Field Trip – Color Outside the Lines

Shank’s Mare Field Trip

Last Friday the 6th grade Discover students to their annual trip to Shank’s Mare to celebrate both the end of the elementary years and the excitement of going to middle school in the fall. It was lovely to meet our new Manor families and give an overview of Manor Middle and how gifted support works in the middle school. As I said Friday, please email or call me with any questions you may have.

We started our day with a morning kayaking trip. The water was calm, and the scenery was gorgeous. It was fun to see so many kids who hadn’t had the opportunity to kayak before really enjoy the experience.

The trip was got very exciting for the Manor group as we were within 20 feet or so of a Bald Eagle eating his breakfast on our way back to the launch site. I had my iPhone and snapped some shots. They aren’t top quality because of the zoom, but I still got some and a video.

…and he’s off with his fish breakfast – he did not leave that behind

video of the eagle: IMG_7271

After lunch, we were able to participate in the stream study in Fishing Creek. The kids didn’t care that it was cold (and some parents even jumped right in.). The seine nets were a big help in trapping the macroinvertebrates.

Looking for any larvae, bugs, or crayfish that could be found.

Colin had proof that the stream was healthy.

Nigel checking out what was found.

What a fantastic group of kids. So super excited to have this bunch next year!

Hambright: Brossman Science Lecture

Hambright students in grades 4-6 attended the Millersville University’s 31^st Annual Brossman Foundation and Ronald E. Frisbie Science Lectureship last month. Millersville University kindly extends an invitation each year for area students to attend the afternoon presentation by the speaker highlighted at the Brossman Lectureship Series. It is a chance for elementary, middle and 9^th grade students to visit the Millersville campus and hear directly from an expert in the STEM community. At the close of the presentation, students have a chance to ask questions to the presenter and hear questions posed by their peers.

This year’s speaker was Christine McKinley. Her topic was: The Feeding and Exercise of Your Brain.

Christine McKinley told students to dive headfirst into subjects that are most difficult for them. She explained that while their brains are growing, this is the time to tackle math, science, writing, and music. She shared that math and science were the hardest subjects for her in 7^th and 8^th grade. To her surprise, trigonometry, chemistry, and physics were her favorite classes in high school. She then got a degree in mechanical engineering in college while playing bass in a band. Christine encouraged the scientific students to think like artists and the artistic students to think like scientists to get the most out of their amazing brains.

Other than the rain, I think the students enjoyed the time away from class to attend the lecture.

Brossman46

Speaker Seminar – Dr. Hugh Smith

On Friday, December 11, 2015, Manor and Marticville students attended a Speaker Seminar given by Dr. Hugh Smith (http://www.hssmithassociates.com) to learn how to interpret their dreams. Dr. Smith opened the presentation with the different stages of sleep and the various parts of the brain. He then allowed the students to share their dreams.

Students seemed to enjoy the sharing – many of the dreams were silly and fun to hear. Our students have some very vivid dreams — amazing what goes on in their brain during the night. We had one that we entitled “The Skittles Theory” due to the rainbow colors and the candy that was present in the dream.

Dr. Smith helped the students classify all or parts of the dream under four categories: wishes, conflicts, feelings, and other stuff from their day. He was able to guide the students to find the metaphors, associations, emotions, but not necessarily the logic of the dream.

At the end of the seminar, each student was given a dream journal to record their dreams if they wished. A follow-up session will be forthcoming to allow students to share and analyze dreams that they recorded in their dream journal.

Manor: Our First Guest Speaker Seminar

Our first Guest Speaker Seminar occurred right before Thanksgiving. Our presenter, Mr. Charlie Reisinger, Technology Director for Penn Manor School District, presented to many of our 7th and 8th graders from Manor and Marticville. Mr. Reisinger’s topic was Careers in Technology & Learning to Code. He discussed careers in the field of technology and conducted a hands-on activity where students explored the Linux command line as an introduction to computer programming.

It was a lot of fun to get to have our two schools together not only for the presentation, but we also ate lunch together and had the opportunity to meet new friends. If your child attended, ask them to explain what an Easter Egg is in the programming and coding world. Here are a few photos of our day:

Guest Speaker Seminar

Our first Guest Speaker Seminar is only a week away! The first topic of the year is Careers in Technology & Learning to Code. Our presenter, Mr. Charlie Reisinger, Technology Director for Penn Manor School District, will discuss careers in the field of technology and conduct a hands-on activity where students will explore the Linux command line as an introduction to computer programming.

Students from Marticville Middle School will be joining us, and we are looking forward to the collaboration. Please make sure you turn in your permission slip ASAP if you have not already done so. Remember, this is limited to the first 20 students who turn in a completed form to me.

** Parents, please remind your child to pack his or her lunch for the day.