From Mrs. Mandrelle - Our National Park Science elective was at it again today with a virtual ranger visit to Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota. We had a lot of information in a short class time. Ranger Kerstyn explained how the cave was formed and showed us rock formations like popcorn rocks, frostwork, Christmas tree rocks, and the most famous of all-box work! Wind Cave has the largest collection of box work rock formations in the world! (Pictured here in the spider like red brown colors.)
Our ranger was very patient and answered many student questions! She explained how it is important to be careful in caves. Breaking off formations, touching them, or even breathing too heavy can change the natural chemical reactions happening. It can take years for the formations to recover.
The National Park Service has been fabulous in helping us learn across the United States to see some of these great natural areas! Next up…our one and only park in Michigan-Isle Royale!!!
On Monday, Mrs. Lee’s brother in law, Sergeant Major Allnutt drove to Michigan from Kentucky to talk to her 7th Grade ELA students about their upcoming historical fiction unit. They will be reading the book Ground Zero by Alan Gratz. Since Jeremy is currently serving for our Army and did a tour in Afghanistan during the time period in their book, he talked to the students about the history of 9-11 (they were not yet born when it happened) and the culture/living conditions/climate in Afghanistan so they can better understand the time period, significance of events, and our characters. He spoke to all seventh grade ELA classes. They were captivated. They asked meaningful questions and welcomed him with open arms. This was such a treat because last year we could only do this live for one class over video chat. It was so amazing to have him there in person. He dressed in full Army attire and represented well how our military not only protects our country but also serves. Thank you so much! They are already planning next year!!
6th grade National Parks Science elective wrapped up our geology unit by doing a rock lab identification!
The exclamations were fun to hear:
“Rocks are soooo cool!”
“I can’t believe there are so many types of rocks!”
“This one is definitely igneous. Look at the air bubble holes!!”
“Ewwww! I didn’t know rocks could SMELL like that!”
And my favorite: “Where were you hiding all these rocks Mrs. Mandrelle?? You must love rocks!”
A special thank you to Grand Canyon National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, and Wind Cave National Park for showing us the parks virtually and helping us learn even more!
Comet Community, I will be closing the facility survey this weekend but wanted to give you a last opportunity to provide your perspective. The information we’ve received so far has been very helpful! The survey takes 4 minutes. Thank you to everyone who has a taken the time to help guide the district!
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DRH9JSC
Final ski trip payments (for those students/chaperones who have already signed up to attend) are due no later than Tuesday, January 10!
I want to thank all the people who have taken time to complete the facility assessment survey! We have had a pretty good response but we could use more. Here is the link to complete it: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DRH9JSC.
It's also on our jonesvilleschools.com webpage. You can also find the results of the facility assessment there too. Thank you and go Comets!!!
Jonesville Community Schools would like to extend our thanks and gratitude to the Jonesville Police Department for their work on the recent break-ins and vandalism at JCS. I know Director Etter and Sergeant Albright put in extra hours to help put a stop to it and it paid off. Thank you!!!
6th grade students in National Park Science class had a wonderful opportunity to talk with a ranger from Yellowstone National Park last week. The students enjoyed a visual display of photos and items to learn various information about the world’s first national park. We learned about the geology, biology, and ecology of Yellowstone! (That’s a lot of -ologies!) 😅
Favorite fact: An adult human head weighs about 10 pounds. An adult bison head weighs about 100 pounds!! Amazing!
We also had time to ask questions of our own with the ranger. The best answer we heard: Students as young as 15 can come live and work in Yellowstone as part of a learning program! I think a few may volunteer when they are old enough! Comets in Yellowstone…
Comet community! A reminder to please go to jonesvilleschools.org and take a look at the facility assessment and then take the facility survey. You will find a tab for each on the webpage. The more responses we receive the more it helps the staff and students. I appreciate your input!
Reminder: There is a mandatory meeting for anyone who signed up to chaperone the school ski trip TONIGHT (Tuesday) at 6:00pm in the JMS library. Please bring your license to the meeting. The meeting should last about thirty minutes.
Jonesville Community Schools would like to thank Ryan Scheetz from ABC Challenge for the $400 donation! Our kids competed in the challenge which is a one and a half mile obstacle course that includes climbing, crawling through mud, sliding, and problem solving. Williams Elementary had some of the most participants. Go Comets and thank you ABC Challenge!
Comet Community! I have posted the facility assessment from Elite on our homepage. It's an icon right on the front. If you go to page 15 on the assessment it gives you cliffs notes and key (P1, P2, etc.) for the entire assessment. The following pages provide detail. I will be sending out a survey some time next week to get your feedback on what you all see as priorities.
Have a great Thanksgiving!
The Jonesville Rotarians are sponsoring a Holiday Cheer decorating contest! It can be residential or business. Winners receive $50 cash and bragging rights. Enter your home or business online by November 30th.
Please read the attached for details. Show your holiday spirit!
