Our MARE program once again brought the ocean to the Valley of the Sun as our students explored different bodies of water and their ecosystems. Ken Watson returned from California, bringing his diving experience and ocean artifacts, and Wayne and Karen Brown shared videos of their diving experience with the belize whale shark. Students participated in many hands-on activities, including squid dissections, phytoplankton "creations," sand analysis, and a "bird beak buffet." Thank you to everyone who attended our MARE night and shared the great work our students did during MARE week.
Our 4th grade students performed the play, "The Wizard of AZ," which focused on the 5 C's of Arizona (copper, cattle, climate, cotton, and citrus). They performed with enthusiasm and put on a great show!
Mrs. Clark's 4th grade class met with Peter Raisanen, a former Sandpiper student who is planning to ride his bike from coast to coast this summer to raise money for the Children's Heart Foundation. Peter shared his expectations for the trip, answered questions, and is setting up a blog to answer student questions during his trip. His message to the students was that he is just an ordinary person doing this, and that anyone can make a commitment to make a difference--a message that supports our character education program. If you would like to follow Peter's ride or offer support, check in at petey4kids.blogspot.com.
The 5th grade held their state parade, where students created small floats to represent their research on one of the 50 states. They shared their creative work with the rest of the students as they participated in a parade around the school.
Mrs. Crisp's 6th grade students researched how to make fire (without a lighter) and put their knowledge to practice as they tried to make smores in the front of the school. The activity is part of the "Bones and Stones" simulation activities, which traces the importance of fire in the evolution of man.
Congratulations to first grader Elizabeth M.! Elizabeth's watercolor painting of a clown was selected by the district for purchase, and the award was given at the last Governing Board meeting. Each year the district purchases individual pieces from the district art show, and Sandpiper has had three students receive this honor in the past five years.
Congratulations to Sandpiper alumnus Wafa Shahid for being selected for a summer internship at the Arizona Biomedical Collaborative at the University of Arizona Medical School. Wafa is a junior in the International Baccalaureate program at North Canyon High School, and we are very proud of her accomplishments!
Sandpiper recently received an upgraded mobile laptop cart so that our teachers and students can continue to have classroom -ccess to the digital world. This also allows us to deploy our older laptops to the teachers so that every classroom will have more up-to-date technology on a daily basis.
