Class Notes

Hello Parents and Families!

8 weeks left!  We’ve got some fun activities in the works…How-to Presentations next month, more standardized testing, day trips…keep an eye out for more info about all of our end of the year activities!

Best in Games Fundraiser - TONIGHT! 

The AAOCC is hosting a fundraiser at Best In Games!  

When : April 18th 2024 

Time : 6 pm -9 pm 

Cost :$25 per Wristband for unlimited 1st floor attractions * Socks Included* Arcade cards are extra. 

Advanced purchase of wristbands is highly encouraged as it will save parents/caregivers time, pick up at table just as you walk in the door. 

Purchase here : Booking Fundraiser for 4/18/24 - Best In Games (fareharbor.com)

We will also receive 10% of all Food/drink orders during this time, Please tell them you are with Ann Arbor Open. 

All funds will benefit the entire school. The funds will be put into the general fund which goes to all programs, and enrichment that is supported by the AAOCC. 

 In class lately:

With all of the MSTEP testing happening, it’s been a weird week. Try asking your kid about any of the following: 

• The 6th graders in our class were able to attend a series of debates that some of the seventh and eighth graders have been working on. Ask your 6th grade kid what the topics were, and what they thought of the arguments that each side made.  

• Everyone in class continues to work on revising a piece of their writing from their time in our class. Check in with your kid about what piece they chose, and their progress on their revision. 

• We’re going to be doing some peer review of this writing starting next week, so we practiced as a whole class. Ask your child about the story that we read together (it was about Sara and a pack of wild dogs on a wobbly bridge, and a mysterious note about a guy named Devon). Did coming up with feedback about that story help them think about how to improve their own? 

Upcoming Dates

Thursday, 4/18 - M STEP, 5th grade 

Thursday, 4/25 - M STEP, 5th grade

MAY

Wednesday, 5/1 - M STEP, English Language Arts

Monday, 5/6   - NWEA, 8:30am

Tuesday, 5/7 - NO SCHOOL

Thursday, 5/9 - NWEA, 8:30am

Wednesday, 5/15 - Early Release Day, dismiss at 12:30

Monday, 5/27 - NO SCHOOL

Thursday, 5/30 - Field Day!

June

Tuesday, 6/4 - TENTATIVE Poetry Book Release event, 6pm

Thursday, 6/6 - Ice Cream Social, 5:30p-8p

Monday, 6/10 - Field Trip to Rolling Hills Water Park

Thursday, 6/13 - Last Day of School!  Dismiss at 10:50am 

Hello Parents and Families!

MSTEP Schedule

We had a slight change in schedule for M Step - Here’s the updated plan:

Monday, April 15th, 8:30am - Math

Thursday, April 18th, 8:30am - Science - 5th graders only

Thursday, April 25th, 8:30am - Social Studies - 5th graders only

Wednesday, May 1st, 11:15am - ELA

If you could check in with your child about their Chromebook and its power cord, and try to help them troubleshoot any issues on that front, it would make our jobs much, much easier. 

Poets-in-Residence Program

As you know, we’ve had two U of M students (under the guidance of Scott Beal) joining us every Friday to write poetry with the kids.  The culminating project is a book of poetry published by Dzanc Books.  Last week, kids started choosing the poems they’d like to include in the book.  We’ll have a book release party with a poetry reading in June to celebrate!  (Our TENTATIVE date for our book release party is Tuesday, June 4th at 6:15pm.)

STATE OF THE SCHOOL ADDRESS

There will be a Zoom meeting on Tuesday, April 16th at 7pm for a State of the School Address.  Hear more about where we are and where we are headed with the work around restorative practices, defining ourselves as an Open school, and how our families can help, participate, and support this work.  https://a2schools.zoom.us/j/92178517441  Meeting ID: 921 7851 7441

 In class lately:

Try asking your kid about any of these things: 

• As mentioned above, kids have been asked to select poems that they’d like to include in our class book. This week, we also had them go through their writing folder to read through all of their old writing prompts, then pick something to revisit and revise. Ask your child what’s been like reading through their writing, and what pieces they’ve selected to work on further. 

• We’re nearing the end of Forge, our current read aloud. Ask your child about what’s been happening with Curzon, Isabel, Bellingham, and others. What have they learned about this time in history by reading this book together? 

• We’ve been having kids set their own math goals (within reason) for the last several weeks. Ask your child what their goal was for this week, and how they chose it. Have they been meeting their goal each week? Why or why not? 

Best in Games Fundraiser

The AAOCC is hosting a fundraiser at Best In Games!  

When : April 18th 2024 

Time : 6 pm -9 pm 

Cost :$25 per Wristband for unlimited 1st floor attractions * Socks Included* Arcade cards are extra. 

Advanced purchase of wristbands is highly encouraged as it will save parents/caregivers time, pick up at table just as you walk in the door. 

Purchase here : Booking Fundraiser for 4/18/24 - Best In Games (fareharbor.com)

We will also receive 10% of all Food/drink orders during this time, Please tell them you are with Ann Arbor Open. 

All funds will benefit the entire school. The funds will be put into the general fund which goes to all programs, and enrichment that is supported by the AAOCC. 

Upcoming Dates

4/15- and beyond - MSTEP testing (see above for details)

4/16 - State of the School address (see above for details) 

4/18 - AAOCC fundraiser at Best In Games (Want more details? You guessed it: See above)

Hello Parents and Families!

There’s SO much happening…

M STEP

It’s assessment season!  We will be taking the M Step this month.  PLEASE make sure your child is on time and brings their CHARGED CHROMEBOOK to school.  Here’s our M Step schedule:

Monday, April 15th, 8:30am - Math

Thursday, April 18th, 8:30am - Science - 5th graders only

Monday, April 22nd - English Language Arts

Thursday, April 25th - Social Studies - 5th graders only

TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE SUN! 

On Monday, April 8th, there’ll be a total eclipse of the sun!  The eclipse will peak (3:13p) right at the end of the school day (3:18p), and it’s very likely that many classes will be outside to experience it as the bell rings to end the day. How will this impact parent-pick up? Great question! We don’t know. We mention it just so you know that traffic might be particularly unusual that day. 

If you’re planning to keep your kid out of school that day (or even just the afternoon) to go see the full eclipse in all its glory, GREAT!  There’s no better reason to miss school!  Please let us know ASAP so we can plan accordingly for the day.  

SPIRIT WEAR

Here’s the Spirit Wear flier and the Order Form.  Orders are due Monday, April 8th.  

APRIL BOOK PROJECT 

Our April Book Project is SciFi/Fantasy.  Christine had books available for us at the library on Wednesday - please check with your kid to make sure they’ve got a book!

Reminder - Early Release Day

Next Wednesday, April 10th is an Early Release Day!  We’ll dismiss at 12:30pm.  

STATE OF THE SCHOOL ADDRESS

There will be a Zoom meeting on Tuesday, April 16th at 7pm for a State of the School Address.  Hear more about where we are and where we are headed with the work around restorative practices, defining ourselves as an Open school, and how our families can help, participate, and support this work.  https://a2schools.zoom.us/j/92178517441  Meeting ID: 921 7851 7441

 In class lately:

Try asking your kid about any of these things: 

• We had an assembly on Monday! Ask your child what they thought of Joe Reilly’s performance. 

• As you (hopefully) know, we’ve spent the last couple of months digging into early American history, with a focus on the Revolutionary War. One of our assignments this week was a check-in on some of the big ideas that we’ve been learning about. Ask your kid to tell you some of what they’ve learned. 

• With the aforementioned solar eclipse coming up, we also started talking a little about the mechanics of the solar system, and what causes an eclipse. This pre-assessment got them thinking about it so they’ll be primed and ready to see the real thing on Monday. 

Upcoming Dates

4/10 Wednesday - Early Release Day

4/15 Monday - M STEP Testing! 8:30am!

4/18 Thursday - M STEP Testing! 8:30am! (5th Grade Only)

4/22 Monday - M STEP Testing! 8:30am!

4/25 Thursday - M STEP Testing! 8:30am! (5th Grade Only)

Hello Parents and Families!

Don’t forget - NO SCHOOL next week!  Spring Break Woohoo!!!  See you Monday, April 1!

Report Cards

Report Cards will be sent home tomorrow - Friday, March 22nd.  There are two parts to our report cards:  a checklist and a narrative.  

The checklists follow the Grade Level Content Expectations (GLCE) and Common Core Standards determined by the state.  The checklist has the following scoring system: S, A, D, B and N.  

• “S” means secure: student proficiently  and independently applies skills and concepts. 

• “A” means your child is approaching secure: with limited support, your child correctly applies this skill/concept. 

• “D” means your child has begun developing this skill and with significant support, correctly applies skills and concepts.  

• “B” means your child is beginning to develop an understanding of the skills or concepts.  

• “N” is meant to illuminate a specific area that needs improvement. 

An item is left blank if we have not yet covered the topic this school year.

The narrative is designed to give a little more personal feedback about your child.  

In the past, we’ve also included a student self-evaluation, but as we’ve been sending home weekly self-evaluation/reflections on Fridays, we thought it would be redundant.  Feel free to check the weekly End of the Week Reflections we’ve been sending home each Friday for your child’s thoughts and feelings about school.

If you don’t receive your child’s report card, contact the office at aaopen@aaps.k12.mi.us or (734)994-1910.

 In class lately:

Try asking your kid about any of these things: 

• We’re about to wrap up our Focus Studies week! Ask your child how it went. Where did they go, what did they do, and how was it? What have they heard from their classmates about some of the other focus studies? 

• Ask your kid why there was absolutely no way they were able to fill both sides of the writing prompt this week. 

• One of the final parts of our biography project is wrapping up this week with the completion of our character timelines. Ask your kid about theirs. What events seemed particularly important to include? How do the other timelines look? What did they learn by doing this aspect of the biography project? 

Upcoming Dates

4/10 Wednesday - Early Release Day

4/15 Monday - M STEP Testing! 8:30am!

4/18 Thursday - M STEP Testing! 8:30am! (5th Grade Only)

4/22 Monday - M STEP Testing! 8:30am!

4/25 Thursday - M STEP Testing! 8:30am! (5th Grade Only)

SPRING BREAK, 

Ko and Jason

Hello Parents and Families!

We have a few time-dependent things to share with you this week.

TONIGHT!  Science and Maker Faire!  Volunteers Still Needed!  

The Science and Maker Fair is in urgent need of volunteers today and tomorrow. Take a look at the sign up sheet and see if you can help out. It’s a wonderful event for our school, and a great opportunity to get into the building to see some of the great work that kids have been doing! 

THIS WEEKEND!  Spring Gear Swap! 

This Sunday, March 17th is the  Spring Gear Swap!  12p-3p in the Gym! Check the link for the full details.  

NEXT WEEK!  Focus Studies begin!  

Monday, March 18th, we start Focus Studies. They run from 8:30 to 9:30 each morning.  

PLEASE make an extra effort to get your kid to school on time next week!  

Of course, being on time for school is always important. With rare exceptions, missing the first part of the day is by far the most disruptive and impactful for kids in our class.  Being late next week will compound that disruption significantly.  If you are unaware, during Focus Studies, every student in the school attends a class that they signed up for. These classes are almost always in rooms other than their regular classroom. During Focus Study week, kids arrive, check in with their regular teacher, then transition to their focus study location for the hour. Arriving late will not only cause them to miss out on part of the Focus Study that they signed up for, but it will also disrupt the Focus Study of their homeroom teacher. 

Focus Studies are one of the most beloved and popular traditions at our school. Teachers love them. Kids love them. Staff loves them.  They are also a very complicated thing to schedule.  We know that some situations are unavoidable.  To the extent that you are able, please help us get a smooth start to each morning next week. The bell rings at 8:10. Focus Studies begin at 8:30. We’re very excited and we hope your kids are too! 

Also next week - Report cards! 

On Friday, March 22nd, Report Cards will be sent home by email.  And the following week (March 25-29) is Spring Break WooHoo!  No School! 

 In class lately:

Try asking your kid about any of these things: 

• For Work Period this week, we had kids set their own math goals for the week, as opposed to having us tell them how much to do. Ask your child about it. What was their goal, and how did they pick it? Did they accomplish their goal? Was it too much, too little, or just right? Do they prefer establishing their own goal for the week, or do they prefer having us determine it? 

• Instead of “read aloud” this week, we had a few installments of something we made up called “Watch Aloud.” We’ve been studying a lot about the American Revolution, and as part of that, we watched some selections from the mini-series John Adams and from the musical Hamilton.  Ask your child what they thought of them. 

• Ask your child to tell you about some of the Fermi problems that we talked about this week. What were the questions, and how did they go about attempting to find reasonable answers to them? (How would you go about trying to answer some of them?) 

• If they don’t have much to say about any of the above, you can try asking them why the rat is always right. 

Upcoming Dates

Thursday, 3/14, 6-8pm - Science and Maker Fair

3/18-3/22 - Focus Studies Week!

3/25-3/29 - NO SCHOOL - Spring Break WooHoo!

Hello Parents and Families!

Kid Progress Reports

This week, your kid received a personal progress report.  We included information about absences and tardies (because attendance at school is SO important!!), progress in math, and how many times they’ve successfully completed their weekly assignments.  As we explained to the kids,  these progress reports are to help the kids make goals for themselves as we head into the second half of our school year.  

Don’t worry – parents will get a version of these progress reports in a few weeks (March 22nd to be exact!) – they’ll have more details and will be called report cards!

A2O 7/8 Information Night 

Our 7/8 staff members will be hosting an in person information night for families interested in learning more about the 7th and 8th grade experience at AAO.  There will be a panel of AAO staff members, and current and past students and parents for a Q and A session.  

Middle School Information Night will be held in the Media Center on Thursday, March 7th, from 6-7pm. Hey!  That’s tonight! 

 In class lately:

Try asking your kid about any of these things: 

• We’ve been looking at some terrible and misleading charts and graphs this week. Ask your kid about some of the most absurd ones. See if you can spot any out in the world over the next few weeks. 

• Kids have begun working on timelines for their biography projects. Ask your child about some of the events that they feel certain should be included for their character. What other events might be important to add? 

• The writing prompt this week involved goatmen. You’ll have to ask your kid for more information about that. 

Upcoming Dates

Thursday, 3/7 - Middle School Information Night (see info above.)

Thursday, 3/14, 6-8pm - Science and Maker Fair

3/18-3/22 - Focus Studies Week!

3/25-3/29 - NO SCHOOL - Spring Break WooHoo!

Hello Parents and Families!

Early Release Day - Wednesday, March 6th

That’s this coming Wednesday!  We dismiss at 12:30.  We WILL have lunch at school.  6th graders will NOT have Instrumental.  

A2O Middle School Information Night 

Our 7/8 staff members will be hosting an in person information night for families interested in learning more about the 7th and 8th grade experience at AAO.  There will be a panel of AAO staff members, and current and past students and parents for a Q and A session.  

Middle School Information Night will be held in the Media Center on Thursday, March 7th, from 6-7pm.  

Biography Project

We’ve been spending a lot of time in class (almost an hour a day!) on our Biography research this month, but your kid could (and should!) also be doing some reading and research at home.  This week, we’re putting our notes into an outline.  We’ll work on creating timelines next week.  Check in with your kid to see how their outline and note taking is coming along.

 In class lately:

Try asking your kid about any of these things: 

• Geometry Quiz! Every once in a while, we have kids take a low-stakes quiz in a traditional format to give them some practice with things that they’ll be doing in middle school, high school, and beyond. Ask your kid how they did, and how they feel about that kind of assessment. 

• We recently finished Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, so we decided to sample Forge, the sequel. It continues the story from Chains, but from the point of view of a different character. Ask your kid what they think of it so far. How does it compare to Chains? 

• Our writing prompt this week was called SPY CATS. Our journal prompt asked kids to come up with some creative ideas for how we should all spend leap day, the bonus day in February that we all get every four years. Ask your kid what they came up with. 

Upcoming Dates

Wednesday, 3/6 - Early Release. Dismissal at 12:30

Thursday, 3/7 - Middle School Information Night (see info above.)

Thursday, 3/14, 6-8pm - Science and Maker Fair

3/18-3/22 - Focus Studies Week!

3/25-3/29 - NO SCHOOL - Spring Break WooHoo!

Hello Parents and Families!

Reminder: NO SCHOOL TUESDAY, February 27 - Election Day

Luna Update

We’re sorry to share some very sad news from our class today. Luna died last night after a long illness. Her health issues have been well-known for a while, and we’ve been talking about it as a class over the course of the year. So while this isn’t an unexpected development, it’s certainly a sad one. 

Ko has been out all this week to care for Luna, and Jason had a long talk with the kids this morning about it. They took the news very well, and we talked about feelings, grief, and supporting each other. The main talking point was that there is no “correct” way to feel when something like this happens, and any feelings are likely to shift and change over time. Some kids might not feel much about it at first, but have a larger reaction at some point. Others might feel very sad now and want to talk about it a lot with people. We talked about who would be good people to talk about this with, and where they can turn for support when/if they want it. (If you’re reading this, you’re one of the people who came up.)

Of course, we also talked about what was great about Luna, and how much she has positively impacted our class community. She was a great dog. 

7th Grade Orientation and more

Last night, our counselor, Mike Gottliebsen, hosted an information meeting about 7th grade.  In case you missed it, here’s a video of the presentation.  You can also view the slideshow here, and read the notes from the chat.  There will also be an information meeting for 5th grade parents about our middle school program coming up soon - we’ll share more details as soon as we have them.  In the meantime, if you have any questions about this, you can email Mike at gottlie@aaps.k12.mi.us or book an appointment with him.  

February/March Biography Book Project

Our February/March Book Project is going well!  Kids have been reading books about the person they chose to study, and we’ve working to expand their reading to learn more about this particular time in history. We’ve started talking about some of the big ideas that they can be learning about through their research, and encouraging them to develop new and deeper questions. Talk to your child about their research subject! 

 In class lately:

Try asking your kid about any of these things: 

• The big news today, of course, is about Luna. Check in with your child to see how they’re feeling about the news. 

• As mentioned above, your child should be building an understanding of the person who they chose to study for their book project. Ask your child to tell you about them. If it seems like they don’t have a handle on their subject yet, you could try to research a little together at home. This would be an especially good thing to try to incorporate into the weekend, or the day off from school next week. 

• Our whole-group math lessons lately have largely been geometry related. Specifically, lines, angles, triangles, and using protractors to measure and draw accurate angles. Ask your kid how they like this type of math. Many kids who bristle at things like fractions and decimals often really enjoy the more visual aspect of early geometry. Check in with them about it! 

Upcoming Dates

Tuesday, 2/27 - Election Day, NO SCHOOL 

Wednesday, 3/6 - Early Release. Dismissal at 12:30. 

Finally, a quick logistical note: Because this week and next are so odd with all of the days off, we’re combining both weeks into one big check-out. So there won’t be an end of the week checkout tomorrow, but there will be one next Friday. The class already knows this, and now you do too! 

Hello Parents and Families!

Mid-Winter Break

Don’t forget!  NO SCHOOL tomorrow, February 16th- Tuesday, February 20th!  We’ll see your kids again on Wednesday.  Have a lovely long weekend!

Enrollment Survey

Please fill out the 24-25 school year enrollment survey!  Please fill it out for all students currently enrolled at our school by Friday, February 23rd.  This will help us get an idea of how many kids we’ll have next year and help us start planning.  (This is NOT an official enrollment for next year, that’ll come from the district later this spring.) Thanks!

Winter Survival Pictures

In case you missed them earlier this week.

7th Grade Info Meeting

Hey parents of 6th graders!  Our Middle School Counselor, Mike Gottliebsen, will be hosting a 7th grade orientation Zoom meeting on Wednesday, February 21st at 6pm.  

Student Council Fundraiser for the Humane Society

The Student Council is leading a fundraiser for the Humane Society of Huron Valley.  If you’ve got any of these items, send them to school!  There’s a donation box by the office.

• Gently used or new bath towels (The bigger, the better! Washcloths okay, but please, no hand towels.)

• Small blankets and pet beds that can be laundered in a normal washing machine

• Pet food in the original bag/can up to 3 months after the expiration date

• Scoopable cat litter

• Canned dog food (They love the Pedigree yellow cans with ground meat!)

• Waterless pet shampoo, Alcohol (must be 70% CLEAR alcohol – no scent)

• Liquid Vick’s Solution (for steam vaporizers)

• Yards of fleece for animal projects

• Ziploc bags – both gallon and quart sizes

• Gift cards from places like Amazon.com, pet supply stores, and office supply stores

 ”Hey, how is my kid doing at school?”:

Want to know more about how your kid is doing at school? GREAT! We have some suggestions for you: 

First and foremost, always take a look at their responses to the End of the Week Reflection, which are emailed to you at the end of each week. In general, the amount of effort that seems to have been put into their responses is a good indicator of how much they’re engaging with school overall. 

For example, if your child usually attempts to put in a good faith effort to respond to each question (the spelling might be baffling, the grammar might be a mess, but there still seems to be a genuine attempt to respond to the question), it’s a pretty good sign that they’re putting effort in elsewhere as well. 

On the other hand, if your child regularly responds with one–to-two word answers, or types things like, “i dont know,” or “I don’t remember,” or “idk,” it’s a sign that your kid might be putting a similar amount of effort into other things at school. 

To be clear, we already know how each kid tends to engage at school. We work very hard each day to challenge, motivate, guide, coach, nudge, and support every student where they are in their development. Accountability is a huge component of our class culture, and we’re doing everything that we can at school to support kids in this. 

So the Reflection responses are not intended to start a conversation between school and home. They are meant to start conversations between you and your child. They all know that YOU are the ones who receive their responses. The Reflection is one of the last things that we do each week. We rarely have the time to read their responses until well after the weekend, so the effort that you’re seeing in their responses is an indication of what they think you will find acceptable. 

What should you do with this information? That’s up to you! It’s not our place to presume to give parenting advice. We hope you find it insightful and useful. 

 In class lately:

Try asking your kid about any of these things: 

• The biggest topic this week is Winter Survival. Ask your child about their group, the other groups, what they learned, what was fun, what was challenging, etc. 

• We finished Chains, our read aloud book. Ask your child what they thought of it. The book concludes with the main character in a completely new circumstance. Have them tell you about it. 

• Our writing prompt this week was deliberately absurd, but several kids managed to find inspiration from it. Ask your child what they came up with for “Pizza Duckling.” 

Hello Parents and Families!

Winter Survival- MONDAY!!

We’re going on our Winter Survival field trip on Monday!!  Make sure that your kid knows what they need to bring for this trip!  (Need a refresher?  Check out the Winter Survival Info on our class website.) Each kid has been assigned to a specific group, and those groups have made plans together about what each person is supposed to bring to contribute. Check in with your child about it!  

NAAPID - also Monday!

NAAPID (National African American Parent Involvement Day) is on Monday, February 12th.  It’s a day for parents (ALL parents) to visit their children’s schools and support their educational futures.  NAAPID was created in 1995 by retired educator and former principal, Joe Dulin. 

Since our Winter Survival trip was rescheduled due to weather, the only date available was NAAPID.  We’ve got plenty of folks joining us on the trip already, but if you’d like to drop by school and enjoy breakfast in the lobby and visit our classroom until we leave (we won’t be leaving until 9:30 am), feel free to come by!   

Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is on Wednesday.  In our class, we don’t have a Valentine’s Day party, but we will give the kids a few minutes to pass out Valentines if they choose to do so.  We’ve printed up a class list and offered it to kids if they’d like one.  If your kid wants one, tell them to get it from the Extras Folder.

 In class lately:

Want to know more about what’s been happening at school this week? Try asking your kid about any of these things: 

• Wednesday was the Global Day of Play. Ask your child how they spent it. Who did they hang out with? What did they do? Did they do things with kids who they don’t usually hang out with? What were other kids up to? Did they enjoy the day? Did it feel like a good use of a school day? Why or why not? Check out the pictures!

• Our writing prompt this week was about an alien zoo. Ask your kid about their story.  Our journal prompt asked kids to write about their own personal version of “Washington Crossing the Delaware.” Ask your child what event they chose. 

• Things are coming to a head in our read aloud, Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson. Ask your child about what’s been happening with Isobel, Curzon, and the rest of New York City in the recent chapters. 

Upcoming Dates

Monday, 2/12 - Winter Survival trip rescheduled! 

Friday, 2/16-Tuesday, 2/20 - Mid-Winter Break, NO SCHOOL 

Tuesday, 2/27 - Election Day, NO SCHOOL 

Hello Parents and Families!

Poetry typers needed again!

We need parent volunteers to type up our second batch of student poems from our Poets-in-Residence program.   If you’re willing and able to help us type up poems (we’ll send home the poetry folders on Friday, February 9th and hope to get them back by Thursday, February 22nd), please email Ko ASAP.  

February Book Project

This month for our Book Project, we’re focusing on Biographies - specifically biographies of people who were alive during the period between the Revolutionary War and the early days of the founding of the United States of America.  This week, kids are focusing on picking a person to read about. Next week, we’ll be talking more about how the project itself will work. Ask your child if they’ve picked a person to read about! 

Global Day of Play

Next Wednesday, we’ll be celebrating  Global Day of Play!  (Also, here’s a good podcast about the Power of Play, in case you’re interested).

Science and Maker Fair

Science and Maker Fair will be on Thursday, March 14th.  Our class does not require kids to participate, but if your kid is interested in submitting a project, check out the wonderful website with tons of information!  

BIPOC Student Lunch

The first BIPOC student lunch will be on Tuesday, February 6th.  BIPOC student lunches are an opportunity for Students of Color to informally gather to build relationships and get to know each other.  Any student who identifies as Black, Indigenous, AAPI, Latinx, or Multiracial (or any similar words your kids might use to talk about themselves) is welcome to join. See the links below to register your child to participate in the lunches, and/or to volunteer as a lunch "chaperone". 

Student lunch registration

Student lunch volunteer

 In class lately:

Want to know more about what’s been happening at school this week? Try asking your kid about any of these things: 

• We’ve been learning about the American Revolution lately, so our writing prompt this week involves historical fiction (sort of). Ask your child what they came up with for the Crossing the Delaware writing prompt. 

• Our journal prompt today asked kids to share examples of good advice they’ve received in their lives, and to write about how it helped them out. (Some kids felt compelled to write about terrible advice they’ve received as well.) Ask your kid if they wrote something that you’ve said to them! 

• January book projects were due this week, and kids have produced a wide variety of things for them. We’ve seen several dioramas, stop motion animations, comics, faux news articles, and more. Ask your kid which projects stood out to them. 

Upcoming Dates

Wednesday, 2/7 - Global School Day of Play 

Monday, 2/12 - Winter Survival trip rescheduled! 

Friday, 2/16-Tuesday, 2/20 - Mid-Winter Break, NO SCHOOL

Hello Parents and Families!

Don’t forget - next Wednesday, January 31st is an Early Release day.  We’ll dismiss at 12:30pm.  6th graders will NOT have Instrumental Music.  

Also on Wednesday, January 31, BOOK PROJECTS are due!  

6th Grade Transition Day

This didn’t happen on Tuesday because of the Snow Day.  We’re not sure when it’ll be rescheduled, but we’ll let you know as soon as we do.

 In class lately:

Between the snow days and NWEA testing, we haven’t had much time for our usual class activities. That said, we’ve made a lot of progress in Chains, our current read aloud, which has given us a lot to talk about. 

• Ask your child about the latest events in the story. What happened to Elihu Locton? How has Isabel been using her position to try to escape their situation? Most alarmingly, who is Ruth, and what happened to her in the story today? 

• Chains tells  a very personal and specific story of this particular time and place in history. Ask your child about some of the other things we’ve learned so far about the American Revolution. What was “the Incident on King Street” in Boston? (And what is the more infamous name for that incident?) 

• We’re also learning some geography as we follow the events of this time in history. Most of us have a lot of work to do on this topic, so feel free to chit chat about any and all experiences you’ve ever had on the eastern coast of the United States! 

Upcoming Dates

Wednesday, 1/31 - Early Release Day, Book Projects Due 

Wednesday, 2/7 - Global School Day of Play 

Monday, 2/12 - Winter Survival trip rescheduled! 

Friday, 2/16-Tuesday, 2/20 - Mid-Winter Break, NO SCHOOL

Hello Parents and Families!

We hope you’ve stayed safe and warm over the past few days.

BOOK PROJECT

Please check in with your kid to make sure they’re on the right track with their book project for January!  Book projects are due on Wednesday, January 31st (that’s less than two weeks away!).

NWEA

We’ll be taking the NWEA Reading Assessment on Tuesday, January 23rd at 8:45am.  Please make sure your kid is on time and brings their charged Chromebook to school.

6TH GRADE TRANSITION DAY

On Tuesday, January 23rd, the 6th graders will participate in a transition day.  From 10:45-11:25, currently enrolled 6th graders will have the opportunity to get to know the 7th and 8th grade staff. They will have the opportunity to check out classrooms, meet support staff, and ask any questions for the upcoming year. We encourage students to come prepared with questions ahead of time so they’ll feel prepared on their first day next year!

Upcoming Dates

Tuesday, 1/23, 10:45am - 6th grade transition to 7th grade meeting (for students. See above.)

Wednesday, 1/31 - Early Release Day, Book Projects Due 

Wednesday, 2/7 - Global School Day of Play 

Monday, 2/12 - Winter Survival trip rescheduled! 

Hello Parents and Families!

Welcome back and Happy New Year!  

REMINDER - NO SCHOOL MONDAY, 1/15

Monday is MLK Jr. day.  Looking for something to do to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy?  Here are some ideas!  (Some cost money, some are free).

MLK Week

Speaking of Martin Luther King Jr., you may have heard that as a school, we are diving deep into the Civil Rights Movement this week.  We wanted to let you know that in our class specifically, we’re approaching the topic on a slightly different timeline than the rest of the school. We will absolutely be learning about Dr. King and the work of the Civil Rights Movement, but we’re beginning our study during the American Revolution. Learning about the circumstances surrounding the founding of the United States is a crucial part of understanding why Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement would still be necessary over 150 years later. 

 In class lately:

If you’d like to know a little more about what’s been happening at school this week, try asking your child about some of these things: 

• As mentioned above, we’ve begun exploring the origins of the United States of America. Ask your child about the two read aloud books that we started this week: Chains, a historical fiction novel set in New York City during the early days of the revolution, and Stamped (For Kids): Racism, Antiracism, and You, a nonfiction survey of American history and race. 

• The narrator of Chains is Isobel, a 13-year-old black girl who has lived her entire life enslaved. The American Revolution is exploding around her as the story begins, but the book is almost entirely about Isobel’s experiences as an enslaved person working as a house servant for a wealthy couple in New York City. Ask your child why they think the author chose to focus her book on such a low status character, rather than more famous historical figures like George Washington or Alexander Hamilton.  

• Our writing prompt this week asked kids to write a story about the worst traffic jam ever. Our journal prompt asked kids to think about their experiences with all of the note-taking that we’ve been doing this school year. Ask them what they wrote about. 

Winter NWEA Testing

In the past, we’ve taken the NWEA in the fall and spring.  This year, we are required to take it in the winter as well.  We will be taking the NWEA test on Tuesday, 1/16 and Thursday, 1/18.  Please help your child remember to bring their charged chromebooks on those days. 

January Book Project

Our January Book Project is choose your own genre!  While we have a menu of different project ideas kids can choose from, we are also open to other ideas.  Kids should check in with us to get their book and their project approved before they begin this project.  Please check in with your child to make sure they’ve picked a book and project.  

Poets in Residence

Each Tuesday, we’ve had our Poets-in-Residence (Ethan Malaver and Taemin Kim, supervised by Scott Beal) come in to write poetry with us.  This semester, Ethan will continue as one of our Poets-in-Residence and will be joined by Hannah Steenhagen.  Ethan and Hannah will be coming in every Friday at 11:15.  

Upcoming Dates

Monday, 1/15 - NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, 1/16, 10:45am - NWEA testing

Thursday, 1/18, 8:45am - NWEA testing

Tuesday, 1/23, 10:45am - 6th grade transition to 7th grade meeting (for students.  More info to come!)

Wednesday, 1/31 - Early Release Day, Book Projects Due

Wednesday, 2/7 - Global School Day of Play

Monday, 2/12 - Winter Survival trip rescheduled! 

Hello Parents and Families!

WOW, last night’s AAO Showcase was AMAZING!!  We’re so glad you were able to come check out what your kids have been up to for the past month - and if you weren’t able to attend, here are some pictures. Here are some things that you could ask your child about it all: 

• How did it feel when they finally saw our classroom space completely finished and on display for everyone to see? How did the reality of our exhibit  compare to what they were picturing in their imaginations? 

• We all worked very hard as a class to hold everything in our exhibit to a high standard. Was it worth the effort? What frustrations,  false starts, and failures did your kid experience, and what did they learn from them? Are they proud of what came out of it? Would they approach anything differently if they could do it all over again? 

• Ask your child what they think they learned from this whole experience. What did they learn about researching a topic and creating a project based on it? What did they learn about our actual class topic? What did they learn about the history of the planet, and how changes over millions of years have shaped life as we know it? Now that this project is over, are they still interested in learning more about the topic? 

WINTER SURVIVAL

We come back from break on Monday, January 8th.  We’re going on our Winter Survival trip on Tuesday, January 9th.  We’ve spent time in class preparing for this trip - check out the Winter Survival info link on our website and ask your kid what their group has planned. 

If you’d like for us to order a foil lunch pack from Chartwells for this trip for your child, please let us know by 2pm this Friday, December 22nd so we can place the order.  You might want to check with your child first to see what their group has planned. Speaking of which: 

Every kid who was at school today should have filled out this Winter Survival Group Planning Sheet. It would be a very good idea to ask to see it, just to make sure that their plan seems to make sense. (If they don’t have their sheet, look at the digital copy that we’ve linked here with them and ask  about the specifics.) If your kid was not at school today, tell them to check their email.  Their group should’ve sent them an email.  

Upcoming Dates

12/23-1/7 - NO SCHOOL, Winter Break

1/9 - Tuesday - Winter Survival Field Trip!

Finally, thank you all so much for the wonderful gifts!  They are never expected, but always appreciated.   Have a WONDERFUL break and see you in 2024!!

Hello Parents and Families!

WINTER SURVIVAL

As we mentioned last week, we’ll be going on our Winter Survival field trip on Tuesday, January 9th (that’s the Tuesday right after break!).  Details about this trip were sent home yesterday and are posted on our class website, along with a permission slip.  Please sign and return the permission slip ASAP.  

If you’d like to join us on this trip, please contact Ko.

AAO SHOWCASE: Journeys

Next Wednesday, December 20th is our Showcase!!  The Showcase event will happen at school at 6:30pm-8pm.  Come by our classrooms (Upstairs!  309 and 311!) to check out the projects we’ve created about the Journey of Life on Earth.  Wander around the rest of the school and see other journeys: Journey to Space, Journey of Birds, Journey through Mythology, and many many more!  We look forward to seeing you!

In class lately:

If you’d like to know a little more about what’s been happening at school this week, try asking your child about some of these things: 

• Our class is now all-journeys, all-the-time! Ask your child how we’re working to  transform our classrooms for the event on Wednesday night. Don’t have them tell you too much, because we’re hoping you’ll be able to see it in person at the Ann Arbor Open Showcase event next week! 

Upcoming Dates

12/18, Monday, 6pm - BIPOC Families Dinner 

12/20, Wednesday, 6:30p-8p - AAO Showcase

12/23-1/7 - NO SCHOOL, Winter Break

1/9 - Tuesday - Winter Survival Field Trip!

We’re going on an all-day field trip called "Winter Survival"!  An Environmental Education staff member and volunteer naturalist guides will accompany the class on the field trip. 

The trip is designed to give students experience in working together while using nature's resources to build a fire adequate for cooking lunch. Planning, cooperation, patience, and perseverance are rewarded with good food and pride in a task (often difficult) successfully done. 

During the week before Winter Break and the day before the trip, our class will have a discussion about the science of fire building (lighting techniques, constant tending, constant feeding, etc.) We will learn what must be present for there to be a fire (fuel, oxygen and heat), and what must be done to develop and maintain a cooking fire (fuel variations such as tinder, kindling, small branches, logs.) Much time is spent discussing the safety precautions necessary when building and tending fires (e.g. Do not use vines due to poison ivy, care in handling hot objects such as stones, coals and food.) In addition we will discuss the purpose of the trip, how to dress and behave, the schedule of activities, and responsible fire extinguishing and site clean-up techniques.

Food: students will actually be cooking their lunches. Individual tin foil meals can be provided by Chartwell’s, the AAPS food service, for students to cook on the fire. Your child’s teacher will submit a class food order. If you would prefer to send your own meal for your child to cook, we strongly encourage the tin foil meal format for ease of cooking. Your child should bring an eating utensil and a water bottle from home. We will spend time in class planning the food component of this trip.  

Here are some suggestions for meals

Clothing: this is a full day trip spent on-site, outside.  Students must be prepared for the weather conditions!  Proper preparation will ensure a happy, comfortable experience for your child.

• Boots - insulated, waterproof WINTER boots (not rubber rain boots)

• Socks - layered (be sure there is still wiggle room for toes)

• Pants - snow pants over regular pants or long underwear is preferred. Less ideal options include: regular pants with long underwear; or sweat pants with waterproof shells.

• Shirts - layered, ideally a t-shirt with long underwear or fleece over top

• Coat - winter coat  

• Mittens/Gloves - ideally wool mittens/gloves inside a windproof/waterproof shell

• Hat - waterproof hat with ear covering, Less ideal is jacket hood (tends to be cumbersome)

• Neck warmer or turtleneck shirt – less ideal is a scarf

We look forward to facilitating this meaningful outdoor learning opportunity for your child!  Thank you!

Hello Parents and Families!

Winter Survival!

Tuesday, January 9th, we’ll be going on our AAPS Environmental Education field trip - Winter Survival!  We know that sounds SO far away, but it’s the Tuesday right after Winter Break, so we’ll need to start prepping for it before break.  

For Winter Survival, we’ll take an all day field trip with Environmental Ed staff members and volunteer naturalists.  Kids will work together while using nature’s resources to build a fire adequate for cooking lunch.  Planning, cooperation, patience and perseverance are rewarded with good food and pride in a task (often difficult) successfully done.  

More information (along with a permission slip) for this trip will be sent home next week.  

 In class lately:

If you’d like to know a little more about what’s been happening at school this week, try asking your child about some of these things: 

• We are fully engaged in learning about our topic for the Ann Arbor Open Showcase. This week, kids have narrowed down the specific topics that they’re working on, and every student is working in a group to learn about a specific time period in the geologic history of the planet, or about one of the planet’s mass extinction events. Ask your child what time period or extinction event they’re learning about. 

• As a whole group, we’ve also been learning about the scientific classification of life on Earth. We’ve spent a lot of time with vertebrates this week. Ask your kid to tell you about the five different types in general, along with some of the oddball exceptions that make categorization trickier than it might seem.  

• We’ve been learning a lot about all of the above lately. Ask your child what aspect of these topics has been the most interesting to them so far. 

Help Wanted! 

Other classes are working on projects for the AAO Showcase as well! Here’s a note from Edie and Jamie: 

Edie (Kindergarten) and Jamie's (1st/2nd) classrooms are studying Mack School for the Showcase. If you or someone you know is an alumni or has a story to share (such as who helped build the whale near the library) about time spent at the school, historical information or anything of relevance they’d appreciate it. It could be a short video, written information, or you could visit them in their classroom. 

Please email Jamie or Edie to let them know: martinja@aaps.k12.mi.us, linton@aaps.k12.mi.us 

Upcoming Dates

12/18, Monday, 6pm - BIPOC Families Dinner 

12/20, Wednesday, 6:30p-8p - AAO Showcase

12/23-1/7 - NO SCHOOL, Winter Break

1/9 - Tuesday - Winter Survival Field Trip!

Hello Parents and Families!

Early Release Day - Wednesday, December 6th

Next Wednesday is an early release day.  We’ll dismiss at 12:30p.  We WILL have lunch at school.  6th graders will NOT have instrumental.

WINTER TIME and Donations?

Please help your kid remember to wear appropriate clothing for the weather (coats! hats! gloves!). As always, it’s a good idea to clearly label EVERYTHING with your kid’s name.  

It’s also the time of year when kids are using more and more tissues.  If you’ve got some extra boxes of tissues laying around that you’d like to donate, we’d really appreciate it!  Thanks!

BOOK PROJECTS 

Book projects were due this week…did your kid turn one in?  Double check with them!  

We won’t have a book project for December because it’s a shorter month, and we’ll be focusing a lot on our AAO Showcase project.  Speaking of….

AAO SHOWCASE: JOURNEYS - Journey of Life on Earth

Mark your calendars!  The Ann Arbor Open Showcase will take place Wednesday, December 20th at 6:30pm.  Every homeroom in the school is spending December working on their interpretations of the theme, and you’ll be able to check out all of the projects (in our class and beyond)  at the event! We hope you can attend! 

 In class lately:

If you’d like to know a little more about what’s been happening at school this week, try asking your child about some of these things: 

• This week, we heard the tale of the Negatons and Posons, and their strange relationship to each other. It’s a favorite topic each year. Ask your kid to tell you the story. (Spoiler alert: It’s actually how we introduce the concept of adding and subtracting positive and negative numbers.) 

• We’ve been spending a lot of time refining our class interpretation of the Journeys theme. Part of that has been learning about how dramatically the Earth has changed over time. Ask your child about how the place we know as Michigan has been over the last several million years. (Check out that link for a really cool visualization of this.) 

• We’ve also been learning a lot about how and why life on Earth has changed since it first emerged on the planet. Ask your child about the common ancestors they found on this Tree of Life Explorer. 

BIPOC Families Dinner

On Monday, 12/18 at 6pm, the BIPOC Families Committee is hosting a dinner in the auditorium for BIPOC families at AAO! Bring your own meal and dishes, and come meet with other BIPOC families! 

Upcoming Dates

12/6, Wednesday - Early Release Day.  

12/18, Monday, 6pm - BIPOC Families Dinner 

12/20, Wednesday, 6:30p-8p - AAO Showcase

12/23-1/7 - NO SCHOOL, Winter Break

Hello Parents and Families!

Help Wanted

We need parent volunteers to type batches of student poems from our Poets-in-Residence program.    In past years, parents who volunteered to type student poems said that they enjoyed the experience -- it gave them a chance to see what the students were working on firsthand, and they found themselves impressed, entertained, and moved by the kids' poems.  If you’re willing and able to help us type up poems, please email Ko ASAP.  Our first batch of poems is ready to be typed and will be sent to our typers tomorrow!

(Thanks go out to Erin, Neeraja, Eliza and Shaira for volunteering already!)

Donations Wanted

We’re in the ideas phase of our A2O Showcase: Journeys journey, and we’re looking for single color, flat bed sheets (preferably white or black, but we’ll take whatever).  If you’ve got some old, flat bed sheets you could donate, we’d really appreciate it!

Report Cards

Report Cards will be sent home on Tuesday, November 21.  There are two parts to our report cards:  a checklist and a narrative.  

The checklists follow the Grade Level Content Expectations (GLCE) and Common Core Standards determined by the state.  The checklist has the following scoring system: S, A, D, B and N.  

• “S” means secure: student proficiently  and independently applies skills and concepts. 

• “A” means your child is approaching secure: with limited support, your child correctly applies this skill/concept. 

• “D” means your child has begun developing this skill and with significant support, correctly applies skills and concepts.  

• “B” means your child is beginning to develop an understanding of the skills or concepts.  

• “N” is meant to illuminate a specific area that needs improvement. 

An item is left blank if we have not yet covered the topic this school year.

The narrative is designed to give a little more personal feedback about your child.  

In the past, we’ve also included a student self-evaluation, but as we’ve been sending home weekly self-evaluation/reflections on Fridays, we thought it would be redundant.  Feel free to check the weekly End of the Week Reflections we’ve been sending home each Friday for your child’s thoughts and feelings about school.

If you don’t receive your child’s report card by Wednesday, 11/22, contact the office at aaopen@aaps.k12.mi.us or (734)994-1910.

In class lately:

If you’d like to know a little more about what’s been happening at school this week, try asking your child about some of these things: 

• As we’ve been narrowing in on our topic for the A2O Showcase, we’ve been talking a lot about life of all kinds. Ask your child to tell you about cholera,  John Snow,  and the Broad Street pump. (No, none of this refers to Game of Thrones, we promise.) 

• On a much larger timeline, we’ve been learning about how species adapt and change over time. Ask your child to tell you what they learned about the journey from wolves to dogs, or brown bears to polar bears, or the development of the eye across countless species. 

• In much more mundane news, we rearranged our classrooms significantly this week. Ask your kid how they feel about the changes. What’s better? What do they miss from the old layout? How do they feel about change in the classroom in general? 

Upcoming Dates

Tuesday, 11/21 - Report Cards sent home

Wednesday-Friday, 11/22-11/24 - NO SCHOOL

Wednesday, 12/6 - Early Release Day.  Dismiss at 12:30p.

Hello Parents and Families!

Picture Retakes - Thursday, 11/16

If your kid needs a picture retake, it’s next Thursday.   You may preorder online before picture day at www.kaiserstudio.com using the school ID code:  2324AAOPEN

 In class lately:

If you’d like to know a little more about what’s been happening at school this week, try asking your child about some of these things: 

• Our writing prompt this week was a free write (kids can choose whatever they’d like to write about), or they could opt to write about these three daredevils. Ask your child what they wrote about this week. 

• This will sound familiar if you read these messages weekly: We finished watching the 2009 installment of the documentary series Time for School this week. At this point, everyone should be aware of some of the basic details and events in the lives of Raluca, Shugufa, Nanavi, Neeraj, Joab, Jefferson, and Ken. Ask your child to talk about these kids. What things do they have in common with them? How are their lives different? What do they think will become of them? 

• We just finished our read aloud The Fourteenth Goldfish. Ask your kid what it was about and what they enjoyed (or didn’t enjoy) about it. 

Upcoming Dates

Thursday, 11/16 - Picture Retake Day 

Tuesday, 11/21 - Report Cards sent home

Wednesday-Friday, 11/22-11/24 - NO SCHOOL

Wednesday, 12/6 - Early Release Day.  Dismiss at 12:30p.

Hello Parents and Families!

Don’t forget - NO SCHOOL Tuesday, November 7th.

COLD!

It’s November!  It’s cold!   Please try to get your kid to bring a coat (and maybe even a hat and gloves!  Boots!) to school to keep them warm during recess.

Ann Arbor Open Showcase

As you may have heard, we’re making some adjustments to what used to be Multicultural Fair.  (Why?  Read this.)  The theme we will be focusing on this year is Journeys. The Ann Arbor Open Showcase evening event to display our projects will be on Wednesday, December 20th at 6:30-8pm.  

November Book Project

Our November Book Project will be Realistic Adventure books.  Christine had books available for us to check out at Library  yesterday.  Please check with your child to make sure they’ve got a book and a plan for the month.

 In class lately:

If you’d like to know a little more about what’s been happening at school this week, try asking your child about some of these things: 

• We’ve now watched the follow-up to the documentary Time for School. This installment was filmed three years after the first documentary, and there were some big changes in the lives of the kids in the film. Ask your child to tell you a little about their lives. 

• In  the weeks ahead, the entire Ann Arbor Open School community will be focused on studying things related to the theme “Journeys.” Our class is currently deciding how we’ll interpret the theme. Ask your child to tell you about some of the ideas we’re considering. 

Hello Parents and Families!

Don’t forget - next Tuesday, October 31st is an EARLY RELEASE day.  We’ll dismiss at 12:30pm.  (Yes, we’ll have lunch at school.)  We’ll have a Costume Parade at 9:50am.  AND Book Projects are due!

ALSO don’t forget - there will be NO SCHOOL on Tuesday, November 7th.  

A few quick things about costumes - We are a public school, and we have students as young as 5 in our community. Costumes should be rated PG. Please leave any weapons at home (no light sabers, toy guns, bows/arrows).  For safety purposes, masks shouldn’t obscure a student’s  identity. (I think kids have worn their masks for class photos and the parade, but not during the rest of the school day.) Of course, culturally insensitive costumes should also be avoided. 

 In class lately:

If you’d like to know a little more about what’s been happening at school this week, try asking your child about some of these things: 

• It’s been a busy week! Ask your child about the documentary Time for School. What is it about, and what is school like for the kids who are featured in it? 

• Ask your child about Enigma Cylinders. What are they, and how do they behave? Have them tell you about their designs for them, and ask them why Jason says that he will never, ever, ever reveal if their own designs are the correct way to make them. 

• Ask your child about the poetry prompt this week. It involves improving the writing in fortune cookies. Have your kid tell you what some of the improved versions said. 

Upcoming Dates

Tuesday, 10/31 - Early Release Day, dismiss at 12:30pm.  Book Projects Due.

Tuesday, 11/7 - NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, 11/21 - Report Cards sent home

Wednesday-Friday, 11/22-11/24 - NO SCHOOL

Hello Parents and Families!

We hope you all had a lovely Fall Break.  Luna had a fantastic time hiking in Hocking Hills. 

Pick Up/Drop Off and Parking Lots 

Please remember that if you are picking up or dropping off your kid to be considerate of neighborhood driveways, try to keep things moving on the Red Oak side (don’t go into the bus loop on the Brooks side!!) and please don’t park in the staff lot, even if only for a minute.  Staff get so few perks…being able to park in the lot and not have to find parking in the neighborhood is one of them.  

Tuesday, October 31st - A lot of things are happening on Tuesday, October 31st!

BOOK PROJECTS DUE - Our Humorous Fiction Book Projects are due!  Please check in with your kid to make sure they’re on the right track!

EARLY RELEASE DAY - Tuesday, 10/31 is also an Early Release day.  We WILL have lunch at school.  We will dismiss at 12:30pm.

COSTUME PARADE - There will be a Costume Parade!  The parade will start at 9:50am.  

 In class lately:

If you’d like to know a little more about what’s been happening at school this week, try asking your child about some of these things: 

• We had a class discussion this week about recent events in Israel and Gaza. It’s a challenging topic, especially given the wide range of familiarity with it in a room of 5th and 6th graders. (Some kids have clearly been learning about it for years, others had no context for it at all, and all points in between.) We tried to keep it as fact-based as possible (and we used this video to help frame it). Check in with your kid about it however you see fit. 

• We’ve changed up our magnet attendance board. Ask your child about what they’re doing with their magnet when they check in each morning. 

• For writing this week, kids were given the opportunity to free write whatever they wanted. Ask your child what they wrote about. We also did some journal writing about this piece from the Embracing Our Differences exhibits. Ask your child what they thought about it. 

Upcoming Dates

Tuesday, 10/31 - Early Release Day, dismiss at 12:30pm.  Book Projects Due.

Hello Parents and Families!

Don’t forget - NO SCHOOL tomorrow and Monday, 10/16!  We’ll keep this brief so you can enjoy the long weekend! 

 In class lately:

If you’d like to know a little more about what’s been happening at school this week, try asking your child about some of these things: 

• Last week, the school hosted an event celebrating 100 years of Mack School. For our writing prompt this week, we asked kids to imagine what this place might be like 100 years in the future. Ask your child what they wrote about. 

• Things in Project Lead the Way are getting interesting. Ask your child about the things they’re building in their groups, and have them tell you about the color sensors. 

• We focus a lot on  important fundamental skills in our class, but we also work on developing higher level thinking and questioning. Ask your child about some of the items on the How Do you Know What You Know? warm-up this week. There were many interesting responses! 

Upcoming Dates

10/13 Friday - 10/16 Monday - NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, 10/17 -  AAOCC Meeting (on Zoom.  I don’t have the link.  Sorry.  I’m not well informed.)

Tuesday, 10/31 - Early Release Day, dismiss at 12:30pm.  Book Projects Due.

Have a wonderful long weekend! 

Hello Parents and Families!

SPIRIT WEAR

The Spiritwear sale is happening now!  All orders are due by midnight on Monday, 10/9.  This is a great way to raise funds for the school while showing your school spirit.

http://www.aaospiritwear.epizy.com/ 

Embracing Our Differences

On Tuesday, we went to Riverside Park to see the Embracing Our Differences Art Exhibit.  Thanks go out to Heather Petteys, Trina O’Boyle and Mandy Dakroub for joining us on this trip!  Here are some pictures from our adventure (thanks for contributing pics too, Heather!!)

OCTOBER BOOK PROJECT

Our Book Project for the month of October is Humorous Fiction.  Yesterday, Christine had books available for us to check out at Library.  We spent time making a plan for the month to help us complete our projects on time.  Check in with your child to see what their plan is (and you can remind them that the assignment is to read AT LEAST one book!). 

Mid-FALL Break!

  Don’t forget - there’s NO SCHOOL next Friday, October 13th and Monday, October 16th!

PLTW

This week, we started Project Lead the Way.  We’re studying Robotics and Animation this year.  Students will explore how robots are used in today’s world and build and test robots that may be controlled remotely.  They’ll develop programming skills in various platforms to build and program autonomous robots.  

Poetry

On Tuesday, we’ll start our Poets-in-Residence program.  Our poets, Taemin Kim and Ethan Malaver Marinas, will be joining us every Tuesday at 11:15am. Taemin and Ethan are U of M students and will be supervised by Scott Beal, director of Lloyd Scholars for Writing and the Arts at U of M. 

We need your help!  We will need parent volunteers to type batches of student poems at various points throughout the year.  In past years, parents who volunteered to type student poems said that they enjoyed the experience -- it gave them a chance to see what the students were working on firsthand, and they found themselves impressed, entertained, and moved by the kids' poems.  If you’re willing and able to help us type up poems, please email Ko.    

 In class lately:

If you’d like to know a little more about what’s been happening at school this week, try asking your child about some of these things: 

• After our field trip to the Embracing Our Differences exhibit, we talked about the value of taking time with a piece of artwork in order to notice the details and generate questions about it. Ask your child about what we noticed about the photo of the puppet show, or any of the other pieces we spent some time with. 

• Project Lead the Way involves group work, which can inspire plenty of commentary from kids. Ask your child about their group. Who is in it? What have they been asked to do so far? How are they all getting along? Perhaps most importantly, what role have they been playing in their group? 

• Our new genre study for the month is humorous fiction, which means we’ve started a new read aloud. Ask your child what they think of The Fourteenth Goldfish so far! 

Hello Parents and Families!

Folk Tale Book Projects are due tomorrow!!  While we’ve given kids a lot of time in class to work on this, please check in with your kid to make sure they’re on the right track!  

PARENT INPUTand CONFERENCE SIGN UP  FORM

Don’t forget about our parent input form!  If you haven’t yet, please fill out this parent input form.  Write as much or as little as you like.  We’ll read it all!  This is also how to let us know that you’d like to have a conference with us. We can schedule conferences at any point during the year, but if you’ve filled out the form and indicated that you would like to meet, we’ll be seeking you out with potential times. 

Embracing Our Differences Field Trip

On Tuesday, October 3rd, we’re heading to Riverside Park in Ypsilanti to see the Embracing Our Differences art installation.  We sent home permission slips on Monday - please make sure to sign and return your kid’s permission slip ASAP.  Thanks go out to Heather Petteys, Trina O’Boyle, Nina Chacon-Lontin and Amanda Dakroub for volunteering to join us on this trip!

Picture Day

Also Tuesday, October 3rd.  A paper copy of the order form was sent home Monday, or you can order pictures online.  https://orders.kaiserstudio.com/  

Picture Order Code: 2324AAOPEN

Poets-in-Residence Program

On Tuesday, October 10th, we’ll start a program called “Author-in-Residence,” sponsored by Dzanc Books.  Dzanc Books is a nonprofit organization committed to increasing literacy in Michigan's youth through this educational outreach program.

Every Tuesday, two U of M students (supervised by Scott Beal, a poet, freelance writer, father of two Open School alums and the director of Lloyd Scholars for Writing and the Arts at U of M) will come into our classroom and work with our kids to further develop their writing and creative skills. 

At the end of the year, Dzanc will publish a hard copy book edition comprising an anthologized collection of the participating students' work.  Dzanc will distribute a complimentary edition of this book to every school library in the school district as well as providing each student participating in the program with a copy, and we’ll have a poetry reading one evening in late May/early June to celebrate the release of our book!

This is the seventh time our class has had the privilege to participate in this program.  In the past, we’ve been lucky to have Scott work with us. This year will be our first year working with Scott’s student leaders, and we couldn’t be more excited.   We’re really looking forward to another great year with this program! 

 In class lately:

If you’d like to know a little more about what’s been happening at school this week, try asking your child about some of these things: 

• Our writing prompt this week asked kids to write a tall tale. Ask your child to tell you about their story. We also read some of them aloud. What are some of the stories that other kids came up with? 

• In our writing journals this week, kids responded to this idea: “The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.” Ask your child what they thought of that saying. What did they write about? 

SPIRIT WEAR

The Spiritwear sale is beginning now!  All orders are due by midnight on Monday, 10/9.  This is a great way to raise funds for the school while showing your school spirit.

http://www.aaospiritwear.epizy.com/ 

Hello Parents and Families!

Early Release - Wednesday, 9/27

Next Wednesday is an Early Release Day.  We will dismiss at 12:30pm.  We WILL have lunch at school, but 6th graders will NOT have instrumental.

PARENT INPUTand CONFERENCE SIGN UP  FORM

Don’t forget about our parent input form!  If you haven’t yet, please fill out this parent input form.  Write as much or as little as you like.  We’ll read it all!  

Field Trip - Tuesday, 10/3

On Tuesday, 10/3 we’ll be going to Riverside Park in Ypsilanti to see the Embracing Our Differences art installation.  We’ll leave at 10:30am and be back by 12:45.  We need chaperones!  If you’re interested in chaperoning this trip, please contact Ko.  

Picture Day - Also Tuesday, 10/3!

Here’s the link to order pictures online.  https://orders.kaiserstudio.com/  

Picture Order Code: 2324AAOPEN

Folk Tales Book Project

Our first Book Project is due next Friday.  Please check in with your kid to make sure they’re on the right track!

 In class lately:

If you’d like to know a little more about what’s been happening at school this week, try asking your child about some of these things: 

• In observance of Constitution Day, we talked a lot about the origins of our country and just what the Constitution does. Ask your child if they remember why the Constitution was needed, and if they remember what it was replacing. 

• We’ve been reading and watching folk tales from around the world. Ask your kid to tell you about John Henry, and why he was such an important folk hero in the United States. What other folk tales have stood out to them this week? We’ve been reading and hearing a lot of them! 

• As part of our word studies this year, we’ll be looking closely at morphemes, the components that make up words. Ask your kid about the meanings of words like biology, hydrology, dermatology, and morphology. (Some kids really wanted to list as many “ologies” as they could think of.) 

Upcoming Dates

9/27 Wednesday - EARLY RELEASE day - Dismiss at 12:30

9/29 Friday - Folk Tales Book Projects Due

10/3 Tuesday - Field Trip! Picture Day! 

10/13 Friday - 10/16 Monday - NO SCHOOL

Hello Parents and Families! 

It was great to see so many of you at Curriculum Night last night!  If you weren’t able to attend, here’s our slideshow from last night.  

PARENT INPUTand CONFERENCE SIGN UP  FORM

Tell us about your kid!  Tell us if you want a conference!  Please fill out this parent input form.  Write as much or as little as you like.  We’ll read it all!  

NWEA Testing

We will be taking the NWEA next Thursday, September 21st at 8:30am.  Please make every effort to get your kid to school on time with their charged chromebooks.  

Field Trip - Tuesday, 10/3

On Tuesday, 10/3 we’ll be going to Riverside Park in Ypsilanti to see the Embracing Our Differences art installation.  We’ll leave at 10:30am and be back by 12:45.  If you’re interested in chaperoning this trip, please contact Ko.  

 In class lately:

If you’d like to know a little more about what’s been happening at school this week, try asking your child about some of these things: 

• We continue to settle into our class routines, and this week, everyone received their math packets. Ask your child what math packet they’re in. How is it going so far? We’ve also been doing whole-group math topics like “string pictures” and “arrow roads.” Ask your child to tell you how they work. 

• As part of our study of folk tales, we began writing our own in class this week. Ask your child what images and ideas they brainstormed, and what the story they wrote was about. 

• We’ve been talking about figurative language. Ask your child about some of the examples they came up with to make boring sentences more interesting, and try to think of other examples in everyday life. 

Upcoming Dates

9/21 Thursday, 8:30am - NWEA testing

9/27 Wednesday - EARLY RELEASE day - Dismiss at 12:30

9/29 Friday - Folk Tales Book Projects Due

10/3 Tuesday - Field Trip! Picture Day! 

Hello Parents and Families!

CURRICULUM NIGHT - CHANGE IN DATE

Curriculum Night will be Wednesday, September 13th.  Our class will be meeting at 6:45pm in rooms 309 and 311.  Come here about how our class works! You’ll also have a chance to sign up for teacher conferences. (If you can’t attend, don’t worry. You’ll still be able to sign up for conferences.) 

Connecting With Our Classroom

As mentioned last week, you will hear from us weekly in a couple of different ways. The first is this weekly note home. We send it on Thursdays. We write it collaboratively (Jason is typing this sentence), but it will always come from Ko’s email account. If it gets lost in the shuffle of your crowded inbox, you can find all of them archived on our website here. 

The second weekly communication you should expect from us is an email on Fridays that contains your child’s responses to our “End of the Week Reflection.” Each week, we ask students a series of questions about how their school week went. We ask them to respond thoughtfully (which can be challenging for many kids, especially at first).  The questions and their responses are then forwarded to you. You don’t need to do anything with this information, but we send it to you in order to give you a peek into what they’re thinking about their life at school. Your child’s responses could serve as a jumping off point for conversations, or just serve as a snapshot to see how they seem to be engaging in school in general. 

 In class lately:

If you’d like to know a little more about what’s been happening at school this week, try asking your child about some of these things: 

• We used our Chromebooks for the first time this week. Ask your child about our Who Do You Think You Are?? assignment. They can also log into their AAPS Google account and show you the slide they made. 

• We’re settling into our class routines. Ask your child to tell you about them! Key words: Warm-ups, Things to Do lists, Work Period, and our “grading” system. 

• We’ve been reading a lot of folk tales in class this week. Ask your child about some of the stories they’ve read on their own, or the ones we’ve read aloud together. 

Book Projects

We have begun our first Book Project of the year!  Book Projects are a monthly genre study, and each has a different project that’s due at the end of the month.  Our Book Project for the month of September is  Folk Tales.  Students have been tasked with reading at least 20 different Folk Tales from a range of cultures.  We’ll be providing them time to read some of these while at school, but you can help by encouraging your child to read daily at home.  

NWEA Testing

We will be taking the NWEA next Thursday, September 14th at 8:30am and Thursday, September 21st at 8:30am.  Please make every effort to get your kid to school on time with their charged chromebooks.  

Upcoming Dates

9/13 Wednesday, 6:45pm - Curriculum Night

9/14 Thursday, 8:30am - NWEA testing

9/21 Thursday, 8:30am - NWEA testing

9/27 Wednesday - EARLY RELEASE day - Dismiss at 12:30

9/29 Friday - Folk Tales Book Projects Due

10/3 Tuesday - Field Trip!  Embracing Our Differences at Riverside Park.  More details to come!  Also, Picture Day!

Hello Parents and Families!

Don’t forget - NO SCHOOL TOMORROW or MONDAY! 

If you’re new to our class, welcome! We communicate weekly with families in a couple of different ways. The first is this email! Every Thursday , we send an email home to keep you up to date on important information, and to give you a glimpse into what’s been happening in our class lately. Please try to read it weekly.  (You can also always find them posted on our website.) Today’s installment is a little longer than usual, but in general, we try to keep it concise, useful, and interesting! 

The second weekly communication you should expect from us is an email that contains your child’s responses to our “End of the Week Reflection.” We’ll start them next week, and you’ll receive them on Fridays. You’ll hear more about those next week. 

Conversation Starters:

We always include a few questions that you can ask your child each week. They’re a small glimpse into our class, and they’re also our attempt to help you avoid this age-old conversation: 

“What did you do at school today?” 

“Nothing.” 

Here are a few for this week: 

• We often start the year with an activity called  Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, and Beyond. Ask your child what they wrote and drew. (The panel asking about their lives 15 years in the future is often particularly interesting/funny/perplexing.) 

• Ask your child to tell you about some of our class routines: What is “group?” How do we take attendance each morning? How does having two classrooms work? What’s it like having two teachers at the same time? 

• Ask your child about some of the other things we did this week. For example, they can explain how “arrow roads” work, or tell you about Which One Doesn’t Belong? You can ask them about the stories we did for read aloud this week, some of which were Choose Your Own Adventures that featured classmates, and another which was a particularly gross story about a mummy. 

Things to Do Lists

               One of our classroom routines is a Things to Do list.  This is an organizational tool that helps students take control of managing their schoolwork throughout the week.  Each day, the kids get a list of assignments and write them on their Things to Do sheets.  (Jeez, there’s SO MUCH information in this email so far!!  We are so sorry…please keep reading….) They then learn to keep track of what’s been assigned, what they’ve turned in, and what they still have to complete.  You’ve probably seen one of these sheets already, and you may have even been asked to sign one.  For now, signing one indicates only that you have seen it.  We just want you to be aware that they exist. More information about these to come on Curriculum Night.  Speaking of…

Curriculum Night

Curriculum Night is Thursday, September 14th.  OUR class will meet 6:45-7:30pm in our classroom. We’re in rooms 309 and 311 (either door works. They’re connected.) Don’t worry, there will be signs to guide you. 

Schedule

Our specials schedule can be found here.  Some things to note:  

• Swimming for Jason’s group is on Mondays, for Ko’s on Thursdays.   If you have any questions about swimming, please contact Ms. Kinnard at kinnard@aaps.k12.mi.us.  

• 6th graders will have Instrumental Music on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  5th graders will have Instrumental Music on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  More information about Instrumental should be coming to you from our Instrumental teachers, Amanda Blackson-Pakela (blacksonpakelaa@aaps.k12.mi.us ) and Timario Wilkins (wilkinst@aaps.k12.mi.us ).  

• Our class has lunch at 12:45pm.  Our class has recess first, then we eat at 1:05pm.  That’s a long time to wait until lunchtime!  While our class doesn’t have an organized class snack or snack time, kids are welcome to bring their own snack and eat it during our morning recess.  If your kid is unable to bring a snack, please let us know and we can make snack arrangements.  Our classroom is a Nut Free Zone.

We’ll talk about all of this and more at Curriculum Night. If you’re particularly eager to know more before then, we suggest exploring our class website, which is full of artifacts and information that will give you a good idea of what to expect in the year ahead. 

We look forward to working with your kids! 

Sincerely,

Ko and Jason

shihk@aaps.k12.mi.us 

depasqualec@aaps.k12.mi.us

https://www.koandjason.org 

Greetings from Ko and Jason!

We are very excited to start another adventurous school year!  We look forward to getting to know all the new families in our classroom, and getting reacquainted to those who are returning.  

As most of you already know, we are team teachers and combine our two groups into one big class.  Whether you’re in Ko’s group or Jason’s group, we both work with every student in our class every day.  You can learn all about how our class works at Curriculum Night on Thursday, September 14th.  You’ll also have an opportunity to sign up for conferences and see the classroom in person. 

In the meantime, you will hear from us regularly!  We send a class email home every Thursday.  It will come from Ko’s email address, but it’s always written by both of us.  When you have questions or concerns about your specific child, always contact the teacher who is listed as your child’s “official” teacher.  (Our emails are at the bottom of this letter.) 

Our weekly note home is also always posted on our  class website. (koandjason.org), where you can also find other useful and/or fun information about our class. For example, here’s our specials schedule for the year. Or check out OPEN Channel, our ongoing class show about Open School. You can also browse through the archives to get a sense of what goes on in our class. (You’ll need to be signed in with an AAPS account to see some of the stuff linked on our page.) 

Our first day of school is Monday, August 28th!  Here are a few things to help prepare: 

• Our lunch is relatively late in the day, so it’s a good idea to send in a snack. Kids in our group usually tend to eat a snack (or part of their lunch) at our morning recess. 

• Our classrooms are upstairs in rooms 309 and 311 (they’re attached). The upstairs at Open is very easy to navigate: It’s a big square. On the first day of school, kids gather at any entrance to the school (the main entrance, the bus loop, the pool lobby) and then head inside when the bell rings. There are three staircases that lead to our floor, and all of them will take you to our rooms. We’ll have signs pointing the way, and there will be plenty of people around to help direct any nervous kids to us. 

• If you’re doing any back to school shopping, here are some things that you might consider: 

• Pencils - Small pencil sharpener

• Markers` - Colored Pencils

• Calculator - Ruler

In years past, we have discovered a DESKMATE to be a great organizational device. It is basically a clipboard with a built-in storage space for papers, pencils etc. and takes the place of the traditional notebook/binder.  We have approximately 25 used ones to loan for the year, but many families prefer to purchase their own. Here’s an example.  

See you all very soon!

Sincerely,

Ko and Jason 

Jason  depasqualec@aaps.k12.mi.us 

Ko       shihk@aaps.k12.mi.us 

www.koandjason.org

2023-2024 specials schedule