Project Showcase

Our students can't wait to share all their learning at our Program Finale! Have a look at all the hard work they have done.

iChallenge 2015: A Walk Through Mississippi - Kizoa Video Maker

Writing Across the Curriculum

5th graders in Ms. Dixon's class have been applying their knowledge of scientific concepts through creative writing. From raps to fiction, students explained science with a twist!

Visit to Polymer Science

Today our 6th & 7th graders visited the Polymer Science Department at Southern Miss to explore careers in science.

Fourth Grade Fun

Math

Ms. Williams' 4th graders learned about the various types of fractions by adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators.  They then turned fractions into decimals and determined whether fractions were equivalent.  Finally, students learned geometrical shapes and created a collage of real world geometrical shapes found in magazines. What a great real world connection! 

Science

In Science, students learned the three states of matter and explored chemical and physical changes.  Students used vinegar, baking soda and a balloon to make a gas that blew up the balloon.  They also combined cornstarch, water, and food coloring to make a mixture that was a solid and a liquid. 

Coder's Club!

Congrats to all students who have completed the Hour of Code! Students who finished the Angry Birds, Frozen, or both of these tutorials have received a certificate of completion this week along with a special surprise from Ms. Deyamport. Thanks to their hard work and dedication, these students are now part of the Coder's Club and are enrolled in a free course on coding. To access this course, follow the directions below. 

Instructions

1. Go to the Course link by clicking here.
2. Find your name.
3. Type in your secret words. This will be your password to enter the course.
4. Complete the tutorials in order.
5. To view your progress, Find your Name (Top Right), and click My Progress.
6. Have a blast coding!

Meet the Coder's Club

3rd Grade 

4th Grade   

5th Grade 

6th Grade

7th Grade

Mississippi Art

Students in Ms. Manaway's class are creating artwork after studying Mississippi artist, Walter Anderson. Have a look at our budding artists channel their creativity.

Getting Creative in 3rd Grade

Students in Ms. Travis' class have been working on some creative projects that apply their math and creative writing skills to a whole new level. These are excellent examples on how to integrate writing and literacy across the curriculum. Way to go, Ms. Travis and 3rd graders!

Science

In science, students completed a snowman activity where they explained to a sad snowman that even though he is changing states, he is still water.

Math 

In math class, students practiced fractions by using M&Ms.

Language Arts 

In language arts, students are hard at work as they finalize their brochures on famous Mississippians.

Story Quilts to Retell History

Ms. Manaway's 7th graders have been using story quilts to retell history. This is a creative take on our state history!

Chemical Reactions in 7th Grade

Last week, Ms. LeFlore's 7th graders have been working on chemical changes and reactions along with adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators.

Exploring Informational Texts

Image Credit: Openclipart.org

Students in Ms. Marshall's 3rd grade classes have been working on informational texts about Mississippi. So far they have compared Mississippi with Alaska by writing about the similarities and differences found in both states. Way to go, 3rd graders! 

Do You Really Want to Program?

Do you really want to program? You have probably heard Ms. Deyamport sing this to the tune of Frozen's "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" The reason behind Mrs. D.'s excitement is because students are moving along with the Hour of Code Tutorials. Last week, students learned the basics with Angry Birds and used the following:

• Repeat Blocks
• Repeat Until Blocks 
• If/Else Blocks 

*All of the above blocks or statements are called loops. 

This week, students are applying new coding skills with the Frozen Tutorial by utilizing the following:

• Pixels
• Angles/Degrees 

Students will continue with Frozen and create their own shapes or snowflakes with Anna and Elsa. With this tutorial, students will use loops that involve repetitions up to 100. There will also be a lot of math and problem solving involved. 

To explore these tutorials at home, visit: code.org/learn

To review coding concepts & watch inspiring videos on coding, check out Mrs. D.'s Youtube Playlist by clicking here.

Sweet Math & Science with 6th Grade

Have a look at some sweet ways 6th graders in Ms. King's class are learning math and science.

Fun with Fractions 

6th graders completed a Fun With Fractions and M&M’s activity and Racing M&M’s in Science. Students had to determine if some M&M’s colors dissolved faster in water than others.

Acid Attack!

In this experiment, 6th graders determined what happened when lemon juice, vinegar, and tap water are interacted with white chalk.

Fun Math & Science in 3rd Grade

In Ms. Travis' math class students are using math literature to review skills. Currently, they are finishing a multiplication project where students had to illustrate their own math comic strip. In science, students are learning about the states of matter and used Cheerios to demonstrate what molecules look like when they are solids, liquids, and gases. What a fun way to put these math and science skills to use!

7th Grade's Walk

Our 7th graders have been busy this week researching Mississippi Musicians in Ms. Manaway's class and applying their math skills with M&M Math in Ms. LeFlore's class. Have a look at their work below.

Researching Mississippi musicians.

M&M Math!

Get With the Program!

For our program, students will participate in the Hour of Code in Technology Class with Mrs. Deyamport. The goal is to introduce basic computer programming through fun games and challenges. Students have already learned block style coding as well as problem solving skills. Are you ready to take part in the Hour of Code?


Stay tuned for more resources and tips for coding!

Program Finale

Our Program Finale was a huge success! We had a great turn out and our students were thrilled to showcase their learning. We want to thank our administrators, teachers, and parents for their support throughout the years and in making this program possible. We also thank our students for their hard work! Our students learned an important milestone Mississippi history and the Civil Rights Movement.

Project Showcase

Our Summer Experience 

iChallenge You to Smart & Healthy Habits!

Coach Jackson sharing tips for healthy living. 

We had a great turn out for our iChallenge You to Smart and Healthy Habits Event. We host this event every year to share resources and tips for keeping our kids' minds and bodies active throughout the summer. Elvira Deyamport presented Compass Learning and TrueFlix, two educational programs available for HPSD students. Parents and guardians were given tips on how to navigate both sites and encouraged to have their children log in weekly in order to give them a head start in the fall. Coach Lauren Smith then presented the website, Move to Learn, a Mississippi initiative to get our kids moving for 30 minutes a day. Finally, our guest speaker, Coach Elvin Jackson from Healthy Living Finess gave an inspirational talk on the importance of movement and fitness in our daily lives. We thank our  HPSD parents and families for their support and for allowing us to teach our kids during the summer!

It's the Electric Slide! Dancing is a great way to move and have fun!

In case you missed it, here are some of the resources shared during our presentations: 

Move to Learn Videos- Click here to find some fun videos for your children. Go to the "How do I do it?" Tab and select the video appropriate for your child's grade (i.e. K-3 or 4-6 grades). These are great for a rainy day!

Compass Learning & TrueFlix Instructions Handout- Click here to view or download the instructions to log into these great educational sites for our HPSD children. Remember, to ask Mrs. Deyamport for the login information!

You can also find links to the sites mentioned under our "HPSD Online Resources" Tab to the right.

iChallenge You to Freedom!

Our iChallenge Program is off to a great start! Our students have been learning about key figures and events that took place during Freedom Summer of 1964. This summer commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Summer Movement and we are remembering our history in various ways.


 A Look at the Past 

 From reading novels about Freedom Summer to examining biographies and profiles of key activists, students are exploring different perspectives and experiences of this historic event. Students are also exploring the role numbers and math play during Freedom Summer by taking polls, measuring distances, and converting mug shot numbers. Finally, students are getting creative with different technology tools and poetry to retell the Freedom Summer experience through photography.

Freedom Summer Trail 

Part of our iChallenge Program includes a tour to several significant sites in Hattiesburg. Many of the places we visited were gathering places, which were pivotal during Freedom Summer of 1964. To download the tour guide, click here. Following the tour, we visited the African American Military Museum.

This has definitely been an enriching start and we look forward to sharing more of our learning at the end of the program showcase on July 2nd. We hope to see you there!

Happy Summer!

Our iChallenge Summer Academy was a blast! We want to thank the faculty and leadership for this program, students and their parents for their participation and support. We wish everyone a safe and restful summer!

Science Meets Podcasts!

In our iChallenge Technology class, students were introduced to podcasts. After a hands-on tutorial of the iMac and Garageband, students jumped right into researching several careers in Science. Next, students had to create their own talk show as well as write their own scripts on a storyboard in order to demonstrate what they learned about those careers. Have a look at some of their final products below.