Ewwww......!! Oobleck!!

1DS experimented recently with a substance called 'oobleck'.  Our inquiry question:  "Is this substance a solor or a liquid?"  We had a lot of fun trying to figure it out because oobleck seems to have properties of both!  

The Science Behind It:

Cornstarch is made up of long chains of atoms.  When you move them slowly past one another, they flow like a liquid because they can slide easily past each other.  When you squeeze, roll, or agitate them, the “atom chains” will get entangled and form a solid!  Substances like oobleck are referred to as “non-Newtonian fluids” because they do not have the normal properties of either solids or liquids.

Save the Date!

On June 8 from 9-9:40, 1DS will have our final publishing party and portfolio share.  A paper copy invitation will be coming home next week :)  Hope to see you there!

Upcoming Dates to Remember

TAISM Elementary Parent Coffee

May 29th @ 8:45 in the ES Cafeteria

Topic: Celebrating the Year and Opportunities for Parents to Volunteer: A Dialogue

Volunteer Appreciation Brunch

May 31st @ 8:45 AM

Last Day of School

June 9 - Noon Dismissal

Spring Spirit Days!

Elementary Spring Spirit Days 

Students and staff are invited to dress up on the following days to show their school spirit.  

• Thursday - May 26 - School Spirit Day - Dress in the TAISM school colors or wear any of your TAISM Spirit shirts, like Terry Fox, Musicals, etc. 
• Thursday - June 2 - Pajama Day - a student favorite
• Sunday - June 5 - Free Dress Day - come in your favorite school-appropriate attire.

*These days are still normal school days so students' dress choices should be appropriate for school and not a distraction from their learning. 

Thank You Parents!!

A huge, heartfelt thank you for all of the wonderful surprises and gifts during this wonderful Teacher Appreciation Week.  Ghada and I couldn't be more grateful to all of you for taking the time to think of us!  Much love, Ms Denise and Ms Ghada

K-2 Music Concert

On Tuesday, May 10 @ 2:30 Grades K-2 will delight all with their final Music Concert of the year.  Please come to the Bosch Center to enjoy this performance. 

Students are encouraged to come to school that day dressed in special, more formal clothes :)

Upcoming Events at TAISM

Hello 1DS familes! 

Here are just a few reminders about upcoming events happening here at TAISM :)

Book Orders are coming home!

The High School Musical is this weekend

TAISM ES/MS Math Parent Night

TAISM parents are invited to attend an informational and interactive evening with visiting consultant, Erma Anderson

Monday, April 18th at 7:00 p.m.

Location: MS Learning Commons

Let me know if you have any questions

Thank you!

Honoring and Celebrating Diversity

This week Mr. Everett shared a very special lesson and story about celebrating the amazing diversity we have here at TAISM and indeed, in our lives as a whole.  Two little girls were best friends and had lunch with each other every day.  Both were a bit put off however by the lunch of the other.  One brought a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  The other, hummus and pita.  The story ends with a resolution that honors both.  Old man puppet showed up to allow the students a chance to convince him too of the importance of widening our circle of friends to include those that are different from us.

St. Patrick's Day

We had a special guest in our classroom this week!  Aela's mom, Siofra stopped by with a snack, read us a story about Irish legends, taught us a jig and provided all the materials to create a red-bearded leprechaun.  What a wonderful treat!  Thank you :)

Book Week

This year's Book Week had so many exciting activities!  One of our top picks was dressing up as our favorite book character.

Weather!

Funny thing, our latest inquiry unit :)  We are learning all about weather!  We began by discussing the types of weather associated with the various seasons and found throughout the different regions of the world.  Then, we investigated the 4 major kinds of cloud formations and recreated these using cotton balls on paper. Two class books are in the works in which we practice our opinion writing skills by providing the reasons behind our favorite seasons and weather types.  I feel pretty certain that the children had a chance to look up at the sky lately and wonder, "Is that a stratus, nimbus, cumulus or cirrus cloud?"

Nonfiction Publishing Party

Please enjoy pictures from our publishing party on Tuesday!  Big smiles of pride are evident as students shared their nonfiction writing books.