Captain's log

Star Date 5/19/25 - 5/23/25 (week 37)

Well folks, the end is near:)  Since next week is the last week of the school year, this will most likely be my final log entry.  It has been such a fun, exciting, interesting, challenging, and growth-filled year!  (and not for the 5th graders:)  I have truly appreciated the grace and patience the students and all of you parents have extended to me as I figured out how to teach lower school with only middle school teaching experience.  Hopefully, I have demonstrated throughout the year my primary objective of having fun while learning through the mode of curiosity and exploration of the universe around and within each of us.  Ya'll have some pretty special kiddos!  Please remind them of that often for me.  Thank you.

P.S. - Ask your student about the "shockingly" fun science demonstration we did this week;) 

Star Date 5/12/25 - 5/16/25 (week 36)

This week's captain's log starts off with some sad news.  Last friday, sometime during the night, the chicks' drinker leaked enough water into the tub with the chicks that they got wet and couldn't sustain their body temperature.  I came into the classroom on Saturday around noon with my daughter, who is our family's (non-human) animal lover, and we discovered that all but one chick was either dead or nearly dead.  She quickly began drying off and warming up the chicks that were still alive, while I cleaned out the tub.  We were able to keep five chicks alive, but unfortunately the others died.  

I spoke to the kids on Monday morning about what happened and told them it's okay to feel however they feel about this situation.  Although it is hard to sit with emotions that are not comfortable.  In my opinion, it is mentally healthier to allow this time/space to exist in order to process those emotions rather than cover them up/hide them.  I would be lying to the kids if I suggested with my words or actions that sadness and pain doesn't happen from time to time in life.  

As for the chick adoption process, I explained to the kids that when it's a more appropriate time, we could discuss whether I go buy some more chicks from a local farm store.  Stay tuned:). 

In language arts, we wrapped up your bias surveys and posted the pie charts around the school.  In science, we did an experiment, exploring what state of matter Oobleck was. 

Star Date 5/5/25 - 5/9/25 (week 35)

We had all sorts of interesting goings on in language arts and science this week!  First of all, in language arts we had some really insightful conversations about bias and prejudice thought patterns.  This started as a way to prep kids for sifting through news stories in order to produce a "news team" presentation to their classmates in the next week or so.  However, after further conversation, as a class, we decided to pause the news teams project and conduct school wide surveys in order to uncover possible biased thinking within the student body at Bethany!  Once the data is collected, using a free graphing website, we'll print and display the results in the form of pie charts around the school.  

In science... OUR CHICKS HATCHED!!!!  We have 20 new members of the 5th grade class:).  This was by far the highest hatch rate I've ever had in a classroom.  Could it be Bethany's new incubator?  Or maybe the positive vibes in the classroom?  We will never know for sure. (but I'm guessing some of both:)  If you are interesting in adopting any of these chicks, stay tuned.  I will have an information/parent note with details about the adoption process for kids to bring home next week.  Thank you all for the lovely teacher appreciation gifts.  They are so thoughtful!  Have a wonderful Mother's Day weekend!

Star Date 4/28/25 - 5/2/25 (week 34)

This was such a busy week, I didn't have a chance to summarize it until now (Monday 5/5:).  Between finishing up iLearn and prepping for Grandfriends day, we didn't have lots of time for the "usual" academic stuff.  In language arts, we continued finishing drafting/editing our mystery stories.  I am hopeful that this will all be wrapped up by Wednesday.  In science, we had our first conversation about density.  You'll have to ask you student about the density bottle I have in the classroom.  At first glance, it appears to defy our understanding of bouyancy.  Upon further thought and inspection, however, the students soon realized the bottle wasn't breaking any laws of nature.  Rather, it was demonstrating an unexpected one... density!  

Star Date 4/21/25 - 4/25/25 (week 33)

Whelp, one week of iLearn testing is in the rearview mirror!  This week, the 5th graders completed one ELA and one math test.  Next week, the kiddos will finish iLearn testing with one more ELA test, one more math test, and one social studies test.  The testing days next week include Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

In other news, this week the kids continued drafting their mystery stories during language arts time.  It's fun to see their interests and creativity unfold in their stories.  Additionally, I'm impressed with their ability to write dialogue and use quotation marks accurately.

In science, we've begun studying chemistry!  Your student has a pretty cool website to show you that highlights the relative size of objects in this reality.  I'm sure they would love to show you how big and small things really are:).  Oh, and we're in the process of incubating chicken eggs!  Hopefully, around Wednesday, May 7th, we'll here some chirping coming from the incubator:)

P.S. I almost forgot to announce the winner of the paper airplane flight design tournament that we started last week...  (drum roll...)  Magadalena Gollner's paper airplane flew the farthest!

Star Date 4/14/25 - 4/18/25 (week 32)

Welcome back from Spring Break!  Hopefully your time was fun and relaxing:). 

During this short week, in language arts, we practiced writing dialogue.  We had quotation marks flying everywhere!  The reason we studied this skill is because it will come in handy as the students continue drafting their mystery stories.  

In science, we began another scientific method/engineering project.  This time, we tested the affect different paper airplane designs have on the distance the plane will travel.  It gave us another opportunity to think about independent variables (paper airplane design) and dependent variables (distance traveled).  After folding, decorating, and test flying their airplanes, we went out to the lower school lobby and, using the "Stuckey Paper Airplane Launcher of Science", students took turns launching their airplanes in a tournament format to see who's design choice allowed for the farthest flight.  Since we only made it through round 1 of the tournament this week, you'll have to stay tuned until next week to find out who the 5th grade paper airplane champion is!  

Speaking of next week, the students will begin the final round of iLearn testing starting next Monday.  Students may want to get plenty of sleep and bring an extra snack:). 

Star Date 3/31/25 - 4/4/25 (week 31)

In language arts this week, we dove into narrative writing!  Specifically, we are learning the basics of how to write a mystery story.  We talked about character development, including both physical and personality traits and how the more fully the writer describes the characters, the more their thoughts and actions will make sense to the reader throughout the story.  We also thought about the importance of the setting and practiced describing a scene using sensory details.  Then, we got into the heart of the matter... the plot.  We talked about what "mysterious" thing will occur and how to work backward from the climax of the story to the mapping of the clues that will lead up that exciting moment!  

We also had an IXL leaderboard challenge end on Thursday!  IXL is a great way to practice language arts skills that help make the tasks of reading and writing that much easier.  The leaderboard challenge is simply a way to create a (hopefully) friendly and fun competition out of it.  Ask your kiddo where they placed!

In science, we wrapped up our marble rolling experiment by compiling the data from all the lab groups and analyzing them.  Based on our findings, if you roll a large and small marble down a ramp, about twice as often, the large marble will roll farther.  Does this mean we discovered a new law of physics?!  Sorry, no.  However, this was a great way to practice employing the scientific method and trying to understand the data collected from it.  

No matter what your Spring Break plans involve, I hope that you all stay safe and enjoy the time away!

Star Date 3/24/25 - 3/28/25 (week 30)

This week in language arts, we started thinking about how mystery stories are written.  We read and solved several mini-mysteries!  The next steps will include identifying and understanding the components of a mystery story, and then the kiddos will begin to develop/write their own mini-mystery stories!  

Meanwhile, in science, we conducted our first lab!  The experiment explored the phenomenon of surface tension.  Armed with graduated cylinders and pipettes, the students dripped water onto the flat surface of a quarter, nickel, dime, and penny to see which could hold the most before spilling over the coin's edge.  The tricky part came next, when the kids had to figure out how to calculate the amount of water that was spilled around the coin on their desk... Subtraction to the rescue!  They soon figured out they could simply subtract the remaining "unused" water from the original 10 mL. 

And as if that wasn't enough, we then averaged our data and created a data table and a pretty sweet lookin bar graph as well!  If you want to know whether our hypothesis was supported or not, you're gonna have to ask your student:)

P.S.  I love the Scientific Method! :)

Star Date 3/17/25 - 3/21/25 (week 29)

Apparently, some sort of flu bug swept through the 5th grade this week!  On Monday alone, we had 14 kids absent.  That's nearly 50% of the class!  Yikes!  Wash those hands and drink plenty of fluids, people:).  The the skeleton crew that were able to attend school, we worked on wrapping up our study of figurative language.  I had the kids commit a "random act of English!"  It's not as heinous as it may sound:).   The kids chose one of the types of figurative language that we've been studying.  Then, they thought of an example of it, and designed a mini-poster displaying the example they chose.  Finally, they went to a random spot in the school and hung it up.  Pretty random... hopefully kinda fun!  

In science, we talked about the science of rainbows (the electromagnetic spectrum) on Monday in celebration of St. Patrick's Day!  Of course, we also had to review our knowledge of why we have seasons here on planet Earth, since Thursday was the March equinox (and the first official day of Spring!).  Finally, we continued our study of graphs/graphing... what are some common types, what type of data each graph is useful at displaying, and why we use graphs in the first place!  Stay healthy, people!

Star Date 3/10/25 - 3/14/25 (week 28)

What a fun interterm week!  Monday and Tuesday were fairly "normal", but Wednesday and Thursday were a blend of fun "game" type activities and prep work for BizTown, which was on Friday!  Throughout interterm, we played Yoshi, kickball, and volleyball, as well as learned how to write checks, keep track of a check register, and calculate a 5% tax rate.  The kids all seemed to enjoy the BizTown experience!  The above picture is from BizTown!  It's such a cool place:)

Star Date 3/3/25 - 3/7/25 (week 27)

As predicted in the last entry, this week in language arts, we spent time learning about several other types of figurative language.  And let me just say it doesn't take an Einstein to understand allusions.  Nor does it require a ton of work to practice using hyperbole in one's writing.  In fact, as I type this classroom update, my fingers are stumbling clumsily across the keyboard, clickity-clacking away at the keys, demonstrating not only personification but onomatopoeia and alliteration as well!  To use an oxymoron, it will be bittersweet once we're done studying this literary device, because it makes our writing so much more vivid!

In science, we've started talking about graphing!  We've thought of some different types of graphs and the type of data each is good at displaying.  We'll continue this dicussion as we move closer to do some basic chemistry and physics lab work.  That way, once the students collect the data from their lab, they'll be able to accurately represent it to others!  Next week... Spring Interterm!  

Star Date 2/24/25 - 2/28/25 (week 26)

This week in language arts, we reviewed similes and metaphors!  It was a whirlwind of literary devices!  Comparisons were raining down like shooting stars during the Orionids meteor shower!  Okay... you get the point:).  Hopefully, the kids enjoyed the ways in which we studied them.  We played Blookets, Gimkits, and wrote some interesting (to say the least) stories in our journals using similes and metaphors!  Next week, allusions and hyperbole!

     Meanwhile, in science, we finished the space destination brochures/posters.  They all look so cool and interesting.! It was fun to watch the kids take facts about these far away worlds and paint them with a brush of advertising!  These 5th graders truly are the experts at Bethany when it comes to all things astronomy.  Ask your kiddo which space object they chose, and see if they can convince you to book a visit for your next vacation!  

Star Date 2/17/25 - 2/21/25 (week 25)

This week the line between language arts and science got a little blurry. (Which I love because that's what real life is like, in my opinion.)  We continued working on understanding and employing advertising and propaganda techniques in our planetary poster projects.  Here are a few of the details.  One, these projects could take the form of a travel brochure or poster.  Two, at least 10 facts about the space object selected should be mentioned.  Three, at least one advertising/propaganda technique should be used.  And, of course, neatness (artwork, spelling, grammar, hand writing) matters.  My hope is to finish them up late next week.

Star Date 2/10/25 - 2/14/25 (week 24)

This week in the world of language arts I did the unthinkable... I gave the kids (gulp...) a SPELLING TEST!  Once I convinced them to set the pitchforks down and blow out their torches, I explained that this would not be a tradition way of practicing how to spell words.  Additionally, the words on the list were not arbitrary, but rather, "real life" words.  Meaning, I collected the list from two sources.  One, any time a student has asked the question, "Hey Stuckey, how do you spell _____?" I told them how to spell the word and then wrote it down on the list.  Two, any words that I have seen misspelled in student writing I added to the list.  Now, for the "spelling tests"... We took the first one on Wednesday, after having a conversation about whether it matters if a human can spell words accurately in a world of AI assistance.  The test was rather traditional.  I'd say the word, and the kids would write it.  Then, on Thursday, we played a game in which they had to run around the room, retrieving envelopes with one of the spelling words written on a card inside, and they had to decide with their teammates whether the word was spelled correctly or not.  On Friday, we did a spelling bee style "test".  You may want to ask you kiddo about their thoughts on the importance of a human's ability to spell words.  

Meanwhile... in science, we finished being introduced to the planets of the solar system and now will begin a planetary poster project, in which students will select a planet, exoplanet, or moon and then, employing several advertising techniques that we've been discussing, create a poster to try to convince others to want to take a vacation to the space destination of their choosing.

Star Date 2/3/25 - 2/7/25 (week 23)

This update is dropping a little later than usual.  With the Mennonite Educators Conference last Thursday through Saturday, the end of the week snuck up on me:) 

In language arts last week, my morning group performed their ol' timey radio show version of the 10 Commandments Bible story.  I recognize my bias, but it was a really cool, unique way to present a story.  We humans are so used to relying on our sense of sight in today's world of screens that to give our ears an opportunity to paint a story in our mind is refreshing.  In my afternoon group, we worked on measuring out our scale model solar systems around the school.  Then, we gave tours of our solar systems to the 3rd and 4th graders, sharing a variety of facts and impressing upon them just how much empty space there is compared to the amount of stuff in the solar system.  

Star Date 1/27/25 - 1/31/25 (week 22)

Here we are, finishing up the last week of the first month of 2025 already!  In language arts and science class, we've been working on some interesting activities.  With my morning group of students, we've spent a good chunk of our time developing an "old timey radio show" version of the 10 commandments Bible story.  This means that we're going to narrate the story and add sound effects (of our own design... not from the internet:) while the audience has their eyes closed.  If done well, it should create some vivid imagery in each audience member's mind!  We will present this story on Monday during our lower school SALT time.

In my afternoon class, we've begun studying the eight planets in the solar system.  Additionally, students are finishing up making scale models (both in size of object AND distance between each object) of the solar system.  I'm hoping that they can eventually give tours of their models to some of the younger lower school kiddos!  

Star Date 1/20/25 - 1/24/25 (week 21)

With the national holiday and the eLearning due to the extreme cold, this week has been interesting!  In language arts, we continued our reading of Chasing Vermeer.  The characters involved in the art theft are slowly being revealed!  In science, we talked about how to look critically at data collected from an experiment and why this is important.  After all, science is meaningless without reliable data, and reliable data is nothing more than repeatable data.  We also continued thinking about the solar system and just how much more space there is than stuff (planets, moons, asteroids, etc.).  Hopefully sometime in the next week, our newest class member will arrive... Spice the leopard gecko!  

 Star Date 1/13/25 - 1/17/25 (week 20)

This week in language arts, we continued in our read aloud Chasing Vermeer.  We all agree that we've made it through the exposition of the story and are now climbing our way up the rising action towards the climax!   A Lady Writing, an invaluable Johannes Vermeer painting, has been stolen!  Will she be found and returned safely?!  We'll find out in the next couple of weeks!  Additionally, the kids spent some time this week updating their IXL language arts levels.  I'm hoping to print and send a report home along with each students quarter two report card.

In science, we started a long term experiment which should display the sun's apparent motion north and south in our sky.  Yep, you heard me right:).  North and south...  Everyone knows the sun moves east to west everyday, but NOT everyone knows that the sun also moves north to south (and back).  And we're out to prove it!  Ask your student about the procedure we used for this experiment and how it relates to solstices, equinoxes, and our seasons.  

Star Date 1/6/25 - 1/10/25 (week 19)

Happy New Year!  Hopefully everyone had a pleasant break!  The students had a substitute teacher on Monday and Tuesday because my wife and I were helping our daughter transfer to Eastern Mennonite College.  According to the substitute, the kids did a fantastic job!   They were awarded with some free time on the computer and a piece of gum:).  Mrs. Kern and I might try to think of another award for them as our way of saying thank you.  

In language arts we decided to hold a debate on Friday as a way to finish up this classroom pet persuasive project.  My hope is to help them learn to base their opinions/thinking on facts as well as how to disagree on a topic and yet discuss it in a respectful, civil manner.  

In science, we've been going loony for the moon!  We talked about the lunar cycle, the 8 moon phases, why we only get to see the near side, and why Pink Floyd and the Transformers were all wrong about the moon's dark side!  (no offense intended to Pink Floyd or Transformers fans:).  Please ask your kiddo to teach you how to identify the current moon phase.  They may even sing a rap song about it to you!

Star Date 12/16/24 - 12/20/24 (week 18)

Wow!  What a week before Christmas break!  It was quite the balance of academic time and celebratory moments!  In language arts, we attempted to wrap up the persuasive class pet essays.  We also completed another IXL leaderboard challenge!  In science, we continued our discussion of astronomy related topics.  A few kids used part of this time to make a model of the Earth and moon.  These models were unlike an textbook illustration or poster of the Earth and moon you've seen before... These models were accurately scaled in terms of the size of the objects and the distance between them.  In other words, the students who made their model Earth 5 feet wide had to use the entire lower school hallway to get to their 15 inch moon (150 feet away:)!

As for the celebratory side of the week, the entire lower school hosted Christmas stations for the students on Thursday!  It was lots of fun to see all the ages of lower school kiddos hanging out, working together, and having fun!  

I wish you all a fun, safe, and relaxing holiday break!  See ya in 2025:)

Star Date 12/9/24 - 12/13/24 (week 17)

A busy week this has been indeed!  In language arts, we continued drafting our persuasive classroom pet essays.  I'm hoping we can complete the first draft, do some editing, and get a final copy completed before Christmas break.  Perhaps we'll have some new classmates for the new year;).  In addition, we continued our current read aloud Chasing Vermeer and started a new leaderboard challenge in IXL.  In science, the students did some research into an astronomy-related question with a partner.  Then, they will explain the information they found to the class.  They will become the teachers of that particular topic.  

But wait!... There's more!  On top of all of that, we've been getting ready for the Gala!  It should be a lovely show.  I hope to see ya there!  

Star Date 12/2/24 - 12/6/24 (week 16)

Hopefully you all had a fun and relaxing long weekend full of family time and your favorite foods!  So begins the busy three week stretch between Thanksgiving weekend and Christmas break!  

In language arts this week we got back into our current read aloud book Chasing Vermeer.  In short, this book is about art, mystery, intrigue, the unexplained, and learning to appreciate yourself for who you are.  We also jumped back into the writing process for our class pet persuasive essays.  In science, we started a new topic... Astronomy!  This is probably my favorite science topic (if I had to choose just one:).  We started the week by perusing a website that compares the relative sizes of different objects.  Now that we have a better understanding of the enormous size of some object in space and vast distances between them, we will begin studying the Earth-moon-sun system, and eventually dive into our cosmic neighborhood, the solar system!  (Don't even get me started on exoplanets!) 

Star Date 11/25/24 - 11/26/24 (week 15)

It's the shortest "official" week of the year!  This week, we launched our model rockets out on the high school soccer field!  The good news is everyone recovered the rocket they built in class.  The "not as good of news" is we lost two and a half rockets that were home builds.  All in all, it was a blast! (yup... pun intended:).  In language arts, we finished another IXL leaderboard challenge and had a little awards ceremony for the top 5 in each class.  

I hope everyone has a safe and relaxing Thanksgiving break!  See ya in December! (Monday;)

Star Date 11/18/24 - 11/22/24 (week 14)

In language arts this week, we continued hacking our way through the dense forest of persuasive essay writing in order to help students do their best job of convincing me to select the class pet of their choice.  We've had some thoughtful moments during these lessons about what it really means to truly hear and try to authentically understand another person's point of view on an issue.

Meanwhile, in science... we're building model rockets!!! (cue the STAR WARS music:).  It's our first engineering project of the year!  Not only is launching rockets a blast (pun intended;) but it has also provided an opportunity to brush the dust off our measurement skills.  You should ask your student for their opinion about the metric vs. the imperial measurement system for length.  

We also attended a couple fun performances on Thursday!  One was a drumming troupe from South Africa; the second was a preview of the high school play!  A fun week for sure:)

Star Date: 11/11/24 - 11/15/24 (week 13)

This week in language arts, I introduced the idea of a CLASS PET to the students:).  Some would call it a moment of weakness, others an act of desperation... I call it an excellent opportunity to get student buy in for practice not only writing persuasive essays but also learning how to debate a topic in an appropriate "civil" manner.  At this point, we're just trying to narrow down the options of critters to a manageable number.  Stayed tuned to see which animal will be joining the 5th grade family!  Meanwhile, in science, we're finishing up our study of trees and how understanding the characteristics of their leaves can help us identify the tree itself.  Your kiddo should be bringing home the leaf booklet that they made in class over the last couple weeks.  I asked them to take their time and put some quality into this assignment, so be sure to check it out!  

Star Date:  11/4/24 -11/8/24 (week 12)

Another exciting week in the books!  Thanks to all who came to parent-teacher conferences on Monday and Tuesday afternoon!  It's always good to get together and see how the school year is progressing from everyone's perspective.   We appreciate you time:).  

On Wednesday, we took a field trip to the Morris Performing Arts Center in South Bend and got to hear the South Bend symphony play!  The Morris is such a beautiful venue, and the music was amazing!  This was a fun, unique experience for all of us!  Meanwhile, in the Language arts and science classroom, we worked on taking the first iLearn checkpoint test as well as making progress in our leaf collection booklets.  

Star Date: 10/28/24 - 11/1/224 (week 11)

Welcome back from Fall Break!  This week, we used our language arts time for getting into a new IXL leaderboard challenge!  We also took some time to talk about the complex topic of ethics, and the idea that just because we can do something, we may still want to consider whether we should do that thing.  I truly enjoy assisting students in the exploration of philosophical topics like ethics!  Meanwhile, in science, we took advantage of the unusually warm weather and went for a "leaf walk".  This involved walking the perimeter of our campus, examining the different types of trees and the characteristics of their leaves.  We brought example leaves back into the classroom and began the process of drying and pressing them.  Next week, we'll continue our study of leaves by creating leaf booklets.  

I'm looking forward to seeing all of you at parent-teacher conferences next Monday or Tuesday!  Thank you in advance for your time:)

Star Date: 10/14/24 - 10/18/24 (week 10)

This week we had to pause our regularly scheduled programming (prepping for the biome presentations) to talk about some current events science news, namely the successful launch of the Europa Clipper!  We watched segments of the launch and learned about the destination (Jupiter's moon Europa) as well as the mission's objective (to search for the potential existence of life under its thick, icy surface!  Ask your kiddo for his/her thoughts about this mission and the potential change it could bring in how we view our place in the cosmos!  Stayed tuned, because in five and a half short years, the Europa Clipper will arrive at its destination and begin collecting data, getting us closer to knowing if we share the solar system with organisms other than Earth-based ones!  Oh yeah, we also practiced some language arts skills in order to prepare for the first round of ilearn testing:)

Star Date: 10/7/24 - 10/11/24 (week 9)

Whoa!  Is the first quarter done already?!  Interterm for 5th (and 6th grade) involved spending time at Camp Friedenswald.  It was a hoot!  We had tons of fun, ate good food, and learned a lot!  Your kiddo should sleep good this weekend!  (I know I will:)

Star Date: 9/30/24 - 10/4/24 (week 8)

  This week in language arts, depending on which section your student is in, we've been working on writing, directing, acting in, and producing a recorded skit for the presentation of the Bible story during next Monday's SALT time.  Additionally, students have been digging into language arts skills in IXL.  In science, we've started to wind down our study of ecology.  The last subtopic within this unit will involve the students forming groups, each group selecting one of Earth's biomes, creating a slideshow highlighting that biome's biotic and abiotic features, and finally teaching the rest of the class about that biome.  You know what they say... "the best way to truly understand something is to have to teach it to someone else".  (Though, it's possible I made that saying up.  Maybe I'm the "they":).  Next week... Interterm!!!

Star Date: 9/23/24 - 9/27/24 (week 7)

This week in language arts and science, we've spent part of our time thinking and talking about how our words and actions in the classroom (and throughout the school) affect the culture of those spaces.  This has been an authentic opportunity for all of us in 5th grade (myself included:) to better understand who we are, who we want to be, and subsequently how we want to be.  Wrestling with these ideas will hopefully serve them well, not only during their time in 5th grade, but throughout their time at Bethany and beyond.  On a much less philosophical note, we've also been exploring the language arts aspects of IXL, a web-based program to help students identify their strengths and challenges within the context of reading and writing.  It then offers practice for those challenging skills.  And in science, we're exploring the idea that energy flowing through communities doesn't have a defined beginning or ending, but rather is a continuous loop via food chains and food webs.  Isn't nature grand?!

Star Date: 9.16.24 - 9.20.24 (week 6)

Can you believe that this week marks the halfway point in the quarter and that this weekend marks the official start of autumn?!  It always amazes me how quickly time flies when you're having fun!  In language arts this week, we've been working on understanding idioms.  The students are creating a poster of their favorite idiom, explaining the meaning of it.  Hopefully, they won't be any worse for the wear and finally get the hang of idioms before the cows come home.  I guess time will tell.  In science, we've been up to our elbows in discussions about communities and how energy from the sun flows though all the communities of living things on the surface of our biosphere (Earth), providing, either directly or indirectly, the energy required by all those living things to keep, well... living!  There's some food for thought!  

(disclaimer: no idioms were harmed in the writing of this week's newsletter.  Though, bonus points will be awarded to anyone who can figure out how many were used:)

Star Date: 9.9.24 - 9.13.24 (week 5)

This week has been quite "spirited" here at Bethany!  We've enjoyed a week of fun, dressing like teachers (or like the kids for the teachers:), dressing like your favorite character (Bill Nye for me:), and, in general, joining together to build community.  In language arts class, I introduced IXL.  IXL is an online program that can assess students' needs in a variety of subjects (for my purposes, language arts) and provide lessons and practice to strengthen those skills.  In science, we continued our conversations about populations, in ecological terms.  Be sure to check out the family portal on Bethany's website to see a list of all the activities happening this weekend for Bethany's Homecoming cerebration!  Go Bruins!

Star Date: 9.3.24 - 9.6.24 (week 4)

Hopefully, everyone enjoyed their extra day off at the start of this week!  Tuesday through Friday was filled with working on getting into the editing process of the "All About Me" essay during our language arts time.  Also, I introduced the reading log that I'd like to try having the students fill out.  Hopefully they've already discussed the details of this with you.  If not, please ask your student about it.  In science, we discussed the difference between ecosystems, communities, and individual populations of living organisms on this biosphere that we call home (Earth:).  We also watched several short videos describing how we track and monitor animal populations around the world.  

Star Date: 8.26.24 - 8.30.24 (week 3)

This week, the students tackled the fall NWEA tests!  In Language arts class, we continued working on the "All about me" essay.  We made it to the drafting step!  I'm hopeful that next week we can finish this assignment.  In science class, we started learning about our first unit of study... Ecology!   Ask you student which of the 4 spheres of Earth is their favorite!  Enjoy the long weekend:)

Star Date: 8.19.24 - 8.23.24 (week 2)

Our first full week of school!  We had several firsts.  We had our first library days. (which means your kiddos should have books to read)  We also went on our first field trip!  On Wednesday morning, we headed over to Shipshewana to the Michiana Event Center to help package meals with the Feed my Starving Children organization.  It was a lot of fun. (and work:). Back in the classroom, we're working on finding our routines.  Currently, we're working on writing an "All about me" essay in language arts.  In science, we're starting the year with ecology.  Oh, and we also ended the week with a "bang"! (Our first chemical reaction science demo:)

Star Date: 8.14.24 - 8.16.24 (week 1)

This week, students have been getting acquainted (or reacquainted) with the Bethany School Community.  In our class, we spent time having discussions about procedures both in and outside of the classroom, as well as getting to know each other.  We also did our first science project!  The kids got to choose a container, used power tools (safely:) and drilled holes in the bottom, filled them with potting soil, and planted Pothos starts.  The goal is for the kids to take care of them from the beginning of the year to the end and see how much they grow... (the plants and the kids!)