Tuesday, December 18, 2012

The Fairy Ring; or How Else and Frances Fool the World


The above link will take you to a new book about how two girls who take their pictures of fairies, mount them on sticks and take photographs with them.

This was in 1917 and they fooled everyone! They even fooled Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. Apparently, they kept it a secret until they were elderly.

The facts in this book confirm what one of our Social Studies teacher was talking about. How can people keep all of their facts straight when they don't have time to double-check what an author writes or what a newscast is broadcasting?

I guess it means that we all have to decide if we believe in fairies or not. It also means that we have to fact check, ask others, read authoritative sources, and check publication dates. We have to constantly strive to be smarter than the reporters, so tonight when you are watching or reading the news you will have to be the one who decides whether you believe in fairies, Santa, or other things that go bump in the night.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Irondale Middle is Featured in the Scholastic Idea Book

Some of last year's students are featured in the Scholastic Idea Book that goes to all middle schools in the country!
Click here to see all of the ideas for spring bookfairs!


Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Congratulations!

Be sure to congratulate Andrea M., a 6th grader, for winning the IMS Spelling Bee!
She will move onto the next level at Gresham Elementary School on Friday, January 25, at 1:00 p.m.
Andrea won a one-year online subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica for Kids.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

2012 IMS Spelling Bee

The 2012 Spelling Bee is today at 12:30. Parents, please feel free to join us!
A winner will be announced later today.

Monday, December 10, 2012

Contests the Library is Entering!

Wish us luck as we embark on trying to win an author visit!

We will explain how our student crew helped us to have a successful book fair and also how our contests helped draw students into our book fair.

Students ran between classes to try and win baseballs from our visiting umpire, Mr. Baker.

Thanks, Mr. Baker, for providing our students with tons of information on Hank Aaron, the various baseball leagues and all of your giveaways! The students loved their own baseballs and the baseball cards!

Here is a link to more information: 


Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Barnes and Noble In-Store Art and Book Fair

There's still time to come out to Barnes and Noble at The Summit and support our school's fair. The proceeds will be used to purchase Schoolhouse Rock DVDs, body systems books, planet books, new fiction books, and Social Studies curriculum books such as informative books about the Holocaust and The Roman Empire.

For now, have a look at the beautiful artwork done by students at Irondale Middle School!





Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Our Origami

Here are the fruits of our labor! We focused on tiny tote bags today. It was so popular that we will do it again and some students even asked about starting an origami club.

There are many applications of math that apply to origami. Also, there is an entire book for K-8 students devoted to origami called Origami in The Class Room K-8 by Barbara Pearl. Origami illustrates math for kids in 3D form!

The small tote bags are great for candy gifts, paper clips or other small objects. Enjoy!

Monday, December 3, 2012

Origami and Middle School Students

One thing I have discovered since working with middle school students is that they love origami! It does not take special origami paper, but you can certainly buy this paper at craft stores and large discount stores.

Newspaper is another option. The newspaper can be painted or left with its print. Either way, once folded, origami can make a great gift or a gift bag itself can be created.

I hope to post some pictures of students' projects from early morning visitors!

Here is a good link to get you started! Just click my origami link.