Our New Seating

A few weeks ago Mrs. Allen said when we come back to school on Monday she would have a surprise for us.  When we came into the classroom on Monday morning, everything was different.  It was even better than before we left on Friday.  She had moved all the desks and chairs out of our classroom! Wow! 

The only chairs in the room were at the reading table and the only desks had stools.  At one table you have to sit on the floor.  You can use pillows if you want.  At the math center table, you can choose to sit on bouncy balls.  

We do not have assigned seats in our classroom anymore.  We can sit wherever we want.  Mrs. Allen lets us choose where we want to sit.  My favorite spot to sit is the bouncy balls because you get to bounce while you work. 

The new seats are really comfy and it helps me think more.  Thank you, Mrs. Allen for getting us these new seats.  We really like them.

Mrs. Allen said she made the change, so we could have more room and be more comfortable when working.  

Written By Madeley Wilson (with help from Mrs. Bohler)

First Grade Student in Mrs. Sara Allen's Class

2016 Arkansas Art Educators Fall Conference

All I can say is...what a conference! We opened this year at the Clinton Presidential library to hear Chuck Gunderson, author of Some Fun Tonight: The Backstage Story of How the Beatles Rocked America, followed by a personal tour of the exhibit. We had a blast looking at the memorabilia, drumming with a tutorial from Ringo, singing in the Yellow Submarine singing booth, and taking our picture on Abbey Road. Even our Thursday morning guest speaker, Tim Bogatz from The Art of Ed, joined in the evening fun! Thursday was filled with tons of options for learning sessions given by art educators throughout Arkansas, including myself. I presented an hour long session over the process of starting elementary art centers. Thursday evening I attended the Awards ceremony, then participating in the Board and Council meeting. Friday began with a touching speech and presentation by a personal favorite, Paul Leopoulos. I encourage you to look up the THEA Foundation.Such a great organization and resource right here in Arkansas! I have benefited from a donor and the THEA foundation in the past and will be eternally grateful for what they do for the arts. At our luncheon, we listened to HSU professor, David Warren, as he recounted his sabbatical to Japan and learned ancient techniques to printmaking. He also gave an afternoon demonstration of some of the things he learned.

I do plan on using some ideas from what I have learned at AAE. I attended a session about Flat Vincent(Vincent VaGoch). This is an extension of Flat Stanley. I plan on trying this out in the Spring, when Flat Stanley is ending. Flat Vincent will travel to different areas of art interest, such as Crystal Bridges, the Arkansas Art Center, and to Arkansas artists. Hopefully next year, with some practice, we can send Flat Vincent around the world or to travel with students on their art related trips! Another session that I found interesting was about Teaching for Artistic Behavior(TAB). This style of teaching allows for students to control their art process from beginning to end. They may have a theme, but they choose how they will produce the artwork. The classroom is arranged where different media are available in centers. Students then must work from start to finish in that center, creating the artwork as assigned. The art teacher from SIS is currently switching to this style, so I hope to visit her room soon!

I am not sure I can speak for all of the art teachers, but I had a very memorable time. Conference has always been a very beneficial source of professional development for me. I am thankful for my administration understanding its importance to my continuing growth as an educator. I also enjoy sharing the things I have learned in my classroom or a special project that the students loved with others. Hopefully next year I will be presenting two sessions, and will have even more to share!

Thank you,

Jeri Newberry

SES Art

jerinewberry@sheridanschools.org

Red Ribbon Week 2016

There were lots activities this week as we celebrated Red Ribbon Week.  The last full week of October is set aside each year to promote a Drug Free lifestyle.  At the elementary school level we talk about the dangers of drugs, how illegal drugs are different than prescription drugs and drug prevention.  Each day our students dressed up to show their support in being Drug Free.  Also, every student received a prize each day...Red Ribbon bracelet, “Paws”itively Drug Free coloring book, Say “NO” to drugs pencil, Live a Drug Free Life sticker and a Red Ribbon week sucker.   On Tuesday we had a 50’s day bash with a sock hop in the gym.  That was cool!!

Mrs. Brown, SES Counselor

Camo/Animal Print Day!  

 

50th Day of School Celebration

RED DAY

Safety Pup!

Then on Wednesday we had a special guest visit us from the Grant County Sheriff’s Department, Safety Pup!!  Deputy Ryan Thomas and Safety Pup presented the “Be The Hero” program about Child Safety.  The students AND teachers alike enjoyed dressing up and the week’s festivities!

Good Character Day!

Have a Bat Day with First Grade

Have a Bat Day with First Grade!

I am a mammal who can fly up to 60 miles per hour.  I can eat 600 mosquitoes in one hour!  I am nocturnal and use echolocation to find my food.  I have four fingers and a thumb, just like you!  What creature am I?  First grade students at SES know the answer; a bat!

After spending the week learning about bats, first grade students arrived to school on the morning of Friday, October 21st to find that their classrooms had been transformed into bat caves!  They could not wait to get inside!  Students were asked to dress in black and bring their flashlights because the “caves” were dark all day long!  Students spent the day researching about bats, writing about bats, playing interactive bat games, and reading with their flashlights and headlamps. They even completed a few science activities that really made these bat facts come to life!

Did you know a mother bat can locate her pup by using her sense of smell?  Using cotton balls infused with strong scents of vanilla and orange, one student (acting as “mother bat”) had to smell his/her cotton ball and then find the student (pup) who had the matching scent.  Students got to take turns being the mother bat and the pup.

To illustrate the process of echolocation, students used two tubes and a pie plate.  The two tubes were slightly angled toward each other and taped to a desk.  They were pointed toward a pie plate.  When one student whispered into one tube, the sound bounced off the pie plate, and another student could hear it through the second tube.  Students were able to understand and explain how the sound waves emitted from a bat bounce off of an object and back to the bat’s ears.  Students learned that bats are really using their ears to help them “see” in the dark!

The first grade students went absolutely “batty” over Bat Cave Day!  

Whitney Johnson is a 1st grade teacher at Sheridan Elementary!

You can follow her and her students at @mrswhitneyj on Twitter!

SES Celebrates Grandparents

Destiny and Chloe with their Grandparents

Destiny Hebert
2nd Grader at SES

Since the beginning, my grandparents have been coming to the Grandparents' Breakfast at SES.  It all started in kindergarten.  My grandma still has the tickets from the kindergarten and 1st grade breakfast.  She always comes with a big smile on her face.  My mom drops me off at the front door where my grandma and grandpa wait to take me to breakfast.  I hope they continue coming to grandparents' breakfast with me until I am done with SIS.

Chloe Capel
2nd Grader at SES

My Nana comes every year for Grandparents' breakfast.  My Nana says I always have a great idea for her to come eat breakfast with me.  I feel happy when my Nana comes to eat breakfast with me.  The biscuits and gravy tasted awesome!  I can't wait until she gets to come next year.

"We really enjoy this time with our grandchildren. It is very special times.  Thank you for having us." Jim Carothers, grandparent of Rusty Carothers, Kindergarten Student 

"We love the opportunity to visit with our grandson, Cooper Gills, on grandparents' day." Brad and Carol Cunningham, Grandparents of Cooper Gills, 1st Grader

"Thank you so much for allowing me to have breakfast with my granddaughter.  First year I have been able to do this because I live in Florida.  Got here just in time!  These are special memories!" Tammy Porter, Grandmother to Hailey Reed

"The best thing is spending special time with Landon."

Jeanie Holmes, Grandmother of Landon Odom

"A great way to spend time with Landon."

Teresa Odom, Grandmother of Landon Odom

"We love grandparents' day. It is so special to get to eat with our Maci.  Thank you for doing this." David Norton, Stan Owen, Pattie Owen, Grandparents of Maci Norton

Grandparents' Day Quotes

"What a special time you have provided for us grandparents!  Thank you for allowing us to be involved in this way with our grandchildren."

Norma Webb, Grandmother of Addyson Grimmett

"We love seeing how many grandparents show their love and support for their grandchildren.

Jonathan and Kathy Bibb, Grandparents of TP Bethea

"Thanks for having a special breakfast just for grandparents.  Chelsey loved it."

Mary Kling, Grandmother of Chelsey Spann

"It is great to see so many grandparent's involved with their grandchildren and see smiles on so many faces."

Jody and Sherry Spann, Grandparents of Chelsey Spann

"We enjoyed being able to meet her teacher, Mrs. Allen.  We also loved having a special time with our granddaughter and seeing her school."

Darrell and Sonya Rollans, Brenda Donaldson, Grandparents of Lynlee Preator

"Loved it!  Eating with Bryce was our highlight of the day!  Loved not standing in lines!  Great environment-welcoming!"

Ed and Karla Koon, Grandparents of Bryce Webb

"We love seeing all the smiling faces of the children and how much they seem to be enjoying school.  The teachers and staff are all so friendly and obviously love each child here."

Mary Ellen Davis, Steve Sparks, Dot Golden, Grandparents of Kady Harrison

Grandparents' Breakfast Video

Click the link above to see all the pictures from Grandparents' Breakfast. 

Make the First Day Magical

Make a kid's first day magical...make them want more...
#seslearners

August 15, 2016...A day many parents as well as many students will not forget as they start kindergarten, first, or second grade!  Our job was to make the first day the most memorable to leave them wanting more each and every day!  So, what do we do...We roll out the Red Carpet for ALL of our Kids (and even some teachers)!!

Rolling Out the Red Carpet

#KidsDeserveIt

We LOVE to open our doors to FAMILY!!  We knew our halls would be flooded with loving and supportive parents throughout the morning!  So...what better way to show our support to set up a photo booth for our families!

 Family Photo Booth

Sharing our Students with Twitter and Facebook

More than anything we are SUPER EXCITED to see our families using Twitter to share their precious kids with us!!

Through the eyes of a Kindergarten Parent

Bay's first day of kindergarten at Sheridan Elementary could not have gone any better.  From the moment we walked in with the balloons and photo props to the smiles all through the halls.  He had no problem with me leaving him there, and I have to admit it was a lot easier leaving seeing him so happy to be there.  I loved picking him up today too because the first thing he did was tell me how awesome his day was.  Made this first time kindergarten mom's heart rest easy for a great year ahead.

-Chelsey Cotton, Kindergarten Parent

 And even a little fun for the teachers...

 

A Message from Mrs. Bohler

You may not get the red carpet every time you enter the doors of SES, but I will promise you this...Your kid will be LOVED like they are on the red carpet each and every day at SES.  I know our KIDS DESERVE IT every day!!  And no matter what we will all strive to have your child leaving SES each day with a smile on their face and a love for learning.  That is our promise to you...Smiles and a Love of Learning!

And nothing beats a SMILE on their Face when leaving SES!

#SESLearners of Summer

Science Comes to Life at SES

In June, I was able to attend the HSU STEM Center’s STEAMING it up with Art and Science professional development. We took each letter of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) and did sample lessons that related to Art.  As an Art Educator, I was overjoyed at the thought of including STEM in my classroom and connecting it to the subject of Art. Later in the month, I attended a session on Coding. I was not very familiar with Coding, and honestly scared of it. I knew about it, what it was, and that students participated in the Hour of Code, BUT I had never tried it out personally. It was extremely informative and gave me enough encouragement to be excited to include coding in the classroom, and to find other iPad apps that involve coding. As a result, I have now redesigned my Art Centers into STEAM Labs. The spaces are labeled to correlate to each letter of STEAM,and will have guided lessons for each “Lab”. I have the expectation that this plan will help students understand and develop their own appreciation for the flexibility and connectability of Art to the real world. I know the students will not be the only ones learning from these changes & I look forward to what all they will teach me!
-Jeri Newberry, SES Art Teacher

TeamWork Makes DreamsWork

Just a Few Smiles Heading to a Two Day Team Building PD

SES and EEE had the ultimate PD experience!!  Two days and one night at Ferndale were jam packed with revisiting our Core Beliefs, establishing goals, data exploration, analysis, and interpretation and setting SMART Goals along with developing an Action Plan.  We rocked Team Building activities and had bonding time with our peers from EEE.  Along with this we received all our back to school information…. Guess who is looking forward to our new school year….EVERYONE!  

-Dottie Goode, SES Librarian

Mrs. Corley leading Mrs. Arnold through the Mouse Trap Game

While attending a professional development at Ferndale, I learned just how important it is to have everyone working together as a team.  One activity that sticks out in my mind is the mousetrap maze.   During the mousetrap maze, two people work together as a team.  One is blindfolded and the other must talk them through the maze without setting off any mouse traps.   The blindfolded person has to have full faith in their partner.    In this particular activity, I was paired with a co-worker from a different grade level that I did not know as well as my fellow grade level teachers.  She had to led me through the maze, so I had to put all doubt and fear aside and learn to trust her judgement.  Once the fear was set aside (on both sides), we successfully made it through.   This activity reminded me a lot about how the staff in our school should be.   Even though we teach different subjects or grade levels, we should stop fearing the worse and  begin to listen to each other and trust them.   We all have the same goal in mind.  At the end of the day, we want to inspire and empower our students to be the best that they can be.    We cannot accomplish this goal alone.  It takes a team...the administration, teachers, counselors, parapros, janitors, cafeteria workers, and even the bus drivers to accomplish this.    We all have to put faith and trust in each other in order to guide our students to be successful.

-Lou Arnold, K-3 Special Education Teacher

Remember the days of church camp or girl scout camp?  Sleepovers with your best friends?  Those were the best days!  Have you ever been on an overnight trip with your staff?  Well, we at SES had that opportunity to go to Ferndale to build relationships.  It was an awesome time to get to know the people on our staff.  We did team building activities.  We learned who the leaders were, the competitive ones were.  We just had a good time.  Have you ever played Heads Up with your staff?  We have.  Those will be some memories that we need take into our school year...That we need to be cheerleaders for our kids.  That all kids learn differently.  I can’t wait what our awesome bosses have in store for our next.  Some people say you need to keep your personal lives out of the work place.  I disagree.  I believe we need to feel like a family.  You need to have loving, caring people around you at all times.

-Missy Overton, Kindergarten Teacher

The team building P.D. that we attended this past week was great. I feel like it also has made us more of a family. It helped to open up new relationships not only across grade levels but across the district. As I was working with other people in our school that we normal don’t interact with, I was able to make new colleges. I feel this new relationships will help our students grow to become better students. I will feel more comfortable going to and talking to other members of our team. Being more comfortable talking to other member’s help all of my students succeed.

-Billie Corley, Kindergarten Teacher

It's All for the Students

There is an exciting trend taking place within our district!  We are adding new and diverse tools to our toolbox in order to teach kids who are struggling with reading and spelling.  One of these new tools is the DuBard Association Method for reading, spelling, and language. I was privileged to attend the training for this program this summer!  The DuBard program is multi-sensory, systematic, and researched-based.  It is unique in that it uses Northampton Symbols rather than the traditional 26-letter alphabet to teach children to combine sounds for reading and spelling.  I cannot wait to use this program with some of my students and put these tools to use!  I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be trained in this program!

-Carrie Clay, Speech Therapist

DuBard Participants

Coding at Sheridan

Coding 101

Several teachers attended coding professional development throughout the summer to learn more about how to implement into their daily instructional activities.