Post date: Mar 18, 2018 8:0:29 PM
Hello Room 25 Parents,
Amy and I spent a beautiful day in Carmel yesterday and today it is almost sunny up here in the hills. The dogs and I are very content to sit outside this morning and watch the weeds thrive from the recent rains and current sunshine.
A few things noteworthy things happened this week:
English: The biography book group meetings seem to be going well and each kid has chosen an adjective related to the book for the week's vocabulary set; additionally they should be thinking about the two assignments. In the world of grammar, each kid did some online assessments to find areas of personal need and added to this chart to show what kinds of grammar lessons you could benefit from. Towards the end of the week I chose the first skill on the list (apostrophe) and had the kids watch a TedEd video, play a Kahoot and do the apostrophe sheet.
Social Studies: "The Jefferson Era" started off the week, but some more important events took precedent. The student protests around the country on Wednesday rang a consistent message wherein they are demanding that the adults take expedient and effective actions to curtail gun violence in schools. Here too the voices were passionate and the results a bit messy; as one 8th grader put it, "this is what democracy looks like".
On Thursday, the kids paired up and "administered" the questions portion of the citizenship test to each other.
Science: Each kid created a slide which showed an example of a simple machine (lever, inclined plane, axle-wheel, and pulleys) and then I tried to have the kids get a feel for some by suspending bricks from the ceiling using block & tackle (pulley systems) as well as using a wedge to chop some short 2x4s into kindling. Lastly, they learned about potential and kinetic energy as I risked my chin like this odd guy.
Student Article: Sophia (Panda) wrote this weeks student article called The Pros and Cons of DCS:
DCS: Pros & Cons
The goal of Discovery Charter School is to develop students who are self-motivated, self-disciplined, and socially responsible. DCS educates students with family involvement, project-based learning, and respect for students’ individual learning styles and developmental readiness. The DCS philosophy includes accepting everyone for who they are, and giving individual attention to each student to help them overcome their challenges and obstacles. But are the 8th graders really that excited about DCS? Are the 8th graders ready to leave DCS for high school, or will they miss everything about DCS? Do 8th graders agree with the teaching methods this school offers? What are the advantages and disadvantages of DCS in the views of the preeminent grade?
In order to answer these questions, I created and sent out a survey to 8th graders from all three classes who I knew had strong opinions about DCS. Out of 13 DCS 8th graders surveyed, all of whom chose to be anonymous, ten 8th graders admire how the community is super tight knit and everyone is super supportive. Everything is focused on team based learning and hands-on experiences. In addition, the students’ perception is that the DCS teachers have a better relationship with their students than public school teachers. The teachers know about the troubles each of their students have, and often offer students solutions and strategies that are acceptable to the students. Some of the 8th grade students feel like teachers are more like buddies who share common knowledge, than they are adults with a script. DCS has created such a close community that eight of the 8th graders surveyed are worried about leaving their close friends and some teachers, and having to create new relationships in high school. Only four 8th graders worry about the stress and workload they will gain that DCS doesn’t include. Being unsure if they have the ability to adjust to such change in community and workload in high school makes all 13 of the surveyed 8th graders nervous about high school.
While Discovery has a safe and supportive surrounding, eight 8th graders agree that the campus could be larger in size and the organization could improve. The eight students think that Discovery's extracurricular activities and school wide projects and events could be planned better. Because of the lack of extracurricular activities DCS has to offer, all 13 8th graders are excited about the opportunities and courses that high school provides. More competitive 8th graders take Discovery’s grading system as un(or mis)informative. They wish that they could recognize their grades as letters instead of numbers.
Discovery Charter School is very original and one-of-a-kind compared to other public schools. Because of the teaching styles, many students from DCS feel that they are more responsible and more academically driven than students from other schools. DCS works hard to ensure a safe and accepting community. This makes many students feel protected from the discrimination and tyrannical people that can roam around middle school halls.
According to the students surveyed, DCS may lack organization on extracurricular activities or homework, however, this school provides a unique, safe,/ and supportive community. The teaching style keeps students interested and turns them into active learners, and helps individual students with their challenges and obstacles. While DCS has many advantages and disadvantages, 8th graders overall believe that having a safe environment trumps any disadvantages that were identified.
Calendar:
March 21 (Wednesday): Discovery Has Talent
March 23 (Friday): Middle School Dance (8th graders sell food)
March 26 to 30 (Monday to Friday): Room 26 Walkabout & San Francisco
March 28 (Wednesday) K-5 Science Expo
April 3 to 6: Room 25's San Francisco Trip
April 9 to 13 (Monday to Friday): Spring Break & DC Trip
April 25 (Wednesday): Middle School Science Fair DCSscience.com website.
April 27 (Friday): Bingo Night
April 30 to May 4 (Monday to Friday): Conferences
May 5 (Saturday): Spring Auction
May 11 (Friday): Middle School Dance
May 13 (Sunday): Mothers Day
May 14 to 17 (Monday to Thursday): CAASPP Testing
May 18 (Friday): DCS to Maker Faire in San Mateo
May 20 (Sunday): Deliver Goodwill items to DCS (9:00-3:00)
May 28 (Monday): Memorial Day
May 30 (Wednesday): Field Day & BBQ
June 1 (Friday): Final Middle School Dance
June 5 (Tuesday): School Musical
June 6 to 8 (Wednesday to Friday): 8th Grade River Rafting Trip Information is here
June 11 (Monday): DCS Maker Day
June 11 to 14 (Monday to Thursday): Early Dismissal
June 13: (Wednesday): Graduation! Practice at Westgate Church 9 to ~12, ceremony 5 to ~6:30, dance 7:30 to 10 .
June 14 (Thursday): Last Day of School
June 14 (Thursday evening): All 8th grade celebration at Saratoga Springs
June 16 (Saturday): Parent Work Day
July 8 (Sunday): DCS Alumni Boating and Barbecue at Vasona