They May Be Bulldogs, but Dallas Elementary Students are Busy like Bees!

Can I go back to elementary school? Students at Dallas Elementary are immersing themselves in learning -- and it looks like so much fun! 

Remembering learning about John Hancock and Thomas Jefferson in history class? You probably read the Constitution out of a dusty textbook, right? What if you could have your own personal copy of the document that established the United States of America?

That's what Dallas Mayor Boyd Austin provided to a group of Dallas Elementary School students and Assistant Principal Tameka Walker for Constitution Day.

September 17th is Constitution Day. It was on that date in 1787 that 39 signed the Constitution of the United States in Philadelphia. Many people don't consider how brave it was of those men who signed their name. What they did was considered an act of treason against the King of England, and their names were there in black and white for everyone to see! Would you have made that same choice? Are your convictions that strong?

In recognition of this historic act, in 2005, U.S. Senator Robert Byrd sponsored a federal law that declared September 17th to be Constitution Day. The law required every federally funded school to teach the Constitution on that day. Who better than the country's longest serving member of Congress to establish a day to study the document he spent more than 5 decades striving to uphold?

(L-R) Assistant Principal Tameka Walker, Charles Garrett, Mason Qualls, Mayor Boyd Austin,  Makayla Stansberry and Amy Hill

In an effort to increase the public’s awareness of this occasion, Mayor Boyd Austin, invites everyone to learn more about the Constitution during the month of September. “The Constitution is the most significant guarantee of our freedoms,” said Mayor Austin. “We can appreciate our freedom and respect our system of government by learning more about its importance on this special day.”

Want to learn more about Georgia's Founding Fathers?

Abraham Baldwin 
William Few

You can learn more about the Constitution at: www.constitutionday.com.

It's not all lessons in history at Dallas Elementary though. This month, the school hosted children's illustrator, and Atlanta native, Michael P. White.

 Shown is Mr. White drawing with one of the classes

Mr. White has spent many years doing local and regional arts festivals before illustrating his first book. His artwork has been featured in many galleries including a show highlighting his book illustrations at the Hudgens Center for the Arts. He has illustrated three children's books:

• The Library Dragon (winner of the 1997 Flicker Tale Children's Book Award, an Honor Book for the 1997-1998 Florida Reading Association Children's Book Award)
• The Secret of Old Zeb (winner of an Award of Merit from the Southeastern Library Association) with Carmen Agra Deedy
• Harriett's Horrible Hair Day with Dawn Lesley Stewart

Michael spent the day drawing with the students.

From drawing to reading, students at Dallas Elementary are making headlines for their reading achievements!

Every month students compete to see how many minutes they spend reading books on myOn, the world's largest digital library.

 JLee Geromino, 3rd grade

 
Classroom winners include: Colin McAllister (1st grade), Ethan Hardy (2nd grade), JLee Geromino (3rd grade), Amani Howard (4th grade), and Levi McNeil (5th grade). Congratulations! 

It's not the first time Dallas students are making the online pages of The Paulding Pulse for their myOn success. Read more about how Dallas Students are Turning the Pages Online.

All that reading makes one want to take a break and play a game, right?

Fifth grade students at Dallas are encouraged to play games in the Media Center.

(L-R) Adrian Lee and Evan Goodlow strategizing their next move

According to Dallas Elementary's Media Specialist Debra Lewis, there is actually a lot of thought and strategizing necessary to play checkers. A player must think ahead several moves and try to predict his opponent's next move. More experienced players learn to force captures, sacrificing their own men in an effort to capture a King or trap the opposition. Thinking, "If I move here, she will do this," forces children to plan and consider the consequences of their actions, two skills that are essential for a quality life. These strategizing sessions stimulate your child's brain and easily translate into other areas of life.

And here I was...just thinking checkers is a fun game!



Don't think Dallas Elementary leaves parents out of all the fun! What if you could talk with your child's teacher from the comfort of your own home, sitting in your pajamas, drinking a nice glass of sweet tea?

On Thursday, August 28th, Dallas Elementary parents were invited to a Digitally Connected Parent Night. The event provided parents and teachers their first opportunity to use an interactive format for giving feedback, voicing concerns and asking questions using the live blog site: todaysmeet.com. Family and staff were able to sign on from home, mobile devices or school computers and enter their comments. Those watching the blog were able to answer comments in real time, provide immediate feedback and supply information to multiple users at the same time.
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Teacher John Polacheck demonstrates how to use the format to several parents

There's so much going on inside the walls of Dallas Elementary School!