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Category Archives: Henningsen Blog
Money Confident Kids Writing Contest
Learn about spending, saving, and setting smart financial goals by participating in this Money Confident Kids Website http://www.scholastic.com/mck/
Essay Prompt:
Discover and describe a true story of a time when your parent or guardian set a financial goal and then
achieved it. Include: the goal; a description of the spending and saving choices that were made to achieve the goal; and lessons that you can apply to your own future financial decisions
Here’s how it works:
1. Read an issue of Money Confident kids- Click here for an issue of Money Confident Kids
2. INTERVIEW a parent or guardian about money
management.
3 . ASK about a time when he or she set a financial
goal and then made saving and spending choices to
achieve it.
4. WRITE a 200 – to 250 -word essay (based on your
interview) that describes the true story of achievement,
and what lessons you can apply to your own future
financial decisions.
Optional: Consider including a photo or drawing
with your essay!
5. ****CONTEST CLOSED*******
Submit to the EY coordinator in your building by October 1st, 2015
Click here for more information about the process, prizes and to find the entry form for the contest.
If you read the magazine, conduct an interview, and write an essay and would like to enter it in this contest, please fill out the entry form and send it to the EY coordinator in your school by Oct 1st. If you need help with getting the permission form printed out, or any part of this contest, please contact the EY coordinator at your school.
Contest Presented by T. Rowe Price
Welcome back!
The beginning of the school year is always busy-but I have met with all of the students. I am so looking forward to spending time with them in the classrooms, in small groups, and at seminars.
Seminars-There will be seminars offered throughout this school year. The seminars topics offered can be found at this link. These will be 1/2 day or full day events held at the Westside Community Center. We will transport to that event and back to school. If your child is interested in participating, he or she will need to complete the ticket and submit it by the due date. There will be some seminars where we have a more interest than spots, so please encourage your child to turn in his/her best work on the tickets and to get them in by the due date.
Seminar ticket posted for a coding seminar ticket-click for info
Ticket posted for the invention convention ticket-click for info
All tier 2/3 students will be attending a seminar on Sept 3. The students will be creating his/her online portfolios. This is a 1/2 day event and will be held at the Westside Community Center.
Reading-We are creating accounts in Storybird and the student have started making an “All About Me” book. This resource is amazing, and we will be using it this year to create projects. 
Math-We are dusting off our khan accounts and spending time exploring the resources found here. please encourage your child to spend time working at khan during the school week. Khan is lovely, since can children work at his/her own pace. 
Please contact me with any questions
Jenny
Student Created Wonderopolis Pages
The grade 4, 5, and 6 student
s have spent the last several weeks creating Wonderopolis pages to share. Each student picked a topic, came up with question to answer, researched this topic in great detail, and set out to work on creating an informational product.
This is the link to find the projects– > EY WIKI
Please check out these projects. They turned out wonderfully!
Wonderopolis has a Online Summer 
Enrichment Program that I am going to check out for my own kids http://camp.wonderopolis.org/
We have many children who will be invited to attend the Extreme Math Day on May 13th.
Look for invites towards the end of this week. It will be a fun day of math puzzles!
If you are looking for some math problem solving, Noetic math has a few free online math contest practice resources @ http://www.noetic-learning.com/gifted/sample.jsp,
If you like those you could consider subscribing to the sum
mer program @
http://www.noetic-learning.com/summermath/
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns
Highlights from BOTB 2015
Recipe for Sharing Your Love of Reading & Writing
- 20 Books
- Over 150 Authentic Book Projects
- 3 Authors
- 1 Playwright
- A Dash of Competition
- A Little Free Library
- A Sprinkling of our Favorite Neighborhood Bookstore
Yields: 120 students receiving a message of inspiration, perseverance, and hope!
Battle of the Books took a different spin this year at Westside Community Schools. The morning started off with kids arriving and putting their book projects on display. For each book read, students chose one project to complete. There were 3-5 project choices for each book ranging from dioramas, to writing a letter to the author, to doing further research on a topic in the book.
Drew, 4th grader at Swanson said: I loved doing the Battle Of The Books activities, and reading the books! Most of the books were amazing! 
Check out some of the student projects submitted!
Next, Omaha Playwright (and Westside graduate, parent and community member) Ellen Struve talked about her profession and love of reading & writing. Not only did she talk about her personal journey to becoming a playwright, but Ms. Struve also involved the students in creating their very own play! Throughout her presentation, Ellen embedded information about characters, dialogue, conflict, scene, and setting. Based on the engagement level and questions asked by kids, there will most likely be additional play writers emerging from Westside in the future!
We found 3 BOTB authors on Twitter and they graciously agreed to Skype with our students! Katherine Fitzmaurice, author of A Diamond in the Desert was up first. She emphasized all the research that went into writing the book and even showed us pictures of the real characters. She also showed students a pile of rejection letters and the numerous changes suggested by her editor. Her advice for students wanting to write a book: “You have to really like what you’re writing about. Believe in yourself and like your story!”
Our next Skype call was with Valerie Hobbs, author of Sheep. Many students chose to write Ms. Hobbs a letter for their book project and she graciously wrote letters back to all of them! Talk about making a personal connection! Several students read Sheep and fell in love with Jack, the border collie who tells the story.
Many students were excited when Ms. Hobbs shared information about the newly released sequel to Sheep. At the end of Sheep, Jack finds Luke at the Good Shepherd Home for Boys. Together, they are adopted by a couple and the sequel Wolf continues Luke and Jack’s story at their new home, a sheep ranch in Northern California. Ms. Hobbs’ writing advice for the students: “Do a whole lot of reading of the type of book you’d like to write.”
Our final Skype call was with W.H. Beck, author of Malcolm at Midnight. In addition to being an author, Ms. Beck is a school librarian. Her advice for students was, “Make sure to set aside time each day to write. You can make a list, write a short story, or just write down your random thoughts.”
Click Here for a Portion of our Skype Call With W.H. Beck
We didn’t forget the competition portion of Battle of the Books. Students worked in teams to answer questions about all 20 books. They used their iPads and participated in a Kahoot! created by Mrs. Lusero. Students also took an individual test on a Google form.
At the end of the day, Marla Fries shared her love of reading by telling the students about her Little Free Library. Marla is a WCS community member, retired administrator, and volunteer at Westgate Elementary.
After the event, one student was so inspired that she wanted to build her own Little Free Library! Check out Ava’s work!
Ellen Scott from our neighborhood bookstore, The Bookworm, also shared her personal story and love of reading with the students. She presented the kids with an opportunity to be on The Bookworm’s Kid Advisory Board. We are so fortunate to have a family-owned bookstore in our Westside community!
Friday, March 13th was truly a wonderful day to celebrate many accomplishments! To all the students who participated, Thank You for all your hard word and willingness to try something new. The EY Team learned a lot throughout the process and we look forward to hearing your feedback!
If you attended Battle of the Books this year, please consider leaving a comment and letting us know your favorite part! Also, click here for a quick survey about the day.
Science Olympiad Recap
Question: What do you get when you gather 110 students interested in science and allow them to think creatively, problem solve, experiment and collaborate?
Answer: Learning at its best!
The 2nd Annual WCS Elementary Science Olympiad was a huge success! Throughout the day, students participated in a variety of events that challenged their thinking.
The Zoo School facilitated a Wildlife Safari event where students practiced their observation and inference skills. The Barge Building event challenged students to create a foil structure that would float in water and support the most pennies. Mystery Powders had students identifying substances based on their reactions to different liquids. Other events included Rock Hound, Straw Tower, Mystery Boxes and Edible Vehicle.
It was a great day thanks to the organization of Sheree Person-Pandil and John Thomsen from ESU #3. We also had 9 amazing WHS students who shared their love of science by helping out at each event and facilitating a Science Bowl.
It’s so great to offer these types of opportunities to our students. Seeing the level of engagement and enthusiasm from the students is what makes our job so rewarding! Thank you to everyone involved in making this day a success! Click on the link below to watch a short iMovie trailer of the day.
UPDATES FOR THE NEW YEAR
WELCOME BACK! It was great to see the kids this week! The cold day was a great chance to get caught up on some planning (and blog posts). Please take a minute to read about what we have planned for EY.
SUPERSTARS OF HISTORY
As we begin the second semester, we are working to complete our Superstars of History projects. This is an exciting project based on a book purchased for us from the Scholastic Book Fair. The students have been researching, looking for connections, causes and effects, and how events developed during their chosen time period of history. Students then began writing about the superstar of his/her choice. Here is a link to the book we are modeling if you want to take a peek. I am eager to have the students share them with you. I am hoping to have these done and ready to share by mid January. We will be setting due dates at the next EY meeting day.
WONDEROPOLIS
Upon completion of this unit, we will focus on Science. We will be exploring Wonderopolis and the endless resourc
es found there. The student’s culminating project for these studies will be to choose a science question, become an expert in that area, and create a multimedia Wonderopolis page answering that question.
Math Olympiad Competition
We will continue with the Math Olympiad Competition in 2015. These are the math tests that we take each month, November through March. The meeting after the test is a great learning opportunity for the students. It is interesting to see how they approached the problems and to see the light bulb turn on as we discuss how to arrive at the correct answer using various methods. We will go over our first Olympiad during our next EY time.
Science Olympiad
The Science Olympiad is coming up on January 27th. Please ask your child if he/she is planning to submit a plan for an edible car for a chance to attend this Science filled day. Their plan is due on January 14th. Here is the link to the activity https://ey.westside66.org/category/teachers/. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about this project. Your child will be notified if they are chosen to attend. We will be looking at effort and creativity to determine attendees.
Math opportunity
There are math minutes posted weekly through early March for students to check out. The EY team is planning an extreme math day for those students who participate in these activities. Check it out at https://ey.westside66.org/category/learning-opportunities/mathminute/
Battle of the Books
We will keep working on Battle of the Books during E/I time through the end of January. Encourage your child to read as many of the 20 books as possible. We have a exciting event planned for those student who complete at least 10 books and activities. Invitations for the event will be out in early March.
I wish you all a very happy and safe 2015! I look forward to the second semester working with your children and their teachers to enrich their educational experience.
Sincerely,
Jenny
EY updates
Hello! We area all working on our second quarter project-Superstars of History and I love to see the students researching and finding out about his/her specific time period. This week, the students will begin to research a specific event/person and begin to create the Superstar page. We will share these on the blog when complete! Continue reading for more information.
Events and Contests-There are tons and tons of events and contests for students on the EY blog. Check them out @ https://ey.westside66.org/category/other-events-contests/
Geography Bee- If your child is participating in the school be please encourage him/her to check out for resources https://ey.westside66.org/category/geobee/
For all children who love learning about our world-We have access from Nov. 10-Dec. 10 to a website which contains several resources. Scroll down to the “Books” section and look for “How to Ace the National Geographic Bee Official Study Guide,” and the “Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas: Earth’s Astonishing Animals and Where They Live.” http://www.galesites.com/trial/geobee/district66
Quiz Bowl-The EY team sponsored a quiz bowl at Underwood Hills on Nov 7th. Each of the 10 buildings sent two teams. The questions were quite challenging and I was prouf of the teams that attended-link to the event and pictures!
Math Contest Practice– Our first Math Olympiad contest is coming up next week. If your child likes to work on math contest problems, check out Math Stars
The purpose of Math Stars is to challenge students beyond the classroom setting. Good problems can inspire curiosity about number relationships and geometric properties. It is hoped that in accepting the challenge of mathematical problem solving, students, their parents, and their teachers will be led to explore new mathematical horizons. Math Stars are in sets for Grades 1-8 and include commentaries for teachers. All Math Stars Newsletters are ready for classroom use and available for downloading as PDF files. Link to newsletters
Engineering Learning Center-Mrs. Spady has put some info about engineering opportunities for children @ https://ey.westside66.org/category/parents/
Battle of the Books-The students are doing a great job with the book checks. I am reading slides, helping with goal setting, and offering suggestions on how to improve projects. The students will have to read ten books and complete ten activities to attend the book celebration in the spring- but many of the students are almost to this point and it is mid November! Way to go readers!!!
Please email me with any question or concerns
Jenny
EY updates
Hello. This blog has some updates about what we have been doing and also some links for other opportunities/resources for you to try out at home.
The students explored Chemistry and Cooking using TED ED. 60 Students submitted responses to this video and were entered into a drawing to be official taste testers for District 66 Nutrition Services. Here is a link to pics and info about the event.
https://ey.westside66.org/tag/whatsnew/
I have been spending time developing lessons around TED ED videos. Check out more learning videos from this awesome online resource http://ed.ted.com/.
Brownell Talbot hosted a math contest for students in grades 5 and 6 on Thursday, May 1. Swanson and Prairie Lane teams competed against students from 10 area schools. The students showed strong team work, persistence, and problems solving during the event! 5th grader, Graham, scored 3rd place on the individual test in the grade 5 division! Congratulations!
Sample question: Find the total number of triangles of any size in this figure
Bookadventure.com is a fun online reading challenge site for your child to check out this summer. There are over 8000 titles in the quiz-0-matic library. Students read books, take quizzes, and earn prizes. Parents, you can sign up your child @ http://www.bookadventure.com/registration.aspx
Our 4th quarter theme is “CONNECTIONS” and we are studying the area of Social Studies. Have you child check out blog post from Mrs. Spady, titled Worldmapper, and leave a comment about a map you found interesting!
Map # 1 Meat Imports: http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=50
- How do they choose the shape of the countries?
Map # 2: Fruit Imports: http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=42
- To be so big, how much fruit does Europe import?
Map # 3: Vegetables Consumed: http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=124
- What is the most eaten food in china?
Map # 4 Poor Water: http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=186
- What is the disease that is mostly caught through water?
Map # 5: Cholera Cases: http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=231
- What is the usual age one gets cholera?
Map # 6: Yellow Fever: http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=236
- Where would you get a yellow fever vaccination?
- How much does it cost and how hard would it be to get to people in Northern Africa?
Map # 7: Absolute Poverty: http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=180
- What would you most likely buy when you live on two dollars a day?
SUMMER 2014
The end of the school year is quickly approaching, and parents have been asking me about summer programs opportunities. Here are a few ideas for you.
Camp Shakespeare Creighton University Dept. of Fine Arts as part of Shakespeare on the Green, workshops and hands on experience Location: UNO Fine Arts Building & Elmwood Park Ages: 8 to 18 Contact: Nebraska Shakespeare Festival, (402) 280-2391, neshakes@creighton.edu
Omaha Community Playhouse Various classes in creative drama, arts exploration, voice, acting, dance, and yoga Grades: 1 through high school Contact: Omaha Community Playhouse at (402) 553-4890 ext. 139 www.omahaplayhouse.com
Mav Kids Summer University of Nebraska at Omaha Campers will participate in a variety of sport and game activities in a non-competitive environment, along with passive activities such as arts and crafts. All campers will also have the opportunity to swim every afternoon in the university’s very own 50 meter swimming pool. AND every camp week is accompanied by either a full-day or half-day of recreational or educational attractions both on and off campus! Ages: 6-12 years. Contact: www.unomaha.edu/~wwwocr
Techademy
UNO College of Information Science & Technology For middle and high school students. Depending on the camp, some age restrictions may apply. Our exciting camps include: Cyber Adventures in Security, Digital Music Synthesis, Game Development for Mobile, IT innovation. To find out more, call 402- 554- 2070 or visit techademy.unomaha.edu
Summer Program In Computer Science Peter Kiewit Institute, UNOmaha Grades: 10-12 Contact: Judy Kelsey, Judith_Kelsey/IST/UNO/UNEBR@unomail.unomaha.edu
Talented and Gifted Academy of Omaha
The Talented and Gifted Academy of Omaha is now accepting applications for high ability students in grades 4-8th. Exciting and challenging courses will be offered in robotics, technology, science, math, creativity, art, and performance arts. Opportunities will include after school scheduling as well as week-long full and half day summer camps. TAG Academy was created to fill a need for highly able students so they will have a venue for exploring their passion areas and excel outside of regular school curriculum.
For more information, please view our website at www.tagacademyomaha.com or contact us directly at 402-315-3500
AD ASTRA Creighton University Experience college life while you attend classes taught by outstanding faculty and professionals. Attend classes in the morning and then later each day have fun attending the theater, staying overnight at the zoo, paddle-boating at the state park, and meeting new friends. Location: Creighton Campus Grades: 7th- 8th grades this fall Contact: Mavis Hill, 1-800-637-4279 or mhill@creighton.edu
https://ey.westside66.org/2014-summer-opportunities/
Enjoy the spring weather!
Jenny
answer to triangle question: 47
EY updates for Prairie Lane and Swanson
Hello! Here are some updates from EY!
Wrap up Q 3 Science Olympiad-Many of your children attended the Science Olympaid last week at the CCC. The event was a great success, and I am happy that so many of our students choose to participate. There were science challenges for all levels of students, and the hands on activities kept the students engaged throughout the day. The sessions were run by guest scientists, WHS science club members, and ESU # 3 staff. The team events were Pasta Bridge, Catapults, Estamania, Sink or Float, Metric, Mystery Boxes, and Write It Do It.
Click here for pictures and videos from the event.
Q 4 Topic and Theme-The umbrella concept for Q4 is CONNECTIONS. We will study connections within social studies/history. The grade 5 an 6 students will study a historical event and then create Peabody and Sherman skit to alter history in some way. The students will format the scripts using Mensa for Kids as a guide. Our grade 4 students will choose a historical event to research and create “Was it Possible” keynotes to share with the grade 4 classes.
Wordly Wise-We will continue Wordly Wise each week. I have been encouraging the students to use complete sentences when doing the response questions. These questions are sometime quite difficult, and I appreciate the extra time and effort from the students. If your child is having difficulty with the passage, please ask him/her to take the time to reread. This second reading will often make a huge difference.
Math Olympiad-Our 5th Math Olympiad contest is wrapping up. The contest is timed and the students only have 30 min to complete the problems. After the contest, we spend quite a bit of time going over solutions and strategies for each problem. Some groups worked on solving the problems last week and some will do that this week. This time is valuable. After I provide a few hits, or strategies, they are able to work through problems that they perceive as “IMPOSSIBLE” and the kids are often quite proud.
Often the contest will start with a problem that most of the children can do by drawing a picture or making a table:
SAMPLE PROBLEM: How many combinations of pennies, nickels and/or dimes are there with a total value of 25 cents?
The problems progress in difficulty.
SAMPLE PROBLEM: A four-digit perfect square integer is created by placing two positive two-digit perfect square integers next to each other. What is the four-digit square integer?
Try the above problems with your child at home! I’ll put the answers at the end of the post.
Math Contest-Grade 5 and 6-Brownell Talbot hosts a math contest for grade 5 and 6 math students each spring. We can only take 3 teams of 5 students. The combined scores on the Math Olympiad Contests will be used determine the 15 participants. The Brownell Contest will take place on Thursday, May 1 after school. I will send home permission slips before spring break.
Grade 4 Math-Grade 4 students will continue working on Khan through the end of April. Please remind your son/daughter to spend time at home working through the lessons, videos, and practice problems. I have taught all of the grade 5 skills, with the exception of decimal division. We will spend the next few weeks doing mini lessons over this.
Answers to math problems are below so stop scrolling if you want to try them!
SAMPLE PROBLEM: How many combinations of pennies, nickels and/or dimes are there with a total value of 25 cents? (answer: 12 combinations)
SAMPLE PROBLEM: A four-digit perfect square integer is created by placing two positive two-digit perfect square integers next to each other. What is the four-digit square integer? (answer: 1681)