Quail Run Elementary GEM

6th graders worked tirelessly on the Voyager Wright Flight curriculum! They learned how to use a plotter to find the course heading, locate and record a precise location on a map, use a compass, and how to measure in nautical miles!

I’d also like to give a shoutout to these students for running the recycling program here on campus.

Wow, these 3rd graders have sure been busy! As a cave and cavern nature center educator, the students along, with their team, learned all about the different types of caves so that they could teach others. A nature center educator is like a teacher who works at a nature center instead of the school, so they needed to conduct research, learn about different cave formations, and they even got to create a board game to teach others about what they learned!

After reading “Rosie Revere Engineer” by Andrea Beaty, 1st & 2nd grade engineers were challenged to adapt a cane for a character named Great-Great Aunt Rose. She needs her cane, but wants to carry her tools around too. Students thought of so many adaptations that would allow her to do both. Ideas included tool bags, secret buttons, baskets/bags, charging devices, etc. I’m always impressed by the level of creativity these students demonstrate!

4th graders finished their archaeology dig today! They worked in small groups and were assigned roles as a digger, detailer, or recorder. They took turns with these duties so they had a chance to experience them all. This experience helped them understand how difficult it can be for an archaeological to successfully search for and dig up artifacts without breaking them!

5th grade GEM students were thrilled to receive their first letters from pen pals in Switzerland today. Do you remember participating in a pen pal program while you were in grade school? If so, do you remember the excitement of building connections through letter-writing and the suspense from having to wait for a reply? Witnessing my students' energy and enthusiasm was the highlight of my day. I’ve never seen these students so excited to write in my life! One student stated, “I was so into this, that the whole world just faded away!”

1st and 2nd grade students have been learning about different ways to look at things creatively. We learned that we can brainstorm, add details, think flexibly, and use original ideas when working on any project or assignment. We read a story and completed a challenge to practice each skill. I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of creativity this year!

3rd grade has been hard at work! They’ve been learning about the ways that caves are formed including the different formations that can be found within a cave. Did you know that cave bacon is a real thing?! They’ve been working on finding good answers to questions through research and they even got to put together an experiment to grow some stalactites, stalagmites, and possibly even a column. We’ll be watching closely to see what happens!

These 4th graders, or shall I say paleontologists, have been hard at work. Last week they participated in an archaeology simulation. Students found some well preserved fossils and had to collaborate with their team, along with other paleontologists, to identify the species. They had a lot of fun and learned that this job isn’t as easy as it may seem!

Kudos to our 6th graders for their tireless efforts and dedication to creating some impressive Kidstruction projects! I would like to recognize Aspen, Brody, and PJ for earning 3rd place in the 'Places to Think' category. Great work everyone!

With perseverance and teamwork, Kidstruction builds and essays are now complete! There were blisters, sweat, and disagreements, but despite these challenges, students demonstrated resilience and dedication, learning some invaluable skills along the way. I have high hopes for their future success and wish the competing teams – The Gnome-inators, The Servers, The Harpoons, and Fish-n-Chips – all the very best this weekend!! 🏆

These fabulous 4th graders are learning about paleontology. They’ve made flip books to record all their research as we learn together. Today we learned that there are three layers of rock and the farther you dig down, the older the fossils get. It’s like a vertical timeline.

The KIDStruction design and build competition, established in 2000, challenges 6th, 7th, and 8th graders from southern Arizona to create theme-based structures using business cards, toothpicks, and glue. With this year's theme being 'Let's Get Social,' students have been researching building materials and techniques, forming teams, and drafting blueprints for their KIDStruction builds. Today sure was a productive day in 6th grade GEM!