Today, we discussed the qualities of a scholar, and as all of the Explorers can attest, my scholarliness was put to the test! I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to learn alongside this group of young people. Lately, it seems like I have been saying this a lot, but I have truly never been as challenged as I am when 17 of St. Elmo's finest show up in room 110 ready to learn. The problem with P.A.C.E is not the age old struggle of, "How can I get them to understand this?" but more like, "What can I teach them next?!" They are all so eager and ready. I truly believe that the students at St. Elmo Elementary will be responsible for molding our community into one that will be a beacon of light for a multitude of surrounding communities in years to come.
This year, we are looking for qualities in ourselves that will help us contribute to the world, and more immediately, our class and school goals. We painted self portraits of ourselves after completing a TALENTS Communication 1 and 3 activity in which the kids listed as many single word adjectives to describe themselves as they can and then use those words to create similes to compare themselves to something great. We came up with wonderful WOW words. They will be hanging proudly in the walls around Room 110 shortly because like all good scholars, we are proud of our excellent work.
Check out our video below to see why the St. Elmo Explorers believe they are similar and different from each other.
I used to think community building activities were "fluff", but when I started really pushing for online learning communities someone reminded me that the first, best learning community is in the classroom. Nice work!
Hello to all St. Elmo Explorers. I am Jason Jackson. I am a secondary education major at South Alabama. I am a part of the EDM310 class, which allows me to come into contact with great, young people, such as yourselves. You guys did a great job on your Value of Difference project. One student in particular intrigued me, that was Niaviana. It is wonderful that you are a helpful person. That is a characteristic that is very, very valuable. Also, remember there is nothing wrong with being shy, just don't be afraid to share those great ideas that you have. Keep up the good work everyone!
My name is Jill Lazzari and I am currently enrolled in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. This is a great video and everyone did a great job explaining how they are similar and different. You guys did a good job being creative with your pictures. Vatzana, being respectful and creative are two fine qualities to have. Keep up the good work students of St. Elmo's.
Hello to all the hardworking St. Elmo Explorers from Room 110! My name is Mary LaCoste, and I am a student at the University of South Alabama taking EDM 310. Your class seems to being doing some really fun things this year. I bet you are all learning so much. I was very impressed by your video about each others' differences and similarities. The paintings you did were fabulous. I especially liked Kayleigh's painting. Kayleigh, the colors you chose were so bright and pretty. I think it is wonderful that you are respectful, and I definitely agree that you are adorable. Keep up all the good work. I know your teachers must be so proud!
Hello to all the St. Elmo Explorers! My name is Ashley Haddock, I am studying to become a teacher at The University of South Alabama and am currently taking EDM 310 with Dr. Strange. You have all done a fantastic job on your Value of Difference projects. The artwork is phenomenal and beautiful with lots of color. Your ideas on what makes everyone the same and different are very intuitive and wise beyond your years. I especially loved the blooper reel, you gave me the laugh I was looking for this morning. Keep up the good work Explorers! Jenna, your sensitivity is evident through all the hearts you drew in your profile. I love them! Sensitivity is a good quality to have. With this you have a better understanding of all kinds of people and appreciate the differences you learned about through this project. Please never lose this trait!
My name is Kimberly Lefferson and I am a student at the University of South Alabama and currently enrolled in EDM310. I really enjoyed your video. Everyone seemed to be having so much fun creating their self portraits and describing themselves. Good job students.
Dana, I really liked your self portrait and enjoyed hearing your descriptions about yourself. Great job! Keep up the good work.
Hello to the St. Elmo Explorers! My name is Lindsey Harville and I am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. This video is impressive! All of the adjectives your class used were so outstanding and marvelous! The video is such a creative idea for students all around the world. It really ignites children's artistic side and boosts their confidence. It looked like the class had so much fun recording. I especially loved the blooper reel.
Vaunia, I loved your part especially! You are creative and your artwork really shows it. Having a serious side to your personality is very important and I am so happy that you are comfortable with who you are. Remember, no one else in the whole entire world can be just like you, you are unique!
Hello, My name is Ashley Howard and I am an EDM310 student at the University of South Alabama. I really enjoyed watching this video! I think everyone did a wonderful job. This is a great idea and it is a good way to get students to be creative.
Vatzana, Being respectful and creative are great things. Respectfulness and creativity can take you very far in life! Keep up the good work!
I loved it! I am a student at the University of South Alabama, in EDM 310, and studying to be a teacher. I hope that someday my students can be as bright, creative, respectful, and energetic as you all! I especially loved all of your self portraits. I think you all did a wonderful job, even the bloopers!
Kayleigh, I love how colorful your picture is (orange is my favorite color!) and how colorful you are as a person. I would definitely agree that being normal is different, but not a bad thing at all! I think my friends sometimes wish I was a little more normal!
My name is Bonnie Gaudet. Like many people who have commented before me, I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. I am studying to be a teacher. I hope that when I start teaching I will get a class as hardworking and creative as you all are! You did a wonderful job thinking of adjectives that describe yourself and I loved all of your portraits. There are definitely some artists among you! Wonderful Job! I love that you are all learning to embrace your differences and find similarities to help you connect with your classmates! What loving and accepting people you are learning to be!
Josie, I especially loved the adjectives you used. You're right, it is very different to be faithful these days, but that is a wonderful quality to strive for! You are also most definitely intelligent! Keep up the good work!
Hello to the St.Elmo Explorers! My name is Eunice Jones, I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. Everyone did a wonderful job!
Desirae, I loved your colorful picture with the pretty blue. Desirae being intelligent and hyperactive are great qualities to have. Keep up the good work!
Hello to you, St. Elmo Explorers! I am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama, and I must say, your video was great! You seem like a fun, confident, ready to go group of students! Your use of descriptive words tells me that you have your thinking caps on, and from the drawings I saw, there will be some really good artwork hanging in your classroom this year! I hope to follow your adventures in exploration, and look forward to future videos telling me of your progress!! Thanks!
Hello to all St. Elmo Explorers! My name is Robin Hendricks and I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. I loved your video about the value of differences. Your pictures were great and you seemed to have so much fun doing it. My favorite part was the bloopers at the end. They were hysterical! And to Desiree, all of the hyperactive behavior that makes you different will become valuable energy to you one day that will take you far. Keep up the good work Explorers! Thanks for sharing! Robin Hendricks
Hello Students at St. Elmo I am studying at the University of South Alabama to become a teacher. I am in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class and I must say I really enjoyed your video of the Value of Difference. Your use of many different descriptive words tells me you a group of very intelligent students. Jenna being sensitive and energetic are awesome qualities. I hope you keep working hard and I look forward to following your progress over the next several months. Thanks again for the amazing video.
Hello Students at St. Elmo, My name is Courtney Holifield, a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. I enjoyed watching your video about similarities and differences! Everyone did a fantastic job! Brianna, being intelligent and creative are awesome qualities! ! I would have to say that I'm the same because I'm a learner and different because I'm a leader. I loved listening to everyone and I can't wait to see more progress. Keep up the great work!
Hello St. Elmo students, I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I am in Dr. Strange's EDM310 class, and I loved your video. It is great that you have leaned at such a young age that the one thing we all have in common is our differences. Remembering this will be extremely helpful as you get older. You are very fortunate to have such an outstanding group of teachers. They seem to have worked very hard to create an amazing learning environment for you. I look forward to seeing more of your projects. Have a great school year.
Hey there St. Elmo Explorers, I am a student at EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. The video you put together with Mr. Capps is simply adorable! You guys are such an inspiration to the fun things that teachers can now do in the classroom. I hope you enjoyed this assignment and judging by the smiles on all your faces, you sure did! I loved that you drew self portraits of yourselves. They looked a lot like you guys with a little twist of how you view yourselves. Josie, it is quite obvious you are a very intelligent and special little girl! The self portrait you made was beautiful and creative. I hope to have students like you in my future classroom! I could watch this video along with the bloopers over and over again.
My name is Brandon I am a student at the University of South Alabama and I am enrolled in EDM 310. I truly enjoyed watching this video and seeing how everyone of you thought you were the same and yet at the very same time so much different than every one else in the class room. I wish that more people would realize that they do not need to always be the same as everyone and that they do not always have to be different. Thank all of you for giving me a true smile and a great ending to my day. My name is Brandon I am different because I have seizures. I am the same because I am learning.
My name is Hunter, I am a EDM310 student at the University of South Alabama. I have enjoyed learning and reading your blog. I think it is great that you and your classmates are going the extra mile and looking inside of yourselves. If more people did these things I think the world would be a much better place! The project on describing yourself with as many words as possible I think is brilliant. This activity can create a huge feeling of positive self esteem! I am excited and look forward to reading more of your blog posts!
Hi to all the St. Elmo's Explores! My name is Michelle Loupe, and I attend the University of South Alabama. I am currently in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class. This video you all helped put together was so inspiring! It put a smile on my face from the moment it started to the moment it ended. You all are so creative and created such beautiful portraits of yourselves. I love how each one of you are different in your own way, and that is so important for us to remember each one of us are special. It looks like you all have a great time in your classroom. Keep up all the good work you all made my night with your smiling faces! Hunter, I really loved your portrait you made of yourself, and I thought your answer about your alikeness and difference really showed. I am sure that you are awesome!
My name is Eric Manheim and I am a student at the University of South Alabama in class EDM 310. I really enjoyed all of your paintings because they really expressed each one of your individual personalities. I wish I had half of your artistic abilities. The student that I seemed to relate to was Niaviana because I like to be helpful too. I think that's very important to be helpful because otherwise not as much would get done. Keep up the great work guys!
I used to think community building activities were "fluff", but when I started really pushing for online learning communities someone reminded me that the first, best learning community is in the classroom. Nice work!
ReplyDeleteHello to all St. Elmo Explorers. I am Jason Jackson. I am a secondary education major at South Alabama. I am a part of the EDM310 class, which allows me to come into contact with great, young people, such as yourselves. You guys did a great job on your Value of Difference project. One student in particular intrigued me, that was Niaviana. It is wonderful that you are a helpful person. That is a characteristic that is very, very valuable. Also, remember there is nothing wrong with being shy, just don't be afraid to share those great ideas that you have. Keep up the good work everyone!
ReplyDeleteThank you
Hello,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Jill Lazzari and I am currently enrolled in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. This is a great video and everyone did a great job explaining how they are similar and different. You guys did a good job being creative with your pictures. Vatzana, being respectful and creative are two fine qualities to have. Keep up the good work students of St. Elmo's.
Hello to all the hardworking St. Elmo Explorers from Room 110! My name is Mary LaCoste, and I am a student at the University of South Alabama taking EDM 310. Your class seems to being doing some really fun things this year. I bet you are all learning so much. I was very impressed by your video about each others' differences and similarities. The paintings you did were fabulous. I especially liked Kayleigh's painting. Kayleigh, the colors you chose were so bright and pretty. I think it is wonderful that you are respectful, and I definitely agree that you are adorable. Keep up all the good work. I know your teachers must be so proud!
ReplyDeleteHello to all the St. Elmo Explorers! My name is Ashley Haddock, I am studying to become a teacher at The University of South Alabama and am currently taking EDM 310 with Dr. Strange. You have all done a fantastic job on your Value of Difference projects. The artwork is phenomenal and beautiful with lots of color. Your ideas on what makes everyone the same and different are very intuitive and wise beyond your years. I especially loved the blooper reel, you gave me the laugh I was looking for this morning. Keep up the good work Explorers! Jenna, your sensitivity is evident through all the hearts you drew in your profile. I love them! Sensitivity is a good quality to have. With this you have a better understanding of all kinds of people and appreciate the differences you learned about through this project. Please never lose this trait!
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Kimberly Lefferson and I am a student at the University of South Alabama and currently enrolled in EDM310. I really enjoyed your video. Everyone seemed to be having so much fun creating their self portraits and describing themselves. Good job students.
Dana,
I really liked your self portrait and enjoyed hearing your descriptions about yourself. Great job! Keep up the good work.
Hello to the St. Elmo Explorers!
ReplyDeleteMy name is Lindsey Harville and I am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. This video is impressive! All of the adjectives your class used were so outstanding and marvelous! The video is such a creative idea for students all around the world. It really ignites children's artistic side and boosts their confidence. It looked like the class had so much fun recording. I especially loved the blooper reel.
Vaunia,
I loved your part especially! You are creative and your artwork really shows it. Having a serious side to your personality is very important and I am so happy that you are comfortable with who you are. Remember, no one else in the whole entire world can be just like you, you are unique!
Spectacular job to everyone in this video!
Hello,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Ashley Howard and I am an EDM310 student at the University of South Alabama. I really enjoyed watching this video! I think everyone did a wonderful job. This is a great idea and it is a good way to get students to be creative.
Vatzana,
Being respectful and creative are great things. Respectfulness and creativity can take you very far in life! Keep up the good work!
I loved it! I am a student at the University of South Alabama, in EDM 310, and studying to be a teacher. I hope that someday my students can be as bright, creative, respectful, and energetic as you all! I especially loved all of your self portraits. I think you all did a wonderful job, even the bloopers!
ReplyDeleteKayleigh, I love how colorful your picture is (orange is my favorite color!) and how colorful you are as a person. I would definitely agree that being normal is different, but not a bad thing at all! I think my friends sometimes wish I was a little more normal!
Hi St. Elmo Explorers!
ReplyDeleteMy name is Bonnie Gaudet. Like many people who have commented before me, I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. I am studying to be a teacher. I hope that when I start teaching I will get a class as hardworking and creative as you all are! You did a wonderful job thinking of adjectives that describe yourself and I loved all of your portraits. There are definitely some artists among you! Wonderful Job! I love that you are all learning to embrace your differences and find similarities to help you connect with your classmates! What loving and accepting people you are learning to be!
Josie, I especially loved the adjectives you used. You're right, it is very different to be faithful these days, but that is a wonderful quality to strive for! You are also most definitely intelligent! Keep up the good work!
Hello to the St.Elmo Explorers!
ReplyDeleteMy name is Eunice Jones, I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. Everyone did a wonderful job!
Desirae, I loved your colorful picture with the pretty blue. Desirae being intelligent and hyperactive are great qualities to have. Keep up the good work!
Hello to you, St. Elmo Explorers!
ReplyDeleteI am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama, and I must say, your video was great! You seem like a fun, confident, ready to go group of students! Your use of descriptive words tells me that you have your thinking caps on, and from the drawings I saw, there will be some really good artwork hanging in your classroom this year! I hope to follow your adventures in exploration, and look forward to future videos telling me of your progress!! Thanks!
Hello to all St. Elmo Explorers! My name is Robin Hendricks and I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. I loved your video about the value of differences. Your pictures were great and you seemed to have so much fun doing it. My favorite part was the bloopers at the end. They were hysterical! And to Desiree, all of the hyperactive behavior that makes you different will become valuable energy to you one day that will take you far. Keep up the good work Explorers!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
Robin Hendricks
Hello Students at St. Elmo
ReplyDeleteI am studying at the University of South Alabama to become a teacher. I am in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class and I must say I really enjoyed your video of the Value of Difference. Your use of many different descriptive words tells me you a group of very intelligent students. Jenna being sensitive and energetic are awesome qualities. I hope you keep working hard and I look forward to following your progress over the next several months. Thanks again for the amazing video.
Hello Students at St. Elmo,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Courtney Holifield, a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. I enjoyed watching your video about similarities and differences! Everyone did a fantastic job!
Brianna, being intelligent and creative are awesome qualities! ! I would have to say that I'm the same because I'm a learner and different because I'm a leader. I loved listening to everyone and I can't wait to see more progress. Keep up the great work!
Hello St. Elmo students,
ReplyDeleteI am a student at the University of South Alabama. I am in Dr. Strange's EDM310 class, and I loved your video. It is great that you have leaned at such a young age that the one thing we all have in common is our differences. Remembering this will be extremely helpful as you get older. You are very fortunate to have such an outstanding group of teachers. They seem to have worked very hard to create an amazing learning environment for you. I look forward to seeing more of your projects. Have a great school year.
Hey there St. Elmo Explorers,
ReplyDeleteI am a student at EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. The video you put together with Mr. Capps is simply adorable! You guys are such an inspiration to the fun things that teachers can now do in the classroom. I hope you enjoyed this assignment and judging by the smiles on all your faces, you sure did! I loved that you drew self portraits of yourselves. They looked a lot like you guys with a little twist of how you view yourselves. Josie, it is quite obvious you are a very intelligent and special little girl! The self portrait you made was beautiful and creative. I hope to have students like you in my future classroom! I could watch this video along with the bloopers over and over again.
My name is Brandon I am a student at the University of South Alabama and I am enrolled in EDM 310. I truly enjoyed watching this video and seeing how everyone of you thought you were the same and yet at the very same time so much different than every one else in the class room. I wish that more people would realize that they do not need to always be the same as everyone and that they do not always have to be different. Thank all of you for giving me a true smile and a great ending to my day.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Brandon I am different because I have seizures. I am the same because I am learning.
My name is Hunter, I am a EDM310 student at the University of South Alabama. I have enjoyed learning and reading your blog. I think it is great that you and your classmates are going the extra mile and looking inside of yourselves. If more people did these things I think the world would be a much better place! The project on describing yourself with as many words as possible I think is brilliant. This activity can create a huge feeling of positive self esteem! I am excited and look forward to reading more of your blog posts!
ReplyDeleteHi to all the St. Elmo's Explores! My name is Michelle Loupe, and I attend the University of South Alabama. I am currently in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class. This video you all helped put together was so inspiring! It put a smile on my face from the moment it started to the moment it ended. You all are so creative and created such beautiful portraits of yourselves. I love how each one of you are different in your own way, and that is so important for us to remember each one of us are special. It looks like you all have a great time in your classroom. Keep up all the good work you all made my night with your smiling faces!
ReplyDeleteHunter, I really loved your portrait you made of yourself, and I thought your answer about your alikeness and difference really showed. I am sure that you are awesome!
Hello,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Eric Manheim and I am a student at the University of South Alabama in class EDM 310. I really enjoyed all of your paintings because they really expressed each one of your individual personalities. I wish I had half of your artistic abilities. The student that I seemed to relate to was Niaviana because I like to be helpful too. I think that's very important to be helpful because otherwise not as much would get done. Keep up the great work guys!