Breaking Ground on the Evans' Garden

This week, students started construction on the Evans Garden. Teachers, Mrs. Miller, Mr. Campbell and Mrs. Thompson wrote a grant hoping to get the garden funded. They had success! The grant was funded and students have began building. The garden will be composed of nine raised flower beds and will grow a variety of plants and crops throughout each school year. Check out the garden progress below. 

Painting with Mr. Terry Morrow

On Tuesday, December 18th, many 5th grade GATE students had the opportunity to learn from artist, Terry Morrow. Mr. Morrow came and taught students all about art as they each painted Frosty the Snowman. Mr. Morrow is related to Courtney Morrow, one of our own GATE students. What a treat!  Check out the pictures below!   

GATE students decorate Central Office Christmas Tree

All the GATE students in Albertville created DOT ornaments in honor of International Dot Day back in September.  This fun day of celebration was centered around Peter Reynolds' book, The Dot. On the Friday before Thanksgiving, all three GATE teachers gathered at the Albertville Board of Education to decorate the tree using our creative DOTS! See if you can spot your dot!  The ornaments are made from different mediums:  watercolors, markers, glitter, "good junk", Zentangle designs, paint, and more! 

Cont. Cardboard Extravaganza = Success

On October 30th, parents, family and friends were invited to come and play all the cardboard arcade games created by the EES GATE students.  It was quite the success! 

Guntersville Dam Field Trip

On October 29th, the fifth grade GATE students at Evans Elementary had the rare opportunity to tour and visit the Guntersville Dam. This semester, students are learning and studying about invention and innovation. While taking the tour, students learned more about the innovation of electricity and how the Guntersville Dam plays a vital role in how electricity powers the homes we live in. Students enjoyed hearing from plant manager, Chip Troy and public relations specialist, Kristine Cooper as they led us on our unforgettable tour. 

2015 Global Cardboard Challenge

This year, EES GATE participated in the Global Cardboard Challenge, inspired by Caine's Arcade. The Global Cardboard Challenge promotes critical and creative thinking as it encourages students to think "outside the box" and become innovative thinkers. During the challenge, students rely on their creative minds, imagination and cardboard to create arcade game masterpieces. In order to successfully execute their plans for the Global Cardboard Challenge, students used a thinking strategy/model called, Talents Unlimited. Students used divergent thinking and decision making skills to successfully plan and execute all their awesome, innovative ideas. On October 30th, parents and their students will come for a day of fun at EES. Parents are invited to come, play and see all their student's hard work! Below you will see SOME of their creations...more to come!!

Off to a great start in GATE!

Students started the year out by introducing themselves using rotational symmetry. Although it wasn't the easiest task, they enjoyed seeing the final products. They all did such a great job making them individually unique. 

After learning about our classmates, we learned more about how our brains work and function. This year, we will be learning several cognitive skills to help us become better thinkers. Last week, we learned that we are divergent. Ask your kiddo what that means. :)

On September 15th, students will celebrate International Dot Day. On this day, students will reflect on their individuality and making their mark. Such a great meaning to a fun day. Below you will see a picture of their creatively decorated dots. These dots will be displayed on the central office Christmas tree in December. #makeyourmark

Look who's back! The chickens are now residents of the EES courtyard. The students have enjoyed observing them through the windows as they walk down the hallways. 

A few silkie chicken facts... They have black skin and black bones. They have turquoise ears (SO COOL). They do not have "barbicles" in their feathers, therefore, their feathers look fluffy. They have an extra claw/toe. They are such neat animals. 

Looking forward to another great year of GATE in Room 12!

Meet the GATE teachers of ACS! This year we proudly announce that Albertville City School System has added a 3rd GATE teacher! YEA!  Left to right in the photo above you see Mrs. Lauren Thompson, GATE teacher at Evans for 5th and 6th grade gifted students, Mrs. Dianna Adams, GATE teacher for 4th grade gifted students at AES, and Miss Tracy Rogers, GATE teacher for 3rd grade students at AES.

The three of us are so excited to be working as a team to bring creative, challenging lessons and ideas to share with our gifted students!  Albertville gifted students may be creating inventions, participating in global events through the internet, learning to conduct research, creating high quality technology projects, entering art contests, learning about their own learning styles, researching about Africa, designing their own culture, viewing the world through Leonardo Da Vinci's eyes, participating in STEAM activities...you just never know where the creative minds of our students will take us.  We are a TEAM working together to challenge and inspire our gifted students...and we have a great time together planning our GATE adventures!

Chicken Update...

Everyone has been asking about the sweet chickens we hatched in April. They survived the summer and are doing great! They enjoy catching bugs, being curious and getting any attention you will give them. They may be visiting soon. :)

Theodore, Daphne and Reggie

Meet Theodore, Daphne and Reggie, the newest additions to the Evans' family. These chicks were born on April 23rd and 24th and have been quite the hit at Evans. For 21 days we incubated these guys in hopes that they would develop into beautiful chicks, and they did just that! These are Silky Chickens. Silky Chickens are known for their unique black skin, black bones and extra toe. They are very sweet chickens and act a lot like indoor pets. 

Guest from NASA

On May 7th, Jon Holladay, NASA technical fellow, came to talk to 5th grade GATE. Jon Holladay graduated from The University of Alabama where he received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in mechanical cngineering. Holladay has over 25 years of experience in the human spaceflight arena involving spacecraft and launch development. He is a recipient of numerous honors, including the NASA Space Flight Awareness Leadership and Silver Snoopy awards. During his time at Evans, he discussed the International Space Station and upcoming enhancements to the Space Launch System (SLS).

Success at the State Technology Fair in Decatur!

On April 25th, Evans Elementary took five students to the ACTE State Technology Competition in Decatur. They all did a phenomenal job representing themselves and Evans as technology team members. Emilie Adams won first place for her magazine, Truly Emilie. Kris Kirby, Ben Thompson and Tristan Golden received an honorable mention for their video production, The Dental Show. Way to go, guys!

What came first? The Chicken or the Egg?

Room 12 will hopefully have 12 baby chicks running around in roughly 21 days.  So far, they are doing great. Below you will find some pictures of our progress. More will be coming soon... 

In the picture above you see the incubator where the eggs are located. The incubator mimics the job of the hen who sits on her eggs until they hatch. The incubator is set at a constant temperature of 99.5 degrees throughout the incubation process. The eggs were placed on April 3rd and are expected to hatch on April 24th. (21 days) Also in this picture you will see a bottle of Germ-x. It is very important that while handling the eggs, our hands are VERY clean with minimal bacteria. Eggs are very porous and contract bacteria from our hands. 

Day 5 

In this picture, the egg is being candled. We candle the eggs to check development and fertility. In this picture you can see the embryo forming (it looks like a spider). On the fifth day of development, the reproductive organs start forming. In a few days, we might begin seeing the embryos move! So cool! 

GATE goes to Kappler

On March 20th, the 5th grade GATE students went on a field trip to tour Kappler in Guntersville. Kappler is a company that designs and produces protective garments for companies around the world. While touring the facility and research/development lab, students talked with and learned from professionals from many careers fields: a research scientist with a background in cell and molecular biology, a chemical engineer, a mechanical engineer with an aerospace background, a project development engineer and a industrial engineer. We thoroughly enjoyed our time at Kappler and are so thankful they welcomed us!