TBT: 6th Grade Biography Reports

Now that our students and faculty have settled in a bit, we hope to resume our regular posting schedule soon. In the meantime, however, we have a few things to share from last school year.

Last spring, Mrs. McGrath's 6th graders each chose a biography to read and gave a presentation on their subject to their classmates. Biography subjects were varied and creative: Mother Teresa, Jackie Robinson, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., President Obama, Marie Curie, Malala, Walt Disney, J.K. Rowling, Wilma Rudolph, Helen Keller, Amelia Earhart, and Pocahontas.

The students enjoyed reading about their own subject and then learning from their classmates, as well. More than a few were surprised by how much fun they had with this assignment!

Hopi Indians

The 5th grade is studying about Native Americans. The Hopi children received wooden Kachina dolls as learning tools. Our dolls represents an important human value or something in nature.

Thanksgiving Feast

Before diving into turkey with family and friends, our 5th graders and their kindergarten buddies celebrated their own Thanksgiving feast. Each student brought food to the feast, and the kindergartners set the mood by wearing Pilgrim hats. While the menu did not quite mimic the Pilgrims' celebration, the spirit of camaraderie and joy was the same.

The students enjoyed sharing a special day with their buddy. We hope your holiday was filled with as much excitement and joy as this one!

Student Reporter News: Exploring Egypt

Last week, the 6th graders and kindergarten students worked together to study Egypt. The older students spent weeks preparing by learning a great deal about ancient Egyptian history, culture, and art. Discover more about the event from a couple of our 6th grade students:

"The sixth grade just had their Egypt Day on Wednesday with the Kindergarten. It was a lot of fun because you got to know the Kindergarten, tell them about mummies, what they keep in the tombs, and if they were rich. It took up their last period. The sixth grade made necklaces. The Kindergarten made mummies, colored a tomb, and got to write their name in Hieroglyphs." -- Max S.

"The sixth grade and the kindergarten had Egypt Day on Wednesday. We talked to them about how the Egyptians lived in life, and we taught them about the stages of mummification. Also, this was a great time for the kindergarten to get to know us." -- Maria K.

Preparing for Egypt Day

Each year, Mrs. McGrath and the 6th graders put together Egypt Day for the kindergarten students. The middle schoolers learn a great deal about Egyptian art, history, and culture through this project and then have a chance to teach the younger students what they've learned.

This week, the 6th grade is hard at work preparing for the event, which will take place later this fall. Pictured here, the students are busy creating mummy coffins. We can't wait to see the finished product!

The Show Me State

While we are getting our ducks in a row for this semester's academic content, we have some goodies from last year to share. We had more projects, events, and lessons than space on our blog, so we'll post some of them over the next few weeks.

In one of their final units of last year, the fourth graders learned about their home state of Missouri.  They wrote an article to attract tourists to come to our state using information they learned.  They also made a Missouri magnet.  They were given a wooden shape of Missouri and labeled major cities and rivers.

Bringing History to Life

Mrs. Banahan's third graders have been hard at work studying famous historical figures.  From baseball players to astronauts and authors to actresses, the students read biographies of a person of interest to them.  They then brought history to life for the 7th and 8th graders by dressing as their person and giving a brief recap of their life.  What famous folks can you spot in this photo?

Throwback Thursday: OLS Track

Today's Throwback Thursday post takes us back to the early 1990s.  Seen here, the 1993 OLS track team celebrates victory.  Do you know any of these triumphant track stars?

If you have any historic pictures of OLS in action, we'd love to hear from you!  Comment on this post, or call/text Kate (314-882-6638).

Throwback Thursday: OLS Soccer

As a tribute to our rich history, we're hoping to interlace some past photos as part of an occasional Throwback Thursday series.  Today we're reaching back 64 years to share this gem with you.  This photo features an OLS soccer team from the 1950-51 school year.  Do you know any of these handsome gentlemen?

Do you have any historic photos of OLS in action?  If so, we'd love to hear from you!  Comment on this post or call/text Kate (314-882-6638).

Maple Sugaring

The 4th grade recently went on a field trip to learn about the making of maple syrup.  They learned how it went from sap from the tree to they syrup we get at the store.  They were able taste sap and had a snack called syrup on snow. The students had a great time at Rockwoods Reservation!

The US Presidents

The third graders recently completed a unit on the presidents of the United States.  The students researched the leaders of our county and shared key facts with each other.  In addition to a written summary about their lives and achievements, the third graders brought the presidents to life with pictures.

Collaboration Makes it Happen

Collaboration and teamwork are a way of life for our fifth graders.  Mrs. Siekerman's students know that teamwork builds success and that working as a group makes each of them stronger.  From test preparations to writing assignments, you'll find the OLS fifth graders working together to get the task done.

These fifth grade girls find a quiet piece of hallway to prepare for an upcoming test.

Such cooperative work is not limited to our fifth graders.  Throughout our classrooms, you'll find students helping each other to achieve success.  From third grade reading pods and second grade math groups to our school-wide buddy system, OLS students know how to work together.

Egypt Day

The OLS sixth graders recently completed a unit on ancient Egypt.  To fully explore the interdisciplinarity of this topic, they examined Egyptian culture and history from many perspectives, including social studies and art.

Students create sarcophagus designs in preparation for Egypt Day.

They then shared what they learned with the kindergarten students on Egypt Day.  The sixth graders helped the younger students create Egyptian-inspired art projects and taught them some of the history behind such uniquely Egyptian elements as the pyramids, sarcophagus, and Sphinx.

The kindergarten and 6th grade enjoy learning about Egypt together.

Iroquois Longhouses

Some 5th graders pose near their longhouse display.

As the students of the fifth-grade social studies class study the cultures of the Eastern Woodlands, they enjoyed creating their own Iroquois longhouses.  A longhouse is a narrow, windowless structures, which could house up to 20 Iroquois families.

Forest Park Field Trip: 8th Grade Report

The final field trip report comes from three of our 8th graders: Nathan L., Adam W., and Caitlyn N.

On Thursday, October 9, the sixth, seventh, and eight grades went on a field trip to the Missouri History Museum and St. Louis Art Museum. The History Museum was all about the World's Fair in 1904. We saw artifacts, the map of the Fair, and things from it. We learned about the Forest Park and how it was an actual forest before they cleared out the forest for the World's Fair. We saw the whole layout of the Fair and all of the names and sizes of all of the buildings built for the World's Fair. They chose to put the World's Fair in Forest Park because it had four entrances, it was a public park, and it was big enough for the Fair. Some people actually used some of the buildings from the Fair for themselves, but most of the buildings were destroyed.

The students also went to the St. Louis Art Museum that same day that was called Louis IX: King, Saint, Namesake. The museum was completely dedicated to King Louis. The Art Museum was very interesting with many cool paintings, sculptures, and artifacts. To me, most of them were very interesting and amazing. There were many cool and old weapons and guns in it that was interesting to me. The Art Museum wasn't very big, but we only went to the Louis IX part of the whole museum, and I am sure the museum was a lot bigger than what we saw. Both museums that we went to were very cool and fun, and I would want to go on that field trip again.  -- Nathan L.

Compiling the elements for their water filtration system.

On October 9, 2014, the sixth, seventh, and eighth classes went on a field trip to the St. Louis Art Museum and the Missouri History Museum. At the History Museum, we took a tour of the newest exhibit which was all about the 1904 World’s Fair and the 1904 Olympics. We look at some of the cool items that they sold at the World’s Fair. Also, we looked at some pictures and a huge map of the World’s Fair. After we spent awhile in the exhibit, we took a little tour of where some historical sites were and what they look like now. After that, we went back inside and did an experiment on how to make water clean and how to make a filter. After that we went to the St. Louis Art Museum.

Once we got to the St. Louis Art Museum, we went to go see one of the newer galleries, Louis IX: King, Saint, and Namesake. We did a little hunt to see if we could find different types of art of King Louis IX. There were very beautiful pictures, carvings and manuscripts of him. Also, I think we all learned something about King Louis IX that we did not know. After we went through the whole entire gallery, we met up with our groups and explored some of the galleries and saw some very cool things. After a fun filled day, we went back to school to finish the rest of our day. -- Adam W.

The 8th grade class pauses for a photo op near the Grand Basin.

On Thursday, October 9, the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade classes went to the Missouri History Museum and the St. Louis Art Museum, both located in Forest Park. At the History Museum, we learned what St. Louis and Forest Park were like in 1904 when the World's Fair came to our city. We saw what the layout of the park was, the souvenirs people would have bought, and what other countries brought to St. Louis. We took a short walk through the park and saw what we would have seen when in 1904 as the city prepared to host the World's Fair. At the end of the field trip, as a special part of our field trip, we made a miniature water filter, like what they would have used to filter water in the city for the Fair.

After the History Museum, we went straight to the St. Louis Art Museum for the Louis IX: King, Saint, and Namesake gallery. We went through two exhibits filled with art from King Louis' reign and paintings of him. We were each given a little packet with questions to answer on the art. We all had fun working together and learning more about our city's namesake. A huge thanks to the teachers and parents that went along with us! -- Caitlyn N.

Forest Park Field Trip: 7th Grade Report

This post features field trip accounts from four of our 7th graders: Casey A., Vincent L., Amy D., and Jack S.

On October 9, the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades of OLS went to the St. Louis Art Museum.  When we all got there, we were given a small booklet.  The directions were to find certain pictures of St. Louis and write things about him in the book.  We were able to learn about things such as why Saint Louis was so famous, why St. Louis was chosen to be our city's name, and other facts about St. Louis.  We also were taught about the making of manuscript.  The materials used to do it were feathers, a carving tool, paper, and ink.  When we finished the booklets, we got to just roam around and look at other exhibits.  There were paintings, sculptures, architecture, and other types of art. -- Casey A.

 On Thursday, October 9, the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade took an educational field trip to the very well-known Forest Park. We took this field trip to learn more about the great 250 years of our city’s past. At the History Museum, we went on a tour about the 1904's World Fair and we experimented on filtering water to make it cleaner; we made our own water filters. The workers there did a superb job at explaining the ups and downs of the 1904 World’s Fair. Although there are other exhibits at the museum, they feature a World’s Fair exhibit year-round. If you get chance go and check out the exhibit because there are definitely things in there that you haven't heard of and they really fill up your brain. In the end, I really enjoyed this field trip because I learned more about how fantastic St. Louis' history is. -- Vincent L.

The students listen to directions from their tour guide.

    The 6th, 7th, and 8th grades went on a field trip to the art and history museums. We had a great experience at the History Museum. We went to the “Let’s Build a Fair” exhibit. We saw a lot of old artifacts from the 1904 World’s Fair, and took a walk to the fountains in front of the Art Museum to see what the grounds would have looked like. At the World Fair, there was a miniature version of Jerusalem. We also learned that it was the 1904 World’s Fair was the first appearance of the Ferris Wheel. We also did an activity where we tried to filter water. We put rocks, sand, marbles, cotton, and coffee filters in a soda bottle, poured dirty water in it. It worked really well! We didn't sanitize the water so we couldn't drink it. Our visit to the Missouri History Museum was a success.  -- Amy D.

Testing out their water filtration systems.

On October 9, 2014 the OLS 6th, 7th, and 8th graders took a field trip to the Art and History Museums of Missouri. At the History Museum, we got to take a tour of Forest Park, build a filter to make dirty water become clear, and just look at all the different things they had on display. When we took a tour of the park, we got to learn all about the 1904 World's Fair. One really interesting fact about the fair was that it had the first Ferris Wheel. Each car on it could hold sixty people. With thirty-six cars on the wheel, it could hold a total of 2160 people! When we went inside, we were able to make a filter to represent cleaning the water from the Mississippi River. We took old soda bottles and put layers of various things such as coffee filters, cotton balls, rocks, sand, and marbles. After we finished doing that fun activity, we just went and looked around at the exhibits they had. There were lots of cool things to look at and if you want to see them, head down to the History Museum! This was a very fun field trip and it was an awesome success!   -- Jack S.

Forest Park Field Trip: 6th Grade Report

Today we have a special edition of Student Reporter News.  You'll find several posts from our student reporters giving accounts of their recent field trip to Forest Park.  In this post, the reports were written by two of our 6th graders: Amanda W. and John D.

Piled into the bus and ready for a day of fun.

On October 9, 2014, the OLS 6th, 7th, and 8th graders went on a field trip to the St. Louis Art and Missouri History Museums in Forest Park.  At the History Museum, we look at their really cool displays, talked about the World's Fair, and did a science project where you had to build a filter to make dirty water clean.  The first thing we did at the History Museum was build a filter.  Before we started, the instructors talked to us about how the people back then wanted to have a sparkling clean fountain and not the muddy water from the Mississippi River.  We made a filter to turn the muddy water into clean water, just like they did.  The displays that the museum had were all mainly about the World's Fair.  They had found many different things, made of plaster, that were buried under ground from that time.  Later we talked about the World's Fair.  We discussed how hard it was to make the fair and also how much money it would have cost to construct it.  -- Amanda W.

Creating a water filter at the History Museum.

 On October 9th, 2014, the 6th, 7th, and 8th graders went on a field trip to the Missouri History and St. Louis Art Museum.  After going to the History Museum, we went to the Art Museum by bus.  At 12:00, we were doing a packet on Louis IX about the paintings around the exhibit on Louis.  We look at many Louis pictures in the Morgan Library Picture Bible and watched a video at how to make manuscripts, a writing board before paper.  Manuscripts were made using animal skins that were washed, stretched, and covered with white paper.  At the second exhibit, we learned about Louis' life.  After that, we walked around the 1st floor.  There were many Indian statues, paintings, pottery, and furniture.  There were swords, armor, and lots of Indian stuff.  We played near the Louis statue and took pictures of the STL250 cake.  After that, we went back to class.  If you want to see ancient art, go to the Art Museum!  -- John D.

Working on their packets at the Louis IX exhibit.

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.