Swallows 'round the red canoe
Thursday, February 26, 2009
February 23-27 News
Last week, we examined "heroes" as individuals and groups that care and commit time and talent. We learned about River Keepers and working together to preserve and improve our watershed.
Tree Swallows applied skills they are working on in Art- perspective and proportion of face and were reunited with some dear community friends during an Art Out and About last week. The residents at Jennings McCall were gracious models for budding artists. Most residents even tried their hand at drawing their Tree Swallow's portraits.
We were able to spend time with our High School buddies to edit "I am" poems and collaborate on portraits for our class Treasure Book. I am so excited about this opportunity to publish this awesome collection of poems in two voices. Look for the order form this week!
Where we are going...
Monday is Dr. Suess' birthday and Read Across America Day! This will be our second annual read-in. We will engage in a variety of literacy activities (guest readers, buddy reading, and dramatic readings). Tree swallows are invited to wear pajamas (we will have outside recess, so shoes and a coat).
This week we begin our ecosystems study with a focus on forest. Thursday's Out and About is at the Tom McCall Forest where students will closely examine and record the life within a "hoolahoop" circle.
Tree Swallows applied skills they are working on in Art- perspective and proportion of face and were reunited with some dear community friends during an Art Out and About last week. The residents at Jennings McCall were gracious models for budding artists. Most residents even tried their hand at drawing their Tree Swallow's portraits.
We were able to spend time with our High School buddies to edit "I am" poems and collaborate on portraits for our class Treasure Book. I am so excited about this opportunity to publish this awesome collection of poems in two voices. Look for the order form this week!
Where we are going...
Monday is Dr. Suess' birthday and Read Across America Day! This will be our second annual read-in. We will engage in a variety of literacy activities (guest readers, buddy reading, and dramatic readings). Tree swallows are invited to wear pajamas (we will have outside recess, so shoes and a coat).
This week we begin our ecosystems study with a focus on forest. Thursday's Out and About is at the Tom McCall Forest where students will closely examine and record the life within a "hoolahoop" circle.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Scholarship...
Our Theme Study: Yummy, yummy, in my tummy...
Central to our health, happiness and familial and cultural heritage, food plays an monumental role in our lives.
Over the last few weeks, the Tree Swallows have begun to look to the very root of the foods we love. Through visits to local farms (Peachy Pig and B-Street Permaculture Farm), students have been able to observe and interact, first hand with a working farm.
At the Peachy Pig Farm, students were able to follow the Oregon hazelnut from tree to harvest to edible nut in their hand. This farm introduced students to industrialized management. Who doesn't love a tractor?
In contrast, the B-Street Farm invited students to explore an organic farm and offered a chance to observe alternative methods for sustaining crops and "working the land" (i.e., a chicken tractor tills, weeds and fertilizes the garden plot). At this farm we have also begun an invasive specie removal project (a vine, much like Ivy, has invaded the banks of Gales Creek).
The Tree and Violet Green Swallows grabbed on to this Stewardship project with both hands! We even had kids ask when we can we go back to help more… Go FGCS!
Along with exploring the structure and methods of farms, the Tree Swallows have spent some time exploring the resources (natural, capital and human) necessary for foods we all enjoy. We began under the surface…even before the seed.
As the scientists we are becoming, we used our keen observation skills to describe with detail "nature's roto-tiller", the earthworm. Based on our observations, we asked questions and formed hypotheses about the function and form of this creature. It was inspiring to observe the gentle stewardship of these critters by the Tree Swallows!
A scientist uses her senses to describe phenomena and create theories. While our worm study invited limited sensory exploration, our investigation of 7 varieties of Oregon apples allowed the Tree Swallows to employ all five senses to describe and record our data.
Each student collected data on one apple (comparative weight, circumference, test of density, color, taste, and predicted and actual seed count) and then compared some attributes of their variety with another variety of apple.
We ended this exploration with a taste test and graph to show classroom preference. With 7 varieties in the classroom and 2, 500 in the U.S., there was no clear "winner". We saw neither hide nor hair of a doctor this week, though.
With all this talk about food, our favorite dishes were bound to come to mind. Inspired by the book , "How to make an Apple Pie and See the World," and in effort to consider all the resources that are needed to produce food, the students created a "Story of Food."
Each student began with their favorite dish in mind and as title page. Then, the students began "dissecting" the ingredients to identify basic resources. For example, pasta began in a field of wheat. Each page of the student's story illustrates a step toward their favorite food. Yummy reading!
Our frolic with farming, food and family continues on into this month. An Out and About to local grocery stores will invite students to consider how food gets from farm to market, local and imported food, preservation and packaging of foods. We will again consider resource use as we further explore the concept of sustainability.
A more focused study of nutrition begins later in the month. Our food study will culminate with a focus on family and cultural traditions around harvest and food, and an invitation for you to attend a student- hosted Harvest Feast. Your mouth is watering, isn't it?
Literacy:
We have started Word Work/Spelling during Literacy Centers. This provides hands on study, practice and application of phonics and spelling patterns at each students developmental spelling level.
Book Clubs (guided reading groups) begin this week.
Writers Workshop this month invites students to stretch "small moments" from their lives over several pages by adding specific details. Writers paint pictures with words so readers can "be in the moment too." This is a favorite time of our day for many of us!
Last week we had our first (this year) Authors' Tea. A huge success, almost every author shared published writing while peers listened and drank tea (apple juice) with "pinkies in the air." Watch for announcement of our next Authors' Tea!
Mathematics:
Math Groups are now well on their way, three days a week. The Cedars have been exploring growing patterns . While all the students are comfortable with many pattern forms, the idea of a pattern that changes and grows, even in predictable way is still challenging. It has been exciting to see the "ah, ha!" moments in the children's faces as they begin to extend their thinking of patterns. Through Work Places (a centers-type component of math that invites independent and cooperative applied practice of introduced concepts and skills), students will have additional opportunities to copy, extend and predict the "Nth" series in a growing pattern as they become comfortable. The Cedars have been counting and regrouping by 5's with application to coin values and reading and analyzing time.
Yes, we do math together too. It's within our theme, like, where we applied measurement and data collection concepts to investigate apples. We also enjoy the richness of connecting math and literature by applying and extending a concept introduced in a story (i.e., division and The Doorbell Rang).
Stewardship...
Our recent farm visits have provided opportunity to discuss our roles and responsibilities as stewards of the soil, creatures and our food production. Our visit to B-Street gave us a chance to apply that care in a hands-on way. We pulled invasive vines and then carried heaps to offer to the goats. They were so haaaaappppyyyy (say with a neigh). Not wanting to stop, we have agreed to return to B-Street to continue to remove this invasive plant so that the surrounding native fauna will flourish. (say that fast, five times)
Odds and Ends, but no less important…. Thank you Families for contributing snack! We are so grateful for the bounty. I would like to ask that we no longer send drinks. Finding a way to distribute has been tricky. We don't want to use disposable ware, and while we do have glass mugs in the classroom, I'd like to reserve these for Authors Tea due to the required cleaning process.
This time of year families are cooking and sharing yummy treats and seasonal goodies. District policies require all snacks to be purchased. This is for the safety of all. Thank you for your understanding, and feel free to invite me over for pumpkin bread and apple butter after school :) Kidding…
Days and Dates to Remember…Tuesdays is P.E. It is getting cooler so send coats.
Thursday is our O&A day (except when otherwise noted)
NOTE:) Next week O&A Monday (11/3/08) 1:00p.m.
Friday, 11/14/08 O&A Morning
NO SCHOOL Tuesday, November 11, 2008 Veteran's Day
Odds and Ends, but no less important…. Thank you Families for contributing snack! We are so grateful for the bounty. I would like to ask that we no longer send drinks. Finding a way to distribute has been tricky. We don't want to use disposable ware, and while we do have glass mugs in the classroom, I'd like to reserve these for Authors Tea due to the required cleaning process.
This time of year families are cooking and sharing yummy treats and seasonal goodies. District policies require all snacks to be purchased. This is for the safety of all. Thank you for your understanding, and feel free to invite me over for pumpkin bread and apple butter after school :) Kidding…
Days and Dates to Remember…Tuesdays is P.E. It is getting cooler so send coats.
Thursday is our O&A day (except when otherwise noted)
NOTE:) Next week O&A Monday (11/3/08) 1:00p.m.
Friday, 11/14/08 O&A Morning
NO SCHOOL Tuesday, November 11, 2008 Veteran's Day
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
LEARNING CELEBRATIONS
When: October 1, 2008, this “first” Wednesday. 5-6:30
Where: FGCS and in The Tree Swallow classroom.
Who: The students of FGCS will be celebrating the work being done in their classrooms by sharing this very important work with the community.
What: First Wednesday is like a community “open house”. It is a time for local businesses to open to the public and share what they do. FGCS has much to share!
Why: Much of the work done in our classrooms and in this school is valuable to the community we live in. The members of our community (including our families) become an authentic audience for our students to present their work.
How: We rely on “ambassadors” in each classroom. These are students that have agreed to informally “present and share about” the focused work of each classroom.
When: October 1, 2008, this “first” Wednesday. 5-6:30
Where: FGCS and in The Tree Swallow classroom.
Who: The students of FGCS will be celebrating the work being done in their classrooms by sharing this very important work with the community.
What: First Wednesday is like a community “open house”. It is a time for local businesses to open to the public and share what they do. FGCS has much to share!
Why: Much of the work done in our classrooms and in this school is valuable to the community we live in. The members of our community (including our families) become an authentic audience for our students to present their work.
How: We rely on “ambassadors” in each classroom. These are students that have agreed to informally “present and share about” the focused work of each classroom.
Learning Celebrations
CALLING ALL AMBASSIDORS…
This Wednesday, October 1st, 2008, 5-6:30pm, is our first Learning Celebration for the 2008-2009 school year. In conjunction with the community’s “First Wednesday”, the school will be open to invite community members to tour and learn more about who we are as a school and what we do in each classroom.
Student ambassadors (classroom spokespersons, tour guides and project experts) will be invited to be present that evening, greeting and informally presenting to community members. For this Celebration of Learning, we will be focusing on all our Buddy Projects. The students have written informational captions on a chosen buddy activities and a few students are creating a comprehensive display.
With Wednesday around the corner, we are seeking student ambassadors for this event. Ambassadors will commit to being present Wednesday evening to present work (buddies projects and artwork) to touring community members, family and peers. Please let me know if your child will be able to attend.
This Wednesday, October 1st, 2008, 5-6:30pm, is our first Learning Celebration for the 2008-2009 school year. In conjunction with the community’s “First Wednesday”, the school will be open to invite community members to tour and learn more about who we are as a school and what we do in each classroom.
Student ambassadors (classroom spokespersons, tour guides and project experts) will be invited to be present that evening, greeting and informally presenting to community members. For this Celebration of Learning, we will be focusing on all our Buddy Projects. The students have written informational captions on a chosen buddy activities and a few students are creating a comprehensive display.
With Wednesday around the corner, we are seeking student ambassadors for this event. Ambassadors will commit to being present Wednesday evening to present work (buddies projects and artwork) to touring community members, family and peers. Please let me know if your child will be able to attend.
Goal Setting
READY...SET GOALS… Goal Setting Conferences are coming up, October 8th and 9th
We began discussing goals during “Family Visits” in the fist week of September and continued conversation and reflection during activities around our “hopes and dreams” for the year. This week and next, students will participate in classroom discussions and peer mentored activities to prepare for Goal Setting Conferences (!0/08/08 and 10/09/08 ).
This will be a student-centered conference, supporting your child in identifying attainable learning goals for this semester.
Watch for sign up in the office!
We began discussing goals during “Family Visits” in the fist week of September and continued conversation and reflection during activities around our “hopes and dreams” for the year. This week and next, students will participate in classroom discussions and peer mentored activities to prepare for Goal Setting Conferences (!0/08/08 and 10/09/08 ).
This will be a student-centered conference, supporting your child in identifying attainable learning goals for this semester.
Watch for sign up in the office!
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