Visit from a Dreamworks Character Designer
We welcomed Character Designer, Jordan McCracken-Foster @jo.mc.fo, working at Dreamworks TV as our guest speaker on Zoom during 7th-grade Art class. Jordan is a former student of Mr. Birdsong and shared his process for creating characters and tips for growing as an artist. He answered student’s questions and talked about what it’s like working in…
Our 5th and 6th Graders Back on Campus
The 5th and 6th-grade students are back on campus now, and it’s starting to feel like a real middle school again. Our students are excited about seeing their friends and having P.E. class in the gym with a virtual Ms. Gunn.
California Artist Michael Kershnar Visits with Second Grade
Our second grade students had a surprise virtual visit from California based artist Michael Kershnar. Michael, who is working on a large mural at the home of one of our second grade families, zoomed in to share an in depth look at the how and why behind the mural he is creating. Michael is a…
The Helping Hands Club Reads to Second Grade
Students in the Helping Hands Club at the middle school read to 2nd-graders in Ms. Wyant’s class over Zoom last week. Social Studies teacher and club leader, Ms. Simpson, said, “Not a traditional-looking read aloud on the carpet, but a new-aged, pandemic-conscious read aloud. We ended the read aloud with questions from our 2nd-grade friends…
Egyptology Virtual Museum
Our 6th-grade students are proud to present the Egyptology Virtual Museum! This museum allowed students to choose a category of interest to focus their research—as can be seen by the galleries—and a medium of teaching others about their learning—which vary from virtual building to painting to baking and many more. This museum teaches about life…
A Tubular 80th Day of School!
To celebrate the 80th day of school, Kindergarten faculty and students dressed in 80s themed attire! How totally tubular! “In Kindergarten, the 100th day of school is significant in their learning for a few reasons… by the 100th day, students have extended the counting sequence to this “number of days” in school, it marks the…
NASA Virtual Field Trip: Ames Exploration Encounter
What does it take to explore beyond our planet? Last month, Ms. Zerga took our 5th and 6th Grade students on a NASA virtual field trip with the Ames Exploration Encounter to find out. This program allows students to learn about various physics concepts, aeronautics, past space missions, and the International Space Station, or ISS. …
A Virtual Visit from the Mountain View Madrigals Choir
Every year in December, Keys School welcomes the Mountain View High School Madrigals Choir to perform. It’s safe to say this is a tradition our community looks forward to and loves. As we know, 2020 has made keeping traditions challenging. Due to the pandemic and distance learning, we weren’t sure if they would be able…
New 3D Printed Document Cameras Helping Our Students
Middle School Students and teachers received 3D printed document camera mirrors made and assembled by our very own Middle School Technology Integrationist, Steven Zeigler. Sharing ideas, art, and information over an online Zoom class are now clearer to see. The doc-cams show the image of whatever you place on or over the keyboard of…
These Workout Videos (NETFLEX) Collected by Ms. Chambers are Great for Children and Adults
Getting your workout in just got a lot easier—with help from our 7th and 8th Grade PE teacher Ms. Chambers. After scouring the online video workout world for the most helpful content, she assembled her top choices into one glorious collection. A collection she calls NETFLEX. Where did this idea come from? Ms. Chambers said, “At…