By Killington Elementary School
posted
Feb 14, 2013
iPads in the Classroom
Killington Elementary School educators spent a day immersed in
technology integration with a focus on the iPad at a recent
teachers' inservice day. Presenter, Ed Bianchi, shared new apps for
teachers to use with this device to differentiate instruction,
personalize learning, and assist with implementation of the Common
Core State Standards. The iPad is a versatile teaching tool that is
being used to enhance and support learning opportunities throughout
the curriculum.
Killington Safety Poster Contest Winners
Congratulations to all fourth graders for their recognition in the
National Ski Area Association (NSAA) and Killington Resort and Pico
Mountain's Safety Poster Contest 2013. The following
students earned awards for their posters:
Wilbur Abrams III - Best Safety Message Winner
Peter Sell - Best Safety Message Runner-up
Brinley Johnson - Most Creative Winner
Joey Ranberg - Most Creative Runner-up
All four posters gain entry to NSAA's national level poster
contest. Winners for this contest will be announced in April. All
of our fourth graders' posters are on display near the National
Safety Awareness tables at Pico and Ramshead lodges. KES extends
one last thank you to fourth grade teacher, Maria Garland, for
participating in this contest each year and entering creative,
original safety posters!
Life Lessons in Snow Forts
Who would think that a snow fort would provide so many
opportunities for life lessons? Listen to your children talk about
their recess time building, living in, and demolishing snow forts
and you will hear how they plan, problem solve, negotiate, and
compromise. These snow forts provide some opportunities for
children to develop the social and emotional skills they need
throughout life.
The first step to building the snow fort often requires
leadership and teamwork. Once the fort is constructed, students
seem most interested in determining its use: house, igloo, cave,
zoo, etc. Then the role-playing begins and decisions need to be
made about jobs within the fort, much like decisions about who will
cook dinner, earn pay, clean the house, and take care of Fido.
Through this cooperative play, children learn to share
responsibilities.
Like real life, snow fort-life usually presents some dilemma.
Sometimes the dilemma may simply be that the children do not agree
on who will be the dog and who will be the fort watchman. Other
times it's a more serious matter. Some of our students recently
shared that they were "fired" from one snow fort and had to seek
out a different fort. Most of the time, our students work these
problems out themselves on the playground, all a part of the game
and a big part of the life lessons that occur naturally at
recess as children interact with each other and learn from their
imaginary play in the snow fort.
Ottauquechee Health Foundation Grant
Thanks to KES School Nurse, Jamie Sudol, KES recently received a
$1,040 grant award to help students participate in the Trailblazer
Program this school year. The grant was awarded to KES through the
Ottaquechee Health Foundation.
Health Insurance for All Children
Vermont has health insurance available for all children through the
Dr. Dynasaur program; therefore, every child should have medical
and dental insurance in this state. If your child does not have
health insurance, please contact the Vermont Campaign for Health
Care Security Education Fund at 1-866-482-4723. They will provide
you with application forms and assist you with the process. They
can also be contacted at www.catamounthealth.org.
No student has to go untreated for lack of insurance.
February is Discover Languages Month
Here are a few good reasons to learn a second (or third)
language: Studies show that learning another language helps
students strengthen their understanding of their native language by
increasing their vocabulary, building an awareness of the structure
of language, and improving reading skills. Learning another
language has cognitive benefits, as well. Studies show that
multilingual people have improved executive functions. Executive
functions are an umbrella term for the cognitive processes that
regulate, control, and manage other processes such as planning,
working memory, attention, problem solving, verbal reasoning,
inhibition, mental flexibility, and task switching.
Older bilingual people enjoy improved memory, and memory decline
appears to occur later in life than it does with monolingual
people. In addition, bilingual Alzheimer's patients showed initial
symptoms of the disease an average of five years later than
monolingual people, and symptoms are less severe.
