Post date: Jan 31, 2016 9:6:57 PM
Happy Sunday Rm25,
The house is quiet. Kids are at work or out with friends, Amy is teaching lessons in town, and so it is me and the dogs hanging out at home cooking chicken soup and enjoying the sunshine that peeks through the fast-moving clouds every few minutes. To add to that joy, the teapot is full, my papers-to-score pile is empty and lesson plans for tomorrow are well formulated. Its a good life.
Last Week:
1. Infographics: The kids have viewed many samples and features, browsed the major creation-services, chosen their topic, and started theirs.
2. Vocabulary Words: We are on a weekly routine now wherein each kid finds a great (useful, moderately challenging) words and makes a slide on a class powerpoint that teaches their word. Those slides are printed and posted and each kid teaches their word to the others. The quiz is on Wednesday morning and the process starts again on Thursday afternoon.
3. San Francisco Trip: I gave each kid an SF map of their own (thanks AAA) and had them find various regions, places, and routes. Each kid also researched possible additions to the field trip agenda and put them on this chart as well as a collaborative online map.
4. Hamilton: Stella came in for lesson 2 which involved doing some music analysis and then writing their own "raps" about the Constitution amendment that they learned about a few months ago. Their results are here.
5. Simple Machines: To give the kids some more in-depth understanding of the topics of chapter 8 (simple machines), I had them do an online simulation and a hands-on investigation using a stick & weight device that I made. The kids should have also browsed the Kids Discover magazine on Simple Machines and answered my questions.
6. Mystery Books: Susan, Shannon, Roseanne, Violetta, and Joan continue their great book-club facilitation on Wednesdays and I have been able to squeeze in portions of the Sherlock Holmes movie and facilitate discussion and ask questions.
Coming Up:
1. Schedule: Mr. Dowling's class is heading off on their version of the Cal Coast Walkabout on Monday morning so we'll have a slightly different morning schedule. Room 25 kids will go to Bonnie for the second half of the morning block in order to continue with their intensive.
2. Computer Science: Orna and Bill Berryman will be coming to do some CS and engineering lessons on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday this week. President Obama is in line with their thinking as you can tell from his recent weekly address. Bill works at Google and is willing to help host a tour of the GooglePlex (once we know the trip date, Jane and Susan will be sending out a driver request message).
3. San Francisco Trip: Tomorrow (Monday) afternoon will be devoted to getting down to the specifics of planning our 23-day-away trip. Just like we did for the Walkabout, kids will learn about one feature of the city and be the teacher/guide during that portion of our journey. This will involve the creation of a single page brochure-style teaching document that will need to be printed (12 copies, hopefully in color).
4. Semester 2: Grades for the first semester "closed" on 1/22/16, so all assignments entered after that are going into PowerSchools' second semester column. Here is a spreadsheet of our class' percentages in the three subject areas. The printed progress reports will be sent home on February 10 and will not display grades, but rather subjective evaluations of skills as well as a student and teacher narrative portion.
5. Newspaper Project: The writing coaches and I will be getting the class involved in the production of a school newspaper. More details will be published soon, but if any of you have access to a fancy-schmancy printer that can do color 11x17 (ledger) paper, please let me know. We'd like to be able to print 30 pages about once a month.
Reminders:
1. Parents, if possible/necessary, please view the homework assignment sheet each night with your kid as well as PowerSchool once per week and maybe even discuss these newsletters once in a while.
2. We've got luggage drivers for the SF trip. Anyone stepping up to chaperone or help with meal preparation?
3. Please check in with me to let me know if there is anything I/we can improve.
Here's that expanded calendar:
February 1-3: Room 29 Walkabout
The students in room 29 have been planning their own Cal Coast trip and when they are gone, our class and Bonnie's class will trade for part (but not all) of the morning block.
February 1, 2, 5: Engineering and Coding Lessons & planning Google visit
I'm fortunate to know some very energetic, knowledgable, and philanthropic engineers/managers who will be teaching our class about the tools and attitudes of innovation in the Silicon Valley. This will likely involve a trip to Google's Mountain View Campus.
February 6 (Saturday): DCS 10 Year Celebration
Susan Michaels is coordinating this. Saratoga Community Center. $20. Lots of fun.
February 10 (Wednesday): Progress reports go home
The new skills-based report card is a big change from the grades-based report card and it is involving much more input from students and subjective evaluations from us teachers.
February 15 to 19: February Break
Chris & family headed to Yosemite or Ashland!
February 23 to 25: Room 26 Walkabout
Bonnie's class will do their version of the Cal Coast Walkabout, spending most of day 1 at Big Creek Lumber, north of Davenport.
February 23 to 26: Room 25's San Francisco Trip
The kids and I will plan each day's locations, routes, transportation, and teaching activities, but I really am hoping to get help with the 4 dinners and we'll need 2 chaperones. You?
March 4 (Friday): Laps for Learning
Although the proceeds benefit next year's class (and me!), I'm really hoping that the kindness and giving nature of this class will get them into action.
March 18 (Friday): Staff Development Day
No school for students, great times for us teachers.
March 23 & 24: Evening and morning science fair exhibits
This year, science fair is split into two separate events. This portion if for kids to share their "trifolds" describing their scientific investigation. They did an "effect of this on that" experiment in the fall, and this round has wider scope and a more tangible form of reporting.
March 29 (Monday): Chemistry intensive starts
This time our class goes to Mr. Dowling for five weeks of fun science. His chemistry curriculum involves atomic structure, the periodic table, chemical properties and interactions, and the specifics of accurate investigation.
May 7: Spring Auction
Kate Nickerson will be meeting with the class about this to elicit ideas and plan out the process of making a great room 25 "basket" around a chosen theme.