Post date: May 10, 2015 9:40:39 PM
Happy Mother's Day!
I want to start off by telling you all how much I enjoyed all the gifts, messages, and kindness of teacher appreciation week. The room decorations, flowers, fruit, cards, and gifts were so very nice and important to me. On the outside, I may downplay the importance of such things, but I sure to feel the love so strongly! Thanks, everyone, for letting me be a part of your lives and valuing whatever odd collection of lessons, interactions, and experiences I have been able to share with your kids.
Some Highlights of Last Week
1. The Courthouse. Thanks to Elizabeth Shepherd, our class has had some rare opportunities to learn about the courts and legal system. Last month the Deputy District Attorney came to our class to explain his job and some public relations activities in which he is/was involved. This past Wednesday we went to the Santa Clara County Hall of Justice in downtown San Jose and he gave us a very educational and rare chance to sit in on a DUI case as well as an incredible meeting with a judge. The kids were engaged and appropriate, and received a truly rare chance to ask great questions of the judge, the attorneys, bailiff, and clerk. If you have a moment, browse the "court" page on my site to see some pictures and read the kids' letters.
2. Editing Sound. After teaching the kids about the parts and functions of the ear (and reading parts of chapter 21), I had the kids use a Chrome extension called TwistedWave to digitize their voices. By analyzing the wave form and hear the sounds, they could see the relationship between the wave form and the words (and sound quality). They got very caught up in the various editing tools (loops, effects, reversing, etc) and we'll do a bit more of this early this coming week.
3. Fed Up. Mrs. Leftwich's class has read "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and learned some valuable lessons from the book and class discussions. My attempt to teach similar content was to use a documentary called "Fed Up" as a springboard for discussions about health and diet, but also about the relationship between industry, government, politics, advertising, and public perception. I wouldn't taut the movie as unbiased reporting, but it did make some good points and provide food for thought.
4. CAASPP Tests: The kids will be taking the state's standardized tests during the week of May 18 to 22nd and so on Friday I explained what I could about the purpose of those tests, showed them the testing schedule, and had them log in and take a practice or training exam. The stuff is hard, which I see as a good sign that public education is raising the bar, and I have no doubt that our kids will be able to do very well. I just hope that the kids' patience holds out during those long hours of testing.
5. Spring Auction: It was very nice to see many of you on Saturday night at the Casino! Our class basket looked great (sorry for my scolding tone about it in my last newsletter and my oversight of some contributions that had been made). I was also glad to see some of my "learning curve" pottery get bought by some kind parents. The highlight of the evening for me, was to be able to share the joy and magic of the DCS community with Amy.
Coming Up
1. Monday Activities: Starting tomorrow and continuing on Monday afternoons until the end of the year, groups of kids are going to be creating some memorable activities for the class. They are responsible for the planning, paperwork, communication, and management of their great ideas. Tomorrow's activity is a walking trip to Safeway and I'm hoping that the kids in charge of that one have done all of the prep work and that the class is planning accordingly (eg. snack money) and walking shoes. Check out this page for more info (if they have it there).
2. Parent Meeting: Since Dan is probably going to be out for the rest of the year, Susan and I are taking over the planning of the rafting trip. To best disseminate information and deal with any unforeseen details, this trip will be the big topic for our final class meeting on the evening of May 26th from 6:30 to 7:30. This would also be a great time for a dessert pot-luck and for getting together as a homeroom to celebrate our amazing 2 years together.
May 15: No school for kids
May 18: Parent meeting
May 29: Middle School dance
June 3 to 5: Rafting the South Fork American River
June 10: Maker Day
June 12: Field Day
June 18: Last day of school
June 19: Staff work day