By Amore du Toit
The Grade 5 Science Fair Club had their first meeting in the computer room on Thursday, Nov. 25. The students will be busily working on their science fair projects from now until mid-February.
On Feb. 18, the Grade 5 Stettler Elementary School Science Fair will showcase these projects. The top eight projects will be chosen to go on to further competition at the Central Alberta Regional Science Fair at the Bower Place Mall in Red Deer, on March 25 and 26. Our Grade-5 students are excited about this opportunity to participate in these competitions.
Rachelle van Ringen’s Grade 3 students are busy creating and building instruments as part of their science sound and hearing project. These activities really help science come alive.
Kindergarten students were very disappointed this week when their fieldtrip to the fire station got cancelled due to the very cold weather. Yet we hope to visit the fire hall later in the academic year.
Despite the frigid weather Stefan Olafson’s class pet continues to keep students’ imaginations warm and active.
What is about 25 cm. tall, has white beard, red hat, green pants and is cute as a button. If you guessed the class pet for Mr. Olafson’s class, you would be correct. Our pet gnome called Squirt has had a great time in Grade 5. Previously he just sat in a garden all day long, but this year he has been having adventure after adventure. He has been a regular fixture at students’ birthday parties, shopping trips, movie nights, the mountains, sleep overs and hockey games. He has been the perfect pet and the students love to take him home. If you see a Grade-5 student with a garden gnome, more than likely they are from Mr. Olafson’s class. Feel free to stop and talk as Squirt is always eager to share his adventures. We will keep you posted.
Squirt is very excited with Christmas coming up and he is looking forward to the concerts and a possible trip to somewhere warm.
Students are continually drawing pictures of Squirt and have created an art wall regarding Squirt’s adventures. On Monday, Nov. 22, Nancy Nielsen’s and Mavis Smith’s Grade 4 classes were treated to a presentation on the importance of recycling and composting. Mary Curtis, from Red Deer Waste Management, reviewed how to use our recycling bins properly by discussing what items can and cannot go into the curbside bins. She also presented the do’s and don’ts of composting. The students would like to thank Mary for coming all the way from Red Deer in this cold weather.
Students continue to perform their weekly recycling chores. Kim Thorne and Denyse Boyd’s kindergarten classes enjoyed special space-related crafts and activities during the month of November. The three-day kindergarten classes just finished a smart learning sequence on the story “The Gruffalo”. Although students did feel a bit cooped up last week with cold weather, our fabulous music teachers Bev Lynes and Tricia Kirby kept students’ hearts and voices warm with lovely Christmas songs.
All students are doing a great job at preparing for their Christmas concerts. Christmas concert tickets will be sent home with your child on Monday, Nov. 29. Remember that our great home and school council will be hosting a bake sale at each of the evening concerts again this year.
We look forward to a wonderful few school weeks in December before Christmas holidays.