Hi All,

Come one, Come All, it's our Traditional Marine Biology Fundraiser at Lloyd Center Applebees On Saturday, the 26th of January from 8 to 10 am!

8th grade students from SES will be serving an all you can eat breakfast! (yes, that's right, our 8th graders are going to serve YOU!)

Tickets are $10  each and SES gets 5 dollars of it. Our goal is EACH class sell 100 tickets - 

That means about 3 tickets per student!  -

It would be best for students to collect the money first and turn it in, then I can send the tickets home with them..Once I sign tickets out to students, they are responsible for getting them to the right party and NOT LOOSING THEM! The tickets are as good as money!

However, if students take responsibility for the tickets - say they want to go door to door in your neighborhood, or take them to your favorite holiday party to sell to friends, then I'll sign specific tickets out to your child.

Don’t delay! Buy early! Make it a stocking stuffer for your favorite Auntie, buy one for your soccer buddies (I've heard that they can eat a lot!), or invite your book group out for Saturday breakfast! The ideas are endless, and know you are supporting wonderful, educational, memorable marine biology trips. 

If you would like to make a donation and sleep in on Saturday, we think that sounds like a great idea too! Or if Grandma lives far away but just wants to support you, yeah!

This is a fun community event-invite your friends and the whole family! It's not every day that 8th graders dote over you on an early Saturday morn :)  

Thanks for all of your support!

Cori and SES team

Forest Festival!

Hello Families,
Time flies when your working hard! We have been preparing the classroom for the forest festival where all our learning will be on display. This is a wonderful opportunity to come see all the classrooms and our wonderfully diverse curriculum. It is a time for celebration of our amazing young people who are growing up! (they might tell you they don't want to go and don't want you to go...they are pubescent...I encourage you to come anyway!)

On another note: We drew names for Secret Snowflake today, it's a Sunnyside tradition up in the middle school to show our love and thoughtfulness to each other by bringing in a small wrapped secret present each day of the week for their secret snowflake. Please do not spend more than $5 on any one gift. We had lots of great ideas: gently used favorite book, a great handmade card or picture made by kids, a candy bar!, $2.50 gift card for a slice of pizza or to cosmic, handmade something or other (hat, burned CD of fun music...) you get the idea. If all else fails - candy. So each day we will find many little presents in our classroom for each student. If you forget a day, bring 2 the next, but remember to leave your snowflake an IOU...

The quote of the week "You have Puberty Brains!" - Our lovely lovely students cannot remember their own names these days. Thank you so much for the support at home to keep them moving in a forward motion. Next week we have Math/Spanish/Studio daily (actually until Spring Break), Mini-classes on Tues/Thurs and Late Opening on Wednesday. Then we are off for Winter Break!!!

A heads up about vacation - I believe in a break when we get one. I do not assign homework or projects over break. The only think I ask is that kids read, preferably 1 whole novel at least. I will be out of the country for the entire break and will not be reachable, so ask me your questions now! I'm taking my son to southern México to visit family.  I'll come back with great stories about our time spent at Chichen Itza for the Mayan New Year.

Take Care and I look forward to seeing you at the Forest Festival!
Cori

November 30th

¡Saludos Familias!

We have made it through a week of many many lessons, topics and activities...along with quite a few sicknesses! If your child was out this week, please support them in getting caught up. I prefer that they work on what's due now and try to catch up bit by bit on the absent work. That way they can fully participate in lessons of the day!

I apologize for not updating the blog this week - I have been busy! There is a lot going on at school right now and I'll do my best to get you up to speed.

Class work/projects:

1. Writing - Metamorphosis working draft - preferably typed, double space, 12pt font. - should have character development edits worked in. (due mon)

2. Reading - Personal Choice Novel #3 (read up to 3rd section, 35 word synopsis and 1 journal question entry - 1 full page total) (due mon)

3. Core 

     - Animal Adaptations - Synthesis questions & graph (mon)

     - 3D Project - Project & write up -(due Thurs) = please support your child in going deeper, find out more about their topic, make project interactive, write meaningful information etc. It is VERY important that they are complete on Thursday. They will be on display and graded on Friday at Forest Festival.

SERVICE PROJECTS

6th - Home service project (done in friendship) - (due Mon)

7th - By winter break should have solid idea of what their project is (check in with me and Karen)

8th - Working in Cohorts developing projects weekly....check in with your child, they are all in different stages.

SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

 Forest Festival - Please join us on Fri Dec 7th 5-8.

This is a culmination of all our hard work! Students will be hosting in classrooms, serving delicious lasagna dinner, telling stories at the "fire side", running craft rooms such as animal face painting, mask making and more! Please encourage your child to participate and you too!

Ways to serve:

1. Make a lasagna for the dinner - please email amy/rebecca to let them know you are making one and what kind (students earn hours for making it!)

2. Earn all 3 hours - sign up for shifts next week!

- hosting in our classroom (showing 3D projects, playing or performing yours, keeping

   things tidy, telling people about things we've done this fall etc.)

- serve/bus in cafeteria

- work in one of the classrooms

- tell your metamorphosis or other stories written by you at the "campfire" (really cool

  fake one at the end of the hall)

- help out in the craft rooms

- present forest poems at the sing along

Wow, I hope this is enough for you for this weekend! I will do my best to keep homework down next week so students may fully engage in their 3D project and complete their really cool metamorphosis stories!

I am looking forward to meeting with you all next week.  If you haven't signed up for a conference time yet, please do so...or contact me about an alternate time.  Students were sent home with a little homework assignment for you -- a series of questions to think about before attending your conference.  I have attached a copy of it to this email in case the copy meant for you got lost in the middle school fray.  Here's the link again for the conference schedule http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0844A4AC22A20-2012

Students have been assigned a project that will be displayed at the Forest Festival on December 7.  They turned in their plans for their projects yesterday and I came in to meet with them about it.  Everyone has a solid idea of what they want to work on and how they are going to display it.  Their goal is to highlight a SECRET of the forest.  The 'little people' have been revealing the SECRETS to us this fall -- each letter represents a concept important to forest ecology.  Here is a link to the google doc that explains the projects  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zSdOQArzDEq_9SJMBt9Zw8qr1V6bJfot0NH_sbMWHH8/edit

It is due December 6.  So students have plenty of time to make extraordinary projects.  I encouraged students to challenge themselves with the content and with their design/construction. Please read over the assignment and brainstorm ideas with them. Challenge them to go beyond "the food chain"! Please let me know if questions or needed help arise as these projects come to fruition. 

In addition, we will start a student choice novel assignment as we return on the 26th. Please have your child have a book on Monday, it should be one that they can successfully complete between the Nov 26th and Dec 14th. Of course they can read more than just one book in that time, (I know we have some voracious readers amongst us!)

Happy 4 day weekend!
I hope this post finds you well, as for me I'm taking refuge in a cafe between rainy soccer games! 

Conferences - Please sign up if you haven't or contact me for an alternate time. Even if you have recently had a conference with me, you can come again! There will be student work on display where you can get a glimpse of your child's life at school. I will be sending home Parent Homework on Tuesday! Please send it back with your child by Friday so I can best prepare for our conference.

I'm looking forward to this week with our class as we round the bend on the Forest Storyline. We'll begin thinking about the FOREST FESTIVAL - DEC 7th where we will celebrate all our learning and show off our amazing projects! It is an excellent opportunity for students to earn School Service as well. This week we will NOT travel on Thursday, instead I am considering going to lunch with students on Belmont. Students should bring some money to buy lunch or a sack lunch to enjoy off campus! If you were going to chaperone anyway, I would certainly welcome you! If it is not raining we will journey up to the Food Carts on 45th, if it is, we'll stay near 34th. We'll leave at 11:30 and plan on 45min -1 1/2 depending on where we go.

Due Tuesday:
Heartwood Writing - This should be 2-3 paragraphs where the student shares his/her fondest memories. Tell the story of it 2-3 memories....There is a great example on the heart brainstorm 1/2 sheet - as well as questions on the bottom to help guide students.

Fantasy #7 - Students should be caught up on all reading, have reading comp book caught up with 2-3 post-it questions and 1 golden line for each section read. We'll be wrapping up the Fantasy books this week!

Due Friday: Parent Homework! (kids go ahead and tease your parents that your teaching is sending homework even to them:)

That's it for now, I'm off to the cold and wet soccer field! 
I'll be posting this week's homework soon, we're going to be busy!

2012 Fall Conferences - you should have received an invite from Sign Up Genius for the conferences. If you didn't get one, please let me know - must mean I do not have your email!!
Please sign up soon! Let me know if you need an alternate time. Please put your name and your child's name in the comment box when you sign up.
I look forward to conferencing with you!

HI FolksWe spent a good deal of time catching up on Friday and making sure we are ready for the end of the Quarter this Thursday, Nov 8th.Here's what should be done!Monday - Big People Plant/Tree PageStudents had 3 separate class sessions to work on this assignment. It will be graded as a writing assignment as the are working on reading informational text and writing about it. Just so you know, I told all students that if their page is not ready on Monday then he/she will stay in 3 lunch periods with me! I will follow thru on this because I want students to use class time wisely and so far our class does not have a great homework turn in rate. I want all students to be responsible for their own motivation and completion of projects. Monday - Fantasy Book Group #5Catch up on reading this week and be prepared for group #5 as well as a group assignment. Monday, November 5 - 1st Quarter Service (we discussed these things in class as well)**may include: School - harvest faire, community - Day of the Dead (you can also use this for next quarter if you have fulfilled this quarter's), any other projects you have done that was approved by me!There should be a minimum of three paragraphs-I am looking for a strong hook and conclusion... CONNECTIONS of your work to the outside communities and world...Correct grammar and punctuations, and of course a creative piece (please don't do the same creative piece over and over again on each reflection... spice it up)-I would recommend doing your work on the computer as I often send back reflections for editing after I first receive them. Doing your work on the computer enables you to go back and make corrections without having to feel like you are starting all over again.What?•What did you do?•Who was involved?•Where were you?•What part did you play?•When did it happen? Cori's comments: The "what" is a quick, brief paragraph. Recognize that you must go far beyond the “what” to have a complete reflection as paragraph takes little thought and effort to complete. Pay attention to the “so what” and give the MOST attention and thought to the “now what”SO WHAT?•Why did you do it?•Why was it important to do?•How was it helpful?•Who benefits from the Project?NOW WHAT?•What are you going to do with what you learned?•What will you keep doing (or not doing) now?•How is this action connected to a larger issue? What larger issue?•Who is doing something about this issue?•What organizations exist to address this issue? (feel free to include newspaper articles, sketches/diagrams, current events etc)Always Consider…you --> School --> COMMUNITY --> WORLDCori's notes: A paragraph should be spent showing how your work connects outside of your three hours of service to the greater community and world. Final note:When looking at reflections I will always look for a hook, 3 paragraphs (with the NOW WHAT paragraph reflecting the most effort), and CONNECTIONS (showing how your work relates to bigger picture ideas).Hope this helps. We discussed Service journals on Friday, 7th & 8th shared with the 6th and we compared notes! I am most interested in the students telling me their story than answering the questions line by line. I want to know how this is affecting them rather than knowing they completed this project because they were told to. This outline will hold true for the rest of the year! Feel free to refer back to this page in the future!Tuesday - Hopkins Tree Farm

HI Folks
We spent a good deal of time catching up on Friday and making sure we are ready for the end of the Quarter this Thursday, Nov 8th.Here's what should be done!
Monday - Big People Plant/Tree PageStudents had 3 separate class sessions to work on this assignment. It will be graded as a writing assignment as the are working on reading informational text and writing about it. Just so you know, I told all students that if their page is not ready on Monday then he/she will stay in 3 lunch periods with me! I will follow thru on this because I want students to use class time wisely and so far our class does not have a great homework turn in rate. I want all students to be responsible for their own motivation and completion of projects. 
Monday - Fantasy Book Group #5Catch up on reading this week and be prepared for group #5 as well as a group assignment. Monday, November 5 - 1st Quarter Service (we discussed these things in class as well)**may include: School - harvest faire, community - Day of the Dead (you can also use this for next quarter if you have fulfilled this quarter's), any other projects you have done that was approved by me!
There should be a minimum of three paragraphs
-I am looking for a strong hook and conclusion... CONNECTIONS of your work to the outside communities and world...Correct grammar and punctuations, and of course a creative piece (please don't do the same creative piece over and over again on each reflection... spice it up)
-I would recommend doing your work on the computer as I often send back reflections for editing after I first receive them. Doing your work on the computer enables you to go back and make corrections without having to feel like you are starting all over again.

What?
•What did you do?
•Who was involved?
•Where were you?
•What part did you play?
•When did it happen?

 Cori's comments: The "what" is a quick, brief paragraph. Recognize that you must go far beyond the “what” to have a complete reflection as paragraph takes little thought and effort to complete. Pay attention to the “so what” and give the MOST attention and thought to the “now what”


SO WHAT?
•Why did you do it?
•Why was it important to do?
•How was it helpful?
•Who benefits from the Project?

NOW WHAT?
•What are you going to do with what you learned?
•What will you keep doing (or not doing) now?
•How is this action connected to a larger issue? What larger issue?
•Who is doing something about this issue?
•What organizations exist to address this issue? (feel free to include newspaper articles, sketches/diagrams, current events etc)

Always Consider…

you --> School --> COMMUNITY --> WORLD

Cori's notes: A paragraph should be spent showing how your work connects outside of your three hours of service to the greater community and world.

 Final note:
When looking at reflections I will always look for a hook, 3 paragraphs (with the NOW WHAT paragraph reflecting the most effort), and CONNECTIONS (showing how your work relates to bigger picture ideas).
Hope this helps. We discussed Service journals on Friday, 7th & 8th shared with the 6th and we compared notes! I am most  interested in the students telling me their story than answering the questions line by line. I want to know how this is affecting them rather than knowing they completed this project because they were told to. This outline will hold true for the rest of the year! Feel free to refer back to this page in the future!
Tuesday - Hopkins Tree Farm

Ecore questions and assignments due. Please write in complete sentences and at least a paragraph for each question! 

Festivities!

Hi All,
Day of the Dead Community Service Opportunity
Please join the Day of the Dead Procession - SES 4:30 in the Auditorium.
Jan and I will be there to paint faces as skeletons then we will join the community procession that will go on a walk about and end up at the Holocene on 11th/belmont. There will be Aztec dancers and music along with other festivities.
This is an excellent way for your child and your family to be part of a community event, learn about other cultures and make new relationships. Please plan on attending with your child. If your child would like to attend but you cannot, find a friend they can go with. I will be there but am not prepared to take responsibility for the students unless you personally ask me to! This is a community sponsored event that we are supporting! I hope to see many of you there, especially the Spanish students!

Halloween - students may dress up! Please do not be so distracting that you cannot learn - ie, masks or huge costumes that make you uncomfortable. To go along with our scary story theme, we will have a small viewing of something like the Twilight Zone and some popcorn for about 1/2 hour tomorrow. I look forward to being creeped out with the students! It's a great way to build community...screaming! I'm kidding!

One more assignment that was assigned today was to create a Big Plant Page in our our Big Book of Secrets. Each student chose a plant to create a poster. The assignment is glued in their Ecore. It is Due Friday! We spent over an hour working on it today and they should research at least 1 topic per night and take notes to be able to create the final project.

Hope you are all well. Please try to reduce the amount of Candy students bring to school in the following days. This will not only help students focus, it will greatly improve MY quality of life! Thanks.
 We have a BIG field study to the Hopkins Tree Farm all day Thursday. Be sure students are fully prepared! Waterproof gear is a biggie and a big lunch. We will leave at 9am.

One of the personalities of our class is a love of scary stories! I've started reading Clockwork by Philip Pullman and students are drafting their own scary story, rough draft is due Monday! I highly recommend typing them because it makes the editing process so much easier for students to manage. We have a few students who I believe are destined to be novelists and are having a hard time envisioning writing something LESS than 20 pages! They are invited to write the first chapters of their scary story. The final will be due Mon 11/5, so the stories are supposed to be short.

I handed out progress reports on Friday with instructions for students to share with you what they are missing and their plan for making it up. Please sign their reports so I know they are being responsible and checking in with you. I had quite a few stay after on Friday and worked hard to catch up. Students are invited to stay afterschool on Wednesdays for Homework Help. Can you believe there is just 2 weeks before the end of quarter? This means that on Nov 5th I will be collecting Service Journals for the first quarter projects. Students should have completed: At least 1 school or community service project of 3 hours & a full page reflection, 2 garden hours, 2-3 pages on school/home waste.

I highly recommend taking a side trip to the Tillamook Forestry Center on your next trip out to the beach. We had a great day on Thursday learning about the Tillamook Burn, Forest management and firefighting. Students also identified and compared native trees. We will use all this information in our next field study to the Hopkins Tree Farm. We will have expert foresters by the end of this year! Already students can tell me the stage of succession any particular forest we happen to be in, layers of the forest, the function of a nurse log, how plants grow for success and much more. They amaze me!

I hope you are enjoying thi cozy rainy October afternoon after a very busy week. Was Outdoor School only 4 days ago??

Wow! What an amazing 3 days we had at Outdoor School! Sunnyside 6th graders rock! I saw students rise to the occasion during field studies, at rec and in the dining hall. We had a great time at campfire and meeting new friends. The one great thing that came out of our bus being late was we got our own mini campfire yesterday where we learned my new favorite song - Go Bananas!
The field studies we were involved in: Soil, Animals, Water, Plants will support us greatly in our exploration of forests.

I hope the 7th & 8th graders remember how much they loved Outdoor School and have fun remembering it with the 6th graders!

On another note, I am home grading many many Ecores and other assignenments. I'll give out porgress reports on Friday so please check in with your child to see what he/she is missing or needs to improve upon. 8th Grade will not receive off campus from me if they are missing assignments.

We are hoping to go to Tillamook Forest Center tomorrow - we desperately need chaperones, ones that can drive! If you can come, please call me 971.222.5512.

Also, next week's trip to Hopkins Farm (we all ride the bus together) needs a few more folks. Please sign up if you haven't already - your support goes a long way. One thing 6th graders said they loved was studying in small groups!

As always, thank you for sending amazing and creative young people to school every day!
Cori

I am headed to Outdoor School with our class and Jan's! We'll be back Tuesday at 7:30pm. While we are gone the 7th & 8th graders will be at school doing mini-classes on the election. I hope you will engage in some meaningful political conversations with them this week.

There is a bit of homework due on Wed. I told the 6th graders to do their best and if they needed an extra day that I would understand. I do hope that they can at least come prepared for their first Fantasy Book Group. My goal in this book group is to support students in having meaningful discussions on the books they are reading so they are to write 2-3 post it questions/comments/responses and one golden line for each section. They will use their post its to generate discussions in their groups. Post its should be clarifying, predicting and intuiting.

I hope you all had a great time at the harvest faire, our booth was rocking! Thanks everyone for your support and participation!

See you all mid week.

Oct 15-19 A Longwinded yet Informative Update

We are in the full swing of fall, preparing for harvest fair, studying photosynthesis and leaf morphology, starting a new book group on fantasy on Friday, volunteering in the garden and the list goes on!

First a few logistics

- Tomorrow, Thurs 10/18 - Travel to JEAN's Farm - Please come ready for any kind of weather and temperature!

8th Graders - Turn in your 8th grade paperwork, we hope to start off campus by the 29th!

6th Graders - OUTDOOR SCHOOL - Please be at school Sun 2:30. We return Tues 7:30pm!

Service - I've had lots of questions about service. Attached is the sheet all students received.

The basic breakdown is this...

Garden - 2hrs each quarter = 8 total - 1 reflection (May always volunteer on Wed late open)

School - 2 projects (3hrs each) (great example is Harvest Fair)

Community - 2 projects (3hrs each) (great example: pack food at food bank, participate in dia de los muertos procession, buddy walk or diabetes walk...)

That breaks down to 1 project per term plus 2hrs of gardening.

In addition each grade level has their own personal project they create and complete

6th - Home project to be done through Friendship. I believe they are presented at Forest Festival

7th - Community project - completed during winter that could be organized and done in a group.

8th - Cohorts - they meet regularly with Jan/Tara.

Homework:

Due Friday - Photosynthesis Assignment. This should take more than 1/2 hour to do so break it up and do it over a few days. Students have the assignment sheet.

Students should also have finished - Old Growth Forest Ecosystem & Journal Entry & Spirit Bear Reflection.

I will not assign Ecore Essential questions to take home this weekend as Outdoor School is upon us and I want student to focus on service journaling. I will send home their journals this weekend to complete a few things. Please help your child return it to school safely.

In class we have been discussing how to have a class discussion - tagging on to another person's ideas, agreeing/disagreeing, continuing a thought vs each response directed at me and then I call on another student. We are also working on reduce socializing when it's time to be a student and how to turn on our brains and be engaged. I encourage you to have thoughtful conversations with your child in these areas. My goal is for students to be self starters, have intelligent discussions and create their own learning and less teacher directed.

One last thing...I'm looking for a parent who would like to help me hang artwork, organize the class, manage printing fotos of trips and posting a fun student board...I would love for a student to be my TA as his/her school service too! If you find yourself with some time and would like to support me keeping my class looking snazzy and up to date..please let me know. (Lea comes in on Friday mornings, thank you! Maybe a Mon afternoon or Tuesday).

Ooops, promise - this really is the last thing. I need a few more Chaperones for the next two Thursdays.

Thurs 10/25 - Tillamook Forest (yellow bus!) - 1-2 more parents - all day!

Thurs 11/1 - Hopkins Tree Farm - This is a great trip! You will lead groups in a managed tree plot - using really fun tree measuring tools, wear a cool green vest with lots of pockets and be in a beautiful spot! Must be willing to jump in there even if you don't know what you are doing! Or, if you have tree experience - like logging, woodworking..anything that involves wood, your stories are well received.

Hope this helps! (sorry for being longwinded)

Take care, Cori

Welcome to Fall! 
We are having a great week getting back in the swing of how to learn within the 4 walls of a classroom, good thing we are getting back to the forest tomorrow at Tryon Park! It will be a full day. We will take a long hike through the forest while looking at the different layers, history, wildlife and just plain enjoying hiking. Be sure to wear appropriate gear, along with lots of water and a big lunch. My plan is to give students time to complete Ecore essential questions while at the farm to give everyone a much needed break from homework. However, there are a few things due, but I'm sure our rockstar students can get it done before the weekend...

Upcoming Due dates!
Tomorrow, Thurs 10/11- Old growth forest food chain - in color picture with labels
Monday, 10/15 - Spirit Bear - Through Ch 27, with 2-3 post it questions/wonderings etc. per chapter
Monday, 10/15 - Animal Soap Totem with written piece. Please type it and have it ready to mount on
                            Monday. You may email to me if needed!

If your child has missed a Field Study or Camp Collins, I will be sending home a make up Field Study assignment next week.

8th Grade Meeting - 6pm, Tues Oct 9th
Please attend this very important 8th grade meeting with your child! They will be reviewing many important things including: off campus, fundraisers, service projects ...

Assignment: Animal Totem Soap Carving - Due Monday Oct 15th.
This Spirit Bear culminating assignment was given today and is in the reading comp book. I really encouraged the students to work on it on and off over this week so the totem can emerge in time. I also told students to look on line for inspiration. Students will need to purchase a bar of soap. Any will do, however a softer brand like Dove or Ivory are easier to use (talking from goat soap bar experience!). Please chat with your child about the animals he/she is connected to, give ideas, and even design the totem with him/her. I want the kids to feel proud of their work and this assignment is pushing some learning edges (which is great!).

One more thing..Tryon Creek is this week's field study. Please if you signed up to drive and CANNOT, let us know! It is a wonderful location and I want to be sure we can go.

Take care all. Cori

Oh my trees and moss!
What an amazing trip we just had. I so enjoyed being with your children these last 3 days! Along with amazing forest lessons about animals and tracking, plants and photosynthesis, carrying capacity of an ecosystem, soil organisms, arthropod food chains, old growth forest components, and building community through trust games.  We of course also had a great time during rec playing capture the flag, fugitive, board games, making friendship bracelets, and just sitting and talking.  Camp fires were great -- we saw a lot of amazing student talent!  I am definitely exhausted and I think the students are as well!

I continue to be amazed by our class. They are kind, fun, supportive and adventurous. I hope that you will have great conversations over the weekend about how their trip was...dig deep, don't stop at "it was fun" or "I liked rec", they have so much to share. 


Along with our 3 day camp out, students are responsible for the Essential Questions assignment for Camp Collins -they should use their experience, any worksheets and reflections to answer them (students have 1 question from each class to answer = 8 questions. Each answer should be at least 1 paragraph), we got started on these at the end of the day today.

MIDTERMS are Tuesday.  Late/missing assignments need to be turned in. Students have been checking in with me and I will have a list on Monday for them to look at. 

The 8th Grade Meeting is Tuesday.  This is an important evening.  I will send more info to 8th grade parents about it shortly.

We are traveling back to Tryon on Thursday, the 11th. Remember if you volunteered to drive! 

Have a restful weekend full of eating good home cooked food!

Hi All!
We are leaving today for a jam-packed, fun & educational 3 days at Camp Collins.

I wanted to remind you that we do not have cell reception there.  If you need to get in touch with us, the number is 503.663.7305

We are scheduled to get back about 2 on Friday.  Students will come back up to the classroom for a final reflection/assignment and we will dismiss from there at normal dismissal time (3:10).  

See you on Friday!

Class Update

Hi All,
First, sorry I haven't posted in a bit - I've been pretty sick along with the rest of our class! Keep getting good rest and taking those vitamins.

Tomorrow we adventure to Hoyt Arboretum! I'm excited because we get to hike and be in the big trees! I know many of you won't see this until after the fact, so don't worry, but if you do and you have a camera you are willing to send along with your child - please do! we'll be taking pictures of beauty and art. I'll even let them use their phones for pictures.  It is supposed to be nice tomorrow but it will start off chilly and may remain cool in the woods, so dress warm, bring lots of water and food!

On another note, Camp Collins is next week, Wed Oct 3- Fri Oct 5. I will email the packing list and highly recommend to begin packing this weekend. It is going to be an amazing 3 days along the Sandy River and trees, playing and learning, sleeping in cabins with friends, eating camp food, singing songs...please have conversations around having this opportunity to study the forest IN the forest, that we are students in the field. It is so tempting to forget that piece while at camp! And, the teachers at Sunnyside have some pretty amazing classes to offer so take advantage of being able to experience all the teachers.

Upcoming Homework:
Friday 9/28 - List 10 important events/choices you have made in your life (positive & negative)
Friday 9/28 - Read Ch 16 & 17 in Spirit Bear
Monday 10/1 - Ecore Assignment (will be assigned Thurs 9/27)
Monday 10/1 - Service Poster (will be assigned Fri 9/28)

Field Study Tideman Johnson Park

Hi Folks,
Tomorrow we are headed to our Site - Tideman Johnson Park across from JEANs Farm in SE Portland. We will be traveling there many times this year and really get to know it.
Please remember to bring: water, lunch (or get one from the cafeteria, comfy shoes, Ecore, clipboard.

We have been getting to know the forest through an introductory activity of the Johnson Creek Watershed, discussion of the different realms of the forest and getting to know our tribe of little people. It is a dance between the magic of the forest and the science...where do the intersect? We'll be sure to find out this fall!

Our class has had several assignments due over the last week and I encourage you to get organized! Students - keep track of your things, turn them in completed! Parents - help your child keep track of their things and complete homework. It is very important not only for learning but to not get behind!

I'm still working on how to create a HW "gadget" and a calendar, so for now, it's in paragraph form!

UPCOMING
Thurs, 9/20 - 10-2, Tideman Johnson Park
Fri, 9/21 - 12pm PICTURES (turn in your form if you are getting them!)
Fri, 9/21 - 6pm DANCE!


HW DUE
Fri, 9/21 - Reading, Ch 11&12 - 4 quotes/thoughts
I believe there is ALWAYS math homework. Don't wait until the day before!

We're off to our first trip to JEAN's Farm tomorrow, Thurs 9/13. We are kicking off our SECRETS of  the Forest Storyline this week where we will be weaving the magic of the forest with deep understanding of the science and social aspects.

I have to say that I LOVE my class! They are playful, thoughtful, considerate...We are having a great time getting to know each other, playing games and fully engaging in activities.
We have begun our class novel, Touching Spirit Bear. Feel free to read it with your child, read aloud or check out audio CDs from me. It is a great novel that touches on many issues and topics. It is also quite intense and at times disturbing and makes for lively conversation.
Please check in DAILY with your child to support him/her in getting in the flow of doing homework and being responsible as they transition back into the flow of school. Setting up great work habits and routines early on really pays off as the year gets rolling.
Homework for the week:
Due Fri Sept 14th
- Writing - rough draft of parter poem (10-20 lines)
- Reading - Ch 5, fully and thoughtfully answer journal questions

Due Next Tues, Sept 18
- Ecore - JEAN's Farm Field Study Assignment

Math/Spanish - Be sure to check in with your child about homework for these classes! They are both muy importante and will have homework for both regularly.

Thanks for sending great kids to school everyday!

1st Week!

Wow, what a great first week of school! 
We had an amazing trip to Rose Quarter Fountain, I have to say that I was truly impressed with everyone's participation, respect in public places, teamwork and ability to enjoy themselves. Thank you parent chaperones for stepping up to our first field study! There are many more to come.

Quick look to the near future:
Assignments Due:
Mon, Sept 10 - An idea for our class call - positive, fun, interactive!
Tues, Sept 11 - Ecore (Environmental Core Class) Field Study - This means fully answering all the 'assignment questions' from the itinerary in a complete and orderly fashion in their e-core notebooks


Thurs, Sept 13 - 8:45-3 (or close to those times) - Field Study to JEAN's Farm 
Thurs, Sept 13 - 6pm  - Back to School Night - please come, there will be lots of info about SES, my class, service and volunteer sign up opportunities.

I am new to blogging and am seriously dedicated to figuring this out, so please be patient with me. My goal is to post a calendar with upcoming events and assignments due along with pictures, quotes, inspirations etc.

Thanks for sending your amazing kids to school! I think we are going to have quite the class.

Welcome!

Welcome to a new year!