Sibley second-graders hold Day of Thanks

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Cindy Shahan&8217;s second-graders at Sibley Elementary will have &8220;A Day of Thanks&8221; in their classroom today. The students have written speeches about what they are thankful for, and will present their speeches to families that day.

Southwest Middle School takes &8216;Christmas Carol&8217; field trip

All seventh-grade students will participate in an annual field trip to the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis today. They will be seeing the play, &8220;A Christmas Carol.&8221; This will be the finale to their study of Charles Dickens&8217; story, &8220;A Christmas Carol ,&8221; which will be read in seventh-grade English or reading classes.

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Early childhood screening set

The state of Minnesota requires a developmental screening of all 3- to 4-year-old children. A free screening will be offered at Brookside Education Center on Dec. 7th, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The screening consists of simple checks of vision, hearing, growth, immunization status, language, muscle, and social development. Call Deb at 379-4843 or e-mail

dwenum@albertlea.k12.mn.us to schedule your child&8217;s one-hour appointment.

Students create giant paper-chain flag

In honor of Veterans Day, Sibley&8217;s second-grade classes created a giant paper chain flag that hangs from the hallway ceiling outside their classroom doors. Each student was given two stars to take home and label with the names of a family member or friend who has served or is serving in the armed forces. The stars were then added to the flag. Some of the students also wrote a letter to veterans thanking them for fighting for our freedom and for keeping us safe.

Career exploration day held

On Nov. 8, the vocational seminar class from Albert Lea High School attended a career exploration day in Minneapolis at the McNamara Center. The event was designed for students to gain career exposure and for employers to gain access to a pool of emerging talents. The students were welcomed with a tote bag that included a few essential items for them. They listened to three professionals who became disabled later in their lives and how they overcame their disabilities. The day ended with visiting business representatives, having their resumes critiqued, and mock interviewing.

The session started with Tim Pawlenty&8217;s letter, recognizing Nov. 8 as a day for career exploration day for students with disabilities. Two guest speakers were lawyers and the last was a Minnesota Department of Education representative. The session ended with a drawing and an Albert Lea High School student won a credit card with $25 of spending money.

The students visited with several businesses and other employment agencies. They also showed their resumes to be critiqued by a business representative. They also attended mock job interviews.

Classes team up with Riverland nursing students

Second-graders in Michele Burkard&8217;s, Anne Jerdee&8217;s and Michelle Kluender&8217;s classrooms at Halverson Elementary worked with Riverland nursing students, Kristina Schroeder and Penny Polis, on germs and handwashing skills. The students first learned what germs are, what germs do to our bodies, and how they are spread. Students were also taught the correct way to wash their hands. The favorite part of the lesson was using the black light to show germs on their hand before and after washing. Each child was provided a packet of activities to take home to share with their families.

Are you smarter than a second-grader?

Question: What are the four types of germs?

Answer: Bacteria, virus, fungus and protozoa.

Question:

What are the five steps in hand washing?

Answer:

1. wet hands with warm water

2. soap up

3. scrub up / lather

4. rinse off

5. towel dry

Question: How long should you use soap to lather up?

Answer:

10-15 seconds (about as long as it takes to sing &8220;Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star&8221; or the alphabet song).

Ahlahasa earns seventh place

Ahlahasa received a seventh place in the Best of Show competition at the national scholastic journalism convention last weekend in Philadelphia. The Best of Show placing was in the special section category for its work on the issue of &8220;Commitment.&8221; The commitment issue appeard in the November issue of Ahlahasa.

Also, Ahlahasa co-editor Jacob Winkels received an honorable mention competing in the national individual write-off contest in the newswriting category.

Albert Lea High School holiday vocal concert slated

The Albert Lea High School Vocal Department encourages everyone to come to its annual holiday concert to be held on Monday, Dec. 10, at 6 and 8 p.m. in the high school auditorium. This concert has traditionally been a favorite of the community and is designed to put people in the holiday spirit.

The concert will feature the Tiger Choir, Varsity Choir, Concert Choir, Caroliers and Chorale singing both traditional carols and other choral pieces. In addition, at the 6 p.m. show elementary students from Halverson and Sibley will perform with the high school singers, and at 8 p.m. students from Lakeview and Hawthorne elementaries will perform.

Admission to the concert is $7 for adults and $5 for seniors and students.

Music concert passes are also valid for this concert. Tickets are available at the door and the doors will open at 5:20 p.m.

Class researches immigrant groups

Wendy Greenfield&8217;s eighth-grade world geography class has been researching various immigrant groups and creating PowerPoint presentations on their findings to share with the class. This exercise is designed to meet state geography standards and to sharpen research and technology skills by identifying the causes and consequences of global migrations of Europeans, Africans and Asians.

Students selected an immigrant group of their choice. They used various book and online resources to complete a research guide on their chosen group. Then students summarized their research in a PowerPoint that they shared with the rest of the class.

Are you smarter than an eighth-grader?

Question: Why did approximately 1 million Irish immigrants come to the United States in the 1840-1850s?

Answer: To escape the devastation caused by the potato famine.

Do you know what an eighth-grader knows?

Question: What is the density of a liquid that has a mass of 50 grams and a volume of 50 mL?

Answer: 1 g/mL.