Schools – Page 111 – Fairbury Public Schools

Molly’s Pilgrim

Before Thanksgiving, Mrs. Shinn’s class read the book entitled Molly’s Pilgrim by Barbara Cohen. Students took home 2 clothespins, and with the help from family, made a clothespin pilgrim and Indian doll to go with the book. Students made the clothespin doll at home. I sent home a clothespin, a note, explaining this a little more. It is one of my favorite books. The students enjoyed the story and the movie made from the book. It has such a sweet message about differences, modern day pilgrims, and accepting others. I was so amazed at all the creative pilgrim and Indian dolls! Thank you for your help with this project and Happy Thanksgiving to all my students and their families!

The Great Thanksgiving Listen…Preserving Oral History Today!

Mrs. Engle-Evans 8th Grade American History classes have been preparing to participate in the National project, The Great Thanksgiving Listen. Students will record an interview with a grandparent, elder in their family, or an elder in their community using the free StoryCorps app to foster meaningful connections within families, communities, and the classroom, and create a firsthand archive of American History and wisdom. At the conclusion of their interview, they will take a picture with their chosen interview partner and use it to post their projects. With parent permission they will be posting this oral history project on StoryCorps.me and it will be archived in the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

Homestead National Park’s Buffalo Trunk Presentation

The 2nd Graders at Central listened to a presentation given by Ranger Nick from the Homestead National Monument on the Buffalo on Tuesday, November 10th. The students learned how the Native Americans used all the parts of the Buffalo after a hunt. Ranger Nick had many different items in his trunk that he we were able to see and touch as he spoke about them. A couple of the items Ranger Nick mentioned was a parfleche. A parfleche is made out of the buffalo hide that has been dried out and tanned so it is a soft hide with the hair removed and many Native Americans will use dyes to make a design on them. A parfleche is used like a pouch for carrying items in, much like a purse of today. Another item, Ranger Nick had was a buffalo stomach, the Native Americans used this for cooking things in much like a crockpot today or for storing things in when not cooking. Plus many, many more things to see and learn about.

Turkey in Disguise

Poor Mr. Turkey! He has his feathers all in a ruffle because he heard a terrible rumor about what happens to turkeys on Thanksgiving Day. He’s really hoping it’s not true, but just in case it is, he asked for help from Mrs. Lucking’s kindergartners. He asked Mrs. Lucking’s friends to make a disguise for him to avoid his Thanksgiving Day demise. Here are pictures of Mr. Turkey in disguise. What do you think…will he be safe on Thanksgiving Day?

Energizers’ Drug-Free Mascot Contest

Energizers was excited to sponsor a drug-free mascot design contest for Central Elementary School. The Energizers members voted on the submissions to select the winner. The winning design was by Daniel C. in Mrs. Wanamaker’s 2^nd grade class.

Energizers officers were excited to present the plush mascot in a ceremony last week. All of the submissions were used to decorate the high school for Red Ribbon week. Thanks to all students that participated and we look forward to seeing the new mascot around Central school helping promote our drug-free message.

Construction Class Builds Deck

Students in Mr. Scott’s construction class are building a deck in Gladstone. The purpose of the deck was improve accessibility and add curb appeal to the home. Students learned how to calculate area, create a materials list, layout step risers, and use a variety of tools such as a router, drill and skill saw.

Industrial Tech Students Visit Endicott Clay

Roughly 30 students visited Endicott Clay in Endicott on Friday Nov. 13th. The focus of the day was to expose students to the many types of jobs available at Endicott Clay Products. Students broke up into groups and toured the facility. They saw the Computer Aided Drafting Department, toured the plant and saw the old oven where bricks were fired. They also got to see the heavy equipment that is used at the factory. This was a great educational opportunity for the students at FHS.

Solar Ovens in Mrs. E. Winter’s Science Class

Mrs. E. Winter’s 7^th grade science students have been learning about the types of heat energy transfer. To see what we’re learning about in action, we did demonstrations of both conduction and convection. Radiation is energy transferred through waves; this is how the sun heats things. To learn more about radiation, students built solar ovens to harness the heat from the sun to cook a hotdog. We also got out our solar bag; the sun heats the bag through radiation. When the air inside the bag gains heat, it becomes less dense, allowing the bag to float. It was a great opportunity to take learning outside in the nice fall weather!

Central School 2015 Veterans Day Celebration

A brisk damp morning didn’t bother Central Elementary’s plans to honor Veterans.

On November 11th the school day started out a bit different than normal. Students and staff gathered outside around the flag and watched as the VFW Color Guard presented and raised the flag. High school students Ryan Umland and Garret Ragland played “Call to Colors.” After the flag was raised, the students joined together in saying the Pledge of Allegiance.

Students and guests then gathered in the gym for a special program. Mrs. Mans welcomed the guests and thanked them for their service. Mrs. Beachler gave a brief history of Veteran’s Day and what it means to be a veteran. Lee Greenwood’s, “God Bless the USA” video was played.

The student body, led by Mrs. Bigley sang “God Bless America” with choreographed red, white, and blue plates. It was wonderful!

Mrs. Mans read a video to the students entitled “Veteran’s Day Honors,” followed by asking the guests to introduce themselves, tell what branch they served under, and tell how many years they served.

The student body concluded the program by singing “Grand Ole Flag” as they waved their own little flags.

The program received many compliments. A special thank you to the Veterans who have served and are currently serving, and a thank you to the Central Committee for putting on a wonderful program to honor them.

Check out our pictures of the Veteran’s Day Program