Around the World with Skype

Each semester our Rocketeers choose a topic of interest to explore. Our curiosity about life around the world was the source of inspiration for our Around the World with Skype Project. Here are some highlights of our calls and the friends we were lucky to meet along the way! 

2nd Grade 

Our 2nd graders had a blast meeting their new friends in Miss Julia’s class at Jules Verne School in Mexico, D.F. and Ms. Jodar’s class at Atenue Instructiu in Barcelona, Spain. Before our calls, we explored images on Google Maps and Google Earth to see what both cities looked like. During our call, our 2nd grade Rocketeers introduced themselves in Spanish and participated in a Q&A session to learn more about life in both countries. 

Here are some of our favorite clips:   

We learned different Catalan phrases from our friends in Spain. They are trilingual and in addition to Catalan, a regional language, they also speak Spanish and English!

Our friends in Mexico sang a folk song for us titled, cielito lindo.

3^rd Grade

Our 3rd grade Rocketeers enjoyed their call with their new friends in Mr. Wilson's class from Camrose, Canada. During our introductions, our friends shared something special about Canada and asked us questions about life in Mississippi.

Have a look at these Venn Diagrams we made to compare life in Mississippi and Camrose.

4^th Grade

Our 4th grade Rocketeers had fun talking to our amigos in Miss Araceli's class at Jules Verne School in Mexico, D.F.  During the call both classes asked questions about likes and favorites. We were excited to learn that our friends in Mexico were also huge fans of Disney Channel's Shake It Up! and singers like Selena Gomez. We also discovered we liked similar foods like tacos and hamburgers. 

Watch as we dance to la vibora de la mar. 

 Acknowledgements 

We want to give a huge thanks to all the classes who participated in our project. We enjoyed learning and sharing with you all!  

Math Poster Contest: 4 Steps to Solving Problems

      

During our TEA Time, our students have been going over the four steps to solving word problems. To assist students in this process, we have gone over these steps:

1. Understand
2. Plan
3. Do/Act
4. Check

To make the process more meaningful, our TEA Timers outlined each step with illustrations to help them understand and remember them. Here are our top finalists for our classroom poster contest.

Finalist #1: Yumna 

Finalist #2: Adrienne 

Finalist #3: Cole 

Finalist #4: Taressa 

Alright friends, we need your help! We need you to vote for your favorites for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place. Who had a thorough explanation? Who included details and examples in their illustrations and explanations? Who seemed to understand the 4 steps? Please leave your votes in a comment below and don't forget to mention what country or US state you are voting from. Our TEA Timers eagerly await your responses!  

Talking with Olivia Holt from Kickin' It

Last week our 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade Rocketeers participated in a very special Skype call with actress Olivia Holt from Disney XD's Kickin' It. Throughout the call, Olivia encouraged us to plan for the future and follow our dreams. She also told us to work hard and reach our goals, even when challenges come our way. We were also delighted to find out that she was raised in our home state of Mississippi! Her message was a positive one and we were thrilled that she took the time out of her very busy schedule to share her experiences with us. Thanks, Olivia! 


Have a look at our call below. 

We were so excited about our call, we even tweeted about it.

And we were even more thrilled when Olivia responded to us!