Friday, April 29, 2016

This Week in Our Schools - 4/25 - 4/29

Scroll down to view our students and staff engaged in learning this past week throughout our district! We have a lot of exciting learning opportunities happening district-wide!

Table of Contents:




COLORADO ELEMENTARY


Mrs. Noll and Mrs. Kiddoo's 1st grade classes took a field trip to Circa 21 to see Junie B. Jones!





Mrs. Yahn's 3rd grade class took a field trip to Blackhawk State Park and the Blackhawk historical site in Rock Island.


FRANKLIN ELEMENTARY


Taryn Van Hemert, a MHS Junior, helped students in Mrs. Van Hemert's 4th grade class with reading.





JEFFERSON ELEMENTARY


Below are leaders in Mrs. Reifert's 2nd grade class during calendar time and math.




Mr. Loos' 3rd graders conducted experiments in their water unit in science.












GRANT ELEMENTARY


Family Reading Night at Grant was a success! All students picked out two books to take home, Buffalo Wild Wings coupons, and make and take crafts. Also pictured below are Grant teachers celebrating their favorite characters!







Miss Dindinger's Begindergarten class at Grant is studying buildings. They used mortar (shaving cream) to build their own buildings out of Lincoln Logs and blocks!






MADISON ELEMENTARY


5th graders in Mrs. Connor's class have been very busy! They went to Central Middle School to learn about middle school, had an opportunity to tour the building, ask questions, and try opening a locker! They also got to meet Central's therapy dog!  and ...




...and went on an extended day field trip to Des Moines to the Science Museum! ...





...and last week participated in United Way's Day of Caring by cleaning the playground and getting the community garden ready to plant!





MULBERRY ELEMENTARY


Students in Mrs. Mergen's 1st grade class did an activity involving plants. They taste tested fruits and vegetables and sorted them by the parts of the plant that people eat!




Third graders in Mr. Carlson's class estimated and measured volume in math.






Students in Mrs. Steele's 5th grade math class plotted themselves on a room-sized coordinate plane. Then in small groups they had to find the relationship between "X" and "Y" and write the rule in words and as an equation.




WASHINGTON ELEMENTARY


Mrs. Hurlbut's and Ms. Sulzberger's 5th grade class took a field trip to Des Moines. They visited the Science Center of Iowa and went to an Iowa Cubs baseball game. This was many of the students first time on a charter bus! They had a great time!










CENTRAL AND WEST MIDDLE SCHOOLS


Students from West and Central who are part of the Muscatine-Japan Youth Exchange Program had the opportunity to try some Japanese food and learn how to use chopsticks! This is in preparation for their trip to Japan this summer to stay with host families.


CENTRAL MIDDLE SCHOOL


6th graders at Central enjoyed a day at the Muscatine Art Center and the Monsanto Ag Safety Day at the Ag Learning Center.




Students in Ms. Shepherd's class gave back to the community during United Way's Day of Caring.







Students in Mr. Edkin, Mrs. Calderon, and Ms. Shepherd's classes attended STEM at the Ballpark and met an old friend Mr. LeClere (former CMS teacher)!















WEST MIDDLE SCHOOL


Ms. Matteson's 1st and 4th period 6th grade classes and Mrs. Beatty's classes attended Monsanto Ag Safety Day at the Ag Learning Center. The students were given the opportunity to learn about bees, uncover hidden fire hazards in homes, pet horses, put out fires, and drive wearing drunk goggles.












MUSCATINE HIGH SCHOOL


Mr. Mueller's Mighty Muskie Football players gave back to the community by taking part in United Way's Student Day of Caring last week.







Mr. Johnson's Anatomy and Physiology class traveled to Palmer Chiropractic College. Students viewed typical organs and then exceptional specimens that had directly or indirectly been related to the cause of death. Mr. Morter, the A&P instructor at Palmer, did an excellent job of telling the stories of the people who donated their organs. Students then reflected on this experience in their writings.

"I thought it was very intriguing to see how out of shape these spines were because each spine represents a person's life and every twist and turn of it took time. This shows how much pain people had to go through and how much has been lost to finally get to where we are as a people. It was just a cool experience in general because we were able to truly get intimate with who we are physically and mentally."

"During the hands-on part of the trip, we got to see and touch internal parts of the human body. The brain and skull were probably my favorite part. We got to see the brain itself out of the skull, a brain half, and half of a skull with the brain intact. It's crazy to think about holding someone's whole life, thoughts, and knowledge in my hands. I also really enjoyed being able to point out the spots of cancer in both the liver and lungs. This trip makes me ecstatic for my future career in the nursing field."

"My favorite thing we did yesterday would have to be the lab. It was so interesting to see things up close. I am also a hands-on learner so doing that made me understand a lot more about the body and structures. It was very cool to be able to see real lungs, hearts, heads, etc. and touch them. Definitely not something that you can do everyday and it's amazing to see how a college classroom can work and also how they learn. I loved seeing the different diseases or conditions that effect those organs and how like what a heart attack does or blood clots."


The FFA Greenhouse Plant Sale opening day was this week! Students were busy getting the plants ready for the public. Click HERE for dates and times the greenhouse will be open!



Three MHS students, Freddie Sanchez, Carlos Yaque, and Camila McNeely attended the World Food Prize Iowa Institute at Iowa State University. Each student researched a country with a food security issue and wrote a 5+ page essay in order to qualify to attend the institute. At the institute, students attended workshops, listened to speakers, and presented their findings in a round table discussion format to members of the business world, professors and/or ambassadors to gain better understanding of world issues relating to food security. Each student received a $500 scholarship to Iowa State and are Borlaug Scholars! The students attended this event along with their teachers and mentors Dave Tometich and Lisa Kroll.





Students in Ms. Kelsey, Ms. Robison, and Ms. Wells' special education class took a field trip aboard the Celebration Bell Riverboat in Moline for an educational cruise.






Six freshman and sophomores from MHS had the opportunity to attend the Road Less Traveled Conference in Ames at Iowa State University. They joined several hundred young women from across the state working on engineering and science related activities to introduce them to possibilities of STEM careers. Michelle Ramos and Carol Ford were on a team that won second place for their bridge design!


Muskie Boys' Soccer was victorious Thursday night over North Scott with a score of 5-0. Their MAC record is now 5-0 and overall record of 7-3. Congrats Muskies!