Cerebrum, Cerebellum, Medulla, OH MY!

Shaping Minds (literally!) in Science Class

The girls used clay to model the three main parts of the brain.

Ask your daughters about the role each part plays in our daily actions, decision making, and bodily functions.

Those are some quality cerebrums!

Look at that medulla shine!

What a beautiful cerebellum!

Brain power! 

Science: Learning about the Human Body

The girls have been studying the systems of the human body, and we have talked about each and the ways that it integrates with the others. It has been an exciting and challenging time since there are many new terms and concepts to grasp.  As we learned about the skeletal system, the girls had the opportunity to look at and determine the various parts of a beef bone.

Likewise, after learning about the muscles, ligaments, tendons, and cartilage, it was interesting to dissect a chicken leg to see those parts and how they operate.

Once they had seen some actual body parts (even though they were from animals) the girls were ready to put their engineering skills into practice. They were challenged to design a working model of a human arm. They collected some ideas from various Internet sites then each team designed an arm, built a prototype, and altered the design as needed to produce their working model.

Here are some examples of the products our engineers built!

Award Season

Roll out the red carpet!

No, I am not talking about the Golden Globes, SAG Awards, Grammys, or the Oscars.  In the world of children's literature it is Newbery Award season.

As stated by the Association of Library Service to Children, "The Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the American Library Association for the most distinguished American children's book published the previous year."

The award was named for the eighteenth-century English bookseller John Newbery.   

And the winner is...

This year's winner is titled Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena

                                             

We will not be reading this book in class, but encourage the girls to check it out! 

Guest of Honor

The Fifth Grade Annual Newbery Luncheon is almost here!  All parents should have received a packet of preliminary information regarding this fabulous affair.  

(Photo courtesy of The Guardian)

Our speaker this year is Laura Amy Schlitz.  She is a Newbery Award winner (wow!) and a Newbery Honor winner.  She has a long list of other literary awards.  

Please reference the packet that was sent home for her complete list of accolades.  

Coming to a classroom near you!

Leading up to the big day, the girls will be reading one of two books written by Ms. Schlitz.  The excitement up the hill is palpable and we cannot wait to get started!