Third Grade Project Roundup
Projects from the 2016-2017 Academic Year
Third Grade Projects
Every year at Holy Trinity Montessori, each Third Grade friend is responsible for completing a major project which focuses on charitable actions or community-building efforts. These "Third Grade Projects" involve planning, budgeting and money management, communication, coordination, and other academic skills; more importantly, they give our students the opportunity to think critically, develop social skills, take responsibility for their decisions, and experience the fruits of their efforts.
In case you missed them, we wanted to feature each student and his or her project to give you a glimpse of their hard work this year. Enjoy!
Aubrey's Art Gallery and Sale
Aubrey wanted to put on an art show for her community. She knew there were a lot of artists at her school and in the surrounding Bellevue area, so she stopped by different galleries and stores to ask for local art, sculptures, photographs, and jewelry. She was able to get several pieces for display as well as multiple items which were donated for auction! She then went to every classroom and asked one artist from each classroom at HTM to prepare a piece of art for the show. As she worked out the details, she decided to have a treat for each classroom that toured the gallery, refreshments for the after school showing, and an interactive art project for each class to create and enjoy. She had an amazing turnout from the HTM community and was very pleased with the results of her day. We are so proud of her and her work! Thank you Aubrey!
Ava's Dance Party
Ava wanted to plan a party to celebrate the end of a great year at HTM. She organized every part of it, from the music playlist to the treats. First, she spoke to a DJ on the phone to arrange the music. After realizing it wasn’t in her budget, she decided to come up with her own playlist and use the HTM speaker system. After she created her menu, Ava arranged for the Lower Elementary class to make some of the decorations, help bake the pumpkin cookies, and mix the lemonade. She also spoke to each classroom teacher and came up with a schedule so that each class could visit and enjoy the dance party. The students also enjoyed the photo booth and the limbo competition that Ava provided for the community. It was a great way to end the year! A big thank you to Ava for planning this amazing event!
Caroline's Book Fair
Caroline hosted a Scholastic Book Fair just before the Christmas holiday. She began by having a conversation with a consultant at Scholastic to organize the dates and details of the fair. Once the details were smoothed out she made posters, a flyer, and advertised the fair to the community in an e-mail. To get more people involved, Caroline also hosted a Christmas party and invited everyone to come and check out the fair, enjoy cookies and hot chocolate and make crafts. This experience was invaluable because Caroline learned how to make change, interact with her customers, and organize a great event. The book fair was a great success and Caroline earned $1,208 in Scholastic bucks to put towards books for our school library! Well done Caroline!
Corbin's Car Wash
Corbin wanted to provide a Car Wash for his community, and he knew that his fellow Lower Elementary students would be happy to get wet and help. During the planning stages, he figured out how many cars could be washed at one time and the number of hoses, buckets, sponges, and other supplies that he would need. He organized the groups of students, figured out the best times for people to sign up, and wrote emails informing his community of the plan. During car line, Corbin advertised and signed people up so that he could fit in as many customers as possible. He decided not to charge anything for washing the cars but accepted donations for HTM. As the cars drove up, Corbin had some great summer music playing for all the car-washers, and everyone had such a great time, rinsing, washing, scrubbing, and dancing! As a community, we were able to wash over 30 cars. Corbin did such an amazing job planning this event, and we are so proud of him and his hard work.
Daniel Nouwen's Star Party
For his 3rd Grade Project, Daniel Nouwen hosted a Star party! He invited the whole HTM community to join him at Edwin Warner Park to view the stars and planets through high-powered telescopes. A local organization called BSAS (Bernard-Seyfert Astronomical Society) hosts events around town and they were happy to welcome HTM to the viewing. Between the clouds, the community was able to view the moon and planets. There were several viewing stations set up with telescopes and some HTM community members also brought telescopes from home. Daniel Nouwen warmed up everyone with hot chocolate and snacks. Before the event, Daniel Nouwen educated the class about space terminology with a word search. A fun time was had by all and Daniel Nouwen took great pride in completing his project!
Ellie's Field Trip to Green Door Gourmet
Ellie wanted to share her love of the outdoors and her interest in gardening by taking the Lower Elementary class on a field trip to Green Door Gourmet. During the planning stage of her project, Ellie went to Green Door Gourmet and met with the coordinator who discussed the program options and gave her more information about what the field trip would be like. She composed an e-mail to the families, handed out field trip permission slips, organized the groups and took the class on a day long adventure! During their time there, the class took a hike, prepared kale chips and got to tour the green houses. A great time was had by the entire class and the adults who chaperoned! Thank you Ellie!
Luke's "Fun Day"
Luke hosted an HTM Fun Day! Prior to the event, Luke brainstormed ideas and decided to create an obstacle course, hold an all-school bike ride, and offer snacks to enjoy. Luke took pride in coordinating this event and took responsibility for advertising and preparing the community for the day. On the big day, the weather was perfect. Everyone got outside, rode bikes, and played the games that Luke coordinated. The children even got to enjoy a popsicle during the break! Another aspect that Luke was very excited to incorporate into the day was an all-community picnic in the courtyard. It was our first time doing this on the new campus and it was a memorable and special moment for our community. It was a very “fun day" indeed! Thanks for working hard to make it happen, Luke!
Maya's Letter Box Project
For her third grade project, Maya decided to incorporate one of her personal interests: Letter Boxing. Not only did Maya take the Lower Elementary community on a Letter Boxing hunt during a field trip to Bowie Nature Park, but she also had six separate groups create and hide letter boxes around campus. Although these will not be made public, they will be used by the HTM community for years to come. Maya also took time to inform the community about Letter Boxing and shared her passion with her peers. As part of her project, Maya created a binder (to stay at HTM) which lists the clues for each letter box location around campus. She took time to type the student-made descriptions and place them in a nice format to be used in the future. Maya seemed to enjoy sharing this interest with the Lower Elementary community and did a great job leading each group through the process. Well done, Maya!
Mia's Fall Fest
Mia wanted to bring her community together for a cause - helping the food pantry at St. Phillips. She organized a food drive so that all of the HTM students and their families could have the opportunity to give. Because of the amazing generosity of our HTM community, Mia was able to collect and deliver a huge amount of food to the pantry. To thank everyone at HTM for their contributions and support, Mia threw a Fall Festival for everyone to enjoy which included cider and brownies, a bouncy house, craft tables, and more! We are so proud of her and of all her hard work! Great job, Mia!
Seamus' Field Trip to Fort Negley
Seamus has a passion for history and loves to share it! His plan for his 3rd grade project always included an element showcasing Tennessee history as well as a way to encourage his fellow classmates to develop an interest in history. First, Seamus called Fort Negley to plan a field trip for the Lower Elementary class. To his surprise, he found out the Fort Negley staff were holding a special reenactment on the day of the field trip! Not only were the students able to tour the historic fort, but they were able to talk to different actors and historians about the Civil War, what life was like at the fort, and what battles were fought in the city. We were also able to see a rifle demonstration at the army camp. Before the trip, we had a tasty lunch provided by Gabby’s Burgers (the restaurant owned by Seamus' family). We are so proud of Seamus for following his passion and planning this entire trip for us! Thank you Seamus!
Holy Trinity Montessori
Email: office@holytrinitymontessori.org
Website: holytrinitymontessori.org
Location: 8131 Old Harding Road, Nashville, TN 37221
Phone: (615) 779-6309
Facebook: facebook.com/holytrinitymontessori