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Each year students from around the world engage in fun computer science challenges to spark their curiosity and enhance their hands-on coding experiences during the annual Hour of Code. Hundreds of free coding and unplugged challenges are available for anyone. Gillispie elementary students will participate in the Hour of Code through a variety of activities, which will begin with an inspirational video from astronauts at the International Space Station! Students in K through Grade 1 will rotate through...

Recently, the third graders worked on a violin still life project in art class. Students are familiar with violins because they are learning to play this beautiful instrument in music class this year. Students rendered the instrument with pencil and pen and then created an abstract watercolor background to convey the sound and feeling of the music made by playing the violin. They turned out beautifully. Susan Walters, Art Teacher...

Thanks to the incredible generosity of Gillispie families, we collected just over 20,000 LEGOS for Father Joe's Villages! Yes - you read that right - 20,000. And dozens of you came out to wash, sort, and pack up these LEGOS. It was a blast! An entire van load was delivered to Father Joe's yesterday, and hundreds of children will have a wonderful surprise waiting for them. Special thanks to Jenny Garza and Ashley Jacobs for leading this effort,...

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 Grade 1 social studies curriculum, students learned about national symbols and monuments. One big question that came out of their homeroom discussion was, “Why is the Statue of Liberty green?” In science, we set out to answer that question. We talked about the oxidation process that some metals go through when exposed to certain environmental elements. One of those metals is copper, which the students excitedly shared, “That’s what the Statue of Liberty...

Early Childhood teachers and students hosted a Thanksgiving Feast on the field before the Thanksgiving break! Students made themed decorations, including painted pumpkins, centerpieces, and placemats, and parents arrived with a pot-luck dish chosen by their little ones. Teachers made the field look special with photo ops and family crafts. Everyone enjoyed this special time together on campus. [caption id="attachment_10208" align="aligncenter" width="880"] FEAST 9900000000079e3c[/caption]...

Students in Kindergarten and PreKindergarten recently had an author visit from local author Juliana Anthony Hernández, who read from her bilingual picture book Between Friends: Entre Amigos. The book celebrates friendship with beautifully vibrant illustrations and text in both English and Spanish. To purchase a copy of the book, please visit the author's website. You can also purchase paperback copies from Amazon....

During Spanish class earlier this month,  students visited the school's altar for Día de Los Muertos! Each grade level worked on one aspect of the altar decorations. First graders made paper skeletons, second graders colored and decorated paper skulls, third graders made papel picado, fourth graders made “alfeñiques,” which are little edible sugar figurines, and fifth graders made paper flowers. And, all students were able to taste some Pan de Muerto during their visit! Our wonderful parent volunteers helped put...

Thanks to our terrific students, teachers, and parents, for making our Veteran’s Day card-making project a rousing success! So many of our students took time from their recess to create beautiful and heartfelt cards for local veterans, and I have no doubt they will brighten the day of so many of the men and women who have faithfully served our country. Gillispie students are wonderful at showing gratitude!  ...

The Gillispie Library serves all students on our campus. Early Childhood students enjoy songs, fingerplays, and activities related to the books they hear during library storytimes. Students in Kindergarten, First, and Second Grades have been listening to a series of books by award-winning author/illustrator Christian Robinson and sharing their responses with partner classes as part of the Global Read-Aloud. Upper elementary students recently learned how to search our Library catalog and how to use Google Book Preview...

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