Things are hopping at La Casita

Walking into La Casita Elementary to meet with Sylvia Martinez, principal, I waited as she finished wiping whipped cream off her face. She, along with some teachers, had just finished up their “Pie in the Face” competition, a great favorite with students.

During the recent Hispanic Heritage month, La Casita students studied the cultures of Spanish-speaking countries and did a range of activities, from academic to artistic to fun. Martinez shared, “Among our Spanish-speakers, we have more diversity at our school than you’d think; students from Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, as well as Mexico.”

Part of the celebration was the “Pie in the Face” contest. Losers in the competition had to dive into whip-cream filled pans, to retrieve “gummy” candies, and the kids loved it, delighting in the great sportsmanship demonstrated by school staff.

La Casita Elementary was another school that participated in the state-funded K-3 Plus program; an early-start school year (25 days prior to the school year) to help struggling students. Martinez, along with Rosa Briseño, kindergarten teacher, described the K-3 Plus program at La Casita.

The theme was science, and each grade participated in different activities. For example, first graders made solar lamps to illuminate invisible ink they’d made with lemon juice. Second graders constructed three-dimensional shapes using marshmallows, spaghetti, and other materials. Another class focused on estimations, while yet another built catapults from natural materials. Other activities included interactive science activities and field trips to the local zoo and the bowling alley.

Chris Harrell (former Clovis Schools teacher) came as a musical storyteller to perform an alternative version of a classic story, “The 6 Little Pigs Build a Better Neighborhood.” The idea was to share the impact of various construction materials to create eco-friendly houses for the pigs.

La Casita has had and is planning for other literacy activities for the school. Martinez described, “Through our Results-Driven Accountability data we held Bingo for Books one evening. Inviting K-third-grade parents and students, we provided handouts with strategies about how to better assist their child with reading skills.”

Continuing, Martinez described upcoming activities: “Our fall literacy event is coming up at the end of October. Staff and students will be dressing up as favorite book characters; there’ll be poetry contests, and lots of fun activities. We’ll continue with our Character Counts assembly where we recognize students demonstrating good character.”

Wow … things are hopping at LC.

Cindy Kleyn-Kennedy is the instructional technology coordinator for the Clovis Municipal Schools and can be reached at: [email protected]