Great Happenings this week in East Grand schools.

• A huge thank you to Grand County Public Health and the army of volunteers from the Outbreak of Kindness for the mass vaccination clinic for educators in Grand County last Friday. It was well organized and our staff was very happy to be receiving the first shot. Altogether, 250 educators were vaccinated in four hours. It was an awesome day.

• The fifth-graders at Fraser Valley Elementary have water on their minds. We have been discussing the Word Generation question for our unit: Why do we fight? Students have been reading statistics, articles, and diary entries about scarce resources around the world.

We also read the book, “If the World Were a Village.” One of the shocking statistics shared was about the lack of clean drinking water for people around the world. The story we read asked, “How many people in the village of 1,000 have clean air and a nearby source of clean water? Eighty-seven people out of 100 have access to a source of safe water either in their homes or within a short distance. The other 13 people in the village do not. They must spend a large part of each day simply getting safe water.”

This discussion brought up things we are thankful for and lucky to have. One big resource is having drinking water available to us each day. Clean drinking water also relates to our FVE health team because the kids and Mrs. Feeley just handed out student-created stickers to encourage hydration at Fraser Valley Elementary.

• On Feb. 3-8, the Granby Elementary School PE classes participated in a Ski-a-thon fundraiser as the culminating activity for their three-week cross country skiing unit. The event was organized by the GES Parent Teacher Organization. The event had special decorations and music in the park; it was a blast for everyone!

Students were given the option of getting sponsors for their laps for the fund raising portion of the event. Each student with the highest number of laps in each grade will be sliming Ms. Keller, the physical education teacher, next Thursday. The sliming event will be shown live to the entire school.

Additionally, the students earned a pajama/crazy hat day for the whole school. Funds raised at the event will be used to sponsor many GES events such as Bingo for Books, Birthday Books, Craft and Caroling, Teacher Appreciation week and many more events. GES students completed 2,872 laps. Way to go!

• EGMS boys basketball finished up their season with a combined 11-3 record between the three teams.

• Sixth grade EGMS science students wrapped up their study of animal adaptations with a frog dissection last week.

• Granby Elementary School would like to give out a big thanks to Mountain Parks Electric, which generously provided ice cream sandwiches for the student’s pajama/crazy hat day celebration.

• At the middle school, students in homeroom classes decorated their doors for Valentine’s Day. Instead of dances and pep assemblies this year, the student council is trying to organize other activities to keep school fun and interesting. They’ve had dress up weeks, a virtual lip-sync contest, and holiday decorating contests.

• Catering 1A students are practicing knife handling skills and knife cuts. They had their first kitchen lab this week that focused on the “Mise en Place” aspects of cooking, which is organization and preparing ingredients. They then made the Playdough to practice specific knife cuts before they move on to real food and sharp knives.