Telling Our Story
|
WMLCPS
In The News Previous Events
|
April 2019 Events in Our Schools
Montross Middle SchoolSixth graders at Montross Middle have had a unique opportunity to collaborate with local organizations, namely Northern Neck Soil and Water Conservation District, 4H, Menokin Foundation, and Friends of the Rappahannock. Students have participated in a program called A River Runs Through Us, which focuses on helping them realize that their daily actions can, and do, impact the health of local rivers. The program in Westmoreland began three years ago when sixth-grade science teacher Rebecca Beale was approached by, then Education Coordinator for F.O.R. (Friends of the Rappahannock), Lowery Becker about this exciting, standards-based curriculum.
During a recent field experience to Menokin, Brent Hunsinger from Friends of the Rappahannock taught basic canoeing equipment and paddle strokes to sixth-grade science students.
Non-point source specialist for NNSWCD, Lowery Becker, demonstrates water flow over various land uses.
Mr. Spears and Mrs. Weldon's classes worked with librarian, Mrs. Stiefvater, to challenge students to create Spine Poetry. Books were selected and arranged thoughtfully to produce some interesting poems.Mr. Spears and Mrs. Weldon's classes worked with librarian, Mrs. Stiefvater, to challenge students to create Spine Poetry. Books were selected and arranged thoughtfully to produce some interesting poems.
Students reviewed for the Writing SOL using various resources through team competitions that included trash ball, softball, and plastic tipped darts. Correct answers afforded groups shots that added points for their team. We had a lot of fun while making the best of the review time.
7th grade student receives kudos for his exemplary character.
Cople Elementary
Fourth grader Daniel Cisneros and fifth grader Sydney Bedford were recognized at the Future Problem Solving of Virginia State Bowl held at Powhatan High School on Friday, April 12 for placing in the Scenario Writing competition. Daniel's essay "Spaceship Madness" won first place and Sydney's essay "Mission to Moon, Mars, and Beyond" placed second. Both received a trophy and Daniel shared his essay aloud to the audience. His essay will compete at the International Competition in June. Our Scenario Writing Coach is Mrs. Natasha Tate.
Mrs. Birdsall is a 4th grade teacher at Cople Elementary in Virginia. “Students today are the adults of tomorrow,” says Mrs. Birdsall. “Sounds cliché I know, but it is the truth. I tell my students often that they are the future and they need to know how to properly run the world.”
Just over 50 students participated in the service-learning project Cople Garden. After using the lesson Helping Others with a Garden, students grew and enhanced the garden in their school courtyard. The 4th graders were able to provide vegetables and herbs to families in the school community. In April, they will be planting a tree, five flowering bushes, more herbs, and a few blueberry plants to add to their garden. “Teaching students to be aware of the environment, how to properly treat our earth, as well as one another are some of my main goals,” said Mrs. Birdsall. “They need to learn how to be aware of the needs of others around them and how to positively influence the public to treat our resources with respect.” Students took on leadership roles with the planning, planting, watering, and weeding of different sections of the garden beds. Each class got one garden bed and students within the class chose which plants to grow from the vegetable and herb options available. Learning to Give’s mini-grant helped to fund the seeds, plants, bins to collect items, mulch, and tools used in the garden. One of the many academic and emotional impacts noticed was that the students listened to the opinions of others and came up with solutions to questions and problems, allowing them to work together successfully. Working with plants helped to solidify their knowledge of plant anatomy and the needs of plants. They gained an understanding of the joy and excitement that you can feel by taking pride in what you do and sharing the benefits with others. Students became aware of how simple it is to create and tend to a garden. Many students expressed that they shared with their families they would like to have a garden at home. Students tried new foods and became aware of the several varieties of herbs and vegetables available. They even extended into researching recipes that used all the vegetable and herbs they grew. Mrs. Birdsall plans to get students involved in the garden each year and wants to try growing a variety of vegetables and herbs. Through growing the fruit and flower bushes, the garden will enhance the beauty of their schools’ courtyard and opportunities for students to learn. Ms. Birdsall seeks to continue to expand the knowledge of healthy food options with students and to share the vegetables and herbs with the community. 
|
|
|
Mr. Steven Davis from Westmoreland State Park visited Mrs. Cisneros' students who are working on their PBL titled " How can we as good citizens take good care of our Earth." Mr. Davis discussed the importance recycling, picking up litter, and water conservation.
|
|
Most people would not put the words Elementary and Entrepreneur in the same sentence. However, Elementary Entrepreneurs are exactly what some Cople fourth and fifth grade students have become! As a part of the project based learning initiative which has become part of Westmoreland schools, these students have created a business called Cople Café. The purpose of Cople Café is to sell breakfast items to staff members. Students have named themselves the Breakfast Savers because they are saving breakfast! They are learning that running a business can be hard work. The math concepts included are counting money, making change, adding and subtracting decimals, dividing decimals, finding measures of center (mean, median, mode, and range), number patterns, and solving practical problems using whole numbers and decimals. Students are actively involved in every part of the business from creating and revising the menu each week to counting the money earned and determining how many of each product to purchase to sell for the next week. The Elementary Entrepreneurs are planning a company lunch at a local restaurant with the profits earned. Cople Café will be open every Friday morning until the end of the school year.
washington & Lee High School
On April 12-13, the Washington & Lee High School Global Problem Solvers placed third out of 18 teams competing in the Global competition. They were selected for their “Action Plan.” As part of the competition the team had to create an action plan and present it as a skit.
Team members included Madison Fraenckel, Cecelia MacNamara, Jenifer Broglin, and Lydia Wallace. Lydia Wallace also won 2nd place for scenario writing. Her winning piece was “Playback: Logged Files.”
Jenifer Broglin was awarded the George Wythe Award. She had to be recommended by a fellow team member for the award. Ms. Broglin and Cecelia MacNamara have competed since the sixth grade.
Joan Weldon is the group sponsor.
Team members included Madison Fraenckel, Cecelia MacNamara, Jenifer Broglin, and Lydia Wallace. Lydia Wallace also won 2nd place for scenario writing. Her winning piece was “Playback: Logged Files.”
Jenifer Broglin was awarded the George Wythe Award. She had to be recommended by a fellow team member for the award. Ms. Broglin and Cecelia MacNamara have competed since the sixth grade.
Joan Weldon is the group sponsor.
