Thursday, May 19, 2011

Civil War Letters

By Maggie and Izzy 5K

The fifth graders wrote letters to family or friends pretending to be in the civil war at a battle of their choice. Many people wrote about the terrible living conditions such as bad food and no sleep. Others asked how life was at home and how the family was faring. After they finished their rough drafts they made paper that looked like it was from that time and place using a special procedure. First, they soaked a piece of paper in water with teabags in it. Then, they used marker to decorate the paper with marks to make it look dirty or bloodstained.  An optional choice was to rip part of the paper. Finally, they hung the papers up to dry and wrote the letters. The teachers then hung them up in the hallway so everybody could see their good work. 

The 5th Grade Transition Picnic

By Gracie F.

On Tuesday, the 5th graders of Holmes, Whittier, Lincoln, and Hatch schools went to Taylor Park to have a picnic. After we all ate our lunches, the teachers divided us into groups with other schools so we could get to know each other. After we got into groups, we did some activities that helped us learn to work together. Some of the activities were a type of relay race where we would tag someone, they would run to the other side of the field and back, and tag someone else. Then the cycle would happen over again. We did that so next year at Brooks, everyone would know more people because of the people they met at the picnic. Maggie said about the picnic, “It was fun to meet new people. Plus we got cotton candy and popsicles.” Peyton says, “It was fun but I would’ve liked more time to meet new people.”  That was a fun 5th grade field trip and I hope they continue to do it for the years to come.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

The Fun Run

By Maggie F., Peter G., and Izzy L.

 

On Saturday, May 7, over 200 Holmes students ran in the Fun Run. The age range was from kindergarten to eighth grade, and all District 97 studentss were admitted. At Holmes there were trophies for first through tenth place. And anyone who finishes gets a ribbon. They divided students into groups from K-2nd, 3rd- 5th, and 6th-8th. This year there were not enough 6th-8th graders, so they combined 3rd -5th and 6th-8th graders who ran against each other at 8:00. The at about 8:15, the kindergarten through 2nd people went, this year the Fun Run had an excellent turnout. Mr. Williams got nearly 270 permission slips. In 3rd-5th grades at Holmes, Sam M. got 1st, John M. got 4th, and Katie L. got 5th. The Fun Run is a way to have fun and run.

Friday, May 13, 2011

5th grade mural

By Alex G.

Every year 5th graders create a mural somewhere for school. This year they are doing it on the fence of our earth tub. When the final product is complete it should look a lot brighter and colorful. During the last few weeks of school, Mr. Kristofer and the students will head outside and paint their final product. Hopefully the 5th graders will enjoy doing one of their final art projects at Holmes. Check out the earth tub when they finish.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Mrs. Anderson's Class Movie Project



By Katie L
This year the 3rd graders in Mrs. Anderson’s class did a movie project for one of their research projects. They split up into small groups and got a topic. These topics are wild animals as pets or for profit, wild animals in the city or suburbs, wild animals in the country, and BP Oil Spill damage to animals. After this the 3rd graders got straight to work. After checking out books, looking on websites and filling out research sheets they were ready to start working on their movie presentations. They each had a different view on the topic. It could be a hunter, landowner, and many more views. Here is a clip of their awesome presentation!!

5th Graders Trip to the Robert Crown Center


 Grace S. and Maddie L.
     
     The fifth graders are starting an exciting new unit on the human reproductive system. On Tuesday, April 26th, the 5th Graders made their way to the Robert Crown Center in Hinsdale. The students learned about the reproductive organs and puberty. Students were separated by gender. The girls and boys filed into similar classrooms, where they got to learn about the male and female reproductive organs. They used iRemotes for this program so they could take a pre-test at the beginning to see what they knew and the end to see what they learned. The boys' and girls' programs differed greatly, but they both had the iRemotes and the same basis: the male and female reproductive systems. They learned about their own genders' changes during puberty. Get excited 4th Graders! You'll be going there next year!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Shakespeare plays


by Nathan A.
In Mrs. Kraft’s room we have been working on Shakespeare plays. Each homeroom has their own play. So far we have just been rotating parts. You can have either have a small part, like a side part or a big part like a main character. You can also be part of the stage crew or make the costumes or the artist. It is really fun just doing the play and having a laugh with our friends. Mrs. Manual’s class is doing Taming of the Shrew, Mrs. Peterson’s class is doing Hamlet, Mrs. Kraft’s is doing Comedy of Errors, and Ms. Yigsaw’s class is doing Macbeth.


Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Mrs. Rehfield's class mounted Smart Board


By Nathan A.

Lately the school has been getting a lot of smart boards. A smart board is almost like a white board, but is sensitive to a touch and uses a projector so you can see images and you can go on the internet and interact with the pictures. David W. also said that they use the smart board every day except when they have a substitute. We spoke briefly about how the smart board made his class easier and harder because it breaks a lot but it can be helpful because you can switch pages back and forth when you are writing. He also said that his favorite thing to do on the smart board was to play the dice game. Then he said he would rate it a 7 out of 10 because it can be very helpful but frustrating when it breaks. He said he said that if he could do anything on the smart board he said he would play games on mini clip “which are internet games.” Peyton O. told me that it makes class a little more interesting because you are not just using a regular white board. Oskar W. told makes you want to raise your hand in class so you can write on the smart board . I hope you get to check out one of these smart boards that are throughout the building.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

5th grade overnight

Evan Kavanaugh

The 5th grade went on an overnight field trip to the YMCA’s camp Algonquin to learn about the outdoors. The food was pretty good there though some people disliked it. The counselors were really nice. The dorms were wide spaced with plenty of rooms and a kitchen, the beds weren’t very comfortable, but every place has to have down side or a stumbling block. The most popular activity was the Israeli game Gaga Ball were a handful of people are in a ring and a ball is dropped in and everyone has try to slap the ball at someones feet to get them out. Pioneering activity was most interesting. We all sat around a fire talking about the Pioneers, we even got to see a replica of a Pioneer home. We got to try a game that Pioneer kids loved to play its basically tug-a-war the difference is you need to try to pull each other off a stump. After that we all got to try Johnny cakes which were not exactly the best thing everyone had tried because they were stale a little bit but, they were good altogether. We also learned how to use a compass. One night we had a night hike. In the middle of it the counselors gave us wint-o-green lifesavers. We were instructed to find a partner and then bite down on them as hard as we could and the most amazing thing happened, the lifesavers lit up when we bit down on them. We all went down to a campfire and we were entertained with skits and songs. Then we all got smores and settled down for the night though in the boys cabin it was still very active. Our overnight was an amazing experience that everyone enjoyed.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Reading Olympics

by Alex G.
Round one of Reading Olympics was amazing! There were five teams of three people. The winning team moved on to the final round at the Oak Park Public Library. The winning team was Emma V. from Ms. Manuel’s class, and Maggie F. and Gracie F. from Ms. Kraft’s homeroom. At the Library their team and another team were neck and neck. They had to move on to the Sudden Death round! In this round if you got a wrong answer you were out. The other team gave the wrong name for the author giving Holmes the victory! The team’s strategy was reading all the books and paying attention to details. Gracie and Maggie’s favorite books were Dealing with Dragons and Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat. Emma’s favorite book was Dealing with Dragons. All three of them look forward to the second round in the Spring. Good luck!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

I am the...

By Michela A.

I am the moon shining at night

I am the sun dancing in the sky

I am the stars blinking like a flashlight

I am the candy melting in your mouth

I am the person I want to be


If you want to read more poems go to the Poetry Page.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

5th Grade Movie Field Trip

By Maggie F and Izzy L

The 5th graders at Holmes School went on a fun field trip to the Lake Theater. They saw Percy Jackson and the Olympians, a movie about Greek Mythology. It is about a boy who leads a normal life until he is whisked off to Camp Half-Blood. Along with his friends Grover and Annabeth he sets off on an important journey that will save life as he knows it. Isabella thought it was a good movie except for some cheesy moments. Noah thought the book was much better than the movie. I think over all most 5th graders enjoyed themselves, but they also suggest to read the book.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

The School House Rock Field Trip



By Katie L

The third graders went on a fun and educational field trip. They went to The School House Rock in Skokie. Max said that the best part was the play. In the play a new school teacher was very nervous. The kids had to help him get ready for school. “We learned about the conjunction song and counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s. Kate says, “The math was a review but everything else was new.” She also said , “The show connected to our learning in LA and math.” The third graders would like to go on the field trip again.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Reading Olympics


By Isabella, Katie, and Maggie

Reading Olympics has always been fun for lots of 5th grade participants. Reading Olympics is when groups of three students read certain books to prepare for the three different rounds. On the day of Reading Olympics the teams go to the school library. There they are given 30 seconds to answer questions about the books. This year in round one at Holmes School three girls named Emma, Gracie, and Maggie won and then moved on to the district competition. There they competed against 10 other schools and won by one point. So, Holmes is the area champion until the Spring Competition.