Post date: Mar 27, 2016 6:35:7 AM
Dear Room 25 Families,
This weekend was an amazing early Easter and beginning of spring. We weeded and planted and uncovered some grown-over pathways through the backyard. The apple tree is blooming beautifully and the pond waterfall is running again. Life here in the well-watered mountains is good.
School life is also wonderful. A few times each weekday I just pause and absorb the good feelings and healthy lifestyle that permeates our school. If I had to distill this class's interactions (myself included) down to one word, it would certainly be “family”. Quirky and filled with character, loving and intermittently animus, we embody all of what is meant by family. One that I’m very happy to be a part of, of course.
1. Science Fair: The kids created some great projects and demonstrations and most shared them enthusiastically on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning. I kept my micro-managing meddling to a bare minimum for this whole process and was very relieved and excited to see how their projects came together. I want to credit the 7th grade teachers from last year for their clear explanations, high expectations, and purposeful reflection/feedback processes.
2. Steinbeck Books: As I've said before, these aren't simple books and certainly don't feed the action-addict or plot-junky reader. The messages are clear but require deeper thinking and reflection. The book club (and writing coach) parents deserve hearty praise as they continue to facilitate the students' transition from concrete surface levels of understanding a book, to the deeper and more abstract levels. That transition is crucial and I don't think that I've been explicit enough about it thus far.
3. Westward Expansion: In social studies we're getting into a few of the important aspects of the growth of the nation and the conflicts and exploits involved. With a critical eye and ear we watched and discussed a documentary last week, paying particular attention to the subtle (or obvious) bias. This week we'll be getting back into the history textbooks and websites as well as viewing some primary source documents. Oh, and continuing the current events process, of course.
4. Rafting Trip: The dates have been set -- June 1, 2, and 3! We will leave on the afternoon of Wednesday the 1st, raft the South Fork of the American River on the 2nd and 3rd, returning to DCS by 6. If you are a parent with a van and interested in coming along on the trip, please let your homeroom teacher know. This page on my website has lots of information from last year's trip and I'll be updating it soon.
March 28 (Monday): Levi Stadium
March 31 (Thursday): Family Spaghetti/Game Night
April 4 to 8: Spring Break
April 16 (Saturday): Parent work day
April 27: K-5 Science Fair exhibits
April 30 (Saturday): Student to Student Conference
May 2 to 6: Spring Conferences
May 6: Middle School Dance
May 7: Spring Auction
May 16 to 19: Standardized Testing
May 20: DCS to Maker Fair
May 27 (Friday): Staff Development Day
June 1 (Wednesday): Talent Show (before rafting departure)
June 1, 2, 3 (Wed-Fri) Rafting South Fork American (tentative but "probably" dates)
June 8: Science Fair (design challenges)
June 10: Possible room 25 pool party at lrcc
June 16: Last Day of School