PTSA helps provide opportunities to help enrich your child's education.

VIRTUAL ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES - TWO PER MONTH

The PTSA is hosting FREE online asynchronous lessons for K-2 and 3-5 available twice a month. Supplies are included! Please RSVP for the activity you would like to participate in so we know how many supplies to order and prepare. Pick up your supplies on the Pick-up Date noted between 9-3pm at Ella Baker.

CURRENT / COMPLETED ACTIVITIES

• MAY: Reduce Food Waste (Compost BINGO Card) | Art Challenge with Single Use Plastics
• APRIL: Earth Day Paper Animals | Earth Day Coloring | Teacher Appreciation 
• MARCH: Watercolor Flowers  |  Oil Pastel Tulips  | Draw Cat In The Hat  | Draw Dr. Seuss Houses  
• FEBRUARY: Changemaker Challenge | Pet Blankets Project 
  
• JANUARY: Polar Bear Art  |  Winter Tree Art  |  Coding Part 2: K-2, 3-5  
• DECEMBER: Painted Clay Ornament  |  Embossed Clay Decor  |  Coding Part 1: K-2, 3-5
• NOVEMBER: Fall Leaves Mosaic  |  Fall Leaves Watercolor  |  Articulated Hand  |  Robotic Hand
• OCTOBER: Rock Garden Art  |  Catapult Engineering

FREE CODING RESOURCES

These are a great way for students to gain exposure to coding at home with minimal commitment.

• Code.org - A great option for coders of all ages. Code.org is an ideal first step for new coders and helps build an understanding of foundational coding concepts that will pave the way for more complex coding in the future!
• Lightbot.com - Available as an app. This coding game is great for your youngest coders. Aims to teach the most fundamental concept in computer programming - “Code is a series of instructions.”
• MakeCode by Microsoft - Ideal for beginners and experienced coders. MakeCode allows coders to try out a variety of electronics and hardware based coding projects like micro:bit and Lego Mindstorms. Self-guided projects allow students to select block-based coding, Python, or Javascript as their language of choice!
• Scratch by MIT - Developed by MIT for the purpose of teaching young coders programming, Scratch is a block-based platform that is a great place for students who are ready to start building games and stories on their own!
• Khan Academy - Developed for older students and experienced coders, Khan Academy’s coding resources will help students learn the essentials of web development and SQL databases. A great starting point for students who are exploring coding as a future career and are eager to dig deeper in their skill development.

MATH CHALLENGE - EVERY OTHER WEEK

Students can sharpen their math problem-solving skills though 15 challenges (from Sep 25 through May) covering strategies such as draw a picture/model, make an organized list, look for patterns, and more. This is a great chance for families to enjoy math together as we encourage parents/siblings to get involved.

Get started today...this program is FREE and no sign-up necessary!

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

1. Download the current Math Challenge
2. Submit Solutions Online by the due date posted. Students who finish 11 or more Math Challenges successfully will be awarded with certificates at the end of the school year. For those that submit their solutions online, we will communicate results bi-monthly to parents.
3. Check Solutions Online - solutions will be available on the solution date by 3pm

CONTACT MathChallenge@ellabakerptsa.org

MATH TOURNAMENT - SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12

A national tournament focusing on math fundamentals and problem-solving skills open to students in Grades 2-6 This year the tournament will be held online. Review Full Tournament Details on Ellipsis Academy

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

1. Register by noon on Nov 30th (3-digit code for Ella Baker Elementary: 131). Registration Fee is $20/student.
2. Receive an email containing test link, access code, etc on Dec 7th. Add @EllipsisAcademy to your contact list to ensure that this email doesn't go to your spam folder.
3. Tournament Date is Saturday, December 12th. Registered students can start the test anytime between 10am-5pm PST. Once students have started the test, they have one hour to complete the test in one sitting. To uphold the integrity of the tournament, test questions and answers will be released on December 14th.

CONTACT MathChallenge@ellabakerptsa.org

REFLECTIONS - 12 STUDENTS ADVANCE!

A cultural arts competition providing students of all grades and abilities an opportunity to express themselves. This year's theme is I Matter Because...

UPDATE
Congratulations to all the students who participated this year! View this video featuring all of the entries from Ella Baker.

We received a total of 18 entries in all the categories and 12 entries have advanced to the LWPTSA Council level of competition:

• Intermediate: Visual Arts (5 advanced), Literature (4 advanced)      
• Primary: Visual Arts (2 advanced), Literature (1 advanced)

All the best to all the advancing entries. We will schedule an online presentation to share entries from all our participants soon.

RULES/GUIDELINES
Entries accepted in 6 categories. Entries are judged on creative ability and interpretation of the theme. To allow judging by appropriate developmental age/skill level, works are critiqued against others in the same grade division: Primary (Preschool-Grade 2) and Intermediate (Grades 3-5).  Please review the guidelines for each category: 

HOW TO SUBMIT
Submit your entry via the following fillable Entry Form.

Judging will be all digital this year, at the school, Council and State levels. If your students entry is selected to go to the State level, we will ask for the student’s hand-written form and your physical entry. Until then, please hold on to your entries.

CONTACT Reflection@ellabakerptsa.org