Confratute Prezi Presentation

From July 10-15, ten Laurel Mountain staff members attended Confratute at the University of Connecticut.  Confratute is THE CONFERENCE about the Schoolwide Enrichment Model.  We had a great time and learned many new things, which I will share on the blog soon.

But for now, I wanted to post the Prezi presentation that Marci Shrull and I presented titled "Pick Our Brains About SEM". The purpose of the presentation was to give a little background information on what we do with the SEM at LME and to give attendees a chance to ask questions and get some advice.  Thanks to all that attended.  It was fun getting to know you a little better. Hopefully we helped answer some questions and calm some anxiety about bringing SEM to your school.

Here is the Prezi:
Pick Our Brains About SEM

And here is another Prezi from two years ago from another presentation at Confratute:
It's All About the Baby Steps

Kinder and 1st Grade Enrichment Clusters

We save the best for last at Laurel Mountain. The kindergarten and 1st grade enrichment clusters started last Friday and the students were excited and ready to learn. Please read below for a summary of what each enrichment cluster did during the meeting and what they plan to accomplish over the next two meetings. Our youngest students will get to participate in another enrichment cluster for three weeks starting on Friday, April 22nd. Our goal in the younger grades is to gives these children an opportunity to explore areas of interest and expose them to a variety of interest areas. And having them participate in two enrichment clusters in kindergarten and another two in first grade accomplishes this goal. At Laurel Mountain we believe in giving all of our students an opportunity to explore areas of interest DURING the school day and this is another thing that creates our world-class talent.

LEGO: Everything is Awesome

Everything really was AWESOME in our first meeting of the “LEGO: Everything is Awesome” enrichment cluster. The kids were working together in three small groups building and creating. Fun was had sorting the LEGOs (Math!), helping friends find a piece, and building something new and creative. Some of the kids have never worked with LEGOs without using a guide. One person said, "I never knew playing with LEGOs could be so fun." For the next two meetings we will continue to create and build with different challenges.

Origami Fun

Today during our first session of the “Origami Fun”, we talked about our experiences with origami and looked at a variety of paper origami models! We also learned that Origami comes from Japanese words meaning “to fold paper”. We followed step-by-step directions on a website, www.en.origami-club.com to learn some origami-folding techniques. After that we made the face of a dog and a cat. Everyone did a great job and our paper friends were so cute! Students will be beginning with simple models and move on to more complicated levels. We cannot wait to make our wonderful creations next week!

Amazing Paper Airplanes

In the first “Amazing Paper Airplanes” enrichment cluster, we made a basic model called the Arrow together. We talked about folds, symmetry, elevator flaps, and wings. We made several samples of the Arrow so that we could save the best one in our Airplane Hangar and take the rest home. We then practiced our flying technique and found out it's better to throw the airplane gently. Most of the students felt their planes flew really well. We talked about some things we could do to trouble shoot if the planes keep diving or spinning. Next time we will make a harder model. 

Out of This World

Three, two, one, liftoff! Our space friends participated in four different space stations: space books and stamps, space puzzles of all types and sizes, space sticker booklets, and hands on space toys/rockets. The manifest listed twelve kindergarten students and six first graders on board. Stay tuned to our next space adventure!

Animal House

Our enrichment cluster had a great time at our first meeting! We dived right in and watched a video so we could meet several wild animals. Students were then able to pick their favorite to research further using books and the iPads (online resource Pebble Go). Each kiddo filled out a simple form with the name of the animal and a quick sketch. Then we learned where the animal lives, what they like to eat, and one interesting fact. In our remaining two meetings, we're going to build clay models and create puppets of our animals. At our last meeting, kids will share out their findings with a quick puppet show!

Hocus Pocus

It was a magical time in the first meeting of the “Hocus Pocus” enrichment cluster! We explored new vocabulary and practiced our presentation skills as we learned two exciting illusions. We will perfect these “tricks” and more using cards, cups and other simply supplies in our next two meetings of the “Hocus Pocus” enrichment cluster!

Reading Garden Party

The members of the “Reading Garden Party” enrichment cluster went to have a look at the Reading Garden. We saw lots of beautiful art there and noticed that there was room for more. We introduced ourselves to our new friends and shared thoughts about reading books outside. Everyone liked the idea of making the Reading Garden even more beautiful so we painted water bottles to make colorful flowers. Next week we’ll finish our flowers and design interesting painted rocks to add to the garden. Then we’ll make plans to celebrate with a Book Party at our final meeting.

Sybil's Sensational Science Experiments

During our first enrichment cluster meeting we introduced ourselves and Sybil the Scientist, brainstormed what scientists do and how they stay safe and then got to the fun part...EXPERIMENTS! The students made predictions and observed what raisins would do when placed in club soda. They quickly noticed that the soda was filled with bubbles. The raisins initially sunk to the bottom of the cup. Excitement filled the room as the raisins began to "dance" in the club soda. We answered questions about what made the raisins move, discovered that bubbles are pockets of air and then tested other objects in the club soda to see if the results would be similar. We also predicted and observed what would happen to the raisins in water, water with baking soda, and water with baking soda and vinegar. Good think we safely secured our goggles during that explosively good time! At the end of our first cluster meeting we took time to share new discoveries we'd made and brainstormed a list of activities the students are interested in doing during our next two enrichment cluster meetings. Working from their interests, new experiments and tests will be performed during our next 2 cluster times together. 

LME Production Company

The “LME Production Company” got right to work creating our "productions" during our first cluster meeting. We started by watching some examples of stop motion, claymation and Toontastic cartoons. Then the directors decided whether they would work alone or in groups, which app they would use to produce their movie and what their movie would be about. After all our brainstorming we got our hands on the iPads by making a Chatterpic videos of ourselves sharing our movie plan.

The next two weeks we will do the hard but creative work of making our movies, polishing them and sharing them with others. Watch out for exciting plots from flying dinosaurs, busy beaver kits, hatching chicks and growing butterflies. We have directors and stars in the making at the “LME Production Company”!

Games Galore

For our very first meeting of “Games Galore”, we spent time talking about games. What do you know about games? What categories are there for games? What makes a game fun and one you want to try again? What makes a great game player? What if someone does not play fair? Do you always need a game board and game pieces? With seventeen game players in the group, it was a fun discussion! Then we played some of our favorite games like Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, and Memory. We also enjoyed playing a few logic games. It was fun to be in a group where everyone loves to play games!

Hats Off to Chefs

“Hats Off to Chefs” spent our first session together creating personal size pizzas and making aprons! We talked about safety in the kitchen, careers in cooking, and future recipes we may want to create during our cluster. We related this to math by reading a mystery about pizza fractions as parts of a whole and to social studies by speaking about Italy and how different recipes originate in different places around the world. Our enrichment cluster participants voted on pancakes for next week's cluster as well as creating chef's hats in the near future! We look forward to having great book extensions for all of our recipes!

I Heart Seuss

“I Heart Seuss” started off with delight as Thing 1 and Thing 2 picked us up in the gym. We read The Lorax, and then got to make Lorax finger puppets or Truffula tree crafts. Next week we will read Horton Hears a Who to discover that "A person's a person, no matter how small". We will finish with The Sneetches as we learn how our differences on the outside, like skin color and culture, are not something to fear or scorn about each other, but rather should be celebrated. We look forward to crafting and learning together.

Fur, Feathers, Scales and Fun!

“Fur, Feather, Scales and Fun” began with birds. Yes, Mrs. Scott has a very unusual bird (the African gray) that sings, dances, and has a very unusual coloring. The students learned than just the feeding a care of these great birds. Then, the students got to hold and have a picture taken with this lovely bird. Birds in the wild often don’t have enough food so as a service we will make a “surprise” bird feeder.

For session #2 we will focus on the questions, “What is a mammal? Which mammals would make good pets? Why and why not?” But the most exciting thing we will learn is what it might be like to have and train a show dog. Mrs. Bretsch will bring her show dog Truman. The students may get to run Truman in a circle like a real show person would do. We will learn all about what Mrs. Bretsch must do to get Truman ready for a show and what he needs to be well taken care of. It will really a blast!!!

For our last session, we will explore the wonder of reptiles. We will meet the bearded dragons Snap and Leader. When Snap and Leader his brother are put together, they may run across the floor, bob their heads and flick their tongues. We might see Snap’s beard go from white to black when he saw his brother Linder. We will learn that bearded dragons do this as they protect their territory. We hope to see Mrs. Scott’s snake but it is shedding its’ skin, so we have to wait a bit. We will get to make reptiles from Model Magic. All in all, we will have an AMAZING time!

The Puzzle Piece Makers

During our first enrichment cluster we spent time getting to know one another and discussed why the students wanted to be in this particular cluster. Each student told the group what their favorite types of puzzles are, such as: picture, word, or number puzzles. The most favorite for the group was picture puzzles. Then the children broke in to groups and worked on a picture puzzle of their choice. These were 100 piece puzzles and many of the groups were able to complete the whole puzzle. We used the edge piece strategy to complete the puzzles. Our 5th grade helpers helped the students finish their puzzles and created word puzzles for the students to work on next week.

Start Your Engines!

In our first meeting, we set a goal and completed 2 challenges. The first challenge was to create a track that would allow our Hot Wheels car to go in a loop. The second challenge was to create a ramp for the cars that would land in a box. There will be more challenges ahead, however during the next two cluster meetings, we will be working in teams to create a Hot Wheels city and e able to take home a smaller city of our own.

No Fooling Around...

No fooling around here at Laurel Mountain on April 1st.  Our kindergarten and 1st grade enrichment clusters started today.  I will post summaries of what took place in each enrichment cluster later.  But until then, I thought that I would share some pictures I took today as I walked around to each cluster. Notice the smiles, engagement, listening, sharing, learning and fun that is taking place during this hour long enrichment cluster.  Giving our youngest students these experiences in areas that they are interested in helps develop world-class talent at Laurel Mountain.  #thisiswhySEM

Ms. Schnier is going to outer space and Thing 1 (aka Mrs. Toibin) loves Dr. Suess.

"Start Your Engines" tested out the race tracks they built.

"Sybil's Sensational Science Experiments" discussed chemical reactions and what made their raisins dance.

"Fur, Feather, Scales and Fun!" concentrated on feathers this week.  They got to meet Homer, Mrs. Scott's bird.

"Games Galore" played a variety of board games, including the classic Hi Ho Cheerio!

"Origami Fun" learned the basics of paper folding.

"Hats Off  to Chefs" made their our personal pizzas.

"The Puzzle Piece Makers" worked on and finished 100 piece puzzles.

"Out of this World" explored different activities about space and space travel.

"LME Production Company" watched some examples of kid made movies before they start their own.

"Hocus Pocus" learned how to make cups float.

"Amazing Paper Airplanes" learned how to make some basic paper airplane models.

"LEGO: Everything is Awesome" built and explored with LEGOs.  For some, this was their first time to play with LEGOs.

"Animal House" watched some movies to learn about animals before creating their own.

"I 'Heart' Suess" listened to The Lorax before making a Lorax finger puppet.  

Summaries of 2nd and 3rd grade Enrichment Clusters

It is amazing how fast time flies.  I can't believe we are about a week away from Spring Break.  And I can't believe that 2nd and 3rd grade enrichment clusters are over and we have the Showcase tomorrow. What they say is true, time flies when you are having fun.  Please check out the summaries below to find out what fun and learning took place during the eight weeks of our enrichment clusters. 

Magic of your Pencil

The time flew in our drawing cluster. It was fun to see the children have time to engage in their passion for drawing. Every week, we all seemed surprised when the hour was over. Students experimented with different methods to help provide guidance to their drawings, such as online lessons and a grid method to help with proportioning their drawing. We also spent time learning to work with various shading tools such as chamois, tortillions, stumps and various eraser types. Come see their art at our Enrichment Cluster showcase. Laurel Mountain has some very talented artists! I can’t wait to see what the future holds for them.

Behind the Lens

The students of “Behind the Lens” enrichment cluster accomplished exactly what we set out to do in the beginning of our cluster. Each student created a book trailer using iMovie (with the help of our iMovie experts: Henry C, Arnov and Amoli) incorporating pictures, music and words to persuade students to check out the book. Then, with the help of Mrs. S. Richards, we generated a QR code so the students can scan the code when they are in the library to view the trailer. We are so excited to share our trailers with the students, teachers and parents of LME at our Enrichment Cluster Showcase. 

Lego Lovers

Did you know that the name "Lego" is an abbreviation of the two Danish words, "leg godt", meaning "play well"? Or, that a Lego brick from 1958 would still interlock with a Lego brick today? These are just a few of the fun facts that we learned in our “Lego Lovers” enrichment cluster. With imaginations sparked, our Lego Lovers were motivated to build a Lego City together to share at the end of cluster showcase. They decided that one week they would build buildings, the next week cars, the next week boats and on from there until the city was complete. The fun of designing and building was well appreciated during the sharing time at the last 5-10 minutes of our sessions where we got to hear all about the creations that were made that day. After watching a video on "How Legos Are Made", our Lego Lovers decided that being a Lego Creator would be a pretty cool job!

Robotics Rock

The “Robotics Rock” enrichment cluster really enjoyed learning, building, and programming together. The President of the Westwood High School Robotics Team, Govind Girish, met with the students almost every week to share his knowledge and competition journey with Robotics. He also led us through building and programming Lego WeDo and Lego Mindstorms NXT robots. We learned about the history of robots and how robots help with real-life tasks, but we spent the majority of our time building and programming. Everyone programmed their robots to perform different tasks, so come see our creations at the cluster showcase on March 4th!

Games Galore

Over the last eight weeks, students in “Games Galore” have learned how to play many different types of games and have even created one of their own. We spent time practicing the card games Uno and Old Maid and students also learned the dice game Farkle. They had an opportunity to bring in their own games from home, teach their friends, and play a variety of board games together. During the second half of the cluster, students were given the opportunity to create their own game from scratch or inspired by another game. Many children chose to create outdoor sports-type games, while others designed their own board games. One group even made a combination dice-and-card game. Once their games were finished, students spent time testing them out and making changes when necessary. We even invented our own video games! All in all, it has been a fun and productive eight weeks in “Games Galore”!

Flying Lion Travel Agency

We had a GREAT time learning to be junior travel agents in the “Flying Lion Travel Agency” enrichment cluster. First, we learned about what a travel agent does and brainstormed ideas for exciting travel destinations. Then we got to work developing a travel plan: picking where we'd like to go, booking a flight, selecting hotels, writing out an itinerary, renting a car, and choosing restaurants. We researched our destinations through print and online media. Finally, our cluster members designed a Google Slide show presentation, printed business cards, and collected our best travel plans together to share with all of you! Welcome aboard!

Clay Creator

In our “Clay Creator” enrichment cluster, second and third graders learned about ceramic processes and techniques. Using pinch pot, coil, slab and potter's wheel techniques they created their own products with clay. Students learned how to connect clay by scoring, slipping and smoothing pieces together. While their work was drying they continued to learn more techniques. After the bisque fire, the first firing in the kiln, students glazed their work. The final glaze firing was very exciting since their products came out of the kiln bright and shiny.

The Mindbenders

The Mindbenders enjoyed exploring various logic game apps on the ipads. Each week they rushed into the cluster excited to play and work together. Several students wrote reviews of the various games played. Our favorite games were Doors and Rooms, Free Flow, and Unblock me Free. The room was filled with chatter and laughter each week!

Help Save the Animals!

The students in Portable 4 have been busy discovering ways to help save endangered animals. They have also been busy brainstorming ways they can help everyone else develop a passion to protect these animals. After much research, a trip to the Preserve, a visit from 2 snakes (this visit was planned), a visit from a floppy eared friend named Beau, the students have developed posters, puppets, and dioramas to inspire their audience to join the cause of saving the animals!

Wonderful World of Watercolors

The artists in this cluster learned many things about creating art with watercolors! We learned how using different brush strokes produce different effects. We also discovered ways to make our watercolors brighter or more muted depending on the amount of water we use. Using a black sharpie after painting the picture can produce a nice contrast and make our paintings look more professional! We learned that by using salt and alcohol, we can totally change the look and feel of our paintings. All in all, we discovered that each of us has talent and vision in our own unique way and by participating in this cluster we were able to explore more deeply our desire to become artists!

Hocus Pocus

It's Maaaagic! “Hocus Pocus” enrichment cluster was a huge success! We made the necessary props of all magicians, a wand and cape. Students learned a variety of tricks! We learned how to pull a stuffed animal out of a hat. We practice several card tricks like 21. In 21, the magician reads the audiences' mind. We also mastered the coin in the bottle trick. How do you get a coin in a plastic bottle without opening the lid and dropping it in? Find a magician from the Hocus Pocus cluster to show you the trick but a magician never reveals her tricks! During our last cluster meeting, the magicians performed for all Kindergarten and First grade classes. The audiences were amazed! 

Take One

We have spent the past couple of months on a cinematography quest. Students have honed their skills with flip cameras, created scenes, practiced their acting skills, and learned how to use WeVideo to edit their film clips. Many students experimented with adding special effects to their videos. We even learned some “tricks of the trade” from Mr. Roby Brown, an expert cinematographer from RRISD! All of our students have a published movie saved in their Google Drive so that they can share their work with family and friends. Our cinematographers are very excited to present their work at the showcase!

Culinary Creators

Best Cluster Ever! Our “Culinary Creators” had eight wonderful weeks of cooking all around the globe. We made guacamole and pico de gallo served on tostadas from Mexico. Our Indian dishes and dumplings from China were delicious! Sugar cookies, fruit smoothies, and grilled cheese sandwiches were great representations of traditional recipes from the U.S.A. For a breakfast dish we made French toast (learning that its history goes back farther than France). We are forever grateful to our parents that came in and shared cooking from their culture or from their country of origin. We learned the history of some of these dishes as well as measurement and cooking techniques. Designing our own aprons, chefs hats, and passport cookbooks just added to our fun! Many students have already cooked these wonderful recipes at homes for their families as an act of service. 

Minecraft Masters

Eight weeks ago the 18 second and third grades embarked on a journey to become “Minecraft Masters”, and boy we did! Working together, we were able to build an entire community called Metro. After deciding what to include in our community, the students worked in small groups to create buildings. Some of the places they built included a rodeo, hospital, hotel, pet store, library, airport, bank, police station, and many homes. It is amazing to see all of the details they added to each place. They thought of everything, including a safe room with an escape ladder at the hotel in case of a fire! It was inspiring to watch each “Minecraft Master” blossom as s/he explored their passion.

FUN!

There were seventeen active second and third grade students in our FUN e slot. We also had five fifth graders who very capably assisting our group. We participated in many fun activities including Cup Stacking, Steal the Bacon, Connect 4 relay, Floor Hockey, Kickbasket, Asteroids and Ankle Biters and Snatch Basketball. Our “FUN” group said that their favorite activities were Steal the Bacon and Giant Cup Stacking!

Excellence Fund + iPads + Byrd = World Class Talent

We are extremely fortunate at Laurel Mountain to have the support of an involved community. Parents and businesses give their time, talent and treasure to ensure that our students get the best education possible.  One way that this happens is through the generous donations that our parents and their companies make to the Excellence Fund, which supports the Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM) at our school.

The Excellence Fund provides for my position as the Enrichment Coordinator (THANK YOU!).  It also allows for us to purchase needed supplies for enrichment clusters and E-slot activities.  Another way the Excellence Fund helps develop world-class talent is providing funds for our staff to attend professional development, like attending the Differentiation Workshop hosted by Region 13 which featured Ian Byrd.

Ian Byrd, who was a teacher of gifted students in California, is a differentiation expert.  To learn more about him and check out his website, click here: http://www.byrdseed.com/

Laurel Mountain was able to send six teachers to his workshop on January 14.  Marci Shrull (TAG), Lisa Ferriola (TAG), Chelsie Douglas (1st), Debbie Kownacki (2nd), Cindy Eiland (3rd) and I were able to attend the all day training thanks to the Excellence Fund (THANK YOU again!).

We spent the day engaged in a variety of activities focusing on raising the level of thought and questioning in the classroom.  The idea of differentiation is meeting the individual needs of all the students in the classroom.  This may mean bringing a challenge to some students who have mastered the concept, while reteaching a concept to others who have not gotten it yet. Differentiation is a huge component of SEM.

No matter where a child is at, he/she deserves to be engaged, having fun and be challenged with a variety of questions. And that is what Ian Byrd focused on.  Even though his presentation is geared towards "gifted students", at Laurel Mountain we believe that these best practices are good for ALL of our students. After all, all of our students are talented and gifted, it is our job as educators to help develop those talents and gifts (#thisiswhySEM).

Mrs. Shrull said, "My favorite lesson idea that Ian Byrd gave was to create a type of "March Madness" bracket out of whatever you are studying. Seeing his examples, as well as the examples others in the room gave, made me think about compare & contrast in a whole new way."

Ms. Ferriola commented, "Ian Byrd demonstrated more ways to differentiate in the classroom to meet all learner's educational needs. He also taught us many ways to get groups to work as teams to accomplish a task or have a meaningful conversation/debate about content area demonstrating deeper understanding.

This was an opportunity where the teachers at Laurel Mountain were able to be learners for a day and bring back that new knowledge to their classroom.

LME teachers working together to build the tallest free-standing tower out of spaghetti and masking tape in only 18 minutes.  It stood for a good 20 seconds before it came crashing down.  Mrs, Eiland led the charge on this activity.

This was a new way of looking at the March Madness brackets.  We decided to pair off different math concepts taught across the grade levels.  In the end we decided that money was the over winner, even though measurement put up a good fight.

On a totally different note, we were able to purchase a brand new cart of iPads this year thanks to the Excellence Fund (one more time- THANK YOU!). We budget every other year for staff members to attend the SEM conference, Confratute, at the University of Connecticut.  On the odd years, we use the Excellence Fund to bring the experts here to train our staff and to purchase "big" items for enrichment.  Well, a cart of iPads is a BIG item.

This new cart will be used for enrichment clusters and E-slot activities on Fridays.  All of the other times, the iPads are available for check-out by classroom teachers to support SEM in the "everyday" classroom.  We all know that our children love using technology.  And now thanks to our parent and community support, we have a brand-spanking new set for our students to utilize.

5th grade helpers demonstrating how to use iMovie on the new iPads to the "Book Trailers" 2nd and 3rd grade enrichment cluster.

2nd and 3rd graders using the new iPads in the "Mindbenders" enrichment cluster.

Byrd, iPads and the Excellence Fund are more ways that we develop world-class talent here at LME.

2nd and 3rd grade Enrichment Clusters Have Begun!

Last Friday was the first meeting of our 2nd and 3rd grade enrichment clusters.  We have fifteen different clusters meeting that involve a variety of topics based on our 2nd and 3rd graders' interests. Please read below to find out what exciting and engaging activities took place during this first meeting.

Take One
The "Take One" enrichment cluster jumped right into things by getting all the students on the Chromebooks and showing them how to join the LME WeVideo group account. The students added a link to WeVideo on their Chrome favorites bar with the assistance of our awesome 5th grade helpers. We also spent some time exploring flip cameras learning how to record and delete video. Next week we will learn how to upload videos into WeVideo, so that we can begin to explore all the editing options available in WeVideo. We will also talk about our goals for the cluster and form groups based on project interests.

Wonderful World of Watercolors
Today in our first meeting of the “Wonderful World of Watercolors” we learned that water coloring started many thousands of years ago. Ancient people used water colors on cave walls to tell a story. We also learned that the German Northern Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528), who painted several fine botanical, wildlife, and landscape watercolors, is generally considered among the earliest water colorists. Lastly, we watched a video on how to use our water colors and painted flowers using the blending technique from the video.

Games Galore
Today during the first session of “Games Galore”, we all played a name game called Slap Pass. Students passed energy around a circle by slapping their hands together and saying the name of another student in the cluster. After our name game, students told the rest of the cluster what their favorite game was and explained why they were excited to join Games Galore. Finally, we learned how to play the card games Uno and Old Maid and practiced playing them with a small group. Overall, it was a fun and successful first meeting!

Flying Lion Travel Agency
We had a GREAT time learning to be junior travel agents during the first meeting of the “Flying Lion Travel Agency” cluster. First, we learned about what a travel agent does and brainstormed ideas for exciting travel destinations throughout the United States. Once we selected our destination, students started exploring! They looked at books on their state, visited the Culturegrams website on our iPads, and more! Finally, our cluster members came up with a name for their agency, picked partners, and started to work on their travel plans. Lions love to travel! Welcome aboard!

Hocus Pocus
We arrived excited to start learning magic tricks in our Hocus Pocus cluster with Ms. Rumpf and Mrs. Hwang. First, Ms. Rumpf showed us a trick. She guessed the number we were thinking. It was maaagic! Then we watched a few videos on different magicians including Houdini and David Copperfield. One video was a 4 year old boy performing tricks on China's Got Talent. He was very good! After that, we learned the floating cup trick and performed it. At the end, Ms. Rumpf told us the secret of guess the number trick. Finally, we will be learning card and dice tricks. We might even learn how to pull a rabbit out of a hat!

Clay Creators
“Clay Creators” began with two Reading Rainbow videos about the ceramic process the Naranjo family, in New Mexico, used in making their amazing pots. Then we watched an artist from Hawaii, inspired by the volcanoes on the Big Island, demonstrate processes of using the potter's wheel, glazing and raku firing. One student worked on the potter's wheel while other students learned the pinch pot techniques to make a variety of works. We used math to figure out how to divide the clay evenly. Nice work Clay Creators! Every student will have a turn to use the potter's wheel.

Mindbenders
The “Mindbenders” enrichment cluster had a fabulous first meeting. We brainstormed a list of different types of ways we like to challenge our brain using puzzles and logical thinking. Crossword puzzles, mazes, logic elimination grids, mind benders, sudoku, and ken kens were just a few named. Next, we spent time exploring apps that had to do with logic games. We were able to help each other to solve the different levels. We cannot wait to explore on the logic apps again next week!

Culinary Creations
Delicious smells filled the room and hallway as we kicked out off our first enrichment cluster of “Culinary Creations” by making an Indian dish called Churumuri. Mrs. Priya led us in a fabulous power point presentation about types of rice and the history of this dish. Students enjoyed cutting herbs, tomatoes, and cooked potatoes. Lots of measuring, stirring, and adding spices made this a super tasty dish served in a cone. Our chefs understand the importance of washing dishes and keeping our kitchen clean. Students voted for next weeks "travels" to take us to the country of Italy to create customized pizzas. Students are thinking about "passport" style cookbooks as our final product!

Robotics Rock
The “Robotics Rock” enrichment cluster had a grand time today kicking off our robotics cluster. We welcomed the President of the Westwood High School Robotics Team, Govind Girish, who shared his interest in robotics with us, how he got started building robots, and showed videos of robots in competitions doing cool things, like shooting a large ball into a target zone. Then, we got to choose which Lego WeDo robot we wanted to build and got to work! In our cluster, we will explore and build using Lego WeDo, Lego MindStorm, Sphero and a special project that Govind is going to do with us when he comes back. We can’t wait until our next Friday meeting!!!

LEGO Lovers
The “LEGO Lovers” showed their creativity during the first cluster meeting. After we discussed 11 little known facts about the history of LEGOs, the students divided up into teams of 3 and made their own creations. Everyone got to share their creation with the group and explain what it was and how it worked. The group decided that in future sessions everyone would work on parts on making a LEGO city. Some want to make skyscrapers; others want to make houses, cars, helicopters, museums or boats. For the showcase we will have a LEGO city to display.

Help Save the Animals
Today the students discussed the animals they are interested in and would like to save (e.g. snow leopard, cheetahs, dolphins, gorillas). Each student also reviewed an article in “Time for Kids” about an endangered species and discussed why these animals are endangered and how we can help them. They made clay models of animals they would like to save and presented the model to the cluster. We brainstormed about what kinds of presentations we could do to educate adults and kids alike about saving the animals. The children suggested having presentations on iPads, poster boards, building a website, flyers, doing presentations at different companies or to kindergarten/preschools and fundraising with a bake sale or lemonade stand. The students are very passionate about animals and protecting them.

Behind the Lens: Book Trailers
At our first meeting, our “Behind the Lens” enrichment cluster group discussed what a book trailer is and how it is used to persuade others to read a book. We learned that a book trailer is NOT a summary, but more of an advertisement designed to spark interest in a book. We watched several book trailers created by other students and we evaluated them in terms of how effective they were at persuading us to read the book. We noticed and shared the effect that the creator's choice of pictures, music and words had on us as we viewed each one. Finally, several of us chose our books and the rest of us will choose books in which to create a trailer and bring them to the cluster meeting next Friday. We can’t wait to get started!

Magic of your Pencil
We had a great first meeting of the “Magic of your Pencil” drawing enrichment cluster! I shared a portfolio of sketches and drawings I have completed in the past year as I began learning to draw with graphite and charcoal. We also looked at all of the supplies and tools we will use in during our eight weeks together. These include: pencils with various hardness from 2H-8B; special erasers for different tasks including shading, other shading tools such as chamois, tortillions and stumps and different paper types. Each child received their own sketch book and practiced a few of the shading techniques and began sketching. The cluster group decided they would like to give some of their drawings to the Dell Children's Hospital to brighten the day of sick children. We are looking forward to several more weeks of using our creativity and having the time to draw.

Minecraft Masters
The “Minecraft Masters” had an exciting first meeting. We kicked things off by getting to know one another and talking about our past experiences playing Minecraft. Many of the students had experience playing Minecraft on a video game system but not on a computer, so our first mission was to practice using Minecraft on the computer. The students were split up into six groups with three of four students working together to design and build either a house, a skyscraper, or a castle. Over the next few weeks, we will continue working together to decide how we can use Minecraft to create a product or service to share with LME.

FUN
The “Ready, Set, Fun, Play” enrichment cluster was fun so the students decided to rename the enrichment cluster "FUN"! The premise of this cluster is to play activities that we do not regularly do in Physical Education classes, but also ones that could be played in their neighborhoods. First, the 17 students played a tag game called Asteroids and Ankle Biters as a warm up. The main attraction, however, was an old fashioned contest call "Steal the Bacon". "Steal the Bacon" challenged many of their abilities: quickness, fearlessness, and competitiveness. The students participated individually but their score counted collectively toward the team score. If a student actually stole the bacon and returned back to their side without being tagged by the opponent then they earned 1 point. If the opponent tagged the person who originally stole the bacon, then the opponent earned a half point for their team. It was very interesting and exciting to see the students start to understand and employ the strategies necessary for the game. Our 5th grade helpers helped the 2nd and 3rd grade friends identify different types of strategies. Fun was had by all in the “FUN” cluster!

4th and 5th grade Enrichment Cluster Showcase - Our Journey....

This past Friday was our 4th and 5th grade Enrichment Cluster Showcase.  This is the time when the students have the opportunity to share what they have been working on during the eight weeks of their enrichment clusters.  Touring the showcase, you get to see and hear about the students' journeys in areas of their interests.

I was going to write something up and share the pictures I took, but my very own RRISD did this for me (thank you)!  And their pictures are much, much better than what I took.  So I will share their words and photos instead.

Enrichment clusters and developing students' interests is one way we develop world-class talent at Laurel Mountain Elementary.

Patnerships between schools and Central Office is one way we develop world-class talent in Round Rock ISD.

Link to article about showcase: https://roundrockisd.org/laurel-mountain-hosts-fall-enrichment-showcase/

Link to photos: https://roundrockisd.smugmug.com/Schools/Laurel-Mountain/10-11-2015-Enrichment-Showcase/