Buchanan K-1 Center
In first grade social studies this year, students are focusing on mastering American symbols, community economies, parts of a globe, and cultures. In Unit 1, My School, My Community, they studied our communities. They learned about leaders in our community, state, and country; as well as the rules and responsibilities of a citizen. Unit 1 also introduced American Symbols. They studied important symbols such as the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, the American flag, and the Bald Eagle.  

Currently, in Unit 2, Work in the Community, they are learning about working within a community. They have discovered goods and services and needs and wants. Soon, in Unit 3, Looking at our World, they will explore the world around them. They will examine various land and water features, as well as how to label them on globes and maps. They will also learn about the continents. Finally in Unit 4, Traditions We Share, they will study cultures, celebrations and traditions, and the similarities and differences.

The social studies curriculum also incorporates reading skills. They learned about cause and effect, fact and opinion, main ideas with details, compare and contrast, and sequencing.

Submitted by first-grade Pod 1 teachers, Alex Babcock, Samantha Blum, Michelle Chase, Abby Johnson and April Koch

Huron Middle School

It has been a busy month in the Huron Middle School Counseling Office! October is Bullying Prevention Month, and the counseling office has planned weekly homeroom activities for each grade. These activities are centered around bringing awareness to the various types of bullying, prevention and reporting, and the impact bullying has on an individual and their peers — they made sure to add a cyberbullying component as well to emphasize the “online and offline impact” of our words and actions. The counseling office has distributed a variety of informative bullying prevention posters throughout the hallways, in both English and Spanish, to increase student and staff awareness and knowledge on this important topic.

Wednesday, Oct. 18, was Unity Day — a nationwide bullying prevention celebration in which schools, communities, and businesses are encouraged to wear orange to unite against bullying. It was the counseling office’s goal to increase participation in bullying month activities this year.

They will begin Veteran’s Day poster homeroom activities at the end of October, and the World Kindness Day project comes quickly after that. The counseling office will continue to use these homeroom projects to encourage empathy, kindness, and inclusivity.

Submitted by Taylor Kevan, HMS Social Worker

HHS Language Arts
Students in Marianne Trandall’s 10th grade Language Arts class at Huron High School will be actively engaging in improving their reading, writing, and grammar skills in the second quarter. The class will be hard at work researching and crafting persuasive research papers on topics of their choice. To aid in the process, students are utilizing AI chatbots to help generate ideas, outline their papers, and even provide feedback on drafts.

“The chatbots have been really cool to experiment with,” said Trandall. “Students can ask questions and get suggestions on improving topics and thesis statements. It’s like having a little assistant to bounce ideas off.”

In addition to their research papers, students will be reading and analyzing short stories by Post-Modern authors including Elizabeth Bowen and Franz Kafka. The unconventional narratives and playful use of literary devices will stimulate lively classroom discussions.

To supplement their reading and writing, the class is also working to sharpen their grammar and mechanics skills. They have been using the online program Quill.org for interactive lessons and activities to improve sentence structure, punctuation, parts of speech, and more.

“I can already see improvement in their writing,” said Mrs. Trandall. “The research papers will really showcase how far they’ve come in conducting research, crafting an argument, and citing sources.”

With a dynamic curriculum covering research, literature, and grammar, Mrs. Trandall’s 10th grade Language Arts class is developing a well-rounded mastery of English skills to benefit them throughout high school, college, and their future careers. She keeps the material engaging with interactive online tools and impactful reading selections from esteemed authors.

Submitted by Marianne Trandall