East Side class celebrates Thanksgiving

Students in Amelia Lovett’s class at East Side Elementary celebrated our country’s humble beginnings through speech and song as they presented to other students and guests “Coming to America” on Monday, November 19. The story and song related the historic time in three parts: “The Voyage,” “The First Winter and Spring” and “The First Thanksgiving.”
 

East Side IMPACT students enjoy Medieval feast

Third- and fourth-grade students at East Side Elementary School in the IMPACT classes enjoyed a feast and a little jousting when they ended their study on Medieval times in late October. Under the direction of Amy Harris, the students wore period costumes at the feast, and made a sword and a shield for the occasion. They dined on food (catered by Back Yard Barbecue) of the period, also, including chicken and cobbler.

Prodigy students study archaeology

On Friday, October 26, Prodigy students in grades 3 through 6 at East Side and Sunny Hill School took an archaeological field trip to Scott, Arkansas. At 5:30 a.m., they embarked on an adventure to Toltee Mounds.

Toltee Mounds Archaeological State Park offers an amazing hands-on educational program that ties directly into the Haywood Schools Prodigy curriculum this year, let by teacher Abby Hooper.

In class each week, students are studying Native Americans and their way of life. At Toltee Mounds, they experienced Native American life first-hand by participating in seven classes taught by park rangers. The classes included a guided tour of the mounds, Native American tools and weapons, Native American games and storytelling, Archaeology 101, Archaeology techniques and an artifact maze.

“I think the most amazing thing about the mounds is that they were all built by hand,” Hooper said. “The Plum Bayou Culture lived in this area from about A.D. 600-1050. They built the mounds by dumping baskets of dirt in a certain area.”

According to Hooper, the people who built the Toltee Mounds had a way of life, or culture (Plum Bayou), that was distinctive from other contemporary groups in the Mississippi Valley. The people lived in permanent villages and hamlets throughout the countryside. They built sturdy houses and farmed, as well as gathered wild plant foods, fished and hunted in the surrounding countryside. The Toltee Center had a small population, primarily of the political and religious leaders of the community and their families. The Plum Bayou people abandoned this area around 1050 A.D., but it is not known what happened to them because their oral history was not passed down through the generations.

“Our students had a wonderful time reenacting games that Native American children played and learning how to shoot a blowgun. Out of 29 students in one group, we only killed about five pink squirrels. Needless to say, our tribe would not have had much for dinner that night,” Hooper said. “It was wonderful for our students to ‘live’ part of our American History.”

Fall Family Fest success at East Side

The Third Annual East Side Fall Family Fest was held on Saturday, November 3, on the school’s campus. Students from East Side and the other elementary schools along with their parents enjoyed three hours of fun, fun, food, and more fun! Children and parents participated in activities such as a Hula Hoop Contest, Fear Factor, Cake Walk, Color Ur Hair, Ring-A-Drink, Hole-In-One, and bowling, just to name a few.

Students also enjoyed the Ventriloquist Show, “JP and Friends,” and another fun activity was pumpkin decorating. Many students worked diligently personalizing their very own pumpkins with vibrant colors of paint. There was even a 100-pound pumpkin on display, and it has now been creatively transformed into a “turkey,” thanks to the art teacher Linda Mann.

Rounding out the day of activities, many enjoyed great food at the concession stand, including grilled burgers and hot dogs, nachos, chips, and drinks.

According to East Side Principal Assistant Principal Yvette Blue, the 2007 Fall Family Fest was a great success thanks to the following benefactors: Parents of East Side, E. W. James & Sons, Sav-A-Lot, WalMart, and Dominoes Pizza. East Side counselor Flodine Hudson and East Side Cafeteria Manager Joyce Sikes also made personal donations.

East Side Cafeteria staff celebrates “National School Lunch Week”

Joyce Sikes is the cafeteria manager at East Side Elementary, and she and her staff celebrated “National School Lunch Week” October 15-19. Members of the staff are Assistant Manager Mamie Watson, Chris Chapman, Lucy Trotter, Gloria Davis, Janie Turner, Loretta Clark and Cresandra Springfield. Also pictured are East Side Tammie Canada (right) and Assistant Principal Yvette Blue (left).

The East Side Campus Café celebrated “National School Lunch Week” October 15-19 with the theme, “Vote for School Lunch.”

Each class was encouraged to make campaign posters for one of the following candidates: Biff Burger, Patty Mac ‘n’ Cheese, Jesse Wrap, Pippa Potato or Yumi Rice Bowl. The students had to explain why their candidate should be elected based on its nutritional value. The classes who created the top three winning posters were rewarded with a pizza party.

Winners of the poster contest were: 1st place - Miss Amelia Lovett’s class (Patty Mac ‘n’ Cheese); 2nd place - Ms. Kellie Davis’ class (Biff Burger); and 3rd place - Mrs. Essary’s class (Pippa Potato). Judges were Gail Steele, HCS School Nurse, and Sharon Thornton, HCS School Health Coordinator.

October 18 was Election Day, and all classes voted for their candidate in a national election. Students were asked to wear red, white and blue on Election Day, and the cafeteria was decorated in those colors, too.

The tally: Biff Burger - 91 votes; Patty Mac ‘N’ Cheese - 62 votes; Yumi Rice Bowl - 17 votes; Pippa Potato - 12 votes; and Jesse Wrap - 5 votes.

This year’s winner is - BIFF BURGER!

“Everyone did a great job helping make this a great ‘National School Lunch Week,’” said Mrs. Joyce Sikes, cafeteria manager.
 

Copyright 2008 Haywood County Schools.