Emily Thomas (Grade 4) was thinking of a former classmate who has battled a long-term illness. She decided that she wanted to conduct a fundraiser to help support their family as they go through this difficult time. With the help of her mother, she ran a Candy Bingo event at the Moose Lodge. Their efforts raised over $900 !

Students in Mrs. DuBois' first grade classroom celebrated their writing this week. Over the past few months, they have been revising their stories by adding details, adding leads and endings, adding dialogue, and trying to show their feelings instead of tell them. The students chose their favorite piece to type up and publish as a real famous author would. They were able to share these published books with their reading buddies in Ms. Keeley's fourth grade classroom. Examples of their revising work were also put up in a Revision Museum for all to admire. Copies of their stories are now being kept in their classroom library for students to read during their reading time. It was certainly an event to be proud of!

Diana and Malik

 

Indian Brook School Tech Expo A Huge Success!

From Mrs. Loftus' class we had a group of children present their projects they completed around Native Americans that included an elaborate PowerPoint presentation. Listening to the way they were able to share this information with parents and guests as they went through their information was truly amazing!

Next we had a group of students from Mrs. Duggan class present how "Glogster" is used in their classroom. They shared how they communicate with one another in their classroom to work on projects, ask questions, get help, etc. all from home through their computers.

We had another group of students from Mrs. Riordan's class show how they use the Apple Ipads in their classroom. This became a very popular center as many of the younger students who attended the Expo had the opportunity to use the many exciting applications Mrs. Riordan's students were sharing with them.

On the other side of our IMC we had two second grade students from Mrs. McGinnis' room show our Expo visitors how they have used Flip Cameras to make movies. We also had a movie playing throughout the Expo made by the entire first grade that showed what we need to do to save the planet.  

In addition to all of the students who presented, our Integration Specialist Mrs. Nicholas was part of the Expo. She provided parents with information on programs, both available from the Plymouth Schools, as well as those available on the internet to support their children in a wide variety of ways. Many of the younger children who attended took advantage of the programs in our computer lab and had a great time exploring.

NOT AS EASY AS IT LOOKS!

On Friday March 9^th Vanessa Corsini, an 8^th grade student, took over Mr. Hall's Civics class for the day to teach a lesson on the Bill of Rights. Vanessa created a lesson plan, taught all five periods and did a great job. Upon completion of her lesson she was asked to write a reflection of her day as a teacher. Here is what she had to say:  

"How do you guys do it? The lesson plan and the whole teaching part is fine once you're used to it, if you know what you're doing, but one person in a bad mood (not naming names) can put you in a bad mood, which puts the whole class in a cranky mood. Saying the same thing over and over again is annoying and you don't know if you told all the classes everything, so you end up not telling some classes and repeating it in others. The bell rings way too soon and not soon enough. You need more time so you can finish the lesson and make sure everyone is in the same place, but you want it to end because after standing for four periods straight, you just want it to end. I thought being a student was hard; being a teacher is worse."

Student Council Hosts the Council on Aging

Under the direction of advisors Mr. Scott Armstrong, Mrs. Stacey Strassel and Mrs. Lynda Whyte, and assisted by Mrs. Elizabeth Duff, grade 6 teacher, the PSMS Student Council hosted the Annual Council on Aging Senior Citizens Dinner last night.  

Fifty senior citizens were served a three course meal of salad, spaghetti & meatballs, rolls & butter and dessert. Place mats were made by Mrs. Mary Jane Calhoun-Donelan's art classes and Irish Trivia was provided by Mrs. Lynda Whyte. The winning trivia prize at each table was a deck of playing cards.  

The seniors were also entertained by the PSMS Jazz Band under the direction of Mr. Greg Tracy, who played in the trumpet section. He was assisted by Mrs. Lea Tyler, Choral Director, who also played the piano. The songs were well received and the dinner was once again, a success. Thank you to all of the PSMS Student Council representatives for their hard work and a job well done.