Patrick Henry Post

After working with Springboard to Learning, Ms. Jackson's students were able to write, rehearse, and perform a play of their own creation. Students worked together to practice, and the entire class was able to participate in the process. With the final editing, the video above shows off some serious acting skills! Congratulations to all of the students involved in this process, and thank you for inspiring us in our own artistic pursuits!

35% of our students at Patrick Henry are virtual for fourth quarter. Ms. Wildermuth, Ms. Ivory, and Ms. Versen have been hosting them in their virtual classrooms throughout the school year, and the learning continues! It has been really wonderful watching deep instruction happening for all three age groups. This week, Ms. Wildermuth's class was caught spelling words to create a full sentence together. Students were enthusiastically participating to show off their spelling skills, and they let me listen in as they created sentences together. The teamwork and respect between the students was very apparent as they waited patiently for each other, took turns, and followed Ms. Wildermuth's instructions thoughtfully. I was also impressed with their strong spelling skills! It is such a thrill watching our students learning and growing.

Ms. Hammock's 4th graders just started reading "The Hope Chest" by Karen Schwabach. This is a great time to pick up a new book and read along with them! Audible's summary of the book is included below, along with a few first assignments our students will complete. Join us on this journey!

"Eleven-year-old Violet has one goal in mind when she runs away from home: to find her sister, Chloe. Violet's parents said Chloe had turned into the wrong sort of person, but Violet knew better. The only problem is that Chloe's not in New York anymore. She's moved on to Tennessee, where she's fighting for the right of women to vote. As Violet's journey grows longer, her single-minded pursuit of reuniting with her sister changes. Before long she is standing side by side with her new friends - suffragists, socialists, and colored people - the type of people of whom her parents would not approve. But if Violet's becoming the wrong sort of person, why does it feel just right?"

Our Early Childhood classrooms have spent this week deep in the land of FROGS! As they learn about life cycles, they also read a book about frogs and incorporated frogs into their math problems. If you see anyone from Ms. Valentine, Ms. Munnelly, or Ms. Smith's class next week, ask them what they've learned about this hoppy little creature!

Ms. Jackson's third graders have teamed up with Ms. Teska and Ms. Jami's second graders to build a reading buddy program between students. They were able to take advantage of the Reading Room on the second floor to spread out and enjoy their reading time together. It was inspirational watching students of different grade levels come together to enjoy a good book. They were also incredibly kind and patient with each other as they worked through difficult words and concepts. Well done to our middle grades, and a big shout out to our teachers for establishing this partnership!

With the weather changing rapidly from freezing to just plain hot, it's time for us to get moving and get back in shape! Two classrooms were caught right in the middle of their exercises this week. Ms. Butler's students were hula-hooping their way through PE class with Ms. Blake, and Ms. Willard's students were Go-Noodling their way through a brain break in their kindergarten room. It was fun to do some heel touches, arm circles, and hip rolling with our amazing students! Join our classes as we challenge our students to stay active!

Each week, I'll feature a famous poem or poet to celebrate National Poetry Month. I challenge all of our students to try their own hand at poetry this week to delve into self-expression. Highlighted above is a famous poem by Shel Silverstein titled, "Sick," where Peggy Ann McKay seems to be incredibly sick but then makes a miraculous recovery! Shel Silverstein's love of words and silliness have been entertaining children (and adults!) for years.

Click below to find a new poem every day and be inspired to write your own creations!

Thanks to Mrs. O'Shea and Ms. Jones, our amazing computer lab is up and running! We are preparing for our MAP test in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade, and in order to keep our students socially distanced and in a quiet, calm testing environment, we had to get our computer lab back into shape. Mrs. O'Shea, Ms. Jones, and our district technology department worked so hard over the last several weeks to get the computers hooked up, cleaned, and ready for our students to use. I cannot wait to applaud our students' efforts on the MAP test, but before we can do that, we have to say thank you to all staff who made it possible for this computer lab to host them!

We will be weeding the garden beds, moving mulch, and providing garden work time therapy for all interested staff members this spring. Mr. Farmer is pictured here depicting the JOY of gardening. It can be an incredible stress reliever and there is a lot of research that suggests gardeners not only live longer but also are happier people. Join us in our efforts to make ourselves better people and our school a more beautiful space for our students. Email Dr. Rogers if you're interested.

The St. Louis Cardinals had their home opener this week on Thursday, April 8th. We were excited to watch them win their first game of the season last week while they were on the road, and this week, we were even more excited to welcome them home to St. Louis for their first home game of the year. We love going to school this close to Busch Stadium and rooting on our favorite team from just down the street! We wish them all the best this season, not only in winning baseball games, but also in remaining healthy and safe throughout the pandemic. Go Cards!!