Southern Schools

Elementary School

Elephants in Your Backyard

Fourth grade students participated in a fossil dig with a tabletop dig site. Students identified several small, medium, and large fossils found in their dig, considered climate & habitat indicators, and had to make predictions about a mystery fossil they discovered. They then had a virtual meeting with a Paleontologist from Morrill Hall. As “paleontologists” they used information from their fossil dig findings to understand ancient climate and habitats. After looking at several fossils, they had to use all the . . .

Preschool celebrates their 100th day of school!

Mrs. Manley's 3-year old preschool class celebrated their 100th day of preschool. The students planned their celebration by voting on what to wear, the activities they wanted to do, and the snack they wanted to eat for their day. They were very excited that the day finally arrived!

Dr. Seuss Week

Students at the elementary celebrated Read Across America week from March 2nd to March 6th! We had book-themed dress-up days, read Dr. Seuss stories, did some Dr. Seuss activities, and partnered up with older grades to buddy read. It was a great week!

Kindergarten Habitat

The kindergartners have been hard at work this quarter learning all about animals! Throughout their animal unit, they learned about different animals and what they need to survive, what they eat, and the different types of habitats that they can live in. Each kindergarten got to choose a different animal to make out of clay and paint and then create a habitat for their animal including all the necessities it needs to live. They will end the unit by sharing their habitats with each other!

Literacy Tutoring

Southern Elementary is currently providing after-school tutoring for students in kindergarten through 3rd grade. The tutoring sessions are focusing on developing literacy skills. Southern Elementary is participating in the UNL WORDS Project Grant which provides financial support to pay for tutoring after school. The WORDS Project also provides professional development and instructional support for our staff.

Virtual Volcano Field Trip

Second graders have been learning about volcanoes in their reading unit. They had a chance to go on a volcano virtual field trip to Mount Saint Helens, Mauna Loa, Mount Vesuvius, and Mount Fuji via SeeSaw. They also learned about different volcano types and shapes. They enjoyed this virtual field trip experience.

5th Grade Readers

The 5th Grade classes are working hard trying to earn their end of the year field trip through earning AR points! Throughout the year we discuss setting goals and responsibility. The 5th Graders use these skills to work towards their long term goal of getting to the Zoo!

Checking out the weather

Third grade has been learning about the different types of weather in Nebraska. The 10/11 Weather Shield and Bill Rentschler came to our school . He helped us better understand what a meteorologist does and the equipment he uses. We learned so much and had a lot of fun!

If I had a $100

2nd grade doing a writing prompt on, What would you do if you had $100? This was for the 100th day of school.

In-Person Science

6th-grade students experimented with the ESU5 science guys that helped them understand how doctors repair broken bones. Students used a pencil to demonstrate a break, and then they had to use materials to repair it. Students learned if their repair was successful by seeing how much weight their pencil could handle afterward. The highest amount of weight that a group's repair could hold was 15 pounds. The lowest amount was 1 pound.

Kindness Counts!

My Social-Emotional skills group has been working on spreading kindness. They have completed several different kindness acts such as sharing something with a friend, writing kind notes to place around the school, making thank you cards for staff members, and giving compliments to others. They have also been listening to stories and playing games to learn about kindness and how kindness makes themselves and others feel better.

Mrs Barnard's First grade class learned about what it means to be selfish.

During counseling, Mrs Barnard's class read the story, The Selfish Crocodile. After reading, we discussed what it meant to be selfish. The students then created their crocodile and wrote about what they could do not to be selfish.

Popping Into The New Year

Pre-K has been getting back into the swing of school this quarter with celebrating Dr. Seuss week and their 100th Day of Pre-K!

Double Digit Addition and Subtraction

Second graders have been working hard this quarter on double-digit addition and subtraction!

How Can I Help?

By Mrs. Ware, Title Reading This is a question I get a lot from parents concerning their student’s literacy development. The good news is that you can do a lot and it isn’t that hard. One of the easiest things you can do is have your child do repeated reads. Having several opportunities to read a passage leads to automaticity. A simple definition of automaticity is readers can decode without thinking about decoding. Repeated reads do not necessarily need to take a lot of time, usually . . .

Winter Band Party

The elementary band had a party at the elementary school in celebration of their Christmas concert. They enjoyed pizza, other food, a DJ, and games. The high school band leadership team helped supervise and interact with students. Pictured here are band students "getting jiggy with it."

5th Grade Christmas Presents

With the holidays coming up quickly the 5th grade classes are busy getting their Christmas presents done and ready to be sent home!

Here's What's Happening in Miss Bartels's Class

5th grade has the grow tower up and running. We have harvested the lettuce to share at lunch. We would like to congratulate Westen Sturm on winning the NDOT "Name a Snow Plow" contest. Westen's winning name "Fast and Snowiest" is printed on a snow plow that can be tracked during the winter months. He received a plaque and a replica of the snow plow. Way to go Westen!

Kindergarten Engineers

This last quarter the kindergarten classes have been learning about motion, speed, and direction in science. To wrap up the unit the kids all brought recycled materials from home to build a marble run with together as a class! Throughout building the marble run, the class went through the 5 steps of a "design process." They 1-stated the problem, 2-planned, 3-tested, 4-revisited/revised, and 5-communicated the results. They had so much fun discussing what worked and what didn't.

Morning Social Skills Group

Students are learning social skills while participating in a wide variety of activities each morning in Mrs. Bednar's Room before school.

Polar Express Day

Polar Express Day was a hit! 1st graders got to wear their favorite pj’s for this special day. We listened to the story, made a chart of story elements, and drew pictures of the beginning, middle, and end. Then, we combined classes and watched the movie with hot chocolate and popcorn in the afternoon. Such a fun time!

Preschool had a special visitor!

The 3 year old preschool had a visit from the Gingerbread Man this week. He left fun activities to do each day. The students enjoyed searching for the Gingerbread Man and the notes he left.

Pumpkin Contest

Mrs. McConnell's 2nd grade students won the pumpkin decorating contest. We said "keep your eyes on the prize, Don't Do Drugs!"

After School Tutoring

Southern Elementary conducted an after-school tutoring program for 5 weeks. The 30-minute tutoring sessions took place from October 15-November 19. Fifteen teachers provided tutoring instruction to students in kindergarten to 3rd grade. The Southern tutoring program is part of the WORDS Project grant focusing on improving literacy instruction and skills. Southern is in their second and final year of the grant. The WORDS Project has been a positive experience for both staff and students at Southern.

Husker Pep Rally

6th grade attended the Nebraska Life Skills Sportsmanship Pep Rally at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Nov 4th. Husker athletes spoke to more than 70 schools about being a Husker athlete. After the Pep rally, students were invited to stay and watch the season opener for the women's basketball team against Omaha.

Playing Pool

The third-grade students have been learning about push and pull in Science. To better understand this concept, the students played a game of pool. They learned it takes some skill and a little luck.

Science Fun

During our distance Science lesson, students learned about force, velocity, friction, and energy. They had fun making and testing roller coasters using foam tubing, tape, and marbles.

Soda Eruption

Pre-K has been learning a lot of new and exciting things! The kid's favorite time is science where they recently learned about mixing pop and Mentos!

2nd Grade Field Trip

The 2nd graders went on a field trip to Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City. They learned all about different kinds of apples and the process of picking them to turning them into cider. They also learned all about bees and why they are so important for apple trees. The students got to enjoy the ropes course and some apple cider.

Benefits of Reading Aloud at Home

Reading aloud to kids fosters a love of language and literature, enhances their vocabulary, and strengthens their listening skills. It also promotes bonding between parent and child, creating a shared experience that sparks imagination and curiosity. Additionally, it can improve comprehension and critical thinking as children engage with stories and characters. Overall, reading together nurtures a lifelong appreciation for reading and learning.

Blue Springs Fire Department visited preschool.

As part of Fire Safety Week, the Blue Springs Fire Department visited Mrs. Manley's preschool. We were excited to get to see the fire trucks and firefighters! Our visit got cut short when the firefighters had to leave quickly to go on a real fire call.

Fire Safety Week

The week of October 7th-11th was fire safety week! The kindergarten classes spent the week learning about fire safety and what to do in case of a fire. With all of the fires in the area lately, the kids made thank you letters for the community firefighters to show their appreciation for their hard work and dedication to keeping our community safe.

4th Grade Firehall Visit

In October, the 4th grade students took a field trip to the Wymore Firehall. Upon arrival, the students were greeted by the firefighters. Students learned about the important role of the fire department in keeping their community safe. The firefighters explained the importance of knowing what to do in case of a fire emergency, emphasizing the need for an escape plan and the proper steps to take. The students were able to explore the fire trucks and equipment up close. The firefighters explained the specialized functions of each vehicle . . .

Homecoming Week Fun!

First grade really enjoyed participating in homecoming week activities. They did a great job dressing up for the different themes, listening to guest readers, and attending the pep rally. They especially loved showing off their school spirit - Go Raiders!

Kindergartener's learn about Respect.

The Kindergartners read the story "Andrew's Angry Words". They then discussed how angry words can spread from one person to another so it's important to choose your words wisely. The students then made an "Andrew" to remind them to use kind words.

Distant Science

Our first in-person visit with our ESU Science guy (Patrick) was making homemade root beer using dry ice. The students learned about dry ice and even got to sample some root beer.

Intervention Time at the Elementary

Southern Elementary has included an intervention time in the class schedule for each grade. The intervention aims to provide students with an opportunity to work on developing specific skills, including enrichment learning. The current focus of intervention time is English and language arts. Staff collect data and use the information gathered to decide on future lessons. Providing intervention time has been a common trend in most elementary schools recently.

Kick-off to Pre-K

Pre-K has had a great start to the year! The students are learning about each other, making new friends, and learning how to follow classroom routines. So far the group has celebrated winning the Quietest Class trophy and homecoming.

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