As part of their study of light and vision, 3rd graders learned about animation. First, the students were introduced to the idea that a series of images that change very slightly, from one to the next, will give the viewer an illusion of motion if shown at a high enough frame rate. Starting with a student slowly rotating on a turntable as the rest of the class opened and closed their eyes on command, we progressed...
To celebrate World Read Aloud Day, two classes had virtual author visits in the Gillspie Library! First, Ms. Leard's and Ms. Young's Kindergarteners met Rebecca Gardyn Levington, author of BRAINSTORM!, a new picture book. Students heard the book read aloud by the author and asked some questions. They wondered how she came up with the idea for the book and how the book was made. The final student comment came from Charlie K., who simply said, “I...
Walt Ritter from Write Out Loud visited the third graders last week to share some stories in the Japanese Kamishibai tradition as a kick-off to their next project in Science & Design class. Kamishibai is a form of Japanese storytelling and literally translates to "paper theater". The Stories are performed by Kamishibaiya (Kamishibai Narrator) using sets of illustrated boards that are placed in stage-like boxes and narrated as each image is changed. The third graders' next design project will involve...
Exceptional moments occur in any given school year. Sometimes they are big, hairy, scary moments, and other times they are exquisitely meaningful and wonderful. Working through the ever-evolving pandemic conditions in 2020-2021 would be an example of the former. And, conversely, what happened at the recent Talent Show in the Gillispie Sandbox’s MPR would fit into the latter category. We witnessed magical moments as pianists, string musicians, jugglers, singers, gymnasts, and magicians (to name a few) took...
As part of the 6th-grade social studies curriculum, students studied the timeline of early human history and the features and capabilities of various hominid groups. They also learned about ancient Egypt, focusing on geography, social classes, certain pharaohs, and the process of mummification. In Science and Design, students learned about human ancestors, specifically, the changing structure of the skull over time. Students created vacuumed formed skull profiles and then reverse-painted and labeled distinct anatomical features. In art class,...
Thanks to the wonderful generosity of Gillispie parent, Justin Nadi, we have more cooking spices and baking decorations than we could have ever imagined! And they are beautifully branded with the Gillispie logo. Gillispie students are now cooking and baking out of The Sandbox Kitchen, (and loving it!), and how wonderful that we have so many herbs, spices, and spinkles to choose from. It's smelling good in here...