GCIS Weekly News 2/17/17
Weekly Celebrations, Successes, and Up Coming Events!
We're not here to be average; We're here to be AWESOME!
Awesome Students of the Week!
GCIS Office News
There has been a few inquiries about school on Monday (Feb. 20th President's Day) We will have classes on this day.
Our next NO SCHOOL day is Wednesday March 1st.
Principal Shoutout!
We have a group Genius Hour project taking shape and we are needing donation of medium sized baskets. (Similar to the photo below)
Our genius hour project is like a "pay it forward" concept that students have brainstormed around putting our school Mantra (We're not here to be average; we're here to be awesome!) into action. We will be engaging the community and encouraging others to Be Awesome!!! Our project is called: Operation: Be Awesome! More information will be coming! We thank you in advance for supporting our students passions and ideas!
Email: vancleavem@greenecountycsd.net
Website: http://www.gccsd.k12.ia.us/gcis
Location: 405 12th Street South, Grand Junction, IA, United States
Phone: 515-738-5721
Facebook: facebook.com/pages/Greene-County-Intermediate/
Twitter: @marandavc
Add it to the Calendar!
PBIS Winter Bash: Friday Feb 24th
Student Choices:
- 7 oaks Sledding (Ogden)
- Hidden Acres: Swimming & Open Gym (Dayton)
- Skateland (Jefferson)
IF WARM WEATHER EFFECTS SLEDDING WE WILL LOOK FOR ANOTHER OPTION TO OFFER FOR STUDENTS.
~MARCH~
No School: 3/1
Session #4 Clubs: 3/8
No School Spring Break: 13th-17th
GCIS Conferences
- Tuesday March 21st 4:00-7:00 pm
- Thursday March 23rd 4:00-7:00 pm
~APRIL~
FLEX Truck 13 & 14
Next Parent Advisory CANCELLED for Monday 2/20
WINTER BASH INFO
Winter Bash: Friday Feb 24th
- School sack lunches will be available and students can bring their own lunch if they would like.
- Students have signed up for their locations.
- Locations include: Hidden Acres, 7 Oaks, Skating in Jefferson.
- Students need to bring all items needed for the location they signed up for to school that day.
- Snack options are at each location.
- If you have any questions about any of the trips please call the GCIS office.
4th Grade Happenings!
Math- Wow, we have been busy! We got done with our unit 2 assessment, we finished our unit 2 cumulative assessment, and we completed our Iowa Assessment testing! We are jumping into fractions. We are learning about finding equivalent fractions. We are finding out that knowing our multiplication facts makes finding equivalent fractions much easier!
Reading-We are done with our Iowa Assessment Testing. We worked very hard on those tests and were ready to get back into our reading routine.
we are learning about the civil rights movement through our read aloud. We are reading The Story of RUBY BRIDGES by Robert Coles. We also will read Ruby Bridges Goes To School MY TRUE STORY by Ruby Bridges. primary sources and secondary sources are the reading skills we will be working on with these books.
Science- We are working on a unit about how our world has changed over time. We are hitting map skills through this.
5th Grade Happenings!
Science: We are studying producers, consumers, and decomposers and their role in the environment. We had a quiz this week. We will continue to discuss the living and nonliving parts of ecosystems.
Lit/SS: In reading we wrapped up our unit on understanding the plot structure of fictional text. We will be starting a new unit on comparing and contrasting texts in the same genre. In writing/social studies we have been working on writing a 5 paragraph research paper.
6th Grade Happenings!
Sixth graders did an AWESOME job with Iowa Assessments this week!
Reading: We have had a crazy schedule this week due to Iowa Assessments. We are finally getting our personal narratives printed. We are slowly kicking off our new Peace and Conflict unit. We will be discussing conflicts in history and ones that are currently happening in our world today. We will also be working with figurative language during this unit.
Science: We are still learning about atoms and molecules. Students have been making models and thinking about conservation of mass.
Math: We are finishing the presentations of our recipe projects. We are also working on changing fractions to decimals and percents. We will also be looking at ratios.
Special Education News
We are excited to be working with new intervention groups. Looking forward to see students grow. It is the time of the year where we double check our students’ goals to see if they are making progress and adjust if necessary.
Music News!
2017 ICDA 5th - 6th Central District Honor Choir participants:
Brianna Blasnitz
Kaitlin Fields
Katrina Heupel
Natalie Heupel
Gretah Johnson
Madison Kinsey
Alizandra Lawson
Parker Lehman
Hallie Monthei
Ava Perret
Devin Schmidt
Paige Teeples
This choir is intended to be an honor choir experience to reward students, motivate them and teach them to be leaders in their school choirs. Students were chosen on the basis that they are able to conduct themselves appropriately, match pitch, and put in the time to be prepared. Only 12 students from each participating school were allowed to be submitted. Congratulations to this year's participants. New students are selected each year for participation to give as many students the opportunity this wonderful learning experience.
Art
4th grade students are studying the art of Wayne Theibaud. He is an artist that does paintings of sweets… cakes, pies, donuts, cupcakes, etc. In looking at his work, it made us hungry! So now the students are creating a background wall and a tablecloth with patterns, and then they are learning how to draw a donut in perspective and attaching it to their background, complete with a napkin!
5th grade art students are making 3D drawings by using three different sizes of paper and putting them together like a diorama. They are learning about background, middle ground and foreground.
6th grade students finished their animal eyes. They are being hung up in the hallway and it is fun to try to figure out the animal that each eye is attached to. I love displaying their talents!
T.A.G.
One 4th grade TAG student group worked on their trebuchet and got it working today! The last group is still putting together their working volcano! Today they made it look a bit more like a real volcano by adding more of a cone shape around the bottle and adding “rocks!”
5th grade TAG students will be working on presenting their “game show - “Name That Animal” to their classrooms.
6th grade TAG students presented their Marble run to Mr. Brown’s and Miss Manken’s classrooms today! Thanks everyone for all the questions! It went very well. They will be presenting to Hoyle and Bardole’s classrooms next Wednesday.
ALL TAG GRADES and MATH ENRICHMENT are going to be attending the “Lights! Camera! Math! Program at CY Stephens Auditorium this Friday! PLEASE make sure their permission forms were turned in. Thank you!
Media Tech Lit
What is 3D Printing?
By Tim Slavin / Concepts / February 2015 Issue of Kids, Code and Computer Science (a print & online magazine)
PART ONE - Defining 3D Printing and Explaining How It Is Used
This article provides a high level overview of 3D printing. While the technology has been around for twenty five years or so, it was used primarily by engineers to create prototypes. More recently, 3D printing technology has become available to more people at a lower cost to create objects on demand locally.
A Basic Definition of 3D Printing
We all know what printing is so let’s begin with the 3D part of 3D printing. 3D is shorthand for three-dimensional. When you print a page on a printer, there are only two dimensions: the front of the page and the back of the page. Three-dimensional printing adds a third dimension, volume.
3D printing uses a printer to create three-dimensional objects, for example, a cup or Yoda doll or phone case.
3D printing has these qualities:
Objects are created by adding or depositing layers of material, not subtracting or cutting out pieces from a block of material.
Because objects are created by adding layers, the computer file with details about your model must be converted into slices the printer will create layer by layer.
Printing a three-dimensional object can take hours or days to complete, depending on the complexity and size of the object.
Cost is based on materials used, among other factors. In contrast, if you buy a piece of wood then cut out pieces to create your object you pay for the original piece of wood.
How 3D Printing is Used
Today 3D printing is mostly done by business, students, and designers. Home or consumer use of 3D printing is mostly limited to people trying out the technology. However, there’s a lot of value in printing three-dimensional objects for students, designers, and anyone who needs a small object to demonstrate their ideas or create usable objects. Students as young as 10 years old also might use a 3D printer in shop class.
It’s the future uses of this technology which have people excited. For example, replacing the plastic back of your TV remote might involve going to a website, finding the part, then clicking a button to have the part printed locally where you can pick it up. Today you either replace the complete remote control or figure out where to get the replacement part which has been created elsewhere, likely overseas.
More interesting, 3D printing makes it possible to experiment with fashion and other parts of our lives we take for granted. It might be possible to create medical implants, for example, using tissue from the patient.
It’s also possible 3D printing will be used as part of a larger manufacturing process, for example, to create cars. In addition to a new set of cars offered every year by automakers, 3D printing might make it easy to buy a 1967 Mustang with the latest engine, safety, and other technologies from your local car dealer.
The same dynamic applies to shoes and frames for glasses, for example, where older designs unavailable today might be available for 3D printing at home or nearby at a print shop.
In addition, there is at least one group that provides students a way to use their school 3D printers to create prosthetic parts for medical use. Students get hands on experience creating something other than a phone case while helping others.
(Next Week: Part Two - A Simple Explanation of the Printing Process and the Material Used)
Band Info
Counseling News
Be Amazing! Collect Change and Save Lives!
Pennies for Patients is a three-week program for Elementary and Middle Schools where students collect change and raise funds online while learning about service and philanthropy. GCIS will be joining the cause in the next few weeks along with GCMS. We are teaming up to fight blood cancers.
Since 1994, millions of dollars have been raised in pennies and other spare change by more than 10 million elementary, middle and high school students throughout the country. The funds, collected during a three-week period, benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Everyone who participates is a winner!
LLS is the world’s largest non-profit health organization dedicated to finding cures for blood cancers. Our Student Series’ Pennies for Patients program helps raise money to fund research for therapies that save the lives of blood cancer patients. By participating in Pennies for Patients, teachers will have new opportunities to incorporate service learning and character building into their curriculum.
Students can make a difference in helping save the lives of blood cancer patients!
Learn more at the LLS Iowa Chapter website: https://www.lls.org/iowa.
Nurse News!
This Valentine’s Day, give something for the heart. Sharing a heart healthy gift is a great way to let the people in your life know you care. Instead of offering an over-sized piece of cake or a box of sweets, give something that takes care of the heart. Plan a family meal together including heart healthy recipes or plan a family day including fun outdoor activities. More information can be found on the USDA Choose My Plate website. www.choosemyplate.gov