Parents: As winter weather has closed in on our valley please be aware of the conditions for closing our school. If the roads are not safe at 6:30 in the morning we will post a school closure at that time on our web page, social media, and AlertSense. If the temperature is -20 or colder at 6:30 a.m., we will not run buses and will close the school. If we have too many staff out with illness and cannot operate we will close our facility. Our top priority is student and staff safety and unsafe roads, sickness, or freezing temperatures create a very unsafe environment. On days when our building is closed students that have internet access will be able to get online and participate in teacher designed learning opportunities to supplement what is being taught in classes. We value this learning time and want to support our students by providing meaningful learning experiences even when we are not at school. If you have any questions about online learning access, please contact your students teacher(s).
Select a teacher from the list to access learning opportunities during school closures:
Mrs. Saxton – Kindergarten and pre-school *Google Classroom sign-in
Mrs. Stephanie Christensen – 1st grade Classroom Links
Mrs. Dodge/Mrs. Banks – 2nd grade abanks@sd149.com sdodge@sd149.com
Mrs. Lloyd – 3rd grade *Google Classroom sign-in
Mr. Wadsworth – 4th grade – Classroom links
Mrs. Holbrook – 5th grade *Google Classroom sign-in
Mrs. Diane Christenson – MS Language arts *Google Classroom sign-in
Mr. Banks – MS Science & Health *Google Classroom sign-in
Mrs. Hamilton – MS Math & Social Studies *Google Classroom sign-in
Mrs. Rose – Social Studies *Google Classroom sign-in
Mrs. DeWitt – Math cdewitt@sd149.com Google Classroom sign-in
Mrs. Hatch – Language Arts *Google Classroom sign-in
Mrs. Yost – Science *Google Classroom sign-in
Mrs. Hendren – AG. hhendren@sd149.com
Mrs. Nelson – SPED jnelson@sd149.com
Learning exploration ideas:
Visit a trade tech, college, or university online: What career are you interested in?
Visit another country online: Would you want to travel here in person? What would you do if you could? How much would it cost?
Cooking a meal for your family, friends or just yourself. What would you make? Plan it out – do you have the ingredients? Make it!
The cold winter weather is on us: Are you ready? Do you have supplies? How long could you provide for your family? Discuss and plan with your parents to inventory and prepare.
Travel to space online or in a book or TV show: What do we really know (or think we know) about space? What have we learned recently about space? Where might life exist?
Chromatography Flowers – This is a science experiment that turns into something you’d want to display on a desk or table. Draw stripes on coffee filters with markers, and then fold them up into triangles and dip the pointy end in water; the water will travel up the filter and separate the marker into different pigments, making a cool pattern on a flower-shaped filter.
Color-Mixing Experiment – The classic vinegar-and-baking-soda experiment becomes extra exciting when food coloring is added to the mix. In addition to using an eye dropper or baster to make more “explosions,” kids can also see what happens when different colors combine.
Fingerprint Forensics – Forensics 101: Leave a fingerprint on a drinking glass — it helps if your fingers are a little greasy, so pizza night is the perfect time to try this out — then have your kids use flour and a paintbrush to “dust” the glass for prints. You can even try to “lift” the fingerprint with a piece of tape and transfer it to a piece of construction paper. You can talk about the common patterns found in fingerprints, and how prints are used by law enforcement.
How to Make Crystal Stars – These borax crystal stars are really easy to make, and they look beautiful!
PREP TIME 5 mins – RESTING TIME 8 hrs. – TOTAL TIME 8 hrs 5 mins – YIELD: 2 crystal stars
Equipment: Star shaped cookie cutter – 16 oz. mason jars
Materials:
2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup borax
2 Pipe cleaners
2 pieces thin ribbon or string (8 INCHES LONG)
1 popsicle stick
Instructions
Bend the pipe cleaner around a cookie cutter to make a star shape. Twist the pipe cleaner closed at the end of the shape. Cut off any extra pipe cleaner at the end. Repeat for the second pipe cleaner so you have 2 star shapes.
Tie the thin ribbon or string around each star, then hang them from the popsicle stick.
LEARN MORE
Lower the 2 stars into a mason jar and rest the popsicle stick over the opening of the jar. Make sure the pipe cleaner stars aren’t touching each other or the sides/bottom of the jar.
Pour 2 cups of boiling water into a glass measuring cup. Add the borax and stir until dissolved. If the borax won’t dissolve, microwave the mixture for 30 seconds at a time, stirring each time, until the water is completely clear.
Carefully pour the hot borax mixture into the mason jar. Fill the jar until the top of the star, but no higher. (Crystals will form on the ribbon if it’s below the liquid)
Leave them for 6 to 24 hours and watch the borax crystals grow!
Notes
When you’re done with the borax mixture you can pour the remaining liquid into a load of laundry. Don’t pour the crystals into the laundry since they won’t dissolve.
After you’ve poured the borax water into the laundry, use a spoon to scrape out the crystals – they should come out easily while everything is still wet.
If the crystals won’t come off the jar, fill the jar with water and microwave, stirring every minute, until the crystals are dissolved.