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PHS Assessment ToolsStudent Intervention FormsCotton Candy MathCotton candy math is so sweet! The 3rd grade class has been working on their multiplication fact fluency. Today they worked on multiplying by 5's and 10's.
Camp Read S'MoreWe have started Camp Read S’more during after school tutoring. If they read 8 AR books or RAZKids books they get a bag of S’more snack mix. Great job kids!!!
Handwriting in KindergartenAs we learn and review the letters of the alphabet and their sounds, we are also working on writing each letter. We use the sky line, the plane line, the grass line, and the worm line to help us practice letter formation. We can’t wait to start working on writing words and even short sentences!
Mrs. Shook's Class Team Building & Comparing NumbersIn our class we reviewed how to compare numbers using greater than, less than, or equal signs. Our class loves to do hands on, team building activities and it helps when we can visualize the numbers as a quantity. Students were put into a small group and given two numbers. As a group they made the two numbers with their building blocks and got to visualize what sign they needed to use. Students enjoyed working with their peers and loved working out the problems!
After Max worked so hard on his AIMS web math testing, he said, "I am so tired". Since we worked so hard, I asked him what he would like to do. He told me he wanted to read a book. He pulled a chair over to Humphrey, the guinea pig, and began reading to him. I know Humphrey loved it.
ELA In Junior Highn ELA we completed an author study! Students created Snapchat stories posing as their author. They presented these stories to explain to their class to show what they have learned!
Junior High MathTo practice scientific notation the 7th graders were asked to for a square by matching answers with their problems. This allowed them to work on the skill and build teamwork as they completed the puzzle.
Mr. Harrmann's ClassA big thanks to Ms. Bruno and her 8th graders for helping us proofread and type our letters we have been working on in class.
Junior High ScienceEarth Science (6th grade) learned about the earth spheres, layer of the earth, constructive vs destructive forces, and heat transfer. We are in the middle of learning about minerals in 6B and trying to survive on deserted island in 6A.
((Left: Constructive vs Destructive forces lab, Right: Building a scale model of Earth’s layers from paper)
Life science (7th grade) is learning why classification is important and how to classify items from buttons to organisms. Ask a seventh grader about Dear King Phillip.
(How Does Mold Grow lab)
Physical science (8th grade) continues to study matter and its properties. We are now talking about physical and chemical changes and their relationship to thermal energy.
(Left: Density lab using a hard-boiled egg, salt and water; Right: Making a homemade balance)
Mrs. Baker's PiratesSecond grade is celebrating talk like a pirate day. Here we are ! Arrg! We are also building pirate ships and writing about If I were a pirate.
Ms. Douglas' ClassAs we learn and review the letters of the alphabet and their sounds, we are also working on writing each letter. We use the sky line, the plane line, the grass line, and the worm line to help us practice letter formation. We can’t wait to start working on writing words and even short sentences!
Associative PropertyThis week in 3rd grade, we are learning about the Associative Property of Addition. The Associative Property of Addition is used when adding three or more addends. We made 'Sum' sets!
Third Grade Thinking MapsToday in 3rd Grade, we talked about this month's character counts trait: responsibility. The third graders worked in groups to discuss their responsibilities at home, school, to their selves, and to the environment. After brainstorming in groups, the third graders made one thinking map called a tree map. Attached is a picture of our tree map.
Mrs.Baker 2nd GradeSecond Graders learned about how maps work. They made their own maps and told about their cities.
Middle School ScienceAugust 2018
The new school year started off with learning about lab safety for all middle school science students. Students learned what behavior is expected in the lab and how to keep themselves safe while exploring and learning. To put what we learned into practice, each grade level had a chance to explode a watermelon using rubber bands and teamwork. It was a messy BLAST! We are moving on from yummy watermelon guts to learning about Earth’s spheres and how they interact (6th grade), characteristics of life (7th grade), and what matter is (8th grade). 
5th GradeFifth graders are learning about atoms in science and have been having fun exploring how to model and explain just how small they are. Students were able to choose an atom from the periodic table and build a model out of it by identifying the atomic number and the atomic mass. We have also been sharpening our skills with place value in math class and identifying parts of speech during ELA.
Ms. Bruno's ClassIn my class this week we completed a Character Counts lesson on responsibility. Students defined what it meant to be responsible, and just how important these responsibility are in our lives. Each student wrote down two responsibilities they carry out every single day. Each class created their own “responsibility chain” to express that just like chains keep things together, our responsibilities keep our lives together!
1st GradeFirst Grade started using STEM boxes once they finish their work. They get a task card and materials in which they use to create it. It has been a great way to teach problem solving and has been great for team building. We are able to learn science, engineering, and math skills through the boxes and I plan on adding on the technology part later on. The first STEM activity they completed was to build an airport. Each group was give a few materials and they made airplanes while the last group decided their materials would be better to use to design the airport for the airplanes to go into. They discussed the parts each airplane would need such as wings, wheels, and even headlights. We compared the sizes of the airplanes and talked about how many pieces each airplane needed.
Mrs. Willenborg's Art ClassIn art we have been learning about street artist, Kelsey Montague .
She has been traveling the world creating large-scale, interactive murals. Her work has been shared with thousands of posts on instagram, of people posting themselves engaging with her art. Mr. Pollitt is interacting with our own angel wings inspired by Kelsey Montague. 
Ms. Dunn Social StudiesThis year's 7th grade class helped create a "Successful Students" bulletin board for my History classroom. After a lengthy discussion, the students realized they hear, "pay attention, you need to work hard, and just study more", all the time. I asked them what these things look like to them. What does, "paying attention" look like? What does, "working hard" look like? And what does, "studying", look like? They created a list what what these looked like to them. I realized some students were not exactly sure what these things truly meant. As a teacher, I realized I have been saying these to students for years without giving them a direct action to take. Now when I find myself wanting to say, "You need to pay attention!", instead I look at the board and figure out which direct action I want them to be taking!
Mrs. Phillips ClassStudents have been learning or reviewing rounding in the 6th and 8th grade math classes. The students had to round to the nearest 10's, 100's, 1000's, 10000's and 100,000's place. If they rounded correctly they would end up with one picture. If they rounded incorrectly, they would end up with another picture. Students did a great job rounding and almost everyone ended up with the same picture. Great Job!
4th Grade Open House Open House was a big success this year with the students showing their Parents/Guardians the new Chromebooks in 4th grade. The students introduced their Parents/ Guardians to Symbaloo and the programs they will be learning throughout the school year.
Junior High MathStudents worked on team building and critical thinking as they tried to conquer the card game 31-derful. Teams selected 25 cards and arranged them in a square so that all rows and columns added up to 31.
Welcome Back!!!!!Welcome back to Sc
Open house was a success! Students came in, showed their families our classroom, and had fun! I love getting to know each and everyone of my students and their families! It really makes a difference!
Fourth Quarter Honor Roll & Perfect Attendance AwardsField Trip FunOn May 1st our class had the opportunity to join 1st and 2nd grade on a field trip to Wildlife Prairie Park! The students loved to see the different animals and learn about where they live, what they eat, and how long they can live. We saw different animals such as; horses, black bears, foxes, and bobcats. The students were very curious about animals and enjoyed every minute of this field trip!
End of the Year CountdownThis month we started our ABC countdown until the end of the year! For B Day we did bubbles! We used animal gloves to wave bubbles around; the students loved doing this! It was such a nice day and we had so much fun!
Freezin' In MarchThis month is supposed to be the beginning of warm weather, but since it has been freezing lately, our class did a science experiment to see if air, salt, or cold water melts ice the fastest. Students got to make a prediction before we started. The students then got to draw pictures of what they saw. As the experiment was taking place we talked about what we saw and why we thought the ice was melting in some cups, but not in others. One student even made the real world connection that we use salt when our roads are icy to melt the ice and make it more safe to drive! After 20 minutes students saw that salt melts ice the fastest and we concluded that this is why we probably use salt on our roads when they get icy. Students got to draw a picture of the end result as well. We enjoyed having a hands on experiment!
Rainbow DayK-2 celebrated rainbow day by reading some books about rainbows and then doing some fun science experiments outside. We made a walking water rainbow, rainbow fizzers and a skittle rainbow. Later we drew our own rainbows with chalk.
Reading for Gold!This month my students have been very eager to read! They love reading with adults, peers, and even exploring books on their own. We have their sheets to keep track of how many books they read up on our classroom bulletin board and they love writing down a book once they have finished it. Most of my students have already met the bronze requirement and are continuing to go for the gold!
Celebrating Dr. KingThird and fifth graders did a Martin Luther King Jr. scavenger hunt to learn more about him in Mrs. Kluesner's class. Then they created a circle map with the information.
Tin ManThe 8th graders applied what they learned about surface area and volume. They measured the body parts and collected the required aluminum foil to cover their Tin Man. The students worked hard creating their Tin Man.
Welcome Back from Ms. Pettett's ClassComing back to school after winter break can be hard for students to stay focused and remember the expectations, but I am very proud of these two students! Angela is always lending a helping hand and is friends with everyone in the class and Sylus is always coming to school ready to learn!
Reindeer GamesK-2 grade students had a great time doing the reindeer obstacle course, pin the tail on the polar bear, bobbing for candy canes and the spoon and ornament race.
#tabletoptwitterSecond graders worked at expanding their vocabulary as they explored words from around the world, while engaging in table top twitter.
Elf TrapsBefore the break, we got together with Mrs. Baker's second-grade class to make elf traps! The students were all given the same materials and had to work in a team to build their traps. The students had a great time and showed their team working skills. They quickly figured out that if they didn't work together it was a very hard task to complete. Once the traps were created, the students got to pick a spot in the classroom to set their traps for the elf to see if they could catch it later that night. Unfortunately, the elf was too sneaky, but the students had a great time making the traps and working as a team!
Pixel ArtMr. Quine's junior high students used their math skills to create pixel art. They had to create spreadsheet shortcuts in order to create the unique artwork.
Toby TireRepresentatives from Jesse White's Secretary of State Office visited Pleasant Hill School to talk to students about school bus safety. Students were so excited to meet Toby Tire and learn ways in which they could be safe when they are on or around the school bus.
Fourth Grade Math GamesThe 4th grade class has enjoyed playing multiplication games which involved dice and cards. The class is working really hard on their multi-digit multiplication. Next up division and fractions.
Friday Free Write in Fifth GradeEvery Friday, the students participate in Friday Free Write during Work on Writing. This group of students was so excited to share their free write they worked on, which was a short musical. We are so proud of these creative minds at work!
Life on the MayflowerThe lower grades got together earlier this week to recreate the experience of the Mayflower. Before hand, students did activities and learned about what the Mayflower was, where it went, and who it had on it. Our recreation was only 60 students and the Mayflower had 102 passengers. Students could not believe that so many people were in such a small boat for so long! Students had so much fun with this activity and we were happy to be apart of it!
First Grade Hispanic Heritage LessonsFor the first quarter Pleasant Hill School was learning about Hispanic culture with a concentration on Mexico. As part of this celebration, the first grade class learned some Spanish songs and several Spanish words. The class also made a large illustrated book about Mexico. Among the most interesting things the children learned was that fact that the people of Naco, Mexico, and the people of Naco, Arizona, wanted to be able to play together even though a border fence was built between their towns. The fence didn’t stop them; they decided to turn the fence into a volleyball net, and every year they have a large volleyball tournament!
Other things the students shared in their book included the following: 1)the beautiful quetzal bird, the volcano rabbit and the jaguar live in Mexico; 2)the largest pyramid in the world (Cholula) is in Mexico; and 3)Spanish is only one of many languages spoken in Mexico. Quarterly Reading CompetitionSo proud of these PK-5th graders for reading so many books during the first quarter. Keep up the great work!
Responsibility MattersIn the classroom it is very important that students have responsibilities that they can be successful at. The responsibilities are things that the students like to do. In our classroom we have paper passer, calendar helper, pencil sharpener, light monitor, door holder, and line leader. The students love picking which responsibility they want for the week and being able to help out within the classroom. These responsibilities are good practice for students to get a sense of routine and teaches them how to complete responsibilities independently. As the year goes on the responsibilities may change depending on the amount of students that are in the classroom and the interests the students have.
Agriculture LabThis week in 5th Grade, a volunteer from the Agriculture Lab came into the classroom. She talked to us about how wheat is harvested and what machines are used in the the farm fields. After, the students experienced how to pick each wheat kernel off the plant, just like they did over 100 years ago.
Word LaddersSecond and third grade students spent some time building their literacy skills in the after school tutoring program. They enjoyed making word ladders!
4th Grade Daily 5The students are working hard on their Daily 5 Vocabulary. They are Spelling their words out using Play-Doh and Paper Clips. They are even taking time to Read to one another !!!
Second Grade StemSecond graders love our Stem boxes. Here are some pictures of us building pirate ships. Some days we have free build and some days we have projects. The pirate ship was a project.
8th Grade AdventuresThe 8th graders had the opportunity to learn more about coding. After learning more about it, they got to try it out on their own.
Amazing VisualsIt is crucial to have visuals in the classroom. My students have multiple visuals in our classroom. There is a visual for sensory time which allows the students to decide which tool they would like to check out for the period, pictures of them following directions reminding them that they can do it, zones of regulation to indicate how they are feeling, a schedule for the whole class to be prepared and know what is coming next, and individual schedules for students who benefit from it. These are just some of the visuals my students use on a daily basis to help them be successful!
Junior High Science ExplorationsThe Lab Rats of 124 have been busy meeting scientists and learning how to be a scientist. We have learned lab safety while exploring and learning about dry ice. You can follow what we are learning @124labrats on Twitter.
The 6th grade classes are learning about the Earth system and the four main spheres that create it. A lab outside with some sand, straws, and water showed students how destructive forces work. The 7th grade class has been learning about living things-- life processes, where they come from and what they need to survive. To apply this knowledge, they conducted a controlled experiment with some bread and water. Hungry anyone? 8th grade science is busy learning about what matter is and how to classify it. We learned there are both physical and chemical properties and how they differ. To test whether air is considered matter, the class made balances to measure mass. Exploring Mexico in Second GradeAs part of our study on Mexico and to incorporate the fruit and vegetable grant into our classroom we had a fiesta complete with Chips, salsa and avocados. We also read chicks and salsa as part of the celebration.
Kindergarten is Going on a Letter HuntKindergarten is working hard to be able to identify ALL uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet. We have done many fun activities including crafts, games, using iPad apps, singing songs, making silly hats, reading books, and watching alphabet DVDs to help us reach our goal. This week we went on a letter hunt. Lowercase letters of the alphabet were placed around the classroom while the class was at P.E. Students used their "I Spy Letters" recording sheet to solve a mystery - what letter is missing? And what letter will we focus on next? The class had a great time and was excited to solve the mystery - lowercase c was missing! We hope to go on another letter hunt soon!
Transformation in Pre-KThis month the Bright Future students have been learning about the life cycle of a butterfly. They were able to watch a monarch caterpillar grow as it ate milkweed leaves. Then they were able to see it spin into a chrysalis. Finally a butterfly pushed its way out of the chrysalis and they released it outside. They were amazed how caterpillar transformed into a butterfly.
Creating a Culture of Learning in 5th Grade5th grade has worked very hard on setting the tone for the year to come with classroom expectations and procedures. In our classroom students create all anchor charts for the room. This is one of our most artistic and creative students hard at work
Junior High Team BuildingIn math class, we started the year with team building activities to help build relationships with each other and teachers. We incorporated our problem solving skills into these activities as we had to create a plan and put it into motion to complete various tasks. Teamwork was needed to complete and I believe the students worked together to accomplish the tasks.
First Grade Read AloudsIn first grade an emphasis is placed on reading. Mrs. Sneed loves to do read alouds, but so do the children. A few times each week a student, rather than Mrs. Sneed, leads the class in a read aloud. At the beginning of the school year, many of the students aren’t yet confident readers, so they are given the option of leading the class with a book on tape. It’s a fun time for all when the students get to play teacher!
Throwing Kindness Like ConfettiThese 7th grade students in Mrs. Pendleton's class are throwing kindness like confetti! They are showing kindness to their teachers and peers in many ways, from letting ladies go first to putting chairs up for peers, and helping others find information. Students are finding that a little kindness goes a long way!
Google Classroom Here We Come!
The 4th Grade class has been learning all about Google Classroom and how to use it.
The students now are starting to become more comfortable using it and have started to do some of their assignments. The students have also created a Symbaloo page where they store all of their important websites they will use throughout the year. Keep up the Good Work 4th Grade !!! Open House with Ms. PettettBeing a new teacher I wasn't sure what to expect during open house and let me tell you having this experience at Pleasant Hill was a great one! I loved how the school environment feels like a big family. It amazes me how close the staff, students, and families are here! I am so honored to be here and have the chance to be apart of the Pleasant Hill family! During open house fun memories were shared of the first few weeks of school, work was shown off to parents that their wonderful children have done, and treats were shared! Thank you to everyone who participated in this wonderful first open house for a first year teacher!
Donors Choose Grant Resources In ActionStudents in the instructional room have been working with new materials I received through my Donor's Choose projects. All of the activities are skills that students need to work on to help them with their goals. Students loved the new resources and were engaged in the learning process. Mrs. Phillips can't wait to share some more materials with them.
3rd Grade ScientistsThird graders learned about the flow of water and what causes it. They found out that most all major rivers start by large hills or mountain ranges and empty into the ocean. This is how the direction of the flow is produced for water flow. Students constructed their own mountains and used markers to show the cracks and crevices within the mountains. They then sprayed water on the mountains and got to watch how water flow is determined by the shapes of their mountains.
Oh! The Places Junior High Will Write!The Junior High students have embraced the school's theme of "Oh! The Places You'll Go" by writing to pen pals in different states. Our students worked hard at introducing themselves to students in New Jersey and Florida, as well as thinking of questions to ask them to learn about different parts of the country!
Congratulations Class of 2017
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Responsibility Matters in First Grade
In Mrs. Spradling's class, we discussed responsibility during our Character Counts time throughout the week and came up with a few ways we are responsible at school and at home. With this response we made a responsibility tree where the light green leaves are responsibilities we have at school and the dark green at home. The students had fun being creative and showing their knowledge.
Library Makeover
The junior high students were more than happy to utilize the new look of the library! Students picked books within their Accelerated Reading range and had a chance to relax on the new bean bags and at tables to jump into their new books to meet their reading level goal!
Physical Education
"It has been a wonderful start to the school year in the physical education classroom! I have been working with the students on different locomotor movements, such as skipping, galloping, hopping, and running. We have also been working on our spatial awareness by taking part in different tagging activities that have allowed the students to move safely in general space. The junior high students have been working on their Frisbee skills by taking part in the game of ultimate Frisbee. We also recently just started soccer. The different activities I have been able to do with the students thus far have been very enjoyable and it is great to see the students leaving class with a smile on their face. My goal of teaching the students different life-long fitness skills and activities is off to a great start here at Pleasant Hill school district!"
Sixth Grade Shopping Spree
The 6th graders are working on estimation by going on a shopping spree. They were asked to provide the actual prices and then round them to nearest dollar. They will compare their actual money spent to the estimated money to see how rounding affects their shopping experience.
Mrs. Sneed's Class is Having a Whale of a Good Time
The children have been studying whales and learned that the blue whale is the largest animal ever. To compare themselves to a blue whale, the first grade students laid down head-to-toe in the hallway. The students were 61 feet long collectively, which is the approximate length of a humpback whale. However, a blue whale is 100 feet long!
Character Counts in Kindergarten
This year, students and staff at PHS are learning about and
implementing a character education program called Character Counts.
It is centered around the values of trustworthiness, respect,
responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship also known as the
Six Pillars of Character. On Friday, students in kindergarten through
2nd grade were introduced to these pillars of character.
During our time together, we read the book “What If Everybody Did
That?” by Ellen Javernick and shared how we can and do demonstrate
these values each and ever day. The teachers even put on mini-skits
to see if the students could name which value they were acting out.
We look forward to continuing to learn and grow with the help of this
character education program.
implementing a character education program called Character Counts.
It is centered around the values of trustworthiness, respect,
responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship also known as the
Six Pillars of Character. On Friday, students in kindergarten through
2nd grade were introduced to these pillars of character.
During our time together, we read the book “What If Everybody Did
That?” by Ellen Javernick and shared how we can and do demonstrate
these values each and ever day. The teachers even put on mini-skits
to see if the students could name which value they were acting out.
We look forward to continuing to learn and grow with the help of this
character education program.
Discovering Sponges in Science
Here are some 7th graders testing the absorption of real sponges and artificial sponges. Some students were amazed to find out that there such a thing as a real sponge from the ocean. Others testing if true sponges would hold more hot water or more cold water. The answer, surprising to them, was cold water.
Lots of Love
At the beginning of February I started having the kids write what they LOVED about Pleasant Hill. It was also getting close to our 100th day of school, so we were celebrating both Valentine's Day and our 100th day with this bulletin board. Parents and students enjoyed reading the hearts at conferences. We didn't get 100 hearts on the board, but we had more than one thing written on several hearts. It's nice to see all of the things kids love about school! Thanks for helping create it!
Third Grade Finds the Area
Third graders are working hard to find area in many ways. In this activity, students are relating area to multiplication by using their knowledge of finding products of arrays. Students got to pick from a stack of cards and find the area of the shaded rectangle. Whichever player had the highest product won that round! They had a blast!
First Grade Authors
Our first grade students have been busy writing fictional
narratives. They first studied a series
of books by Laura Numeroff such as If You
Give a Mouse a Cookie and If You Give
a Cat a Cupcake. They learned about chain reactions and the concept of a
“circular tale.” Mrs. Sneed wrote a narrative titled If You Give a Hippopotamus a Handshake that she shared with the
class, and the class followed up by collectively
writing a narrative titled If You Take a
Penguin to the Park. Finally, the students wrote and illustrated their own
stories with creative titles such as If
You Give a Shark a Pickle, If You Give a Chihuahua a Valentine, and If You Take a Gorilla to a Carnival.
Agriculture in the 4th Grade Classroom
The AG department visited the Fourth Grade students. The teachers brought a special friend with them. The students loved meeting the pig.
Kindergarten Guest Readers
Kindergarten students in Miss Douglas' class love when visitors stop by to read to our class! We are thankful that we have had some awesome second graders (with many more to come) volunteer to read to our class at the end of the day. We even had a very special visitor this week -- Mrs. Weaver! She read "Green Eggs and Ham" to help us get excited about Dr. Seuss' birthday in a couple of weeks. Thanks Mrs. Weaver and Mrs. Meis' students for being such awesome reading role models! We are working hard to become great readers just like you!
Children's Author Kate Klise Visits Pleasant Hill School
As
part of Pleasant Hill School District’s initiative to build reading skills,
the school partnered with Illinois Reading Council to welcome award winning
children’s author, Kate Klise. She provided a hands on opportunity for students
to learn about the process of writing a book. Kate engaged in some Reading and Writing
activities with students in small groups throughout the day.
Safe School Ambassadors
The Junior High Safe School Ambassadors continue to meet weekly to discuss how they are using the skills they learned in their training this past fall. These weekly meetings give the Ambassadors the opportunity to role play with their newfound skills and determine what changes they need to make in order to be more effective in utilizing their skills to reduce bullying.
Fourth Grade Time Lines
The 4th Grade class has been researching events that have taken place during their life time. They are now turning those events into a timeline.
Weakest Link
Here are the 6th graders working on and testing their weakest link. This was the Christmas Junk Box war in class. One sixth grade team won the event for all of junior high. Their chain held all the ornaments and still weighed only 11 grams. Great Job!
Parents Club Winter Festival
A big thanks to the PHS Parents Club for all their hard work in preparing the Winter Festival! It was a huge success. Families enjoyed lunch together, pictures with Santa, games and activities in the gym, and much more.
Winter Concert
We are thrilled to have the Fine Arts back at Pleasant Hill School! As we welcomed back the Music Program here at PHS, we also welcomed back our Winter Concert for grades K-5! Our new Music teacher, Mrs. Rohrer, did an amazing job preparing students for this event. Mrs. Rohrer and her students definitely took the spotlight at the concert. We truly enjoyed the performances throughout the evening!
First Grade Word Work
In first grade we have been busy with Daily 5 lessons. Among our classroom's favorites is Word Work, in which students practice spelling and reading new words through a variety of activities. They write on the large and on small marker boards, play word games, make words with Play-Doh, read around the room, and build their reading vocabulary with activities on the iPads. Some of the students also read sight words or books to classroom volunteers during this time.
Social Studies in Third Grade
The students in third grade have been using their research skills to learn more about the seven continents! Our target has been to name and identify the seven continents and four oceans. Students got to dig a bit deeper as they were assigned a group and a country to learn some interesting facts about! Students will organize their research, and present what they have found the class!
Fourth Grade Fun on the Titanic
These 4th grade students are practicing for their play based on true facts of the great ship, Titanic.
First Quarter Reading Competition
Congratulations to the students who participated in the first quarter Reading Competition. We are very proud of you for reading all of those books. Thank you to the parents who read with their students or made sure their students were reading. Keep up the good work. Quarter two will end December 19! Keep reading!!
Kindergarten is Thankful!
Kindergarten students at PHS geared up for Thanksgiving by learning about the very first Thanksgiving, doing many holiday related activities and crafts, and by watching a classic, “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.” We even got to have a “Thanksgiving feast” just as they did in the movie. We are so thankful for our school, our teachers and staff at PHS, our families and friends, and the many opportunities we get to learn while having fun along the way. Happy Holidays!
PBIS Monthly Celebration
Students in grades 3-5 enjoyed spending some free time on the computers in the mobile laptop lab as a reward for positive behavior during their monthly referral free celebration.
Titanic Exploration
Thanks to the 8th grade students, the 4th
grade power points should be a huge success.
The 4th graders have been working very hard on Titanic power
point presentations and the 8th grade class helped them fine tune
their presentations.
Pasta for Pennies
Since
1994, students and educators throughout the US have raised more than 233
million dollars to support LLS. Pleasant Hill raised over $1100 last year for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Students will collect money daily through the
month of November to donate to LLS. The
top fundraising class will receive a pasta lunch from Olive Garden. Our school goal is to raise at least $700! Please help us in our efforts to raise money for LLS here at Pleasant Hill by clicking on the link below and donating to this cause!
Pasta for Pennies at Pleasant Hill School
Pasta for Pennies at Pleasant Hill School
Heart Art
Students were so proud of their "Heart Art" they created during the school-wide community service project! Thank you Pastor Preston and City on a Hill Church for allowing students to put their creative touches on your storage unit. A big thank you to the teachers for their patience and flexibilities.
LHS Haunted Hallways
On Saturday, October 25th, some of our junior high student council members participated in Haunted Hallways at Limestone High School. Students had fun decorating their designated location and passing out candy to all the kids in their Halloween costumes.
Writing with Details
The Fourth Grade class is proud to show off their writing with details class project. The students had to read a story and take notes on each page they read. Included in their notes were key details about the story. The students then had to use their detailed notes and write a summary of the story. WOW, what a great job they did !!!
Student Led Conferences
Our first annual student led parent teacher conferences here at Pleasant Hill were a huge success! A big thanks goes out to the teachers who worked hard in preparing their students for this new experience. Students stepped up and gathered their work samples, test results, and practiced what they wanted to communicate with their families. They were so excited to be able to share with their parents/guardians their progress and areas in which they need to make improvements during the next grading period.
Halloween Fun in 2nd Grade
The second graders are busy painting a dragonfly and flowers that are outlined on a pumpkin. They will be participating in many activities that are based on Halloween. They will be story writing about the pumpkins, black cats, witches, ghosts, the life cycle of a pumpkin, and many more activities that go with the Halloween theme.
Creative 3rd Grade Spelling
Students in third grade have been working very hard on their spelling words, in very fun ways! They used playdoh, white boards, sand, and stamps to work on their individualized spelling words. Students did an amazing job staying focused and working the whole time while building word work stamina! These creative and fun spelling activities help students memorize their words quickly and easily!
Pre-K Field Trip
Bright Futures went on a field trip to the Hult Center to learn about their bodies. Mary the mouth taught them the importance of brushing their teeth. Mr. SeeMore Bones taught them how to take care of their bones. TAM the body taught the students about their muscles and skin.
Building Reading Skills
First grade students are working very hard in Mrs. Kluesner's room on writing, sorting and reading CVC words. They created a foldable to complete this project. They will be showing their parents' their projects next week at student led conferences.
First Grade Readers Theatre
In first grade we are employing a variety of methods to teach the Word Wall words. The students are currently practicing their sight words through the use of Readers Theatre, a style of theater in which actors don’t use costumes or props and don’t necessarily memorize their lines. Our first grade students are merely expected to read their lines, albeit with lots of expression.
Our first Readers Theatre script is titled Rafael Is a Rat. The storyline of this play is based on Frog and the Stranger, a lovely book by Max Velthuijs that teaches children not to stereotype. It encourages tolerance and acceptance of individuals who may be different from us and is a celebration of diversity.
Our first Readers Theatre script is titled Rafael Is a Rat. The storyline of this play is based on Frog and the Stranger, a lovely book by Max Velthuijs that teaches children not to stereotype. It encourages tolerance and acceptance of individuals who may be different from us and is a celebration of diversity.
Third Grade Math
The 3rd graders have been busy building their Math skills when they used dice to practice finding estimating sums with rounding! They caught on to rounding so fast, and used mental math strategies to add the two numbers together! They used their perfected "choose a smart partner" skills to find partners that they worked extremely hard with!!!
Physical Education
Right now in PE we are working predominately on bowling/rolling (bowling for older kids, rolling for younger), and we will also be beginning our first fitness test of the year. That test will be the shuttle run. Most grades have data from their shuttle run test last year, which I will be comparing this year's results to. Grades K-3 (probably end up 1-3 or 1-4) will be getting introduced to Yoga soon, for the first time this year. Those kids are excited to do it, having learned it last year.
Fifth Grade Happenings
It has been a very busy first 6 weeks for the PHS 5th grade class. The group works very well in group based assignments. Right now we are centering our learning around team building. In Reading, we are doing group work on a short story. The students will be reading a story together and then doing things like writing a summary. The students will then be given an assessment test that they will take together in their groups. The final step for the story will be creating a story board. The group will split the story up into parts and each student will have to put their part onto the story board with an illustration. We will be doing something similar in Science. The class will be given information about different types of weather and then they will do research on the computer to do a team project. We will also be doing a lot of preparing for the upcoming student led conferences. We were also lucky enough to be able to go outside for art last week and paint a storage shed for City on a Hill Church for a school-wide community service project!
Butterfly Life Cycle
Kindergarten has been growing butterflies this quarter. Mrs. Jennings' class started with 4 caterpillars and Miss Douglas' class started with 3. Kindergartners watched them chomp on milk week leaves for weeks! While the caterpillars were growing, Kindergarten learned about the butterfly life cycle. After the caterpillars had grown to the size of our thumbs, they curled up in the top of their houses and spun chrysalises. The students really enjoyed seeing the caterpillars literally spin their new homes. After the chrysalises were formed, the waiting game began. The students waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, the chrysalises began to change color-the butterflies were coming! Miss Douglas' butterflies emerged first. Three big, beautiful butterflies! The Kindergarten classes released them soon after they emerged. Mrs. Jennings' class has only had one butterfly emerge-but they are keeping their fingers crossed for more!
Ocean Research
The Fourth Grade Class is finishing up their research on the Ocean. Students have researched the Ocean finding information on fish and plants. They have had to draw and give information about each of their plants and fish.
Science Fun
The 8th graders are studying properties of matter this month. Here are some pictures of our gas laws demos and experiments. We looked at Boyle's Law which explains the relationship between pressure and volume and Charles Law which explains the relationship between pressure and temperature.
Panther Community Service
One of our goals this year at Pleasant Hill School is to get more involved in the community and build relationships with members in the community that surrounds us. In order to help achieve our goal, we have planned a school-wide community service project each month. Our first service project is in collaboration with City on a Hill Church and Pastor Preston. With the help of our creative and talented Art teacher, Mrs. Willenborg, students worked cooperatively to paint the church's storage shed. The theme for the project is hearts!
8th Grade Field Trip
On Wednesday, September 24th the 8th graders went to a construction fair. They learned what it takes to enter the trades of construction, electrician, and brick laying, just to name a few. The students enjoyed the hands on learning activities provided by each trade. This was a great opportunity for our 8th graders to get a first hand look at what it takes to enter the trade workforce.
Junior High Math
The 8th grade students are sharpening their math skills during an intervention class with the use of our mobile lab. They use websites such as Sumdog, Magna High, and Hooda Math to reinforce math topics such as integers, order of operations, fractions, and algebra.
8th Grade Poetry Cafe
For the past month, students have been immersed in poetry! As a culminating event to the poetry unit, students transformed the classroom into a café setting where they read aloud some of their favorite poems they have written. Family members were in attendance and refreshments were served. Great work to all the 8th grade students who shared their creativity. Thanks to Ms. Dunn & Mrs. Pendleton for all your hard work in planning and organizing this activity.
Pleasant Hill Staff Accept the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
Students at Pleasant Hill raised over $240.00 for the local chapter of ALS. Students raised money based on how much water each staff member had to dump on their heads. The event was very successful, and students did a great job in supporting a great cause. Good Job Pleasant Hill!!
A big thanks goes out to our Physical Education teacher, Mr. Stambaugh, who organized the ALS ice bucket challenge here at Pleasant Hill! A special thanks to our Junior High volunteers who worked very hard the day of the ice bucket challenge to get everything prepared!
Daily 5 Reading in the 3rd Grade Classroom
Students in the 3rd grade classroom have been busy learning all about the Daily 5 Reading Program during the first week of school! They enjoy practicing Read to Self each and every day!
Academic Honor Rolls/Perfect Attendance at Pleasant Hill
Congratulations to all Pleasant Hill students for their success in the classroom. Click on the link below to view all Pleasant Hill students who achieved honor roll status or perfect attendance. We are very proud of their hard work and dedication!
All About Me Books in 1st Grade
The children in Mrs. Sneed’s classroom have been diligently working on their All About Me books. These autobiographical books highlight the students’ favorite things about first grade, what they like to do after school, what they want to be when they grow up, and their favorite foods. While working on the books, the students pay special attention to proper sentence formation, spacing, grammar, capitalization and ending
punctuation. The students also get to showcase their creative artwork. The books will be laminated so they will
likely enjoy them for many years to come.
punctuation. The students also get to showcase their creative artwork. The books will be laminated so they will
likely enjoy them for many years to come.
Leprechauns visit Pleasant Hill
3rd grade created some very cool leprechaun traps last week! We used our creativity to build traps that would lure leprechauns! Then, we created a step by step list explaining how to build our traps and snatch the leprechaun! We left them out over the weekend and checked them on Monday morning! We couldn't believe that we found footprints, glitter, and that all of our gold was stolen! I guess those leprechauns were too tricky for us!
We Love to Read at Pleasant Hill
Our second quarter reading competition has come to an end. These are pictures of some of the students who participated. We are very proud of these students and their reading accomplishments. We're beginning our third quarter competition, and we're excited about the hard work and dedication from our students. Great Job!!!
The Opera Visits Pleasant Hill
Pleasant Hill students and staff had the opportunity to see an amazing opera performance this week put on by the Chicago Opera Playhouse performers! Chicago Opera Playhouse is a touring company made up of young professional musicians who are dedicated to bringing a love for musicals and operas to today's youth. The musicians performed Hansel & Gretel for Pleasant Hill. It was a fun-filled show that had students excited about Hansel & Gretel’s adventures and anxious to see what the evil witch was plotting. The Hansel and Gretel performance had our students engaged and fascinated by the world of opera and musical theater. This was a great way for students to engage in the imaginative and educational world of music.
8th Grade Students Learn About the Underground Railroad
Mrs. Handlin a former Elmwood 5th grade teacher came to speak to the 8th grade class about the Underground Railroad in the central Illinois area including Peoria, Elmwood and Farmington. She began with a story found in the Illinois Liberty Lines book by Delores Saunders. She told the story of how 5 slaves and a conductor came to the A.B Thomas home. She told the story of how they fed and hid the slaves and then prepared for the slave catchers they were sure were coming. After the slave catchers searched the house for slaves and found non they left. Breathing a sigh of relief Mr. and Mrs. Thomas kept their guests until night fall when the next conductor came. This is a story from Farmington.
Mrs. Handlin talked about Phelps barn, the Luther Birge home and other landmarks in Farmington and Elmwood. She talked to the students about Harriet Tubman and her early life as well as when Fredrick Douglas came to Elmwood. He came to visit his friend E L Brown from Elmwood. Needing a place to stay
Mr. Brown sent him to Peoria to stay and introduced him the Mr. Ingersoll. The class really enjoyed listening to these personal stories.
Mrs. Handlin talked about Phelps barn, the Luther Birge home and other landmarks in Farmington and Elmwood. She talked to the students about Harriet Tubman and her early life as well as when Fredrick Douglas came to Elmwood. He came to visit his friend E L Brown from Elmwood. Needing a place to stay
Mr. Brown sent him to Peoria to stay and introduced him the Mr. Ingersoll. The class really enjoyed listening to these personal stories.
Reading Buddies at Pleasant Hill
Third grade and Bright Futures have started reading buddies! Every week, the third graders and bright futures students pair up to enjoy a book read by the third graders. The third graders really enjoy being role models and showing off their reading skills to the bright futures kids. The bright futures kids love hearing and listening to the third graders teach them many things about reading!
Toby the Tire Visits Pleasant Hill
Students in grades Kindergarten through 5th enjoyed a special program this past week from Jesse White’s
Secretary of State Office. This program is called Toby Tire School Bus Safety. Students learned all about how to keep safe while riding the school bus by using Toby Tire’s recipe for school bus safety. Some of the ingredients for Toby’s recipe include; stay away from strangers, stay 3 giant steps away from the road, respect your driver by staying in your seat and talking in your inside voice, once you get off the bus-get away from the bus, and look both ways whenever you cross the street or roadway. Student’s favorite part of the program was seeing Toby Tire the robot in action!
Secretary of State Office. This program is called Toby Tire School Bus Safety. Students learned all about how to keep safe while riding the school bus by using Toby Tire’s recipe for school bus safety. Some of the ingredients for Toby’s recipe include; stay away from strangers, stay 3 giant steps away from the road, respect your driver by staying in your seat and talking in your inside voice, once you get off the bus-get away from the bus, and look both ways whenever you cross the street or roadway. Student’s favorite part of the program was seeing Toby Tire the robot in action!
Safe School Ambassadors Programs at Pleasant Hill
Pleasant Hill received a grant from the Heart of Illinois United Way. This grant is called Supporting Student Success! With the help of the United Way grant, our school was able to initiate and implement the Safe School Ambassadors Program (SSA). This program is an "inside-out" approach to improving the school climate. It relies on STUDENTS to help stop bullying and violence. Students interact with one another on a
different level than adults do. Therefore, they can intervene in ways adults can't and make a lasting
impact on their peers. Students play a vital role in positively impacting their peers and reducing the incidence
of bullying in our schools, which is why the SSA program is so effective. In November, twenty Pleasant Hill
students were selected and trained as Safe School Ambassadors. The training provided students the opportunity to learn essential communication and intervention skills for working with their peers. These Ambassadors will continue to meet in family groups weekly to build those skills and create a positive school climate at Pleasant Hill.
different level than adults do. Therefore, they can intervene in ways adults can't and make a lasting
impact on their peers. Students play a vital role in positively impacting their peers and reducing the incidence
of bullying in our schools, which is why the SSA program is so effective. In November, twenty Pleasant Hill
students were selected and trained as Safe School Ambassadors. The training provided students the opportunity to learn essential communication and intervention skills for working with their peers. These Ambassadors will continue to meet in family groups weekly to build those skills and create a positive school climate at Pleasant Hill.
Giving Back at Pleasant Hill
The month of November will be a time for Pleasant Hill to show our thankfulness for what we have been given. We will also focus on giving back to those around us who are less fortunate. The organization we will be working with is the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). LLS is the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing education and patient services. The LLS mission is to find a cure and improve the quality of life for their patients and families.
Since 1994, students and educators throughout the US have raised more than 233 million dollars to support LLS. Pleasant Hill will be joining the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society this year by participating in the Pasta for Pennies campaign. Students will collect money daily through the month of November to donate to LLS. The top fundraising class will receive a pasta lunch from Olive Garden. Our school goal is to raise at least $600! Students have each received a box to collect their money in. Money from these individual boxes will need to be turned in every Friday in the month of November! Remember, each and every coin counts! Thank you for your support!
Since 1994, students and educators throughout the US have raised more than 233 million dollars to support LLS. Pleasant Hill will be joining the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society this year by participating in the Pasta for Pennies campaign. Students will collect money daily through the month of November to donate to LLS. The top fundraising class will receive a pasta lunch from Olive Garden. Our school goal is to raise at least $600! Students have each received a box to collect their money in. Money from these individual boxes will need to be turned in every Friday in the month of November! Remember, each and every coin counts! Thank you for your support!
Pleasant Hill Student Celebrations
The first quarter celebration was held on October 18. Students in grades K-8 were honored for perfect attendance, classroom awards and reading competition awards. The students in grades 3-8 were also presented certificates for honor roll. Keeping with our great team theme, there were two games, a running the bases relay and a ball toss. Prizes were awarded including the big prize which was an MP3 player for 3-5 and 6-8 and a leapster from K-2. Way to go students! We are proud of your accomplishments!
Fifth Grade Reading Lunch Bunch
These Fifth grade students participated in our Reading Lunch Bunch for the month of October. The students had four different books to choose from. Some students read more than one of the books. After reading the book, they took a test on the book or wrote a summary. On November 1st, we ate lunch together and discussed the books they had read. They could earn more Halloween candy if they could answer questions
I had about the books. During November they can read My Teacher Is an Alien or The Case of the Kidnapped Candy. Let's see who can read both!!
I had about the books. During November they can read My Teacher Is an Alien or The Case of the Kidnapped Candy. Let's see who can read both!!
October Celebration with Fruit Kabobs
Fruit Kabobs were part of the October celebration for good behavior. Each class was able to create fruit and vegetable kabobs. Mrs. Baker arranged all the fruit and also made some extra fun things for us including the picture of palm trees made out of fruit and a marshmallow fluff dip. The students really enjoyed the day and the experiences. It is a favorite.
Halloween Parade at Pleasant Hill
Students came to school dressed in costumes for Halloween on Thursday! Pre-K through fifth grade students celebrated the holiday by marching in a parade to show off their unique and creative costumes. Families joined students for this exciting event and had a chance to see all the children disguised in their Halloween costumes. After the parade, teachers held classroom parties for their students to enjoy. Thanks to all the parent volunteers for your help in making the classroom parties run smoothly. We hope you had a wonderful Halloween!
First Grade Loves Math!!
Great things are happen in first grade. In first grade we are using a variety of activities and methods for learning addition. We add with dice, counting the dots on each die. We do addition with crayons, using the crayons as manipulatives. We draw pictures to represent our addition facts. We draw circles next to each addend. We use number lines that are taped to our desks. We make tally marks. We count beads on abacuses. We create math story problems with our classmates. We use ten frames. Through a rich variety of strategies, our students are able to gain a firm foundation in addition.
Reading Competition at Pleasant Hill
Our first quarter reading competition “Falling for a Great Book” has come to an end. These are pictures of some of the students who participated. We are very proud of these students and their reading accomplishments. Our second quarter competition “Students Are Driven to Read at PHS” has begun and will continue until December 20th. Keep Reading!!!
Community Service at Pleasant Hill
The middle school students participated in a community service project on Friday, October 11. They helped to clean and straighten up part of the Lutheran Cemetery down the hill from the school. The students did a terrific job and worked hard. The next community service project will be to send supplies to a few of our soldiers. We are very proud of the work that our students put forth in the community.
8th Grade Students Attend the Construction Expo
The 8th graders enjoyed their field trip to learn about the construction industry. The hands on field trip allowed students the opportunity to operate a jackhammer, raise/lower a scoop on a tractor, and wire a light bulb, just to name a few activities. They walked away with a lot of useful information on what a career in these fields
require. You can also view the news segment on the construction field trip at http://www.cinewsnow.com/news/local/Students-get-hands-on-in-learning-various-construction-trades-225532852.html.
require. You can also view the news segment on the construction field trip at http://www.cinewsnow.com/news/local/Students-get-hands-on-in-learning-various-construction-trades-225532852.html.
