Post date: Jun 03, 2018 3:23:40 AM
Hello Room 25 Families,
This is almost the last "coupla things" newsletter for the year and I hope that you have found them useful each week. I've benefitted from the feedback I've gotten and feel that class communication was strong this year. There are three things to cover this time: rafting trip, class equipment distribution, and 8th grade class gift.
1. Rafting: I've been checking the status of the river and flows look good, as does the weather. Whitewater Adventures is ready for us! Everything you need to know are is on the rafting page of my site. The tent groups are almost complete and boat groups are below:
2. Class Equipment: Dismantling the room has been an intentionally slow process and the most challenging part is finding people and places that are most likely to use the many many educational supplies and lessons that I've gathered or created over the years. There are many things that I can't pass on to other DCS teachers simply because we're so crunched for space. So, if you know of any school or non-profit that could use some of the stuff I've posted on this spreadsheet (computers, plotter, office supplies, flat screens, etc) please let me know so I can deliver them in hopes that they go to good use.
3. Eighth Grade Gift: Each year the 8th graders create and/or purchase something that they leave behind to make the school a better place. For us, each homeroom is painting a bench that will be arranged in a semi-circle surrounding a big bolder -- a hangout spot near the red shed at the east end of middle school alley. There are about a dozen kids who are on the painting committee for our bench and I'm eager to see what they create (starting tomorrow).
4. Calendar
June 4 (Monday): Sky High
June 4 & 5 (Monday and 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 (Monday evening) Parent-led potluck. If you haven't received an invitation, please email Jane at rjhintz@sbcglobal.net
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
5. Student Newsletter Article (list):
Math at DCS
By: Maya Lemas
DCS is an innovative school, a school where many students come to learn and do so in miraculous ways via miraculous teachers. Because of this, students tend to excel in many subjects, math included. However, just because the students are good at it and the teachers are good at teaching it, doesn't mean that they all love it unconditionally. So what do both teachers and students love and hate about math at DCS?
The teachers at DCS are amazingly patient and work hard to teach the curriculum to students who sometimes don't have the motivation to learn. When asked, the 8th-grade teacher Marc Graci stated “Many students get too distracted and many students socialize too much.” Because of this socializing problem, it is hard for the teachers to get students on task. Teachers, however, still talk about those students with fondness and a bond that only people who have spent an entire school year suffering through the same grueling work can have. They have learned that students work well alone, and if given a slight push, also work well in groups. Teachers have loved and learned from DCS; it's flexible work style and hardy students give a warm atmosphere that many teachers love, yet the teachers want their own classrooms because all the bustling causes them to lose track of their supplies.
The 8th-grade students of room 25 have a more varied opinion than the teachers do. With many students hating math, and a couple not hating math but disliking who they got as a teacher. Also, when asked to rate math from 1-10, more than half of the students chose numbers in the higher bracket. Again, when the students were surveyed about their favorite subject, math had the most vote, but not by much. Personally, many students have informed me that they find math to be tedious and not because of DCS or the teachers working there. Lastly, some students prefer other subjects and it's not a matter of disliking math, it's just not their favorite but not their least favorite.
Through all of the data collected, there have been some very prominent trends. Starting with trends that teachers see, many students tend to start slacking off towards the end of the year. So teachers like Lisa Derrington and Martha Tikalsky are finding more difficult to get students working hard for the end of the year tests and work. Also, in the information which required students to rate math on a 1-10 scale, the majority of people who voted in the higher bracket were males. Still, more females chose math as their favorite subject. In short, many trends can be concluded in this set of information, but this is only just one class out of the many that have graduated from DCS.
All in all, DCS has created a widespread and diverse culture with different ideas, which is very prominent in the math classes. The majority of students like math, both teachers and children can agree on that. That is what DCS strives to do, to help students love learning and what they learn. So DCS has done a good job, at least for this class.