Ithaca South Elementary

Second graders were challenged to build sleds that could carry "gifts" after reading the story Just Be Claus in STEAM lab. Collaboration was the key to successfully tackling this challenge!

This week our staff spotlight is on Miss Hartman, one of our preschool teachers. Miss Hartman enjoys traveling with her fiancé, friends, family, and her two dogs. She also enjoys going shopping and spending time at home watching movies. Summer is Miss Hartman's favorite season and she spends lots of time outdoors, going fishing, trail riding, and playing with her dogs.

Kindergarten students listened to "The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush" by Tomie dePaola and then independently wrote their own sentence and creatively designed an illustration to match their writing.

First graders wrapped up their science unit on stars by creating their own constellations. Using actual NASA star maps and wikki stix, they connected stars to outline an image they could "see". They then connected those stars with pencil and colored their new constellations, so others could "see" them, too!

Kindergartners collaborated to build puppet stages and puppets like the ones Franklin received in the story Franklin's Christmas Gift.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our families!

These awesome kindergartners in Mrs. Simcox's class feasted in the classroom today for lunch! Before eating they sang, "Thanks A Lot" by Raffi, including using sign-language. Happy Thanksgiving To All!

If you need help raking leaves, these young engineers may be able to help! They used their STEAM skills to create working rakes out of recycled items!

This week our Staff Spotlight is on Mr. Whitford. Mr. Whitford was born and raised on a farm west of Ithaca. He attended South school from Kindergarten through 6th grade. Mr. Whitford worked as a machinist in a die shop for 15 years in Ithaca before attending Alma College along side of Mrs. Vozar! He has been in education since 2006. Mr. Whitford loves everything outdoors and especially traveling with his family in the summer. He says, "I truly enjoy working for our community and with the amazing staff at South Elementary!"

Thank you to everyone that joined us at Family Night last week! We had over 30 families join us for literacy, math, technology, and STEAM activities. We were thrilled to see so many people come for an hour of fun and an opportunity to dive into their student's learning environments.

South students have engaged in learning about their digital footprints and standing up for others in our digital citizenship curriculum this year. When standing up for others students learned it is important to include everyone during our activities in the classroom, on the playground, and at home. By standing up for others we make everyone feel cared about and important; kindness is key. Our students also learned about the online tracks we leave behind when we are playing games and visiting websites online. They can identify the difference between a website that is just right, and when they need to get an adult to help them if the website is safe or to find a new one that will be safe. Some helpful links about these topics can be found here: Standing up for others: https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship/lesson/meet-legs-of-the-digital-citizens Being kind online: https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship/lesson/meet-heart-of-the-digital-citizens Online tracks: https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship/lesson/meet-feet-of-the-digital-citizens

On behalf of the Board of Education, I thank the Ithaca Public Schools’ voters for their support of the renewal of the sinking fund. Approval of the sinking fund will allow the school district to continue to update facilities, improve school security, upgrade technology, and purchase new buses and vans. Again, I am grateful to the parents, staff, students, and other members of the community who helped us inform people about the sinking fund renewal. Thank you for your continued support! Steven Netzley Superintendent

This week in Tech, we are focusing on Digital Citizenship. Students have been engaging in activities at school to practice their DC skills. Monday's focus was media balance, and Tuesday's focus was staying safe online. Shared below are activities families can do together at home, or family resources to reinforce the learning students have done at school. Media Balance: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1khdK1MGuPEXPfUkXaiz3kE0RXebuPyI8vhGq_1uUFOQ/edit Staying Safe Online: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P51Ps06_jwqs63Z0za_Q2N_rSmkqC3Cem256kYguL3M/edit Family Tech Planner: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/family-tech-planners

Second graders learned about heat changes with a fun story called The Ice Cream Vanishes! They then collaborated to create puppet shows depicting the three heat-based changes the ice cream experienced.

Please plan to attend our Fall Family Night!

Don't forget to vote! If you'd like more information on the 2023 Sinking Fund renewal, please visit www.ithacaschools.net/page/sinking-fund-renewal.

This week our staff spotlight is on our school social worker, Ms. Alexis Bahr. Ms. Bahr enjoys spending time with family and friends, spending time with her two dogs, and reading in her free time.

Mr. Whitford's classroom enjoyed taste testing apples! We were learning Math skills using tally marks with our recorded votes. We also practiced our writing skills while journaling about our favorite flavored apple.

After reading a story about a leaf blowing into a barn and causing all sorts of problems for the animals, our young engineers designed latches for "barn doors". In order to create designs that allowed the paper doors to open and shut, students found clever ways to use marker caps, pipe cleaners, straws, and twist ties! Problem solving at its finest!

For a few hours yesterday, it looked as if winter had arrived at South Elementary! Our kindergarteners were thrilled to have the chance to work together and be creative in the snow!