Merry Christmas

I would like to wish all of our Estes community a Merry Christmas. Estes will only continue to rise as an exceptional school because I believe we have the hardest working and thoughtful staff, the most lovable children and great parents who want to see their children succeed.
I have been lucky enough to enjoy Christmas 41 times in my life. Each of those 41 have meant something different to me. I can remember all the excitement that Christmas brought to me as a child. Only now I can look back and see how special Christmas really was. I wish I could travel back and to one of those early Christmas and talk and hug both sets of my grandparents and thank them for the socks and underwear that they gave me. At the time I can honestly say I didn't appreciate it as much as I do now. They were supplying me with a need and not a want. Yes, I did get more than socks and underwear from them but they were showing me that you always put your needs in front of your wants.
I look back at all the times spent with family members and the good times we had around the dinner table and the conversations that we had. I know as a parent that I need to work on slowing life down for my children and really having honest and thought provoking conversations with them. It isn't easy to do things like that because of the time we live in, but that isn't going to be an excuse. I need to turn off the tv, clear the table from clutter and have family meals again. Any device that begins with an i will be turned off and our brains will be turned back on.
Christmas means many things to many people. I now look at the giving side more than the receiving side. Christmas represents to me a time to sacrifice and a time for giving to those that need help. I want my children to see that Christmas is more than a commercial holiday and that it truly means something greater than what is put under a tree.
Family, friends, food and church is what I grew up around and that is what I want my kids to associate Christmas with.
I love my Estes Family and have a Merry Christmas! 

 I would like to share the email that Mr. Sorce sent me about the trip he took his Hot Chocolate workers on. I could feel the excitement in his email and I would love to share it with all of you.

 Wow.  What a day yesterday was!  The kids were pretty nervous when we first met at school and no one was really talking.

When we arrived in Nashville the kids were in awe of the Opryland Hotel from the outside and could not believe that is where we were going.  They had no idea.

First, we went into ICE! where the kids were blown away by the ice.  After a while they were starting to get REALLY cold, 'cause it's 9 degrees inside, but then they came upon the ice slide and they were enamored again.  After spending half an hour or so inside it was time to see our picture.  It was then, that we got in line for hot chocolate and a nice couple saw us there and bought all the kids hot chocolate!

We left there and went into the hotel where the look of amazement on their faces made me emotional (which you know isn't easy to do 😊)

After going through the whole hotel and walking 5 miles we went to the mall before dinner time.  The kiddos were super excited to eat at Rainforest Cafe and loved seeing all the animals.  Although the thunderstorms scared a few of them a time or two.  They KILLED their food.  Not one crumb was left.

We spent an hour or so walking through the mall and being silly.  A couple of mannequin challenges might have taken place in the store windows.

When we arrived back the the Grand Ole Opry the kids were a mix of exhaustion, excitement and nerves.  At first, they were a little disappointed with how far away we were from the stage but we kept telling them that they would be fine.  By the end of it, they LOVED the whole thing!  The meet and greet didn't work out, but it was for the best because they were dog tired by that point.

Such a great day for everyone!  Thanks for letting me take them on this trip!  

Thank you for supporting our hot chocolate stand and helping us raise the money for this trip. I will tell you that Mr. Sorce did an outstanding job of networking and getting the best deals possible for this trip to happen. Also, a big shout out for Mrs. Crabtree for volunteering to chaperon on this trip. 

Academy Sports Bike Giveaway and Grit

Thursday was an amazing day for all the students that showed GRIT this past nine weeks. Besides 50 of our students going to the movies for a grit reward there was also a secret grit reward that we had Thursday afternoon. Academy Sports donated 30 bikes to be given away to our students.
At Estes we want our students to value hard work and we want them to see that if you work hard you will reap the benefits of it. Every grit ticket that was earned was placed into to baskets one for girls and one boys. 15 bikes were awarded to boys and 15 bikes were awarded to girls. Notice I said awarded and not given. Our students know that if they want something they are going to have to work for it.
I am so proud of the amount of grit most of our students are showing. If you shop at Academy Sports make sure you tell them thank you for the bikes. On a side note, we were the only school they donated bikes to this year!
If you would like to see more pictures of the bike giveaway, take a look at OPS facebook page and you will see several great photos.

GRIT Trip to the Movies

Thursday was a special day for 50 of our students. Why? These 50 students were winners of our GRIT field trip. Every child in our school has a chance to earn grit tickets for showing passion and perseverance in their school work. These students were treated with a trip to Malco Theaters to see Moana. For several of our students this was their very first time to see a movie at a theater. Not only did they get to see the movie they also got a soda and popcorn. It was a great day for these gritty students!

Independence Bank and Reading

Our fourth grade students who have readers from Independence Bank were treated to a special field trip to the bank. Independence Bank is a great community partner for Estes. They take time out of their busy days to come and listen to our students read. If you are near any of the Independence Bank Branches stop in and tell them thank you for all that they do for our students.

Good Tidings to Estes Students

Parents I hope you noticed your child with a Lego play-set at home tonight. Good Sheppard Church bought every student at Estes a Lego set. Why? They wanted to spread Christmas cheer with our students. We can't thank our friends and family at Good Sheppard Church enough for their wonderful gifts. It was a truly magical time in our gym today and I hope that you can see and feel the excitement as you look at the pictures.

Trimming the Tree

Ms. Oldham's class had fun creating their very own edible Christmas Trees. I think they turned out delisously fantastic!



 

Shining Bright in First Grade

First graders have been  learning about light.  The had fun exploring  many topics such as:  Why do we see shadows?  Why can't they see in the dark?  What is the difference between something producing light and not producing light?    They were introduced to vocabulary terms by hands on centers.  Terms  such as transparent (light passes through)  translucent (some light passes through) and opaque (no light passes through).  Students also had the opportunity to shine light through a prism and see what happened.