The week after Spring Break

Monday morning started with a blast.  The kids came in full of conversations about Spring Break trips.  The cafeteria was full of laughter and talk before the first bell rang.
Our KRCE roving reporter put together this short film this week.  Everyone wanted to share their Spring Break stories.

The the first bell rang......
School began.....and....you can tell we are in "Testing Season."  Within a few moments, after the bell rang, students were at their desks working away.  Spring Break seems ions away from Monday morning at RCE.

Second Grade is deep into preparation for the Bugs Play.  The children are singing and humming as they walk through the halls.  Looking forward to the big day!

If you haven't been to Memorial City Mall recently  - take a walk around the Mall and find the butterfly created by RCE and our sister school Sherwood....so precious!

For grades 3, 4 & 5 the STAAR is looming...students are working hard to prepare for the tests later in the Spring.  There are several things we all can do to prepare the students for the STAAR test.
     *Make sure your child is getting enough sleep.
     *Eat a good breakfast.
     *Get enough exercise.
     *Read every night.
     *Share some family time.
     *Relax!!!
Students at RCE are well prepared.  They will do a great job on the STAAR tests this Spring.


This week I've had some fun working with students in grades 3, 4 & 5 playing around with some simple animation.  Here are some links from a few of the animations to enjoy.  We'll be scheduling a few more recess lessons in the near future....I love seeing the kids excited about what they learned.
I can't wait to see what they produce when they have more time!
Student 1   Student 3     Student 5     Student 7       Student 9
Student 2   Student 4     Student 6     Student 8       Student 10

My favorite lesson this week was with 4th grade students in Mrs. Rixie's class.  One morning during circulation - a group of students popped wanting to share information with a PreK Class.  Evidently, a PreK student had written them a letter about their planets in the hallway.  This group of students didn't want to just write a note back - they wanted to do more....so a Google slideshow was created to teach, an animation created for fun and to finish things off they wanted a kahoot to make sure the students learned about the planets.  I've linked their slideshow with the animation  (when you open, click on present.  On the next to last slide - click on the photo of the planets for the animation) ....the kahoot we'll have to do another time.  It is soooo much fun to see the response to a question take off.  This is why I love working in the Library!

Fourth graders responding to PreK's question

Enjoy some photos from this week!  Happy Spring!

Just hours until Spring Break!

I don't know who is more excited about Spring Break - Students or Teachers!  This week has been such a busy week with very strange schedules....hopefully, after Spring Break we'll get back into the routine.
We had Voting on Tuesday, Class Photos on Wednesday, an author (Natalie Lloyd) on Wednesday pm, First Grade's play - How Does Your Garden Grow -, Hands-on Science and a Choir concert - It was an amazing week.

Last Saturday night, a group of the Rummel Creek choir members performed for the Kids' Reading Room Gala.  They did an amazing job sharing their voices, recorders, and ukeleles.  The Kids' Reading Room is a special room set up for children in apartments in north Spring Branch.  They are able to come to the rooms and read books.  Mrs. Trish Schappell, former RCE teacher, and iCoach is the founder.  Rummel Creek families continue to support Mrs. Schappell through donations of books and time volunteering.  Reading is fundamental - something that we here at RCE know, however, students in north Spring Branch do not come from literacy-rich homes.  Mrs. Schappell is making a difference in children's lives.

From the March Choir Concert

Thanks to Watch Dogs who watched over our campus during voting.  We enjoyed seeing their smiling faces.  Voting went smoothly and as always it was fun to see familiar faces from the past in the library.  So much fun to catch up with former students and parents.

Author, Natalie Lloyd, entertained students in grades 3, 4 & 5.  Her newest book is "Problim Children".  It is the first book in a series about a family of 7 children with unique characteristics.   Her last book was on the 2017-18 Bluebonnet list, The Key to Extraordinary.

First Grade's play, How Does Your Garden Grow, is always a fun time in the Spring.  "Herb, the "H" is silent is almost as memorable as the Nutcracker, "If I do say so myself."  The students did a wonderful job preparing for this show.

Here is a link to the video  

We're finishing up the Healthy Lifestyles Competition at RCE.  The students have worked hard...but...just because the competition is over doesn't mean we can't stay healthy.  In the Spring the weather is so nice - so ride a bike or take a walk.  Soon it will be time for water sports!  Eat healthily.  Testing season is upon us and eating a well-rounded breakfast is good for the brain.  Everything we learned during the Healthy Lifestyle Competition can be used every day for the rest of your lives.  Be Healthy.   Congratulations to Mrs. Demeris' fifth-grade class.  They did a fabulous job of recording their activities.

Chess team is busy!  Learning new skills each Thursday afternoon in the library.

It's that Spring time of the year when you look at the fifth-grade students about to walk out the walls of RCE to the great big world.  This week I caught 2 fifth graders going above and beyond.   Well - actually a few....the KRCE crew gets here early to work on the show.  This week they have made movies, performed skits and been very flexible.  If you look closely at the photos you'll see how they have their different scripts ready to pull out.  I love knowing that they are thinking ahead and prepared.  The Roadrunner News crew is quick on making videos  - hopefully, soon we'll have their website updated and ready to share.  Enjoy a little creativity by the KRCE crew...

Link to video 1    video 2

Well - it's the end of a LONG week - Spring Break is just hours away.  Students are being checked early to catch planes to far away places.  Have a wonderful Spring Break.  Rest. Read. or do whatever makes you happy.  Stay Safe.  Enjoy your family time.  See you after Spring Break!