Mansion Avenue School Newsletter
October 23, 2026 edition
Our third graders combined creativity and writing in a fun fall activity! As part of our Pumpkin Patch Mystery writing project, students decorated pumpkins to look like the main characters in their stories. They used their imaginations to transform ordinary pumpkins into unique characters that helped bring their mysteries to life. This hands-on project gave students an opportunity to make a visual connection to their writing while celebrating the creativity behind storytelling. Our classroom pumpkin patch is now filled with colorful, one-of-a-kind characters, each with a story to tell! We loved seeing our young authors bring their ideas to life in such a fun and festive way!
Our third graders are building their Spanish vocabulary by learning how to greet others and say goodbye! To make learning fun and memorable, students are acting out different phrases and using movements to help demonstrate their meanings. In the first picture, students are acting out “Buenas noches,” which means “Good night.” In the second picture, they are showing “Hasta mañana,” meaning “See you tomorrow.” By combining language learning with movement and expression, our students are practicing their Spanish skills in an engaging and interactive way!
Fourth graders in Mrs. Jenkinson’s class got hands-on with geology as they used graham crackers and Cool Whip to model different types of plate boundaries! Through this delicious experiment, students explored how Earth’s tectonic plates move and interact. They discovered how new crust can form, how crust can be destroyed when plates collide, and how plates sliding past one another can cause earthquakes. This engaging activity helped bring the powerful forces shaping our planet to life in a fun and memorable way!
Our sixth graders are putting their knowledge of the 6 + 1 Traits of Writing into action! Students are applying what they have learned about ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions, and presentation as they write short book reports. This activity gives students an opportunity to share their understanding of a book while focusing on the qualities that make writing clear, engaging, and well organized. By practicing these skills, our young authors are building confidence and strengthening their writing one trait at a time!
Our fourth graders put on their engineering hats in STEAM class as they took on the challenge of protecting the ancient petroglyphs of Whispering Canyon! Students experimented with designing and creating barriers to protect their petroglyphs from the damaging effects of acid rain. Through this hands-on activity, students used problem-solving skills, tested their ideas, and explored how engineers can help preserve important historical treasures. It was a great opportunity to combine science, creativity, and engineering while learning how to protect the past!
Our fifth graders are diving into The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo and exploring how dialogue helps bring a story to life. As they read, students are paying attention to conversations between characters and discussing how their words reveal feelings, personalities, and relationships. By examining dialogue, students are strengthening their reading comprehension skills and gaining a deeper understanding of the characters and their journey. Who knew a china rabbit could give us so much to think about?
Our Mansion Avenue School musicians were part of the excitement at the high school homecoming football game! The choir proudly sang the National Anthem to kick off the festivities, while the band joined the high school marching band in the stands to play side by side. Our musicians even performed “Let’s Go Band!” to help energize the crowd and cheer on the team. It was a wonderful opportunity for our students to showcase their talents, build connections with high school musicians, and be part of such a special school community tradition. Let’s Go Band!
