Columbia Elementary would like to congratulate Halyn V. on placing 3rd overall in the Davis District Spelling Bee. She competed against 49 other students throughout the district and made it all the way to the final three. Way to go, Halyn!!
Happy Spring, Folks!
We're having a great time in the library this month. I've had several requests to present some of history's greatest mysteries. Among those we discussed was my personal favorite: What happened to the people of Herculaneum when Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D.? Pompeii was enveloped by the eruption and created a time capsule of sorts that has provided priceless information for historians to help us understand everyday life in Ancient Rome. The artifacts we've uncovered include evidence of the people who were present in the city on that day. What is less known is that there was another town, Herculaneum, that was devastated by Vesuvius' eruption. BUT for centuries no one knew what happened to the people. Unlike Pompeii, there was no sign of the citizens who lived there, and no one ever heard from them again. This mystery captivated people for nearly two thousand years, until the late 1970's when archeologists dug a little deeper (Haha! See what I did there?)
We've also been discussing the Lost Colony of Roanoke, The Ghost Ship Mary Celeste, and The Loch Ness Monster. As an added bonus, we're playing with AI to create images (such as this one) of these mysteries and the events surrounding them.
In the coming weeks, we'll be diving into the student-requested topic of Heroic Animals Through Time.
Have a super week, Everyone!
Congratulations to Jacob R. for being selected to represent Columbia El at Soup with the Sup.
Come One, Come All to the 2025 Weber State Storytelling Festival! The event begins on Monday, February 24th and runs through Wednesday, February 26th. This is a fun, inspiring tradition, free to everyone.
This year, we have FIVE 6th graders representing Columbia Elementary. Come support our storytellers on Tuesday, February 25th at 11:30 am in the Shepherd Union Building on the WSU Ogden Campus. We hope to see you there...and don't forget to cheer really loudly for our Columbia kids!
https://www.weber.edu/storytelling/festival-schedule.html
Thank you to all the Columbia families for your support in helping our Hope Squad and Student Council collect food for pantry packs! Every student, from K-12, participated in assembling pantry packs during lunch on Friday. Together, we were able to donate over 600 packs! Your generosity is greatly appreciated!
Dear Columbia Families,
Your children are remarkable. We've finished up our unit on Utah's Online Library. In the last couple of days, I've asked them to list some of the things they are grateful for. Then, I asked them to consider a few things they'd never thought of before. They researched some of these on the online library and were encouraged to explain why they considered these things gifts. Their answers were so touching.
They expressed gratitude for their families, their parents, their siblings. Several mentioned how grateful they were for socks. Others were really grateful for Dr. Pepper and hair ties. Many shared very thoughtful expressions of thanks for things I've never even thought to be thankful for. One student expressed thanks for dirt, then proceeded to learn more about the amazing properties of soil. Another, having just sustained a difficult injury, expressed gratitude for their health. This lesson left me feeling more grateful for not just the big things, (more often than not 'things') and also the little ones too. I'm so grateful for your children's examples.
I encourage you to ask them about their answers. I suspect you'll be uplifted by their insights too.
Be Well and Happy Thanksgiving Folks!
Sincerely,
Your humbled librarian, Mrs. Duncan
Thank you to our Veterans! We appreciate all those who have served in our military services. Columbia salutes you!
**Happy Halloween, Folks!
November is just around the corner and we're diving into safe and reliable online sources. We love Utah's Online School Library and will be working with it in the school library during the coming month. This website is excellent for research, curiosity, and family-friendly information. It acts as a hub for many properly vetted resources children and families can access 24/7. You're also sure to find some fantastic games and entertainment you can explore together.
Check it out for more details: https://onlinelibrary.uen.org/
Login: online
Password: inspire
Hello, Columbia Families! Did you know our library holds about 9,500 books for your children to dive into? Some of the most popular are cookbooks, origami, American history, biography, and anything about Minecraft. Graphic novels are also extremely popular. In fact, you can find graphic novels in nearly every genre we have in the library. Whether it's WWII history or classics, like 'Anne of Green Gables', we've got them, and your kids LOVE them!
BUT WAIT! There's more!
Davis School District's Sora App expands our library by THOUSANDS of titles. These titles are in digital format and can be accessed through your online devices at home. If you're curious, go to the following link and log in with your student's login information: https://soraapp.com/library/davisut
If you would like to know more or are interested in one-on-one training in Sora, please reach out to Mrs. Duncan. She'll be happy to help!
Hello, Folks!
Several families have been asking about the book I'm sharing in the library. It's called 'Tempesta', which is 'Stormy' in Italian. However, you can't find it by that name here. If you'd like a copy of your own, the English title is available on Amazon.
WARNING: To all you dog lovers out there, read this book equipped with an entire box of tissues...or a towel to wipe your tear-stained face!
