Post date: Oct 16, 2016 4:28:10 PM
Dear Room 25 Families,
It has been a weekend of constant rain up here in the hills and I've spent a little of it clearing gutters, dealing with roof leaks and shoveling out clogged culverts. I do love a good Fall storm and appreciate that this one hit after (!) our Walkabout! The forecast predicts some sunny days this coming week so I'll try to get us outside for reading times or find time for an outside game or two.
Walkabout Recap: This trip was blessed good weather, great trails, educational moments, and helpful parents. We covered many miles, visited many places, and kept a quick pace. I was thrilled to see many of the kids explore with excitement and absorb the experiences with open minds. I pushed the kids quite a bit and some really didn't enjoy parts, but I do hope that all grew from the challenges and gained an appreciation for both their own untapped strengths as well as the abundant cool little places that are within just a few miles of their homes. On Thursday and Friday, I had them do a variety of follow-ups; the goal being to get the most out of the trip before, during, and after.
Social Studies: Our pace is slow these days, but I'll pick it up during this coming week. Hopefully the kids have learned enough about the formation of the colonies to understand some of the details that I'll add this coming week. Over the summer I got a bunch of copies of a textbook that is more detailed than the History Alive one that the school provides, and this weekend I read the chapter on colonial life, conflicts, and seeds of revolution. It is good stuff, but I can't think of a good way to teach it yet, so I might have to resort to having the kids do (or listen to) textbook reading during class (I didn't buy enough books to have each kid take one home for reading). I know that this isn't the best way to have the kids learn things, but for now, it is what I can come up with.
The other social studies topic that I want to cover in this newsletter is current events. For the past two weeks each kid was supposed to stay in touch with the news, choose an article to read and summarize, then engage you (parents) in a discussion about that topic. This current events topics spreadsheet shows that there are too many kids who aren't doing this, and if yours is one, could you poke them a bit to justify it or to remedy the problem -- we are at too important of a time to not be aware of current events, global issues, and diverse personal perspectives.
Science: Each kid should be deep into their science experiment by now; performing their trials and documenting the results. I have a chart on the wall that they are using to document their own progress and hopefully stay up to speed with the average of class progress; take a look next time you are in the room. The due date for the final product will likely be adjusted to the end of the month, but progress on each of the deliverables should be visible and constant. My goal is two-fold; first, to give the kids experience with experimental design and lab-report formation, and second, to get better and project management and self-regulated completion of the steps along the way.
English: The English Assignments spreadsheet shows that there hasn't been great productivity in this area this week. Book clubs are meeting Wednesday and each kid should have completed half of their book by then. The books are Inferno, Throne of Glass, Book Thief, or Ready Player One (which I am reading and enjoying). Some of the writing coaches have been meeting with kids one-on-one and getting them to rework their name essays or whatever other writing piece might benefit. Starting in November, Amy (Heumann) will be working with the kids to choose theme-based book-club books and then working on writing assignments with them. As you can probably tell, I'm pulling in as many resources as I can to give your kids a good education in an area that is my deficit (literature and writing).
Student-Directed Learning: For the past 7 weeks, each kid should have been creating one "curiosity slide" as a way of getting them to think about an area of personal interest and document the results. During this coming week I'll take the next step by having them choose a topic that they will investigate in great detail and then present to the class during November (this will be similar to the process outlined here).
Nightly Homework and Weekly PowerSchool Checks: We are getting close to conferences and a review of grades might be one thing we do. If assignments completion and assessment is something of value/concern to parent and/or kid, then I encourage you to engage in the following two practices: Each night please take a look at the assignment page together and maybe even look at and discuss the items listed. The short address is www.tinyurl.com/heumannhomework. If you and/or your kid are unclear about anything or the conversation leads to tension or conflict, then please call, text, or email me anytime for clarification. My email is chrisheumann@gmail.com and my cell # is 408 482-2394. In addition to that nightly process, it might be a good idea to also check PowerSchool (link on my grades page) once a week to see if things there are at levels satisfactory to all of you. There is, by the way a drop-in "homework club" that meets in room 29 each Monday and Thursday after school; this could be a great time for your kid to complete missing work or get help on anything! (Ms Hare has more details if needed).
High Schools. I've received a few emails from Kim Salle as well as a parent or two with information about high schools. To help organize the information I created a High School page on my site a few years ago and will update it with dates and events as they are communicated to me. If any of you have your feelers out there in that world and want to take over the task of updating and enhancing that page, please let me know and I'll make you a collaborator. No commitment or web-page experience necessary!
Intensive Rotation. As this calendar shows, our class's great stretch of homeroom-all-morning (HAM) time ends after this coming week. Starting on October 24, the kids of room 25 will be doing an intensive with Bonnie Malouf, and the kids of room 29 will be coming to me for three weeks of "Constitution" from 9:00 to 10:40 each day. It will be great for each class to get to know another 8th grade teacher and vice versa. Bonnie has heard me boast about our class many times and she is looking forward to working with them to explore literature and the cultural perspectives that "edgy" books have challenged in the past (and still today).
Calendar:
-October 20: Anne Frank Exhibit arrives -- thanks to room 23 & supporters!
-October 21 (Friday): Teacher Learning Day -- no school for kids
-October 24-28: Fall conferences -- please sign up if you haven't already
-October 29 (Saturday): Fall Festival -- Sharina Shields will provide details
-November 1-4: Rm 29 in SF (changed intensive rotation)
-November 11 (Friday): Veteran's Day (no school)
-November 15 (Tuesday): Innovation Challenge at SJSU
November 17 & 18: Room 25 to Angel Island -- see message from Gina
November 21-25: Thanksgiving Break
December 3: Star Party
December 6: 8th Grade to The Exploratorium
December 16: Early dismissal & Christmas break starts