MEMORIAL DAY!

4K wanted our service members to know we are grateful for their sacrifices!

POM-POM CHALLENGE

POM-POM CHALLENGE

The students of Proctor School participated in another STEM challenge. These activities encourage children to:

think,

collaborate,

design,

revise,

test ideas,

engineer and so much more.

The Pom-Pom challenge is this:

Challenge: To create a track that moves a pom pom 4 feet from left to right. 

Time: Teams will have 3 minutes to collaborate and 10 minutes to construct.
Here is 4K giving it our best effort:

TOWERING TREE

We went to visit the tree the Parson Capen ash tree that will be removed soon. This tree has inspired poetry and art. 4K wrote poems about trees and all they do for the environment. We also are creating our own trees from recycled materials in CLIC. 

While we were there we  measured the circumference in two ways. First we stood side by side to see how many of us could fit around it ---14 4K students fit around it. Then, we used tape measures to get a more accurate reading. We found out that it is approximately 14 and one-half feet around! 

MARVELOUS MYSTERY SKYPE

Yesterday our class did a Mystery Skype in the library. We all had assigned jobs to solve the mystery of where the other class was from before they found out where we lived.

First we figured out that the class we were Skyping was from the United States. Next, we asked about the region they were from. We figured out that they lived in the Southwest Region of the US. Then, we asked if they bordered Mexico and they said yes! We were getting even closer to figuring out where they lived. We guessed Texas, they said no. Next we guessed Arizona, they said no again and that left New Mexico. But that wasn't the end, we still had to figure out where in New Mexico they were. We were able to narrow it down to Alberque, NM.

Here we are all working on our Mystery Skype:

post by:

Chloe L.

Jameson G.

Avery D.

PORTFOLIO PRESENTATION

The class really enjoyed showing off all their hard work. Thank you all for attending our portfolio sharing. 4K was especially proud of their Immigration research and projects. The questions you asked and time you took to try the science tasks showed the students how much you care about their education.

We researched the history of the Chinese Immigrants to the United States of America.

We learned the the largest number of  Irish Immigrants came to our country because of the potato famine in their country from 1840-1870.

Our group studied  Mexican Immigrants and we found out that they came to the United States mostly because people were looking for better paying jobs here.

SKYPE AND SEUSS

Today our class got a real treat.

We Skyped with about our favorite "Seussism" with Mrs. McCarthy's second grade class at Steward School. The students took turns sharing their favorite Dr. Seuss sayings and books and telling why they liked them.

It was fun to see that even though we are in different grades, we liked some of the same quotes.

One popular quote was "Today you are you, that is truer than true. No one alive is youer than you." 

INVESTIGATING IMMIGRATION

Thanks to TESPTO, the fourth grade visited the Tsongas Industrial History Center (Lowell Mills) to investigate immigration. (click on the links to learn more about the Lowell Mills or the specific immigration field trip we attended.)

The industrial revolution depended on people power to run the machines. Initially it was the farm girls and boys who were seeking money, but soon immigrants from other parts of the world came looking for job opportunities too.

We got to see first-hand what work in the mills was like!

This mill is still producing textiles today. And boy is it loud!

As part of our field trip we role-played. The first step was experiencing what it is like for immigrants who have traveled a long distance to get to the US only to have to wait some more.

Another part of the immigrant experience is having passports approved, or not by immigration officials.

Our class learned so much as we role-played being immigrants from Ireland, Greece, Cambodia, etc. We also got the opportunity to handle cultural artifacts some immigrants brought with them. This showed us how many similarities various cultures actually share.

Each group of students unpacked the luggage of an immigrant. We saw that the items they brought had  a great deal of meaning to them and many immigrants brought similar things. For example, they often brought religious items, musical instruments, clothing unique to their homeland, family photos, etc.

The class got a chance to hold a mock Town Meeting (based on the real on in the 1800s). The issue discussed was whether or not to fund a school for the Irish children.And of course,