Last Wednesday, we had a school wide Martenitsa celebration led by Mr. Freeman and Mr. Zaragoza. In Bulgarian tradition, we made red and white martenitsa bracelets in the hopes that we would soon see signs of Spring. The tradition continues that when you do see a sign of Spring, the bracelet should be removed and tied to the plant, flower, tree, etc. showing new growth. I’m happy to say that many of us saw new buds and blooms around campus last Friday and found a place to tie our bracelets. If you are on Facebook, you will see some pictures of our class making bracelets on the Prairie Crossing page.
Our field trip to the Botanic Gardens was a success! During the photosynthesis lab, we took a sample of stomata from the underside of a leaf and examined them under a microscope. We also used probes to measure oxygen and carbon dioxide levels during photosynthesis. Our class particularly enjoyed the tropical, sub-tropical, and arid greenhouses and the many varieties of plants growing there. Thank you to Mrs. Halverson for chaperoning our trip!
If you have not yet booked a conference time for next Thursday, March 9th, please use this link to do so https://sneil.youcanbook.me/ These conferences are student led, and we will run four conferences in our room simultaneously. The students are currently working on an electronic portfolio to share with you on Thursday afternoon. If you feel you need additional time to talk, I do have some time on Friday afternoon to meet with a few families. Please let me know if you would like to set something up.
During Earth Week in April, we are going to be constructing some model homes from household items such as tissue boxes, shoe boxes, cardboard cylinders, etc. If you would like to contribute to this project, we are happy to collect your unwanted materials. Please send your donations – no glass, please – to school with your student. Thanks!