Post date: Jan 15, 2017 5:14:18 PM
Dear Families of Room 25:
It was great to come back to school after three weeks away from the class. I really missed the people, the pace, and the place. We had a good first week back and settled quickly into the productive routines as well as ventured into some new topics. The "days left" counter on my website says that today (Sunday) is the half-way point in the year; 151 have passed, and 151 to go. This, of course, reminds me again that the time I have with this class and they with each other, is as valuable as it is limited.
Coming Up:
1. Hidden Figures: On Thursday the 19th we will be taking the 8th grade class to go see the movie Hidden Figures. It is a great and important story of three black women who become flight engineers at NASA in the early 1960s. We are walking to and from the theatre so no drivers are necessary, but if any parents would like to chaperone, they are welcome to come along. This page of my website has our itinerary for the day.
2. Baby Photos: The yearbook class has been asking for baby pictures for our 8th graders for a while now and Glady has sent out some reminders to me, and to you I'm sure. If you have a photo, you (or your kid) can put it in the envelope in the office with the name on the back. If you want to send a digital photo, you can go to https://images.memoryebooks.com/407293592 and follow the prompts.
3. High School Info Night: Dale is orgainizing a high school info night at Discovery 2 on January 17 at 7:00. Each high school or district rep will be given 5-10 minutes to present and then there will be an “open house” format where students and parents can ask questions and talk with the reps from each school.
So far they have confirmations from San Jose Unified (Lincoln, San Jose, Willow Glen, etc.), Summit, Valley Christian, and Ocean Grove (home school program). The high schools page of my site also has some info, and if you have anything to add, please let me know.
4. Over Christmas break I spent some time with a high-end fish tank installer and specialist in Santa Rosa and received a donation of a small marine tank for the classroom. My excuse for bringing this to our already crowded classroom is that the educational possibilities are really high. There is great practical chemistry involved as well as biology, of course, and the responsibility-increasing benefits of a student-maintained tank of Marlins, Dorys, and Bubbles fish. As I read about the initial set-up and creating a biochemical balance with live coral I realized that we're going to need some help. My Santa Rosa person is willing to Skype with the class once or twice to teach us the basics, but if any of you have any experience with marine tanks, please let me know; we could use your expertise.
There, only four simple things to tell you about this time. Enjoy the rest of your day and think of MLK, and spread the hard-earned hope of equity in this great land.
Chris