Campus Spelling Bee Winners

The students who won the class spelling bee in grades 3-5 competed in a Campus Spelling Bee on February 3rd. The winners of the Campus Spelling Bee will go on to compete in the District Spelling Bee in Port Lavaca on February 21st. The Campus winners are:

1st place: Cierra Harper, 5th grade

2nd place: Adriana DiClemente, 4th grade

3rd place: Drake Dyes, 5th grade

Thank you to all the judges (Brenda Smith, Debbie Busby, Barbara Crouch) and the word caller (Robin Sonsel) who helped make the Campus Spelling Bee possible. Port O’Connor Elementary Spelling Bee Coordinator, Lynda Gosnell, says she is, “Very proud of the student participant’s hard work and dedication to spelling excellence”.

Campus Spelling Bee Winners shown here with Principal Lydia Strakos are Cierra Harper, Adriana DiClemente and Drake Dyes.

Third Graders Participate in the “Great Mail Race”

The Port O’Connor third grade class is participating in the “Great Mail Race.” Students used the internet to search for elementary schools in every state. Their teacher, Mrs.Sheryl Haynes, assigned each student two states and required the student to select one elementary school from each of the assigned states. Students wrote letters to the third grade class at the school they selected. The letters contained information about Port O’Connor and requested the other class reply with information about their school, town and state. The POC third graders hope to receive replies from schools in each state and will track their progress by coloring their classroom US map for each state who replies. Through this activity, the students learned the proper way to write and address letters and used their technology skills for research. As the replies are received, the students will also gain more information about the individual states.

First Graders Learn and Write About Groundhog Day

To celebrate Groundhog Day on February 3rd, Mrs. Anderson’s first grade class learned about groundhogs, colored pictures of groundhogs and used their time in computer lab to type their opinion of whether or not a groundhog could predict the length of winter. The following are responses written by three first graders:

“I do not think the groundhog knows the wether. I do not think 6 more weeks of winter. Animals can not read”. Written by Keaton Cady

“On groundhog day the groundhog comes out of his home to see the wether If he can not see his showd ther will not be no mor winter and ther will be mor sun. The groundhog dus not no the wether. Groundhogs ete plants and clover to. They live under gerownd and they sleep all winter wen they wak up they are hungery.”
Written by Arely Ixtepan

“I think that groundhogs can not talk because they are just animals. They don’t know because they can not tell if the winter is over and spring is coming.” Written by Ethan Redding

Arely Ixtepan, Keaton Cady and Ethan Redding show off their pictures of groundhogs and their written response to the question of whether or not a groundhog can predict the weather.

Jordan Blevins Shares Pumpkin Seeds With Mrs. Strakos

Second grade student, Jordan Blevins, shared some special pumpkin seeds with principal, Lydia Strakos. The pumpkin seeds were given to Jordan by his grandmother, Kathy Blevins. The seeds are reportedly from Tennessee and grow long pumpkins instead of round ones. Jordan says the pumpkins are supposed to make “very delicious pies”!

Jordan Blevins shares special pumpkin seeds with Principal Strakos.

Fourth Graders Study Word Structure

Fourth grade teacher, Lynda Gosnell, came up with an innovative way to help students recognize root words, prefixes and suffixes. Students created flowers and inserted a suffix or prefix in the middle of each flower. The flower petals contain words the students made by combining a prefix or suffix and a root word. Mrs. Gosnell says this activity is also a fun way to build vocabulary knowledge.

Fourth grade students showing their word flowers include: First row: Clayton Maraggia, Shayleigh Sprague, Sierra Posey. Back row: Thomas Hawes, Oscar Resendiz, Tyler Reed

Dates to Remember:

Feb. 14- Class Valentines Parties

Feb. 14- Valentine’s Store

Feb. 20- Student Holiday

Feb. 21- District Spelling Bee

Feb. 23- Class Pictures

Feb. 29- Report Cards go home

March 2 – Roller Skate Night 6:00-8:30pm POC gym

March 12 – 16 Spring Break