Programs & Activities

Programs

Art Programs

Tully's visual art program covers the Kentucky Program of Studies for kindergarten through fifth grade. This involves the Structures of Elements of Art, Principles of Design, Subject Matter, and Medium and Process; Cultures and Time Periods; Purposes of Art; and Interrelationships of the Arts.

We annually participate in various art contests, such as Parent Teacher Association (PTA) Reflections, Derby Museum Art Contest: Horsing Around with Art, and Derby Welcome Cards. Student artwork is on display at the St. James Court Art Fair, the Derby Museum, and the Gheens Professional Academy as well as throughout the hallways at Tully.

Mrs. Mattingly, our art teacher, provides an after-school art club for primary and intermediate grades. Sign-ups are posted in Tully's announcement newsletter. The Art Club members explore more involved processes such as papier mâché, plaster, assemblages, printing techniques, fiber arts, and sculpture.

Music Programs

All students at Tully Elementary begin music instruction in kindergarten and receive weekly instruction through fifth grade. Music instruction utilizes the principles of the Orff Schulwerk. Students experience music through singing, movement, playing of instruments and improvising, while interacting with their peers.

Students experience playing xylophones, glockenspiels, and metallophones during music class. Additionally, they play various nonpitched percussion instruments, including drums (djembes, tubanos, and bongos), rhythm sticks, wood blocks, tambourines, and maracas. Basic recorder instruction begins in the fourth grade.

Students at Tully Elementary also discover the delight of dramatic play and theatre, beginning with dramatic play for the younger students and continuing through polished dramatic performances for the older students. Students participate in the creative process and experience the concepts of drama through participation and interaction with their peers.

The concepts students discover and experience in music challenge them to realize the importance of creativity, respect, community, and cooperation while developing an appreciation for the arts in a fun and exploratory environment!

Make sure to check out the Tully Elementary’s Music Room blog for more information and to see what music students are creating.

Library Media Center

Visit the Tully Elementary Library Media Center page.

STEM Lab and Outdoor Classroom

Next Generation Science Standards

Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) Lab

At Tully Elementary, all teachers follow the Kentucky Common Core Standards for kindergarten through grade five. Every class visits the STEM Lab to complete units of study. Tully’s STEM Lab provides students with hands-on learning opportunities that enhance the district’s science modules that are taught in each classroom.

Follow Tully STEM Lab @Tullystem on Twitter.

Outdoor Classroom

We are in the process of further developing our outdoor classroom. Our large, raised plant beds offer students the opportunity to grow, care for, and observe the changes in flowers and vegetables native to Kentucky. This outdoor classroom provides a natural setting for students to read, write, and gather information about the world around them.

Both the indoor and outdoor lab lessons provide students with opportunities to predict, observe, classify, experiment, measure, compare and contrast, and draw conclusions. Students have many opportunities to work individually, with lab partners, or in small groups during hands-on, inquiry-based learning experiences.

Engineering is Elementary (EiE)

Tully students continue to be part of a venture with the University of Louisville (UofL) Speed Scientific School involving EiE Students. Students visit the STEM Lab and conquer an engineering problem by following the steps of the Engineering Design Process.

What is EiE? EiE is an award-winning program created by the Museum of Science in Boston that introduces students to the field of engineering by engaging them in real-world problem-solving and inquiry-based learning. Each EiE unit taught in Tully’s STEM Lab is closely matched with the Science Curriculum and Next Generation Science Standards that are being taught in the child’s regular classroom. Each unit is six to eight hours in length, so students visit the Lab accompanied by their teacher for approximately six straight school days. Each unit introduces a specific field of engineering (Chemical, Electrical, Mechanical, Bio, Acoustical, Material, Agricultural, Environmental, etc. ) through a storybook that is read in the regular classroom. Each story features characters from a variety of cultures and backgrounds. The main character always has an engineering problem which in turn Tully students will solve in the STEM Lab by following the Engineering Design Process Steps: Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, and Improve.

Tully has fully implemened the EiE program for all students K-5. Below is a sampling of units students may encounter during a typical year.

Kindergarten

Chemical Engineering—Students will test solids and liquids to create the “Perfect Playdough Process”.

First Grade

Packaging Engineering—Students design packages that will meet the needs of a plant.

Agricultural Engineering—Students design hand pollinators to pollinate a model flower.

Second Grade

Material Engineering—Students test materials to replicate an artifact (a petroglyph or stone carving).

Third Grade

Acoustical Engineering—Students create (spectrograms) visual representations of bird calls.

GeoTechnical Engineering—Students test properties of soil to create a TarPul (cable car) suspended over a flooded river.

Fourth Grade

Environmental Engineering—Students build a water filter to clean contaminated water.

Electrical Engineering—Students build an alarm that will light up and sound off.

Agricultural Engineering—Students design hand pollinators to pollinate a model flower.

Fifth Grade

Bio Engineering—Students build a model membrane to hydrate a frog.

Mechanical Engineering—Students design a windmill to lift weights.

Solar/Green Engineering—Students design solar powered ovens to melt s'mores.

In addition, Boston has created an Engineering Adventures (EA) Program that is fun, engaging and very hands-on. It is meant to be used during summer or after-school camps. During the summer of 2011, Tully was selected as one of ten sites in the country to pilot an EA summer camp. Two different week-long camps were enthusiastically attended by Tully students. The camp was featured in the following Kids Week video clip, featured on the front page of the JCPS Parent Connection newsletter and in the University of Louisville’s alumni magazine. Our STEM Lab teacher, Laura Keeling, was invited to attend a conference at the Science Museum in Boston and is now an extended professional-development (PD) Provider, certified to train teachers around the country who are interested in teaching Engineering is Elementary in their schools.

Visit the Engineering is Elementary website for more information.

LEGO Robotics

Every student is a Robotic Engineer during the school year. Tully uses WeDo LEGO kits from LEGO Education. Students strengthen their understanding of core science concepts and engineering problem. Upon building, students use software to program their model to make it move and make sounds. Finally, students have the opportunity to modify their model to improve their design.

Technology and the Student Technology Leadership Program (STLP)

Technology

Tully Elementary offers a full-time Computer Lab teacher/school technology coordinator. All classes are instructed weekly in the Computer Lab, which offers an online lab of 30 Windows computers. Our program supports the integrated use of technology within each classroom.

Beginning in kindergarten, students learn computer/technology skills, including word processing, database, keyboarding, spreadsheets, telecommunications, ethics/legal issues, and slideshows.

Our curriculum for P1 (kindergarten) through grade-five students follows the JCPS Computer Applications Skills Continuum, which prepares students for the Computer Application Skills Assessment (CASA) given each spring on a rotating basis to either the third- or fifth-grade classes.

The 21st Century Technology Skills require students to take an active role in their own learning. They learn to use technology as a tool to research, organize, evaluate, and communicate information and knowledge they have acquired through both independent and collaborative group projects. Students also learn how to apply critical reasoning and problem-solving skills when dealing with the ethical and legal issues that surround being a digital citizen. Internet safety is stressed heavily here at Tully.

Student Technology Leadership Program

Tully has a state-recognized Student Technology Leadership Program (STLP). The mission of STLP is to advance individual student capabilities, to motivate all students, and to create leadership opportunities through the use of technology.

Physical Education and Sports Teams

Tully's physical education (PE) program addresses health-related and skill-related components that promote lifetime physical activity. Students acquire skills, fitness, knowledge, and attitudes toward their physical well-being. Good sportsmanship and quality social interaction skills are also stressed. In the Primary grades, the main focus is assisting the development of students' motor and fitness skills. During the intermediate grades, the main focus is to continue with the development and refinement of motor skills and applying them in various games and other physical activities. Also at this level, importance is put on attitudes toward lifetime physical fitness and its benefits.

Tully Sports Team

Cross-Country

Tully offers a cross-country team for all fourth- and fifth-grade students and selected first- through third-grade students. The cross-country season is August to October.

Basketball

Tully offers basketball for third- through fifth-grade students. Tully has one girl's basketball team that plays at Mid America Sports Complex. Tully will have 1 3rd-5th grade team and 1 3rd grade team that plays at the Mid America Sports Complex. The basketball season runs from the end of September to the end of February.

Cheer

Tully has a cheer team that performs at the Tully basketball games and at Mid America Sports Complex. They practice at All About Kids once a week. The cheer season is September to March.

Track

Tully's track team season begins at the end of March and last until the end of May. The team is open to any students. The teams teams are divided into three different age groups: 8 and under, 10 and under, and 12 and under. Tryouts for all three age groups are at the end of March.

Student Activities

There are many opportunities for students to participate in a wide variety of activities here at Tully.

Art Club
"Tigers in the Jungle" Gardening Club
Tully Tiger Ensemble
Academic Teams (Written Assessment, Quick Recall, and Future Problem Solvers)
Band (fifth grade)
Orchestra (fifth grade)
Conservation
Roving Reporters
D.A.R.E. Program
Field Day
Jump Rope for Heart
Junior Achievement (JA)
Student Technology Leadership Program (STLP)
Student Council
Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA)
Cross-Country
Tiger Basketball Teams
Cheer
Track Team