Posted August 10, 2015/Meria/Cascade Elementary School

A Day to Play at Cascade Elementary School

Three Cheers for Back to School!!!

I was laser focused on getting to the playground when I visited Cascade Elementary. Over the summer, Cascade was one of eleven elementary schools that received brand new playgrounds in Atlanta Public Schools! Sitting on the backside of the school, surrounded by gorgeous greenery, the play space feels a little like an oasis – a cool place where kids can run, laugh, swing and slide. And boy did we play!

This new equipment is fun – a little different – but tons of fun!

Now look, I must admit, these new-fangled playgrounds are very, very, very different from the ones we all grew up with – they are definitely much safer! But they are still fun – as evidenced by my photos with the students and Board of Education member Eshe’ Collins. We had so much fun.

We took time to visit the school’s new math lab. All students, Grades K-5 attend the math lab once a week for 45 minutes. The math lab instructor is focused on numbers and operations for the first 9 weeks and we saw students using lots of different math software such as IXL where students must obtain a 90% for credit, Study Island, First In Math and other fun websites. The school also has an interventionist that pulls students daily from grades K-5 in small group (no more than 7) to work with students who need additional assistance.

I tried to join in on the fun in the math lab, but I’m going to tell you, working on the school’s new ActivTable was a bit of a challenge for me. If you haven’t seen them, ActivTables are basically a digital white board, or Promethean board, that lies flat and has a touch screen similar to the iPad. Up to six students can work on it at the same time. A cool new use of technology, but I need just a wee bit more time to figure it all out. No worries – I am certain we have plenty of fifth graders who can help me out!