May is the Month of Travel for Dickson Students

According to Roman dramatist, philosopher, and politician Seneca, “Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.” 

Dickson Elementary students are experiencing educational travel both literally and figuratively during May through and the school wide project, “Journey Around the World.”

On May 6, the kindergarten students visited the Carnegie Library in Oakland for their very first school field trip.  Students were treated to a special tour of the library, participated in finger play activities, made a craft, and listened to a puppet storyteller.

The GATE students in grades two through six took a walking tour of Pittsburgh as part of their theme study of architecture for the year. Grades two and three participated in the walk on Friday, May 6; grades four and five on Wednesday, May 11; and sixth grade on Thursday, May 12.  The students returned to school exhausted but well schooled in the heritage of Pittsburgh architecture.

Dickson’s third grade students participated in the “Multicultural Educational Program – Around the World in One Day,” which was part of the 54^th International Pittsburgh Folk Festival held at the Monroeville Convention Center on May 13.  The program provided our students with a unique opportunity to learn and experience a variety of cultures in a single day trip. The objective of this educational trip is to promote a better understanding of various peoples by learning about their history, culture and customs.  The students’ experiences included participating in folk crafts; watching performances of traditional ethnic dances, songs and music; and exploring cultural exhibits where students learned about a people’s history, geography and customs.  The international kitchens were also open during the program and offered a number of ethnic dishes and desserts for the students to sample.

Sixth graders took a field trip May 17 to the Highmark Sports Works where they experienced hands-on science activities such as taking a virtual tour through the human body, completing the rock wall challenge, and discovering how their weight is affected by gravity by becoming a human yoyo.

On May 18, the first grade students traveled to the National Aviary for their field trip.  Students attended an interactive educational assembly, Parrot Parade, in which one parrot talked and painted.  The students brought back the parrot’s work of art -- which is usually auctioned by the aviary -- for permanent display at Dickson Elementary.  The students visited birds from around the world, experienced different world climates, and, in the Wetlands, the children got to hand feed some birds with worms and fish.  The fifth graders will visit the aviary on May 27. 

sponsored a field trip for all district fourth grade students to visit the Woodland Hills Art Show at the Braddock Library last week.  Dickson students toured the art show as well as various parts of the building, including the ceramics studio, the swimming pool, the bowling alley, the French-Indian War museum, and the theater.  Students learned about the history of the library, the town of Braddock, and Andrew Carnegie. The students were thrilled to see their own artwork and that of many of their peers on display. 

The entire student body and the faculty are also participating in “Journey Around the World,” a school-wide, interdisciplinary project in which the students are researching and experiencing the culture, history, and geography of various regions around the world through "virtual travel." Each grade level has been assigned a region of the world to study. Kindergarten is studying North America & the Caribbean Islands; 1st grade, Australia & Oceania; 2nd grade, South America; 3rd grade, Europe & Russia; 4th grade, Africa; 5th grade, West Asia; and 6th grade, the East Asia. 

Students are completing grade appropriate research on each region and learning about the history, culture, and geography of their region in social studies, and in science students are learning about the region's climate, plants, and animals.  Students are also working on art projects, learning about world music, and being introduced to cultural dances and sports.  The project includes guest speakers from the community who are native to the various countries studied.

• Second graders learned about Mexico and Central America from Ms. Diana Cardenas, a parent of one of our Pre-K students who is from Mexico. 
• Dickson teacher Mrs. Delease Edwards, who is from Jamaica, spoke to the kindergarten students and taught them a special dance. 
• Guest speaker Ms. Mirsalikova presented information about her country and culture to the 5^th graders.  She is from Uzbekistan, and is a parent of two Dickson students -- Reyhan and Aybek Faizi. 
• Fourth graders were treated to a fascinating presentation on Africa by Mr. Nanji who is from Cameroon in West Africa. 
• On Monday, May 23, the fifth graders will also attend a presentation on India given by Mrs. Godhania, mother of Rhea, a 3^rd grader. 

These presentations are giving the students first hand knowledge about the countries and cultures that they are studying as part of the “Journey Around the World.”  These experiences are also demonstrating the rich cultural diversity of our own communities and country for the students.

The project will culminate on Wednesday, May 25 with a building-wide “Journey Around the World” Celebration. Students will create displays in their classrooms and hallways of their finished works of art, music, writing, posters, and technology presentations. Students will be given a passport book and "travel" around the world, visiting each region throughout the building and receive flag stickers for each country visited. Students can also visit the Library where there will be a display of authentic articles and artifacts from around the world.

All parents and friends of Dickson Elementary are invited to the evening “Journey Around the World” Open House from 6:30-8:00 PM on Wednesday, May 25 to visit each region with their children and to see the class and individual work of each grade level and child. There will also be musical performances by the children throughout the evening. 

All these “travel” experiences are planned in order to provide Dickson students with excellent educational experiences that increase intellectual skills, collegiality, and respect for diversity as our mission statement indicates. Our hope is to invigorate the minds of our students as Seneca stated and to promote independent lifelong learning.