Celebrations @ Sierra
Sierra Middle School Community Update — December 2014
Sierra Gives Back to Community
Sierra students and staff are giving back to the community in a variety of ways, leading to a rich experience and a focus on global citizenship and ethics.
- National Junior Honor Society students organized the Penny Harvest, a national effort to collect money and award grants to deserving organizations. Sierra students collected $1,228.13, exceeding the school goal. Students, through their advisement classes, identified needs in the community they wanted to help. In January, NJHS students will begin researching organizations that address those needs and award grants.
- Student Council sponsored Sierra's annual food drive to benefit the Parker Task Force. Students and staff contributed close to two thousand items of food. As part of the food drive, Team Wolf Creek continued a long tradition to encourage participation. Students used cans to vote for the teacher they'd most like to see wear a turkey costume. Math teacher Laurie Machado won the privilege.
Team Snowmass Readies for Bazaar
Team Snowmass will host their annual holiday craft bazaar on Dec. 12 in the cafeteria. Students have been preparing their goods and advertisements for the event, which raises money for local and global charities.
Watch it on SchoolTube
Student videos created in Multimedia are posted on Sierra's SchoolTube Channel. The site is updated with new movies every couple of weeks.
World Cultures, French students connect with kids around the world
Students in Dori Vittetoe's classes have taken their learning outside of the classroom by writing to students in other countries. Her World Cultures students started by e-mailing students in Cambodia who are learning English. Vittetoe connected with these students through a former Sierra Spanish teacher who is currently teaching overseas. In addition, Vittetoe's French students are using ePals to write to students in France. "Students are very excited and motivated to use their language skills to learn about how kids in the rest of the world live," Vittetoe said. "This definitely offers them an authentic learning experience they will remember forever."
Digital Design Nature Photo Contest
Congratulations to Tori McNeece who won the Digital Design Nature Photo Contest. Sierra students selected Tori's from among top photos taken for the 3rd assignment of the semester.
Sierra Journalism Takes Honors
Sierra journalism students traveled to Washington, D.C. last month for a national conference for middle and high school journalists. In addition to seeing many sites such as the Newseum, national monuments, and the Capitol, they brought home the following honors: 1st place Best in Show for the year 2013-2014 yearbook and 2nd place for Picture of the Year.
Sierra library offers eBooks
Sierra and the Douglas County School District Library Media Center are offering eBooks. Students can borrow eBooks just as they would borrow printed materials from their school library. All patrons need is the Overdrive app, which is available for most devices including iPhones, iPads, Android phones, Kindles and Nooks. For more information, click here.