Timber Trail students show and tell all
Chelsey Nielson and her daughter Livia read a book together.
Article and photos by Julie Matuszewski
Proud of their accomplishments and school work, students escorted families and friends through the school halls of art, music and physical education. The Timber Trail Elementary (TTE) annual showcase event is one of many main events of the year. The open house event was an excellent opportunity for parents to see what their students had learned to date. “We know students learn best through authentic, hands-on experiences. We wanted to give our parents that same opportunity,” said Principal Michele Radke, who also added that the showcase event was an opportunity for parents to see the other areas of the school, curriculum and their child’s day besides the classroom.
The event was originally designed for parents to see and experience firsthand what their students had learned during the first semester of school. It is an event when the students become the teachers and presenters, and they are so proud to share their projects and experiences with their families. 
Showing no signs of fear, Steven Remmel raced down the climbing wall.
Curriculum outside the students’ homeroom included alternating class specials of art, music and physical education, as well as the Before and After School Enterprise (BASE) program. First-graders had a fun social night with parents visiting classrooms to practice reading skills, while the fifth-graders displayed cell models and written newspaper articles. The cell model was just one of the year’s project based learning segments and is always a favorite of students. Working in a collaborative group, students created a model of a cell (plant or animal). The students pulled together a list of materials ranging from colored clay to emptied toilet paper rolls for each component of the cell. Cell models were assembled at school based upon the function of the organelle and presented at the showcase.
Fifth-graders Garrett Matuszewski and Bryce Jurin made their way around the gym on monster walking stilts.
Working again in collaborative groups, students researched how pollution or a natural disaster directly impacts various animals and ecosystems. Students researched each topic and wrote a newspaper to raise awareness of the impact on the environment. One factoid gained from the newspaper was that the first series of earthquakes recorded happened in 1811-1812 near Madrid, Missouri. Keep an eye out for these budding young writers, as they soon may be writing you a “little good news.”
Fifth-grade project-based learning cell projects and newspapers highlighted environmental issues.
