Post date: Mar 03, 2013 9:33:49 AM
Happy Sunday Students and Parents!
My Friday night writing sessions turned to Saturday sessions a few weeks ago, and now I'm staring at Sunday morning. I know that your weekend proceeds just fine without my weekly fish-wrap, but I'll try to get back to a Friday routine again.
First off, I have to tell you that it was great coming back to school. My vacation time was fantastic and family-oriented, but it was also energizing and exciting to come back to school and be with your kids again. I'm not sure that they all shared my enthusiasm but they did stay awake most mornings and I appreciate that. During the time off I went to Ashland to see my dad again and to help him re-roof and carpet some structures on his house and get it ready to sell.
Recap of the Week:
1. I started the week lightly and on a fairly non-sciencey note by passing out a set of about 100 different idiom Rebus puzzles and getting the kids brains warmed up and working together. Some really enjoyed the activity, but all were engaged. Seeing things from various perspectives is a valuable skill in any subject area.
2. The kids assembled their unit 5 and 6 packet and should have brought them home for your review, comment, and signature by now. If you haven't seen it yet, please ask them about it.
3. On Tuesday I introduced the students to the next (relatively small) science project, which is the formation and printing of a poster that explores and explains one of the many areas of physical science. I showed them examples and discussed various principles of graphic design (more on that later) and they began to browse the book for ideas. Here is the page that describes that project in a bit more detail.
4. Both at home and at school, the students have been (hopefully) experimenting with static electricity. I gave them balloons, a fur coat, some wool socks, and an aluminum can and they had can-races and tug-of-war. The most fun, of course, was the hair-style mayhem that ensues whenever static electricity is added to the beautician's toolkit.
5. During one of the days of the week, your student should have been messing with your home appliances a bit as they measured their energy consumption using a "Kill A Watt" meter. The students entered data for five things on this form, and here are the results from the past three years. The take-away learning experience is that heating and cooling are energy intensive, and that even "off" things do have some power draw.
6. The highlight, for me, was Thursday, when Sudhanshu Jain gave up his day to teach all of the 8th graders about light bulbs, energy consumption, and climate change. I was extremely impressed by his knowledge of the subject, as well as the kids interest level, and attentiveness during his presentation. The quiz scores reflect some good understanding.
7. Lastly, on Friday, I passed out 3 years worth of my electricity bills and explained to the kids about kilowatt hours, tiered costs, and the seasonal fluctuation in usage. I also explained about SmartMeters and logged into my online PG&E account to show them what the data provides to the consumer.
Coming Up:
1. Next week we will benefit from Thomas Zscherpel's equipment and expertise in the area of electricity and magnetism. He has shown me some excellent demonstrations and experiments in those areas and the kids will see/do those on Monday and Thursday.
2. Chapter 17 quiz on Tuesday.
Got Me Thinking:
I was at great Bar Mitzvah today and during the ceremony one of the kid's parents explained the transition from kid to adult in such eloquent and accessible terms. I can't quote him directly, but he explained that at 13 a kid is no longer bound to blind obedience to parents, but instead is responsible to gradually receive (or take) the reins and lead their lives with the maturity and accountability-for-actions that would make them, their ancestors, and their children proud. Learning from experience, questioning themselves and others, and utilizing their talents and passions to make a difference in the world.
Check Your Calendar:
March 6: Prospect and Westmont administrators come to DCS
March 8: 8th grade to "In the Heights" in San Jose
March 11,12,13: Revolutionary War simulations
March 12: Matt Mazerik and students from Communitas visit core
March 12: Math Circles, round 2
March 15: Teacher learning day
March 22: GPS trip to SF
April 1-5: Spring Conferences
April 8-12: Spring Break
April 18 and 19: Schoolwide science exposition
April 23-May 2: STAR Tests
April 25: "Being Ernest" at Mt. View Center for Performing Arts
May 6: Asian Art Museum
May 14: DeAnza Planetarium
May 20, 21, 22, 23: Cal Coast WalkAbout
May 27: Memorial Day
June 10: Graduation
June 11: Last day of school