What's it like to be a North Carolina tree?

Read our entries and view our illustrations to find out!

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Field Trip to NC Symphony!

Fourth Grade enjoyed some *amazing* seats at the North Carolina Symphony on Tuesday, April 12th!

Feel free to comment on your experience!

Spring Poetry Contest

April is National Poetry Month, and to celebrate our school is having a poetry contest!

Click on the comment box to see a few of our poetry contest entries.

Arbor Day

North Carolina's Arbor Day 2011 fell on Friday, March 18 and was celebrated at the State Farmers Market on Saturday, March 19. Our fourth grade students have continued observing Arbor day, and the contributions of common trees throughout our state with non-fiction reading, "I am" poems, a recent guest speaker, and a chance to plant a tree of their own. Our guest speaker, Mr. McCoy, is a horticulturist who works to maintain over 160 acres of fields, woodlands, and creeks at the NC Museum of Art. Mr. McCoy shared his passion and inspiration for pursuing his field of study as well as answered questions about his specific role in promoting and preserving the park grounds at the museum.

Mr. McCoy brought a seedling of our State tree, the Long Leaf Pine for the students to observe and discuss. In addition, he distributed and answered questions about planting and caring for Loblolly pines seedlings. The seedlings are part of the 4th grade foresters project and were sponsored by Whole Foods Market on Wade Avenue.

NC Wildlife Center Field Trip

Our grade level had a gorgeous day for our field trip to the NC Wildlife center. We enjoyed a walk to NC State campus, a ride on the Wolfline, and several hours at the center. While at the Wildlife center, we visited an animal identification lab (that's right, skin, scat, and skulls!), and walked area woods and gardens learning to recognize key habitat elements for many of North Carolina's Piedmont mammals. We also attended a short film and lecture on the difference between generalist and specialist species, and the impact of urban development on the Piedmont's animal residents.

What are you made of?

Culture, the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group; the characteristic features of everyday existence (Marriam-Webster). As we study our great state and the impact that geography and social factors have on the way we live, it would be interesting to learn about the kinds of traditions, beliefs, dress, food and even, family history that each student within the fourth grade at Olds possess. This "culture" does not have to be directly related to an ethnicity or extended family heritage but can be about where you live, vacations that you take, or anything else that might affect your personal way of life.

So here it is, the post you have all been waiting for! This is your opportunity to take whatever it is that you can offer and be resourceful, crafty, out-of-the box, eccentric even-to demonstrate how your life is affected by culture. So, get ready... get set...go! Share what you're made of!

"Got to be NC" - 3D Maps and Haiku Poems!

Book choice vote: Missing May or Emma and the Civil Warrior?

For our next homeroom reading novel, would you rather read:

Missing May by Cynthia Rylant or Emma and the Civil Warrior by Candy Dahl?

Missing May blurb "This wonderful book revolves around a few delightfully named characters: Summer, Uncle Ob, Aunt May and Cletus Underwood. After being passed among relatives, Summer joins her aunt and uncle and marvels at the couple's deep love for one another. But after Aunt May dies, Summer and Uncle Ob are brought together in their struggles to come to terms with the death. Cletus, a neighbor boy, comes along to help provide an answer. This simple and sweet story, which won the Newbery Medal in 1993, is injected with just the right touches of humor and mysticism."

Emma and the Civil Warrior blurb "This middle-grade, historical novel tells the little-known story of the seventeen days following the signing of the Appomattox Treaty. Emma Graham, 12, refuses to believe in the collapse of the Confederacy and actively defies the Union Army until "Lee's men" begin to arrive home from years of fighing. Her effort to accept the South's defeat pales beside more personal struggles. Lt. George Round, the Union Army's signal messenger, repeatedly befriends the Graham family, contradicting Emma's belief in "demon Yankees." And the father who returns to Emma is a different man from the precious image Emma has held in her heart for more than three years. Can Emma ever accept the truth of her situation and be happy again?"

"I Have a Dream..."

Fourth Grade studied Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and his accomplishments during January.  After watching his famous "I have a dream..." speech they wrote their own version of how they would change the world.

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Math & Science Fair

After much computing, data tracking, and hypothesis testing, our school's annual math and science fair has finally arrived. Many of us participated today, and can't wait to share both our photos, and our experience. In the meanwhile, here are a few reflections from those who didn't present, but rather had the pleasure of moving among the exhibits listing and viewing a plethora mathematical reasoning and scientific inquiry.