Great Happenings this week in East Grand Schools.

• Fifth grade students at Fraser Valley Elementary have been working hard in art class on a Peace Poster Challenge. The posters will be on display at the Fraser Library starting Nov. 15.

The Lions Club sponsors The International Peace Poster Contest encouraging students to creatively express what peace means to them. The theme for the 2020-21 contest is “Peace Through Service.” This contest allows students to share their unique images of peace with others, so that we may all have a greater tolerance and international understanding.

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This could not come at a better time to see our future generation’s vision of peace, so stop by the Fraser Library and enjoy a moment of “peace.” A special congratulations to our winners of the contest this year, Logan Glancey, Kendall Glancey, and Avery Jacobson.

• Third and fourth grade Granby Elementary students are learning how fossils tell us about the past by making fossils and then using them to find evidence about what environment the fossils came from.

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• After our recent wildfire, a homeschooled family in our community who wanted to spread some kindness contacted the kindergarten at Fraser Valley Elementary. Their son, John Pierce, a kindergartener, had an idea for a “happiness bag” to give to each of our students, as a little pick me up. He was eager to help other kids his age!

John Pierce and his family created a gift bag with a painting kit and a book for every kindergartner in our school. The painting kit is from a fair trade, fair wage company, Noonday Collection.

John Pierce loved the idea of these kits that are providing hope around the globe for the artisans that make them for Noonday and then in turn, may bring hope for someone in his community! They received donations from many of their friends around the country who also helped with this project. The kindergarten classes were able to meet John Pierce virtually to thank him for his kindness and generosity! Thank you John Pierce and family!

• Thirty-four Granby Elementary students have received new winter gear this year. Depending on their need, students received new coats, hats, gloves, snow pants and boots, or a combination of items. Making sure our students stay warm has been made possible through a very generous donation from the Knights of Columbus. GES thanks the Knights of Columbus for their continued support.

• Teachers and staff at Granby Elementary were treated to sunflowers by a generous donor. Did you know that sunflowers turn their faces to the sun, but when it’s cloudy they turn to each other to share their energy? The sunflowers brightened everyone’s day and were a great reminder to lean-on and encourage each other.

• Government Students at Middle Park engaged with community members virtually. Just because students are taking classes online, doesn’t mean they are missing opportunities to learn about civic engagement. With the use of synchronous online classes using Google Meet, students are still able to make presentations, do research, and receive feedback from unique audiences. Last week, seniors taking Mr. Ryan’s Civics class ventured into the world of statistics.

“There is a clear connection between demographic trends and how people vote,” explained Susan Newcomer, a former demographer from North Carolina.

Newcomer was one of two guest speakers who provided feedback to students who examined the demographics of a rural and urban county in the state of Colorado. Their job was to determine if they could predict how these counties voted in the 2020 election. Utilizing indicators such as ethnicity, age, education, income and housing, students were exposed to the way in which pollsters and the media often characterize voter trends.

Through this project, students learned why it is important to examine the issues and candidates in an election, as opposed to being a member of a group who votes in a predictable pattern. Brian Blumenfeld, a lawyer in Grand Lake, also attended the presentations and explained to students how the referendum and initiative process in Colorado works. His insight will serve as a starting point for students who are finishing an essay that discusses the democratic and undemocratic elements that are present in the U.S. Constitution.

• MPHS Yearbook Class has been working hard to create a yearbook that reflects the unique school experience of 2020. Instead of focusing on what we as a school and community have not been able to do, they have shifted the focus of the yearbook to the resiliency and support the community has provided.

We invite the community to send photos, words of gratitude, and testimonies of the strength of Grand County to yearbook2020@egsd.org.

• MPHS Programming classes are collaborating online to learn Python using Minecraft Education Edition.

• In music at Fraser Valley Elementary, kindergarteners through second-graders are making tambourines, while fifth grade is finishing up recording for their virtual winter performance. Third and fourth grades are learning rhythms and the notes on the treble clef staff so we can start piano in January.

• Here is the list of businesses that currently have student interns. We want to thank them for their support and partnership — especially through such a challenging time for business owners. Thank you for working with our students!

Middle Park Health, Grand County: Criminal Justice, Murdoch’s, Channel 17, Root Salon, Mountain Family Center, Church of Eternal Hills Pre-K, Davis Welding and Grand Lake Fire.

• Fifth-graders in Mrs. Horton’s class wrote list poems about winter with their families. Here’s one from the Holden Family.

• MPHS Band students have been learning some mad piano skills all year. They have learned songs by Coldplay, movie themes, Minecraft, Scott Joplin and more.

EGMS choir students have been playing themes from Tchaivovsky’s “Nutcracker” on virtual pianos just in time for the Holidays.

• MPHS photography students have created some stunning long exposure photographs while learning about shutter speed during distance learning!

• The Pre-Algebra and Algebra I students have risen to the occasion during distance learning. Students are showing up to online lessons, working hard, asking thoughtful questions and completing assignments well. Their flexibility from in person to distance learning is a testament to their resilience and willingness to learn. Mrs. Hoffmeister is proud of all of them.

• Our district nurses Tash Amick-Sullivan, Marilyn Banks and Mary Meeks have gone above and beyond their normal duties this year to keep our students and staff safe and healthy. We owe them a huge shout out for everything.