It is time to get those creative juices going again! Mrs. McBride is offering another opportunity to put your skills to work. Find out more details for this month’s challenge here – The Gummy Bear Challenge.

Breakout EDU brings gaming to our classroom. Breakout sessions present players with a challenge that encourages teamwork, problem solving, critical thinking, and troubleshooting. Let’s continue using these skills when solving mysteries, logic puzzles, riddles and online Breakout sessions.

Try – Terri Eicholz’ Feebo, Not Chee
(When you type in your name to the google form, please use “McBride” as your last name.)

On Tuesday and Friday, please wear blue. As a school community, we are going to show our support for Autism Awareness and our monthly assembly, Respect! This is a great time to show respect for others and others diagnosed with Autism.

What else can you do? Please visit Mrs. McBride’s website for further details – Blue for Autism.

TEAMWORK: According to Dictionary.com, teamwork is the cooperative and coordinated effort on the part of a group of persons acting together as a team or in the interests of a common cause.

Your class will be arranged into groups. Each group will be assigned a problem to solve in order to unlock one of the locks. Go to this site – TEAMWORK. Click on the letter in the word “teamwork” that your group is assigned, and the link will take you to the directions of your task.

March 21st is World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD.) “It is a global awareness day which has been officially observed by the United Nations since 2012. Down Syndrome International (DSI) encourages friends all over the world to raise awareness of what Down Syndrome is, what it means to have Down syndrome, and how people with Down Syndrome play a vital role in our lives and communities.”

Rock Your Socks tomorrow March 21st to show your support. Visit Mrs. McBride’s website for more information.

Green with Integrity!

• Integrity is the quality of being honest, having strong moral principles and total sincerity.
• Honesty is often viewed as saying the right thing and integrity is doing the right thing.
• Oprah Winfrey states, “Real integrity is doing the right thin knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.”

Read and listen to our book of the month, Mr. Peabody’s Apples.

In the story, Tommy realizes the damage he has caused to Mr. Peabody. He says, “I have a lot of work to do.” Pretend you are Tommy and write an apology to Mr. Peabody which explains how Tommy plans to amend what he has done.

Last week we played the logic game, Pico Fermi, Bagel. This week we will continue breaking the code using four digits or colors. The game, Mastermind, uses four colors. Here is how to play:

Play and practice online – MASTERMIND.

Today we will look at the logic that underlies the game “Pico, Fermi, Bagel”.

How to Play:
The game begins with one person secretly choosing a number with no repeated digits. We will start with a three digit number. Then others attempt to guess the number, and the one who chose the number responds to each guess as follows:

• If the guess has no numbers correct, they respond: “Bagel.”
• For each digit when the guess is correct but in the wrong place, respond: “Pico.”
• For each digit when the guess is correct and in the correct place, respond: “Fermi.”
• When all three digits are correct and in the correct place, respond: “CREAM CHEESE.”

We will play a few rounds of the game together, and then try to solve a couple problems related to the game.

Play this game at home with family or play online here – Pic, Fermi, Bagel 

Congratulations to Cuatro! He created a new catapult using the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. technique.

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” ~ Dalai Lama

This month at Cottage Lane we are focusing on compassion. At today’s assembly, we discussed the meaning of compassion and how we can show compassion in school, at home and in the world. Our Compassion Cards encourage us to perform random acts of compassion. From the Smile Train Fundraiser to Valentine’s for Veterans, our compassion can make a difference in the lives of others.

Our book of the month, Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson, gives a lesson about how even small acts of kindness can change the world. The main character realizes the lost opportunity for friendship and thinks about how much better it could have been if a little compassion was shown toward others.

Remember…Don’t be a wrinkle in someone else’s heart. Instead…make time this month to complete your compassion cards. Together we can fill our hallway heart!