Crew News 2.23.12

 

Winter Voyage:

It's coming up quick! Check out the gear list, so that third graders are prepared for our winter voyage!  Click here for the GEAR LIST

    ***Have your child pack their OWN bag so they are aware of what they are bringing and where it is in their bag. This is a very important part of our adventure education, so PLEASE resist the urge to pack for them! Pack WITH them instead. THANKS! :)

 

 

Rock the Arts

Congrats to all the artists that were selected for the art show called Rock the Arts! We have a few members of our crew who have been selected to share their art. Also a huge THANK YOU to Ms. Pam for all the wonderful work she does with our crew.

 

 

Crew Learning Expedition/Language: To show off our learning of geology and our genre of nonfiction text, students are creating Rock Books as a final product of this expedition. Students are demonstrating excellent knowledge and thoughtful organization of their writing about each topic. We will continue working on these next week, and then hopefully share them with a younger grade. HINTS AT HOME: Tell me about what you are working on in your rock book.

Writing:We have continued practicing writing to a prompt. We have been talking a lot during individual conferences to discuss celebrations, goals, and growth. I will be sending home a lot of these paragraphs tomorrow in Thursday folder, so take a look at the great work I am seeing!  HINTS AT HOME: What do you know about yourself when you write to a prompt? What is challenging? What comes easily?

Math: This week we dived further into fractions, and did some review on the math test that will be coming home tomorrow.    HINTS AT HOME:After our fraction unit, we will return to (double digit) multiplication and division. PLEASE PLEASE continue working on these facts at home until they are mastered. Knowing the basic facts is essential before being able to successfully do double digit multiplication.

Reading Workshop:Reading nonfiction text is different that reading fiction text. We have been discussing strategies, identifying the main idea, and looking at how the organization of text helps our understanding.    HINTS AT HOME: Continue nightly reading at home. Encourage a variety (so if you always read fiction, try a nonfiction text).

A Note From Mr. Doug: 

Can you please send out a feeler e-mail to your parents to see how many of our students would be interested in competing in the Cup Stacking National Tournament on March 24th-25th.  

Where, US Air Force Base in Colorado Springs.

When, Sat 24th 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, Sun 25th 8:00 am to 3:30 pm.

Cost, $20.00/stacker. 

Have them e-mail or come see me. Doug.Baker@dcsdk12.org

 

Spelling: Spelling will come home in Thursday folders. Due to the voyage, we will take the next test on March 7th.

 

 Feb 20: President's Day, No School

Feb 29-Mar 1: Winter Voyage 

Mar 2: Day of Rest/ No Students for Teacher Professional Development

Mar 5-9: Writing & Math Assessment

March 23: Student in School (different that other schools in district) 

March 26-April 6: Springbreak

April  9: Teacher Work Day

April 10: Students return 

Crew News 2.16.12

It was a very proud moment when several of the guides sought out Ms. Brittany and I to compliment how knowledgeable and respectful our crews were. They see a lot of school groups, and they were VERY impressed how much the students were able to talk about the rocks, ask thoughtful questions, and show higher level thinking. BRAVO!

Also, a big THANK YOU to chaperones Joe, Trinity, and Rebecca.

More pictures below.

Crew Learning Expedition: Our fieldwork to Garden of the Gods was FANTASTIC. Through a video, hands-on demonstration, and guided tour students were able to better understand and add new learning. The key learning of the day was about the processes of rock formations: uplift, erosion, and faulting. I cannot wait to debrief with students tomorrow to hear reflections of their learning. HINTS AT HOME: What new facts did you learn at Garden of the Gods? What was your favorite part of this fieldwork?

Writing/Language: It seems that our writing blocks were disrupted by the busy-ness of the week. However, we continued working on writing letters and analyzing the quality of our work. In language, we launched into our study of nonfiction. Since students demonstrated a strong understanding of text features, we are concentrating on  writing nonfiction. This week, we worked on the words you use when you compare (like, as, similar) and contrasting (unlike, different than, as opposed to). HINTS AT HOME: What are the challenges and of writing nonfiction?

Math: We took our assessment of Unit 7 on multiplication and began Unit 8 on fractions. Vocabulary for fractions includes numerator, denominator, the whole, and equal parts.  HINTS AT HOME:After our fraction unit, we will return to (double digit) multiplication and division. PLEASE PLEASE continue working on these facts at home until they are mastered. Knowing the basic facts is essential before being able to successfully do double digit multiplication.

Reading Workshop:I am so proud of how seriously and hard students worked on the Reading TCAP. I know this test generates a lot of anxiety and stress for students, but I think they were well-prepared and felt confident about showing their best thinking. Thank you for your support!

Bring Rocks In: Students have been asking to bring in rocks from their own collection, so we will set aside some time tomorrow to observe and identify rocks from home. If your child wants to, please make sure rocks are in a plastic bag with the student's name written on it.

Art Show: Ms. Pam has been working hard to make sure our school is represented at the "Rock the Arts" art show. We have a few members of our crew who have been selected to share their art at this art show. CONGRATS! Show your support and stop by anytime February 18-23 at the Outlets at Castle Rock in Suite #600/610.

Spelling: Here is the spelling list for this week. The spelling test will be on 2/22 (2 weeks) so that students do not have to study during TCAP. :)

Winter Voyage:

It's coming up quick! Check out the gear list, so that third graders are prepared for our winter voyage! Click here for the GEAR LIST

 Feb 20: President's Day, No School

Feb 29-Mar 1: Winter Voyage 

Mar 2: Day of Rest

Mar 5-9: Writing & Math Assessment

In addition to my pictures below, check out more pictures here!