EAGLE CORNER: Helmsburg Elementary School ‘hidden gem’ in county

By KELLI BRUNER, guest columnist

Tucked away in the northwest corner of Brown County, you will find a hidden gem: Helmsburg Elementary School.

We serve 268 students from preschool to fifth grade. Helmsburg Elementary is one of three elementary schools in the Brown County Schools district.

I am excited to share a little about our wonderful school! We offer an amazing preschool program that operates five days a week. Helmsburg Elementary is staffed by two preschool teachers and two paraprofessionals. Helmsburg has a Paths to Quality Level 3 preschool accreditation. Each class averages 20 students per session.

Kindergarten through fifth grade are staffed by two teachers per grade level with an average ratio of 19 students per class. All kindergarten students at Helmsburg Elementary School attend our full-day program. Rooms are also available for special education, counseling, speech-language therapy and reading resource instruction. A Centerstone counselor is also housed in our building.

We compete yearly in Spell Bowl, Math Bowl and Science Bowl with our students. We recently were awarded 11th in the state in the Spell Bowl competition. Our coaches and students work very hard to compete.

This year we have been working monthly on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) projects schoolwide. The students have created turkey obstacle courses and elf traps. We have enjoyed watching the progression of the projects from preschool to fifth grade.

Kindergarten students shared with me what they have learned this year so far. They were excited to tell everyone! They told me that they have learned: ”Sight words,” Josie; “to have spaces between words in a sentence,” Ben; “numbers,” Xander; “counting,” Lewis; “number sentences,” Liliana; “parts of a book,” Zeek; “I-Ready math,” Luzadie; “to not tattle,” Juniper; “adding,” Jack; “playing nicely,” Jupiter; “writing letters,” Gunner; “different punctuation,” Ruby; “how to sort,” Aryana; “learning to read,” Wyatt; “write my name,” Johnny; “the alphabet,” Jett; “spell and write our names,” Sophia; “count the sounds in words,” Shyla; “listen to the sounds so we can write the correct letter,” Corbin; “write the date,” Cade; “read,” Joslyn; “write,” Elizabeth; “listen and follow directions,” Athena; “log in with our username and password,” Brayden; “count by tens,” Axel; “be safe and help others,” Lizzie; “use the pointer power while reading,” Josh; “count by ones,” Theo; “work on I-Ready,” Bryleah; and “name the letters and sounds,” Eden.

First grade does so much! They do decade days celebrating the 50th, 60th, 70th, 80th, 90th and 100th day of school. On each of these days they do lots of math activities about that number. They really try to focus on base ten for their math curriculum. They also learn about what life was like to live during the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. The 50th day is huge with a sock hop, 50s music, root beer floats, hula hoops, bowling and bubblegum blowing contests. They tie science in with the floats by predicting whether or not the ice cream will sink or float when they pour in the soda. They make a class book about their experiences. There is a focus on social standards by learning about culture and life in the past then comparing it to now. An exploration on how technology has changed and shaped so many things in each decade is studied.

On the 90th day, they celebrate “Halfway There Day.” This is used as a springboard for their fractions unit by exploring halves and symmetry. On the 100th day they dress up like old ladies and men. There are tons of activities centering on the number 100. The students do a home project that we share at school. They fill an empty water or soda bottle with 100 items. They place it in a bag and write three clues about their items. They read these to the class and shake their bottles three times. Since the kids cannot see the bottle, they have to guess what it is based on the clues and the noise it makes. They are so creative with their items and we have a ton of fun sharing them.

Second-graders told me what they loved about school. They said: “Pizza days,” Anthony; “math,” Elizabelle; “second grade,” Raiden; “homework,” Ellie S.; “gym,” Luke; “science and Mrs. Jones,” Trinity; “teachers teaching us things,” Rune; “all of the specials,” Carter; “art, science and gym,” Deagan; “gaga ball,” Max; “it’s a good school,” Ean; “spending time with my friends,” Ellie H.; “all of the nice teachers like Mrs. Hedrick and Mrs. Adams,” Lydia; “school,” Riggs; “the school’s tiger symbol,” Hadleigh; “we have a really nice, big school,” Damon; “teachers are nice and they give us lots of paws,” Maxwell; “it’s just a great school,” Scarlett; “the gym,” Kyler; “nice teachers,” Isabella; “art and math,” Ryder; “the teachers,” Lillian; “gym, art, my teachers,” Kenzli; “PE, art and science,” Peyton; “gym, math, art,” Aubree.

Third grade had a busy first semester! Students in third grade choose their own books for independent reading time, and have discovered many new series books that they enjoy reading. They’ve learned about multiplication and are now working on multiplication fact fluency. They have written personal narratives as well as research reports about different animals’ adaptations.

Fourth grade is racing for responsibility and earning Hot Wheels cars. They are really working on goal-setting and growing in their responsibility. Students can make it to Pit-Stops each day, which earns them tickets that go into a drawing at the end of the week. A group of fourth grade students are starting a newscast. I cannot wait for this newscast to begin. The students have been working hard on coming up with episodes and are beginning to interview students, staff and even me for upcoming shows!

The fourth-graders also worked through an individual project where they learned about having a growth mindset and how it compares to a fixed mindset. At the end the students set goals and made a plan of how to meet their goals.

Fifth-graders have really stepped up this year! They are a big help around the school with things like bus notes, recycling, announcements and wrapping kindergarten presents. They are working on goal setting for 2022 about subjects they want to excel in, habits they want to break and classmates they want to befriend. They are becoming experts at being kind! They are learning to write and memorize poetry. The students memorize and go into other classrooms to share. It has been such a joy to have fifth grade back in our building. They have so much to share and are great leaders!

I have been at Helmsburg for 27 years now and have loved every minute. Our school is one big family and you can sense that when you walk in the front doors. This is a very special place with very special students, staff and families.

Kelli Bruner is principal of Helmsburg Elementary School. She can be reached at [email protected].

EDITOR’S NOTE: Eagle Corner will replace the Superintendent’s Corner in future issues of the Brown County Democrat. Superintendent Emily Tracy wishes to share this column space with other school administrators.