East Side Elementary students celebrate learning through song


East Side music teacher Emily Brandt organized the school’s spring concerts for students, teachers, administrators and parents to enjoy.


Fourth-grade students at East Side Elementary performed “A Musical Passport” for a large crowd at the school’s spring concert in late March. They sang music from around the world that they learned in the last few months in music class. Learning the music, language, and culture of these faraway places helped broaden the students’ understanding of the world around them.


Third graders at East Side dressed appropriately for the folk songs they sang in their musical production of “Just Us Folks.” They have been learning about “folk” songs throughout the year. Their music teacher, Emily Brandt, taught them that these are songs that were never written down, but instead passed down from generation to generation, becoming a part of America’s musical heritage.


Pass a donut, please!


East Side students are still raising money to pay for their playground equipment, and their most recent effort, a Krispy Kreme donut sale, was not only profitable, but tasty! In the end, they exceeded their goal and were treated to a donut party provided by Krispy Kreme.


Students hold multi-cultural fair


Student teacher Kelly Weddington helped students in Torre Kelley’s third-grade classroom to hold a multi-cultural fair at East Side Elementary in late March.

Students who participated in the multi-cultural fair at East Side Elementary dressed appropriately for the country they were representing, ate food from other countries, studied artifacts from different areas around the world, and explored web sites to learn more about these different countries.
 

Democracy at work …

East Side Elementary Parent Teachers Organization members have held several fundraisers this year to raise money for playground equipment. With a total of about $23,000 in hand, administrators, parents and children are all working together to get the most “bang” for their bucks. Principal Tammie Canada researched playground equipment, made a poster of the different pieces available, and gave the students an opportunity to vote on their top three favorite pieces. There is democracy at work at East Side Elementary.

“I felt that they should have a say in the matter because their families raised all of the money, and they are the ones who will be playing on it,” Mrs. Canada said. “I want them to have something they will use and enjoy a lot.”

Students create Black History Month projects

Students in Miranda Jones’ fourth-grade class at East Side researched and reported on famous African Americans as a project in honor of Black History Month in February. After completing their reports, students dressed like the person that they selected to profile and made presentations to the class.


East Side holds 6th Annual Science Fair

    

East Side Elementary held its annual Science Fair in March, and students throughout the school enjoyed the exhibits created by those who participated. Among the topics explored in the exhibits were a survey of soil and the solar system.

The science fair is open to all students, and they can do a project on a topic of their choice, according to science fair coordinator and teacher Thomas Young. The rules say the project should follow the scientific method and it cannot explode or be harmful to any living creature. At this level, Mr. Young adds, students can only compete locally, but the experience does give them knowledge of how a science fair works so they can compete beyond the local level when they enter the fifth grade.

Mr. Young also stressed to students that they should prepare in advance for their science projects. “It is important that all students understand that if the project that they are working on does not end with the predicted results, it does not mean that they failed. In science you can learn even from experiments that do not work,” Mr. Young added.