The Monthly Snapshot
An Electronic Newsletter for LES and NPLiberty HS
Volume I, Issue IV (January 2017)
Authoring informational books in first grade
January has been an exciting and engaging month for our primary students! It’s been chilly out, so we have stayed busy in the classroom to keep warm! Down in first grade, students have been working hard to build their writing stamina in our Informational Writing Unit. We have been learning about the craft and all the different types of text features that authors use, and we have now begun to use them in our very own informational books! It is exciting to see their little faces beam with excitement and confidence as they grow throughout the writing process.
Looking ahead, we are very excited to celebrate the 100th Day of School! It will be a fun filled day with many engaging activities!
Pictured are three of our authors in the making: Olivia S. is above, and Lucius G. (top) working alongside Bryce W. (bottom) are below.
Grade 4 students participate in games to learn math facts
Grade 4 students have been dedicating some time to mastering multiplication facts. The importance of multiplication mastery is crucial at this grade level and will impact their performance at higher levels of mathematics in the future.
Before the daily lesson begins, students take part in a variety of math games that are designed to help them become more comfortable with understanding multiplication facts. These games include KA-Boom (multiplication and division version), Go Go Basketball, a memory game with a competitive twist, and math ball, which is a game that involves hand-eye coordination and product recognition. Pictured above, Haylee A. and Lasha R. participate in a game of math ball.
As students approach more intense math concepts such as long division and finding equivalent fractions, these math games will aid in their success!
Themes and the plank challenge in gym class
How the time flies when you are having fun! It is January already and the kids at LES have been very active in physical education class.
Each month has it’s own theme this year. So far, the students have created their own obstacle courses for Obstacle October with equipment of their choosing from the PE department. Above (L-R), Glenn O., Kahlan A., Bryce B., and Clay V. participate in a student-created obstacle course. We also had quite talented dancers for “Dancin’ in December." I am excited to continue this year with various other themed activities.
The students demonstrated their creativity and collaboration when it came time to present their group projects. They definitely showed their determination when it came time for our plank challenge! This year's top plank champions are Reagan Ridge holding a plank for 12 amazing minutes! The female champion was Lydia Sparks with a time of 10 minutes and 15 seconds!
If parents want to grasp how difficult this feat actually is, they should try it with their kids at home!
Grades 5 and 6 students engage in MDC lessons
The grades 5 and 6 math students at LES have been developing their math concepts by participating in Math Design Collaborative (MDC) lessons. MDC is a National initiative that has been working to design and develop well-engineered lessons and assessment tools to support and enhance the implementation of Common Core State Math Standards.
The student benefit in many ways. First, MDC lessons allow students to see and talk about multiple representations of answers to the same problem. MDC lessons guide and develop students’ abilities to work in teams and enable students to become risk takers, persevering in problem solving and productive struggle. Finally, MDC lessons result in proven academic gains by students who are exposed to its framework.
Above, grade 5 students Lilian H. and Mackenzi G. match representations of fractions together during a recent MDC lesson.
Click on the button below to visit the Math Design Collaborative website.
FBLA finishes strong at Regionals
Thirty-eight FBLA members from NPLiberty traveled to the Penn College of Technology on January 3 to attend the Regional Leadership Conference and compete against students from all over the region. While there, students had an opportunity to learn about the PA FBLA state project—National Kidney Foundation, marketing yourself, business etiquette, identity theft, and volunteering. The state president, Sarah Hohman from NPMansfield, quizzed participants on FBLA trivia.
Sophomore Logan H. (pictured above) will represent FBLA Region 7 as treasurer for the 2017 - 2018 school year.
State Qualifiers included each of the following:
- Jayna Brodnicki and Abby Miller (Business and Financial Systems)
- The team of Izzy Clark, Katelyn Feaster, and Briauna Wilson (Graphic Design) finished in 3rd place.
- The team of Emma Williams, Liz Williams, and Mackenzie Nealen (Graphic Design) finished 2nd.
Each of the students below finished in the top ten in each identified category of competition:
7th Place:
The team of Marissa Harer and Mackenzie Kowalski (Global Business)
The team of Hunter June, Rachael Stille, and Kaitlyn Wetzel (Marketing)
8th Place:
The team of Elsie Kelly, Anna Paulhamus, and Brooke Russell (Entrepreneurship)
9th Place:
Courtney Bower (Introduction to Business Communication)
10th Place:
Garrett Bickhart (Business Calculations)
The team of Katrina Davis, Sierra Marriner, and Dylan Williamson (Sports & Entertainment Management)
Making math real for students
The grade 9 students have been busy solving for variables, and the grade 10 students are solving for the surface area of geometric shapes.
When students learn about math concepts that can sometimes seem disconnected from practical skills, they want to know, “When we will ever use this?”. In response, the ninth graders used variables to calculate which cell phone plan is the best from the models presented. Using their knowledge of geometric shapes, the tenth grade students calculated how much material will be needed to build their new hunting structure for next year (pictured above).
Math concepts are easier to learn when incorporated into relevant problems, which in turn, helps the students realize the need for math in their lives.
Global MakerDay comes to LES and BES
Global MakerDay is associated with the MakerSpace movement. This movement revolves around the philosophy that students should innovate, learn, make, and share.
Mrs. Sember and Mrs. Murray collaborated to celebrate Global MakerDay with a focus to have older and younger students working together. With this in mind, Mrs. Sember’s senior Video Technology students (pictured above) acted as facilitators in a two-day experience at Liberty Elementary School (LES) and Blossburg Elementary School (BES).
The seniors spent several lunch periods planning and preparing challenge-based activities for grades K through 6 and then led each activity throughout the two day event at each elementary school.
All students involved enjoyed the activities which included Barbie Bungee Jump, Gatorade Ping Pong Paint, Dixie Cup Stack, Acorn Catapults, And Lego Tower Challenges.
Click on the button below to visit the Global MakerDay website.
FCS classes close out the semester
By Mrs. Bubb
The career preparation class has learned a lot about themselves, and the students have just finished their portfolios.
The child development class has planned some fantastic, creative lessons for the preschoolers this year. The preschoolers have been spending time matching capital letters with their lower case partners.
The foods classes have been researching different countries and the foods common in each country. Recently, guest speaker Rochelle Chakraborty shared her skills of cooking Indian food with the advanced foods class. We all enjoyed the Chai Tea and Indian breakfast she prepared with us!
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Contact Information
8622 Route 414
Liberty, PA 16930
570-324-2521 (P)
570-324-2440 (F)
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North Penn - Liberty Jr./Sr. High School (NPLiberty HS)
8675 Route 414
Liberty, PA 16930
570-324-2071 (P)
570-324-2313 (F)
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