Greenbrier 4th and 5th Graders Learn About Engineering!

Over the last few weeks the students at Greenbrier have been learning about the different kinds of engineering and participated in some experiments that helped them better understand how engineering works. On this day the students built two different kinds of bridges to see which one was the strongest.

John and Elizabeth were building a suspension bridge. (civil engineering)

Madison and Dagmara's bridge

Anshul's bridge

Heifer International

Odyssey Students Give Back

Heifer International Results

The Odyssey students at Windsor School raised $927.58 for Heifer International. Therefore, we were able to purchase a heifer (500.00) a water buffalo (250.00), a pig (120.00), chicks (20.00) and bees (30.00). The remaining money went to a category called, "where needed most." The Odyssey students voted for each animal based on their usefulness and ability to help the families become more financially independent.
Now if that wasn't good enough, Ben Klicker (who brought the idea to Windsor) received a matching gift coupon in the mail from Heifer International. Our donation will be matched dollar-for-dollar to provide twice the funding and will go to impoverished communities throughout Honduras and Guatemala. 

To the Windsor Community, thank you for your generosity.

A good hen can lay up to 200 eggs a year-a reliable source of protein for children who live mostly on starches. Extra  eggs can be sold to pay for school, clothes and medicine.  (Info from Heifer International)

Bees are easy to keep. They require almost no space and once the hives are established, they are inexpensive to maintain. (Info from Heifer International)

A quality dairy cow can produce four gallons of milk a day-enough for a family to drink, share with neighbors and sell for cash. (Info from Heifer International)

Pigs are prolific. They can weigh up to 200 pounds a year and there are plenty of offspring to pass on to others in need. (Info from Heifer International)

 

Water buffalo provide milk for protein, manure for fertilizer and fuel and plowing power for planting rice and potatoes. (Info from Heifer International)

Update on Odyssey Programming

Dear Odyssey Families,

Throughout the year, many of you have expressed an interest in the work being done by the Advanced Learners Committee. The link below will redirect you to the District 25 webpage where you will find meeting notes from the subcommittees that met in February 2013, as well as notes from the 2011-12 school year. To access those documents, simply roll and hover over the "Review Committee of Advanced Learners" tab at the bottom of the list on the left. 

http://www.sd25.org/pages/sd25/Departments/Menu/Student_Learning/Advanced_Learners_Program/Menu/Review_Committee_of_Advanced_L/Overview

If you have any questions, please contact Dale Truding at the Department of Student Learning-
Looking forward to discussing your son/daughter's progress in Odyssey at conferences.

Kind regards,

Shannon Kownick

Shakespeare workshop/ field trip

A few weeks ago, the Odyssey students from both Windsor and Greenbrier Schools had the opportunity to work with Actors Training Center (ATC) out of Wilmette to learn more about Shakespeare, and more specifically, how to perform a Shakespeare play called "Midsummer Night's Dream." April-Dawn (from ATC) specializes in Shakespeare performances so we were trained with the best!

Left to Right (The Elizabethan group!)
Brandon, Elizabeth U. Elizabeth, Elizabeth K. Laurel and John

Ansul

Left to Right
Madison, Angelica, Jonathan, Nick and Emily

From Left to Right
Greta, Anshul, Max, Tamanna and Angela

From Left to Right
Ben,  Kelly, Luke, Hannah, Ashley and Lauren

From Left to Right
Felix, Bryan, Anja, Anna and Ashlyn

From Left to Right
Jimmy, Dagmara, Colin, Zoe and August

April-Dawn giving the students "direction."

The sleeping fairies

Windsor's All School Election-Nov. 2012

Election 2012

The day before the election, the Windsor Odyssey students held an all school mock election. They created Powerpoints and went into classrooms to teach the students about each candidate. They also created flyers with information about the candidates and where they stood on the issues. Odyssey students met with classroom teachers to schedule a time for their students to vote. After the election, we broke down the results of the election; primary vs. intermediate voting patterns and discussed voting trends in general. Our election results matched the country's!

Read To Feed Program

The Odyssey students, spearheaded by Ben Klicker, introduced the "Read to Feed" Heifer International Reading program to the students at Windsor. They went into each class and explained the program and read a book or showed the students a movie explaining the details of the program. At the end of the month, Windsor students will turn in all donations collected from family and friends. When the Odyssey students have determined the amount of money raised, they will vote on which animal they would like to purchase for a family: a goat, sheep, heifer, etc.
A project like this is another great way for the Odyssey students to take on a leadership role in the school.
Check out the program by clicking on this link and watching a one minute video explaining the program.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VqMr

Coat Drive

Thanks to all the Windsor Odyssey students, our coat drive was a success. We collected over 75 new and gently used coats. The Odyssey students organized, promoted and sorted all the coats brought to school.

Romeo and Juliet

The 5th grade Odyssey students read and learned about the most famous of Shakespeare's plays...Romeo and Juliet. Naturally, they had to experience Elizabethan language! Students were paired up and recorded part of the infamous balcony scene. Read more...