Book Fair

Book Fair Blog

Collin Hurshman

            As the book fair nears, excitement grows, especially after our last victory! Excelsior Springs Middle School won first place in the Scholastic Book fair competition last year. It is clear that we have no intention of losing this time. We have many ambitious ideas for our book fair.  Now it’s all about making sure they come to fruition.

            When you enter the book fair, you will first be confronted by a ship wreck at the front doors. As you venture forth, you will find yourself in world of sub-nautical majesty. Many more ideas will likely be executed. However, the book fair is still a couple months off, so many of these ideas are not quite fully realized. Still, some of the ideas include a figure like a crab or other sea creature to take the place of Blaze, last year’s dragon figure. There will likely be some sort of scavenger hunt for those who wish to live the life of a pirate searching for treasure. There is going to be a contest to raise money for “All for Books”, a program to provide books for those in need. Any 8^th grader who wants, can make the best box to collect money. The boy and girl with the most money collected will become the Pirate Captain and the Mermaid Princess.

            This is, of course, only a sample of the many activities we will have at this book fair. It is clear, if we can pull it off, we can take the victory again and have the best book fair yet! The book fair goes May 4-8, and Family Night is from 5-7 on the fifth.

Book Fair

Book Fair Blog

Drew Summers

            As we dive down, the book fair gets closer. The winning school (Excelsior Springs Middle school) has all hopes of first place again. We are making the Learning Commons into the Sea of Knowledge  at this by one get one free book fair is going to be one of the best.

             The book fair is going to start 5/4 and run through 5/8 family night is 5/5 it starts at 5:00-7:00. You could become the mermaid queen or the pirate caption if you make a box and collect for all for books but you need to be a 8^th grated.     

Sphero by Molly Jones

In the learning commons, there is a neat new piece of technology called a Sphero. Not only is it great for science experiments, but it is also extremely fun, and super cool! After playing with them, I have a lot to share!

            The Sphero device is basically a sphere with a motor inside. It hooks up to Bluetooth on the I pads, and you can drive it around. It hooks up to all sorts of devices, can be used as a game controller, and even jumps ramps!

            I think this device would be neat for a science experiment where you changed the surface of the ramp it jumps, and see which surface gained better traction. You could perform many different experiments like this, and make your science projects super fun!

            I think the Sphero is a great learning opportunity, and I am so excited to see what kids can do with this, and think it would be great to use with the scientific method in the 6^th grade! Have fun learning with the Sphero! 

Makey Makey by Molly Jones

In the learning commons, we have new technology! Not only is it fun, but it’s also great for all different types of learning opportunities, and I am so excited for you guys to use the Makey Makeys.

            A Makey Makey is a panel about the size of your hand that is metal, and has places for alligator clips, so you can wire it up! It consists of arrows; up, down, left, and right. It also has an area for click and space. Alligator clips hook in those areas, and that’s the actions that are performed there. The device hooks in your computer, and acts as the keyboard.

            While exploring, we played the drums with the device, and even played pacman with play-dough buttons, by plugging the alligator clips into the play-dough slabs. You can even use things like bananas to hook up, or any fruit or veggie! It will work with basically anything that even conducts the tiniest bit!

            The Makey Makey would be awesome for the electrical unit, and is super fun to play with! You can make some super intricate contraptions with it, and is a great piece of 21^st century technology. I am so excited to see all the projects kids can use this for!

Makey Makey

Makey Makey                                                   Trinaty Jeffers

Here at ESMS we have bought makey makeys, these makey makeys would be good for many science experiments plus they are super cool and fun.

                While we were messing around with the makey makeys we discovered that you could use them to play the piano, play the bongos, and make video game controllers.

                The makey makey comes with the main unit which looks like a game controller which has an up; right, down, and left arrow also has a space and click control. The makey makeys also come with extra connection wires, alligator clip ended wires, a USB cord so you can hook it up to your computer and an instruction pamphlet.

                Messing around with makey makeys was fun yet educational so I hope the class room teachers can find a way to let your class and others use them.

Cell Phones

Wesley Thompson’s Blog

            In our school the use of cell phones during class is prohibited. Many students think that this should change because they could use their smartphones to read. Also, students that have a smartphone could use school related apps and websites for class. Many teachers only focus on the possibility that students could be distracted.

            For many kids, using phones in school could be a huge benefit. There are many apps that students could use for their assignments. Also, teachers wouldn’t have to supply as many calculators. Many students could use their phones to look up information about their assignments.