James Island Elementary Newsletter

Dear Families,

As we look ahead to spring break, I hope you take this time to relax and recharge. Our scholars deserve some well-earned R&R. Upon returning from spring break we enter testing season here at James Island Elementary. There will be various assessments during the month of April and May. Student attendance is paramount for the last 9 week of school. There will also be many field trips and activities to look forward to as we celebrate the end of another amazing year!

Thank you for being one of the BEST parts of JIES,

Ms. Gregory

March 27: Spring Concert @ 6 pm

March 29: Half Day (10:40 am dismissal)

March 29: Yearbook Early Bird Deadline

April 1-5: Spring Break

April 8: Teacher Workday- No school for students

April 11: SIC Meeting @ 6 pm

April 12: Awards Ceremony (3rd-5th Grade)

April 19: 1Island Night- Riverdogs Game @ 7:05 pm

April 28: PTA Spring Fling

Congratulations to our amazing Fifth grade students who participated in the Trebuchet: Storm the Citadel Competition which took place on February 10th. Ms. Drayton and Ms. Newman headed up 4 teams that went to the competition. Students built their trebuchets from a kit and then practiced after school for 6 weeks to perfect the goal of making the ball hit a target using weights to affect accuracy and distance. JIES won 2nd place for the Team Spirit Award AND the team “Ugly Ducklings” received 1st Place for the most accurate shots!

The STEAM Science Lab was busy in February with a focus on Life and Physical Sciences.

Fifth Grade did a research project on energy needs of animals then focused on Ecosystems through a look at the marsh environment that surrounds our community. We learned about the hidden world of plankton in the food chain and explored the importance of oysters in the marsh environment. A Science Club is now offered to 5th graders interested in exploring different types of science. We meet on Fridays and have started growing Spartina Alterniflora (marsh grass) for the Seeds to Shoreline Restoration Program.The grass will be planted at James Island County Park.

Fourth Grade finished up the energy unit with a hands-on look at communication solutions. The students made and tested models that transfers information using patterns. A new unit on Landforms started with a hands-on look at how sediment travels in erosion and weathering.

Third Grade looked in-depth at various life cycles of living things which concluded by exploring factors that can break life cycles to populations in the environment. We moved on to “Parent Traits” with hands-on activities of plant and animal characteristics inherited from parents.

Second Grade continued to explore “Changing Lands” with many hands-on activities focusing on ways to prevent wind and water from eroding the land.

First Grade explored animal parts and learned how people get ideas from observing animals. The students became engineers by designing and making a way to hang pictures using ideas from how animals use their parts.

Kindergarten wrapped up their weather unit by looking at why some animals hibernate. We explored this idea by watching real Grizzly Bears hibernating in Canada via live cam and found out that even bears can be wiggly in their sleep! Want to keep an eye on the hibernating bears? Bear Den Web Cam

Please join us for 1Island Night at the Riverdogs on Friday, April 19th. This is for students, families, and staff from all James Island schools.