Box Tops Garden

Box Tops Garden

 The Box Tops Garden is another example of the Garden of Learning theme being put into action. Located in the hallway to the left of the multipurpose room, the center of the garden features a giant sunflower that keeps track of the entire school's monthly box tops totals. We'll work up the stem of the sunflower towards this year's goal of $2,600.

Smaller flowers are growing next to the sunflower as each grade level has its own flower. For every 25 box tops brought in, a petal is added to the grade level flower. Some of the flowers are already in full bloom! Monthly contests will repeat as in previous years but instead of a trophy, the class with the most box tops each month will get a special addition to the garden – a ladybug, a grasshopper, or a caterpillar perhaps - as well as a unique golden petal with the classroom's name and winning month. (Thanks goes to Mrs. Hodge for providing the bug cuties!) Winning classes will be announced on GLE Today.

PTO Board Spotlight

Here at the Lizard Spot, we want to help create a closer school community. One way we thought we could do that is by spotlighting parents, teachers, and staff from the GLE community. We thought we would start with the new PTO board members. We asked President Stephanie Howard, VP Marie Shadle, and Treasurer Meghan Byrnes a few questions and here are there answers. Looks like Secretary Brett Shadle may have too much going on at the moment to find the time for an interview. (he's been busy planning that new Social Studies Fair, more coming on that) Considering his stellar sense of humor, we would love to hear his answers. Give him a little nudge, maybe he can sneak in the time!

And be sure to write to us with suggestions of folks you would like to see spotlighted. Or submit a spotlight of your own. We would love to have guest writers!
 
What made you decide to serve on the PTO board?

Meghan: I wanted to serve on the PTO because it gave me the opportunity to be involved in my children's school, while also setting the example to them that it is important to stay involved in the community and always do volunteer work.

Marie: I wanted to be more involved at my children's school and help give back to the wonderful teachers!

Stephanie: Fame, power, riches. What? I don't get paid? Just the GLE pen that Mrs. Kahler gave me? Okay then, what Meghan said.

Brett: Our kids are at GLE many hours every day, and we expect that the
education they receive will give them a solid foundation for whatever it is in life they want to do.  The more parents work with and support GLE teachers and staff, the better our kids' education will be. Staying active in the PTO, and volunteering to serve on the board, is one way to ensure everyone at GLE can live up to their potential.

Share a memorable experience from your elementary school years.

Meghan: My first elementary school had a huge playgrounds that was shaped like a boat, and it was all wooden. It was amazing!

Marie:I had a wonderful principal in elementary school.  He held gymnastic sessions in the gymnasium during winter recess, took us snow skiing after school, and held a week long sleep away camp in the spring for 4th and 5th graders.

 

Stephanie: When I was in third grade, my teacher was a marathon runner. This was the school year prior to 1984 Summer Olympics. As a class that year, we ran all the way from Columbus, IN to the Olympics in Los Angeles. We had a big map on the wall of our classroom that charted our progress towards our over 2,000 mile goal. I took a big interest in watching the Olympics that summer and I was a very fit 8 year old. 

Brett: Kickball. Always kickball at recess.  Except in winter, then it was
sledding down a hill.  After a few weeks, the snow would get slick and compacted, meaning it was fast but had hard bounces.

 What is your favorite thing to do with your family?

Meghan: My favorite thing to do with my family is go hiking in the woods.

Marie: Snuggle up and watch a movie.

Stephanie: I love to read aloud to the family. I read the entire Harry Potter series to them over the last couple of years, following each of the books with its movie. I'm very sad that we that we have reached the end of the series. 

Brett: Games are always fun, and we enjoy trips (to the beach, Chicago, Arizona).

Do you have any pets?

Meghan: We have one dog and 6 cats!

 Marie: We have one dog named Simba who is almost 11 years old.

Brett: One dog, Simba.

What's something we should know about you?

Meghan: You should know that I love animals! I am a veterinarian and work at a non-profit clinic that helps community animals. I'm very passionate about my work!

Stephanie: I play tournament style Scrabble. Most recently, I scored a game high of 622 points. I memorize words in my free time, words that you only ever use in Scrabble. It doesn't get much dorkier than that. 

Brett: I don't like to give out personal information.

 

What is your favorite?

Book:

Food: 

Song:

Color: 

Animal:

Meghan: Book: Right now, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Food: Pizza

Song: Crazy Life by Toad the Wet Sprocket

Color: Purple

Animal: Cat

Marie: Food:  sweets : )

Color:  red

Stephanie: Book: Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney, a beautifully illustrated picture book that carries the message that we should do something to make the world more beautiful.

Food: Whatever I am craving. I could go for some fried chicken and a large pile of mashed potatoes with gravy. And chocolate cake.

Song: Wagon Wheel by Old Crow Medicine Show

Color: Fall colors: burnt red, orange, golden yellow, and brown

Animal: Birds

Brett: Book: In no particular order, and the first of my favs to come to mind:
Ngugi wa Thiong'o, *A Grain of Wheat," Richard Wright, *Black Boy*,
John Kennedy Toole, "Confederacy of Dunces."
 

Food: Pizza (with appropriate beverage)

Song: Depends on my mood and what I'm doing.  But *Happy Birthday* is always nice.

 Color: Purple

Animal: Dog

How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop?

Meghan: A One... A two-HOO... A tha-three..A three!

Marie: I think 501.

Brett: 3

If you could have any super power, what would it be?

Meghan: Flying.

Brett: Just being super would be fine.

If I went to your house and looked inside your refrigerator, what would I see?

Meghan: Fruits and veggies (because I would hide the Milky Ways in the back where you couldn't see them).

Stephanie: Right now, you would see a few science experiments in progress because I desperately need to clean it out. In general: Fruits and veggies, real butter, full fat sour cream, and eggs.

What house would the sorting hat put you in if you were at Hogwarts?

Meghan: Gryffindor all the way!

Stephanie: I did one of those online sorting hat quizzes and was sorted into Hufflepuff. Hufflepuffs are loyal, honest, hard working, and tenacious. Seems like a good fit.

Brett: The one for people who have never read a Harry Potter book.

What was your favorite subject in school?

Meghan: Math

Marie: Math

Stephanie: English, History, and Art. 

Brett: History

 

 

 

  

Art at GLE!

 The Art at GLE

It's that time of year when the hallways of our school are starting get filled with displays of all the various art and writing projects that are going on. Mrs. Thompson's art projects always attract our eyes as we walk through the school. We're going to try and feature new art as it gets put up through the year. All of the grade levels started off the school year by studying still life art. Here are a few examples of each grade's project and a brief explanation of the art process behind each project. 




Kindergarten Color Wheel Flowers

K classes learned about primary colors and how they can be combined to make secondary colors. Food coloring was added to clear cups so that students could clearly see the effects of mixing colors. Whole sheets of paper were then painted and left to dry before being cut into petals for flowers. The students then learned the definition of a still life and arranged their painted flowers in vases on the table to complete their art pieces.

1^st Grade Van Gogh Sunflowers

Students began by studying artist Vincent Van Gogh's Sunflowers painting, a very famous still life. The first graders used this as inspiration to create their own sunflower still lifes. Their pieces included torn paper flowers, with real sunflower seed centers, placed in painted vases on a table. The flowers were made even more vibrant by being placed on bright green paper.

2^nd Grade Still Life of Flower with Vase

Second graders used a variety of mediums to complete their still lifes. The flower petals and vases were cut out of paper that had been colored with paint and watercolor crayons. The centers of the flowers were coffee filters that were colored with markers and then sprayed with water, causing the colors to bleed and blend together. The final arrangement was made on a solid colored background.

3^rd Grade Chinese Vase Painting

  Third graders began by studying Blue Willow pottery. This served as the inspiration for their still lifes. They paid particular attention to the borders of dishes, noting the scenery and patterns. They took what they learned and applied it to the pattern on their painted vases. They practiced brush strokes when painting the flowers in blue, yellow, and white.

4^th Grade Van Gogh Oil Pastel Sunflowers

For their still life, the fourth graders did an oil pastel take-off of Van Gogh's Sunflowers. They talked a little bit about Van Gogh and his artwork before beginning. They drew single sunflowers on a single color backgrounds of their choice. When they made the sunflowers, they learned to blend the colors of the oil pastels. To top it off, they used line design to make their backgrounds as well as their borders.

5^th Grade Matisse Still Life

To do this painting, the fifth grade first learned about Henri Matisse and how his paintings were characterized by black lines, bright colors, and many patterns. They incorporated all three of these elements into their still life paintings. They used all three elements of design to make these vibrant paintings.