Newscast anchors from SHSN news.

4th graders from Ms. Mayer and Mrs. Spoon’s classes participated in an exciting videoconference that tested their knowledge of the regions of Texas. The students researched and presented clues about the Coastal Plains Region. The students choose to share their clues using a newscast format; complete with weather, sports, and breaking news. The students then watched presentations from Buda Elementary and a 4th grade class from Killeen, Texas. After some time to discuss the clues and a round of clarifying questions the classes revealed their guesses and mystery regions. All participants were able to correctly guess the regions presented by the classes due to the wonderful presentations. A big thank you goes to Christie Rickert, Distance Learning Specialist for Hays CISD, for creating and moderating the conference. Texas Rocks!

The SHSN reporting team.

A 4th grade "teacher" with the Interactive Quilt

4th grade students at Science Hall created a Texas Museum for the rest of the school to enjoy. The 4th graders were museum docents, sharing information about Native Americans, plants & animals, early explorers, the Civil War, and the Alamo. All grade levels were able to travel from room to room and ask questions and watch presentations on the different areas. The students enjoyed all the authentic artifacts, dress, and even food provided at the exhibits. In Mrs. Evans’ room the students created an Interactive Quilt to use on the Smart Board. One side of the quilt square had a picture and the other had information about the person. It was great to see students using the Smart Board and learning about the Civil War.

Leticia explaining the parts of the ecosystem.

Students from Mrs. Orosco, Mrs. Spoon, and Miss Mayer’s class connected with other 4th grade classes in the district to share the amazing ecosystems they created during the month of February. Mrs. Orosco’s classes created ecosystems with hermit crabs, fish, a tree frog, and a lizard. A clawed frog was the main attraction in Mrs. Spoon and Miss Mayer’s classes. During the videoconference the students shared information about their ecosystems and answered questions from other classes. Our students enjoyed being part of a scientific community and enjoyed seeing the ecosystems created by other students.

A slide from a presentation in Mrs. Orosco’s room.

Mrs. Gries points out the correct answer.

 5^th grade students at Science Hall tested their measurement skills using CPS (Classroom Performance System) Clickers on Friday, February 5^th. Joanne Gries, 5^th grade teacher, and Amy Bradfield, Instructional Technologist, collaborated to create a fun activity to assess the student’s knowledge of measurement. The collaboration didn’t end there! 5^th grade students from Bruce Brouillard’s class partnered up with Mrs. Gries’ students to work together on answering questions and using the Clickers. It was a fun filled Math Friday!

SES students taught members of the District Leadership Team to use an AirLiner slate.

3^rd grade students from Miss Voges’ class at Science Hall showed off their AirLiner skills at the District Leadership Team meeting on Thursday, January 28. An AirLiner wireless slate is a tablet that allows the user to manipulate and select on screen objects, create and save notes, launch applications, and more. Miss Voges received the AirLiner a few years ago as part of an Education Foundation grant and has been using it her classroom ever since. Here is what Destiny, a 3^rd grade student, wrote about her presentation on Thursday evening:  
“Dezirae, Gabriel, Cameron, Cherokke and I went to the PAC to show others how we use technology in our classroom. We labeled a Venn Diagram LHS and HHS and then passed the slate on to the other adults in the room so that they could fill it in. It was fun to get to share something we have with other adults and it was pretty funny watching them try to use the slate.”

A Venn Diagram created during the presentation.