Windischgarsten Trip

Last weekend, a group of five VCS teachers left Vienna for a couple days away in Windischgarsten, a small town surrounded by the Alps. We stayed in a farmhouse bed and breakfast and spent our days there soaking in the beautiful sights and hiking at the foothills of the mountains.

This was our farmhouse home for the weekend. The owners served us breakfast in the morning, consisting of fresh cow's milk, coffee, tea, semmel rolls, ham, cheese, butter, and jam. In the barn to the left of the house are the cows that live on this dairy farm.

This is the view of Windischgarsten and the Alps from a hike we took near the farmhouse. The views were gorgeous and it was so refreshing to get to see a part of Austria outside of Vienna.

We ended our weekend in Windischgarsten with a ride on the Sommer Rodelbahn. First, we rode the ski lift to the top of the mountain, enjoying the views all the way up. Then, we rode a wheeled sled down the mountain on the solid metal track you see in this picture. The other tracks you see here are for another ride, the Alpine Coaster. The Rodelbahn was a thrilling ride and a great end to a fabulous weekend away.

ZOOM Kindermuseum

Mr. Reynolds, the Elementary Art Teacher, and I took the fifth grade class to a special art workshop at the ZOOM Kindermuseum (Children's Museum) this month. This workshop was a great chance for the students to experience some painting techniques in ways that we're not able to offer during Art Class at school. Students learned about mixing colors and layering colors in paintings. In one activity, foam balls were dunked in paint, then tossed onto paper spread across a wooden frame. Students held on to the edges of the frame, raising and lowering different parts of the frame to roll the foam balls and make paint trails across the paper.

Students also had the opportunity to paint some real-life objects at the end of the art workshop. Here, Mr. Reynolds and the fifth graders pose by an old car that they painted on. This activity was especially popular with the boys in our class - they love cars!

Mother's Day Tea

Elementary students recently hosted a Mother's Day Tea. All moms were invited to come have tea, juice, and pastries with their child(ren) and be guests of honor as each class performed a short program expressing how much we love and appreciate our moms. Our theme for this year's tea was "Queen for a Day". Each student made a crown for their mom to wear at the tea.

For those whose mothers were unable to attend, teachers filled in as substitute mothers. These girls were my adopted daughters for the morning - we jokingly called ourselves the Stevens family. Our fifth grade class opened the Mother's Day program with an original skit called "Best Mom in the World." We staged a game show in which six contestants sought to prove that they were the best mom in the world. In the end the audience voted and the results proved, with each student holding up one letter of this message, 'ALL MOMS ARE WONDERFUL!'

Austrian Labour Day

Today is Labour Day in Austria. Political groups and representatives from each district in Vienna marched in a parade at the city hall this morning. Bands played and speeches were made. Many Austrians wore red and white, while flags and balloons were flown above. All stores, banks, schools and offices were closed today in honor of this holiday.

Elementary Field-Day

On Friday, VCS elementary students enjoyed Field-Day! The students rotated between six different events, testing their speed, strength, and coordination. The Tug-O-War was one of the students' favorite events at Field-Day. In this photo, fifth graders - the BLUE team - use their muscles and a little bit of strategy to pull their way to victory.

At the Sack Race event, students hopped in a sack to the end of the mats and back. Once back at the starting line, the sack was passed to the next teammate and the race continued. The winning team was the first to get all members back across the starting line.

The Sponge Pass was one of the most exciting Field-Day events. Students stood in a line with a full bucket of water at the head of the line and an empty bucket at the end of the line. The first player soaked a sponge in the full bucket. The sponge was then passed in an alternating fashion over one person's head and between the knees of the next person. The last person in line squeezed the water left in the sponge into the empty bucket. When the time limit ended, the team with the most water in the "empty" bucket won.

High School Musical

So you've heard I am playing a percussion part in the VCS spring musical, High School Musical, and for those of you who thought "Liz? Percussion?" (I admit I thought that too!), here are the pictures to prove it's really true. It's been a blast to develop a new skill and to jam with the rest of the pit band as I've watched thirty-some students sing and dance their way from cliques to teamwork from behind.

Here's the full cast photo including directors, set and costume designers, and pit band members. The musical is sold-out and runs Thursday and Friday evenings, with a matinee showing on Saturday.

4th Grade Geometry Fair

The fourth graders recently held a geometry fair and invited classes from our school and our Austrian "sister" school to attend. The fourth graders issued tickets to their fair and manned a wide variety of geometry activity booths. The timing of the fair was perfect for our fifth grade class, as we are just beginning our geometry unit in math class. Here several fifth graders work on a geometry activity led by a fourth grade student (in blue).