Science

4th Grade continued their study of bees with a special focus on flowers and pollination this week. On Tuesday, we dissected flowers and learned how to identify both the male (the stamen) and the female part (the pistil) of the flower. Next they learned about the role that bees play in the pollination of plants. By the end of the week, students had a clear understanding of how much our society relies on bees for the food that we eat!

Music

This week, Mr. Tom used MaKey MaKey in music class. Makey Makey is a tiny circuit board that tricks a computer into thinking it is a keyboard. Classes composed music and learned about switches and why their bodies are good conductors. During this class, students learned about circuits and how to use conductive materials to trigger sounds on the computer using GarageBand. This week, they used copper wire, graphite and their bodies as conductors. Tom Noren has brought Makey Makey to many area schools integrating technology and music in an engaging and creative learning experience. His company is called Musical Wires.

Accountability Partners

This week students at TCS were introduced to a new concept known as Accountability Partners. This idea came out of the goal we have as teachers for all students to achieve excellence through hard work, responsibility and self-awareness. Students were assigned a partner in their classroom whose job it is to hold them accountable for the goals that they set. This role looks different during each subject. For example, during Writing Workshop, partners check in with one another at the beginning and share their writing goals for that day. Then they check in again at the end of the workshop and discuss whether or not they reached their goal. If the goal hasn’t been met then the Accountability Partner gives advice for what to do differently next time.