See Mr. Giunta in "Dorothy Must Die" at the Red Door Playhouse

Since Dorothy took over, The Land of Oz has become a dark and scary place. Ask The Witches and they all agree, Dorothy Must Die! 

DOROTHY-POSTER-248x300.jpg

Bring your Family. Dress in Costume. Explore the Haunted Funhouse. See the Show…if you dare. (All Ages)

A modern tornado sweeps Kansas teen Amy Gumm into the Land of Oz. But it’s ten years in the future, and she discovers The Emerald city has changed for the worse. Dorothy has taken over the kingdom as a ruthless dictator, greedy for the Emerald Magic she craves. The Scarecrow, Tin Man, and the Lion, have enhanced their gifts from the Wizard to an obsessive and terrifying degree. Meanwhile the Witches both Good & Wicked have banned together in an underground plot to bring down Dorothy and restore the rightful ruler to the Palace. Can Amy Gumm, the other girl from Kansas, complete impossible task of taking Dorothy down? Experience the darker side of Oz this Halloween. Based on the Best Selling novels by Danielle Paige.

One Weekend Only: Oct 27-29, Friday and Saturday - 7:00PM, Sunday - 3:00PM

BUY TICKETS HERE: $15 gen adm

Wahsega. Wow!

I was super fortunate to be able to join the 4th grade students, teachers and parents on the trip to the Wahsega 4-H Center this week. Students learned about astronomy, pioneer life, survival skills, stream ecology (my favorite), and wildlife; and had fun playing games, dancing, hiking, and singing around the campfire. I can't wait to reference these times we spent together throughout the school-year as we dive deeper into each subject! 

"The Rise Of The Slime Economy" - NPR

From NPR: "It has become a social media sensation and even led to a run on glue sales. We're talking slime — and not the green liquid Nickelodeon famously dumps on celebrities. And for many young people on YouTube, Instagram and Etsy, it's a moneymaker.

Of the more than 5 million posts on Instagram tagged with #slime, most depict brightly colored stuff filled with glitter and pigments of all kinds. So the slime of today is far more viscous and elaborate than that green liquid on Nickelodeon. Slime has become so popular that the American Chemical Society recently published a fact sheet about it including a detailed scientific explanation for how the magic happens." Check out the rest of NPR's story about the escalating popularity of goo here. 

This week in 5th Grade we are using goo to learn about variables as a part of the scientific method. I'm partial to this recipe from the YouTube channel Get Crafty Crafty: 

Georgia Science Teachers Association: STEMtalk Video Competition

GSTA STEMtalk Video Competition

Students, how is STEM shaping your future? Tell us and win a chance to speak at the 2017 STEM Forum.

We're thrilled that you're interested in doing a STEMtalk! We can't wait to hear your thoughts on how STEM is shaping your future. And, our winners will share their inspiration with the 1,500 teachers who will attend this year's STEM Forum October 25-26, in Athens. Think you might be interested?  View the winning videos from past years.

GSTA has modeled our STEMtalk concept on the work of TED and TEDx. Building on the work of experts at TED, here are a few suggestions on how to give a great talk. These aren't comprehensive, but they will give you some guidance as you develop your STEMtalk. Submissions are due Thursday, October 12, 2017.  Winners will be announced by Monday, October 16.

Find additional information about the competition on the GSTA STEMtalk webpage.

Not so simple...

How do you rescue a tiger who has fallen into a moat around his enclosure? In 4th grade we are using this PLTW lesson to learn about simple and compound machines. Using VEX kits teams will build their own solutions! 

Here is Mrs. Wender's class building levers: 

And Mrs. Blick's class building pulleys:

When a river throws you a curve:

Fifth grade has been "diving in" to the destructive and constructive forces of nature. Here we used stream tables to witness erosion from river banks that created oxbo lakes and deltas. 

Castles in the Sky

In Kindergarten we are taking something familiar, fairy tales like Jack & The Beanstalk, and using them to introduce something unfamiliar, like principles of engineering. In this case we wanted to see how tall and strong we could build a beanstalk out of pipe cleaners! Below Mrs. Tommasello's and Mrs. Garrett's classes show off their work. 

A total eclipse of the heart...

On August 21st at 2:30PM we'll experience a solar eclipse at 98% of totality. CCSD, along with every other county in metro Atlanta, is altering their school day, and we'll be able to watch the eclipse on our active boards in the classrooms here at Tritt. To get an ideal of what the eclipse will look like from anywhere in the US, check out timeanddate.com. 

I shared the following video, from one of my favorite channels, SciShow Kids, with grades 1st-3rd. It takes a closer look at the Solar Eclipse that crossed Europe in 2015, and provides an animated version of what we can expect here.  

The next video, from Vox, was shared with 4th and 5th grade: 

Eclispe 1.JPG

WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL!!!

I have been chomping at the bit to get back to school for a few weeks now, so Meet & Greet is a super exciting day for me! 

What did you do this summer? I went and saw family in Florida, did the week-long Tritt Summer Camp, led some Project Lead The Way workshops throughout the southeast, spent some time in Texas visiting friends, dropped by the school to tend to the gardens, took the dogs for hikes, and read some books! 

Real Talk: I appreciate all of the parents who donate to the Tritt Tiger Foundation allowing me to work with your students. I spent over a decade traveling throughout GA teaching environmental science, and I can truly say there is no place like Tritt. Every hands-on STEM opportunity we can provide is further setting them up for a bright future (and also it is really really fun, right?)! 

Summertime, and the picking is easy.

So thankful to the Green Paws kiddos that have been able to meet me at Tritt this summer in order to harvest our gardens! I'll send out an email next time I'm headed that way! 

Wow in the World - science podcast for kids!

Is two months too long to go in your life without learning about science? NPR has a new podcast for kids and their families - "Wow in the World". The shows are only 20 minutes-ish, perfect for quick errands or long road trips, and they are super fun. For example, the latest episode is about cow farts and eating crickets - and what they have in common!

Start listening here: http://tinkercast.com/shows/wow-in-the-world/

Green Paws Summer Camp!

Green Paws Summer Camp was a blast! We went on hikes, found salamanders in the creek, planted wildflower seeds in the vertical gardens, picked carrots, played games, ate popsicles, planted fruits and veggies, created artwork using rubber worms, and had a great time overall! 

Looking snappy!

Last week Mrs. Blick's class helped release "Yoshi" a Common Snapping Turtle baby. Yoshi spent the school year in Mrs. Blick's room having moved their from the Science Lab the year prior. He enjoyed his time at Tritt, but after consulting with the Chattahoochee Nature Center it was decided that it was time for him to move on. He wish you luck buddy! 

He settled in just fine as you can see in the picture below: 

IMG_1082.JPG

Fine Dam Work.

Wrapping up our study on plants and animals, 1st grade looked at how animals use plants as shelter. There is no better animal engineer than the beaver, and we thought we'd try and copy some of their work. Students designed their dams and collected the materials. Here Mrs. Hughes' and Mrs. Friend's classes show off their work.

Can you dig it? (Hughes)

We have been studying plants and animals in 1st grade. When scientists and engineers are inspired by something from nature we call that "biomimicry". We just finished planting sunflower seeds using homemade garden tools that were inspired by a story we read in class. 

Thank you to the parent volunteers who came in to operate the hot glue guns!

Can you dig it? (Fernandes)

We have been studying plants and animals in 1st grade. When scientists and engineers are inspired by something from nature we call that "biomimicry". We just finished planting sunflower seeds using homemade garden tools that were inspired by a story we read in class. 

Thank you to the parent volunteers who came in to operate the hot glue guns!