Post date: Dec 04, 2017 2:11:17 AM
Hello Everyone!
CalCoast Trip: The Walkabout was the big event of the week and it went well. The kids were well prepared, well behaved, and well.... great! They seemed to enjoy most/all of the places we went, including the farms, trails, towns, historical sites, lighthouses, and youth hostels. I really like traveling and exploring the lesser-known gems of these areas, and I hope that these kids will someday take it upon themselves to go out to similar places as they gain age and independence. I also sense a subtle and promising shift in the classroom interactions, perhaps due to their time and intensity together.
Book Clubs: The next genre for book clubs will be mystery books. This page shows samples from previous years (yes, some are a stretch to be classified as mystery). If you have or can suggest a good mystery book, please send it in tomorrow or Tuesday.
Filing Out Forms and Delayed Response Times: How can I put this gently?.... some of y'all gotta get better at responding quickly to paperwork that comes home and emails that are sent out regarding school and classroom things. On Friday, after more than a month (!!!) of delay, the last kid finally dealt with the graduation site approval form; on day 1 of the Walkabout, a bunch of last-minute checks were brought to the office which is a bit late; and as of tonight we have three of the five chaperones for the Angel Island trip next week.
The amount of time that the coordinators have to put into following up with the remiss few is far greater than the time it would take those stragglers to just fill in the sheets or respond to requests. Sorry for the scolding here, but c'mon people, this doesn't seem fair. I will, just FYI, be unsympathetic to the kid who can't go on a trip because they don't have some form in on time.
When I've ask for a response to questions I posed in one of these newsletters a few issues ago, I got two replies. On a similar note, I've also heard that participation in graduation fundraising events is weak. Sigh. Has everyone seen the birthday celebration notes from Joel? The response to the September-October "event" was snacks provided by one parent. Seven cents, Vern? End scolding.
New Fish: I want to end on a positive note here. Thanks to the knowledge and assistance from Carlton Killingsworth, the saltwater tank in room 25 finally has moving creatures in it. The black clown fish and it's little anemone are adjusting to their new home tonight. Thanks to the PSC's approval of a grant I submitted last month, there is now a budget for more critters and their upkeep.
Calendar
-December 4 (Monday): November-December birthday celebration
-December 13-14: Angel Island "Living History" overnight with Bonnie
-December 22 (Friday): Class party and early release day
-December 23 - January 14: Winter break
-January 24 (Wednesday): 8th Grade Panoramic Photo
-January 26 (Friday): End of first semester
Student Writing: Below is Hayden's article about school sports:
Students participating in one or more interscholastic sports had an average grade point average of 3.151, while non-athletes had an average of 2.4 according to a study of interscholastic sports participation published in the NASSP Bulletin. Thirty minutes of jogging, or shorter, more intense bursts of activity promote healthy joints, bones and muscles, and also help control weight. Most kids today spend a lot of time watching television, so sports in school are good exercise.
DCS, a K-8 charter school with only about 522 kids, has a very small number of sports for those who are interested. The sports teams include basketball for 7th/8th grade boys and girls, flag football for 4th/5th grade boys and girls and run club for K-8th grade. One first grader, Becket, likes run club after school. “I don’t get as tired now so I’m getting stronger.” said Becket when he was asked about run club.
“Sports teach kids teamwork and are a good outlet for energy,” says principal Debbie Perry. PE teacher, Nathan Snyder, also believes that sports are beneficial to students because “Sports are a good use of time and it is physical activity.” The DCS middle school basketball girls team coach, Erin Mah, also thinks sports are good for students, “Sports in school are a good way for students to be with their friends.”
Although DCS does have a few select sports teams, year after year the DCS alumni say that the one thing they wished DCS had, was more sports teams. Out of the 50 DCS middle school students surveyed, 74% of them want to play sports in high school, yet only 22% of the kids have played on a sports team at DCS. One 8th grader, Adi, said, “I like the sports teams that are here but I prefer those for more ages.” The students surveyed expressed interest in having other sports at DCS. Thirty percent of the kids surveyed said they wanted a soccer team, the highest of all sports. Other sports the surveyed students wanted include volleyball, quidditch, football, baseball, and a few others.
There are multiple reasons why DCS doesn’t have more teams, one of them being that we don't have enough students. The other schools in leagues want to have a team for each grade; flag football for 5th, 6th, 7th etc. But DCS does not have enough kids interested to have a team for every grade to have their own team. DCS also needs a place for their teams to practice, which is a problem since they share the field with Anderson. Volunteer coaches who are interested and have the time can be difficult to find.
Even with all the obstacles, there are still things DCS students can do if they want a sports team. First, if a student has interest in a sport, they should spread the word and see if other people are interested. If they can find enough people who are interested, they should look for a coach. The next step is to bring their idea to principal Perry so she can help them figure what to do next. Even if the sports team doesn't work out, the good thing is that there are has some sports selectives the might be of interest. Current options include: basketball, ultimate freebie, blacktop hockey, volleyball, boxing, and dance.