The Daniels Challenge Lab had a great first semester! The lab had a total of 596 students the 1st six weeks, 874 students the 2nd six weeks and 1, 059 student visitors the 3rd six weeks. We served over 254 different students altogether. Those figures tell me that are students are doing a great job mastering their work in the classroom! Way to Go!
Kinder has just started meeting this past December. GT testing is taking place in the lab the week of January 10, 2011 for Kinder. Testing for 1,2, 3,4, & 5 will be held soon. Deadline for nominations for GT 1-5 need to be to our counselor, Jackie Swinney, no later than January 21, 2011.
First grade has a rainforest study group, they are researching on different animals of the rain forest. There is a science and reading extension group that is working on researching articles from National Geographic magazine. I also have a 1st grade group that is studying the life of Dr. Seuss, and reading his books. Additionally there is a group that comes to work on strategy games.
The second grade has the ocean and algebraic thinking study group. They just finished a Salty Sea experiment. We also have a group that is currently reading 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne.
Third grade is studying Mythology, reading about Walt Disney and completing extensions on plants, inventors, westward movement, and currently researching the different types of volcanoes. In addition, we will be plotting and graphing the frequency of eruptions around the world, looking for patterns. One third grade group is studying inferencing. They are creating animations using a free download of "xtranormal". Once completed it will be used to help teach the skill of inference to others.
Fourth grade study group has chosen their Fairy Tale to put on trial. We will be taking a trip to the Kerr County court house in early February to learn about the court system first hand. We will put our trial on at the court house sometime during the 2nd week in May. There is a fourth grade Anne Frank literature group, a fourth grade math extension group.
5th grade's study group is preparing for the National Geography Bee. They will begin their independent studies soon after the Bee is completed. The lab is experiencing a high volume of drop-ins from 5th-Kudos to the mastery of learning in the Annex!
This fall we introduced our Peer Mediation Team to lots of scenarios and practice in order to help teach and practice conflict resolution at Daniels. We have a super team of kids! They have held three different mediations.
In November, we also enjoyed our Poetry Open Mic too!
Our Student Council has been very active. Recently we had Mrs. Goodyear speak to the council about the "Art of Public Speaking. Included in this blog are pictures of students practicing speaking with pencils in their mouth and feeling the muscles move in their diaphragms were just tow of the activities. We will be taking a trip to Habitat for Humanity to learn about what other jobs volunteers can do at the work site. We also recently received a box from the corporate office of Habitat for Humanity thanking us for volunteering. They included a total of 10 books called "If I had a Hammer" One is signed by the author and past president of the United States, Jimmy Carter! They also sent calendars, stress breaks, and informational magazines. We feet very honored! The theme for student councils is character counts, we can see the value as we continue to provide service for others! Daniels council Rocks!
Enjoy viewing some of the pictures of the students that have gone beyond mastery and can come to the lab.
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