If only dogs could read!  The canines would then be able to fully appreciate the beautiful work our students have done on the kiosk at the Fairhope Dog Park.  We will be updating the news and adding artwork throughout the year for dogs and humans to enjoy. 

Our other artwork at the school is focusing on our upcoming Fall Festival.  Friday, October 28^th, we will host a preschool non-scary party from 6 until 9pm.  Then, at 6pm the regular festival for the entire family begins.  We will have a silent auction, games, cake walk, and gourmet hot dogs – to name just a few of the fun events.  As always, the entire community is invited. 

The middle school students are busy reading, practicing the parts of speech, and painting their 360 degree mural, depicting the natural Fairhope and South Alabama region.  After much research, this week, raccoons and a few fish were added.  3-D tree trunks also seem to be sprouting up through the mural. 

During free time, the students are working together to construct a clubhouse on the edge of the beautiful wooded campus.  The teachers have whispered that math skills are being used to measure, cut, and place the boards, but the students just think they are having fun.

Science class has us preparing our garden.  After reading gardening books, we have decided to plant turnips, lettuce, onions and garlic.  We soaked different seeds in water to see how they sprout.  We are also adding native azaleas and banana shrubs to our campus. 

Our cooking class always involves planning and writing the menu, multiplying it to feed the class, shopping within a budget, cooking, then of course the best part – eating!  This week’s dish was homemade pizza.

The school had the pleasure of welcoming author Don Sawyer this week.  Mr.   Sawyer is the author of more than ten books for children and young adults.  The students enjoyed getting to know him and asked lots of questions.  Our own writing program is so varied and concentrated; Mr. Sawyer may have inspired another future author from our own Marietta Johnson family.

Our youngest students aren’t square – but they sure are learning about squares!  Four corners are everywhere we look!  They have also become experts on the letter “B” and the number “3”.

Our days at Marietta Johnson are so enjoyable that we all voted to end the week by returning to school Friday night for a pizza and movie party.  A fun evening for a week of hard work!

October at MJSOE

With this beautiful fall weather, we find ourselves hurrying through our classwork so we can go outside to work in our garden! Thanks to the help of Mr. Christenberry from Old Tyme Feed and Seed, we are well equipped for work. The elementary students are clearing the space from the summer crops and preparing the rows for fall plantings. 

The rehearsals for our original Christopher Columbus play continue as we research new ideas and rewrite lines every day.  We made a trip to the Goodwill store to gather items for costumes.  It is interesting to see the formal way people dressed in the 1400’s. 

The younger students took a memorable field trip to Mr. Donnie Barrett’s Tea Plantation.  They learned so much and saw amazing things.  Some of the children were busy chasing the turkeys, and some of the turkeys were busy chasing the children!  Students were able to compare and contrast the various nesting sites and eggs of chickens, turkeys and peacocks.  The real excitement began when one student took an unplanned “swim” in the Koi pond!  Oops!   There was plenty of time to dry off in the bright sun as we happily wandered through the rustling bamboo forest. 

The youngest students at Marietta Johnson were delighted to celebrate Circle Day!  Circles were everywhere in all sizes and colors left the children and teachers going in . . . circles!

Light Spectrums and gamma rays are still on the agenda in science, but we’ve also started focusing on the migration habits of Monarch Butterflies and will be ready when they make their way through Fairhope later this year.  Earth science has us learning about the layers of the earth.

Our reading in recent history items had us learning about the Oklahoma City Bombings.  This was a terrible event that happened before most of us were born.

The older students are enjoying taking turns presenting a cooking lesson every week.  So far, we have learned to prepare Shepherd’s Pie, Homemade Pizza and of course our bounty from the recent Jubilee on the Bay.

Our new music teacher is already a hit with the children and is showing us how various music uses different rhythms.  The students look forward to exploring music in many new and interesting ways throughout the year.

Plans are going full force for our annual Fall Festival on Friday, October 28^th.  New this year is an earlier safe and non-scary party for Preschoolers in the community from 6pm – 9pm.  The full festival for the entire family will begin that evening at 6pm.  With the guidance of the art teacher, the students are working hard preparing games and decorations.  And as always, the community is invited to attend.