Post date: Mar 02, 2014 2:46:27 AM
Dear Parents. Happy Sunday. This email is a few days late because on Friday and Saturday evening/nights I was driving daughters to and from their various musical productions. The youngest two are in The Little Princess at the Sunnyvale Theatre, and the oldest, Hannah, is playing Maria in The Sound of Music at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts (link). I'm happy for and proud of them all, but the driving and waiting sure takes up all of my non-school hours.
Week in Review:
Science: I'm very excited to begin the Animal Board Game project with the students. Over the next few weeks the kids will be building board games that are designed to teach about one vertebrate animal or group in an engaging and entertaining way. I've had kids build games for many years and the process and results are almost always great. On my website there is a "Board Game" page that explains the project in great detail, and also explains the group-work grading system. There are also pictures of some past games and documents that are designed to keep the project going smoothly and completed on time. The kids in my class should have worked on step 1C and 1D this weekend. The kids in room 19 are doing this process as well.
English: As hard as it might be to believe, there wasn't a writing assignment for this past week! We did spend some time on idioms and how they can be integrated into communication to add personality, effectiveness, and cultural context. In addition, the kids all (well almost all) chose books for our next few sessions of book club meetings. The theme is animals, and they're off to a good start. Here is the animal book page on my site.
Social Studies: This week we went back to the "read the chapter, take notes, quiz on Friday" routine to learn a bit about Japan's history. I also showed parts of a few videos on Japan's present-day culture and the history of architecture, art, weapons, and cultural traditions. The quality of current events discussions continues to improve and the advance-preparation is certainly visible for the very responsible kids who come with the three things they need on "their" day (the article, a written summary, some written questions).
IBMC: During some afternoons, a great group of 7th grade kids have been working on some school improvement projects for this round of Interest-Based Mini Courses. It is amazing how much a group of focused and energetic people can get done.
Help Needed:
1. For the Cal Coast Walkabout, part 2, we need 3 or 4 more drivers to pick us up in Marin on Thursday 3/20 in the afternoon. If you might be able to help out, please email me or lizy.shepherd@gmail.com. Also, if you haven't given the $50 donation (for the SF day & overnight) to Debby Perry, please drop it off if possible.
2. Anyone interested in helping us with some masonry work on the drinking fountain and/or construction of a lean-to addition to the red shed for the PE department?
Calendar Check:
Spring Portraits -- March 11 & 12
Laps for Learning -- Friday, March 14, 2014
Walkabout, Part 2 -- Tuesday 3/18/14 to Thursday 3/20/14
Staff Learning Day -- Friday, 3/21/14
Science Fair -- Friday 4/4/14
Yosemite Week -- Monday 4/7/14 to Friday 4/11/14
Spring Break -- Monday 4/14/14 to Friday 4/18/14
Jumba Fundraiser -- April 25
Spring Auction -- May 3
Room 19 Walkabout -- May 13, 14, 15
Memorial Day -- May 26
Step-Up Day -- June 2
Talent Show -- June 11
Field Day & BBQ -- June 13
Last Day of School -- June 18