:00.000-07:00

This past week the students focused on the letter R. We sprinkled rice onto an uppercase R for our alphabet chart. The students are learning vertical, horizontal, and now diagonal lines. The R is the first letter we have worked on that has a diagonal line. So far, it hasn't tricked any of them!

Living Things Collage

2009-09-27T10:35:00.000-07:00

We really enjoyed enrichment with Mrs. P again this Friday. She taught us more about living things! We looked through National Geographic magazines to find living things. The students cut them out and glued them onto a poster board.

The students worked really well in groups of 2 to complete the project. They shared the poster board and filled it all up!

Way to go, Kindergarten!!

Open House with Pre-K

2009-09-27T10:17:00.000-07:00

We have been working on our leadership skills in Kindergarten. One way to do this is to work and play with Pre-K. The kindergarten students really enjoy showing Pre-K what they have learned so far and how to behave respectfully in school. We like to show them good examples!

One way Mrs. Dinwiddie, the Pre-K teacher, wanted to implement this idea of leadership was by having them work together. So, we have made an Open House block of time every Thursday afternoon from 2:00-2:30 where the Pre-K and K students may switch classroom and do activities together. The K students love to work with Mrs. Dinwiddie and Ms. Courtney to do art projects and center. The Pre-K students love to color, complete puzzles, and free draw in our classroom.

The students and teachers love this exploration time! The students are becoming more familiar with each other and set good examples for one another.

Reading Buddies

2009-09-27T10:03:00.000-07:00

The kindergarten class paired up with the 6th grade class to form monthly reading buddies. The 6th graders come down to our classroom and choose books to read to our students. It shows and helps with leadership skills in 6th grade! It helps my class with cooperation and listening skills.

They were paired up with a 6th grader and which is who they will be with for the remainder of the school year. We hope to create some projects and fun activities to do with our reading buddies. Hopefully, next month, we can read outside rather than in the classroom!

Letter B

2009-09-27T09:54:00.000-07:00

The students explored the letter B by using beads and buttons to outline the B. We also used our foam pieces to design the letter.

We are working on independence while doing projects. The students are learning to stay focused and complete their work. I stress problem solving on their own before approaching a teacher to ask for help.

Indiana Fever Pep Rally

2009-09-27T09:46:00.000-07:00

St. Joan of Arc helped pump up the Indiana Fever for their playoff games. I was excited to hear that the Fever pulled off a victory on Saturday to enter them into the final 2 Championship!!

SJA invited Freddy Fever to help our pep rally. He came to listen to all of our cheers and see the posters that we made. The kindergarten class made the cheer to a familiar This Land is Your Land tune.

This is our time now!
This is our time now!
We are the Fever.
We're going to win this!!

The student body came together for one group picture with Freddie. This picture can be viewed on feverbasketball.com.

Fossil Study

2009-09-22T17:46:00.000-07:00

In enrichment this past week, Mrs. P continued working with the kindergarten students on living things. They talked about what living things must have in order to live. They identified things around Indiana that were living and nonliving.

She brought in some fossils of plants and animals. It was awesome to see! One of the fossils was from a T-Rex! She allowed the students to pass them around and take them out of their container to hold. They really enjoyed it.

Thanks Mrs. P!!

Handwriting Without Tears

2009-09-22T17:27:00.000-07:00

This year, in kindergarten, we are starting the Handwriting Without Tears program. It is a great start for young children to learn how to write their letters. We work on pencil grip, starting position, posture, and focus. Each capital letter can consist of these shapes: big line, little line, big curve, little curve. We construct each letter with wood pieces and foam pieces. You can see the picture of Dylan constructing his letter E with one big line and three little lines.

The students are improving with their pencil grip and letter formation already! It is great to see! Please work with your child to make sure they are only using their thumb and pointer finger when writing with a pencil. The pointer finger is the driver, guiding the pencil along.

Enrichment

2009-09-02T03:11:00.000-07:00

This year at SJA, we offer an enrichment program to the primary grades. Mrs. Powroznik comes into our classroom and works with the students on our curriculum. The students really enjoyed her lesson on living things this past week.
She brought a special friend that she met over the summer to school on Thursday afternoon. His name is Snakehead Ed. Of course, he also brought his friends... snakes! The students in Pre-K through 2nd grade enjoyed a presentation from Snakehead Ed where he showed his snakes and taught us about them.

Please enjoy the pictures of the variety of snakes we encountered!!

New School Year

2009-08-16T08:16:00.000-07:00

Welcome to a new school year at St. Joan of Arc! I am very excited to have your children in my class this year. We will be experimenting with some fresh ideas and concepts. I am Mrs. Clouse and this will be my third year teaching at SJA. I feel blessed teaching in a school filled with an amazing staff, loving and hard working students, and an outstanding group of parents!
Thank you for choosing St. Joan of Arc as the school for your child. They will have a very special year in kindergarten with the love and support from myself and my teaching assistant, Mrs. Gerdes. I truly enjoy updating this school blog with pictures and messages so that the family and friends of the kindergarten students can see what we do in and out of our classroom.

** We have a Kindergarten RoundUp meeting on Tuesday, August 18. I mailed a letter to each family to inform you about this meeting. Families with the last names beginning with A-M should be here from 8-10am and families with the last names beginning with N-Z should be here from 10:30-12:30. Mrs. Gerdes will be working with the kindergartners and I will be meeting with the parents. Your child will go home with you at the conclusion of the meeting. **

I look forward to our meeting on Tuesday! See you then!

Welcome to your SJA eClassroom

2008-08-07T18:46:00.001-07:00

Your eClassroom is a new tool to enhance the educational experience for you, your students and their families

An eClassroom is Essentially a Blog
Perhaps one of the most fascinating tools that has emerged from the Internet cloud in recent years is the Blog. A shortening of the term Web log, the Blog is an online publishing tool that enables people to easily publish their loves, passions, dislikes, peeves, discoveries, and insights.

Blogging is also showing up in schools, where teachers have known for a long time that students develop better communication skills when they are authentically communicating. A number of educators are helping their students developing their writing skills by having them publish their work as blogs, and then invite comments from people in the outside.

There are many freely available tools that facilitate blogging, but none seem especially suited for the classroom. That is the reason for developing the eClassroom for SJA. This online blogging tool is explicitly designed with teachers and students in mind, where the teacher can evaluate, comment on, and finally publish students' blog articles in a controlled environment. It is and will be constantly in development. We need your input to refine the look, content, layout of the eClassroom.

There are many options available to teachers who utilize web journals (blogs) to enhance the learning experience. Teaching in a participatory culture can be challenging, but rewarding. Today, teachers have to learn to communicate in the language and style of their students—who some call digital natives (inhabitants of the Web 2.0 world).

Assignments, etc.
For students in grades 4—8, the eClassroom will be the source point for classroom activites, supplemental learning resources, assignments, long-tern projects, links to relevant sites, field trips, etc. How you integrate your eClassroom may vary from other teachers, but understand that with regular use, this tool will become a vital part of your curriculum and teaching style.