December Believers and Achievers

It was hard to decide one student for a Believers and Achievers award for the month of December.  I decided to give an award to all the students for their ‘Outstanding Achievement’ for the month of December.  Especially the week before Christmas when our schedule at school was busy with lots of extra activities of caroling, preparing gifts for parents, and the excitement that comes with the holidays.  The students worked hard with their studies and did well on their spelling test, math tests, and their science test the last week before school.  They all received a bag of popcorn to take home to have their popcorn party at home because all the students got a 100% or better on their spelling test.  Congratulations to the whole class!

We also have a student who celebrates his birthday in December.  He received an award during Believers and Achievers and after break we will celebrate his birthday in the classroom as his birthday is over break.  Happy Birthday!  Enjoy your day!

Christmas Caroling

The week before Christmas we all enjoyed using our three gifts of time, talent, and treasure that we all have.  We had been discussing these in Religion class.  We took time out of our day to bring cheer to others by singing Christmas carols to people at many different locations.  It was neat to hear the talent of all of our singers.  The treasure was seeing the smiles on faces of people as we sang carols. 

  Caroling at Prairie Winds

 

  Caroling at Good Samaritan Society

 

Caroling at Good Samaritan Society

  Caroling at Good Samaritan Society

  Caroling at Elkhorn Meadows

  Caroling at Atkinson Senior Center

  Caroling in Stuart at Parkside Manor

Caroling in Stuart at Parkside Manor

Advent Wreath

During the season of Advent we have been learning about twenty-five different names for Jesus.  We do this daily with the K-5^th grade when we light our Advent wreath we have in the classroom. We have learned that Advent is a season of waiting and preparing for Jesus to come. It is a wonderful experience to be able to share this prayer time with the students each day. 

Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!  May you all be blessed as you celebrate with family and friends. 

Flat Stanley visits New Jersey

Flat Stanley returned from New Jersey. 

 Reading about what Flat Stanley did while in New Jersey.

 

Stanley arrived in New Jersey shortly after Hurricane Sandy.  Luckily  Stanley’s host, Mary and James, weren't in any serious danger. 

Stanley went to Ocean City, NJ to the boardwalk and saw the Atlantic Ocean! 

He visited the ships at the Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, where Mary’s husband works for the Navy. 

Stanley was also able to visit one the stadiums in Philadelphia.

Thank you to Mary and James for letting Stanley visit! 

Flat Stanley visits New York City

Flat Stanley had a great time visiting New York City.  Larry was a great host to him while visiting.  Larry lives in an apartment on the 6^th floor and this was the highest the Flat Stanley had ever been!  The building though is 35 stories high.  An interesting fact is that each floor has 10 apartments and this one apartment building has about the same number of people that live in it as Atkinson! 

Stanley was amazed when he went to the roof of the building he found trees and grass planted on top of it.  This is also where people can sit in chairs and sun bathe in the summer.  Stanley also enjoyed visiting the swimming people that is on the 35^th floor. 

Larry doesn’t own a car so Stanley was able to get around New York City by subway, taxi, or walking.  Stanley went on subway ride which was really exciting.  A subway is like a train that is mostly underground.  Stanley attended many different events that included different artists.  Larry is an artist and had an exhibit several years ago at the Museum of Nebraska Art, in Kearney, Nebraska.  This was neat to read because he has ties to Nebraska. 

Stanley enjoyed his time in New York and says that there are many things to see and do there and maybe one day we will get a chance to visit. 

We want to extend a huge thank you to Larry for showing Flat Stanley around!  He was able to explore lots of the city and we learned many things. 

 Excited to receive Flat Stanley from his Uncle Larry!

 

 Opening the package. 

 

 Almost has it open.

 

 Flat Stanley came back with a lot of neat things that included a letter, pictures, and many brochures.

 

 Looking through the binder. 

 

 On the roof of Uncle Larry's apartment building.

 

 Swimming pool on the 35th floor.

 

 The light on the subway train engine, as the train approaches the station.

 

 The subway car doors open.

 

 Got onto a crowded train car.

 

 On the way back, not as crowded, there was room to sit down.

 

May of the subways in New York City.

At Columbia Unversity, where the conference of GeGo took place.  All the buildings are part of the University. 

Cleaning Church

As a service project the whole school helped prepare the church for Christmas.  We spent part of a morning cleaning the church.  This included dusting the pews, walls, windows, and sweeping the floor.  The students did an excellent job of working together to accomplish this task.  It doesn’t take long to get a big job when we have many helping hands.  Thanks goes out to all the students for being so willing to help. 

 

12-12-12

12-12-12
A day like this will not be around for a very long time.  To make this day a little more special the kids found twelve items to bring to school.  It was neat to see what they were able to find and some even shared their twelve items.  As a school the students and teachers went to church at 12:12p.m. to pray twelve Our Fathers, twelve Hail Marys, and twelve Glory Bes. 

  This student brought twelve of her stuffed animals. 

 

  This student shared her twelve mini cupcakes.  YUM!  Thanks for sharing. 

This student shared his twelve cupcakes with the class.  It was a cold treat for this time of year but very yummy! Thanks for sharing!

  This student came with twelve boxes of nerds.  He also shared them with the class.  Thanks for sharing!

 

  This student came with twelve silly bands. 

  This student was able to find twelve colored pencils.  

  I was even able to find twelve small bags of chips and shared them with the class. 

A group picture with our twelve items. 

Santa Claus is coming to town...

We heard the Santa would be driving by our school when he came to Atkinson on December 3 so we were outside to help welcome him to town.  Thank you to Atkinson Fire Department for escorting Santa through town.

Here the kids are outside waiting for him and singing Christmas carols. 

 

Here he comes! 

Welcome to Atkinson Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus it was good to see you!