Down Under

After enduring the sub-zero temperatures in Antarctica for the past couple of weeks, we made the relatively short journey of 3000 miles to arrive in Sydney, Australia.  We were thrilled to find the current temperature at 80F!  Many of the students are looking forward to snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef while visiting this small continent.  Others want to get up close to and go inside the famous Sydney Opera House.

Our customs agent was the ever-popular Mr. Morse, from the after school program.  He was very thorough in making sure our passports were up to date.

It looks there is more snow in the forecast for the coming week.  Please remember to send your child to school with proper snow gear/outerwear every day.

Reminder: Wednesday, February 11, we are hosting a Read-In.  We are still looking for three more volunteers who can stay after to help with the bowls project.

Enjoy the weekend!

January 21

Members of our class have been morning announcers for the past week or so.  They have done a tremendous job imparting information clearly and with great enthusiasm!

This afternoon we had the chance to participate in a webinar- my very first!  Live from Antarctica we saw and heard a scientist tell us about what it is like to work down there.  She shared some amazing facts about the temperature and the work she does studying the Emperor and Adelie penguins.  Did you know that Antarctica basically doubles in size from the summer to the winter?  Good thing, since the penguins can't see in the dark, they need to move away from the South Pole during the winter to find some daylight, as the sun never rises in the winter months.  Can you imagine?

Antarctica!

Today we flew to Antarctica, where it is not much colder than here in Arlington- only 16 degrees below zero!  (It is summer there right now, after all...) The kids were well-equipped for their arrival, donning all their outerwear for the flight over!  

We learned that the flight was over 8000 miles from Beijing, China.  We were met at McMurdo Station by another friendly customs agent, complete with pet penguin.

In the afternoon we were invited for a spontaneous movement break (much needed after another week stuck inside for indoor recess) by Ms. Ferola's class.  We had fun singing and dancing around.  

Then we ended the day listening to a Mercy Watson read-aloud.  She has become one of our favorite characters!

January 9

LRoom 210 had a busy day after a long week, coming off the holiday break.  It began with a special read-aloud: Avery's mom, Summer, came in to read in honor of Avery's birthday.  She read a story and then Avery read a story, with great expression!

Then we were treated to some guest math instructors: Ms. Ferola's class came to show us how they made rectangle riddles on the iPad's.

After lunch we visited Ms. Marsh's kindergarten class to sing "Go Bananas" with them.  Ask your child to sing it for you; it is loads of fun!  While there we also read a beautiful book called "The Peace Book." Many of the students made connections to this book.

We ended the day with a bit of choice time.  Some children chose to play with the Story Cubes, a recent gift for our classroom from Brady's dad. Thank you, Andrew!