Math 24 Teams are getting "fired up and ready!"

Math 24 Teams in grades 4th-7th are being formed and district competitions have been very exciting. Many strong math students have been working hard and practicing their Math 24 cards and grade level teams are being formed to compete at the Regional Level throughout the first two weeks of March.   Each team is made up of 6 students and those students in 4th grade have been practicing single digit, 5th grade is practicing double digit, 6th grade challenges themselves in exponents and integers and the most difficult is 7th grade who must solve fraction and decimal Math 24 cards.  These students show excellent Math ability and will have the chance to show their "math smarts" soon.  Edgerton will have a great showing at these math competitions.  Good Luck to all the students!

National Geography Bee

Throughout the month of January students in grades 5th-8th  had the opportunity to 'show off' their geography smarts and take part in classroom competitions for the Geography Bee.  After many rounds of questions two top geography experts surfaced and went on to the school wide National Geography Bee sponsored by the National Geographic Society and Google.  The 5th grade Final Competition took place at the EPAC on Wednesday, January 22.  There were 14 finalists for 5th grade and Peyton Fox earned first place honors with Ethan Krause and Brett Langer taking second and third.   The Final Competition at the Middle School took place on Thursday, January 23rd.  Nine students made it to the finals and Michael Stockel earned first place honors.  Peyton and Michael each completed a 70 question final test that was sent

n to the state level.  Students may earn top honors at state and continue on to national competition.  All results will be communicated to the schools by mid March.  Edgerton students showed incredible geography knowledge!

Art Opportunities on the Way!

Recently I agreed to become part of the Sterling North Board and took the role of a school liaison to keep information and opportunities communicated between school and the Sterling North Board.  The hope is to incorporate activities and opportunities that will remind students that Edgerton is the home of a famous and well versed author and using personal experiences to create narrative text is an effective and entertaining form of writing.  It is also a chance to show our pride in being the home of North and to appreciate his legacy.  One way we hope to incorporate talented artists in our school is to have students in grades kindergarten through eighth grade illustrate outline drawings of Sterling's life, the environment in which he lived in or historical settings that relate to Edgerton.  A selection of drawings will be collected to create a new Sterling North Coloring Book that would be available in the community to purchase.  A spin off of these illustrations will also be to create a new design for an updated Sterling North T-shirt.  Both of these opportunities will be an exciting way to display the talents of many of our local artists!

"Club 24"

"2 squared times 6 equals 24.......the square root of 9 times 8 equals 24.    Can you look at a combinatin of numbers and see an equation that will lead you to 24?"  Students in sixth and seventh grade have recently been offered the opportunity to take part in Club 24 which is a time to practice and compete using Math 24 cards.  Students challenge themselves to create a progression of equations that will lead them to the final answer of 24.  After members of Club 24 practice for multiple weeks, a team of six students in each grade level will travel to Whitewater, WI to compete at  the Regional Math 24 Competition.  A great chance for those students who consider math "their thing!"

JUNIOR GREAT BOOKS

The new year is upon us and I am excited to be planning for a reading opportunity for some advanced readers in kindergarten through fifth grade.  Junior Great Books will be our TAG Time topic for the next 6 weeks.  A review of literacy terms, reading excellent short stories, and utilizing  productive discussion techniques will be the main goals of our weekly meeting times.  Not only will we read and discuss a variety of stories, we will also learn and understand high level vocabulary words and complete a Million Dollar Word booklet that will be a collection of our language development.  Although this strand of TAG Time will primarily be connected to reading, Math 24 practice will be starting in fourth through seventh grade math classes and Math Competitions will be down the road.  Lots of exciting opportunities for students who are motivated to "learn beyond their limits!"

Future Problem Solvers

Have you ever heard of Desertification?  Throughout the months of November and December some curious and hard working fifth through eighth grade students researched, explored, and discussed a problem solving scenario that involved the dehydration and decay of land caused by desertification.   These talented students wrote challenges that may occur in the futuristic scenario that they read and attempted to offer solutions to their fictional problems.  Future Problem Solving is an excellent opportunity for advanced learners to work together to read, discuss and solve futuristic scenes and analyze and evaluate these thought provoking situations.  More opportunities will be available during the second semester for students to work together and capitalize on their critical and creative thinking skills.

EMS Book Challenge: iRead

This week all the middle school students will be introduced to the 2013-2014 Book Challenge during their Language Arts classes.  This Book Challenge is called iRead and students are encouraged to form teams of readers and agree to read 25 "Must Read" titles throughout the months of December-March.  Reading Competitions will coincide with the NCAA March Madness Basketball Tournament.  Teams of students will compete against each other with questions that connect to the characters, plots, settings, and underlying themes of the stories.  This opportunity will allow for the students to not only grow as readers but also to be engaged and productive members of a team.  We would also like to thank many community members who have taken the time to help fund the purchase of many of our book titles.  iRead would not be possible without you......thanks!