Hub HappeningsHub Happenings
Wednesday, November 16
Challenge Day in The Hub for grades 2/3!
Task: Build a bridge and roll a ball under it. The bigger the ball the more points.
Supplies: 1 Styrofoam Cup, 20 Toothpicks, 5 Marshmallows and 5 pipe cleaners.
Conclusion: We have some great future engineers!
Congratulation Sophia, Zamyiah and Mat! Their bridge was big enough for a soccer ball!
How did they do it? Sophia: “We spent more of our building time on talking and planning.”
Monday, November 14
Our micro robot video is complete. Mrs. Zachar and Mrs. Rodriguez hosted a robot enrichment group. What better place to start than with micro robots. Students were given a mini motor and a cell battery to start. It was up to them to design a robot with any materials of their choosing. The real challenge was to create a micro robot that could move in a straight direction. Not as easy as it sounds! Patience, persistence and determination was abundant. We discussed the pros and cons of our different designs as well as what would we would do differently during our next opportunity. We also held races which were exciting to watch.
Wednesday, November 9
4/5 Wednesday Challenge – Be Efficient!
Using their ingenuity and enthusiastic collaboration, grades 4 and 5 created inventive devices that could knock over cups up to four feet away. They were given five types of materials: 10 pipe cleaners, 10 straws, 5 rubber bands 2 sheets of newspaper and 1 ruler (which could not be damaged). Points varied based on how many cups were knocked over and how many types of materials were used. The fewer types of materials the more points. Strategy was a huge part of the design process for the most successful teams who depended on communication and collaboration to come up with some very creative and effective tools!
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
2/3 Wednesday Challenge – Sounds Around Us
How observant are our ears? Students were asked to create sounds that you would hear in a particular situation using a variety of materials. They had ten minutes to discuss the sounds that might be heard in situations like a campfire, the kitchen at meal time, a rain storm, and a parade. Then using materials that included pencils, straws, cardboard tubes, macaroni noodles, a piece of paper, a piece of aluminum foil, a small cup, rubber bands and mailing labels, they collaborated to create the sounds you might hear in those situations. Turns out we have some budding Foley Artists! We could close our eyes and imagine the scenes being portrayed.
Students were intrigued by the idea that ALL the sounds in a movie are added AFTER the actors are filmed saying their lines. We watched a video about Foley Artists and it’s been added to our list as a possible enrichment topic.
Challenge Video – Engineering 2
BE EFFICIENT! That was the theme for Wednesday Rotation where 4th and 5th Graders showed their ingenuity and quick-thinking skills!
20 cups … Five TYPES of Materials … Five Minutes to IMAGINE and BUILD
The TASK: Build a device or devices using the fewest types of materials possible that will help you knock over cups.
The MATERIALS: 10 Pipe Cleaners, 10 Straws, 5 Rubberbands, 2 sheets of newspaper, 1 12-inch ruler
The RESULTS: creativity, collaboration, communication, critical thinking and lots of fun!
What was fun about the challenge?
Taylor– “You could use your imagination to create whatever contraption you could think of.”
Shubh – “We got to use our creativity and have fun with friends making tools without anyone telling us how. “
Justin – “It was teamwork and challenging with no hurt feelings.”
Victor –“ I liked new teammates – I never get put with these guys.”
Ethan – “It was fun making an invention and getting to use it.”
Ashna – “I liked that we got to build something of our own and see if it would work like inventors.”
Nick – “Thinking outside the box and knocking over the cups.”
Jose O. – “It was fun that we could create our own ideas and make our own things, we could make it out of materials and make a true device.”
Would you change anything if you could?
James – “More time to really think through your device.”
Wiktoria – “I would have changed our attitude. I would change how we cooperated.”
Aleyia – “Add bonus cups for extra points or extra time to use your device.”
Natalie – “Mrs. Munson needs to lean down more by the line to really make sure people didn’t cross it.”
Elias – “I would change to better teamwork.”
What new things did you learn from this experience?
Kobe – “If we really think about it we can make stuff that works.”
Tristan – “We have to cooperate together, teamwork and really share ideas.”
Aiden – “The wrecking ball concept was very effective. “
Shubh – “It was fun looking at everyone’s inventions and ideas and I don’t mean copy but you could learn something from them and make new things.
Miles – “You CAN make an inventive idea.”
Ashna – “You have to open your mind to make new things.”
Justin – “Go and think instead of rushing to make.”
Niharika – “I learned that you have to plan how you’re going to USE your device.”
Luis – “Use your materials wisely by sharing your ideas with your team.”
September 23
Wednesday Rotation for 2nd and 3rd grade was all about getting creative. We talked about how every challenge is a chance to try something new. It’s always an opportunity to unleash our creativity as we think about all the possible ways to meet a challenge. What fun it was to see student teams trying different ideas, making changes, and discovering the importance of collaboration.
The Challenge: Design and build a towering tower that had to stand on its own, as high as humanly possible, and be made ONLY of paper. No tape, no glue, no paperclips!
From the results it was easy to see how well teams collaborated! And afterwards we were able to connect all our recent Words of the Week to the creative process: They INQUIREd and and IMAGINEd possible solutions that led to some UNIQUE results. They learned how to make DECISIONs as a team and that it was important to PERSEVERE. Most importantly, it was clear there were no bad ideas – every idea was worth a try and a stepping stone toward a solution.
August 10 – September 24
Digital Citizenship has been the focus of Grades 3-5 this past month. The digital community is vast and exciting. A key priority in The Hub is practicing and supporting good Digital Citizenship so that students not only understand the rights and responsibilities of being a digital citizen, but clearly recognize the benefits and risks, and the impact it can have on their digital footprint. Students have been focusing on how to be safe, smart, and responsible citizens in a digital world. Students iscussions determined that following the Ridge matrix and responsible, respectful, and 
safe is just as important in the online world as it is offline. Students identified personal responsibility being the key to being a good digital citizen. We are using the Common Sense Digital Citizenship curriculum to support students. Ridge students are learning how to find, evaluate, use and create information in its many digital forms. They are taking responsibility for their online behavior and protecting their privacy. Studen
ts recognize the importance of always being respectful of the feelings and work of other people online.
Please take time to visit the Common Sense Media website to view family resources that will support your student in becoming a positive digital citizen.
August 6
We’re back to school but it’s still summer, so our 4th and 5th graders dived into research practice with a study of shells. Students donned shell necklaces and listened to the sound of waves rolling in as they beach-combed for shells among 11 “tide pools.” After studying the characteristics of their favorite shells, the beachcombers used keywords to search websites and books to identify and learn more about those shells.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHkyk3AiXw4
2014-2015 School Year
The Hub’s First Year – A Retrospective
May 20 – The Hub
Ridge students are beta-testing the new app, Attributes, created by Daren Carstens, who visited us on May 6. Our 2nd and 3rd graders explored the seven games that make up the app, which focuses on character traits and their relationships. Students worked in teams to teach each other about how the games functioned and to compare and contrast the variety of characteristics of flowers, robots, bugs and other clever creatures. As beta-testers, the students get the opportunity to help ensure that the app works properly before being released to the public. They loved this experience and made many amazing discoveries.
May 6 – The Mountaintop
Our 4th graders were thrilled to meet Daren Carstens, creator of the popular Mathdoodles app and soon-to-be-released Attributes app. Carstens visited the Hub to share his love for math and to show what goes into developing an app. Students got to go behind the scenes of Mathdoodles to see the lines of code that make the game run. He helped students visualize code by posing them as variables and setting them in motion when a user gave the command. This fun exercise helped students clarify what they’ve already been learning about coding.
4/17 – The Hub
Check out our Battle of the Books Page!
3/21 – Makerspace
Jump Rope for Heart was the theme for a Makerspace activity in which students figured out how plastic bags could be recycled into a jump rope. There were many different approaches and ideas not to mention re-designs. In the end working together, sharing ideas, and some creative ingenuity resulted in jump ropes for the school-wide Jump Rope for Heart celebration March 26.
2/10 – Makerspace
What can you create from the contents of the mystery bag?
Look and see!
1/26 – The Makerspace
Grades 4-5 were challenged to be engineers and show their design ingenuity. Using marshmallows and toothpicks, their challenge was to create a multi-story structure that could remain stable on the table during a simulated earthquake. There were some awesome structures that withstood 30 seconds of a simulated earthquake (banging and shaking the tables). Here are some of the engineers at work!
12/12 – The Sandbox
HOUR OF CODE WEEK! (click here for videos and photos)
Nearly 20,000 lines of code! That’s what Ridge K-5 budding computer scientists wrote during this week’s Hour of Code event! We did our part to help meet the Hour of Code worldwide participation goal of 100 million students. Every classroom from Kindergarten through 5th grade spent an hour in The Hub creating algorithms to complete tasks. It was amazing (and humbling) to see how quickly students at every grade level built increasingly complicated code. Many students in grades 1 through 5 even began including procedures..
We agree with our high school helper’s comment “It makes my heart happy to see them doing this!” That’s exactly how we felt. It was more than just demystifying computer science. Success was directly related to creative problem solving, sharing, and supporting each other in the quest for coding solutions. The Sandbox was filled with fearless exploration and creative collaboration. Teams joined forces, shared ideas and solutions. Perseverance and determined patience meant mistakes and missteps did not deter students. There were cries of triumph every hour with students sharing their successes with each other. They especially enjoyed comparing solutions and analyzing whether one was better than the other. The Hour of Code was an inspiring reflection of how integral communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity is to the Ridge student body.
12/11 – The Campfire
“This REALLY happened?” Shooting at the Stars by John Hendrix had many students asking this question over and over again. As 4th and 5th grade wraps up their historical fiction focus, this book provided a look at an unusual Christmas event that took place 100 years ago. Through vivid illustrations, the book depicts the true story of the Christmas Truce of 1914, a spontaneous break in the fighting between German and English soldiers during World War I. Told from the point-of-view of a young soldier writing a letter to his mother, the story illustrates how soldiers along both lines near the Belgium-France border put down their weapons and crawled out of their trenches to spend a peaceful Christmas Day together. Many students had some basic knowledge of World War 1 and expressed interest in learning more about this moment in history.
12/10 – Makerspace Studio
What do you do with old CDs and leftover yarn?
This week in the Mak
erspace, our 2nd and 3rd grade students recycled these materials into colorful decorations through the art of weaving. With the help of a short video, students learned how to transform a CD into a circular loom, learning that it must have an odd number of spokes, also called the “warp.”
Each student built their own loom before choosing their favorite colors of yarn to work with. It took some time for students to get comfortable with the over-under process of weaving, but it was exciting to see them move from “I can’t do it” to “I did it!”
After an hour of this activity, students didn’t want to stop and are eagerly asking when they can come back to the Makerspace to finish their weaving. All students will get a chance to finish their projects in time to bring them home for the winter break.
12/3 – The Sandbox
01001000 01001001
Can you decode the message?
Kindergarten and First Grade can! They were in the Sandbox today learning the language of computers. They caught on quickly to 
Binary Codes and were able to decipher the hidden message on the Sandbox wall. Ask them about bits and bytes and they can tell you how they combine to form letters and words. They especially enjoyed making Binary Bracelets with their initials and couldn’t wait to get home to impress their parents! (Answer: HI)
12/2 – Makerspace Studio
Kindergarten and First Grade are unfazed by this week’s “Word of the Week”. It’s algorithm and they have become pros at creating short algorithms to complete tasks. Next week is Hour of Code at Ridge and they are ready to go! And now they are adding binary codes to their l
12/1 – The Treehouse
“It wasn’t about the things they were giving, it was love that was important” – Allie
during the 3rd grade book club reading of O. Henry’s “Gift of the Magi”. Language did not inhibit their understanding of this classic. Their powers of inference enabled them to go deep into the story and uncover the greater message. So inspired and touched by the story they are enthusiastically working on their own modern interpretations.
11/24 – Makerspace Studio
Thank you Mr. Pflederer for suggesting a new feature for the morning Ridge Raptor Report. We now have a daily “Weather King” who will report the day’s temperature and outlook. Also included will be a forecast for the following day. Our goal? To get students to bring and WEAR the appropriate clothing for outdoor recess.
11/5 – The Watering Hole
Algorithms – that’s what Kindergarten and First Grade have been working on this week. Excited about learning a word that would “knock your socks off”, they learned that it is really just a step by step list of instructions that complete a task. More importantly, students learned that algorithms are the foundation of computer apps and programs that they can create themselves. And their first algorithm? All the steps involved in getting Mrs. Zachar to the Whiteboard. Understanding algorithms is a great foundation for moving in Computer Science. In just a few weeks, Ridge will be participating in the Hour of Code. Kindergarten and First grade will be ready!
10/31 – The Trailhead
Excitement is brewing as our 4th and 5th grade students submit their team posters for Battle
of the Books. Students are coming up with very clever, creative names for their teams, as depicted in the colorful posters hanging on the Hub’s Battle of the Books wall. Among the teams represented so far are “The Fat Dubstep Unicorns,” the “Hollywood Girls” and “Get Prunefied.” That’s right, “Get Prunefied.”
The battles are still many weeks away in March, but teams are preparing now by reading the 20 books nominated for the Illinois Bluestem Award. By dividing and conquering the 20 books among 4 or 5 team members, students will be ready to answer questions about the plots, settings and characters in our spirited quiz-style battles.
8/4/14 The Hub
Students are excited about the re-designed LRC – now known as The HUB. Enthralled by all the different learning spaces, students have been flocking to The HUB for quiet reading in The Treehouse, group planning in The Sandbox, and, of course, sharing books and ideas by The Campfire. The most popular spaces by far have been The Cave and The Watering Hole where students find quiet spaces for working and studying.
Wednesday, November 16
Challenge Day in The Hub for grades 2/3!
Task: Build a bridge and roll a ball under it. The bigger the ball the more points.
Supplies: 1 Styrofoam Cup, 20 Toothpicks, 5 Marshmallows and 5 pipe cleaners.
Conclusion: We have some great future engineers!
Congratulation Sophia, Zamyiah and Mat! Their bridge was big enough for a soccer ball!
How did they do it? Sophia: “We spent more of our building time on talking and planning.”
Monday, November 14
Our micro robot video is complete. Mrs. Zachar and Mrs. Rodriguez hosted a robot enrichment group. What better place to start than with micro robots. Students were given a mini motor and a cell battery to start. It was up to them to design a robot with any materials of their choosing. The real challenge was to create a micro robot that could move in a straight direction. Not as easy as it sounds! Patience, persistence and determination was abundant. We discussed the pros and cons of our different designs as well as what would we would do differently during our next opportunity. We also held races which were exciting to watch.
Wednesday, November 9
4/5 Wednesday Challenge – Be Efficient!
Using their ingenuity and enthusiastic collaboration, grades 4 and 5 created inventive devices that could knock over cups up to four feet away. They were given five types of materials: 10 pipe cleaners, 10 straws, 5 rubber bands 2 sheets of newspaper and 1 ruler (which could not be damaged). Points varied based on how many cups were knocked over and how many types of materials were used. The fewer types of materials the more points. Strategy was a huge part of the design process for the most successful teams who depended on communication and collaboration to come up with some very creative and effective tools!
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
2/3 Wednesday Challenge – Sounds Around Us
How observant are our ears? Students were asked to create sounds that you would hear in a particular situation using a variety of materials. They had ten minutes to discuss the sounds that might be heard in situations like a campfire, the kitchen at meal time, a rain storm, and a parade. Then using materials that included pencils, straws, cardboard tubes, macaroni noodles, a piece of paper, a piece of aluminum foil, a small cup, rubber bands and mailing labels, they collaborated to create the sounds you might hear in those situations. Turns out we have some budding Foley Artists! We could close our eyes and imagine the scenes being portrayed.
Students were intrigued by the idea that ALL the sounds in a movie are added AFTER the actors are filmed saying their lines. We watched a video about Foley Artists and it’s been added to our list as a possible enrichment topic.
Challenge Video – Engineering 2
BE EFFICIENT! That was the theme for Wednesday Rotation where 4th and 5th Graders showed their ingenuity and quick-thinking skills!
20 cups … Five TYPES of Materials … Five Minutes to IMAGINE and BUILD
The TASK: Build a device or devices using the fewest types of materials possible that will help you knock over cups.
The MATERIALS: 10 Pipe Cleaners, 10 Straws, 5 Rubberbands, 2 sheets of newspaper, 1 12-inch ruler
The RESULTS: creativity, collaboration, communication, critical thinking and lots of fun!
What was fun about the challenge?
Taylor– “You could use your imagination to create whatever contraption you could think of.”
Shubh – “We got to use our creativity and have fun with friends making tools without anyone telling us how. “
Justin – “It was teamwork and challenging with no hurt feelings.”
Victor –“ I liked new teammates – I never get put with these guys.”
Ethan – “It was fun making an invention and getting to use it.”
Ashna – “I liked that we got to build something of our own and see if it would work like inventors.”
Nick – “Thinking outside the box and knocking over the cups.”
Jose O. – “It was fun that we could create our own ideas and make our own things, we could make it out of materials and make a true device.”
Would you change anything if you could?
James – “More time to really think through your device.”
Wiktoria – “I would have changed our attitude. I would change how we cooperated.”
Aleyia – “Add bonus cups for extra points or extra time to use your device.”
Natalie – “Mrs. Munson needs to lean down more by the line to really make sure people didn’t cross it.”
Elias – “I would change to better teamwork.”
What new things did you learn from this experience?
Kobe – “If we really think about it we can make stuff that works.”
Tristan – “We have to cooperate together, teamwork and really share ideas.”
Aiden – “The wrecking ball concept was very effective. “
Shubh – “It was fun looking at everyone’s inventions and ideas and I don’t mean copy but you could learn something from them and make new things.
Miles – “You CAN make an inventive idea.”
Ashna – “You have to open your mind to make new things.”
Justin – “Go and think instead of rushing to make.”
Niharika – “I learned that you have to plan how you’re going to USE your device.”
Luis – “Use your materials wisely by sharing your ideas with your team.”
September 23
Wednesday Rotation for 2nd and 3rd grade was all about getting creative. We talked about how every challenge is a chance to try something new. It’s always an opportunity to unleash our creativity as we think about all the possible ways to meet a challenge. What fun it was to see student teams trying different ideas, making changes, and discovering the importance of collaboration.
The Challenge: Design and build a towering tower that had to stand on its own, as high as humanly possible, and be made ONLY of paper. No tape, no glue, no paperclips!
From the results it was easy to see how well teams collaborated! And afterwards we were able to connect all our recent Words of the Week to the creative process: They INQUIREd and and IMAGINEd possible solutions that led to some UNIQUE results. They learned how to make DECISIONs as a team and that it was important to PERSEVERE. Most importantly, it was clear there were no bad ideas – every idea was worth a try and a stepping stone toward a solution.
August 10 – September 24
Digital Citizenship has been the focus of Grades 3-5 this past month. The digital community is vast and exciting. A key priority in The Hub is practicing and supporting good Digital Citizenship so that students not only understand the rights and responsibilities of being a digital citizen, but clearly recognize the benefits and risks, and the impact it can have on their digital footprint. Students have been focusing on how to be safe, smart, and responsible citizens in a digital world. Students iscussions determined that following the Ridge matrix and responsible, respectful, and safe is just as important in the online world as it is offline. Students identified personal responsibility being the key to being a good digital citizen. We are using the Common Sense Digital Citizenship curriculum to support students. Ridge students are learning how to find, evaluate, use and create information in its many digital forms. They are taking responsibility for their online behavior and protecting their privacy. Students recognize the importance of always being respectful of the feelings and work of other people online.
Please take time to visit the Common Sense Media website to view family resources that will support your student in becoming a positive digital citizen.
August 6
We’re back to school but it’s still summer, so our 4th and 5th graders dived into research practice with a study of shells. Students donned shell necklaces and listened to the sound of waves rolling in as they beach-combed for shells among 11 “tide pools.” After studying the characteristics of their favorite shells, the beachcombers used keywords to search websites and books to identify and learn more about those shells.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHkyk3AiXw4
2014-2015 School Year
The Hub’s First Year – A Retrospective
May 20 – The Hub
Ridge students are beta-testing the new app, Attributes, created by Daren Carstens, who visited us on May 6. Our 2nd and 3rd graders explored the seven games that make up the app, which focuses on character traits and their relationships. Students worked in teams to teach each other about how the games functioned and to compare and contrast the variety of characteristics of flowers, robots, bugs and other clever creatures. As beta-testers, the students get the opportunity to help ensure that the app works properly before being released to the public. They loved this experience and made many amazing discoveries.
May 6 – The Mountaintop
Our 4th graders were thrilled to meet Daren Carstens, creator of the popular Mathdoodles app and soon-to-be-released Attributes app. Carstens visited the Hub to share his love for math and to show what goes into developing an app. Students got to go behind the scenes of Mathdoodles to see the lines of code that make the game run. He helped students visualize code by posing them as variables and setting them in motion when a user gave the command. This fun exercise helped students clarify what they’ve already been learning about coding.
4/17 – The Hub
Check out our Battle of the Books Page!
3/21 – Makerspace
Jump Rope for Heart was the theme for a Makerspace activity in which students figured out how plastic bags could be recycled into a jump rope. There were many different approaches and ideas not to mention re-designs. In the end working together, sharing ideas, and some creative ingenuity resulted in jump ropes for the school-wide Jump Rope for Heart celebration March 26.
2/10 – Makerspace
What can you create from the contents of the mystery bag?
Look and see!
1/26 – The Makerspace
Grades 4-5 were challenged to be engineers and show their design ingenuity. Using marshmallows and toothpicks, their challenge was to create a multi-story structure that could remain stable on the table during a simulated earthquake. There were some awesome structures that withstood 30 seconds of a simulated earthquake (banging and shaking the tables). Here are some of the engineers at work!
12/12 – The Sandbox
HOUR OF CODE WEEK! (click here for videos and photos)
Nearly 20,000 lines of code! That’s what Ridge K-5 budding computer scientists wrote during this week’s Hour of Code event! We did our part to help meet the Hour of Code worldwide participation goal of 100 million students. Every classroom from Kindergarten through 5th grade spent an hour in The Hub creating algorithms to complete tasks. It was amazing (and humbling) to see how quickly students at every grade level built increasingly complicated code. Many students in grades 1 through 5 even began including procedures..
We agree with our high school helper’s comment “It makes my heart happy to see them doing this!” That’s exactly how we felt. It was more than just demystifying computer science. Success was directly related to creative problem solving, sharing, and supporting each other in the quest for coding solutions. The Sandbox was filled with fearless exploration and creative collaboration. Teams joined forces, shared ideas and solutions. Perseverance and determined patience meant mistakes and missteps did not deter students. There were cries of triumph every hour with students sharing their successes with each other. They especially enjoyed comparing solutions and analyzing whether one was better than the other. The Hour of Code was an inspiring reflection of how integral communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity is to the Ridge student body.
12/11 – The Campfire
“This REALLY happened?” Shooting at the Stars by John Hendrix had many students asking this question over and over again. As 4th and 5th grade wraps up their historical fiction focus, this book provided a look at an unusual Christmas event that took place 100 years ago. Through vivid illustrations, the book depicts the true story of the Christmas Truce of 1914, a spontaneous break in the fighting between German and English soldiers during World War I. Told from the point-of-view of a young soldier writing a letter to his mother, the story illustrates how soldiers along both lines near the Belgium-France border put down their weapons and crawled out of their trenches to spend a peaceful Christmas Day together. Many students had some basic knowledge of World War 1 and expressed interest in learning more about this moment in history.
12/10 – Makerspace Studio
What do you do with old CDs and leftover yarn?
This week in the Makerspace, our 2nd and 3rd grade students recycled these materials into colorful decorations through the art of weaving. With the help of a short video, students learned how to transform a CD into a circular loom, learning that it must have an odd number of spokes, also called the “warp.”
Each student built their own loom before choosing their favorite colors of yarn to work with. It took some time for students to get comfortable with the over-under process of weaving, but it was exciting to see them move from “I can’t do it” to “I did it!”
After an hour of this activity, students didn’t want to stop and are eagerly asking when they can come back to the Makerspace to finish their weaving. All students will get a chance to finish their projects in time to bring them home for the winter break.
12/3 – The Sandbox
01001000 01001001
Can you decode the message?
Kindergarten and First Grade can! They were in the Sandbox today learning the language of computers. They caught on quickly to Binary Codes and were able to decipher the hidden message on the Sandbox wall. Ask them about bits and bytes and they can tell you how they combine to form letters and words. They especially enjoyed making Binary Bracelets with their initials and couldn’t wait to get home to impress their parents! (Answer: HI)
12/2 – Makerspace Studio
Kindergarten and First Grade are unfazed by this week’s “Word of the Week”. It’s algorithm and they have become pros at creating short algorithms to complete tasks. Next week is Hour of Code at Ridge and they are ready to go! And now they are adding binary codes to their l
12/1 – The Treehouse
“It wasn’t about the things they were giving, it was love that was important” – Allie
during the 3rd grade book club reading of O. Henry’s “Gift of the Magi”. Language did not inhibit their understanding of this classic. Their powers of inference enabled them to go deep into the story and uncover the greater message. So inspired and touched by the story they are enthusiastically working on their own modern interpretations.
11/24 – Makerspace Studio
Thank you Mr. Pflederer for suggesting a new feature for the morning Ridge Raptor Report. We now have a daily “Weather King” who will report the day’s temperature and outlook. Also included will be a forecast for the following day. Our goal? To get students to bring and WEAR the appropriate clothing for outdoor recess.
11/5 – The Watering Hole
Algorithms – that’s what Kindergarten and First Grade have been working on this week. Excited about learning a word that would “knock your socks off”, they learned that it is really just a step by step list of instructions that complete a task. More importantly, students learned that algorithms are the foundation of computer apps and programs that they can create themselves. And their first algorithm? All the steps involved in getting Mrs. Zachar to the Whiteboard. Understanding algorithms is a great foundation for moving in Computer Science. In just a few weeks, Ridge will be participating in the Hour of Code. Kindergarten and First grade will be ready!
10/31 – The Trailhead
Excitement is brewing as our 4th and 5th grade students submit their team posters for Battle of the Books. Students are coming up with very clever, creative names for their teams, as depicted in the colorful posters hanging on the Hub’s Battle of the Books wall. Among the teams represented so far are “The Fat Dubstep Unicorns,” the “Hollywood Girls” and “Get Prunefied.” That’s right, “Get Prunefied.”
The battles are still many weeks away in March, but teams are preparing now by reading the 20 books nominated for the Illinois Bluestem Award. By dividing and conquering the 20 books among 4 or 5 team members, students will be ready to answer questions about the plots, settings and characters in our spirited quiz-style battles.
8/4/14 The Hub
Students are excited about the re-designed LRC – now known as The HUB. Enthralled by all the different learning spaces, students have been flocking to The HUB for quiet reading in The Treehouse, group planning in The Sandbox, and, of course, sharing books and ideas by The Campfire. The most popular spaces by far have been The Cave and The Watering Hole where students find quiet spaces for working and studying.
