Peacock Chronicle

Volume 00-01

Issue 3

page 5

6th Graders "Time Travel" to Ancient Rome

by Doak Mathias

Students, year-in and year-out, think it's boring to sit down and just read information from a textbook. Mrs. Boza makes it fun by letting the students rehearse plays, make projects, and see informative slideshows. Occasionally students read the text and complete written assignments from it, but the fun activities help them learn faster.

Last month, the sixth grade students studied ancient Rome with the help of their social studies teacher, Mrs. Boza. She says that the sixth grade students help keep the past alive with their witty comments. To help them learn more about Rome, Mrs. Boza let them have some fun with a "time travel."

The students were required to turn in a "time travel" brochure describing what they learned about ancient Rome. There were sense rules, though: it had to be six-sided, informative, neat, and colorful.

Sixth grader Andrew Hays said, "With these brochures, I'll never forget ancient Rome." Mrs. Boza thought the students were very creative with their drawings and descriptions.

The sixth graders took their chapter test on ancient Rome a few weeks ago and they all did fairly well T he students played "Roman Jeopardy" to review the Wit and the winning team received five extra credit points towards the test. After the test the students turned in their papers with their heads held high. Adam Ross says, " Piece o' cake, I don't need the extra points." He showed that with his 100% test score. All students did exceptionally well on this test proving that fun activities can I help students remember the material.

Bernoulli is new class pet
Boa Constrictor Joins Math Class

By Max Gutierrez

Haven't you always wanted a snake but could never get one because your mom or other family member hated them? If your parents will allow temporary custody of one, maybe you can take home the math class snake for a weekend. The snake belongs to math teacher Mr. Bronson. Mr. Bronson said, "I've always wanted a class pet" so on January 29, Mr. Bronson brought a snake to math class.

The snake, which Mr. Bronson named Bernoulli, is a red tailed boa constrictor. Many types of boas tend to be large, but this snake is fairly small. The snake's diet consists of dead mice, referred to as pinkies at stores that sell pet food. Bernoulli lives in a 30-gallon tank in the math room. Mr. Bronson will gladly demonstrate how to respectfully pick up Bernoulli. The snake is not poisonous!

The students have different feelings about Bernoulli. Sixth grader Doak Mathias said, "I think the snake is cool!" His classmate Lissa Garner exclaimed, "I think the snake is creepy!" Mr. Bronson hopes that through exposure and education, eventually all of the students will benefit from having the class pet.



The Earth Rumbles in Sixth Grade Science

By Miriah Grace

The sixth grade science classes are learning about earth science, including gems, minerals, volcanoes, and marine biology. Recently the students made team presentations for the second graders about their assigned volcanoes. The pre- sentations literally exploded with excitement.
The sixth grade science teacher, Mrs. Betty George, says her first interest in science was in seventh grade. She had a really nice science teacher who inspired her to start teaching science.

"The best part of science is that it is always changing and so I'm always learning something new!" says Mrs. George.

"I found out about IDS by looking at different schools for my son when he was in kindergarten going to first grade. When my son was at IDS, I started to substitute in middle school. Then I decided to become a teacher here!" she says. "I'm really lucky to take my students on a trip to a marine biology camp in the Florida Keys every year! When I tell teachers that, they think it is really cool! The five days seem like a vacation."

Students at IDS appreciate her 10 years of dedication toward helping students understand and learn more about science each day!