Career Day

Our second annual Career Day will be October 30th. Career Day ties in perfectly with what we are trying to do with grit and growth mindset. How does it tie together. It ties together by bringing your child's loves, dreams and desires of what they want to be when they grow up and the education that it will take for them to reach their dreams. It is never to early to plan for your future. We want your child to strive to be whatever they want to be. We want to show them that with hard work, a good attitude and a growth mindset you can become whatever your heart desires. On October 30th your child can come to school dressed as what they want to be when they grow.

Ms. Ellis has Creative Students

Ms. Ellis' class learned about different kinds of construction trucks and became construction workers themselves! They used marshmallows and tooth picks to build creative structures! They also used their knowledge of different 2D and 3D shapes to help create their pieces.

What A Hoot!

This week Mrs. Williams class worked on the habit of the week, synergizing with Mr. Johnson while playing the cooperation game, Hoot Owl Hoot.

Ms. Harrallson's Kids

Take a look at all the outstanding things going on in Ms. Harrallson's class:
We finished our unit on the sun by creating sunflowers out of coffee filters and channel sticks.  Each child labeled the different parts of their flower. 
In Math, we use all sorts of items as tools.  This week, we used corn kernels to build numbers in our ten frames.  I brought in a few stalks of corn for the children to see and we talked about the different ways we use corn and the different parts of the plant.
In writer's workshop, we created a new song:  We love to write, we love to write, we love to write pictures, labels, and details.  I bet your child would be happy to sing it for you!  Please encourage your child to add labels and details to any picture they draw at home.
Just a reminder for the upcoming events:
Monday, September 28th - Book Fair
Tuesday, September 29th - Kindergarten               
Technology Fun Night from 5:30-6:30pm  If you have not RSVP’d, you are still welcome to attend.  We look forward to seeing you there!

It's A Family Thing

These siblings must have leadership in their blood. They were both chosen by their teachers as the September Leaders of the Month! Great job guys!

Who is Johnny Appleseed?

Our second graders learned about Johnny Appleseed and apples from our friends at Reid's Orchard.

Light and Shadows

Last week our ELA students learned about light and shadows. So if you see your child making shadow puppets, you can ask them about how those puppets work.

Teachers Learning Together

Last week our first grade teachers went and learned about the new and exciting science standards that will be rolled out this year. Part of their learning were challenges that they had to compete in. Our first grade Estes team won both competitions that were placed before them. They won the Chopstick challenge and the engineering task.Way to Go Bulldog Teachers!

To Be the Best

Estes wants to be regarded as one of the best schools in the country that moves children to be successful. Our new mission statement is-Developing and expanding growth mindset and lifelong success for every student through grit, innovation, and leadership. What does this mean for your child? Simply put this means when your child walks through the front door of Estes we are going to supply your child with the tools to become successful members of society. Here is what we need from you the parents- Make sure your child comes to school every day that he or she isn't sick. We also need for you to tell your child everything is possible with hard work and grit. Why do I ask you to do this? If your child isn't at school every day that he or she isn't sick, he or she will get behind in his or her school work. Also, when you tell your child that he or she can do anything with hard work and grit they start to hear it from both us and you. Positive messages and positive role models can change the mindset of our students.
In my job at Estes I get to talk to students all the time about what they want to do in the future. One of the saddest things that I hear from our students is that they don't know what they want to do when they grow up. Ladies and Gentlemen this has to change. Our children need to have dreams and want to work hard in life. You might say that it is too early for them to know what they want to do in life. That is true and they might change their mind twenty times a year, but they should start dreaming of their future. Why? They need to have those dreams about the future so that you and I can start to help them reach their dreams. We need to be able to help them see what they will have to do to reach their dreams. I had three dreams of what I wanted to be when I grew up and they were to play in the NBA, be a game show host and finally be a teacher. Luck had nothing to do with becoming a teacher. I had the support of my family and the work ethic to make my dream come true. My family and my teachers pushed me to work hard and see the value in an education. I worked at a grocery store, umpired baseball and took out loans to pay for my way to college.
I am trying to show your kids and my kids that anything is possible with hard work, grit and a growth mindset. I don't expect my own students to make all A's throughout their school years, but I do expect them to work hard and give all they have when they enter the door of the school. I do not let them make excuses about how hard the work is or that their teacher is mean to them. I know school work can be hard and I know their teacher isn't mean but their teacher is pushing them to do their best. My job is to be their father and not their friend. Yes, this sounds harsh but if I want my kids to succeed in life I have to make sure they know how to work hard and overcome the obstacles that are placed in front of them.
Now let me circle back around to the beginning of this post and bring this altogether. You and I cannot make this happen if your child is not at school. Trust me your child is in great hands here at Estes. I will put our teachers up against any school teachers in America and I will always pick the Estes teachers. Why? I will pick them because they know what it takes to get our children to be successful. I hope your students come to school all this week and enjoy the spirit days the student leadership team put together for them. I will end with what I tell the students every day- I Love You!

Research on Positive People

Third graders from Ms. Ruth's class have been learning about others who have made positive impacts and are creating their worlds and completing writing pieces about the impact they hope to make.

Old Glory

Our student leadership jobs have started this year. Check out Joseph Hodges, Jordan Lawrence, and Mr. Lawrence putting up the flag! These leaders put our flag up every morning and take it down every afternoon. The boys have even been proactive and taken initiative to learn how to fold the flag properly in the afternoon. Great job boys!

Lanham's Writers

We are Mrs. Lanham’s first grade class and we are working hard to build our stamina in writing! We practice by journaling everyday. We draw, color, then label for 7 minutes. Then we write. At first we could only do 5 minutes but we are able to do almost 10 minutes now! Today, we were working so hard we earned a new privilege. We get to pick where we write! We really enjoyed stretching out on the floor or choosing a special seat! Mrs. Lanham sure is proud of us!

The Estes News Goes Live

Take a look at our Estes News Crew! This news team is student lead and directed under the watchful eye of their producer Mrs. Daughtry. These students will be hitting the air in the very near future. Mrs. Daughtry is having them learn all the positions of the news crew because you never know when something will go wrong and someone will have to step up and take over a new role.
Yes, that is a green screen that you see. Our news crew reports every morning to the Project and Research Center and delivers the Estes News. We are the only school in the district that is totally ran by students. This just shows you how much confidence we have in our students!

Mr. Johnson and Buddy are Readers!

Click on the pic and here them read!

Down on the Farm

Our Early Learning Academy took a trip to Reid's Orchard to learn all about life on the farm. Take a look at some of the things they did and learned about. We are so lucky to have the Learning Academy at Estes!

Mr. Sorce's Blog

If your child is in Mr. Sorce's class make sure to check out the class blog. You never know when your child will be posting to the class blog! You wouldn't want to miss your child and what he or she has to say.

Harrallson's Students

This week during Math, students traveled and wrote the room. There were pictures up around the room and they counted and transferred the number on their sheet.  

We are learning how to build numbers using tally marks, a ten frame, a rekenrak, fingers, dice, dominoes, pictures, etc.  

Ten of our student's sunflowers have sprouted.  It has been so much fun watching them grow and tracking their growth on our calendar.