5th Grade Zines

Inspired by the 2018 Kids Read Across Rhode Island book The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Perez, the 5th Graders in Ms. Stevenson's class are creating Zines about their experience in Lower School at Hamilton.  A Zine is a creative, handmade publication about ANYTHING.  Yes, anything.

In preparation for creating their Zines, the kids spent the last several weeks developing questions they had about how Hamilton started and why.  They interviewed Mr. Green about Hamilton and  his experiences both at Hamilton and prior to working here.  The students also brainstormed ideas to include in their Zines about their school experiences both before and during their time at Hamilton.

They just created their booklets.  Next week, they will decide which experiences to include in their Zines and  design them using magazines, markers, colored paper, etc.

Interested in making your own Zines?   Check out these great step-by-step directions from Celia C. Perez.

Here are a couple of videos to inspire your own creations.  The top video is from the Oregonian newspaper and the other is from creative DIY vlogger Jordan Clark.

Grandparents and Specials Friends Enjoy time in the Story Room

There is always so much excitement on Grandparent's Day. There is  mutual excitement between students, grandparents and special friends. Faculty and staff are also excited and a little nervous because we all want it to be an amazing day. 
Pre K, and two of my second grade classes spent time in the Story Room on Grandparents Day. It was great to see and hear the adults reflect on their school experiences and compare their experience to the amazing opportunities presented to students here at Wheeler. 
My Pre K group shared a story and craft with their grandparents. It was great to see the grandparents jump right into the fun of listening and creating. 

My second grade classes have been working on writing and illustrating their own fables. They shared their fables with their grandparents and or special friend. 

Battle of the Books

On Thursday evening, April 28, 2018, 4th graders from Wheeler and Hamilton, Lincoln, Gordon, and St. Michael's all gathered to participate in the 29th Battle of the Books.  The students have been reading since Winter Break from the 2018 Battle of the Books List.  The list consists of a wide variety of 30 books  and each child must read at least 10.  The night of the Battle the 4th graders answer questions about the books with their teammates which include kids from each of the other schools.  Each school also presents a cheer. As always, Wheeler and Hamilton kids created this fun and dynamic cheer from scratch.   For those of you who have never attended a Battle you would not believe the energy and excitement that fills the auditorium.  This year, one of the questions asked the kids to identify the song which explains why a character named Jeremiah was nicknamed Frog.  The answer prompted to the audience to spontaneously sing out, "Jeremiah was a bullfrog.  Was a good friend of mine..."  What a fun night! (video credit: Jon Green)