Mrs. Floyd's 6th Grade (2nd Period)

Mrs. Stahl (Middle School Principal)


Here I am with the school sign!

Well, my time here at Meyersdale has come to a close. Unfortunately, we ran into a slight situation this past week, and things didn't quite work out as expected. Mrs. Floyd's daughter ended up with the flu last Tuesday. She was hospitalized for two nights with complications relating to her asthma, and Mrs. Floyd, of course, stayed with her. Then, she ended up with the flu too, along with her husband and other daughter. It was a long, miserable week for her family, and as a result, she couldn't come to school and spend time with me.

Her classes were covered by several different substitutes. We tried to do some neat things without her, though. We spent some time working on subjects and verbs....I think I finally got that stuff figured out! Then, we worked on a short story project that involved visually representing the elements of fiction found in a story they read in class. The kids also had to write paragraphs about how they compare to one of the characters from a story in the unit. It was a lot of work, but some of them turned out really neat!!! We also worked on spelling and vocabulary a lot with the substitutes. The hard work must have paid off, though, because most of the kids passed the quiz with flying colors!!

On my last day here, I got my picture taken with the whole group. They're a fun bunch...that's for sure. I also took a picture with the middle school principal, Mrs. Stahl; the secretary, Ms. Hetrick; and the curriculum coordinator, Mr. Kretchman. I loved getting a tour of the whole school, and the kids really liked seeing me in the hallway. Everyone was so nice!

Today, I packed my things for my next adventure. I'm heading to Everett! I can't wait to see what great lessons the kids are learning there! Thanks, Meyersdale! I had a great time!

Well, today I arrived in Meyersdale, Pennsylvania, and it sure is cold outside. We even had snowflakes falling earlier today. I think we're expecting several inches of snow overnight tonight. Wish I would have brought my winter jacket with me!

I'm visiting Mrs. Floyd's sixth grade classes here at Meyersdale Middle School. They seem excited to have me in their classroom. The school is organized into three buildings, even though all three are connected by hallways. There's an elementary building, a middle school building, and a high school building. The middle school is for grades 6-8. Mrs. Floyd teaches English in the middle school. There are about 240 kids in the middle school, and 9 regular education middle school teachers. It seems like a great place to work and to learn! The kids and staff members are so friendly.

Today, in Mrs. Floyd's classes, the students are taking quizzes on their vocabulary words. They are also practicing answering PSSA questions. Next week will be more exciting. The students will get to spend more time with me, taking pictures, posting to the blog, and reading about my past travels. They will also be starting their next unit...Treasure Island. I can't wait to read about all the pirate adventures that take place in that book.

Well, I guess I should go for now. The students are almost finished with their quizzes and I want to see how well they did. Check back next week for pictures of me hanging out at Meyersdale.

September 17, 2009

Morpheus watched us do morning stretch today. We lifted our arms up and down and did bridges. Did you know that active kids do better in school? It's true! We also had an assembly about the Constitution. We learned about people who wrote the Constitution and we talked about who the first person to sign the Constitution was...George Washington!

This weekend Morpheus is going to go home with Mrs. Musone to take a bath. It is obvious he has been busy in school and needs to freshen-up!

My visit to Second Grade

In the afternoon, I visited the Second Grade Class. They taught me about the different phrases of the moon. I also went to religion class. They told me about what the readings were at church. I'm really learning a lot.

After I visited Second Grade, I went to the Middle School Talent Show. Wow, what a show? All the acts were wonderful. I got to sit in the stands with the children. It was really a lot of fun.

Picasso and me!

Today I , Morpheus, learned abut Modern Art. My, my, my, I never knew it could be so interesting!? We were learning about making a style of art called Picassoism. That is putting the profile view and the front view of a person into one face. Picasso drew some very weird funny pictures.

I also learned how to compare different art styles. We looked at pictures by Leonardo da Vinci, Cezanne, Klee, Braque, and Pablo Picasso. Those artists have very different styles and use a variety of shades of colors.

Paul Klee wanted to draw shapes and bright colors. Leonardo da Vinci painted the "Mona Lisa" and "The Last Supper". Leonardo used dark colors in his paintings.

Cubism is a style of art that looks pointy, with blocks, squares, and triangles.

Morpheus loved art class with 5th. Grade

Mrs. Murren is our art teacher. She showed us how to use watercolor paints to paint underwater scenes. Mrs. Keeley is our network administrator. She was given the task of bringing me to the classrooms to learn about Saint Joseph School and take photographs. Today she brought me to Mrs. Murren's room to learn about wax resist watercolor painting.

Some of the students finished their paintings and they had time to paint pictures of me and make things for my backpack.

Computer Class at Saint Joseph School

In computer class, First Grade and Morpheus learned about the planets. We saw our school from Google Earth. We learned there is no air in space. When you say something on the moon we can not hear it. Earth is the only planet that has life on it. One of the planets is sideways. We learned all the names of the planets. There were nine planets and now there are eight. We learned a song about the man on the moon. The farther the planets are from the sun the cooler they are. Some of the children and Morpheus would like to visit the planets.