Responsibility by Ms. Brown (Assistant Principal)

Responsibility and work ethic are attributes that will help your student be successful in school and in life. Click on the article below to see ways teachers build responsibility in the classroom and how you can teach responsibility at home!

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/teacher-made-activities-teaching-responsibility

Problem Solvers by Ms. Brown (Assistant Principal)

This week I will be highlighting articles that will provide information on how to support your student in learning valuable skills that go beyond the classroom. Many times students want us to fix their problems for them, however being a problem solver will help your child navigate life at school and beyond.

Please click the article below for ways you can help your child become a problem solver!

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/how-you-can-help-children-solve-problems

Houstonian Artists by Mrs. Murphy and Mrs. Shorter (TWE Art teachers)

This year at Tom Wilson Elementary students have enjoyed learning about artists. In our art curriculum, we study many great artists of the past, but Mrs. Shorter and Mrs. Murphy have taken it a step further.

Here in Houston we are surrounded by a diverse and inspiring art scene. The students at Tom Wilson have enjoyed discovering local artists. Amazing artwork is on display all around the city.

The 5th graders have been in charge of researching the artists and Mrs. Shorter and Mrs. Murphy display the information in their art rooms for all the students to see. Some of the artists we have studied are listed below along with artwork they are famous for:

 

Jaume Plensa- Kneeling Human Figures (Allen Parkway and Montrose Blvd)

David Adickes- We Love Houston sign (1816 Thompson St)

Patrick Dogherty- Stickwork (Herman Park)

Patrick Renner- Funnel Tunnel

Ed Wilson- Folded Plane

 

Choir blog! By: MollyAnn B. and Stefano C. (Wolfpack Chorale Singers)

Astros!

On April 15, 2016 our 5^th grade choir will be performing at Minute Maid Stadium. We will be performing the Star Spangled Banner at the beginning of the game on the baseball field. After we perform we will leave the field and go to the TWE section to watch the game with our families.  

Songs

We have been doing songs every semester. This semester we have 6 songs, these songs are Kusimama, a song in Swahili. Another song is Sing to Me - we are still working on that song. We’ve also been learning the Tailor of Gloucester and Seagull, Seagull.  Other songs this semester include Murasame and Gloria.

Performance

We will be performing our next concert in the TWE gym on April 7, 2016 to share all of the songs we have been working on. We will perform twice - once in the morning for the school and another time in the evening for the public. Our directors are Ms. Currier and Mrs. Beyer. We currently have 98 choir singers.

Dodgeball on Skates - OH MY!!!!! by Coaches McDonald, Park and Hoette

 

We had a little extra time on Wolfpack Learning Day with our 5th grade students, so we let them have a special treat!  Dodgeball on Skates!  You should have heard the squeals of excitement from them with just the thought of how cool it is to mix those two together.  It was a huge success!  They were skating, dodging, throwing, hitting, laughing, and huge smiles all around!  We just love how awesome these 5th graders are each day.  They always try their best and have so much fun.   Thanks for sharing them with us at TWE.

 

Field Day by Coaches McDonald, Park and Hoette

 

Field Day is fast approaching!!  April 22!  We would like to encourage you to volunteer for this amazing day of fun.  Please visit TWEPTA.org to sign up.

 

It is a time when the whole school comes together to take part in physical challenges.  Each class will participate in age-appropriate activities like relay races, water games, bounce houses, sack races, and so much more.  This day not only reinforces that fitness can be fun, but it is a community builder, teaches sportsmanship, and encourages kids to try new things they may never have done before.  Field Day is one of those events that the kids look forward to all year.

 

There are two time slots:

•8:45 am - 11:40 am (grades 3-5)

•12:15 pm - 3:15 pm (Kinder-2nd)

 

This year, we will try our best to take pictures as we rush around making sure all is well with the best day ever (Field Day) and we will be live tweeting them to #twehowl.  So, make sure to be checking Twitter all day (when you are not volunteering of course) on Field Day to be able to stay in on all the action!

Skatetime Volunteers by Nicki McDonald, Eva Park, and Anne Hoette

We have been truly blessed by having some of the most wonderful volunteers during Skatetime to help with the Kindergarten and 1^st grade classes.  These volunteers come in with a smile and help the students buckle their helmets, get them the proper sized safety pads, help them put the pads on, assist them in getting their correct sized skates, help them put their skates on, and tighten their skates for them…WHEW!  It’s a lot of work to get these little ones on skates.  We must say how impressed we are with several of our 5^th grade students as well.  For two weeks during Skatetime, they volunteered to miss their recess time to come help Kindergarten students.  They do all the same work as our adult volunteers and do it well!  All of these volunteers, both adult and 5^th grade students, have shown such love and kindness to our Kindergarten and 1st grade students, and to see how these young students smile so big as they skate on their own is such a reward.  Seeing them from the first day to the last day is a major accomplishment for them, and you as parents should be so very proud of your student.

 

Our hope as PE teachers, is that parents will be able to continue to foster the love their students have for skating.  As a parent, you can take them to Mason Skate or  maybe buy or borrow some skates to practice skating around your neighborhood on sidewalks to give them the opportunity to continue practicing.  Skating takes work and practice just like anything else.  If your student loved it but found it to be hard, just encourage them to continue trying and to do their best.  Remember safety too – helmet, elbow pads, knee pads, and wrist guards.  Thank you for allowing us to provide Skatetime at TWE!

 

Bayou Bend Field Trip

The field trip to Bayou Bend was really interesting. I learned a lot about American History. The house was filled with old American artifacts that were truly precious. My favorite room in the house was the dining room. It was large and gold patterns covered the wall, it looked really unique and beautiful. I loved how each room had its own special feature. Some had chandeliers and others had old cabinets from the 1700's! The house and garden were huge! The garden was lush and green with spurting water fountains. The costume presentation was great too - we learned a lot about how people looked and dressed in the 1800's. We even learned about what people wore out to the market. This was a really fun, interesting, and educational field trip and I loved every minute of it.

By: Sahena H.

 

My classmates and I went to Bayou Bend for a field trip a few weeks ago.  We learned a lot and I thought it was really interesting because I love learning about history! At Bayou Bend we learned what houses looked like throughout history as well as how people dressed in the 1700’s.  The volunteers put on a skit about how complicated it was to get dressed back then.  We also visited a house that resembled a house from that period. The rooms were filled with wood furniture and some of the walls were deep red and gold. There also was an art gallery we thought was amusing too.  There was fancy garden on the property as well.  It was a great place to visit.
Blake C.

Bayou Bend was a great experience! With its awesome hang bridge and it's cool skits, everything was just so interesting. What's even better is that it really makes learning fun. We got to learn about how the people back then dressed and the postures women and girls had to have. I loved visiting the rooms that Ima Hogg built and the beautiful artifacts and furniture. The gardens were full of blooming flowers, especially in spring. We also learned that even though they were boys, the young boys had to wear dresses just like girls! Everything Bayou Bend just made me feel as if I lived in the gigantic house myself. Bayou Bend is a great place to go with super nice volunteers. In one room, you can even feel what it is like to sit in a chair Ima Hogg sat in herself! Just remember that you should go and check out this fabulous place! Rachel C.

• 
  

 

Kinder Techies by Renee Spath

Here are some of our favorites:

 

We start off by using an app called AR flashcards, which is an augmented reality card.  When the student scans the card, it comes to life and says the sound of the letter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also use our Osmo to find words and number combinations daily in our stations.

 

 

 

The students are professionals at using Chatterpix.  This app allows any picture to come to life.  This is an example of one of the Texas State Symbols.  The students took a picture using our symbols wall in the 1^st grade hallway. 

They drew a mouth on the picture and recorded their voice over it.  They were able to talk about their favorite Texas Symbol.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the 100^th day of school, the students used an app called OLDIFY to see what they would look like as an old person.  They absolutely loved it!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Our newest digital creation is using an app called Quiver.  During center time the students color a picture and then use the app to scan.  It is an Augmented Reality app that turns the picture into a 3D image.  They even taught Mrs. Spath that a game appears on top of the picture! YES! Even Kindergarten students can teach us a thing or two.