"Math Mania"

Recently, the first grade team of teachers, Mrs. Cooke, Mrs. Lemmerman, Ms. Brown, and Sra. Martinez, planned a Winter Olympics unit to get their students excited about learning measurement. 

Mrs. Cooke said, "We wanted to find an engaging and memorable way to teach measurement; if children are moving and playing while they learn, the skills seem to be much more ingrained into their memories."  

Students were divided into small teams; they chose names, created flags and cheered on their teams. Mrs. Lemmerman's students started their unit with a parade of flags, after researching countries and last year's Winter Olympics.

The Olympic Math activities included:  "Speed Skating," "Cross Country Long Step," "Free Style Jump," and "Snowball Throw" and allowed students unique opportunities to measure using non-standard units. 

Check out more Math Olympic Photos at https://photos.app.goo.gl/NhHVw6W5rPZkShd48

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Fifth grade teachers, Mrs. Moore, Mrs. Bersch, Sra. Lizarazo, and Ms. Moroni, took their decimal unit to a whole new level by creating a "Decimal Diner." 

Within the diner, the teachers served as chefs, complete with hats and aprons, and they served the students lemonade and brownies, which were on the menu of "Decimal Diner."  Students rotated through three stations working with adding decimals on receipts, figuring out costs of items, ordering from a menu and deciding if they had enough money to purchase the items, and arranging the costs of the orders from least to greatest. 

View more Decimal Diner Photos at https://photos.app.goo.gl/HiwkaYzG6ncgwxWJ6

Creating real-world connections and authentic learning activities upholds our Essentials and Pillars as an A+ School of North Carolina and a National Magnet School.  The First Grade Winter Math Olympics and the 5th Grade Decimal Diner created an inviting learning environment that allowed students to experience their learning, fully engage with all senses, and collaborate with other students and their teachers.

Read the full story on the WSFCS Permanent Record Blog at https://wsfcschools.blogspot.com/2019/01/more-learning-adventures-at-diggs.html

Annual Sing-a-long

On the last day of school before winter break, the whole school comes together for a celebration and send off to get everyone in the holiday spirit, celebrate the hard work from first semester, and have some fun.  A major part of the celebration is the joint singing of several Christmas carols from all students grades Pre-Kindergarten through Fifth.  In between the singing, surprises usually happen.

The Sing-a-long began with a Holiday Tradition, music from "The Nutcracker," as Honors Orchestra took the stage and wowed us with their superior performance under the direction of Mrs. Morris, Orchestra Teacher.

At the Annual Sing-a-long, Holiday Card Contest Winners are recognized with their card design and name displayed on a Powerpoint presentation.  This year we had approximately 25 Honorable Mention Winners and then lst, 2nd and 3rd place winners chosen by the administrative team, including the Instructional Coach, Instructional Facilitator, Assistant Principal and Principal.  Grand Prize Winners include the Principal's 1st Choice, (5th grader Danielle Kilby,) which becomes the cover for the school card design and is aired on Cable 2 for the month of December.  Also, two other Grand Prize Winners, (Shirley Mogollon-Mendez and Alyssa Young,) have their card designs sent to Central Office to compete at the District Level.  Out of these two designs, along with designs from schools all over the district, one of our school designs was chosen as the School Board Chairperson's Holiday Card Selection; congratulations Alyssa Young.

One interesting turn of events included Band/Music Teacher, Mr. Sigler, singing an original song about how much he likes Christmas Pie.  He doesn't "know why he likes Christmas pie."  After about the 4th or 5th chorus about Christmas Pie, Mrs. Nelson hit him in the face with a pie; the students thought it was hilarious.

Each year, several teachers also usually volunteer to participate in a staff dance, sometimes with original choreography by Dance Teacher, Mrs. Nelson, and other times with some surprise dance moves from popular dances from movies, video games, or sports teams.  This year, the staff added some "creative movement" while the student body sang "The Twelve Days of Christmas."  You weren't sure exactly how teachers were going to illustrate "nine ladies dancing," "six geese a-laying," or "two calling birds," but this year's "staff dance" proved to be hilarious with dabbing, Fortnite dances, and hula hoop props.  

Another unusual "sing-a-long surprise" involved a unique rendition of "Deck the Halls."  The Arts Team played "Deck the Halls" on Boomwhackers, utilizing the heads of administration and a few teachers to create a sort of "human xylophone."  Don't worry; they wore helmets.  It was so much fun, hilarious, and of course the audience chimed in with "Fa La La La La La La La La."

For more photos from Sing-a-long, visit the album here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/deLSxsW41tcD6vWa7

Teacher of the Year 2019

Congratulations to Mrs. Michelle Graham Moore

5th grade teacher

Our 2019 Teacher of the Year

Mrs. Moore has been teaching for 4 years; she began her career at Kimmel Farm Elementary and has been working at Diggs-Latham now for two years.  She grew up in North Davidson county and is the daughter of Keith (Linda) Graham and Teresa (Skip) Yost.  Mrs. Moore is the youngest in her family; she has one older brother who is a police officer for Winston-Salem Police Department.  Mrs. Moore attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and graduated Cum Laude, (with honors.)  Mrs. Moore is married and has two dogs; she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, reading and visiting her baby nephew in her free time.  Mrs. Moore is also the designer and owner of “TeachersandTees" Etsy shop.  

At school, Mrs. Moore is known for forming relationships with her students such as creating individual hand shakes and greeting them at the door each morning to utilizing call and response techniques to get the attention of her class.  While some people may think her techniques are unconventional, Mrs. Moore says her focus is on her students and she aims to go above and beyond for them.  (Read more about some of her unique units, such as a Math Construction Zone:  https://dlesmagnetnews.blogspot.com/2018/10/construction-zone.html.)

Mrs. Moore is active on Instagram and Twitter; you can see her inviting classroom, alternative seating areas, and unique classroom set up on these Social Media sites.  One unique aspect to Mrs. Moore’s classroom is her student job board; students apply for the classroom job of their choice and get hired for their positions based on the qualifications they list on their applications.  Mrs. Moore’s future goals include completing the National Boards for Professional Teaching Standards process.  

 Congratulations again Mrs. Moore; thanks for all you do to make a difference in the lives of students.

Classified Employee of the Year 2019

Congratulations to Ms. Krystal Simmons
Instructional Assistant 

Our 2019 Classified Employee of the Year

Ms. Krystal Simmons has been in education for 16 years.  She started working at Latham Elementary School in the afterschool program in the beginning of her career.  Later, Ms. Simmons worked as the assistant for the Magnet Express stop before being hired as a local assistant in the office.  Currently, Ms. Simmons serves as an instructional assistant.  She is known for making connections with some of our challenging students, serving as a role model, becoming a liaison between school and parents, and going out into communities to support our students.  Ms. Simmons was instrumental in gathering a group of our local mentors to greet students and cheer them on as they arrived on the first day of school in August.  

 Outside of school, Ms. Simmons also works with Home-in-Stead and sits with seniors.  She serves as an usher at her church.  Ms. Simmons grew up in Winston-Salem and attended Reynolds High School.  She has two daughters, ages 20 and 27 and one grandson who is 1-year-old.  In her free time, Ms. Simmons likes to read, shop and visit museums.

Congratulations again Ms. Simmons; 
thank you for all you do for our school.

Holiday Spirit Week

The Week before Winter Break was full of fun and excitement.  The School Climate Committee planned a week of activities and celebrations for staff and students, including Holiday Spirit Week.  This activity created a theme for each day that allowed students and staff the opportunity to dress up in festive clothes, colors and costumes.  The day's themes were as follows:

Monday:  "Long Winter's Nap"
Tuesday:  "Winter Wonderland Whiteout"
Wednesday:  "Dress the Part"
Thursday:  "Color Block Day"
Friday:  "Tacky Sweater Day"

Each day was full of students, staff and teachers wearing pajamas, dressing in solid white, creating costumes representing Holiday Characters, wearing traditional Christmas colors, and finding the ugliest sweater to wear to school.  It was a week full of fun, excitement, laughs and creative learning opportunities.

For more photo from the week, visit:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/yurp2wnSqUbnh14F8

Continued Community Support from Home Moravian

Support from the neighborhood and community is a vital part of a successful school and learning environment.  It truly 'takes a village' to make a difference in the lives of children and help them learn, grow and reach their full potential. 

We have a very support community partner in Home Moravian Church.  In the fall, Home Moravian planned a fundraiser dinner for us.  The money raised at the dinner is used to purchase a $50 gift card for each teacher to buy supplies for their classroom from stores such as Kaplan, Target, Dollar Tree or Walmart.

During the last week of school before winter break, Home Moravian members and volunteers coordinated a "Holiday Store."  The store included new and gently used items for adults that students could choose, have wrapped and take home to their parents for a Christmas gift.  Items included everything from scarves to mugs, decorations, and more.

Also before Holiday Break, Home Moravian supported our Holiday Musical by providing food bags for families to take home for the holidays.  The first 100 families to arrive to the musical received a ticket and exchanged the tickets at the end of the show for a bag of non-perishable items such as beans, pasta, or cans of soup.

Thank you Home Moravian Church, Members and Volunteers for your continued support of our staff and students.  

Spreading Hope: Supporting the H.O.P.E. Bus

Instead of exchanging gifts with each other this holiday season, the Diggs-Latham faculty and staff, particularly administration and office personnel, contributed more than $500 in cash and gifts to H.O.P.E of Winston-Salem. 

The mission of HopeWS is to use volunteers from the community to prepare and deliver meals on the weekend to thousands of children in Forsyth County who are at risk for hunger. Winston-Salem is one of the top cities in the entire United States for hunger in families with children. North Carolina and Louisiana are now the top states for hunger in children ages 0-4. One of every four children in North Carolina has insufficient food to meet nutritional needs!

Diane Herrera is our bilingual parent liaison who works in the front office at Diggs-Latham. Her brother William Herrera is a HOPE volunteer and frequently delivers food is neighborhoods in which some of our students reside.

HopeWS also provides gifts and toys during the holiday season to families where there is need.

To read more about HopeWS, please visit their website:  https://hopews.org

Also, check out our story on the WSFCS Permanent Record Blog at
http://wsfcschools.blogspot.com/2019/01/diggs-latham-elementary-supports-hope.html