Cherokee Language Classes
Category: Community Partnerships
5th grade students enjoy Muddy Sneakers trip to Fires Creek
Building boats and racing them down the creek was the order of the day on October 29th for fifth grade students at The Learning Center Charter School. That’s because field educators from Muddy Sneakers took the class on an expedition to Fires Creek to learn about force and motion.
The Muddy Sneakers program exists to enrich the standard course of study through experiential education in an outdoor setting where students connect with the land, become more active, and gain self-confidence while improving science aptitude. Muddy Sneakers began as a pilot program in the spring of 2007 with Brevard and Pisgah Forest Elementary Schools in Transylvania County and has grown each year to now serve 36 schools across 12 counties and 13 school districts in the Carolinas.
While at Fires Creek, students had to construct a boat and see how fast it could travel in the creek in 11 seconds. Students made a hypothesis, tested their boats, made adjustments and then tested them again. They also investigated how a pulley system works by trying to find the best way to get a rope over a tree limb to lift a weighted backpack off the ground.
Fifth grade science teacher at the school, Gina Stafford, said, “The students loved the trip not just because it was fun, but because they were divided into small groups and were really able to focus on what the instructors were teaching. I loved seeing the kids so involved with the activities and enjoying the outdoors. They really did get muddy sneakers!”
Want to know more about our approach to education and the emphasis we put on be outside? Fill out the form below and we’ll contact you!
8th Graders “Ventured Out” to Asheville
Each school year, eighth grade students VENTURE OUT on day trips. It’s part of our school’s cross-curricular travel-study program that weaves literature, science and history with travel and real life experiences. The VENTURE OUT program promotes trips to places and people of interest across the Mountain Region of North Carolina.
In September, students traveled to the Western North Carolina Nature Center in Asheville. In addition to seeing and learning about the many animals at the center, students also enjoyed the ropes courses.
Why do we venture out with our students?
Traveling is an investment in education. It allows kids the opportunity to see first-hand the things they have learned and to put into practice the skills they have acquired. They gain a global perspective and a strong independence that no other teaching method can impart. Travel teaches tolerance, self-sufficiency, and resourcefulness. Without travel, students only see the world on a screen or in a book but TLC ensures they get to experience it for themselves.
Teachers Get CPR Certified
Teachers and staff underwent CPR and first aid training in October. Special thanks is extended to Kevin Carter, Cherokee County Fire Marshal, who taught the class.
4th annual ARTrageous event set for Friday, Nov. 8th
If you love supporting the Arts in our community, especially in our schools, then you will want to be at ARTrageous 2019 on November 8th at The Learning Center Charter School.
ARTrageous is an annual, themed celebration of the Arts. The event features music, dancing, dramatic performances, galleries of student work and more.
This year’s theme is an old time radio show. Students have studied what entertainment was like in the 1920s and 1930s before television. The school’s theater troupe, the Grow Zone Players, will be performing an actual episode of “The Thin Man” while also creating the sound effects from the story.
“The Thin Man” was a weekly radio show that starred Nick and Nora as crime detectives solving a mysterious case each week.
“This is a different style of performance than we’ve done in the past but one that our young actors are very excited to share with our community,” said drama program director, Ryan Bender.
Along with displays of student work and delicious hors d’oeuvres, there will be local performers including members of the Ridgeline Literary Alliance. The TLC Grow Zone Players will present their live radio performance of “The Thin Man” at 7:30pm.
Mark your calendar for ARTrageous 2019 on Nov 8th at 6pm at The Learning Center Charter School located at 945 Conaheeta Street in Murphy. Adult tickets are $10 and students are $5.
Farm to School Produce at The Learning Center Charter School
Offering well prepared, healthy food that nourishes students is a cornerstone of the educational environment at The Learning Center Charter School. Using locally grown produce is icing on the cake.
The charter school is part of the NC Farm to School program which affords the school ample opportunity and access to healthy North Carolina produce.
The NC Farm to School program is run through the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Food Distribution. During the 2011-12 school year, the NC Farm to School program delivered over one million dollars worth of NC produce to NC schools, reaching 1,003,921 students in 1,599 schools.
NC Farm to School gives North Carolina farms a viable market for their crops while providing schools a local source of fresh, seasonal produce. Produce includes watermelons, cantaloupes, tomatoes, apples, cucumbers, red potatoes, grape tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage, romaine lettuce, apple slices, collards, sweet potatoes, strawberries, squash, zucchini and blueberries.
Hilary Ehlers, Child Nutrition Director at the school, said, “The Farm to School program not only provides easy access to foods grown locally but also opportunities for agriculture, nutrition and health education.”
Ehlers added that when a student makes the connection between agriculture and food, they realize that food comes from a farmer and not magically from the grocery store.
“Nutrition education is a key part of our mission at our school,” said Ehlers. “Our students tend vegetable gardens on campus and the produce we buy from local farmers through this program reinforces the lessons we teach daily.”
Want to know more about the nutrition program at The Learning Center Charter School? Fill out the form below and we will get in touch with you!
Short Survey on Family Engagement
We are always striving to be a better education partner with you and your family and in that vein, we’ve put together a short survey on Family Engagement. Please click HERE and take it? Your answers are anonymous and confidential. Thank you!
Have a question? We’ve got answers.
Thank you, State Farm!
Our teachers and staff extend a very special thank you to our local State Farm office for donating several large umbrellas to the school. These come in handy on rainy days at school pick up time. Thank you, Steven Aft and your entire State Farm crew!
Kindergarten Visits Apple Orchard
On September 10th, Kindergarten students at The Learning Center Charter School took a trip to the apple orchard at Georgia Mountain Research and Education Center in Blairsville, GA to visit and learn about Johnny Appleseed, growing and harvesting apples in our region, and the cycle of life in an apple orchard.
Prior to the field trip, Kindergarten teacher Stephanie Wilson read many books to the students about apples. As a result, students were able to recognize the parts of the plant, knew the proper technique to pick and not injure the apple tree or other apples, and could discuss the interdependent relationship of insects, animals, and plants, and how weather effects farming.
Wilson found creative ways to use apples across the curriculum upon their return to school. Students added and subtracted apples, learned the science behind what makes an apple grow and even made wonderful apple art.
“Math, science, language arts, guided reading and visual arts studies were all enhanced with this special field work at the orchard,” said Wilson.
Want to know more about how we use field work to enhance our classroom studies? Fill out the form below!
Murphy PD & EMS Visit
In September, both the Cherokee County EMS Department and the Murphy Police Department visited our Montessori Preschool and Kindergarten students.
Thank you for visiting our young students and telling them about your important community function and answering all of their many, many questions!
Want to know more about how our school works with our community partners? Fill out the form below.