Janusz Korczak

~Today we met Janusz Korczak while reading Milkweed. Dr. Korczak is one of only two real life character from the novel. Dr. Korczak was know as the Dr. Seuss of Poland with his children's novels. He later went back to school and became a doctor and set up an orphanage fro homeless children after World War I. He accepted any child that needed a home, but most of his orphans were Jewish. We will learn more about him as the novel develops.

the most famous picture of Dr. Korczak

Korczak Orphans (as they were known)

Korczak Orphans

the orphanage in Warsaw

Awesome Week Ahead!

~We have the most awesome week planned ahead! Not only do we get to finish our Holocaust Memorial Passport Papers, we also get to go deeper into Milkweed as Misha Pilsudski (formerly Stopthief) discovers the reality of being a Jew in 1940 Poland.

~On Monday, we will all gather for Mr. Gibbons annual Read Aloud of a few of his favorite books.

~On Wednesday we will be making ornaments to give your parents for the holidays, and some more Milkweed.

~On Thursday, it is GINGERBREAD house day!!!!!! Then some Art with Mrs. Schmidt, and some more Milkweed!

~On Friday we'll start out with some Milkweed, and then we will head to the Multipurpose Room for our Annual Lasagna/Ziti Smackdown! Mrs. Peck thinks her lasagna is better than my ziti???? NOT! Then it's back to Room 71 for our Annual Pickle Present Swap (we call it this in honor of Mrs. Pickle...Peck) You'll figure it out then! After that, we will unload the stockings that Santa left us to fill, he's too busy this time of year to fill them!

~~This is my favorite week of school all year!

STAR Students12-10-10

~Congratulations to Elija and Raquel. They are this week's STAR Students! The both had an awesome week and have worked hard to get to their 13 books!

Raquel and Gibby

Elijah and Gibby

What did Misha see?

~Even though Milkweed is a made up story (fiction), it is based on actual events from history (historical fiction). These are actual pictures taken during World War II.

This is the parade that Misha was running to

Citizens were forced to watch and salute the Germans

Jewish man being dehumanized

Jews being forced to scrub street

Holiday Scramble ROUND 2

1. ERESBEECERNOGZO

2. FENDTYBMCHIEEWEFTRT

3. INPYENMOGDONURBWFSIUGISGDG

~HINTS: Number 1 is kind of easy, number 2 is sort of easy and number 3 is HARD! All words or groups of words have to do with holidays songs, characters, items or sayings from the holidays! The winner of this one gets a great prize. If there is no winner by Friday at the end of the day...the person with the most unscrambled correctly will win the prize. This prize is a little bigger than the first!

PTA Holiday Shop!

~Thanks to the PTA for setting up out school Holiday Shop! It was a great idea and an inexpensive way for kids to purchase presents or items for themselves over the holidays!

Store Manager

Julia at the clearance table

browsing

yeah...what is it?

gifts for Mom

Mrs. Scheck is always helping out

now...this lady was a good sport counting all Mrs. Peck's pennies!!!!! Ha ha

Gingerbread Houses

~Today your child came home with a note in their planner about what they need to bring in for our gingerbread houses NEXT Thursday the 16th. Try to bring in all items by Monday the 13th.

Coming Home Tomorrow!!!!!

~The following Invitation will be coming home tomorrow (scroll down)! We would like each student to have at least one parent, grandparent, or representative to attend. All the food will be prepared by the teachers, and we will finally decide if Mr. Peck's lasagna is better than Mr. Gibons' BAKED ZITI. You just need to bring a dessert.

~There will be a lot going on the last week before Christmas Break. A form will be going home on Tuesday explaining everything that is going on. We know that there are a lot of demands on parents and wallets this time of year. We will do our best to limit the expenses to our parents. We are trying to make this the most memorable year of your child's elementary years from Stockings to Gingerbread Houses, to Dinner, to our famous Pickle Swap.

Holiday Store

~Don't forget to bring your cash to spend at the PTA Holiday Store! You can do ALL your Holiday shopping in one stop at the PTA Store! Lots of bargains at low prices to shop for you family members!

Passport Biography papers

~Mr. Gibbons had a chance to read many of the rough draft passport papers. I posted two of the rough drafts. Both drafts did a great job of just sticking to the fact of the person's life. If you are having a hard time trying to figure out what facts to keep, and what to leave out.... maybe these two papers will help you out. Click on the paper and it will be enlarged.

Kaman Kernweiss

Franco Cesana

Weekend Challenge!

Unscramble the following groups of letters to win one of the presents left by Renaldo this week:

1. LNNDARAIDLNWITKNWWGOEAINRE

2. KSEGAKMDIAIGMITLNI

~The first person to unscramble both groups of letters wins! You can email me at gibbonsp@duvalschools.org or you can wait until Monday! The first ONE wins! The letters form a popular saying, song, item or theme that has to do with the holidays. You can get help from your parents, friends, etc.

Mr. G's All-time Favorite Book!

~We finally started Milkwed by Jerry Spinelli today! This is our last Spinelli in our author study of Jerry Spinelli. You will definitely see similarities to the characters in other Spinelli novels. This novel took him longer to write than any other novel that he has written. he traveled to Poland and spent a great deal of time in Warsaw doing research so that the book would be authentic. So far we have inferred that our main character, Stopthief, is probably a Gypsy based on his skin color, dark hair, dark eyes, and the yellow stone around his neck. He has been taken in by a group of homeless Jewish boys as the Germans blitzkrieg Warsaw before they invade. We also inferred that it is around September 1, 1939. We will really get heavily involved in Milkweed nest week. be prepared for lots of Milkweed talk next week. Special thanks to former Ape, Danielle Zinn, for introducing this book to us!

Morning Trivia

~Be one of the first 10 to drop by Room 71 in the morning and tell Mr. Gibbons the name of the strip of water between Denmark and Sweden and earn a treat!

Danish Resistance and Escape Across the Kattegat

~How did the majority of Jews in Denmark escape to Sweden? The Jews were smuggled across the sea Baltic Sea (Kattegat) to Sweden in boats of local fishermen (like Henrik's). Some fishermen had built secret compartments in their boats to conceal people. These boats were often stopped in mid sea, and boarded by Nazi troops searching for Jews. One of their instruments was specially trained police dogs. To counter this, scientists in Sweden and Denmark created a mixture of dried rabbit's blood and cocaine, and laced handkerchiefs with the mixture. These were then distributed to the fishermen. When a dog smelled the rabbit's blood, it would sniff the handkerchief. Exposure to the cocaine would now temporarily destroy the dog's sense of smell. This is how the Rosens were able to escape. Tomorrow we find out other things that they have not told Annemarie. The picture below is an actual boat used by the Danish Resistance to help Jews escape across the Baltic Sea.

Remembering the Victims

~Our current writing project is to write a biographical report on a survivor or victim of the Holocaust. On Monday and Tuesday each student was given a Holocaust Passport from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. They are to learn as much as they can about this REAL person who lived in Europe at the time of the Nazis. Then they are to write a report in the first person (as if that are actually they person). We have had an awesome time so far learning about these people. Many students have shared what they have discovered so far....... they are incredible! Just remember, even though they may have survived, they were still victims. Can't wait to see what they do on Thursday with their rough drafts.

Butler

Bailey B.

Ms. Edwards

Number the Stars - The Escape

~We are almost finished with Number the Stars by Lois Lowry! Our goal is to finish by Friday. We learned how many Danes tricked the Nazis to get the Danish Jews to Sweden. We learned that Great Aunt Bertie died...... but the casket was empty! We also learned how the Danish fishermen rigged their boats with fake compartments to get the Jews across the Kattegat to Sweden. This group (the 2011 Apes) has probably enjoyed this novel more than any other group of Apes. The Rosens and Johansens are not safe yet...they encounter more drama tomorrow!

Auntie and Gavin McLeod

Shaba and Jose

the Courtyard Crew

Who says reading has to be uncomfortable?

Renaldo the Ghost!

~As many of you have probably heard, we have a friendly ghost that lives in Room 71, and leaves notes and gifts for the Apes. It seems around every holiday he leaves cards, and dancing toys. Monday we found a rapping Christmas mouse, and today a dancing penguin...... We set a trap on Tuesday to see if we can get evidence of Renaldo.

treats from Renaldo

Bravery

~Remember how we talked about how it is easy to be brave when we know very little? Now we are going to see if Annemarie can be brave knowing the dangers that lie ahead! Also, we find out who Korinna and her family REALLY are! I can't wait to get back to school and back into our two novels! Vacation has been nice, but I am ready to go back! Below is a picture of reall girls who joined, or were forced to join the Jungmadel (Hitler Youth for girls)

An Ape Thanksgiving!

~Thanks to all the parents who came out to Room 71 and 73 today! The food was awesome! Thanks to those parents who jumped right in and began serving food and helping out! This is why Room 71 rocks! Thank you to those who spent their time, energy, and money on the Apes. Special thanks to one of our homeroom mothers, Mrs. Mika who stayed for hours cleaning and picking up and putting thing away. Mrs. Peck and I agreed...... this was the best food EVER for an Ape Thanksgiving!

Connah's Mom rocks

Ms. Benson & Mrs. Vyas Rock!

Auntie and her Dad

Dessert!!!!!

Emmy Lou and Daddy Lou

Big Pritch and Mrs. Pritch

Miranda and Dad

Justin and Mom

Mitch and Family

Abdurazik and Mom

Mykayla and her Aunty

The Shaabers
Maggy May and Dad