What an exciting day as construction crews break ground!

You could find the students and staff watching from the windows and along the construction fence at recess to watch the construction crew tear up our old playground. It was very exciting to finally see some progress being made on the elementary addition. Construction crews tore up the blacktop and hauled it away today. They are now ready to start digging to set the footers and pour concrete.

Look what arrived at Okoboji Elementary school today!

YIPPEE! We had construction equipment arrive at the school today. At our monthly construction meeting, we were told they will be starting to break ground next week. Please stay connected with the Okoboji Elementary blog for construction updates.

An Opportunity to "Question" the Elementary Staff

On our September 20th professional development day, the Okoboji Elementary staff learned, practiced and developed lessons with "good" questions. Staff worked on the strategy of Questioning and developed questions that will create student responses that require higher order thinking and create better thinkers and more in-depth learners in our classrooms. Look for some of these types of questions to come home with your child and on their teacher's classroom blog.

4th Graders Skype Around the World

Fourth grade students in Mrs. Brecher's class use technology and Skype with a US soldier in the country of Qatar, near the Persian Gulf. Students had the opportunity to ask questions about refueling planes and the other duties of the military. Students used the responses to their questions as a springboard to research new ideas and topics in their classroom. Check back here to find out where these students will travel next with the power of technology.

Students from Germany visited Okoboji Elementary

The students and staff at Okoboji Elementary were fortunate to have visitors from Germany visit our school on September 8. There were 18 high school girls and 3 teachers who visited the elementary in the morning. These students stayed with host families in the area and were given an opportunity to experience the IOwa culture through a variety of activities. The girls and teachers make up an instrumental band, similar to a jazz band, that performed a concert at the Okoboji High School on September 8th.

Construction at Okoboji Elementary

As students arrived at school for the first day of the 2010-2011 school year on Tuesday, August 24th, they were greeted by orange construction fence surrounding the south part of the elementary. I appreciated the cooperation and flexibility of our parents as they dropped off their students to start the first day. Students lined up to enter the building in different places than last year to accommodate our new construction area. I want to thank our parents in advance for their cooperation as construction will begin soon for the elementary addition. The addition is slated to be completed the middle of May 2011. Look for future updates right here!

New Bus Lane and Parking

New construction has begun at the elementary this summer. Pictured above is our new bus lane and parking. Finishing touches will be made to the bus lane next week. Construction work on the new elementary addition should begin soon. Check back here often for new updates and pictures.