Rainbow Serpent

AP is working on the outline of our rainbow serpent. We read the book, Big Rain Coming by Katrina Germein and used the ideas in her book to create our own rainbow serpent. The rainbow serpent is an Aborigine Dreamtime creature that made the mountains, waterholes, and rivers of Australia.

LP and KR are happily working on their part of the outline.

Our fantastic rainbow serpent slithers down the entire length of our hallway - stop by and see it. You must look closely because the head is hidden from view when you first enter the hall. We looked at many Aboriginal pictures of the rainbow serpent and chose to paint it in the Aborigine tradition. Look for our hand prints - it's our way of signing our art. The first graders also have their interpretations of the rainbow serpent - not to be missed!

Jumping Kangaroos

Jump, kangaroo, jump.

Hop... hop... hop...

Can you help me put my grass on? Kindergartners, with help from the 8th graders and each other, used a drive mechanism, much like a jack-in-the-box, to make a jumping kangaroo. We had help bending the wire and taping it in place before we added our paper grass and then our kangaroos. We love our finished products!

Just wait til you see mine.

AP is checking out BB's kangaroo. It's lookin' good.

KR and LP working on their jumping kangaroos.

MB is helping QD figure out what's next. How do you make a jumping kangaroo?

Hmmm... now what?

Australian Animal Research

ZD is always there to help out - he's helping KB research the brain coral, one of the many corals that are found on the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.

KS and BB are using the mini Dells to research Australia's Honey Possum.

AJ shows CO where to find more information on the frilled lizard.

BE wrote his entire research himself with the help of high school student, BM.

Tasmanian Devils really are interesting! QD and KS find many interesting facts. Each student in kindergarten is finding 10 facts about their research animal. We read the book, Ten Things I Know About Kangaroos by Wendy, Wax, and Della Rowland and are using it as the template for our research. We've all learned lots about the animals of Australia; some of them are found no where else on earth.

Cove Coloring Contest

BE is our kindergarten winner for the K-8 winter coloring contest. He drew his family in a boat on the water. Notice the clouds, his family in the boat and the sail! Congratulations. We have some very artistic students and the winning artwork can be seen in the school cafeteria.

Look Ma, No Cavities!

Students from the ODS dental school visited Cove and checked out teeth! ODS provides this service to local schools each year at no cost - it's a win-win situation - our students get a free exam and their students get some hands-on experience at being dental technicians.

Mem Fox

We have been reading many books by Australian author, Mem Fox but today Mem read to us! The kinders and first graders were very excited to actually see her read Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes. You can watch it with your child by going to http://www.memfox.net/, find See and Hear Mem, and click on Mem Sings a Book!

What happened to Aiyana's pumpkin?

Aiyana carved this pumpkin on October 30th and then she forgot to take it home so we decided to keep it at school and watch what happened to it over time - a long, long time. Here are our predictions:

• rot *
• get dirt inside and then we'll have to throw it over the fence
• break *
• get very rotten *
• get really, really rotten *
• get hot
• be thrown over the fence
• be thrown in the garbage *
• smell like stinky socks *
• turn black or brown
• turn green
• stay orange *
• smell like garbage *
• turn into a triangle, or a circle, or a square
• smell like a toilet *
• turn white *
• turn into a scarecrow

The bullets marked with an asterisk * really did happen to Aiyana's pumpkin! And Mrs. VanNice threw it in the garbage on January 5, 2010.

YUCK... this is what Aiyana's pumpkin looks like today.

Santa Visits Kindergarten

Santa , you make me smile.

It's S A N T A !

Santa, we love you.

Whoa... Santa.