The Gingerbread Man is known for his attempts to escape, so kindergartners at Newbridge Road Elementary School tried to solve that problem. In an activity that combined literacy with science and engineering, students in Peggy Vento’s and Mary Yager’s classes built Gingerbread Man traps.

The young engineers followed the same process as professionals by drawing up a plan before building. Some of the supplies they had to work with included foam blocks, large and small Legos and wooden sticks. For health and safety reasons, each student was given his or her own bag of materials.

Among the books students read before the activity were “The Gingerbread Man,” “The Gingerbread Boy” and “The Gingerbread Cowboy.”

Fourth graders used their ingenuity to help lead a turkey to safety in a Thanksgiving-themed engineering activity at Newbridge Road Elementary School.  

On Nov. 24, students in Dawn Teti’s class read “How to Catch a Turkey” by Adam Wallace, then built catapults to help the fictitious turkey escape. Each student received a limited amount of supplies including craft sticks, rubber bands, two spoons and tape.  

The young engineers had to think like professionals by planning and sketching their designs before building. They could only use the materials that were provided, so tapping into their critical thinking and problem-solving skills were a must to have success. Students also used their knowledge from a science unit on simple machines earlier in the year.  

Once their catapults were constructed, students began testing them out. Each child taped a paper turkey to a penny to launch. Ms. Teti said if the turkeys didn’t go very far, then go back and refine their catapults. For example, each student had a light plastic spoon and a heavy plastic spoon, so they were encouraged to explore different ways to use the provided materials.   

 

It’s about 4,000 miles from Alaska to Florida and 5,000 miles from Maine to Hawaii, so fifth graders covered a lot of ground in learning about the 50 states at Newbridge Road Elementary School.

As part of the fifth grade social studies curriculum, students study United States history and geography. During a recent activity, they learned about the different states and regions, from East Coast to West Coast and everything in between. Teachers Michelle Hooker and David Lopez provided every student with a puzzle map of the country to put together, using only an unlabeled paper map of the United States as their guide.   

Oreos beat out chocolate chip in the highly anticipated cookie election in Jennifer Campbell’s second grade class at Newbridge Road Elementary School. In kid-friendly fashion, students learned about the democratic process and the importance of voting.  

They started out by reading “Duck for President” and “Grace for President,” then filled out voter registration forms. They also made campaign posters to try to persuade their classmates. When election day came around, students cast their secret ballots, which were tallied up to reveal Oreos as the class favorite.  

Ms. Campbell said that while they won’t be able to vote in local, state and federal contests until they are 18, students will experience elections well before then. Beginning in third grade, they select Newbridge Road’s student government class representatives, and will participate in student council elections in middle school and high school. 

 

Teachers want students to read as much as possible that is still happening at Newbridge Road Elementary School, just with new health and safety protocols in place.

Sixth grade teacher Patti Mitchell provides each of her students with a bag full of reading material every few weeks, including fiction and nonfiction books, informational articles, magazines, poetry collections and more. After a child finishes up a bag, the items turned in then go into “book quarantine” and are held out of circulation for at least two weeks before being given to other students. 

Students also spend much time reading the items from the book bags outdoors, where they spread out to ensure social distancing, while also getting some fresh air. Newbridge Road has designated several outdoor learning spaces with painted markers that are at least six feet apart.