Heading to Global Finals!

Squid Dissection

 The sixth grade class dissected squid in class today.  They located the external and internal organs, discussed jet propulsion, and wrote with squid ink!

2014 Leadership Expo

Creative Problem Solvers

All three Murray Destination Imagination, Inc. teams will advance to the state competition in Joplin, MO. The 5th grade team, Super Six, earned 3rd place in the Scientific challenge. The 4th grade team, Renegade Wood Warriors, earned 1st place in the Structural challenge. The 4th grade team, Laughing Lollypops, earned 3rd place in the Fine Arts challenge. MO Creative Adventures (MOCA) will take place April 12th at Missouri Southern State University. Good luck DI teams!

Douglas explains how his shrink ray works while the professor takes notes.

Douglas shows off his Extreme Gear.

Douglas uses his Extreme Gear to for protection.

The Laughing Lollypops get ready to perform.  

Doctor Cat puts the girls asleep for their dental work.  

The Renegade Wood Warriors' structure held 110 pounds.  

The Renegade Wood Warriors discussed their puppet show with the judges.

The Super 6 (minus 3 in this picture) earned 3rd place.

The Renegade Wood Warriors earned 1st place.

Laughing Lollypops earned 3rd place.

The Laughing Lollypops found time to go to the Daddy Daughter Dance.  

YUCK-Doorknob Bacteria

"YUCK--Doorknob Bacteria" won first place in the Science Fair!  Congratulations to Alex, Phillip, Cassidy, and Ty!

National History Day

     The sixth grade National History Day teams did an awesome job today.  The presentation, "Harriet Tubman and the Road to Freedom," earned Jolee, Abby, Alyssa, and Emily 2nd place. The presentation, "Rights and Responsibilities of The American Revolution," earned Johnny, Ashton, and Kyle 3rd place. The documentary, "Rights and Responsibilities of the USS Indianapolis" earned Lilly O. 3rd place. The webpage, "Susan B. Anthony--More than a Suffragette," earned Allana, Hannah, and Lily W. 1st place. They will all advance to National History Day in Missouri in April. Congratulations and good luck at state!

Science Fair

Challenge students in grades K-3 are excited to begin their science fair projects.  They will be participating in the District Science Fair on March 1, 2014 and the Mastodon Science Fair March 15-24.  I can wait to see their end results.

Madi is writing in her group's science log book.

Chloe and Lucy are preparing their experiment:  

Spirit of St. Louis Airport

Seventh grade students visited their engineering mentor at Spirit of St. Louis Airport on Thursday, November 24th. Mr. Ramos gave them a tour of the airport and we even drove on the runway. Students also had the opportunity to sit in helicopters and perform flight simulations.

Flight Simulator

Should Stores be Open on Thanksgiving?

Should stores be open on Thanksgiving? Should we shop on a day we typically spend with families? Is it okay to require workers to work on Thanksgiving? If they do, should they be paid overtime? All of these are questions students pondered while creating their PowToons today. Whether you choose to shop, or not, we wish you a happy Thanksgiving! Please enjoy our videos.


 

Free Birds--Dinner Debate

Do you ever get in a debate with family members about what you will eat for dinner? With the holidays approaching, many of us will be joining family members for dinners and parties. What do you fix? Check out these videos, created with Powtoons, to help solve your dinner dilemma.
 

Late Night with Legendary Leaders

Challenge students, grades 1-5, took on the identities of Legendary Leaders throughout history on Tuesday, November 19th in the Edgar Murray Gym.  Parents and community members mingled with the Legends and asked them questions.  The guests then tried to guess the legends identities.  After mingling, the Legendary Leaders gave short speeches revealing their identities. The students did a fabulous job, and I'm proud of each and every one of them.

Brain Hats

Fourth and fifth grade students created "Brain Hats" as a culminating project for a mini-brain unit. The hats are labeled with the parts of the brain.

Junk Box Wars

Junk Box wars are creative problem solving team challenges correlated to the National Science Standards. Students are given "junk" in boxes and a problem to solve. Problems require students to: 

• Identify appropriate problems for technical design. 
• Design a solution or product. 
• Implement a proposed design. 
• Evaluate completed technological designs or products. 
• Communicate the process of technological design.

The Weakest Link--Students were challenged to build the longest chain that would hold the most weight.

The Weakest Link--5th Grade

Whirling Wonders--Teams were challenged to create a wheel powered by water that would hold the greatest amount of string.

Whirling Wonders--8th Grade

Whirling Wonders--7th Grade

Whirling Wonders--4th Grade

Spaghetti Towers--Teams were challenged to create towers out of spaghetti.  The towers were scored on height and weight held.

Ultimate Gumball Machine--Students were challenged to create a machine that would sort gum ball!

Ultimate Gumball Machine-6th Grade