Post date: Apr 20, 2013 5:42:5 PM
My traditional Friday night email was delayed by an inevitable unconscious state. Twelve hours of sleep washed over me starting at about 10, but I came out on the other end late this morning feeling revitalized and eager to start planning another week. My count says that we have 36 days left together and I'm hoping to have us all make the best of it.
Week In Review:
On Monday I was able to teach a little bit of biology because the chapters on electromagnetic waves and light involved the eye! I am glad to say that during lessons that involve a more traditional style (listening to lecture, QnA discussion, and labeling diagrams), the kids do just fine. Most of Tuesday was taken up by a video on light and optics, and on Wednesday the topics were made most clear by Thomas and his lasers, mirrors, lenses, and knowledge.
The science expo (elementary on Thursday and middle school on Friday) was a great experience for the kids and quite an eye-opener for me. While visiting the younger grade classrooms and learning from their presentations (the boards and the explanations) I realized that I can and should raise the bar of expectations for the 8th graders -- what they do at the elementary level is excellent and the complexity should progress upwards throughout the grades and culminate in some truly exceptional explorations and applications of the scientific method. The grades for this year's 8th grade projects will be posted about a week from now (bridge, catapult, tower write-ups due Monday, by the way), but aside from grades, I hope that the kids benefitted from their work. Kudos to Katya, Jason, and Josh for their engineering constructions, and to all the kids who did great experiments and explained them well.
During the week many students' posters got printed and are now turning the perviously boring ceiling into a grid of greatness! Students: please remember to finish yours if you haven't already, and to turn it in (see step 7).
Coming Up:
Parents, please remind your student to have you review and sign the unit 7 packet and return it to school (if they haven't already). While you're at it, perhaps you could check to see if they have completed the assignment that is due Monday, a "track" on electromagnetic waves. Also, I've made another change to the testing schedule due to STAR testing -- we will have one test covering both chapters 22 and 23 on Friday.
Year in review potluck
STAR Testing next week. The assignments page of my site has a calendar that shows which tests are on which dates. Kids, please come well-fed and willing to concentrate for hours. Also, please bring a book to read during the gap between when you finish and when the test period ends... the room has to be silent during the whole test session.
Chromebooks: A while ago the PSC approved a grant that I wrote, asking for 4 Chromebooks to put in the kids hands and find out if they are a viable option for the much-in-need-of-upgrade laptop cart. The response has been very positive, and although no official decision has been made, I see a few signs pointing towards a large-scale deployment of those great machines next year.
Lastly, I described my drinking fountain idea to my homeroom and was very glad to see so many of them (and Sara) supportive of it and willing to help. I'll do the same for the other 2 classes and hopefully break ground in mid May.
Check Your Calendar:
April 22-23: STAR ELA, History, & Science Tests
April 25: "Being Ernest" at Mt. View Center for Performing Arts
April 30 & May 1: STAR math
May 6: Asian Art Museum
May 14: DeAnza Planetarium
May ?, ?, & ?: Gettysburg battle simulation (I can't remember which days)
May 20, 21, 22, 23: Cal Coast WalkAbout
May 27: Memorial Day
June 10: Graduation
June 11: Last day of school
Reply if you have a moment, even if just to say and and let me know if you made it this far!
CH