Meet the Cast

We were so excited to meet the cast of Huck Finn. The look on their faces says it all!

Huck Finn Play at PHS

Our visit to Portland High School's Theater was quite an experience. We watched the play Huck Finn. Afterward, we got to meet the characters and take pictures with them. The high school students did an amazing job.

Halloween Celebrations

Aunt Kay and Uncle Chip came to visit our classroom again. This time it was to celebrate Halloween. Uncle Chip read a Halloween book, while Aunt Kay handed out goodies to everyone. We had so much fun having them in our classroom again!

Caramel Apples

Carlos and Eric (above)
The Boys Chowing Down (above)

The Eager Girls

Aubree's mom, Mrs. Mandee brought all the apples, caramel dip, and fixings. We were so grateful that she took time out of her day to bring us this special treat!

Just Hanging Out

What a bunch of Monkies! I thought this was a cute picture, and just had to share it. You never know what will happen at recess!

Blast from The Past

It's Red Ribbon Week, and we're celebrating being "Drug Free through the Decades." This is Mrs. Vinson, Mrs. Box, and me dressed in our fifties and sixties attire. I can't wait to see what else the week brings!

Lights, Camera, Action

Adeline and Abby
Aubree P. and Carlos

Aaron, Brandon, Carlos, Aubree P., Adeline, and Abby

Group 2 performed the skit Silver and Stripes for our class and Mr. Martin's fifth grade class. Each week, my three reading groups read a leveled reader that correlates with our reading story. This week, Group 2's leveled reader was a play. Mr. Martin gives his time to second grade students once a week during his planning time. I allowed this group to practice and rehearse with Mr. Martin. After much practice and preparation, the kids were ready to perform. It was such a treat to see them use their best voices and expressions while reading their parts aloud to the class. They did an awesome job. I can't wait to see more plays by the other reading groups. Their turns are coming soon!

Learning Some American History

George Washington came to see us on October 21, 2010. Mr. Wix received a grant that brought him to our school. He's an amazing person and leader.He had a lot of great information to share about his life and journey as America's first president. We had fun learning more about the role he played in making America what it is today.
We also had another visitor on Thursday. This is Allison Smith, my neice, dressed up like a rebel soldier from the Civil War. She's in Mrs. B's fifth grade classroom. They are studying the Civil War, and as one of their centers, they got to dress up like a real soldier from that time period. Thanks Allison for coming to visit our class. You looked very authentic!

Mrs. Wilkinson and Mrs. Hester's 5K Run

Over Fall Break, I ran in the Wendy's Wish 5K with Mrs. Wilkinson and some other friends. This was my second 5K. I trained for the race for almost a month. My only goal was to finish the race without walking. It was extremely hard for me, and I wanted to quit several times. I kept a positive attitude and finally crossed the finish line. It felt great to accomplish my goal. Hopefully, I will be able to run in more 5K races in the future!

We LOVE Our Principal!

We are so thankful for Mr. Wix and the job he does as our principal. J.W.W. students welcomed him back with a "heart explosion" all over the walls. We made the heart necklace at the very top!

More Treats!

Rice krispies are the best! Each of my reading groups got to make a batch of rice krispies today during workstations. First, we washed our hands and gathered the ingredients. Next, we melted 3 tablespoons of butter. Then, we stirred in one bag of marshmallows. Each student added a cup of Rice Krispies Cereal to the melted marshmallows (6 cups total). And finally, we poured out the rice krispies onto wax paper, cut, and enjoyed. We used our sequencing skills that we've been practicing in reading to retell the steps for making rice krispies. Each child now has a hard copy of the directions, in sequential order, for making their very own rice krispies.

Math Madness

We had a ball during Math Madness today! Thanks to our wonderful parents, we feasted on four different kinds of apples: Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Gala, and Granny Smith. Then we sampled three different types of apple dips: caramel, marshmallow, and peanut butter. After our delicious treat, we graphed our favorite apple and dip. The outcome: Gala and Granny Smith tied and marshmallow dip beat the rest. Learning is always fun when food is involved! Thanks again parents for all your help!

Jack Black Comes to J.W. Wiseman

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We were delighted to have Jack Black come to our school today and put on a show for all of our students. Jack Black is a former Harlem Globe Trotter who holds several basketball world records. We got to watch him do tricks and play silly games with the students. Our school earned the right to have Jack Black visit by selling enough cookie dough during our fall fundraiser. It just goes to show how hard work can really pay off. We loved having Jack Black perform for us at our school. What an awesome experience for each kid at J.W.W.!

Second Grade Pizza Show

Mr. Martin made his own sauce from fresh vegetables in our garden. He explained that all plants need soil, water, and sunlight to grow. It was almost as if we were an audience at a real cooking show.
The students loved the tasty pizza snack that Mr. Martin and his fifth graders prepared. Yum, yum! Mr. Martin is styling in his chef attire.

Thank you Mr. Martin's Class for such a wonderful learning experience. Feel free to cook for our class anytime you want! (Haha!) You all did a wonderful job.

Gilly Comes to JWW

On Tuesday, September 14, Gilly, Portland's working police dog, came for a visit. Our story this week, Tara and Tiree, is about two dogs who save their owner. The second graders learned a lot about dogs and their amazing abilities. We really appreciate Police Chief West and Officer Eisenburg for taking the time out of their day to bring Gilly by for a visit!

Happy Grandparent's Day

Grandparents are such special people. We loved having their company at breakfast this morning. Thanks for all you do grandparents!

Great Work!

I just wanted to show off what beautiful work my students have done this week. Since we've been studying ants from our story, The Strongest One, we've done a couple of really neat art projects. We made the life cycle of an ant on a paper plate. Also, we made a pop-out ant picture story that correlates with our story this week. I think they all did an excellent job!

Silly Bands Outlawed

Starting Monday, September 13, 2010, J.W. Wiseman students will no longer be allowed to wear Silly Bands to school. Mr. Wix has been making announcements this week, preparing the students. Some of my kids proudly wore their Silly Bands to school today, the last day they were legal at J.W.W.

View Our Class Chant

Each morning, before math meeting, we have a class chant that's lead by our classroom helpers.
It goes like this... Who are you? Brilliant kids! Why are you here? To learn! How will you do it? Work hard, be nice! YeeeeHaw!
Click on the video below to watch us in action.

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Workstations

As a part of our daily Reading Block, my students enjoy learning and working at reading workstations. The chart in this picture is what we use to stay organized during worksatations. It has a picture of each child beside his or her partner and a picture of the workstation they will be working at for that day. We have ten workstations, which are: Partner Reading, Overhead, Computer, Art, Library and AR, Helper, Puzzles, Spelling, Writing, and Games. During reading workstations, I pull small groups of kids to work with me at my reading table. This allows me to give more of my attention to each student. We love reading worksations and group time. It helps make learning (and teaching) fun!!!

More Visitors...and You Won't Believe Who

We had several students from the PHS speech team come to our school and present a wax museum. Only, the wax museum came to life. We got to meet Ricky Bobby from Talladega Nights, Little Bo Peep, Woody from Toy Story, Thelma from Scooby Doo, Fat Albert, Harry Potter, Spider Man, Little Red Riding Hood, the Wicked Witch from the West, and many others. It was so much fun watching all these characters come to life one by one. The speech team did a wonderful job, and we had such a good time watching their show!

Visitors!!!!!

Each year, my Aunt Kay and Uncle Chip come to my classroom and read books, share goodies, and do crafts with my students. Today was their first of many visits they will make this school year. Aunt Kay read Ferdinand the Bull while Uncle Chip did a little acting (snorting and stomping) with the children. We all laughed and enjoyed our storytime with Aunt Kay and Uncle Chip, and can't wait for their next visit!

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Getting Our Vitamin D

Everyday, for about 15 to 20 minutes our class heads outside to for recess. We LOVE recess! Playing with friends, soaking up the sun, and enjoying the view are just a few of the reasons why. I got a little camera crazy outside today, but I captured some great pictures of the "Herd" playing and enjoying one another's company.

Our First Fabulous Week

Question: What was special about your first week of school?

Answers:
Brandon- I like school because I like to eat lunch, and I like to play at recess.
Mariah- I like school because I like P.E., and I love art.
Chloe- I like school because I get to make a lot of friends, and I get to see you everyday.
Orlando- I like school because my teacher is nice, and we get to play dodge ball in P.E.
Aaron- I like P.E. because you get to climb on the rope and everything else.
Harmony- I like the playground, and I like to do math.
Sasha- I like gym because Coach Curry has a bunch of stuff you can play with.
Adeline- I like school because you get to eat lunch and do art.
Abby-I like school because we get to do math and spelling
Aubrey J.-I like school because we play in gym and we go outside.
Carlos- I like to go outside and ride the tire swing.
Kolbe- I liked to read that one day we read to you.
Devin- I like school because we get to go outside, play gym, dodge ball, and I like reading.
Aubrey P- I like my teacher, math, and P.E.
Autumn- I like school because we get to play on the tire swing, and we get to see you everyday.
Allie- I love my teacher.
Alex- The best thing in school is that we get to do testing in math, go outside, and eat lunch.
Lucas- I like it, and it's fun! We get to go outside and play on the playground, go to lunch, and do some more stuff. That's it!

Mrs. Hester- I couldn't have asked for a better first week of school. My students are awesome, and I'm loving second grade (again). I'm so excited about this year! I know it will be amazing!

First Day Jitters

Our first day of school has been wonderful! We talked about how the first day of school can be both scary and exciting. I read a book to the class called Fist Day Jitters. In this book, Sarah, the main character, is doing everything she can to avoid going to her new school. She's nervous and scared that nobody will like her there. She comes up with every excuse why she shouldn't go to school. It turns out that Sarah ends up being the new teacher. Even teachers get nervous the first day of school, including me. Luckily, just a few minutes after seeing such sweet faces and getting lots of hugs from my new students, I was feeling right at home. Thank you for sharing your children with me. I've had a great first day, and I hope theirs was just as special.