Post date: Jan 22, 2017 11:6:24 PM
Dear Room 25 Families,
During these weeks when the kids have intensives with other teachers, there is less than usual for me to report on in the weekly summary. This week, we had two 11-12 times and one core time, all of which were nice and productive.
There are two things underway:
1. The Project That Has Defied Naming: What I called the "mid-year investigation" on our yearlong curriculum document has been hard to accurately name, but never-the-less, the kids who have gotten into it fully, have gotten a lot out of it as well. They have honed in on topics that are driven by their passion and curiosity and now that they are in the teaching others phase, things are really looking and sounding good. Tomorrow afternoon each kid will be consolidating their resources and products into a page of their websites, and inviting you (parents) to view it. I'm hoping that leads to even more in-depth discussions and interest.
2. Book Club Projects: This last set of books shared a coming-of-age theme and the in-class discussions seemed to be quite good as far as I could tell from a distance. This past week, each kid chose one or maybe two projects from this extensive list and has two weeks to put it all together. Each project should show an understanding of what they read, some analysis, and lots of creativity. They will be due on 1/31 and put up on the wall, ready for our upcoming 3d virtual tour photographing of the classroom by Wayman -- I hope the kids make great looking and well thought-out project. There are many appealing options on that list.
Coming Up:
Jan 25 (Wednesday): 8th grade panoramic photo
Jan 25 (Wednesday): International Potluck (6:00 Anderson, MU Room)
Jan 26 (Thursday): Westmont, Prospect, DelMar come to register kids
Jan 27 (Friday): Middle School Dance
Feb 2 (Thursday): Geography Bee (after school, room 26)
Feb 3 (Friday): Last Day of First Semester Selectives
Feb 3 (Friday): Family Dance
Feb 3 (Friday): Most private school applications due; please let me know if you need a traditional report card done
Feb 6 (Monday): Second Semester Selectives Begin
Feb 8 (Wednesday): Progress reports sent home
Feb 8-10 (Wed, Thurs, Fri): Chris on room 26 CalCoast Walkabout
Feb 14 (Tuesday): Mom's Morning - Valentine's Celebration in room 2
Feb 15, Wed: Chipotle Restaurant Night
Feb 20-24, Mon-Fri: President's Week - no school