The first grade and fifth grade students from Canterbury, College Park and Highland View elementary schools have been working on a service learning project entitled “Shared Literacy.” Since January, they have been writing and illustrating short stories.

The project started when the first and fifth grade pair of buddies got together and brainstormed ideas for a story. After they completed the writing, students got together to illustrate the pages of their stories. The storybooks will be placed in the school libraries so that all the students will have the opportunity to check them out. Before having their stories placed in the libraries, students at all three schools celebrated their wonderful accomplishments.

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Members of Canterbury Elementary School’s Student Council presented a check in the amount of $10,000.01 to Superintendent William Hughes and Greendale High School Principal Steve Lodes on June 10. The donation was the culmination of a service learning project at Canterbury aimed at teaching students how to work toward a long-term goal.

During the 2006-07 school year, Canterbury Student Council representatives established a goal of collecting 1,000,001 coins to donate to Greendale High School as an investment in their future. Various fundraising activities were held over the last two years including a Coin War, movie night, the monthly sale of paper cutouts to decorate the school’s welcome wall, bingo nights, a dance, a raffle at a high school basketball game, and the sale of homemade cookies and beverages once a quarter during lunch. Students were proud of the progress they made toward their goal and enjoyed coming up with themes to help spark interest and raise money.

We all care about our children’s future, but Canterbury is showing the community that a little change can make a big change if we all work together.

Carlos Villanueva, pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers, visited first graders at Canterbury Elementary School. He spoke to the students about perseverance and how important it is to practice in order to improve your skills. Mr. Villanueva also told students how valuable it is to do your best in school. Students asked questions about his life, his schooling, and what it’s like to play for the Brewers. Mr. Villanueva posed for a picture with each student and signed autographs. The first graders had a great time meeting him and listening to his message!

Canterbury students showed their concern for the environment and their school grounds by removing garlic mustard plants from the woods surrounding Canterbury School on May 29. Garlic mustard is an invasive plant seen in woodland habitats that impacts forest biodiversity.

Students from 4K through first grade collected thirteen bags of the plants and students from second through fifth grade accumulated 48 bags of garlic mustard. Thanks to all of the Canterbury students and staff who helped in this all-school project!

Throughout the school year, fourth and fifth graders from Clarke Street School and fourth graders from Canterbury School had the opportunity to visit each other's school and work on activities together.

On May 20, the Clarke Street students visited Canterbury for their last meeting of the school year.

All of the students participated in various activities that related to dinosaurs. They read books, wrote stories, worked on puzzles, poems and completed a packet. The pen pals finished the day reflecting on their time together and then said their good byes.

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On May 2, between raindrops and rainbows, families streamed into the Canterbury gymnasium for Canterbury Carnival 2008. The event, sponsored by the PWC, is held as a thank you to parents for their support of activities throughout the year. Smiles were seen throughout the evening as children participated in carnival games, ate cotton candy, played Guitar Hero, and had their faces painted. At the end of the evening, the crowd gathered around the four contestants in the pie-eating contest and cheered as their favorite parent or teacher gobbled up miniature cream pies. Thanks to all who helped put this fun-filled event together and to those who attended!

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For the past three months, the fourth graders at Canterbury have been working on their state reports. Each student completed many different projects and activities that pertained to the state they had researched.

On March 14, the students had the opportunity to present their information in a creative way to help educate their classmates. Each student was responsible for creating a booth for the carnival. At each booth, the student displayed their research paper, baby book, travel brochure, graph, timeline, three choice activites, and flag.

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Can you clean a penny?

This was one of many questions asked during the Canterbury Elementary School Science Fair on March 10. Creative exhibits on electricity, tornadoes, mold, optical illusions, and more filled the school's gymnasium.

In all, there were 48 student exhibits at the annual fair which was sponsored by the Student Council. The event was open to all Canterbury students from Kindergarten through 5th grade.

Student Council Advisor, Carla Gilmore, noted that participation in the Science Fair is a great opportunity for Canterbury students of all ages. "This event opens kid's eyes to the world of science," said Gilmore.

This year, 9 participants chose to have their experiments reviewed by a panel of parents with scientific backgrounds. The students followed prescribed guidelines and then received feedback on their project at the Science Fair.

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Greendale Middle School 8th graders and Canterbury 4th graders are reading buddies. Once a week, the 8th graders walk over to Canterbury and the students take turns reading to each other for thirty minutes. Currently, the 4th graders are writing stories and letters to their 8th grade buddies.

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Elementary school and middle school students in the Greendale School District donated an amazing 5,669 books to support The Next Door Foundation's Books for Kids program! The 8th annual Book Drive ran from January 16 through January 25.

The books not only go to children in need in inner city schools, but are distributed to correctional facilities, hospitals and clinics, women's shelters, daycares, and even to troops in Iraq.

The district, through the generosity of Greendale families, has once again touched many who need our support.

Thanks to Mary Jo Kelly and the maintenance department for making this year's event a success. To all those involved, a heartfelt "thank you" for your efforts.

Two teams of students from Canterbury Elementary School, the Power Thinkers and the Turbinators, recently took part in the FIRST LEGO League.

The FIRST LEGO League is an international educational program for children from ages 9-14 that combines hands-on work with interactive robotics and a research component.

This year, participants were challenged to explore how energy production and consumption choices affect the planet. With help from their coaches, students designed and programmed robots to complete a series of specific tasks to address energy efficiency issues.

Both Canterbury teams entered a regional competition which was held on November 18 at Mukwonago High School. The teams were sponsored by the Grunau Company.

State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has proclaimed January 7-11, 2008, Adult School Crossing Guard Recognition Week in Wisconsin.

Canterbury Elementary School joined other schools across the state of Wisconsin in recognizing the dedicated adult crossing guards who assist students in their journeys to and from school.

Students from Canterbury prepared notes of appreciation for their crossing guard. On January 10, members of the school’s student council delivered a cup of hot chocolate along with the “thank you” cards to the crossing guard.

This year marks the eighth consecutive year of the statewide recognition event. The initiative was developed through a collaborative partnership of agencies and organizations representing state, county and local levels.

On December 5, the fourth graders from Canterbury Elementary met up with their pen pals from Clarke Street Elementary School. The day started off with a greeting by the Clarke Street staff. Following our welcoming, students worked on various activities. They made ornaments, magnets, played a basketball game, read stories and worked on math packets. After the morning activities, the students ate lunch in the cafeteria with their partners and participated in Activate America activities in the gym. The afternoon ended with bingo, a sing-a-long, story time, trivia and reflection. Students from both schools will meet up again in a few months.

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On November 11, a team of teachers from Canterbury, known as the Canterbury Belles, participated in the Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis at the Milwaukee County Zoo. The group enjoyed their day together helping to raise money for the Arthritis Foundation.

Through the Greendale Orchestra Mentoring Program, students from grades 7 through 12 work with 4th graders to sharpen their skills.

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On November 9, the fourth graders at Canterbury in Mrs. Dentice-Johnson's class and the eighth graders in Mrs. McIlheran's class at Greendale Middle School joined forces to clean up the wooded area between their schools. Approximately 90 students worked together for 45 minutes to remove garbage from the area. When the project was finished, all of the students gathered at the middle school. They had an opportunity to reflect on their efforts while they shared a snack together.

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Canterbury first graders and kindergarteners were partnered up to be buddies for the school year. They got together on Halloween, gave their buddy a card they made for them and got to know each other over a spooky game of Shake Rattle and Roll. These Kindergarten-First Grade buddies will get together monthly to play math games and to do a service project.

The fifth grade classes at Canterbury Elementary celebrated the autumn season with creative writing and pumpkin decorating. Earlier this month, each student composed a harvest-themed story revolving around a pumpkin character.

As a culminating activity, the students brought their characters to life! Each student decorated a pumpkin in the spirit of their story’s main character. By the end of the afternoon, classrooms were filled with a variety of pumpkins. Each classroom set up a festive display for the kindergarten, first and second grades to visit and then shared their stories with their classmates.

First graders at Canterbury recently found out what it would be like to be a marsupial. On “Marsupial Day,” students brought in a small, stuffed animal and put it in their pouch (a lunch bag tied around their waist) for the day. They then learned about other animals with pouches as part of their zoo unit. The students learned that one red kangaroo jump can be as long as a school bus. While wearing their pouches they jumped that distance to see how many of their jumps it would take to equal one kangaroo jump!

Fourth graders at Canterbury participated in a math unit that involved pumpkins. The students had to use their estimation and measuring skills. When the students were done answering various questions about their pumpkins, they had the opportunity to carve them.

Canterbury students are excited about the new rock-climbing wall which was installed at the school recently. During physical education class, students get a chance to set their sights high! The activity gives them an opportunity to be creative, build self-esteem, learn how to work with others and increase physical strength. The wall was funded through a grant from the Education Foundation of Greendale.

Fifth grade students at Canterbury had the opportunity to have the Greendale American Legion Veterans visit their classroom. The Veterans shared their experiences during World War II and the Korean War, and spoke about patriotism and the proper way of honoring the American Flag. The students were enthralled with the stories shared by the Veterans and were grateful for their visit.

Fifth grade students at Canterbury, College Park, and Highland View schools were invited to attend the fourth annual Civil War Encampment at Trimborn Farm on October 5. All students were able to meet Ulysses S. Grant and Abraham Lincoln and learn what their roles were during the Civil War. They joined the ranks of the Union Soldiers from Wisconsin, learned the history of Camp Randall in Madison and heard from members of the USCT (Union Soldier Colored Troops). How wounded soldiers were cared for on the battlefield, and what the women and children at home did to help the war effort was also explained. All the students had a great time having history come to life.

The 5th grade science classes at Canterbury kicked off the school year with an experiment on solubility. After testing a variety of substances (flour, baking soda, salt, cornstarch, talc) in water, the “scientists” were able to discover if their hypothesis was correct or incorrect. They enjoyed learning while having fun beginning their unit on Matter and Its Properties.