Field Work to Twin Oaks ElementaryThank you to our volunteer drivers and chaperones. We had a great time visiting a local elementary school, and learning about their school garden. Mrs. Kelso started the garden two years ago with her second grade class. We were inspired, and able to bring lots of ideas back to our school. In addition, we visited a small farm next door, which is run by the local high school. Students loved seeing the farm animals, but may be disappointed that we won't have pigs and cows at our school. Soil Lab continued...We attempted to make our own soil. We gathered natural materials, like leaves, stems, grass and sand. We crushed them and mixed with a bit of water. And then we compared it to real soil from our garden. The students discovered that it lacked the dark color, that we learned was humus (decomposed plant material). Our next step is to make sure our garden soil is rich with decomposed, organic material and then start planting.
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From Soil To GardenOur school garden is an untapped learning resource. How can we get the kids working outside and getting their hands dirty while encouraging collaboration and deep thinking? We will challenge our students to plan and maintain the school garden with the shared goal of growing vegetables to sell at a local farmer’s market, as well as attract pollinators for future projects at our school and live data for our students to collect and analyze. We will begin with science in our classrooms by conducting various labs on soil and tropism. In addition, we will prepare the outdoor garden for planting, including field work to local school gardens and Cyclops Farms. The first part of our project will be studying the characteristics of plants, how they survive and seed distribution. During the second part of the project we will look at the relationship between plants and animals, particularly looking at pollinators and ants and their effect on seed distribution.
DEL SUELO AL JARDÍNNuestro jardín escolar es un recurso de aprendizaje sin explotar. ¿Cómo podemos hacer que los niños trabajen afuera y se ensucien las manos mientras fomentan la colaboración y el pensamiento profundo? Desafiaremos a nuestros estudiantes a planificar y mantener el jardín escolar con el objetivo compartido de cultivar vegetales para vender en un mercado agrícola local (Farmer’s Market), así como atraer a los polinizadores para proyectos futuros en nuestra escuela y coleccionar datos en vivo para que nuestros estudiantes los recopilen y analicen. Comenzaremos con la ciencia en nuestros salones llevando a cabo varios laboratorios sobre el suelo y el tropismo. Además, prepararemos el jardín al aire libre para la plantación, incluyendo viajes de campo a los jardines escolares locales y Cyclops Farms (una granja local). La primera parte de nuestro proyecto será estudiar las características de las plantas, cómo sobreviven y la distribución de semillas. Durante la segunda parte del proyecto, veremos la relación entre las plantas y los animales, particularmente mirando a los polinizadores y las hormigas y su efecto sobre la distribución de las semillas.
Project AnnouncementScience in the ClassroomWe kicked off our gardening project by exploring soil in the classroom. We filled our wonder wall with questions about gardening, and then specifically wondered about soil: What is soil? We completed two soil labs that required students to dissect the contents of soil, and figure out what is in it. In the GardenOn Friday, we got into the garden and began preparing the area for planting. Exhibition PhotosThank you for all of your support. It is admirable how our students show pride in their work and share their learning with enthusiasm and eloquence. Movie Release: The Stolen NecklaceTake Home Math FridaysOur primary math curriculum at HTeNC is Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI). It is a specific approach to teaching math that utilizes students' natural problem solving abilities. Teachers pose a story problem and give students time to grapple with solving the problem, and then facilitate a discourse around the problem solving strategies that students used. Students' work is documented, and we can review it throughout the year, including during conferences. Because students keep their work in binders, we realize that families do not have opportunities to see your child’s math thinking except at conferences or exhibitions. So, we have started a new routine: Students will bring home a copy of their math work every Friday. Please take some time to review this work with your child. We hope it sparks new conversations around their learning. Here are some questions you could ask:
The focus of our workshop is on student thinking, and the strategies that they use. Yes, we want students to be accurate, but showing their work and explaining how they found their answer is important too. We hope that this gives you a sense of your child’s math progress. Please note that this is just one sample of your child’s math work on one particular day. It may show brilliance, or it may show frustration or lack of access. This is not a test, or a final report, simply one data point. Please let us know if you have any questions, comments or concerns. Writing WorkshopStudents spent the week exploring different genres of writing. Each day was a free write, so each student could write whatever those wished. Many chose stories, some fantasy, some scary, and some realistic with a little twist. A few opted for poetry and nonfiction All About Books, and comics. During our next project we will be researching various scientific topiucs around plants, flowers, pollinators and ants. Our next project will be in the garden!!We will launch next week. And field work is coming! We are confirming dates now. Thank you in advance for your help. And if you have gardening expertise, please let us know.
The Great Kindness ChallengeTo celebrate the Great Kindness Challenge we sung songs, gave high fives and hugs, wrote pen pal letters, read stories of kindness, wrote and performed skits, and created beautiful artwork to express ourselves, and we learned that kindness is always possible. Math AssessmentYour child may have shared that we completed a 3-day math assessment this week. We were so please to see each child work hard and persevere over a three day period for almost an hour each day. The test was engineered by Dr. Stephanie Smith, who is one of the designers of our math program, Cognitive Guided Instruction (CGI). It consisted over one big story problem and a few specific skill-based problems each day. The results of this test will be used to inform our instruction. In addition, we will combine this data with data collected throughout the year to write progress reports, which will be distributed on February 9th. One immediate take-away is that most students need to become fluent (automatic) in addition and subtraction of numbers below 20. This can be done through lots of dice and math games: a quick google search, dice and a deck of cards will provide lots of fun ideas. Thank you MentorsWe love our mentors. We are so lucky to be part of this community, one full of expertise, kindness, and patience. Our students light up when their mentor walks through the classroom door, and they have learned so much. Thank you! Exhibition this Thursday!Please join us at HTeNC on Thursday, February 1st from 5:30-6:30 for our exhibition.
At 5:30PM students will share their learning and new found genius, and then please stay to celebrate with a potluck dinner from 6-6:30. Please use this link to sign up to bring a dinner item. Exhibition Announcement
Find Your GeniusOur apprenticeships are in full swing. Each student is part of a small group in one of the following apprenticeships. Ask your child how their apprenticeship is going:
Welcome back.It was exciting to see everyone again, and hear all of our vacation stories. The short week allowed us to get back into our routines and re-establish our reading, writing and math workshops, as well as continue our art exploratory with Ms. Vinetz. In addition, we jumped into our Find Your Genius project. We have 15 mentors that have been visiting the classroom to work with their apprentices. The apprenticeships will last through the month and culminate with a small exhibition during the week of January 29th. Please see the flyer below for more details about the project.
Announcing THE GREAT KINDNESS CHALLENGE... Week of January 22nd. Please check out this website for more details. Your moment of ZenFind Your Genius: Guests are inspiring our students to find their passionWriting WorkshopWe are preparing to write reflective journals throughout this next project as each student experiences his or her journey to find his/her genius. We have read and looked at other journals and scrapbooks. We have started to collect ideas and share our reflections. Our big teaching point is Writers reflect by thinking (actively listening), talking (or sharing), and writing. We are introducing note taking in the form of concept webbing (see below for example), although some students prefer writing notes in sentence form. In addition, students have started thinking about Who am I? and have created a concept web around their own identity as a student, daughter, brother, etc. Art with Ms. Vinetz has begun!Find Your GeniusLos Alumnos de Segundo Grado LO NECESITAN!!
El segundo grado es co-crear un proyecto con estudiantes basado en sus pasiones para promover una mentalidad académica positiva e involucrar a los estudiantes en la escuela. Cada estudiante estudiará un área de interés dentro de las categorías generales de ingeniería, artes visuales y escénicas, escritura creativa, ciencia y jardinería. ¡¡Aquí es donde tu entras!! Sea un voluntario el día de hoy para compartir su experiencia y luego lo invitamos a regresar para apoyar a los estudiantes en su aprendizaje en enero. Esperamos con interés escuchar de usted pronto! [email protected] Please help us as we assess our community resources. Email [email protected], if you can help. We'd love lots of people from our community to present their passions to the classroom, and perhaps commit to helping our students develop their passions in the same area. Read more below. More Than Game BoardsWow! Thank you all for your enthusiasm and support. Our students had such a exhilarating and successful night. They were so proud of their games and loved the opportunity to share them with you. Our next step is to give these games away to spread joy throughout our community, which was one of our original goals. Please enjoy this slideshow of the evening. |
Upcoming DatesAll School Exhibition: Wednesday, June 6th (5:45pm- 6:30pm) Archives
June 2018
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