2017-2018 Challenge Highlights

Hour of Code Holiday Cards

Sixth-grade Challenge students created holiday cards for their Hour of Code today!  We hope you have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

By:  Mrs. Hawkins

By:  Chloe

By:  Gavin

By:  Cassidy

PLTW Launch

PLTW LAUNCH

We are excited to be piloting the PLTW Launch Program in our elementary gifted education classes.  Each class, grades 2-5, is completing one module first semester.  The modules are:

Grades 2-3:  Stability and Motion:  The Science of Flight
Grade 4:  Energy:  Collisions
Grade 5:  Robotics and Automation:  Challenge

Through PLTW Launch, students learn to use the Engineering Design Process to solve problems.

The Science of Flight

Stability and Motion:  Collisions

                                Robotics and Automation

2017-2018 Murray News for 1st Quarter

Video Production

Our 5th grade Challenge class has taken over "The Murray News."  Their newscasts focus on Murray special events, sports, new curriculum and technology, accomplishments, and upcoming events.  The students write the segments and film them in front of a green screen in our Video Production Studio. We use Pinnacle Studio to edit our film, then we upload the videos to YouTube.  You can watch some of our past videos here.   

1st Quarter Murray News 2017-2018

Mission:  We, the Video Production Leaders, use the 7 Habits to recognize our student leaders. We inform the Edgar Murray community of special events and accomplishments, while improving our video production skills.

Smashing Albert EGGstein

Rube Goldberg is known for his zany cause/effect inventions.  He was a Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist who showed his engineering sense of humor by depicting elaborate multi-step solutions to every-day problems.  Teachers around the world use Rube Goldberg designs to teach physics and engineering.  They even hold Rube Goldberg contests around the world.   

So, my 6th grade students decided to create their own Rube Goldberg machine in honor of Easter. The task...SMASH A RAW EGG!  The students were very creative in using a variety of cause/effect relationships, but they had many technical difficulties.  At the end of the day (about 50 tries), all parts of the machine had worked.  But, unfortunately, they did not all work together at once.

So, today, my 3rd graders tweaked the 6th graders' creation...And, after several more attempts...IT WORKED! Enjoy "Smashing Albert EGGstein!"

Heading to Global Finals!

To Friends of Creative Problem Solvers:  

Teams from Edgar Murray Elementary Gifted education classes recently participated in the MO state final creative problem solving competition called Destination Imagination (DI).  Both fourth grade teams qualified to advance to Global Finals, an international competition to be held over 5 days, May 24-28, on the campus of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.  Students from over 15 countries, grades three through university level, will be competing, and 8,000 students and 17,000 attendees are expected to participate.

The four-member team, "Secret Cypher Squad," won first place in the Scientific category, Top Secret, and the five-member team "Red Ripe Potatoes" came in second in the Fine Arts category, “Vanished!”  Because there was only one point separating them from first place, they were chosen as the state "Wild Card" team.

We are very excited to be representing the state of Missouri at Global Finals, but we need help to get there. It costs $750.00 for each student to attend plus one adult team manager.  This includes housing, meals, and activities for the entire stay.  We need to raise $7,500.00 in order to participate in this amazing opportunity!

We are setting up a variety of fundraisers locally, including a lock-in at the school, car wash, flower sale, and bake sale.  Because we are a small, rural community, we are also seeking sponsors.  Several of our team members do not have the financial means to cover the costs involved.  It is our hope that you will consider helping send these talented kids to compete!

Platinum sponsor (Sponsor 1 Student) - $750 or more:  an ad on the back of our teams’ t-shirts, a free t-shirt, a framed 5 x 7 photo of the teams at Global Finals, a team pin, and recognition in the Bulldog Bulletin, our Facebook page, and Twitter.  

Gold sponsor - $200:  4x4" ad on the back of our teams’ t-shirts,  t-shirt, pin, 5x7 photo, and recognition in the Bulldog Bulletin.

Silver sponsor - $100:  2 X 3 1/2" ad on the back of t-shirt, 5x7 photo

Bronze sponsor -$50:  1 line on the back of the team t shirt

If you’d like more information about Destination Imagination, Global Finals, or our Challenge classroom, you can visit the following:  

Global Finals

Destination Imagination

Challenge Webpage

For questions, feel free to contact Jennifer Hawkins:  jhawkins@stcmo.org

Checks payable to:  St. Clair R-XIII

Please send donations to:

Edgar Murray Elementary

Challenge Program                                       

1044 High School Drive       

What Do We Have NOW That We Didn't Have 101 Years Ago?