Lewis Elementary

Lewis Garden Fair

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On Saturday, April 21, 2012 the 3rd annual Lewis Elementary School Garden Fair and Plant Sale was held. The event is a fund raiser for our garden program and also provides an opportunity to invite the larger community to our school to learn about what we do. It is one of those events that come together because of work of many volunteers. It also seems to be a guarantee of good weather. This is our third year and each of the events have seen sunny skies, which with the spring we have been having in Portland this year, is a very welcome site. DSC03840.JPG

Song Writers in Residence: Mrs. Zimmerman's Classroom

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This year each of our 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classrooms at Lewis Elementary School have had the opportunity to work with Rick Weiss and Kate Finn as part of our Song Writers in Residence program. Each of these classrooms were able to help write and record a song. Each student will receive a copy of their class song on a CD, and we will also have available for sale at Art Night, a CD, that includes all seven songs. We also plan to post the songs to iTunes and make them available online...

Grandparents & Special Friends Day at Lewis

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Grandparents Day 2012

On Friday at Lewis Elementary we held our Grandparents & Special Friends Day. Traditionally we have used the occasion of Read Across America Day to invite grandparents, extended family members, and family friends to our school so that our students can share the place where they spend a significant part of their lives. This invitation provides these significant adults with a window into an important and notable part of their child's life, their experience at our school.

I enjoyed visiting rooms and watching and listening to the interaction between our students and these adults. I was particularly moved to see children guiding their grandparents and special friends throughout the building on tours. As they walked by classrooms and places such as the music room, the gym, the cafeteria, the library, and the garden, I heard children talking excitedly about those spaces, and the great things that take place in those spaces. The photo accompanying this post shows a kindergarten student guiding her grandmother on a tour of the building. I followed behind and listened as she, with a sense of pride and accomplishment, explained to her grandmother about the work and play she partakes in within these places.

Friday was a good day...

Below are some images from Friday…

Pam Moran and Ira Socal

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3rd grade student sharing her work with @pammoran #itsc12 @irasocal visiting room 16 at Lewis #itsc12

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the Instructional Technology Strategies Conference in Portland. During that time I was able to attend a session called Constructing Mindfulness: An Invitation to See. The presenters were Pam Moran and Ira Socol. It was a great session dealing with learning spaces and what they can look like. This is something I have long been interested in and enjoyed being able to have the opportunity to learn from Pam and Ira.

On Tuesday, Pam and Ira visited my school and I enjoyed spending time with them and discussing how we can make our classrooms more welcoming and inviting places for learning.