The evening was filled with holiday cheer as students shared their hard work and festive spirit during our Christmas Candlelight Program! From beautiful songs to bright smiles, our students did a wonderful job spreading joy and reminding us all of the magic of the season. We are so proud of the effort they put into practicing and performing—it truly showed on stage!

To keep the celebration going, students returned the next morning for a Christmas Pajama Party, and it was the perfect cozy way to wrap up our holiday fun. Wearing their favorite pajamas, students enjoyed a relaxed morning filled with smiles, laughter, and holiday activities with friends.

Moments like these create special memories and help build our classroom community. Thank you to our families for supporting our students and helping make both events such a success. We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a joyful holiday season!

This week, first graders took us on a wonderful journey as they shared their Christmas Around the World presentations! With passports in hand and bright smiles on their faces, students explored how different cultures celebrate the holiday season.

Each child chose a country to learn about and presented fun facts, traditions, foods, and special customs. From piñatas in Mexico, to St. Lucia crowns in Sweden, to Christmas markets in Germany, our young travelers discovered that while every country celebrates differently, kindness, joy, and togetherness are universal.

Students proudly shared posters, crafts, and artifacts they created. We listened to music, learned new words, and even tried a few traditional holiday recipes. Classmates loved asking questions and making connections between countries. Most importantly, everyone practiced speaking, listening, and celebrating each other.

Through this project, students discovered that traditions may look different, but they often share similar meanings. Learning about other cultures helps us appreciate the world and each other. Presenting to classmates builds confidence and communication skills.

We are so proud of their creativity, curiosity, and courage! Thank you to our families for supporting research and helping students prepare. This project brought so much excitement and holiday spirit to our classroom.

Our classroom turned into a tiny Halloween kitchen as our 1st graders mixed up their very own Witches’ Brew. With big smiles and even bigger imaginations, students took on the role of little chefs—stirring, scooping, and sprinkling their spooky snack creations.

Each child took turns adding ingredients to a big class cauldron, then mixed the brew with excitement (and lots of giggles). Finally, everyone scooped a little portion into their own bag to enjoy.

Book Character Day is one of the most fun days of the school year! First graders came to school bursting with excitement, imagination, and some seriously adorable costumes. They presented on their books and costumes at the SJDS amphitheater and the weather was perfect.

Another fun activity for students on Book Character Day was getting to Trick-or-Treat the trail. Middle school students decorated the nature trail on campus and were stationed throughout to pass out candy to lower school students. As students walked along the path, they spotted pumpkins, silly signs, decorated trees, and even a few pretend “forest creatures” peeking through the leaves.

Fall is here and what better way to celebrate the nice weather than planting flowers? First and second grade students partnered up to help a local non-profit in Texarkana that helps families before, during and after foster care. For the Sake of One is located downtown and was in need of some landscaping love. Students picked weeds, planted flowers and spread mulch to give this wonderful place a fresh look.

We are always looking for fun ways to build our phonics skills and spooky spelling definitely fit the bill. Students used monster teeth mats to spell worlds then gave them a good cleaning with toothbrush erasers. First grade is so fun!

STEM Fridays are always fun in first grade. Students learned all about the phases of the moon and put their knowledge to the test with a tasty lunar model. Students demonstrated a new moon, quarter moon, crescent moon and full moon by scraping away (and eating) cookie icing. Who knew science could be so delicious!

Wow! Our school library was upgraded over the summer and the first visit of the school year did not disappoint. Students were welcomed into the updated library by colorful seating and an interactive hopscotch pad to enter and exit the reading area. The library also has many new and exciting books to choose from and students cannot wait for their next visit.

In a recent study of ancient Egypt first graders learned about The Great Pyramid, The Great Sphinx and one famous Egyptian pharaoh: King Tutankhamen. Students created their own pyramids with golden tops like The Great Pyramid’s original design.