Modern Learning at North Creek Elementary

Courtesy photo. Modern Learning seating at North Creek Elementary.

By Kimberly Gillow

At North Creek, we are proud of our charming building, which many of our parents attended as students in the Chelsea School District.

The building has changed a bit over the years, but the transformation of teaching and learning is often the first thing parents notice. As the world changes, we are committed to changing instruction and opportunities to modernize learning for our students.

Our mission is to empower students, engage minds and explore opportunities. Starting at North Creek, our students learn to be creative, collaborate with each other, communicate their thoughts and ideas and think critically.

By modernizing the process of teaching and learning, the spaces and places in which students learn and providing authentic learning opportunities for our youngest learners, we are preparing them socially, emotionally and academically for the future as graduates of Chelsea High School.

Courtesy photo. Modern Learning seating.

Spaces and Places that Support Modern Learning

The days of students sitting in desks in straight rows are gone. We want our students to have flexible seating and places to collaborate with each other to enhance their learning experiences. Ms. Larson’s 2nd grade students have the option to choose a comfortable space to read during reading workshop.

Process of Teaching and Learning

Whenever possible, we praise the process, rather than the product during learning activities. The purpose of praising the process is to encourage our students to think critically to solve problems, to be resilient and to approach new challenges with grit.

The students in the North Creek Code Club were challenged to use their iPads to create the coding to make their robots move through an obstacle course. Our students have the opportunity to do these kind of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) activities in our Makerspace throughout the school year.

Courtesy photo. More Modern Learning experiences at North Creek Elementary.

Ms. Falk and Mrs. Rehmanns’ kindergarten students explored living things by observing and touching worms during a hands-on collaborative science activity.

Second graders and their buddies from Young 5’s recently participated in a design challenge to design animal habits to meet the needs of different animals.

Authentic Learning Experiences

North Creek students engage in a variety of authentic learning experiences throughout the year. Two of our 2nd graders led a project to raise money to support Little Dude, who is a pig at the Barn Sanctuary. Some of the families from Mr. Robinson’s class were able to visit Little Dude when they delivered the money to the farm.

Families from Ms. Larson and Ms. Sleichers’ classes participated in a Career Day to expose students to different career options.

Children get hands-on experience through Modern Learning experiences.

The Chelsea PTO provided the funding for North Creek to have a garden this year. Mrs. Smith and her husband built the raised beds and her students planted our first round of crops.

Old MacDonald had a Farm and so did our Young 5 students. Mrs. Lantis and Mrs. Piper invited community volunteers to bring farm animals and machinery to the parking lot at North Creek to give students real world experiences as they studied about farm animals.