Heat Energy

Students are learning about how our school receives and distributes energy so our school is warm and has electrical energy for our lights and machines.

Halloween...A little late

Hi, Parents,

We're a little late with this post, but we had some requests for pictures.  We had a great time at the party!  Thank you to all the parents who sent supplies or helped manage the game and snack stations.  We couldn't have done it without you!

Emmet County Transfer Station Field Trip

We had a wonderful, educational experience at the Recycling Center.  First we checked out where people bring their items to be recycled.  We saw bins for plastic, paper, and metal.

Then we went inside the facility to see where the trucks dump all the paper and plastic and metal.  We were amazed to learn that the huge piles we saw were collected in just one week.

Conveyor belts transport the materials inside the main building for further sorting.  Workers sift through the items, putting everything into its correct bin.  This is one of the great things about recycling... it takes many more people to staff than a landfill would, so not only is recycling great for the environment, it's good for the economy too.  Recycling creates jobs! 

In this picture, Michelle is letting us feel a water main cover made at East Jordan Iron Works.  They are just one company that uses recycled material in the production of something new.  Through the windows on the right, we had a bird's eye view of the entire process.

This is one of the sorting rooms.  Plastic is sorted on the left, and metal sorted on the right.  The day we were there, workers were sorting paper in a different room.

At the end of the tour, we saw where the materials are baled and loaded onto semi trucks for transfer to factories that will use the materials in the manufacture of new products.  

The kids learned so much at this field trip.  The next step for us is to discuss our new learning and make posters to share with the rest of Sheridan kids.  We will be giving presentations to each classroom, sharing what we learned about recycling.

We would like to thank the Emmet County Recycling Staff for making this field trip possible.  They generously offer scholarships for busing!  Thank you Lindsay and Michelle for the great tour.  We would also like to thank our many parent volunteers for coming with us.  You, too, helped make this trip a success!

Goo Yuck!

In science class we had a blast discovering the properties of matter and how the properties can change.

First we measured the ingredients...












Then we stirred...

We saw how we can change liquids into, well, sort of solids!

And here it is, the finished product!

Social Studies

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2010

Social Studies

In social studies we have been learning about Michigan's natural resources and how they helped our state grow in population and development. One of our projects was to paint a sequence of pictures showing this development. For example, the first picture showed a forest, river and lake, mostly untouched by humans. Each picture added an additional component as more humans arrived, such as a sawmill, copper mine, roads, cabins, schools, and businesses.

Flywheelers

We had a fabulous time at Flywheelers on Tuesday.  We were blessed with wonderful weather, getting only 10 minutes of rain, which conveniently came while we were under cover!  The rumbling thunder made us worried for a bit, but everything quickly blew over. 

Students gained an appreciation for life in the past, and how difficult even the most basic of chores were.  They learned that pumping water, carrying water, and hauling firewood would have been their daily chores.  Thankfully, the fly wheel came along and started making life a bit easier. 

A highlight of the day was when we got to see Miss Nancy and her border collies.  She has trained Jenny and Kallie to herd sheep, and she can even get them to do a "slalom course" out in the pasture.  We also got to see her new puppy, Ziggy, whose exuberance and zest for life was hilarious.

Students also really enjoyed the blacksmith, who made a horse's head out of a rod of iron.  He is pretty talented, we all agreed.

Students learned about early logging and were encouraged to be stewards for Michigan forests.

Students pose in front of the threshing machine.  This machine simplified the process of removing the waste part of the wheat from the edible part.

This gentleman is branding the shingles with a red-hot iron.

Our first field trip

On the very first day of school, we took a field trip to the college, which is conveniently located right next door to us!  We were there to visit the DTE energy trailer, to learn about different types of renewable energy sources.  The students had fun playing an interactive energy game on the computer, building solar cars out of legos, and designing their own windmills. 

While we waited for our turn in the trailer, we admired the many sculptures on NCMC's campus.  Check out our great pictures!

Our First Week

Hello!

Our first week at school was terrific!  The first hour or so was a bit unusual thanks to the lock down, but the kids handled it great.  They are settling in to our routines and getting to know us, as we are getting to know them.

This is the first time I have used a blog at school, so please let me know if you have ideas to improve its quality and usefulness.  I plan to use the blog for frequent updates about our classroom, posting pictures, and hearing from you.  My main intended audience is Sheridan fourth grade parents, but your kids are welcome to read and respond as well!  Please be patient with me as I try out this new tool.

Cari Olson