Sun's Energy!!!

In Kindergarten, we are learning about how the energy from the Sun heats up the surface of the Earth. Our classes discovered that we can feel the Sun's energy on our skin and also on different surfaces outside of our school! We also found shady spots that blocked some of the energy from the sun!!!

We thought the black pavement felt HOT and the grey wall felt WARM

We are squinting because the sun was shining on our faces!

The black tar on the playground holds a lot of the sun's energy!

The dark light pole felt WARM!

We also found cool shade under a TREE!

The grey sidewalk felt warm as we found the shadow from the flag pole.

The blue paint felt WARM and the white paint felt COOL!

 We found the rays from the sun coming in through a window! It made the carpet feel warm.

We wish we had sunglasses! This wall was very hot because the sun had been shining on it all morning!

Even though it was windy, sun's energy felt warm on the dark pavement and on our skin!





 
Greenley observed that the white paint felt COOL and  the black pavement felt much warmer

 
Our bodies blocked the sun and made SHADOWS!

 







The black pavement felt WARMER than the grey wall. 

STEM Units!

Dear Families,

Please find the following current unit desciptions for your child's grade level. If you would like to discuss any of these topics/projects at home, it would be a great way for students to share their learning with you!!!

Pre-School:
*classifying man made vs. natural materials/objects
*drawing technology and animals
*describing properties of an object 
*classifying living vs. non living

Kindergarten:
*what is technology?
* energy from the SUN, its heating properties, changes in surface temperatures and designing a shade structure technology for outside use. We are going outside to collect data, taking pictures, and then putting it all together into a detailed design!

Grades 1 and 2: (higher level expectations for grade 2)
*what is technology?
*what does an engineer do?
*how does technology help us solve problems?
*creating a "technology mash-up" by combining 2 different technologies to create a BRAND NEW technology...these have been amazing so far!! It is a challenging project that requires deep thinking. 


Sincerely, Ms. Martin 

Welcome to STEM

Dear Families,

    My name is Katie Martin and I am your child’s STEM teacher. I see your child for instruction and activities using the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math standards at their grade level. Your child will have many different learning opportunities including hands on investigations and design challenges. If you would like to ask your child about me, you can remind them that I am the teacher that swam with great white sharks!

    If you happen to work in any of the STEM fields and would be willing to come in at any point this year to talk more about your career or have any local STEM connections, please don’t hesitate to contact me. On occasion, I will send home STEM materials requests to help us when we build different projects.

    I will be grading your child’s work using the following system:

E	Exceeds grade level expectations
M	Meets expectations
P	Progressing towards expectations
N	Does not meet expectations
X	Not assessed

    Many of you may already know me for having taught 4th grade over at The Quashnet School! I look forward to a wonderful year of learning and getting to know all of my students. Please follow my STEM blog to keep up to date with your child’s learning and feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you may have.

Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

Katie Martin

PreK-2 STEM Specialist

email: kmartin@mashpee.k12.ma.us

class blog: http://qesmartin4.blogspot.com

Welcome back!!!

Dear students and familes,

Today was a great day at K.C.C!!! I am so excited to be the PreK-2 STEM specialist at your school! 

The children and I are starting to learn by understanding what STEM is ( Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) and how we will work to solve problems this year while also learning about the world around us.

Our first lesson is to understand that technology is anything that is MAN MADE and SOLVES A PROBLEM. Children usually assume that only electronics are technology and that they require electricity. They are astonished to find out that a fork, school bus, water bottle, and even their clothing are all helpful examples of technology!

Here is a quick video that easily explains more on technology:  

 Sincerly, 
Katie Martin
kmartin@mashpee.k12.ma.us

Saying Goodbye...

Dear Boys and Girls,

I cant believe how quickly this year has gone by. You have all worked so hard in both STEAM and ELA. I hope you enjoyed the time we spent growing together. Even though I will be a STEM teacher over at KCC next year, please know I will always be thinking of you and that you have a permanent place in my heart. Thank you for working so hard to protect our planet, treat each other with kindness, and to push yourselves to do your deepest thinking. I am so proud of you!! I hope to see you over the summer enjoying Cape Cod and maybe at my book club too! LOVE, Ms. Martin

What was something you enjoyed in my class this year?
1. learning about fossil fuels and how they effect our planet and the gypsy moth design. anna carroll
2. Learning about how to fight against gypsy moths and what they do to our Cape Cod . Sarah Landry 
3.I liked when we wrote the Iditorod fantasy stories. Jillian Burdge
4. I really enjoyed learning about fossil fuels and how they get trapped in the atmosphere and are triggering global warming. Emme Fraser.
5.I liked doing the erosion project in STEAM class. -MJP.
6, I love that we got to do steam and no one else did and steam got my mind to it. AC
7.I liked getting to be the only class doing steam and the poponessett spit I've had a great year.
8.I like how we had so much fun. And how we work on saving the environment  and saving the dunes and going to the popponessett  spit. The best part is spending time with you. - from Jaeden Last.
 9.I liked the Iditoread.  Collin frost
10.  I can't think of what part was my favorite part! I had an excellent year all the time! David Furtado
11. I really liked the environment unit. A.PETERS
12. I enjoyed writing work shop and all the design challenges we did. My favorite was the plastic problems research. NH
13. I enjoyed the Iditarod reading -Victoria Reynolds
14.I enjoyed the Popponesset spit  because it was my first day on a beach. jp 
15. I really enjoyed learning STEAM from you I love engineering and l will try my best to continue engineering. Kasey Boettger
16. I loved having the experience of going to the Popponesset Spit with you and the class because it felt like a nice celebration of the end of the year, also it was really awesome because we all got to put our skills to test.
17. I am going to miss having you as a teacher and my favorite thing was that was every thing is different like the tables and that we did STEAM which was so fun!!! Charlotte Bohnenberger
18.My favorite thing I did this school year was the Popponesset spit field trip. Rachel
19. My favorite part of this school year was our wonderful field trip to the Popponesset spit!  

Falcon 5K Color Run!!!

     On Saturday June 13th,  Quashnet families went to the Falcon 5k Color run. Just so you know 5k means 3.1 miles.  It's called the Color Run because you get colored cornstarch thrown at you at least 10 times on the way there and back which sticks to your white t-shirt AND everywhere else too! The race started at the Quashnet school and you go around the field once and then back around the QES.  Next we ran up to the K.C. Coombs school, went through a secret path and then ended up at the Boys and Girls club. We ran down 151 until we reached Mr.Morris...he was the turn around point! From there, we turned back and made it back to QES for the finish line! The Color Run was set up by the Quashnet P.T.O., so the next time you see them maybe you should give them a thanks. We were also inspired by runners of all shapes, sizes, and abilities to try their best on such a challenging event!

  

      The Color Run goal was to raise money for a 10-station fitness trail around the Quashnet campus, but we raised so much money (around $21,000!!!) that we can get 20 stations. If you are wondering about the money we had a fundraiser to get the fitness trail. Family members ran in the race for free if you raised $150 in donations. We are wondering what the fitness trail will look like!

      When you raise money you earn prizes that you wear in the Color Run. At the end everyone takes out their color dye packs and throws them in the air. Everybody gets color all over them. We thought it was fun to get so messy and to race against friends, family, and teachers. If you are wishing you were there, don't worry, next year you will get a chance at the second QES COLOR RUN!!!

Written by: Jillian Burdge and Rachel Sanford 
Edited by: Charlotte Bohnenberger, Ms. Martin, and Ms. Manning's class.

Environmental Mindfullness

In STEAM we have been learning about how humans can positively and negatively effect the environment through the choices they make. What is something you did recently that was MINDFUL of our precious planet? 

1. I filled up my own  reusable cup of water using the water fountain instead of buying bottled water.-K.M.
2. I brought in a "no waste" snack even thought it is not "No Waste Wednesday." -K.B. 
3.I flipped my dad's compost pile so that there was good soil for us to use to have our strawberries grow and for us to have food. -EF 
4. We rented solar panels to put across the roof of our house. -J.B.
5. I reused my Snapple jar after I rinsed it out and I picked 3 tulips from my garden and put them in that jar. -C.B.
6. I picked up some trash like plastic bags around my neighborhood. M.P.
7. My family rented solar panels so we can use less fossil fuels. S.L.
8.  I always reuse plastic bags so we can save fossil fuels from being used to make new bags. P.S.
9.I compost at home AND at school every time I eat fruit with peels, cores and rinds like watermelon, cantaloupe, oranges, apples and bananas.C.O.R.
10. I like to use reusable water bottles instead of the non-reusable plastic bottles because they can only be used one time and start to break down if you reuse them. - S.S.S.
11. When I went on a walk this week I picked up the trash and plastic bags as I went by. - G.S.
12. I like to use reusable containers to snack instead of plastic bags so I can give the planet another opportunity to survive because when plastic bags are made, they use up fossil fuels. - M.E.C.A.
13.To help the environment I use reusable containers, baggies, and water bottles because I don't want to waste fossil fuels or add to the amount of trash that needs to be brought off Cape Cod to be burned. - A.L.  
14. Every time I bring in flowers to share, I reuse a one time plastic water bottle as a vase to help the environment instead of just throwing that water bottle away! - K.E.W
15. To help the environment I reuse the plastic baggie that I bring my snack in. Before I learned about fossil fuels being used to make plastic, I would throw the baggie away each time. -A.J
16. I started using containers instead of the one use bags that have to be thrown away.-G.C
17. I used a reusable water bottle while I played soccer. B.C.
18. I use a reusable water bottle almost everyday. M.V.
19.When I play baseball, I bring my reusable water bottle instead of a single use plastic water bottle. Doing this reduces the use of fossil fuels that are used to make plastic. H.D.
20. I stared a compost pile in my backyard yard to help reduce the amount of food waste that gets sent to the dump to be shipped off of Cape Cod and burned. -J.B.
21.  I used a  plastic water bottle for a vase instead of putting it straight into the recycling bin. This gives the plastic one more job and it saves having to buy a vase. K.L.
22.I walked to school today to reduce the pollution caused by cars. -R.R
23.I use reusable containers instead of one use baggies to reduce the amount of trash at the dump.- E.S
24.I went to the pond with my neighborhood.We picked up a bunch of trash and we filled 5 trash bags entirely!We are counting on you to save our planet before it's too late! Anna
25.I went to my auntie's work and we went outside with some other helpers. We went all around the building and we found a lot of trash, so we collected it and threw it away. Jeaden
26. My friend gave me a cup/container in one. It is called a "Snackeez" and it helps me bring in a compostable or no waste snack. Victoria Reynolds
27.I used my reusable  water container and snack container. I was at the beach and every time I saw someone go on a dune I kindly insisted they stay off dunes to be respectful to the environment. -CH
28. I saw my brother and he put his wrapper in the trash ,but it fell out and he didn't see, so I picked it up and thew it in the trash. -JP
29.  I went to the beach and I saw my friend there.  The beach was a mess, so I picked it up and filled 2 bags.    NICHOLAS HEMSWORTH!!
30. Recently I convinced my mom to try to start having a composting system,  and we will go to the Mashpee dump with some compost once a week.- S.B
31. When I go to the store I can put my groceries into reusable bags. -Collin Frost
32. When I have scraps of  fruit or vegetable  I can compost it in my new compost bin. R.S
33. I've been planning for a compost pile in my backyard because not only can I help the environment but I can also observe animals. - DF 
34. I have recently used a reusable container for my mango snack instead of bringing in a snack that comes wrapped in a non-reusable material that would have to go in the trash. -G.M
35. Over the week I put fruit scraps in my family's compost instead of putting in the trash. I am trying to cut down on how much trash I make because when I send trash to the dump, it never goes away. It gets taken off Cape Cod to be crushed and burned which adds to greenhouse gases in our atmosphere.  -A.C
36. I have asked my mom to give me a reusable container because it is good for the environment, so she has been giving me one and I have been using it to bring in my snack. I used to bring in plastic bags which I have learned are made from fossil fuels and are a non-renewable resource.    A.PETERS