Johnny Appleseed

Mrs. Hodgson's first graders are learning about forming complete sentences. They know to begin a statement with a capital letter, end it with a period, and pay attention to the word order.  The first graders have also been exploring the short i sound and the word family -ick. They can read so many short a and short i words and lots of new sight words, too!

 

In addition to their sentences and sight words, they've been hard at work reading lots of books, especially Clifford books and Teacher From the Black Lagoon books. Their classroom Listening Center has been a busy place! To date, they have 31 books in their Book Log. When they reach 100, they will celebrate with a fun class event!

 

Finally, they've been studying apples and the life of Johnny Appleseed. They painted apples and made an apple diagram in their reading journals, complete with labels on all the parts. To summarize their lesson, they reviewed the story using the sequence words first, next, then, and last.

 

To wrap up their lesson, they enjoyed a special snack of apple slices with caramel dip.  Yum!

 First Grade is BUSY!

Buddy System

At OLS, children learn responsibility and the importance of teamwork by working cooperatively with other students.  In our buddy program, each upper-grade student is paired with a student in the lower-grades, and the pairs work together on various projects during the year.

The fifth grade and kindergarten classes recently met for their first buddy activity.  The students worked on a project that helped them get to know each other, marking the beginning of a long friendship.  Through these activities, the fifth graders develop their leadership skills, and the kindergarteners make a friend who will guide them throughout the school year. The students enjoyed working together!

Remembering 9/11

Two sixth graders work together to create one of the flag's stripes.

Mrs. Skillman's sixth graders discussed the significance of September 11th in our country's history.  As part of their lesson, they created an American flag out of paper chains, which now hangs proudly in the hall outside their classroom.

Teamwork

At OLS, you will always find students working together to solve problems and get their work done.  In Mrs. Banahan's class, the third graders work in pods in their reading groups.  They work as a team to write sentences and underline the subject part.

This third grade pod shares ideas while creating their sentences.

Last week, all OLS students in grades 3-8 took the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, or ITBS tests.  These standardized tests are used by elementary schools throughout our archdiocese to assess student learning.  During testing week at OLS, the eighth graders helped their third grade buddies to fill out demographic data on the testing forms.  Teamwork made the job easier for everyone.  Thanks, 8th grade buddies!

Helmont's Theory of Plant Growth

Mrs. Siekerman's fifth graders are working on the pre-chapter called "Be a Scientist."  They've started an experiment by Belgian scientist Jan Baptist van Helmont that proves plants do not gain mass from absorbing soil through their roots.  If not from soil, how do plants gain mass?  Give us your hypothesis in the comments below!

A Day in First Grade

Mrs. Mongan's first grade readers are hard at work!  They love to take turns reading from the podium.  They are good listeners, too!

Our first grade students grow closer to Jesus when they pray in their prayer circle each day.  Students can add their intentions to the prayer list, and Mrs. Mongan invites her students' friends and families to add their intentions, too.  Our Lady of Sorrows: pray for us!

Prayers for the Global Community

At OLS, we teach our students to think in interdisciplinary ways across subject boundaries.  Mrs. Eldridge does this with our sixth graders by combining religion, geography, and current events.  Each day, her students begin religion class by praying the Memorare for people in regions of the world that are especially in need of our prayers.

Two 6th graders pinpoint hot spots on the world map, pointing out areas in need of our prayers.

The Memorare:
Remember, O most gracious virgin Mary, never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided.

Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O virgin of virgins, my mother. To thee I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O mother of the word incarnate, despise not my petitions but in thy mercy hear and answer me.

Second Grade in Action

The OLS 2nd graders are learning that Jesus is their forever friend.

With the preparation for Reconciliation and Holy Communion, our 2nd grade students spends the year learning how to be good followers of Jesus.

They also learned a song to help learn the directions on a compass rose. Complete with hand and body motions, the song is sung to the melody of "The Ants Go Marching One by One Hurrah, Hurrah":

The sun is rising in the east ,the east, the east.
The sun is setting in the west ,the west, the west.
My nose is north , my seat is south ,and I can turn myself about .
The sun is rising in the east and setting in the west.

The students put the song into motion:


Scientific Method: Dancing Raisins


Ms. Schweiss and her 4th graders are studying the scientific method.  They recently performed an experiment called "Dancing Raisins."  Before placing some raisins in clear soda, they formed a hypothesis.  Would the raisins sink or float?  Why?  Their experiment proved that they do both!  Do you know why?  Ask your favorite 4th grader to explain!



 The 4th graders think about possible outcomes before they drop their raisins in the jar.

First Grade Readers

Mrs. Hodgson's first grade reading group is hard at work! They've been reading LOTS of books, and this week they are focusing on the short A sound.

Some of our first grade students displaying a few of their favorite books.

At OLS, we pride ourselves on meeting each student's needs through small group instruction.  Our primary students meet in small groups for reading and math, which allows the children to receive more individualized attention and instruction.  All groups use the same textbooks and cover the same material; the curriculum standards for each grade level are met by every group.

Honoring St. Louis IX

The OLS students pose with Flat Louie outside the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis.

On September 9th, four students from Our Lady of Sorrows School, along with Ms. Schweiss and Mrs. Ryan, participated in a special Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. 8th grader Sam S., 7th grader Amy D., 5th grader Ali V., and 4th grader Mary Beth T. represented Our Lady of Sorrows School at the Mass in honor of St. Louis IX, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the founding of our city. Every Catholic grade school and high school was represented and given a special framed image of our city's patron saint to hang in our school. It was an historic occasion!

Inside the Cathedral, our students excitedly wait for Mass to begin.

Welcome!

Welcome to the OLS blog!  We hope to use this site to share the happenings at our school, communicate with our school families, and inform the blogosphere about the wonderful school community at Our Lady of Sorrows.  We invite you to subscribe to our posts, which will ensure that you are up-to-date on all the latest OLS news and events.

If you have ideas on content you'd like to see on this blog, add a comment below.  We look forward to sharing our school community with you!