Lex Gillette Posted About Us on His Facebook Page!

Couldn't have been more thrilled about reading this and what we mean to Lex.  Our class is so lucky to be connected to him through the Classroom Champions program.  It is expecially cool that Lex is using Google Glass to show us life "through his eyes."  He is a an amazing person and athlete, who happens to be blind.

***Any time, any place, learn!*** ;)

Our +ClassroomChampions Lesson on Perseverance with +LexGillette!

For our December lesson on Perseverance, we started with the challenge video from our mentor athlete, Lex Gillette. Talk about a perfect example of perseverance! Our track Paralympic athlete is blind, but hasn't let that stop him from amazing things: playing piano, writing songs, bike riding, sky diving and more. We are really enjoying getting to know him-and the more we find out, they more amazed we are! I will write more about our live chat with Lex in a separate post, but I wanted to include a few pics. We all had a great time!

 We took notes during the chat for great memories!
   Since Lex life had such true examples of perseverance in his own life, we had many discussions about him, how even though some things are harder, he never gives up. We watched videos of him doing all these amazing things we would never dream someone without sight could do. We generated a chart of great words related to perseverance and decided to make acrostics to share in the hallway to inspire others.

   We are working in journals to talk about times we have each struggled and come up against something difficult, but kept trying and readjusting until we persevered! One of the kids brought up the United States Post Office motto and since none of us could remember it exactly, we looked it up and decided to change it a bit to fit 4th graders who will never give up! SUCH a great idea! Read at the bottom to see our final version.

No bullies, nor distractions, nor fears, nor failures of life will stop these 4th graders from the completion of their dreams and goals! We can do it and you can do it too! 

We were so happy to receive an amazing boxes of surprised from +Classroom Champions! I wish I had recorded all the oohhhs and aaahhss when I pulled all of these gifts from the box. What a great present for us all! Thank you Classroom Champions! We will use and wear our items with pride and be reminded often of how lucky we are to be part of such a great program! Check out our goodies here!

  Proud to be part of #TeamClassChamps and #TeamLex!!! Here is our video for the lesson on perseverance:
 
No bullies, nor distractions, nor fears, nor failures of life will stop these 4th graders from the completion of their dreams and goals! We can do it and you can do it too! 
 ***Any time, any place, learn!*** ;)

Meryl and Charlie posted our End of the Year video on their Facebook Page!

Post by Meryl Davis and Charlie White.

So exited that our montage of Classroom Champions subjects made it all the way to Meryl and Charlie. We are happy they posted it on their Facebook page! I hope they know how much we LOVED having them as our mentors this year. Couldn't have been better!

Google Alerts

We are thrilled to be paired with ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White in our Classroom Champions program. (Check it information about this awesome program here.)
I was often searching the internet for the latest information about where they were traveling, how they were finishing in competitions, or appearances they were making.  Then I found out about Google Alerts, and the whole task became SSSOOOO much easier.

Google Alerts is a great way of being notified about news or information concerning your athlete is posted on the internet.  It's super easy to do, and you will receive an email each time your athlete makes the news!  We have read articles about how Meryl and Charlie paired up as kids, how their moms are involved, how DWTS start, Derek Hough met with them about choreography, just to name a few! Usually after I am notified about our ice dancers by Google Alerts, I read the article with my class to keep them in the loop.  They always love hearing stories about their athletes!

Click here to set up an alert for something you are interested in finding current news about.

Click here for the help page on Google Alerts

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I would be happy to help if you have any trouble!  Just send me a message.

When I read a newsworthy story about about Meryl and Charlie, I also will tweet the news story to share on Twitter.  If you are on Twitter, it's a great way to share news about your athlete.  You can add @classroomchamps to your tweet too!  It's a great way to get this great program and news out on social media!

You could use Google alerts for lots of ways in the classroom too!  Check it out and let me know what you think!  Share any ideas you come up with!  It would be great to hear all the creative ideas!

Jennifer

P.S. We're getting so excited about the Olympics!  Meryl and Charlie had an epic, amazing weekend in Boston and placed first!! (I watched this on tv BEFORE the alert came...but you get the idea.)

 ***Any time, any place, learn!*** ;)

Our Google Hangout with Meryl Davis and Charlie White!

Through our awesome Classroom Champions project, we were able to have a live video chat with our athlete mentors, Meryl and Charlie. They took a break from training to check in with our class and let us get to know them. Needless to say they were amazing and the kids were instantly connected with them! Check it out here: In the first 2 days, it has bee watched in 30 states and 19 countries around the world!!! ***Any time, any place, learn!*** ;)

Can't wait to live chat with Meryl and Charlie on Tuesday!! Watch this piece on Road to Sochi about their journey! So proud to be a part of this fabulous Classroom Champions program! ***Any time, any place, learn!*** ;)

Meryl and Charlie News!

Check out our Classroom Champions athlete mentors, 

Meryl Davis and Charlie White!

Congratulations on your win!

Watch their short program here:

Read about their win here!



Here is another article about our favorite Olympians:

Click here to read about them growing up and their moms!
Having Derek Hough around for the win is awesome!  He worked with them on their choreography!

***Any time, any place, learn!*** ;)