2. Mr. Tim Frederickson, District-wide instructional coach

@tmfrederickson, Sept. 2: 2nd grade blogging @MrsRyder58 great learning #paperblogs #dg58learns 

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Dr. Van Dyke encouraged her 140 students to think like a scientist when they complained of the hot weather. Together, they created several homemade air conditioners. Watch how they did it in this 2-minute video!

The front board on Dr. Meg Van Dyke's seventh grade science classroom boldly displays her classroom's theme for the year: "Think Like a Scientist."

So when some of her students complained of the summer swelter - and O'Neill Middle School's lack of air conditioning - Dr. Van Dyke nodded toward her theme. Think like a scientist. What does this mean? How can we think scientifically to solve our problem?

Together, they used science to create homemade air conditioners.

"It can be like a pizza oven in this building when it's hot outside. The air conditioning project started from the necessity to make our classroom cooler," Dr. Van Dyke explained.

Dr. Van Dyke taught her 140 students how to study variables and collect data to successfully build their air conditioner.

How did they do it? Here are a few basic steps, or watch the video for more information. 

1. Get a cooler you no longer need, and add a few frozen water bottles to it.
2. Get a fan and pipe. Trace holes around each on the cooler's lid.
3. Use a drill and jigsaw to cut out the two holes.
4. Place the fan and pipe into the cooler.
5. Turn on the fan, and enjoy the cold air!

The seventh grade students who demonstrated how to create an air conditioner in the video above pose for a picture. Nice job!

Authors Margaret Peterson Haddix and Lisa McMann get Henry Puffer fourth, fifth and sixth graders interested in reading.

Two prolific children's authors paid Henry Puffer School a visit on Thursday, Sept. 4. The 

school's fourth, fifth and sixth grade students listened to Margaret Peterson Haddix and Lisa McMann speak about their exciting books, as well as their writing inspirations. 

Peterson Haddix is most known for her Shadow Children series and her more recent The Missing series. The wildly popular Shadow Children comprises seven books and explores a world in which families are legally allowed only two children. 

"When I finished the Shadow Children series, everyone asked me what was next, and I had no idea! I had writer's block," Peterson Haddix told the kids. "I went on vacation with my family, and on the trip home, I fell asleep on the plane. When I awoke, I was very disoriented. I couldn't remember where I was, when it was, and, for a brief moment, I couldn't remember who I was." 

And that, she said, was what inspired her to write The Missing series.

"I was fascinated by my disoriented moment," she said. "Whenever something fascinates me, I ask, can I put this in a book?"

Peterson Haddix said that this idea evolved a little bit -- from waking up on a plane not knowing her identity, to children waking on a plane with no memory, to a mysterious plane appearing with no crew and no passengers -- with the exception of 36 babies. And this is the basis on which The Missing series began.

Two of those babies - Jonah and Chip - grow up and one day confront their past and, through several twists and turns, discover they can time travel. As the series continues, the two protagonists travel through time to visit the sites of many well-known mysteries, such as the Roanoke colony and the Henry Hudson mutiny.

Peterson Haddix just completed the seventh book in the series, "Revealed." She showed a black-and-white photo of a pilot to the students, and asked if anyone knew his name. 

"Charles, I think," a boy asked.

"Yes! Charles Lindbergh, you are right!" Peterson Haddix exclaimed. "I've asked this question to many schools, and this is the first time a student knew the answer!"

She added that "Revealed" will investigate the famous Lindbergh Baby kidnapping. 

Lisa McMann is the author of several young adult series, including the

Henry Puffer students eagerly answer Lisa McMann's question.

"Unwanteds." This series starts in a place in which creativity is banned. Anyone who believes or acts otherwise is considered "unwanted" and led away for execution. 

"Who here would be scared if this happened to you?" she asked, and hands flew up throughout the room. 

Except, McMann said, the unwanteds aren't executed, but instead secretly taken to a secret society in which creativity is treasured.

After their presentation, both authors signed books for the kids, many of whom had become instant fans of the two.
 

"I'm so impressed with the kids at Henry Puffer," Peterson Haddix said. "They are so engaged and knew a lot about history!"

Indian Trail Principal Robin Bruebach gives pennies to all students and staff during her annual Penny Ceremony on Aug. 26.

Indian Trail School celebrated the start of school with a unique event: the 11th Annual Penny Ceremony.

Principal Robin Bruebach distributed pennies to students and staff alike, and then showed students how they're all different.

"Everybody has a different penny. I want you to look at your penny for a second. And then I want you to look around and I want you to see if anybody looks exactly like you," she said. "We may look similar, but we are each different and special in our own way."

Ms. Bruebach then introduced this year's theme: the three R's: respect, responsibility and resilience.

Together the entire student body yelled, "I am respectful! I am responsible! I am resilient!" Loudest of all, they shouted, "We are IT!"

To conclude the ceremony, Ms. Bruebach asked students to reflect on the upcoming school year.

"Close your eyes, close your hands around your penny and silently make a wish for this school year," Ms. Bruebach said.

Ms. Bruebach has led the Penny Ceremony at Indian Trail for 11 years.

"Kids like it. Some keep their penny all year, some have all the ones they have ever received," she said.

Ms. Bruebach's favorite part of the ceremony?

"I like watching the kids make a wish," she said.