Glenbrook's making lots of school improvements! 

Have you seen them?

Glenbrook Elementary School is nearly 50 years old but recently we have made some improvements and it's looking sharp!  Take a peek at our "new and updated" look.

What is this students doing drawing on the walls? "Not in my house!" you say! Well, at Glenbrook, it's okay and encouraged on our new "wipe off magnetic walls.  Our old, ugly, 70's orange and yellow curtains that once divided rooms have been replaced with beautiful walls that are perfect for instruction.  The teachers and the students use them to work, display posters, signs and provide instruction. 

Gym class is fun, but now it is much safer.  All walls in the gym are now covered with beautiful mats. These mats protect students as they run and play. Additionally, the classroom teacher can display rules, goals, scores etc... on the wipe off panels that are secured to the walls.  They brighten up the room and provide a safe environment for our students. 

You may have also notice the shiny new tiles down the intermediate wing.  What a difference the tile made to creating a clean look to the 4th through 6th grade hallway. 

A highlight for our students is our beautiful reading nook in the school's library. Thanks to the many parents, students and staff for their wonderful donations, we have a new space for our students to cuddle up with a good book.  The library was dedicated to former teacher Mrs. Janet Heim who recently passed away from ALS.  We are so proud of our space and look forward to many years of enjoyment. 

Both front entry ways have brand new carpet. While this improvement is subtle, it sure has helped to keep the water out of the building and kept the front office from getting muddy and slippery on those few rainy days that we have had!  

Our back hallway bathrooms had old countertops that we in need of repair. We now have bright white counter tops and brand new soap dispensers.  They look nice and are much easier to keep clean. 

With full day, play based kindergarten comes lots of new toys, furniture, games and learning materials. All of it is just the right size for our little ones and each day they can't wait to come in and explore.  They aren't the only ones. I have caught many adults taking a peek inside too!  

The kindergartners aren't the only ones that received new materials. All classrooms received a couple hundred new books.  The students are enjoying the wonderful selection from American Reading Company.

Do you know what all of this is?  Seems like a pile of mess doesn't it?  Well we are becoming quite a group of techies here at Glenbrook. Each teacher has a laptop with a projector, document camera and an ipevo.

The document camera works similar to the old "overheads" that most of you had as children. The difference is that the document camera can project anything, they don't need transparency film.  They can project books, student work, workbooks or any other documents.  The ipevo is another great invention. Ipevo's turn the wipe off board into a "smart board."  Student can manipulate and make the wipe off board come alive!  

We also are receiving more and more classroom technology.  This year we have received 24 new laptops and are waiting on 18 new Ipads.  These are used daily in classrooms which leave us now to over 100 laptops.

We are so proud of Glenbrook Elementary, our school, our students, our parents and our staff, and now we have some lots of new and improved upgrades to our building! We love it!