Oh The Places We Can Go!!!!

We are enjoying learning about all of the different and interesting places that cover our Earth. We have begun our journey through a postcard project that allows our students to learn about different cities, states, countries, and continents that people have visited or live in. As each postcard arrives to our school, we are pinpointing it on the map and tracking the distance from here to there. We are so excited about knowing all about the places on the Earth. Here is a video clip of our Quest class learning and singing about the seven continents.

Rock On!! 

Our 2nd grade Quest classes had a special visit from Mrs. April Fowler, who brought her rock collection and taught us all about Geology. We are kicking off our Geography study by understanding what the different places around the world are made up of. Mrs. April taught us how to distinguish the difference between many different types of sedimentary rocks, igneous rocks, and metamorphic rock. We had a great time and learned so much!

Phases of the Moon

During one of our last space missions, we learned about the eight phases that our moon, Luna, goes through. Each student had a specific duty and task for his/her team. They worked together to craft their Oreo cookies to match the particular phase they were given. Upon completing, the students used the moon phase map to place their cookies in the correct order. The kids loved this and had a blast getting to eat the moon afterwards. 

Exciting Saturday Gifted Programs

Exciting Saturday Gifted Programs

2015-2016 Saturday Gifted Studies Programs

The Saturday Gifted Studies Program at The University of Southern Mississippi is designed to enhance cognitive and affective abilities of gifted students through planned enrichment/acceleration programming.  Emphasis is placed on participation in areas that provide in-depth analysis of specific topics in small-group activities with other gifted youth.

Spring Saturday Gifted Studies - USM Hattiesburg Campus

January 23 - March 5, 2016 (Seven Saturdays), 9 a.m - Noon

For complete descriptions of courses and to apply online, visit www.usm.edu/gifted.

Payment and Forms Deadline November 30,2015

Crazy About Constellations 

Our class has really been interested in learning about the constellations of the night sky. After discussing and learning about the most popular ones we can see in our hemisphere, we decided to create our own. This was a fun activity that allowed the students to think outside the box. Each child was given a piece of black construction paper, Q-tip, a bit of white paint, and a yellow crayon. Once the students created their new constellation, they were asked to name it and tell a little about it. They loved this activity and enjoyed seeing and reading about the constellations from their classmates. 

Here are some of the great projects our classmates have made to show their knowledge of outer space and elements of our solar system. We have even been able to taste a bit of space through some delicious moon cookies. (We were so excited about the cookies, I forgot to snap a picture before we ate them.) I am so proud of our Quest students. We love showing what we know about things we learn in and out of class! 

Moon Cookies

Mission Space 

Our Quest classes have truly been enjoying our Mission Space Unit. We have been learning and doing many hands on activities that are helping to answer all of the questions that the students have had about space and our solar system. In order to gain even more knowledge, we took a journey to the other planets and our moon through a talking planetary map. This map takes your weight and calculates what you would weigh on the other planets. It also gives us super cool facts about each planet we visit  just by standing on that particular planet. The students favorite part was being able to send a classmate out on a "Space Mission." The mission gave us 90 seconds to find the correct planet for the given fact. Depending on how many you get correct, is what results in your points at the end. The students did a great job and really enjoyed helping one another get to the correct planet in time.