Post date: Apr 06, 2017 11:23:35 PM
Hello There Room 25 Families!
Time has been zooming by. There are only eleven weeks left (last week was week 28 out of 39 for the school year) and something inside me is still aching for our class to find the deeper meaning and potential in our year together. We've done good work, enjoyed ourselves & each other, and learned lots so far, but I just don't want to let time slip away without investing the best into each day and making 8th grade a very memorable and important experience. Making the most of people's time together has been even more in the forefront of my mind and heart for about a month now, as my father died in late February. He had a great and important life and also died fairly suddenly and at the beginning of what was likely to be what he feared most -- years of declining health, capacity, and increasing burden on others. I bring this up mostly because it underscores the importance of us all using our time together as well as possible.!
1. Class Rotation Is Over: Now that the rotation of intensives is over for the year, our 3 hours of homeroom time will allow us to get back into a history and science schedule. We will continue with vocabulary and current events as usual, but I'll be getting the kids back into a nightly textbook reading routine in either or both of those two subjects (history & science)
1. Constitutional Amendments: The week before I went on the room 29 walkabout, the kids in our class did some basic research into the 27 amendments to the US Constitution and chose one (or a part of one) that piqued their interest. During the week that I was gone (Walkabout), they had time to learn a whole bunch about that amendment and start building a presentation that covers 5 things about it. (in red here). Presentations will start next week and I'm eager to see what the kids have put together, especially regarding how their amendment is relevant (discussed, debated, re-interpreted) today.
2. Science Fair: In my last newsletter I mentioned that the 2 science fair dates are coming soon; April 26 for the experimentation focus and May 24 for the engineering focus. Within each category there are a variety of choices as well as a "propose your different idea" option as well -- the two main goals are that kids gain knowledge and experience, but also (and moreover, in my opinion) that they pursue an interest and get motivated by the process and the products (and not by the "requirements"). Parents, if you haven't done so already, please help your kid explore their choices and preferences.
3. SF Trips: I want to restate my apology for the lack of whole-class hostel space that is causing our class to have 7 kids go with room 26 next week, and to additionally apologize for having to go back on my word that I'd be on both trips. I feel bad for my (big) part in how things have turned out, but I also know that both groups will learn a whole bunch of new things about San Francisco and have the possibility of having a great time with other members of this great 8th grade class.
4. Nonfiction Books: After the second book club meeting for the current nonfiction book genre, I heard back from 2 parents and quite a few kids that they really liked how their meetings are going. Most kids have chosen topics of high personal interest and so the discussions (each person explaining something noteworthy that they've read) are educational and engaging. That is great to hear and I hope it continues or even increases during the remaining sessions.
Have a wonderful Friday and weekend and thanks for reading my weekly newsletter.
Chris