6-19-2020 Create an End of the Year School Award for Yourself

Happy Last Day of School!  

To celebrate, check out Young Adult Author, Jason Reynolds,  the author of Ghosts and All American Boys and the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature as he shares and idea with you.  Create an Award for Yourself.  We are finishing up a very unusual year of school.  We have all had to learn in new ways.  What is something you are proud of from your school year?  What did you put your best effort into?  Think about that, and then create your own award.  Your award could be made out of paper and ribbon.  What about a trophy, or a banner? How about a video?  Get creative and show what makes you most proud of yourself and your accomplishments this school year.  We'd love for you to share in the comments. 

Have a great summer and don't stop learning.  

Martha Thornburgh: Mount Vernon Schools Teaching and Learning

6-15-2020 Keep a Summer Adventure Journal

The Merrils Edu: Interactive Summer Learning Ideas

Summer is almost here!  Summer is a great time to explore new things.  Find out more about things you are curious about and learn how to do new things.  Why not keep up with all of your summer adventures in an Adventure Journal?  There are many ways to create a journal.  

1. You could create a summer bucket list of things you want to see and do.  As you check things off of your list, you could share pictures and stories about your accomplishments.  

2.  Or you could start with a blank journal and just add what ever adventures come your way.  

•     A trip you take.
•     Something you learn to make.
•     Books you read.
•     Movies you watch.  
•     And so much more.  It is your journal.  Add the things you want to remember. 

3. There are many ways you could make a journal.

•     You could use a spiral notebook.
•     You could staple pages together.
•     You could go digital and create a blog or slide show.  
•     You could use WeVideo and create a video of all of your adventures.  

.  The MerrilsEdu: Interactive Summer Learning Ideas

Martha Thornburgh: Mount Vernon Schools Teaching and Learning

6-10-2020 MVHS Teacher Mr. Zickler read "In the Night Kitchen"

Listen to the story "The Night Kitchen" by Maurice Sendak read by MVHS Teacher Mr. Paul Zickler.  

Voices of the Children is sharing videos of local community members reading their favorite children's books some in English and some in Spanish.  Check out the growing playlist here.  

6-8-2020 Reading the ABCs from Space

Take a tour around the earth and spot the letters of the alphabet made by land forms and man made objects.  As you explore, what else can you discover?  

Can you find the first letter of your name? 

What countries did you discover? 

How were the different letters formed?  Mountains? Islands? Canyons? Rivers? 

Reading the ABCs from Space

Martha Thornburgh: Mount Vernon Schools Teaching and Learning

6-5-2020 Access Resources Online with a Mount Vernon Library Card

Right now, our Mount Vernon Library is closed due to COVID19, but did you know that there are many great resources available to you online using your library card? 

Here are a few ideas.   

• You can check out audio books, music, ebooks. (Many Spanish titles) 
• You can access Tumble Books which is a great resource for children's books. (Many Spanish titles)
• You can learn a new language with Rosetta Stone.
• You can research a product with Consumer Reports
• You can learn about other countries with Culture Grams.  
• You can read the Skagit Valley Herald or find archived articles. 
• You can take online classes with Lynda.com

If you are a Mount Vernon resident, you can go online and apply for a Library Card to begin using our great library even before the doors are back open. Click here to learn more about getting a Library Card. 

Martha Thornburgh: Mount Vernon Schools Teaching and Learning

5-18-2020 Police Storytime with Chief Cammock

Enjoy a book with our Chief of Police Chief Cammock as he reads Mo Willems, "This is Not a Good Idea". 

Like Mo Willems books and illustrations?  Check out Mo Willems Lunch Doodles. Every day he is showing how to draw something new. 

Martha Thornburgh: Mount Vernon Schools Teaching and Learning

5-13-2020 Madlibs

Madlibs are short stories with missing words. Below is a story in both Spanish and English. Choose one to play with a partner-either a family member or a friend.  

 

1.  Look at what part of speech is asked for in each blank and ask your partner to supply a that type of word for each blank. 

 

2.  Keep track of their words and read the paragraph with the words your partner chose in each blank.

3. The story should turn out to be funny!

More Mad Libs

5-7-20 Bulldogs Make Great Nurses

Yesterday, we shared that it was National Teacher Appreciation Week. I hope that you took some time to connect with your teacher and let them know that you appreciate the hard work and creativity that they put in to helping you learn.

But there is even more to celebrate. This week is also National Nurse Appreciation Week. Nurses work hard to keep you well, and to comfort and care for you when you are sick or hurt. At this time of a world wide health crisis, nurses are on the front line, risking their own health and safety to help others. Throughout history, nurses have been brave warriors who risk a lot to help others.

Miriam Witt is a Mount Vernon High School Graduate who is currently working on her Master's Degree in Nursing and has used her skills and compassion to serve people in need all over the world. Read about her work in her own words.

Miriam Witt

I am a nurse.

I am a disaster response nurse.

I have traveled to areas on this planet where earthquakes hit, caring for patients sitting outside of their crumbled homes. I have traveled to war zones, changing bloody dressings of wounds caused by bombs. I have worked in refugee camps, providing nursing care to malnourished and anxiety ridden patients. The type of anxiety where you see their bones shaking through their skin. That kind. I have lived through a major fire in Southern California, driving through flames to get to work the next day. And I have walked with refugees crossing the Venezuelan border, entering into Colombia for basic human rights.

And here I am. Working as a hospice nurse in the time of Covid. People thought I was crazy when I put my backpack on my shoulders and bought a last minute ticket to Nepal after a major earthquake hit. I was called ignorant when I let my friends know I was headed to the border of Syria to care for victims of the Syrian war. Some people didn’t quite understand why I would travel to Colombia to provide medical care to refugees fleeing Venezuela.

I listened to my heart when it called me to these places. And you know what all of that prepared me for? Right now. I learned through these lived experiences that courage emerges when I stare fear in the face and take one step toward it.

Lately, I have been taking huge leaps forward, lunging into fear. I put the same scrubs on I wore in Nepal and the same danskos on I wore throughout nursing school and I step into homes with a mask covering my smile and a gown covering my body and I hold a Wife’s hands as her Husband passes away in front of our eyes and I just know that through the mysteries of life, every step has led me here. I used to think that sometimes, kismet happens. I now know kismet is continually happening, it just takes us a little longer to see it.

I’m not only proud to be a nurse. I’m empowered to be on the front lines providing care in the midst of this horrible virus. Covid is swirling all around me like a hurricane and I won’t let it stop me from caring. I won’t.

Miriam Witt: Mount Vernon Bulldog

Watch this video that shows some of the accomplishments nurses have made throughout history.

  

How can you say thank you to a nurse you know who has helped you or helps others?  

Here are some ideas:

• Write a letter or make a card to say Thank You.  
• Create Hearts to put in your windows to show nurses you care and you are thinking of them.
• Bake cookies and share with nurses working in a hospital or clinic.  
• Would you like to be a nurse?  Find out what you need to do to become a nurse.  

Martha Thornburgh: Mount Vernon Teaching and Learning

5-6-20 Thank a Teacher

This week is National Teacher Appreciation Week.  Your teachers invest a lot in you.  They care about you and they miss you.  Especially this year with the school closures, your teachers have showed you that not only do they do the hard work of teaching, they also do the hard work of learning.  Teachers are working hard to learn new ways to teach and to connect with their students.  They are working hard to try to make sure that you are able to keep learning new things and that you are safe and healthy.  Take some time this week to let your teachers know that you are grateful for what they do for you.  

Here are some ideas. 

1. Write your teacher a letter.  Share with them some of the special memories you have of them.  

2.  Draw a picture of you and your teacher and share it with them.  

3.  Create a "Thank you" video to share with them.  

4.  Think back to teachers you have had in the past.  Once you leave their class, you are not forgotten.  Teachers love hearing from their former students and seeing how they have grown.  Be sure to take some time to connect with those teachers as well.  You will make their day.  

5. Be sure to join in your class meetings this week and make sure to tell your teacher "thank you".  

4-30-2020 Listen to a Story

Everyone loves a good story book and during the school closure, many are taking the time to read their favorite stories on video.  Check out the collection of read aloud stories recorded by Voices of the Children and featuring local community members including our  mayor Jill Boudreau.  

Here is a story shared in Spanish and English by Mount Vernon City Council Woman Iris Carias.

Check out the collection of videos here.  
What favorite picture book would you share?
Why not record a video of you reading a book and share with your friends and family?
How about sharing your video in the comments so we can all enjoy your story.
Remember to give credit to the author, the illustrator and the publisher when you share.

Martha Thornburgh: Mount Vernon Schools Teaching and Learning

4-20-2020 Learn to Draw and Tell Stories with JJK

Jarrett J. Krosoczka—author & illustrator is teaching how to draw characters, illustrate and write stories!  Each weekday at 11:00 am he is doing a live drawing lesson on his YouTube page.  If you miss the live session, you can go back and watch at anytime.

Here is his first video introducing this project.  He shows us some of his drawings and stories he wrote as a kid and then he shows how he creates his characters for his books now. You can even see how he draws Yoda!

1. Can you create a new character for a book?
2. What would your book be about?
3. Why not try to draw and write a little each day. 

Martha Thornburgh: Mount Vernon Schools Teaching and Learning

4-8-2020 American Sign Language

Check out Savannah as she sings a song in American Sign Language. People learn sign language to communicate with those who can not hear well.

You can learn how to spell words with the American Sign Language alphabet.

• Practice spelling your name with the ASL alphabet.  
• Can you write a sentence? 
• When might it be helpful to know American Sign Language? 
• Learn how to say some other phrases in ASL.  

Martha Thornburgh:  Mount Vernon Schools Teaching and Learning

4-3-2020 Paintings Tell Stories

Artists paint canvases to share their stories, their ideas of beauty for others to see. When you look at an artist’s work, you can also start to notice and wonder what story the painting tells you. Choose one of the paintings above, or one from one of the virtual museum tours at this LINK . List what you notice and what you wonder.

• Write a story that takes place in the painting.
• Create a drawing or painting using a similar style.
• After looking at the museum tours, what types of paintings do you like best?

MaryEllen Huggins: Mount Vernon Schools Teaching and Learning

3-27-2020 Puffin Problems

Have you ever seen a puffin? Take a trip to Heimaey Island in Iceland and figure out what is happening to the puffin population.

• Find Heimaey Island on a map and draw a picture.
• Search for Heimaey Island in Google Earth. What do you notice about the island? What do you wonder about the island?

Write the following ideas in your journal:

• What is similar to Western Washington?
• What is different than Western Washington?
• What is the problem with the puffin population?
• What do you think is the cause of the problem?
• How would you solve this problem?

Share what you have learned with those in your home, or share in a comment.

Mrs. Thornburgh takes a tour of the island. You can too!

Puffin Photo by sunrisesoup

Mary Ellen Huggins: Mount Vernon Schools Teaching and Learning
Martha Thornburgh: Mount Vernon Schools Teaching and Learning

March 24, 2020 Writing Prompt: What can you see from your window?

Writing about what we observe is one of the tools we can use to support our learning at home. I love to look out the window and describe what I see. From your window take a picture in your mind and describe what you see.

Mary Ellen Huggins: Mount Vernon  Teaching and Learning Department