Spring finally has come and the evidence is quite obvious here at Hamilton Br. 3. Many interesting new projects and field trips have been taken and planned.
Our parents got into the full swing of Learning can be fun on March 3 at our combined PTA parent workshop meeting. For this Red Carpet Week activity parents were able to choose from several centers — the Metric System, Math, Reading, Bookbinding, and Developmental Skills – where materials, ideas, and help from the teachers was available for parents to make games and books and other interesting things to take home to use with their own children.
The parents were very pleased with their finished projects as they left loaded down with ideas and materials for helping their children at home.
Hamilton Br. 3 has always observed National Black History Week in February. This year our children and the students from the Neighborhood School thrilled to the music, song, and dance of a young audience group Cambooley. The children and faculty and parents joined in singing native West Indian songs and in playing the drums, tamborines and other instruments. Especially enjoyable was the active audience participation in the dancing. You should have seen the long line of interesting limbo dancers (teachers as well as students) as the finish to the performance.
Mrs. Boyts, our social worker, spent two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa. She has furnished a beautiful African exhibit. She also dressed in native costume and explained African Culture and artifacts to the children. After this presentation numerous slides were shown. Don’t be surprised if you hear our chilren using unfamiliar words and phrases.
As the final Black History Week activty, the third graders from rooms 201 and 204 joined in their presentation of Freedom Isn’t Free. Calvin Stuart III acted as M.C. as Mark Hall, Gregory Williams, Christopher Thomas, Kia Dickson, Marvin Pikes, and Tommie Ferguson gave biographies of noted blacks. Harriete Scott recited James Weldon Johnson’s “The Creation”. All of these parts were completely memorized in such a short time that we have a lot to be proud of in these students. The combined classes recited several poems and formed a chorus singing many “freedom songs.”
We were especially happy to have our apprentice, Michael Glickert, and his wife present an interesting and informative duet on drums, and piano of the late Scott Joplin everyone was tapping their feet in time to the music.
Now that the weather is permitting, our students have experienced some very unusual learning on field trips. The Kindergarten was treated to a visit to the 4th R Gallery in downtown St. Louis. The 4th R is operated by the Board of Ed. for the children of the St. Louis Public Schools. The art teachers led a program called “Space and You” The children saw slides, drew pictures and tried to fit their bodies into some large containers. The high point of the trip was a large, heavy plastic bag filled with air. It had a door for entry and a window on top for light. All the children got inside and imagined and talked about what it would be like to live in a cave. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the trip. Several spring field trips have been planned for the kindergarten. They have been studying mammals in their room so they hope to go to the Children’s Zoo where a program on mammals has been planned for them as a follow up. Grant’s Farm and the Museum of Natural Science and History will fit very neatly into their unit.
Rooms 201 and 204 had a glorious allday field trip to Lambert International Airport where one of our parents, Mrs. Rubina Patton, gave them a very detailed tour. They learned about many related carrers, including Flight Control Engineer, Dispatcher, Pilot, Mechanics, Repairman, Clerks, Typist, and Control Towermen. Then they went out on the field and everyone was allowed to board a plane, fasten seat belts, and enter the pilot’s cabin to see all the controls. What a fantastic experience. After a brief stop to McDonald’s for carryout hamburgers, the children enjoyed lunch in O’fallon Park before going to the riverfront Arch and the many sights they had been studying in their unit, “Our St. Louis. ” They were very interested in the display at the Arch that showed St. Louis as it was, and how some things still remain as a vital part of our area. It was a lovely trip even though we heard a few complaints about being tired (especially from Mrs. Billups).
Inside our walls many new projects are springing up. The 7S students in room 202 studied turtles in their readers and discovered many things — kinds of turtles, where they are found, how they differ in size, color, and shape, and how some turtles received their names sometimes because of markings on their shells. The entire room became involved in making turtles from plastic containers, spoons, pipe stem cleaners, paper mache and paint. This brought out the creativity in many pupils, especially in the designs on the shells. Students are now collecting materials to be used to make Easter baskets for the Big Easter Egg Hunt the school is sponsoring April 1.
Room 103 is getting involved in a science project on “growing things”. They are planning to see chicks hatch in their room in the incubators we are renting. They are also experimenting with growing from seeds. They hope to see for themselves under what conditions plants grow best — type of water, soil, sand, rocks, etc.
The children of room 203 have designed and are using learning puzzles they made to help them in their number facts. Who said teachers are the only ones to come up with colorful and interesting self-checking materials?
Rooms 201 and 204 visited the 4th R Gallery to make unusual kites. These were seen flying with a variety of homemade and store bought kites in our annual Kite Day March 21.
Our congratulations go to room 104 P.M. Kg. for winning the second Grand Prix Attendance Race. We are into our third race and the competition is very close.
We’re very pleased you have been making such a tremendous effort to get your children to school daily.
We’d like to thank everyone who sent Campbell Soup labels and we’re happy to report the effort was very successful. Our drive is over for this year, but please continue to save the labels because we plan to do this again next year.
As our contribution to the Neighborhood Fair we will have a plant booth. Any of you plant lovers out there with plants that can be clipped we would appreciate any cuttings you can spare.
School pictures will be taken Friday April 1st. Preschoolers and adult pictures will be taken from 11 a.m. — 12 noon. Please call the school for details if you’d like to have pictures taken.
Don’t forget our spring vacation for all St. Louis public schools is April 4 thru 8. We hope you enjoy having this time with your children.
Happy Easter from all of Hamilton Br. 3.
Originally published in The Paper, April 1977.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Archival transcription note: Printed7S reading-group description uncertain; no enrollment inferred.
Original source: SD_Times1977_04.pdf, printed page(s) 7; PDF page(s) 7.
