Good Morning,
We have limped through this week. We have had 5-6 students out each day this week. The students continued writing opinion pieces. They are learning to state their opinion and give details to support it. Our writing time sounds more like a beginners course to "trial law."
In science the students explored the difference in strength between a square and a triangle. The concept of a "stable base" was discussed and reinforced with a hands on activity. The students built a square and a triangle using oaktag. They were then challenged to find a way to allow the square to become more stable. The idea being that by adding a diagonal line to the square would create a more solid base (by creating two triangles).
I have been taking a mindfulness course and have been implementing the practice throughout the day. The students seem to enjoy this and I find that they are using the strategies to calm themselves throughout the day. You may hear your child talking about their anchor spot and how it helps them focus.
Good Morning,
I hope you had a great weekend. I want to start by thanking all of you for your understanding regarding my absence on Thursday and your flexibility with scheduling conferences. Last year both of my brothers chose to leave the Marine Corps. Combined they had 38 years of service. My brother Jimmy and his family moved back to Vermont last summer. I am very close with my siblings and their service had limited the time we got to spend together (over the years). This concert meant a lot to both my brother Jimmy and I and it will be something that we will both always remember doing together. Again, I thank you for your part in allowing this to happen.
This morning the students finished their Watts' Towers. The students worked to create their own version and dabbled with the idea that triangles offer the most sturdy structure to build with.
This afternoon the students worked on reading,comprehension, fluency, and sight words. The students also had PE. There was no French class today.
Good Afternoon,
I hope you had a great weekend. I spent most of the weekend working on report cards and boiling sap. It was my girls first time doing. I think they were into it until the standing and watching sap boil part kicked in.
Today we continued our engineering focus in science. The kids worked on making their own mosaics, just like Simon did while building the towers. The students worked in teams and created two different designs with the same blocks. We then talked about why designs could/would be different even though the same blocks were used. The students then studied photos of the real towers to notice how Simon used "junk" to make his designs. In the Next Generation Science Standards, one of the performance expectations is to make observations to construct an evidence-based account of how an object made with a small set of pieces can be disassembled and made into a new object. One of the disciplinary core ideas of this is the understanding that a great variety of objects can be built up from a small set of pieces. This lesson highlighted that disciplinary core idea.
Tomorrow we will start a new unit of writing that focuses on the genre of opinion/persuasive. I apologize in advance if your children become more argumentative and/or want to spend time debating things.
Good Morning,
We have had a great FULL week of school. This week we were able to get back to our engineering and design unit. We read another book about the Watts Towers entitled Dream Something Big. The story focused on a neighbors perspective of the builder and the involvement she had in helping Simon build the towers. It was great to have the students focus on a different perspective. They worked in group and used a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the two books. We also learned about why Simon used triangles to build the structure of his towers.
We will be going to the Flynn Theater on Thursday, April 14 to see Companhia Urbana de Danca. This is a dance troupe that I was able to see when I was in Brazil. They are amazing and ver powerful. I have a friend that is trying to have them come visit our class prior to the performance. She will pay for the expense. Right now I am working out the logistics with their agent. I am hoping it will all work out. Below is a detailed description of the group. I want to give a big shout out to our PTA for fully funding the trip this year. We are very lucky to have such a wonderful organization that values the arts.
When Companhia Urbana de Dança made its US debut at New York City Center in 2010, the eyes of even the most ‘‘been-there-saw-that’’ critics opened wide with amazement. Destri’s boldly original mix of contemporary Brazilian dance and hip-hop infused both forms with new rigor, meditative one moment, explosive the next. Locating the true heart of hip-hop, Destri strips it of its easy tricks, bringing it back to its original emotional depth, expressive range, and poetic integrity. Founded in Brazil in 2004/2005 by dancer Tiago Sousa and choreographer and artistic director Sonia Destri Lie, Companhia Urbana de Dança is an ensemble of street performers working to foster the human experience through dance. Destri’s experience traveling through Europe for work in theater and film exposed her to hip-hop and b-boy techniques. Highly influenced by Brazilian street forms, she began to integrate these techniques into her already established contemporary movement sensibility. Pulling from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro where many of her company members grew up, Companhia Urbana de Dança aims to transcend cultural boundaries, while showcasing eclectic skill sets. The work of Companhia Urbana de Dança brings its dancers’ identities, testimonials, and attitudes to the stage, and it does that with a “carioca”, Afro-Brazilian accent, which is nevertheless universal. The group is firmly positioned in the most contemporary urban dance scene in Brazil and internationally. It highlights the talents of young black, and poor Brazilians in the modern world, from and affirming and pluralist stance.
Good Morning,
I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I was looking over the conference sign up sheet, I am still needing 6 more families to sign up. Please access the Google Doc that I sent to sign up. Let me know if you need help with this.
There will be reading homework again this week. Thank you for you flexibility of allowing me to change are routine to accommodate the district's assessment requirements. I have a few more reading tests that I will conduct this week.
I was out of the building this morning for a dentist appointment. I hope you all have a great week.
Good Morning,
I hope you all had a great break. It was certainly nice to have some time with my family. As you may have seen, your child has not brought home any homework this week. I have been using all the academic time to conduct assessments that will help me fill out both report cards and plan personalized instruction for each kid. I will be sharing the results of some of these assessments during our conference time.
Speaking of conferences, during vacation I sent an email to you that asked that you use the Google Doc (that was linked) to choose a conference time. I will be away during the regularly scheduled conferences and need to offer different days. Please take time to sign up.
Next week we will be finishing up the 2nd section of our People Making A Difference Unit. During April and May we will work on the last part of this unit. The students will join one of three small group projects that allow students to make a difference. One group will be creating a digital book that will talk about fun kid friendly things to do in the Valley. We will eventually offer it up to the chamber to be used as a resource for visiting families. The second project will be focused on collecting change to buy books for children in Peru, in the area of Cusco, Peru. I have connected with a fellowship group that will be heading there in June. The final project will be working on recycling and/or composting our brown paper towels that we use here in the school. There will be more on this in the coming weeks.
