
Thank you Jillian Stapleton and helpers for giving our kindergarten and DK students an opportunity to create a beautiful piece of art based off of the book, "Albert. Our students really enjoyed using different art tools as well as creating a gift for a family member! Thank you to our wonderful Ithaca PTO for funding supplies for this experience!
💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙











There’s something extra special about the first friendly face you see each morning - and for our South Elementary students, that’s often their bus driver! 🚌💛
With big waves, warm smiles, and safe rides, our drivers help start and end each day with care.
Thank you for being everyday heroes to our littlest Yellowjackets! 🐝💙 #JacketPride #BusDriverAppreciationDay


First graders read a story about a chicken using a hat to make a nest, and were then challenged to build their own hats that could hold eggs! We had lots of chuckles in the STEAM lab today!









We are thrilled to announce that two remarkable Ithaca educators have been recognized at SVSU! Mrs. Gulick received the prestigious title of "Hero in Education," while Ms. Sopocy was honored as an Outstanding Senior. Their commitment to empowering students and excellence in education inspires us all! Let's celebrate their achievements and their dedication


Thank you, Mr. Dylan Malek, Junior Achievement volunteer from Mercantile Bank, for joining Mrs. Gulick's class! Junior Achievement (JA) focuses on introducing students to basic concepts of work readiness, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship through the lens of a community. Students explored careers and learned about earning, taxes, and how money works within a community through five learning sessions.💲💰💵









Mrs. Whitford's Developmental Kindergarten students earned an ice cream sundae party for earning the most money at South during our Read-A-Thon! Great work, Junior Jackets!





First graders read the story Thunder Cake by Michigan author, Patricia Polacco.
They celebrated by eating some delicious Thunder Cake made by Mrs. Melow! #EmpoweringExcellence










We got to go on an incredible field trip today to Desaegher Dairy Farms! This was one of the best experiences I have ever done with students. Students got to experience the whole farm riding in a wagon, a milking parlor, and the birthing barn. We even got to pet a baby calf and each student received a goodie bag! A special "thank you" to Mr. Ty Peet & Mrs. Lotte Peet for helping us arrange this experience for all of our Ithaca Kindergarten & DK Students!
🐄🐄🐄🐄🐄🐄🐄🐄🐄
💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙











Congratulations, Kason and Owen! These two were our First Grade "Principals" this morning at South because they raised the most money in their grade level during our Read-A-Thon!


Students in Mrs. Gulick's 2nd grade class learned about the differences between tortoises and turtles. They used Wikki Stix to create either a turtle or a tortoise, paying attention to how they made the shell and legs of their animal. We also had Gwen Zimmer, a para at North Elementary, bring in real tortoises and a turtle, allowing students to see the differences in a real-life educational experience! 🐢💚











First graders read Logan's Greenhouse in STEAM and learned about all sorts of fruits and vegetables (radishes, leeks, Brussels sprouts, pears, etc). They were then challenged to build greenhouses complete with parent and offspring examples of each plant! It was a nice extension of the science work they've been doing in their classroom!





Our class was gifted a book from our dear friend, Mrs. Sue Meier! She and Megan Calderon wrote this book called," The Goodness Garden." It celebrates "Goodness Day" on March 14! We did read the book on that day, but we have since decided to do a kindness service project. We made placemats to give to our Ithaca Commission on Aging. We are having them give them to our homebound meal friends. These kiddos did an, awesome job making over 70 placemats! They are very excited to share kind words & art with everyone!
💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙











Thank you for supporting our Read-a-Thon fundraiser this year. The month of March kept our students busy--they read over 8,000 chapters and books! And thanks to our incredible community, we raised over $17,000 to be used for field trips and experiences for elementary students.


We are proud to honor our March Students of the Month at South Elementary! Students were nominated based on the Positivity Project character trait "Love of Learning". Congratulations, Junior Jackets!





Yesterday, FFA members from Ithaca High School visited our 2nd graders. They shared a book and completed an activity with our students to help us celebrate Reading Month. Thanks for sharing 'Ag in the Classroom' with our Junior Jackets!









Please see this important note about our Stuffed Animal Sleepover and PJ day!


With one week left of reading month, South students have read 6,800 books and chapters! Ewad came for a second visit and brought each student a mini Ewad reading buddy. It also looks like he had some fun with our Ewad stuffy!







Thank you to all of the generous parents, families, and community members who support our Ithaca PTO Field Trips! We had an incredible experience at the Delta Planetarium in Bay City. The program, "My Big Back Yard" helped us learn about planets, constellations, and more! I think we have a few students excited about the lunar eclipse that will happen tonight (3 am?!!).
Thank you again Ithaca PTO!
💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙










After reading the story Luna Muna and seeing how a special space helmet helped Luna pretend to go to space, kindergartners made their own special space helmets!






Today we took a bus ride across town and visited Ithaca North Elementary! A special thank you to all the North School Students who were patient and kind to all of our Junior Jackets! What an incredible opportunity! #EmpoweringExcellence









