Students in Maria Nunez’s fourth grade class at Mariposa Elementary are studying magnetism by exploring the properties of various materials that respond to a magnetic field.  As part of their experiment, students were given magnets, a compass, string and paper clips to investigate magnetism. The activity included magnetizing a paperclip by scratching the surface of a magnet, exploring the earth’s magnetic pull by using a compass and watching it point towards the North Pole, then disrupting the needle of the compass by placing a magnet near the device. Students gained insight into what is a magnet and how it works. Pictured are Sasami Bagnall, left, and … Read More

At Mariposa Elementary, Cynthia Deal in Maria Nunez’s fourth grade class was engaged in finding 12 different types of angles. The activity included having a great deal of fun during the learning process. Cynthia used mini-marshmallows and wooden toothpicks to create these various angles.

Mariposa Elementary School first grade students in Laura Lenihan’s class solved different ways to add numbers 2-12 during their math activity. Students worked in partnerships to play the game “Roll the Dice”. Pictured, from left, are students  Ana Arcenteles and Jesse Balderas working together.  

Several third grade students at Mariposa Elementary recently were treated to a special lunch with their teachers, Michele Graci and Susan New. The students had to read six or more of Florida’s Sunshine State Readers’ books to be invited to the event. Two of the students, Emmanuella Coupet and Geovanny Reyes, actually read all 15 which is quite an accomplishment. The students who were invited voted on what they wanted to have for lunch.  During lunch,  students were awarded certificates stating their accomplishments along with a small gift. Pictured, from left, are Emmanuella Coupet, Kailey Ouellette, Eve Cantrell, Ronald Marquez, Lawrence … Read More

Students in Toni Baptiste’s first grade class at Mariposa Elementary School researched a zoo animal and made a cereal box report about their animal. Boys and girls were excited to share their animal habitat, diet and fun facts to the class. In addition, students were able to share information they learned about their animal to a chaperone on a field trip to the Palm Beach Zoo.

Mariposa’s Open House was quite a success! Students and families met their teachers, received bus numbers, and enjoyed a special PTO Carnival!  The Carnival was provided by the school’s Positive, Passionate, Progressive and Proven PTO partners for all students returning to school.  Students won prizes, threw rings, made baskets, and had such a great time!  School never started off with so much fun! Students were excited to get “back to school” at Mariposa Elementary.

Students from Janet Balletta’s class at Mariposa Elementary recently presented their animal research projects for their parents and classmates. Students researched their favorite animals and created innovative animal projects out of cereal boxes integrating language arts, technology, and oral language skills. The culminating activity was the students giving an oral presentation of their projects. Students were recognized for their participation, and celebrated their success with their family and peers. Neisha Caldwell, left, and Shane Spellacy, right, won first and second prize for the most original and unique animal projects.

First grade students at Mariposa Elementary School were recently challenged to dress as a US President as a way to learn more about Presidents in the past and those in the future. Pictured, Steven Reinosa poses as future President of the United States, and his costume was so impressive, he won the contest for his class and was awarded a set of mechanical pencils instead of feathered quills.

The Mariposa Elementary School band and chorus performed recently at the Children’s Museum of the Treasure Coast. They presented their holiday musical called “Santa Goes Green” with a message of becoming environmentally friendly this holiday season. Pictured is Alex Perry singing a solo with the chorus behind her. The musical was made possible with a generous grant from Florida Power and Light, and the N.E.E.D. organization.

The Mariposa Elementary School band and chorus put on a musical performance during the month of December titled “Santa Goes Green” under the direction of Linda McCartney. The students worked hard for months to prepare for the performance. The audience was able to see the students dance, sing, and play various musical instruments. DVDs were created to help earn money for the N.E.E.D program that includes a trip to Washington DC. Pictured, from left, are Alexandria Perry, Nichole Ledoux, Dylan Brook and Sydney Garcon.

Fourth grades students at Mariposa Elementary school held their yearly Wax Museum for parents and students recently.  The event was held in the fourth grade classrooms. To prepare for this activity, each student researched a famous person and created a costume to portray their character. Students stand as wax figures until a guest comes up to their booth.  Once the visitor is present, the wax figure comes to life and tells a short biography about their life. Pictured in their costumes, from left, are Estefano Livi, Isik Billingslea, Daniel Lincoln, Jacob Mc Crory, Sadia Kouns and Hannah Murphy.    

Students in Ashley Thomas’ class at Mariposa Elementary were rewarded with an ice cream party for rocketing into mastering their multiplication facts through the nines. Each day Ms. Thomas quizzed students with 40 multiplication facts until all facts were mastered within a three-minute timeframe. Once students completed the different sets of facts, math coach Theresa MacInnes gave students a four-minute, 80-question facts test to complete. Pictured are Dasha Behrens, Taj Clyde, Khani Ellison, Kayla Green, Carter Heffley, Michael Hunter, Chyna Martinez, Rebecca Mosier, Jessica Sullivan, Anthony Torres, Thomas Duffy, Johann Vianna, Sara Westbrook, Trinity Hardy, and Brooklyn Parks. Other students who … Read More

This week in the Mariposa Elementary School media center, media specialist Charlotte Pennington read to the kindergarten, first and second grade students “Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot” by Dav Pilkey.  Before the story began, Mrs. Pennington brought out a tin can robot she made at home.  She explained to the students how she made it while the students sat wide-eyed.  The robot prop was an excellent introduction to the chapter book.  After the book was read, the students were instructed how to draw Ricky, one of the main characters. Pictured, from left, are Lea Cesiro, Cameron Peterson, Taline El-Khoury, and Stephanie … Read More

Mariposa Elementary School’s third graders in Monica Almeida’s class are enjoying their first attempts at writing narrative stories. The students are using SMILE’s Quick beginning, Loooong, interesting middle, and Feelings at the end format to create their original stories. The students hope to share their stories with Mariposa’s kindergarten students soon!

Brandan Cooper in Rose Caraballo’s class aat Mariposa Elementary School demonstrates his knowledge of the United States geography by completing his map quiz in the Media Center. Third grade students have been working hard to learn the states by their shape and location as they complete a digital timed map quiz.

An exciting enrichment reading group activity was held in the Media Center at Mariposa Elementary. Third grade students assigned to Charlotte Pennington enjoyed reading a folktale titled “The Paper Crane” by Molly Bang. While reading the story, the students were encouraged to use various reading strategies taught by Charlotte Pennington:  phonics, word decoding, clarifying, story mapping, predicting, questioning and summarizing.  The story taught the students about the nature of gift giving and caring for others that are less fortune then themselves. As an activity, the students learned how to fold their very own origami cup following Mrs. Pennington’s directions.  Before the students returned to … Read More

In fourth grade to practice learning about fractions, students in Michele Graci’s class at Mariposa Elementary decided to do some real world application. This project was helpful for the class to be able to answer the question fractions’ purpose. The students each got a chance to make a cake mix and end up with cake pops to eat at the end of their experiment. The class was put into four groups, and each afternoon a different group was put to the test. They were given a cake mix box and all the ingredients and tools they would need. It was then their … Read More

Students in Maria Nunez’s fourth grade class at Mariposa Elementary School were organized in a cooperative reading group with Kagan structures. There are four to five students in a group and each student has a specific job. One student will read aloud while the others read silently. When the page is read, each student has a task following a pyramid in the middle that says what that job is. Someone will summarize, then another student will predict, and the last student will connect the story to their lives, another book or a movie. After one round, the pyramid is turned … Read More