Oliver Elementary hosted a national treasure during the week of October 24 through October 28. NASA sent moon rocks to Oliver for display. The Oliver teachers had to go through a certification course in order for the students to be able to get the up close view of the rocks. During the hosting of the event, other students from different area towns were able to view the rocks as well. Over 1,200 students were able to see the moon rock and moon dirt samples. Two students from Oliver, Roxann Ortiz and Jesse Sanchez (students in the picture) hosted a Distance Learning session which is basically like a video conference. The session included a video which was pieced together by Mrs. Lisle's High School Technology class. Jesse and Roxann then shared some information with the students about the moon samples. Students from other towns were able to ask questions to Roxann and Jesse about the moon rocks. The Distance Learning sessions were sent out to 9 different towns and 14 different classes and schools. A big thank you goes to Tommy Bearden at Region XIV for helping coordinate the Distance Learning.

Author Lynne Reid Banks made a visit to the 3rd and 5th grade students at Oliver on May 12. Ms. Banks is the author of numerous children's novels and books, with one of her most popular books being The Indian in the Cupboard. All of the students in attendance have read or are currently reading selections authored by Ms. Banks. The students were able to interact with her and ask specific questions to her. It was very informative and the students were able to speak to a nationally known children's author. A special thanks to Mrs. Musemeche, our librarian, for setting this up and also Tommy Beardon from Region XIV.

Back by popular demand, Santa Claus agreed to do a virtual field trip videoconference connection from the North Pole to students all across Region XIV. On Monday, December 13 and Wednesday, December 15, students in grades Pre-K through 3rd had a chance to see and talk to Santa live! The videoconference took place in the Oliver Elementary library. Earlier this month, students wrote letters and sent them into the North Pole. Santa talked to many of the students individually. The students were even able to see the live reindeer!