Dear Families, Sept. 29, 2013
**NOTE** please use cori.longstreet@gmail.com as my email contact...the pps email so too frustrating! I'll still be checking it, but prefer gmail. Thanks
Well, fall is definitely here. Whirling leaves, rain clouds, electricity in the atmosphere - I actually witnessed a downed power line cracking like a whip in front of my house yesterday...quite scary!
Here’s a look at what’s happening in our classroom and in the field:
Reading: We are in the middle Sees Behind Trees, we have been discussing rights of passage and ways the students are earning more freedoms and responsibilities as middle schoolers. We are also beginning our first Choice Novel. Students should be reading 20-30 minutes a night and will have weekly journal entries that are given as homework. I hope to set up our Evernote accounts this week and give journal writing a try on the computer. Please contact me if you ahve questions or concerns.
Writing: Monday we will continue working on our Life as a River Memoirs and students will begin writing vignettes with an emphasis on transitioning between events, exploding the moment and experimenting with leads and conclusions. I am hoping this will be fun, as we share about ourselves and develop our writing skills.
All students should have either turned in their 3 main life events and river feature connections and their drawing of their life as a river by this last Friday, or be ready to turn them in on Monday. Ask your child to share with you...they are quite amazing.
Field Studies: This week we will visited Balch Creek to study forces of construction and deconstruction at work, creek features and played a hilarious game of sardines. We are still working on safety and appropriate behavior while turning on learning minds while in the field. It’s a great skill to cultivate. Ask your child to see their Ecore (Due Tuesday) to get a sense of our day and his/her level of engagement.
This week we head to the East Esplanade to experience the story of the Willamette as an introduction to our Great American River Memoir project that weaves writing and social studies as students study one US river in depth. It would be great if you had conversations about which river your child might be interested in studying. They will get a homework assignment on it soon.
Environmental Core: This past week we simulated the world’s water and the water cycle and had some very thoughtful discussions about water use and our dependence on a very small about of fresh water available to the world. Some of the questions that came up: How do scientists measure the percentages of types of water? Why has the percentage of available fresh water in the world dropped in the last 20 years? What will happen in the future? Who owns the water?
Service Learning: What a fun Mystery Harvest Box experience we had this week! Our class made some very interesting dishes from food harvested from our school garden! All students participated either as Head Chef, assistant chef, server, or plater. We had a great time sharing it all with our buddies (it was very chaotic) and thanks to the parents who supported this project! We couldn’t have done it without Emily & Renee and of course Sustainability Wonder Lady Steph! Students turned in their first Service Learning Reflection on Friday.
• After school help in the classroom with projects
- Painted Paper (in prep for our river mural…several students have shown interest and we could really use a parent to organize it after school for an hour one day)
- Class photographer (print weekly pictures and update our community bulletin)
• Harvest Faire
• Dia De La Raza Cultural Night and Fundraiser for Casa Verde (non profit organization in Nicaragua) : Sat., Oct. 12 from 6-9. I will send out more information about this fun event as a separate email.
Upcoming events:
Ø Mandatory 8th grade parent & student meeting Wed., Oct. 2 at 6:30 pm in auditorium
Ø Nicaragua: Informational night about the June trip to Nicaragua for 8thgrade Spanish students- Thursday, Oct. 3 at 6:30 room 207 (Jan is organizing this!)
Ø EAGLE FERN – Oct 7-9. There is school Thurs 10/10, and NO school Friday 10/11 (strange week)
Wew! This was a long one…As you can see, we are busy. I hope your child is in the swing of school, creating healthy homework habits and is looking forward to a great fall season.
Be well, Cori
No comments:
Post a Comment