End of Year Slideshow

What a great year it's been! Have a happy summer and remember to READ!

How to be Honest

This month's STAR skill is honesty! Here is what we think it means to be honest.

Field Trip to the Thomas Center

On Tuesday, we visited the Historic Thomas Center to learn more about the history of Gainesville. Construction began on the Thomas Center in 1906 and was completed in 1910. It was named "Sunkist Villa" and Major Thomas and his family moved in on February 9, 1910. On that day the youngest of the five Thomas children, Margaret, was born in an upstairs bedroom.

The Thomas family made Sunkist Villa their home for 15 years. The large estate had 21 rooms and 12 fireplaces all made from terra cotta. We saw five of the fireplaces while we were there. In the 1920s Major Thomas decided to convert the home into a hotel. They added on another building, creating 94 guest rooms, three dining rooms, and four lounges for guests to enjoy.

The Thomas family sold the property in 1968, and its new owners leased it to Santa Fe Community College for seven years. The city of Gainesville purchased it in 1974 and it now houses art galleries, and government offices.

When we toured the Thomas Center the docent told us the stories that Margaret Thomas had told her about growing up there. We saw an example of a 1920s parlor, and got to hear a record play on an Edison phonograph. We saw a replica, or a copy, of Major Thomas's bedroom. We had to be careful walking around the Thomas Center because it had many antiques, such as an old telephone, typewriter, camera, binoculars, and a piano.

To help us play the role of early 1900s boys and girls, the boys got to try on collars, bow ties, and arm bands, and the girls enjoyed fanning themselves, wearing necklaces, and clutching hand bags.

We also went on a walking tour (or rather a scavenger hunt) of the historic neighborhood that surrounds the Thomas Center. Many of the homes on our tour were even older than the Thomas Center, built in the late 1800s. We saw and read about different examples of Victorian architecture, pillars, cross-gabled roofs, and colonial architecture. It was hot, but it was interesting!

After reading about our field trip comment with your answers to the following questions:

(Remember to go back and reread parts of the story to search for answers.)

1. What was the original name of the Thomas Center?

2. When was Margaret Thomas born?

3. How did the Thomas home change when it became a hotel?

4. What happened AFTER the Thomas Center was a hotel, but BEFORE it became a building with art galleries and government offices?

5. Why did we have to be careful while walking around the Thomas Center?

Hope you enjoyed the field trip and learning more about historic Gainesville!

Our Fraction Films

We have been working hard on comparing fractions, finding equivalent fractions, and ordering fractions from least to greatest and greatest to least. Watch as students play "fraction war" and have mathematic discussions to determine who has the greater fraction.

Kirby Smith Field Trip

On Tuesday, we journeyed back in time 112 years ago to the one room school house of Schoolmarm Smith. Schoolmarm Smith taught us to sit up straight in our desks and to write with quills and ink. So, really we just traveled by bus to the History Room at the Kirby Smith center. The History Room is a 112-year-old classroom, with some slight modifications (like lights with lightbulbs instead of lanterns with candles). After learning about being a student at the turn of the century, the class acted as detectives in the hall to do some sleuthing for clues. The bulletin boards in the hallway are full of photographs and information about Gainesville in the late 1800s and early 1900s. We had a great time.

Comment with your answers to the following:
1. What was your favorite part of the trip?
2. What was different about life 112 years ago?
3. What was similar about life 112 years ago?

Our Elf, Ben

For the past two weeks we have had an Elf on the Shelf watching over our classroom. In the afternoon when we all go home for the day our elf, Ben, travels to the North Pole to report to Santa on our behavior. So far all reports have been good!

Every morning when we come back to school Ben is hiding in a new spot. Some mornings we find that he has been mischievous, like the time he moved our behavior magnets into a smiley face and another time he switched everyone's STAR cards, which created some confusion. A few times he left us treats like candy canes and gelt (chocolate Hanukkah coins). He even gave us a dreidel to play with. Here are pictures of Ben around our classroom.

Can you find Ben in this picture of our classroom library?

Hint: He's in a very red area of the photograph.

In four more days when we go home for winter break Ben will return to the North Pole to live with Santa until next year. We'll miss Ben!

Reflex Math

Hey Lipsky Team!

Here's a fun website that will help you improve your math fluency. Fluency, just like in reading, means doing something with ease. So in math it means that you can add and subtract numbers easily, without using your fingers, drawing pictures, or really having to think about it. Just like when you were little and learned to walk, now you don't even have to think about how to put one foot in front of the other!

Go to Reflex Math and click on the launch button in the upper right corner. Type in the username: lipsky and then click on your name. Everyone's password is abc123. Here's an example of when it is teaching you about addition and subtraction fact families.

Practice at home to get faster at adding and subtracting. Later in the year we'll practice our multiplication facts.