After some intense competition, the "Who's yo Mamas?" took first place with 12 points. The week isn't over yet, though....I expect there will be some real nail-biters in our future! We also took a quick study break to learn about what it meant to be remorseful via YouTube. We would NEVER eat the kitty cat treats! NEVER!
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On the Friday before our spring break, the Hive had the huge pleasure of hosting our friend from "across the pond"....Ben Barton! Ben is one of the creators of Zondle--a digital platform for games that support our learning. Zondle even offers scholars a chance to create games of their own, which is exactly what Ben helped us do! Here's what we did:
1) Brainstormed the topic of our game 2) Drafted questions with one correct answer, as well as incorrect answers 3) Input our questions and answers at Zondle.com 4) PLAY & LEARN! Thank you so much to Ben at Zondle for the unforgettable visit. We'd like to offer you an honorary membership into our Hive Society...come back soon! Today we'll be experiencing the spoken word poem, To This Day, by Shane Koyczan. Not only does it have an amazing message, but it is written with numerous instances of carefully crafted figurative language. In the comment section, note some of the uses of figurative language and the purposes of the word choice. ToThisDayProject.com When I was a kid I used to think that pork chops and karate chops were the same thing I thought they were both pork chops and because my grandmother thought it was cute and because they were my favourite she let me keep doing it not really a big deal one day before I realized fat kids are not designed to climb trees I fell out of a tree and bruised the right side of my body I didn’t want to tell my grandmother about it because I was afraid I’d get in trouble for playing somewhere that I shouldn’t have been a few days later the gym teacher noticed the bruise and I got sent to the principal’s office from there I was sent to another small room with a really nice lady who asked me all kinds of questions about my life at home I saw no reason to lie as far as I was concerned life was pretty good I told her “whenever I’m sad my grandmother gives me karate chops” this led to a full scale investigation and I was removed from the house for three days until they finally decided to ask how I got the bruises news of this silly little story quickly spread through the school and I earned my first nickname pork chop to this day I hate pork chops I’m not the only kid who grew up this way A: SXSWedu, folks! Dearest Scholars, You know how much I love you all, and while I missed each and every one of you, I have to admit that the last few days have been some of the most inspirational and educational days of my life! I know it's hard without your beloved teacher, but check out all of the fabulous things I did while I was gone: Monday: Right after school Ms. Caughey and I made the trek to the Austin Convention Center where we were greeted with smiles and free cheese cubes. We met some amazing people from all over the world who are just as passionate about your bright futures as we are. They create apps and programs, launch initiatives and movements, or even invest in the creative minds that want to put technology into your hands. Tuesday: Ms. Caughey and I got to the conference super-duper early (because there was free coffee and pastries). We had a list of workshops and meet-ups we wanted to attend--here are some of Tuesday's highlights: Learning how to help YOU with your creativity using legos. *free coffee pictured I saw a documentary called "Brooklyn Castle" which was about a low-income school in Brooklyn that has an award-winning chess team. It was phenomenal! Who wants to start a chess team? Ms. Caughey and I found the "Google Lounge" and hung out on some bouncy-balls and beanbag chairs. We talked with a woman about how to use Google Chrome apps to enhance your learning experience. (We also ate free candy....and took more than one piece...even though it said not to) We even met someone who worked for BrainPop and became awesome forever-friends! After spring break, the Hive Society will be skyping with Andrew and creating our own animated BrainPop videos using our literature circle texts. Watch out, Tim & Moby! Phew....what a busy first day. Zzzzzzzzzz was the next thing on our schedule. Wednesday: Wednesday was super exciting, and I became so caught up in the energy that I kinda forgot to take lots of pictures. Sorry, scholars! There are still some awesome moments to share, though: Ms. Caughey and I started off the day in an amazing workshop about hands-on activities to boost creativity. We happened upon seats in the "Splash Zone" which meant that we got to be the guinea pigs for all of the activities. Not to brag or anything, but we were pretty much the coolest people there and we made the audience of over 100 people laugh TWO TIMES. You guys are so lucky to have us :o) After splitting up to go to separate workshops, Ms. Caughey and I reunited for the STEM to STEAM panel. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. When you add the A for Art, it spells STEAM....doesn't that make everything beautifully perfect? We were super inspired by the speakers, and you should be inspired, too: stemtosteam.org Here we are at our final meet-up! We really enjoyed talking with all of the phenomenal personalities we came across. Don't we look cool in our badges? Thursday: It was our final day, so we awoke with a little bit of sadness in our hearts. However, the great Bill Gates would be our keynote speaker so we arrived super early to get our seats. On our way into the conference center I spotted Austin ISD's superintendent, Dr. Carstarphen. After chasing her down in an embarrassing manner, we chatted it up for a bit. She raved about Cunningham Elementary and said she fondly remembered her time spent in the Hive Society (Apparently we make quite an impression, scholars). Then we were off to the keynote! There were thousands of people in attendance during Bill Gates' keynote address. He talked about the importance of wonderful and passionate teachers, innovative creations for the classroom, and TECHNOLOGY! What a week, scholars. What. A. Week.
My time away from the Hive was inspiring and educational, but I'm so glad to be back amongst you all. I can't wait until our return from spring break so that we can continue our literary journey with a few more creative twists and turns. Love always and forever, Ms. Smith Did you know that March isn't just amazing because we have spring break? It's also pretty cool because it's Women's History Month! Take a look at all of the inspirational women throughout history: Time for Kids Mini-Page
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the Hive SocietyWe are the class of 2024 at Cunningham Elementary, and we. are. super. scholars. Archives
April 2016
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