Hey out there. Everything is fine in the wonderful world of Kevin and Lee. Of course we had to take the dreadful E.O.G! We all got through and we are still alive! We had recess like usual. And then we went to art and painted our masks we came back and made duck tape roses with Alex.
S.P
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Today we were talking a lot about communication and how to treat each other.
At enrichments we finished up our Cherokee masks by plastering each others faces with dry slips you dip in water, last art class we picked partners and plastered one persons face in the pair and this week we switched. Now everyone has a mask that fits our faces perfectly. At dismissal we had a kind of conference between the students, it was about communicating.
At enrichments we finished up our Cherokee masks by plastering each others faces with dry slips you dip in water, last art class we picked partners and plastered one persons face in the pair and this week we switched. Now everyone has a mask that fits our faces perfectly. At dismissal we had a kind of conference between the students, it was about communicating.
Monday, May 5, 2008
May 5, 2008
We have just turned in our Cherokee stories and Cherokee masks. We were writing our own stories based on ones we read in class. When we made our masks we had the choice of making our own symbols for the seven clan groups like the Blue Clan, Wolf Clan, Potato Clan, Long Hair Clan, or deer clan. R.A.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Caving Field Trip Reflections
I thought it would be nice to share some of our students reflections from our awesome caving adventure. Read on! Oh, and look down a few posts to see our slideshow with fun photos of the experience!
#1
Caving at Worleys
By S.H.
April fools Day 2008 was an unforgettable day for me. I arrived at school and got my helmet secured on my head. I was really excited because soon we would all be caving in Worley’s Cave. I got in the car and we drove off.
Half way to the cave our school bus broke down on the side of the highway. One of our teachers, Kevin, got in the tour guides car and went to pick up a rental van for us. The kids on the bus hung out there while the kids in the mini van watched a movie. I was lucky to be one of the ones in the mini van. When Kevin got back the kids from the bus loaded up into a big van and we hit the road again.
At the cave we discussed safety rules and turned our headlamps on. As I walked through the cave I saw a lot of sleeping bats. I was surprised because the cave was warmer than I thought it would be. At times I could hear other kid’s voices echoing in the cave but mostly I heard water dripping.
After walking for a while we eventually came to a giant cavern at which I could hardly believe the size. The class climbed up a small hill and crawled into a little hole. By this time in the adventure, I was challenged because my arms hurt and the tight squeeze made me feel uncomfortable. I was relieved when I finally got through the tiny hole and happy that I had done it.
Another challenge I faced was when I climbed up a giant mudslide. It was difficult to get a grip on the wall so my feet kept slipping. Additionally, the classmate in front of me was slipping too. I helped him out by giving him foot support with my foot. Ultimately, the whole class got up the mudslide, probably because we all worked together.
To me, the funniest thing that happened was when we all turned off our lights. The entire cavern, as far as my eyes could see, was pitch black. Except for my glowing fingernails. I had special glow-in-the-dark nail paint on them. Our cave guide requested that I hide my fingernails so that it could be completely dark in there.
Until I visited Worley’s Cave I never knew what a pitch-black cave was like. Caving builds cooperation through teamwork, builds self-confidence and shows some of nature’s natural wonders.
I want to go caving again!
#2
The Cave
by S.G.
Before I saw Worley’s Cave in Tennessee, I thought it was going to be small. But when I saw it, it was immense.
My class looked down at the river below. It sounded like a light rain falling on your window.
I looked at the rock closely and noticed all the little layers of rock.
I went inside the entrance and I looked around. The rocks looked like they had been glazed. I touched the rock. It felt like water but it was solid.
Later in the cave, we came to a part where the class had to sit on our butts and slide down a narrow path of wet mud.
Then somehow we had to dodge the deep pools of water. One of the ways I did this was I would leap across.
After that, we came into a big opening. There we rested for a while. As we rested, we all turned off our headlights and stayed quiet. As we stayed quiet, I noticed that the air smelled like sweet clay, and the ground felt like a mixture of clay and mud.
After we turned our lights back on, we climbed up a slippery hill. I had a really hard time climbing up. Aidan helped me up. From my point of view, I really think he is a good leader.
Finally, after we got to the top of the hill, we headed for the hardest part of the cave. We would have to get on our stomachs and move forward by using our elbows. I was wondering if I might get stuck.
When I was going through the tunnel, one part of the rock was slanted and we had to roll around to get out.
When I got to the end of the small tunnel, everybody started cheering for Colton because it was hard for him to get through the tunnel. I said to myself, “What a great field trip!”
#3
An Adventure
By S.W.
It was a hot day in Tennessee. After having the bus broken down and the getting a rental we were excited to hit the road. It was the first of April. We were going to be at Worleys for the whole day. All of the class was so excited.
Wow, I saw the entrance of the entrance of Worleys cave it was amazing the entrances rocks had crumbled off the ceiling.
“Awesome”, Daniel said in delight.
“I know”, Lucian answered.
All of us crept in stopping right in front of the entrance. The teacher started talking and we listened, but a part of us knew that we wanted to explore the silent cave.
When the talking stopped Aiden started the lead part we turned on our head lamps and walked slowly into the black pit. The walking never seemed to stop, but later on we caught on the twinkling water and stepping stones.
Splash, many of us hit the water with a big thunk, we laughed to cheer people up about there dripping bodies.
Suddenly saw something it was fast asleep… It was a bat.
Eventually everybody got over the slippery rocks and moved on.
“Weeee” we slided down slide landing at the bottom of the slide with a thud.
“Owwww”, Madeline said with a wine.
We walked on and came to a very large room. We stopped and sat down on a large rock and decided to test how dark it was.
Sylvan raised her hand she wanted to be the leader. Sylvan got picked and counted to three, and we all one by one turned off our lights. There was no difference between closing our eyes and opening them.
Five minutes passed and Sylvan turned on her head lamp.
All of us fallowed turning on our lights. After that we put down our bags and started up a tall mountain.
We got up and saw a crack in the wall. Suddenly we herd a low voice … We looked a crevasse in the wall the shine of the head lamp was very strong.
“Go straight”, Greg (our instructor) said in a low voice.
We made our way through the tiny crack in the dripping wall.
The space was tiny in witch we crept on our hands and stomachs. The crawling led into a bigger space, but it could only fit 4 people.
Then again we went straight into a rolling area were we started rolling. The rolling stopped and we slid down a hill, there we waited for the rest of the group. Out popped more people, but Kevin and Colton were still in there.
Lee showed up laughing and laughing and wouldn’t stop all of us were wondering why she was laughing. Lee was gasping for air, finally she stopped and told us that Colton had cracked her up. And he told her the most funniest things. Suddenly we saw the faint glow of Colton’s head lamp. He poked his head and hesitated to slide down Lee asked him why, he didn’t answer he just his feet in front of him. His snow pants were hanging from his feet. Aiden came up and pulled them off. Colton slowly slid down and everybody cheered.
Once everybody decided it was time to go we all and slowly walked back.
Yay I could barly see the light shining from inside the cave. We slowly made our way out of the cave. We took off our extra layers and made toward the rental.
Vroom Vroom, the van started up and we were on our way to school.
#1
Caving at Worleys
By S.H.
April fools Day 2008 was an unforgettable day for me. I arrived at school and got my helmet secured on my head. I was really excited because soon we would all be caving in Worley’s Cave. I got in the car and we drove off.
Half way to the cave our school bus broke down on the side of the highway. One of our teachers, Kevin, got in the tour guides car and went to pick up a rental van for us. The kids on the bus hung out there while the kids in the mini van watched a movie. I was lucky to be one of the ones in the mini van. When Kevin got back the kids from the bus loaded up into a big van and we hit the road again.
At the cave we discussed safety rules and turned our headlamps on. As I walked through the cave I saw a lot of sleeping bats. I was surprised because the cave was warmer than I thought it would be. At times I could hear other kid’s voices echoing in the cave but mostly I heard water dripping.
After walking for a while we eventually came to a giant cavern at which I could hardly believe the size. The class climbed up a small hill and crawled into a little hole. By this time in the adventure, I was challenged because my arms hurt and the tight squeeze made me feel uncomfortable. I was relieved when I finally got through the tiny hole and happy that I had done it.
Another challenge I faced was when I climbed up a giant mudslide. It was difficult to get a grip on the wall so my feet kept slipping. Additionally, the classmate in front of me was slipping too. I helped him out by giving him foot support with my foot. Ultimately, the whole class got up the mudslide, probably because we all worked together.
To me, the funniest thing that happened was when we all turned off our lights. The entire cavern, as far as my eyes could see, was pitch black. Except for my glowing fingernails. I had special glow-in-the-dark nail paint on them. Our cave guide requested that I hide my fingernails so that it could be completely dark in there.
Until I visited Worley’s Cave I never knew what a pitch-black cave was like. Caving builds cooperation through teamwork, builds self-confidence and shows some of nature’s natural wonders.
I want to go caving again!
#2
The Cave
by S.G.
Before I saw Worley’s Cave in Tennessee, I thought it was going to be small. But when I saw it, it was immense.
My class looked down at the river below. It sounded like a light rain falling on your window.
I looked at the rock closely and noticed all the little layers of rock.
I went inside the entrance and I looked around. The rocks looked like they had been glazed. I touched the rock. It felt like water but it was solid.
Later in the cave, we came to a part where the class had to sit on our butts and slide down a narrow path of wet mud.
Then somehow we had to dodge the deep pools of water. One of the ways I did this was I would leap across.
After that, we came into a big opening. There we rested for a while. As we rested, we all turned off our headlights and stayed quiet. As we stayed quiet, I noticed that the air smelled like sweet clay, and the ground felt like a mixture of clay and mud.
After we turned our lights back on, we climbed up a slippery hill. I had a really hard time climbing up. Aidan helped me up. From my point of view, I really think he is a good leader.
Finally, after we got to the top of the hill, we headed for the hardest part of the cave. We would have to get on our stomachs and move forward by using our elbows. I was wondering if I might get stuck.
When I was going through the tunnel, one part of the rock was slanted and we had to roll around to get out.
When I got to the end of the small tunnel, everybody started cheering for Colton because it was hard for him to get through the tunnel. I said to myself, “What a great field trip!”
#3
An Adventure
By S.W.
It was a hot day in Tennessee. After having the bus broken down and the getting a rental we were excited to hit the road. It was the first of April. We were going to be at Worleys for the whole day. All of the class was so excited.
Wow, I saw the entrance of the entrance of Worleys cave it was amazing the entrances rocks had crumbled off the ceiling.
“Awesome”, Daniel said in delight.
“I know”, Lucian answered.
All of us crept in stopping right in front of the entrance. The teacher started talking and we listened, but a part of us knew that we wanted to explore the silent cave.
When the talking stopped Aiden started the lead part we turned on our head lamps and walked slowly into the black pit. The walking never seemed to stop, but later on we caught on the twinkling water and stepping stones.
Splash, many of us hit the water with a big thunk, we laughed to cheer people up about there dripping bodies.
Suddenly saw something it was fast asleep… It was a bat.
Eventually everybody got over the slippery rocks and moved on.
“Weeee” we slided down slide landing at the bottom of the slide with a thud.
“Owwww”, Madeline said with a wine.
We walked on and came to a very large room. We stopped and sat down on a large rock and decided to test how dark it was.
Sylvan raised her hand she wanted to be the leader. Sylvan got picked and counted to three, and we all one by one turned off our lights. There was no difference between closing our eyes and opening them.
Five minutes passed and Sylvan turned on her head lamp.
All of us fallowed turning on our lights. After that we put down our bags and started up a tall mountain.
We got up and saw a crack in the wall. Suddenly we herd a low voice … We looked a crevasse in the wall the shine of the head lamp was very strong.
“Go straight”, Greg (our instructor) said in a low voice.
We made our way through the tiny crack in the dripping wall.
The space was tiny in witch we crept on our hands and stomachs. The crawling led into a bigger space, but it could only fit 4 people.
Then again we went straight into a rolling area were we started rolling. The rolling stopped and we slid down a hill, there we waited for the rest of the group. Out popped more people, but Kevin and Colton were still in there.
Lee showed up laughing and laughing and wouldn’t stop all of us were wondering why she was laughing. Lee was gasping for air, finally she stopped and told us that Colton had cracked her up. And he told her the most funniest things. Suddenly we saw the faint glow of Colton’s head lamp. He poked his head and hesitated to slide down Lee asked him why, he didn’t answer he just his feet in front of him. His snow pants were hanging from his feet. Aiden came up and pulled them off. Colton slowly slid down and everybody cheered.
Once everybody decided it was time to go we all and slowly walked back.
Yay I could barly see the light shining from inside the cave. We slowly made our way out of the cave. We took off our extra layers and made toward the rental.
Vroom Vroom, the van started up and we were on our way to school.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
April 9th, 2008
Today was so fun. At math we covered a lot and at recess we got a ton of exercise. At language arts we wrote poems about how much we hated homework. And then we ate lunch. After lunch Kevin read two Cherokee stories. Then we went to music and did a circle dance. When we came back in we had a protest against Mike Sule to state that we think we should be able to bike with the middle schoolers. Also, tomorrow is the last day to turn in the plastic bags, so find them all.
S.P.
S.P.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Come See Skyla's Blog!
I am excited to announce that one of our very own has her own blog. It will focus on art. Please click on the link and check it out! Leave comments and check it frequently, as she has lots of great advice to offer us all!
http://skylablue.blogspot.com/
Way to go!!!
http://skylablue.blogspot.com/
Way to go!!!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Caving in Tennesse
Wow! That was so much fun! Except for the bus breaking down on the side of I-26 in Tennessee; having to drive to a rental place to rent a 15 passenger can, then drive back to the bus on the side of the highway- all while making arrangements to be picked up later that day at the rental place with the other Evergreen bus, which was late due to traffic in Asheville. Yeah, that's how we ended up being an hour and a half late. Sorry about that. The Transmission Gods seemed to have been against us, but we prevailed and, most importantly, the kids stayed positive.
We were very impressed with the kids today. As our TAASC leaders led us on a fantastic trip through the wonderfully mysterious Worley's Cave, we saw students lending hands, helping one another up, as they slipped and slid on the caves smooth, damp floor. We heard encouraging words, chanting, victory screams, and many grunts as we slid on our bellies (in what can be best described as a slanted chimney on it's side). We covered ourselves in mud and soaked our feet in the cool, dark, stagnant waters.
This was the perfect experience for our class to start with coming back from spring break. It really sets the tone for the remainder of the year. We need to continue to support one another, take risks, and trust ourselves so that we can go out in style. I am so proud of our students today. They showed a large amount of courage, compassion, and responsibility. Thanks for sending us these amazing kids!
Here is a slideshow of some of the said moments. Enjoy the rest of your week!
We were very impressed with the kids today. As our TAASC leaders led us on a fantastic trip through the wonderfully mysterious Worley's Cave, we saw students lending hands, helping one another up, as they slipped and slid on the caves smooth, damp floor. We heard encouraging words, chanting, victory screams, and many grunts as we slid on our bellies (in what can be best described as a slanted chimney on it's side). We covered ourselves in mud and soaked our feet in the cool, dark, stagnant waters.
This was the perfect experience for our class to start with coming back from spring break. It really sets the tone for the remainder of the year. We need to continue to support one another, take risks, and trust ourselves so that we can go out in style. I am so proud of our students today. They showed a large amount of courage, compassion, and responsibility. Thanks for sending us these amazing kids!
Here is a slideshow of some of the said moments. Enjoy the rest of your week!
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