Bledsoe Creek State Park

Tuesday we headed to the park and got to get in the creek! 

 

 

The kids were super excited to dive right in and look for critters!

 

We learned all about frogs and toads from a guest speaker and although we didn't see any, we got to listen to recordings of the different frog and toad calls.

 

So, what did they find?

Lots of crawdads....crayfish...mud bugs... or whatever you like to call them!

 

It's safe to say that we all had a blast and enjoyed every second of the beautiful day!

 

Next week we will be hiking, so make sure you are dressed appropriately!

What we have been up to...

Last week was a busy week with LOADS of fun!!!

 

We played Volleyball and Kickball for Rec.

 

We went to Bledsoe Creek State Park and met the park volunteers!  There, we went over safety precautions to use while in the park and some rules and guidelines.  After that, we went on a short hike and out on the dock for a look around the water.  We saw turtles, birds, fish, and turkeys, and lots of other wildlife.  We are SUPER excited to get to the park tomorrow because we are going to GET IN THE CREEK!!!!

 

One of our groups made pancakes and eggs last week and also did an experiment with milk.  They had a great time and left with full tummies! 

 

So what's with all the shoe pictures, one might ask.  Or maybe you didn't even realize that the pictures you are seeing used to be shoes...

 

While one group was cooking a yummy breakfast, the other group was hard at work creating shoes sculptures!  They did a great job and some of our shoes are very interesting and practically unrecognizable as a shoe!

 

 

We are looking forward to more fun this week!  On tap we have another trip to Bledsoe - please remember to bring shoes you can wear in the creek!  (No flip-flops - they need to be lace up or Velcro to keep your tootsies safe in the water!)  Students will also be logging on to roblox.com to work on some engineering skills,  playing kickball again - their favorite, and one group will be making duct tape wallets while the other makes fizz inflators and balloon racers!  It's going to be another great week!

We are heading to the park...

Just a reminder that we are headed on our first field trip of the year today!  Please note that we will not be returning to school until close to 6:00.  To avoid excessive waiting, I would not come any earlier than 5:50 to pick up my student.  Late fees will still apply for late pick up after 6:00.

Mentos Experiment

Today in science our students did some experimenting.  Have you ever heard that Mentos will make a coke spew?  Well, we put it to the test using a variety of sodas and both fruit and mint flavored Mentos.

 

The students started by making a hypothesis.

 

 

Then, they got the experiment set up.

 

Check out the results:

 

 



One group went off a little early, but they were all successful!

 



 

The majority of students thought Root Beer would do the best, but they were wrong!  So, if you decide to try this one at home, we now know you'll need a 2 liter of Diet Coke and a pack of mint flavored Mentos.

 

Students discussed surface tension and the reaction with the ingredient gum arabic.  Scientists still haven't decided exactly what causes the reaction, and neither have our students, but they discussed several possibilities.

 

 

 

 

***PARENTS:***

 

Progress reports came home today!  Please look them over and discuss them with your student.

 

There is no school for students on Monday or Tuesday.  Tuesday is set aside for parent teacher conferences - you should have already been contacted with an appointment time if one is needed.

 

  We'll see everyone on Wednesday!  (6th graders, don't forget your social studies assignment that is due Wednesday.)

 

Have a great weekend!

Another great week underway!

We are in the midst of another great week in Unity.  Thanks to all of you who pitched in to recruit new students!  Our numbers are great!  In fact, we are nearly bursting at the seams... and that's a good thing!

 

 

Here are many of our students working on a Unity banner for the hallway!  We have many talented artists in our bunch!

 

 

More action shots of our creativity flowing!

Today was rec and we lucked out with a football game!

 



 

White House came out to scrimmage on the practice field with West.  Several students were interested in the game, so we walked across the street and enjoyed watching for a little while.

 



 

Eventually we all got too hot, but for a little while we enjoyed the fresh air and fun watching our team!

 

Parents, please make note that although progress reports were supposed to come home today, it didn't quite happen.  You can expect them tomorrow.  Please look them over and discuss your students grades with them.  If you notice an area of concern and need my help, please let me know!

 

We had a great Wednesday and I can't wait to see everyone tomorrow to end our Unity week with another great day!

Bledsoe Creek, Here We Come!

Dear Parents,

We have been presented with an exciting opportunity yet again!  Bledsoe Creek State Park has extended an invitation for us to participate in the Junior Ranger Program!  For students that participated last year, don’t worry, they have a whole new program for this fall!  This is an opportunity for our students to travel to Bledsoe Creek State Park one day a week (every Tuesday) to learn from the park rangers and volunteers!  Last year we had a blast hiking, fishing, and wading in the creek.  I can hardly wait to see what they have in store for us this year!  The trip will take place every Tuesday from September 9 – October 30.  We will leave school around 3:30 and return at 6:00.  If you have a serious conflict with our plans, please see me as soon as possible so that we might make arrangements for your child if possible.  I will be posting a permission slip at the sign out table soon, so please be watching for that. 

 

Also, please scroll down to see posts from last year!  There are several from Bledsoe Creek State Park and our adventures with them back in the Spring!

 

Have a great Wednesday!

 

Meagan Hooper

Week 2 update...

Just wanted to pop in to update the blog!  My goal is to update at least once a week - wish me luck!

Unity is going great so far.  The kids are wonderful and we have had a great time getting to know each other and settling in.  Here are a few reminders for you:

Parent Orientation is mandatory and for those of you that did not attend today, you must attend Thursday at 5:45.  This orientation will be brief (15 minutes or so) and go over some important information to help you and your student get the most out of the Unity program!

We are recruiting!  Help us spread the word about Unity.  We want our enrollment to soar.  The first two students to refer a friend that completes the application and begins regular attendance will win their very own pizza!  Plus, if we can increase our enrollment and regular attendance we will gain staff members to help diversify our program and increase the number of activities we are able to offer.

Last, but not least, please remember to check the mailbox by the sign out sheet for announcements and handouts! 

Hope everyone is off to a great start this school year.  I am very excited about the direction we are headed!

It's a new year!!!

We are getting ready to start a new year!  It is important that everyone know that Unity is available to all students!  This is a safe, fun, and free/affordable place for your kids to be after school!  To join, fill out an application and submit it to the front office staff with your $10 application fee (check made out to PWMS Unity).  See the link in the right hand sidebar to print an application or pick one up at the front office any time.  There is no waiting list for our program and we are looking for students to join!  Feel free to contact me with questions!

 

Meagan Hooper

PWMS UNITY

Site Manager

Meagan.hooper@sumnerschools.org

Bledsoe Creek State Park...

 

We had a great time at the park again this week!  We took a hike along the shoreline and learned the basics of hiking and how to safely explore!

 



 

In addition to learning about hiking, we identified several types of plants and animals.

I have honestly never seen a group of kids so excited to see (and hold) an earthworm! 

 



 

You would have thought they found gold under those rocks and logs!

The highlight had to be when they found a salamander and everyone got a good look at him before he scurried away! 

 

We are so looking forward to next weeks trip when we'll be fishing!!!

Our Alex...

Alex, PWMS Unity Assistant, is so creative and fun.  We can't even express how blessed we feel to have her at West!  She is an asset to our program and has been with us for almost 2 years.  One of her latest creative designs is our door decoration!  Don't you like it?  Thank you Alex for all the great things you do for our students and staff!  You rock!



Announcements:
We have found a bus driver, so our trips to Bledsoe Creek State Park will resume on Tuesday!  This Tuesday we should be hiking, so bring some shoes that will lace up and be comfortable for a hike!  Parents:  We should be leaving around 3:20 and get back around 5:40.  If you have needs that this schedule will not accommodate, please contact me to see if we can work something out.  I have already spoken with some of you who have students that go to sporting events, etc.

We are need of a few items!  I would love to get some donations of hand sanitizer, Band-Aids, or candy for rewards.  I will, of course, purchase these items from the Unity account if they are not donated.  However, I like to save on the budget in any way we can, so please help us out if you are able!

SPOTLIGHT on Anthony...

Meet Anthony.

Anthony is new to our program this year and we have enjoyed getting to know him so much!

 

Yesterday, Anthony's mom was so excited to show us a book she had just purchased.  She was excited because it was a book that contained a piece of art that Anthony had submitted!

That's right folks, our Anthony is now a published artist!

Check it out...

His is the painting with the red background!  Isn't that neat!

 

We are so proud of you Anthony!  We are lucky to have you in Unity!

Junior Rangers

Yesterday we had the opportunity to begin the Junior Ranger program at Bledsoe Creek State Park.  We are so excited to have this opportunity.  After a series of visits to the park as a group being led by a ranger on a variety of activities, our students will be sworn in as official Tennessee State Park Junior Rangers! 

 

Anyone can become a Junior Ranger.  For more information on how to complete the Junior Ranger program, click here!

 

PARENTS:  Please note the following time change:  The trek from Portland down to the park (in Gallatin) took a little longer in traffic than I originally calculated.  Therefore, we will be leaving school closer to 3:20 and returning between 5:30/40.  Thank you for understanding this adjustment.

Just a few photos...

Don't have a lot of time today, but I wanted to post a few pictures!

 

 

 

I had students put some of our favorite quotes on posters to put up in the chill out room.  Here are a few that I thought were really great!

Here are a couple of pictures of the kids making elephant toothpaste and doing some other experiments with yeast:

 



A visit from Miss Chattanooga!

Yesterday we had a guest speaker join us!  It was Miss Chattanooga herself, Jaclyn Torrento.  She was everything we had hoped for and more!  A senior at Belmont University and a Robertson County native, believe it or not, she competed in the Miss Chattanooga pageant to win the title that will allow her to compete in the Miss Tennessee pageant this summer.  

 

We didn't talk wardrobe and makeup while she was here.  It was community service that was the discussion and activity!  Her self-developed platform is "Hands to Larger Service" and as she walked our students through exactly what that meant, she helped them brainstorm ways to serve right here in Portland!  At the conclusion, our students were motivated to serve in our community and beyond and were loaded with community service project ideas!

 

Miss Chattanooga wasn't satisfied with just talking service.  Before she left, students made cards to be delivered to a nursing home.  Above you see Miss Torrento and the students that were remaining at the end of our day with some of their cards.  What a treat it was to have her come and speak!

 

To learn more about our speaker and her platform, visit:

www.handstolargerservice.com

SPOTLIGHT on Samantha

Better late than never!  I am finally posting our featured student art work!  I have had some technical difficulty with my computer and still can't get my images to turn the right direction.  Between the computer glitch and the snow days, I am just now getting this post up!

 

I first got to know Samantha last year and have admired her artwork since the first time I saw her drawing.  To say she is talented is an understatement!  She is an artist, musician, and all-around great gal!  We are so happy that she continues to be a part of our Unity program!

 

You can see for yourself what a great artist she is!



 

I saved my favorite picture for last!  My sister is a horse lover and used to draw horses.  The first time I saw Sam drawing a horse, I couldn't help but smile to myself.  So, of course, my personal favorite is...

 

...this horse!

 

Sam, thank you so much for sharing your talent with us!  You are a bright spot in my afternoon and I am so thankful that you are in the Unity program at West!

First Aid with Mrs. Crousser



Today was an exciting day at Unity!  Mrs. Crousser came over from the high school with some of her HOSA students to teach us some basic first aid!

 

We watched a short video on first aid, and then the real fun started!  Some of the HOSA volunteers acted out first aid scenarios to see if our Unity students could come to the rescue!  They did great!

Here, Derick treats one of the high school students for an imaginary case of heat stroke!



Jonathan got to treat a laceration!  He stopped the bleeding and dressed the wound like a champ!

Kassie was presented the challenge of coming to the aid of a choking student!  Mrs. Crousser helped Kassie perform abdominal thrusts to help the choking victim.

We had the best time learning basic first aid and now we are ready to help on the spot when it's needed!

After the presentation, the high school students administered a short first aid quiz.

The class passed with flying colors and proved that they are "smarties" when it comes to first aid.  Their reward?  A smartie from Mrs. Crousser and her crew, of course!

 

Thank you Mrs. Crousser and HOSA for a great afternoon!  We appreciate each of you being so generous with your time!

 

Stay Tuned... tomorrow I'll be featuring one of our students and her amazing art work!

Anti-bullying Presentation

Today we had a special guest...

Miss Sidney from the High School came to share her FCCLA project with us!  Her presentation was all about bullying and how to prevent it!

 She shared so many surprising statistics about bullying in our schools!  We discussed different forms of bullying and warning signs of bullying situations.

 One of the most interesting things we discussed was cyber-bullying!  It is always good to remind students how important it is to be careful when using social media sites and cell phones!

Miss Sidney reminded us all to make sure we think before we speak.  She had us wad up paper hearts and try to flatten them again.  She asked us to get all of the wrinkles out, which was impossible, of course.  This was a visual reminder that although we can say we are sorry, and that helps, we can never completely undo harm that has been caused by hurtful words.

Here are some of our students holding up their wrinkles hearts!

Each of our students were given the opportunity to sign an Anti-Bullying Pledge at the end of the class.

We thank you Miss Sidney for sharing with us today!

Now, we are gearing up for speaker #2 of the week tomorrow!  Miss Crousser will be over from the high school to teach us some basic first aid!