Spotlight on Specials
September/October Edition
Meet Mrs. Thomas
The Counselor's Corner
As a school Counselor, I support student’s social, emotional, and academic needs. My primary role includes:
• Individual, group, and classroom guidance
• Promoting character education
• Collaborating with staff & community resources
• Ensuring your child has a wonderful year that is full of support, encouragement, & motivation.
Meet Mrs. McIntosh
Notes From Music
Bucket Drumming club has been invited to go play with Bandys High School marching band October 12th! More information to come soon.
Dates to Know:
-October 23rd Halloween Concert 3rd Grade
-December 4th Christmas Concert 1st grade and 5th grade
-March 19th Color Concert Kinder and TBD
Meet Ms. Helms
From The Computer Lab
K-2 students will begin the year by learning about computer parts, building their technology vocabulary, learning how to navigate Google Chrome and other Google applications, and focusing on keyboarding and trackpad skills.
Third graders are learning to use all of the tools within Google Docs as we write friendly letters to share with our teachers, and will also complete a unit on Internet Safety.
Students in grades 4-6 will start the year with a unit on Digital Citizenship where we will focus on being safe and responsible online. Students who joined our "Friday Coding Club" are creating interactive stories using SCRATCH code.
Meet Mr. Weaver
This is my 12th year teaching students in physical education. I have a wife, Erin, who is a fifth grade teacher at Balls Creek. My son, Jackson, is a first grade student in Mrs. Long’s classroom. I also have a two year old son named Lincoln. I was named the NC Elementary Physical Education Teacher of the Year in 2015, the Dr. Bob Blackburn Jump Rope for Heart Coordinator of the Year in 2017, and I recently received the 2018 Puckett-Merriman Award. I am an active member of the US GAMES Presenters Network and I am an OPEN (Online Physical Education Network) Trainer. I have the amazing opportunity of traveling the country sharing my passion for things PE at various Health and Physical Education conferences and workshops. I am looking forward to another great year in PE with all of our amazing students at Balls Creek!
What is your child doing in PE?
During the month of September and October our K-1 students will be learning how to move in general space using a variety of locomotor skills. They will be exploring with equipment such as scarves, hula hoops, beanbags, etc. Students will use the mini parachutes as they learn how to work cooperatively with each other. They will learn about nutrition and be able to recognize the difference between healthy and unhealthy foods. The students will also begin to work on the manipulative skill of throwing (underhand).
Our students in grades 2-3 will also be learning how to move in general space using a variety of locomotor skills. Students will learn about fitness and its importance for a healthy lifestyle. They will be working on their communication skills as they participate in a variety of cooperative activities. The students will be working on the manipulative skill of catching. They will be learning to catch a self tossed ball/object and also one tossed at them from a partner. Students will also use the small parachutes in cooperative groups.
Students in grades 4-6 will participate in several cooperative and team building activities. They will begin to learn about the five components of physical fitness. Students will learn and use the manipulative skill of throwing in a variety of small-sided games. They will work on passing and receiving and other offensive skills in a variety of invasion games. They will be learning how to create open space with offensive tactics and how to reduce open space by changing size and shape.
Take Your Parent to PE Week
More Information
Upcoming Dates…
- Monday, October 8 - Thursday, October 11 - Take Your Parent to PE Week
- Friday, October 12th - Fall Blood Drive from 2:00-7:00 in the gym. Click on the link to sign up for a time to donate.. www.redcross.org/blood
Are you interested in volunteering in PE?
Would you like to volunteer in the physical education classroom? I am always looking for volunteers who can help out during certain times of the year. If you are interested in volunteering, please complete this form: http://bit.ly/BCPEvolunteer
Find us on Facebook…
Balls Creek Physical Education Department
Meet Mrs. Akers
Book Notes from the Library
Book Fair Dates
The Book Fair will be open to students September 17-21. All classes will have assigned times to go shopping.
Tuesday, September 18th - Loved Ones Lunch
Meet your loved ones for lunch in the library and shop the book fair! Enjoy dessert on Ms. Akers!
We encourage parents to join us for Family Night from 2:30-6:00pm.
Meet Mrs. Eddings
What We're Doing In The Lab...
Kindergarten - introducing how the STEAM lab works, learning the parts of a book and building houses for the characters in a book, learning about shapes and equal weight, programming robots to draw shapes, programming robots to follow a corn maze
1st Grade - reviewing STEAM lab rules with an apple pulling challenge, learning about balance, motion, and gravity
2nd grade - reviewing STEAM lab rules by building a flyer, learning about nocturnal animals and sound with designing and programming different instruments
3rd grade - reviewing STEAM lab rules by working on a collaborative challenge, building and designing maps and landforms, as well as beginning a unit on solar system engineering challenges.
4th grade - reviewing STEAM lab rules by rescuing Chewy, and building solutions for animal adaptation problems
5th grade - reviewing STEAM lab rules by designing machines to move goods, and designing solutions for ecosystem dilemmas.
6th grade - reviewing STEAM lab rules by designing and testing trebuchets, completing experiments and design challenges that pertain to waves, matter and energy.
Meet Mrs. Van Eseltine
News From the Art Room
Specialty Area Wish List
Donations of the following items to our specialty area classes are greatly appreciated!
Mrs. Eddings / STEAM Lab
- tissues
- wipes
- empty toilet paper rolls
- empty bottles
- duct tape
- masking tape
- plastic bags
Mrs. McIntosh / Music
- Tissues
- 5 gallon buckets (for our bucket drumming clubs)
Ms. Helms / Computer Skills
- Clorox Wipes
Mrs. Van Eseltine / Art
- Tissues
- Yarn (any color or kind)
- Ziplock bags (any size)
- Baby wipes
- Cleaning sponges
- Flower vases
- Silk flowers