Technology and Art

Technology and Art at Chandler Oaks Elementary

Art is something that most students enjoy.   But at COES, Mrs Lanahan is helping students to push the creative envelope.  Encouraging students to be creative by combining photoshop elements and traditional art resulted in some really interesting pieces of artwork. Students took digital photos of themselves, which were then altered using photoshop to create a video game character.  The final digital character was placed in a setting created with traditional paint and mixed media.  It’s not just the older students that are having fun with technology. 2nd graders have also explored a variety of digital self portraits using a variety of tools in tux paint.  Even younger students in Kindergarten have been  learning about the wide variety of fonts that can be used to make their name and describing words look like art by using a simple word document.  Art is always about creativity but using technology to develop that creativity is not limited just to the art itself.  Most recently, Mrs Lanahan was using a google hangout to share her skill with the potters wheel with collaboration of Angie Bell and her artists at Forest North Elementary. Students from another school watched her throw a clay bowl using the potters wheel and FNE students were able to get their questions answered in real time.  Way better than just a movie.  The clay pots were then decorated and sold at the Empty Bowl Fundraiser to help local families in need. Mrs Lanahan is also responsible for the Techno Art club where students have made stop motion movies using frames, powerpoint and digital cameras.

Techno Art Movie created by students using Frames (TM)

Art work done by 2nd grade using Tux Paint

Way to go, Mrs Lanahan and the Cheetahs at COES!

Student Council Takes Action

Student Council took a field trip last week.  They visited University Village Memory Care Facility and sang carols with the residents!  Our student council visited twice this past Spring and enjoyed it so much they couldn't wait to go back and visit again.  Although they had fun, their visit had purpose!  Here is an interesting related research on the power of music to boost memory.

Stony Point Ambassadors Visit COE

Stony Point High School Ambassadors recently came to visit COE 5th grade students.  They talked about the Academy Program as well as what the IB looks like in high school.  This was one of our activities for Education. Go Get It Week.  Throughout the week, students learned about a variety of colleges and careers as well as the skills and knowledge that are necessary to be successful. The Stony Point students were a high point for our 5th grade.  They talked about what a typical day was like, what they needed to do to be successful in school and how they say their education preparing them for their future.  Students got to ask a lot of really great questions and were excited about the opportunities that lay ahead of them in the next few years!

COE Cheetahs Celebrate International Day of Peace!

COE Cheetahs have been celebrating the International Day of Peace each year. This year in art class, students are making symbols of peace in origami like cranes, butterflies, doves, hearts, homes, and lotus flowers. Students also pledged to take individual actions.  As an IB school, it is so important to all of us that we each do our part to make this world a more peaceful place.  Check out what some of our students have pledged to do in the video below!

Student Council Wins Award!

Chandler Oaks Student Council was awarded a great honor! RRISD Partners in Education chose them as the Youth Volunteers of the Year! Our Student Council has worked very hard this year, both for the school community and the Round Rock community.

Student Council members have taught lessons to the younger grades as part of the 15 Days of Caring, volunteered at the local nursing home, raised over $1500 for charities and the school, helped teachers after school and created bowls for the Empty Bowl Project. They are models of integrity, respect and principle!

Congratulations to the 2012-2013 Student Council!

No Place For Hate

Chandler Oaks was awarded the No Place for Hate designation for the 2nd straight year!  Student Council members worked hard to help the school earn this designation by teaching lessons to younger students about showing caring to others and standing up for each other when someone is name calling or bullying.  The student council also planned events such as Read Around the World to help develop an appreciation for different cultures in our school community.The Peer Mediation Program also helped us gain the No Place for Hate designation as a method to encourage peaceful resolutions to conflicts.

Students Take Action- Every Day!

One of the elements of the IB Primary Years Program is the Action Cycle.  It's the continuous cycle of choosing, acting and reflecting.  We try hard to help our students understand this cycle and how action can happen in many ways.  Sometimes, it's spontaneous and seemingly small, like deciding to pick up some trash outside even when it isn't yours.  Sometimes it comes from curiosity and passion, like when 5th grade presented about UNICEF to a second grade class.  Second grade students wanted to know more, so 5th grade took action and created bookmarks with information and passed them out.  Still other times, action is the result of seeing a need and wanting to do something about it.  Like when students noticed our reading garden was in need of weeding. 

All these little things together make a big difference, and when students reflect on the things going on around them and choose to take action, we all reap the rewards! 

4th Grade Supports No Name Calling Week!

Fourth graders read a story about no name calling to second graders. Then they asked students if they wanted to sign a no name calling poster and act out a skit to show how to be safe with name calling and help reinforce the strategies for the younger students: stand up for yourself, ask a friend, find an adult, and exit the area. YEAH FOURTH GRADE!

Stories in Spanish- Written by COE Students!

Third, fourth and fifth grade students have been writing their first mini-stories in Spanish using the TPRS method. TPRS stands for Total Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling. Students learn the vocabulary and are exposed to different sentence structures.  Using the framework in a sample mini-story, they worked collaboratively to create their own stories.  Our students are risk-takers in their learning- venturing out and trying new things!  
Check out a couple of samples from Mrs. Moyer's and Ms. Susong's classes!

4th Grade Students Study Their Heritage

Fourth grade students recently wrapped up their Where We Are in Place and Time IB unit.  Students studied the central idea, “Sharing personal histories fosters intercultural connectedness.” by interviewing a classmate and then presenting on their similarities and differences. Students presented in a variety of ways including posters and Power Point presentations. Students learned that be learning about our own heritage as well as others' heritage, we become more open-minded.  We can find things we all have in common and celebrate our differences.

Kinder Students Investigate Matter

 

Kindergarten has been studying about matter and the effects of heat upon matter. The children were each given an ice cube and told to see who could melt it the fastest. The children put the ice cubes out in the sun remembering that heat was what caused ice to melt (going from a solid to a liquid). One of the children thought about it and rubbed the ice cube on the pole for the basketball goal because he knew that metal got hotter than cement in the sun. What an awesome connection! COE kindergartners are thinkers!!