Hilton Elementary School

Brecksville, Ohio

January, 2002: Tunia surprised the Brecksville Bees with a visit in January. Tunia arrived to some snow in Brecksville, Ohio (which is a suburb of Cleveland). So far it's been a mild winter so we haven't had to make Tunia a jacket yet! She was greeted by 5 classes of eager first graders! Here's a peek at what Tunia saw on her first few days at Hilton Elementary.

Tunia visited with Mrs. Madden's class. They have been tracking her journey and could hardly wait to see her! Little did Tunia know that she would also have some smaller friends waiting for as well. The class decided to learn more about Tunia and her ladybug lifestyle by studying live ladybugs. Tunia was very excited! She also couldn't believe her eyes when she saw that Mrs. Madden's classroom was decorated with a bug theme! There even was a ladybug table. Tunia felt right at home!

Welcome to the jungle! Tunia found some more of her friends in Mrs. Wojcik's jungle-like classroom. While visiting them she learned a lot in math centers.

Tunia could hardly believe her eyes when she visited Mrs. Poulson's room! There were 24 more ladybug friends for her to meet. Mrs. Poulson's class had anticipated Tunia's arrival and wanted to be sure she felt "comfy" while visiting their room, so they made a ladybug craft before she came.

Tunia bundled up in Mrs. Tomcik's class! The class shared some winter activities they had completed with Tunia.

Bugs, bugs, and more bugs! Tunia joined Mrs. Garrison's class as they shared what they knew about bugs by making a word web. Tunia had a swinging good time!

January, 2002: Wow, did Tunia have fun when the class observed what ladybugs look like. Tunia couldn't believe that she had so many body parts. The class was even surprised to find out Tunia had some of the same body parts as we do!

Tunia thought that this was a cool experiment! The class was sure fooled by this one! We were testing to see if ladybugs liked the dark, medium or bright light best. We were surprised to see that they LOVE the darkness! If you look closely you can see 2 ladybugs in the medium light.

Did you ever wonder what a ladybug and toothpaste have in common? Well, they are both compound words, of course! Tunia played a fun game with Mrs. Tomcik's class combining 2 words to make a new compound word. She had so much fun learning compound words with ladybug spots.

Peek-a-Boo! Tunia played a fun word game called Peek-a-Boo with some ladybugs and the first graders in Mrs. Poulson's room. The goal of the game is to make a word with the three letters that you spin on a spinner. The class and Tunia made many, many words that followed the C V C (consonant-vowel-consonant) pattern.

Egg, larva, pupa, and adult...who knew that a ladybug changed so much in her lifecycle? The first graders in Mrs. Wojcik's and Mrs. Madden's class knew it! They read a book all about the lifecycle of a ladybug. After learning each of the four stages, the class broke up into groups to design lifecycle boxes for each stage. Thanks to the support of some helpful parents, the boxes look fabulous!

Tunia is hanging out in a tree at the Hilton Habitat. While visiting Mrs. Garrison's class, Tunia listened to the story Night Tree by Eve Bunting. The story led to a discussion about winter animals and how they find food. Mrs. Garrison's class decided to help out the winter animals that visit the Hilton Habitat by making some food that included apple circles and strings of Froot Loops. Tunia had a delicious time!

January, 2002: Tunia attended a community event called Relay for Life. The Relay for Life is a unique community event that allows people from all walks of life to join the fight against cancer. The Brecksville-Broadview Heights School District is sponsoring this event at our high school's athletic fields in June. Relay For Life is an overnight fundraising event that raises awareness and funds for cancer research, education, advocacy, and patient service programs. It is an awesome event that celebrates life for survivors, a memorial for loved ones lost, and a rally for the community to fight cancer.

What does the Relay for Life event look like? Groups of coworkers, businesses and families form teams. The teams then camp out at the event for the weekend. They are entertained by music, cookouts, and just having a good time being together. While all the fun is going on, a member from each team is constantly walking the track the entire weekend. A special walk is held for those who have survived cancer. On the last night, the track is lit up with luminaries in memory of those who lost their fight to cancer. It is a weekend that provides a roller coaster of emotions, but it is well worth it.

Look above to see Tunia at the Relay for Life.

Tunia will be sad to leave her new friends at Hilton Elementary School. Above, Tunia is sitting on the sign for the very special Hilton Habitat. What a great time Tunia had!

The first graders sent along this poem by Shari Clough:

Lady
Ladybug, Ladybug,
Don't fly away.
You're so good for my garden;
So, Ladybug, stay!
You gobble up insects
That nibble my food.
So stay, Lady, stay!
You're a bug that is good!

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