Celebrating READ ACROSS AMERICA WEEK 2017

This year, GRACE Christian School observes READ ACROSS AMERICA WEEK from February 27-March 1, 2017.

We started off with a variety of activities in early February:

• In honor of Dr. Seuss, Mrs. Gehringer challenged the GRACE students to donate 500 books to the month-long book drive sponsored by WAKE UP AND READ. Our students collected over 700 books appropriate for readers from birth-12 years old. 

• Our 6th graders read a Dr. Seuss book to our Transitional Kindergarten (TK) and Kindergarten classes. This is a GRACE tradition we started a number of years ago. 

• The media center distributes Seuss prizes to all TK-6th grade students (erasers, bookmarks, stickers) in celebration of Dr. Seuss' birthday.

• Our 4th graders performed a Seuss readers' theater in their media class this week, while our 5th graders did a Seuss webquest. Other classrooms did various Seuss-related lessons as well.

• Our TK-6th grade students took Seuss selfies. Our younger students held funny props while we took their photo in front of a green screen. Our 5th & 6th graders wore Seuss costumes we borrowed from our theater dept. Our 6th grade Multimedia class will design the backgrounds and complete the project. We put our Seuss selfies in a slideshow to share in a few weeks.

• Anther tradition -- we post photos of our teachers and staff holding one of their favorite Seuss books, in addition to Seuss banners and posters in the hallway.

• Our Wednesday, we will have a flashlight read in the gym at the end of the day. We will assemble for carpool early, turn on our flashlights, turn off the lights, and read a book for 15 minutes. Our older students will sit with our younger students.

Looking forward to celebrating with you!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!!

Summer Reading Stars!

Carol Gehringer, Media Coordinator

Last spring, Mrs. Gehringer and Mrs. Walker challenged the students on the 801 Campus (TK-6) to read beyond their required reading book.

Students who turned in a Summer Reading Log in August, received a certificate of achievement and a PeiWei Reading Award (redeemable for a free Kids’ Meal). Forty-eight students turned in their logs accounting for over 1,220 books read and recorded on summer reading logs.

KUDOS to Mrs. Hare’s class for having the highest number of students turn in their logs — over 50% of the class!

• Bachman, Cooper (3rd Hare)
• Baker, Campbell (5th Suarez)
• Baker, Hudson (3rd Hickman)
• Barry, Madison (3rd Hare)
• Best, Graham (4th Anderson)
• Bittler, Henry (4th Sweeney)
• Buus, Colin (K Cheney)
• Cameron-Chileshe, Olivia (5th Suarez)
• Chambers, Jenna (3rd Hare)
• Clarke, Sam (2nd Goeking)
• Corona, Abby (2nd Goeking)
• Donovan, Emma (4th Anderson)
• Fitzhugh, Jennings (3rd Hare)
• Garrett, Anna (5th Suarez)
• Grissom, Hudson (K Cheney)
• Harris, Aurora (2nd Goeking)
• Hess, Mason (3rd Hare)
• Katz, Victoria (3rd Hare)
• Kemp, Lorelei (1st Huntley)
• Kennedy, Liliana (1st Huntley)
• Laakso, Madie (3rd Hare)
• Lawrence, Tanner (1st Still)
• Lehew, Colton (5th Suarez)
• Lehman, Evan (4th Sweeney)
• Lehman, Kate (3rd Hickman)
• Lisiecki, Madeline (2nd Goeking)
• Mason, James (2nd Goeking)
• Mathew, Sohani (1st Yabani)
• Mathew, Soleil (1st Huntley)
• McLeod, Philip (2nd Goeking)
• Moore, Benjamin (2nd Goeking
• Moore, Paige (5th Barker)
• Morrison, Aaron (4th Schaeffer)
• Murphy, Ansley (2nd Schnake)
• Murphy, Carter (5th Suarez)
• Murphy, Landon (3rd Hickman)
• Nico, Giselle (4th Sweeney)
• Nunnery, Presley (3rd Hare)
• Papuchis, Addy (3rd Hare)
• Popa, Avery (3rd Hare)
• Rankin, Benjamin (1st Yabani)
• Smith, Aubrey (1st Huntley)
• Stanley, Olivia (K Cheney)
• Vallecorse, Samuel (3rd Hare)
• Wakefield, Alex (4th Schaeffer)
• Ward, Chase (4th Schaeffer)
• Wingerd, Lauren (5th Suarez)
• Woodson, Emily (4th Schaeffer)

Good job, students! 

READ ACROSS AMERICA WEEK / Dr. Seuss @ GRACE 2016

Mrs. Carol Gehringer
Media Center

GRACE Christian School will celebrate the 112th anniversary of Dr. Seuss' birthday (on March 2, 2016). We will observe Read Across America Week from March 2nd-March 10, 2016.

We will start off  with a reader's theater salute to Dr. Seuss over our PA system, with the help of three 6th graders.

Sometime during our observance, all our 6th graders read a Dr. Seuss book to our three Kindergarten classes, as well as our TK classes -- this is a tradition we started a few years ago and both grades love doing it.

Our TK-3rd grade students will participate in a Cat-in-the-Hat Incognito Activity, taking a picture of the infamous Cat in the Hat and helping him to be at GRACE incognito. The students' work will grace our halls by the school store.

Our older students will be invited to solve the Seuss Mystery in the library. A crime scene will be set up and clues will be provided. We'll see if our sleuths can solve the mystery of who-done-it!

On Friday, March 5th, we will have a red-and-white stripe day. In honor of the Cat in the Hat, we will wear red and white stripes, or red and white. Cat in the Hat hats will be permitted.

Our media center will give out Seuss surprises to all the classrooms in honor of Dr. Seuss. Ms. Lisa in the lunchroom promises a special Seuss treat sometime during the week.

As usual, we posted photos of our teachers and staff holding one of their favorite Seuss books, in addition to Seuss banners and posters throughout the school.

Our final day of day, we will have a flashlight read in the gym at the end of the day. We will assemble for carpool early, turn on our flashlights, turn off the lights, and read a book for 15 minutes.

Looking forward to celebrating with you!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!!

A B C - About Book Clubs at GRACE

Carol Gehringer
Media Center

At GRACE, we love to encourage our students to read. 

A few years ago, we started book clubs in 4th-6th grade. Last year (2014-15), we added book clubs in our 3rd grade, bringing our total to 8 book clubs on the Raleigh campus.

They continue to grow -- in 2013-14, we had 65 students participate, but last year, 2014-15, we had 105 students meeting together to discuss a book we read.

Here's a reminder of how our GRACE book clubs work:

FACILITATORS: Mrs. Walker: 3rd grade & Mrs. Gehringer: 4th-6th grade

HOW OFTEN? Book clubs meet approximately twice a month, with girls one week and boys the following week.

• A schedule will be posted in Talon for the 4th-6th grade book clubs, and Mrs. Walker will notify the 3rd graders of their meeting schedule.

WHEN?  During car pool, 2:45pm-3:15pm. We meet until 3:15pm. Then the students will be dismissed to the lobby or to aftercare.

• MONDAY - 3rd grade              TUESDAY - 4th grade 
• WEDNESDAY - 6th grade       THURSDAY - 5th grade

WHERE?  In the Raleigh library, of course!

WHY BOOK CLUB?

• Good way to encourage reading
• Good way to socialize with others in your grade
• Amount of reading done is decided by the book club
• Book club meets only 1-2 times per month and during car pool, so it doesn't interfere with lunch or after school activities
• No grades! But it might help you in reaching your AR goals (more about this later!)

WHAT DO I NEED TO DO NOW?  

• Talk with your student about it!
• Tell us if your student wants to participate in book club.
• Ordering a book club t-shirt (optional)? Get the money and size information in by next week.

OTHER QUESTIONS?

• Do I need to buy the books?  No - we have multiple copies already purchased specifically for our book clubs. However, if your child loses the book, you will need to pay for its replacement.
• Do I need to read the first book before the first meeting? No, we will hand out the books at our first meeting.
• Do I need to read every book? No, but we will encourage you to read at least the first chapter to try different genres!
• How will this help with my AR goal? All the books we read have Accelerated Reader (AR) quizzes. Students take a multiple choice quiz to test their comprehension of the books they read. Since there is a competition for prizes, they will want to read more books and pass as many AR quizzes as possible. Mrs. Lane, our reading specialist, will be sending out more information on AR in the coming weeks.

Any other questions? Contact me (cgehringer@GRACEChristian.net).

Welcome Back Eagles!  I am Mrs. Hartsfield and I am so excited to be teaching at GRACE this year.  I have a lot of fun and exciting things planned this year in the technology classes and I can't wait to get to know all of my students.

3rd-Keyboarding
This quarter we will be getting acquainted with the Chrome books.  We will learn the parts of the Chrome book, how to log in, and simple trouble shooting techniques.  Also, our 3rd grade students will have the opportunity to learn responsibility. They have to assemble themselves in an orderly fashion to retrieve and return the Chrome books.  They are learning proper typing technique and how to effectively use the Home Row keys.  We are on our way to building competent 21st century skills!

4th/5th - Technology/Media
 This quarter Mrs. Gehringer and I will be working together in the 4th and 5th grade classes.  We will be collaborating with classroom teachers and integrating technology with their lessons.  We will start the quarter with Mac basics, Web Browsers, and Pages.

6th-Multimedia
 This quarter we will start with Photo Booth and iPhoto to create our first project "All About Me".  We will also explore the digital camera parts and use and upload pictures to iPhoto to create another project.

SPRING BOOK FAIR CONTINUES TODAY

Carol Gehringer
Media Coordinator

FAMILIES,

Thanks for coming out last night (Thursday, April 23rd) for our annual Barnes & Noble Book Fair (near Cary Towne Center).

The Book Fair will continue through SUNDAY, April 25th for in-store purchases, and through WEDNESDAY, April 29th for online purchases (use our book fair code: 11586161 when you place your order).

TODAY'S PERFORMANCES, FRIDAY, APRIL 24th:

3:30-3:45pm    Storytime with Mrs. Gehringer & Mrs. Warmke (& TALON!)

3:45-4:15pm    7th-8th Grade Band

4:15-4:45pm    High School Band

While at the Book Fair, you can

• decorate & pick up your pre-ordered cupcakes (near front of the store)
• shop for Mother's Day (any purchase in the store counts!)
• listen to the storytime and band performances (near back of the store)
• buy your child's summer reading (TK-6th grade only, 7th-12th grade not available yet)
• make a purchase for any grade level classroom or one of our libraries (don't forget to complete the forms)
• get your picture taken with Talon, our mascot (near back of the store)

BUYING A BOOK FOR THE CLASSROOM OR OUR LIBRARY?  Fill out a donation form, so we know who to thank, AND fill our the Cheesecake Battle Form to help your child's teacher win a cheesecake!

While we won't have student performances after today (FRIDAY, April 24th), our students' artwork will be up over the weekend -- and you can purchase books, DVDs, CDs, and food from the cafe over the weekend to help our Book Fair totals.

Just be sure to tell them you want your purchase to help GRACE Christian -- and if you order online, you will need this voucher code: 11586161.

THANK YOU for your support!!

Hour Of Code=Big Hit For 4th-5th Grade

Dana Morrison

Media

Ms. Gehringer and I (Dana) swap off weeks with the 4th and 5th grades.  If it's my week, I have a 45 minute session with each of the classes.  Topics vary.  On the tech side of things we've discussed digital citizenship, creating presentations in Google, laptop care, typing assessments, and a variety of other topics.

Before spring break, we added to the variety by doing an "Hour of Code" on Code.org.  The students programmed with the "Frozen" theme.  They had to move Anna and Elsa while just using blocks of code.  Of course, the programming starts out with really simple tasks, like making Anna move 100 pixels, turn right by 90 degrees, and go forward another 100 pixels.

The tasks get harder and harder.  As I watched the students think through the problems, here are my observations:

1. Code.org could make a great introduction to geometry.  Shapes and angles in coding may help students connect mentally with what various angle sizes mean.  I think it could be used as a lab of sorts in a math class.
2. Collaboration and peer teaching ruled the room.  Some students became stumped by certain tasks.  When their neighbors were successful, you would occasionally hear, "Hey!  I figured it out!" or "What!?  How did you do that?"  During our exercises, I tried to limit the amount of help I directly gave the students and let them help each other out and try to solve problems together.  Best of all, this happened naturally.  I didn't have to force them to collaborate; it just started happening.
3. Overall, the students really seemed to enjoy the easy "drag and drop" programming style.  We even had a few students that completed the 20 exercises in the roughly 30 minutes that we used for the "Hour of Code" (no, we didn't do the full hour).
4. Females and males did equally great.  Females are sometimes under-represented in programming fields. This is a shame and I believe females should be encouraged to explore programming if they show some interest.

Since it may be difficult to base success on my observations, I decided to do a Google form and survey the students.  Here are the results:

52 students, representing 51% -  "I really enjoyed it and want to learn more"

26 students, representing 25.5% - "I enjoyed it"

20 students, representing 19.6% - "It was ok"

4 students, representing 3.9% - "I didn't really like it"

So, that's what I call "a big hit!"