Holiday Celebration!!

Hard to believe 2014 has almost come to an end.  But what can be better than saying farewell to 2014 with peers and friends.  UE students performed a Holiday Play, enjoyed a story with Mr. Zech, an hour of bowling & pizza lunch today.
We thank all Upper El families for your continuous love, support & generosity.  We also wish to thank our Room Mom Ms. Amy and her team for coordinating the activities during the school year.

Season's Greeting!!
See you in 2015....

HOLIDAY PLAY BY STUDENTS

 

 

 

STORYTIME WITH Mr. Zech

 

 

BOWLING CALLING

 

 

PIZZA PARTY

 

 

 

Get Well Soon Alex!!

As our classmate Alex (4th grader) is recovering from his surgery at the Children's Hospital, we send our good wishes for his speedy recovery & Holiday Greetings to Alex & his family!! We miss you and look forward to see you back in the new year!

On the positive side, during his stay at Children's, Alex met with UAB Football Players; Quarterback Blake Sims (pictured below), Austin Shepherd, and Kenyan Drake, and received a signed ball from them.  Now how cool is that!!

Exploring the Explorers

This quarter the fifth graders studied and researched various explorers with great accomplishments.  Their voyages established new trade routes and produced better world maps.  These were Explorers from England, Holland, and France, who wanted to find a Northwest Passage, a shortcut from Europe to Asia through North America. 

Students learned about and researched famous explorers such as Christopher Columbus, Juan Ponce de Leon, Hernan Cortes, Jacques Cartier, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, Henry Hudson and Robert de La Salle, and presented role plays depicting their accomplishments and  struggles during their journeys.



A face-to-face interview with famous explorer Christopher Columbus



Explorer Hernan Cortes with the Aztec empire



Explorer Ponce de Leon in search of "fountain of youth"

Explorer Henry Hudson talking about his journey during a talk show

The Hour of Code

The Upper Elementary students join the tens of millions of students in 180+ countries by taking part in The Hour of Code global movement.

The Hour of Code is a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify code and show that anybody can learn the basics.  Hosted by www.Code.org, the grassroots campaign goal is for tens of millions of students to try an Hour of Code during December 8-14, 2014, in celebration of Computer Science Education Week.  According to www.Code.org, every student should have the opportunity to learn computer science. It helps nurture problem-solving skills, logic and creativity. By starting early, students will have a foundation for success in any 21st-century career path.

Congratulations to the following students who have achieved a completion certificate by participating in the "Hour of Code" this week:

Fourth Grade:
Shifa
Naren
Pranav
Pooja
Savitri
Ethan
Margaux
Ragav

Fifth Grade:
Khushi
William
Carson
Aleah
Goodman

Sixth Grade:
Jordyn
Caleb

Newsletter: Friday, December 12th, 2014

Middle School Holiday Shop

This week students had an opportunity to create a shopping wish list and make purchases from the Middle School Holiday Shop with the help of Middle School students.  All the money raised from the holiday shop will benefit Middle school students towards their upcoming field trip.  December 8th (Monday) is the final day to make purchases from the Holiday shop.  
Happy Shopping!   

 

Newsletter: December 5th, 2014

Haiku Writing!!

Haiku is a well-known form of Japanese poetry in the West, which follows the 5-7-5 syllable pattern. This quarter Fourth and Fifth grade students learned the components of haiku writing and composed their own haikus about their favorite holiday.

Here is a glimpse of their work:

 

  

 

By: Clemente Brannon (Grade 4)

Holidays

Christmas, Thanksgiving

Oh how the holiday howl!

Here come the snow bells

 

 

 

By: Alice Young (Grade 4)

Happy New Year

Presents opening

We wait for the ball to drop

People cheering

 

 

 

By: Harshil Mehta (Grade 4)

Diwali

I like Diwali

Diwali has rows of light

Diwali is fun

 

 

By: Saim Siddiqui (Grade 5)

Eid

Eid is really fun

I get presents from people

Muslims enjoy Eid

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

By: Kimberly Hodson (Grade 5)

Christmas

It is Christmas time

Stockings filled with awesome toys

Cookies are left out

 

 

By: Carson Hicks (Grade 5)

Thanksgiving

Be very grateful

Calling all family members

Eat the feast like beast

What are you thankful for?

At JBMA, we teachers are thankful for happy children every day. 

 

 

 

Here's what our students are thankful for:

 

 

 

Preparing for Winter

As we prepare our classrooms for winter, please send any clean, laundered, gently used or new blanket you would like to donate to the school for emergency use.  We thank you in advance for your generosity.    




 

Got Books?

Peace Area in Upper Elementary is a special place that gives us time to do some individual reading.  We have a wide variety of reading literature available in the Peace Area. 
We wish to thank the Hicks Family (Carson Hicks), the Brannon Family (Clemente Brannon) and the Mefford Family (Maxwell Mefford) for their generous contribution that has added to our book collection.