ISS Downlink

Today students at Wickliffe had the opportunity to be a part of a once-in-a-lifetime experience. At about 11:05 am, we had the chance to participate in a question and answer session with Expedition 32 flight engineer Suni Williams who was aboard the International Space Station. Twenty students were chosen to ask Suni questions. 

The downlink was held in our gym. Several community members were asked to be a part of the ISS downlink. We created signs for the guests in attendance. 

The gym was equipped with two screens. One screen was used to view Suni Williams and the other was used to track the orbit of the International Space Station.

We waited patiently for the downlink to begin...

Suni answered questions about life in space, her job while on the ISS, and what she does for fun in space. 

It was an amazing experience that will be remembered for a very long time! 

Follow the link below to watch the downlink: 

Station Education Event with Wickliffe Progressive Community School

Mission Statement

Last week, we spent a lot of time discussing how we wanted our classroom to look and feel. One afternoon, the fifth graders were asked to answer questions that were posted around the room.

Once everyone answered the questions, we sat down together and looked over all of the responses. As we read each person's answer, we wrote down common responses. We all decided that the reoccurring answers were most important to us as a class. From there, we created our class mission statement for the school year.

We used the website Tagul to create our class mission statement in a word cloud.


Here is our final product:

Updates

Please add the following dates to your calendar:

Tomorrow, August 28,  is the Downlink with the International Space Station at 11:05 am.

Thursday, August 30, is picture day.

Thursday, August 30, is Parent Information Night at 6:30 pm.

And We're Off!

Our fifth and final year at Wickliffe is officially under way. We had a very busy first day of school catching up with old friends, meeting new friends, and setting the tone for our fifth grade year.

Here are some highlights of our day:

We decorated the front door of our classroom with our names.

We spent some time talking about what it looks like and feels like to be respectful to our space and each other. We also started to talk about what it means to be the leaders of the school.

We introduced ourselves and started working on a project that will help us get to know each other.

We used our problem solving skills this afternoon to save Fred (a gummy worm) who was stranded from his boat. The fifth graders worked together to get Fred's life preserver (a gummy Life Saver) on his body. However, it wasn't that easy. The life preserver was underneath the upside-down boat and the students were only allowed to use four paper clips to help save Fred. Students put their heads together and used their problem-solving skills. It was amazing to see the collaboration and creative ways the fifth graders saved Fred.

For the rest of the week we will continue to learn about each member of our classroom, build classroom community, and establish classroom rules and routines together.


Here's to a wonderful fifth grade year in room 209!

Welcome!

Thank you for stopping by our classroom blog, The Story of 209. This space will show how we learn and grow in fifth grade as we create our very own, unique story.

Please check here frequently for classroom newsletters, photographs, and documentation of our learning.