December 2009

Third-grade students in Mrs. Carolyn Creer's class, once a week, go into Mrs. Tara Farr's kindergarten class and help the students. Each kindergarten student gets a third-grade buddy to work with, whether it be reading to each other, practicing flash cards, or just helping the student with whatever they are working on. Whenever there is a holiday, or at least once a month, the students get to do a fun activity together. On December 21, they got to make Christmas trees made out of ice cream cones, covered with frosting, and decorated with candy.

Brockbank fifth-graders in Mrs. Cynthia Loreen's class, as part of a creative writing assignment, made Christmas books in their class and then got to share these books with first and second-grade students. The younger students enjoyed having the older students come to their classroom and read to them.
 

For the past few weeks, Mrs. Larina Quispe's fourth-grade class have been learning about theater. The students worked in groups practicing and getting ready to perform their readers' theater Christmas plays.  The students did an excellent job and had a great time preforming them for their family and friends.

Brockbank fifth-graders in Mrs. Sally Nelson's class made log cabins as a Christmas project. They have been studying and reading the book "The Sign of the Beaver" and this project was a fun activity to go along with what they had read in the book.

Second-grade students at Brockbank Elementary celebrated the Christmas season by presenting a special program on December 22 to their parents and grandparents. The students entertained their families by singing several Christmas songs. After the program, the students and their parents returned to their classroom to decorate gingerbread houses. It was a fun way to get ready for Christmas break.
 

Brockbank Elementary first-graders celebrated the holiday season by having a Polar Express Day on December 22. They earned this day by meeting their classroom reading goals. Each first-grade class had to fill their Polar Express train car and in order to accomplish this, each student had to read at least six books. As a reward for meeting this goal, students got to wear pajamas to school; make Polar Express trains out of HoHo's, starlight mints, and chocolate bells; make engineer hats out of paper; and received a bell to wear. That afternoon they got to watch the movie, "Polar Express".

In Mrs. Tara Farr's kindergarten classes, they have been reading books about "Gingerbread Men". For a class activity they made a big gingerbread man cookie, decorated it, and baked it. When they went to get the cookie out of the oven to eat it, he was gone. The gingerbread man left the students clues around the school of where to find him. Finding the clues helped the students become more familiar with the school. The clues finally led the students back to where they started and they found the gingerbread man waiting for them.

On December 15, Brockbank Elementary had a very special visitor, Santa Claus! He came to school to visit and read to the preschool, kindergarten, first and second-grade students. The students were very excited to see him and to be able to tell him what they wanted for Christmas.

Brockbank fifth-grade students recently completed and graduated from their Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) training taught by Officer Bryan DeWitt of the Spanish Fork Police Department. Officer DeWitt taught the students several lessons on drugs and ways to avoid drug use. He stressed the influences that drugs can have and the potential dangers. As part of the D.A.R.E. requirements, students were encouraged to write an essay on what they have learned. Outstanding essay winners had the opportunity to read their essay at graduation.

Brockbank third-grade students have been filling the halls of the school with cheery Christmas music. On December 10, the third-grade classes put on a Christmas program for the rest of the students and then that evening for their parents and families to enjoy. It is a great way to get in the Christmas spirit. The students did a great job!