8.28.14 Crew News

Announcements:

Attention 3rd, 4th, 5th* and 6th* graders: Battle of the Books is back! If you love to read and compete against kids from other schools to show your knowledge of these awesome books, then BOTB is for you! 
Click here for the reading list. The Registration form must be returned to your teacher by Friday, August 29th. Let the battles begin!

Calendar Updates: 

Sept 1: No School; Labor Day Holiday
Sept 26: No School; Professional Development Day
Oct 3: Students are IN school (different than other schools in the district)
Oct 6-17: Fall Break
Oct 20: No School; Teacher Work Day (different than other schools in the district)

Voyage Reflections:  Students came back to school brimming with excitement about our voyage last week. What a difference it makes to have these voyages for opportunities of personal growth and coming together as crew.  Each child decided on one activity that was particularly a great experience, one where they had to overcome obstacles (mental or physical) and learned something about him/herself in the end. They worked hard this week to craft a voyage reflection that not only told about the experience, but included feelings, specific details, and thoughtful reflections about their learning from this experience.  After drafting these, they are working on publishing them on the computer. By next week, I hope to have these reflections loaded on their ePortfolios. Expedition:  We launched our first expedition... They were told to first draw and label the parts of the toys. Then they were asked to explain how the parts work together. Getting to work with toys in school was a big hit! And very engaging! What would happen if a part was missing? What would happen if you change one of the parts? After building some excitement and enthusiasm about this expedition, students learned the guiding questions. In what ways do systems interact? In what ways do cause and effect work in systems? In what ways does asking questions create knowledge? It sounds like this group has some great knowledge about systems already from their 2nd grade expedition on prairie dogs and wolves. Now they will be expanding on their understanding of systems through other studies of science. I'm not going to say too much about our study yet, so that parts of it can remain a mystery. Stay tuned for more!  Just for fun:  Here are two photos from our Back-to-School Carnival. Thanks for coming out to splash the teacher! :)  Rosetta Stone:  We are very excited to start learning a new language, including me! Here is our language spread:  I will keep you posted as we begin this new adventure. Mrs. Deborah's letter is posted below for your reference. Deborah Lemmer, Principal Dear Families, At the end of last year, Renaissance was presented with an opportunity to pilot Rosetta Stone, an on-line foreign language program. Through collaborative conversations with staff and SAC it was decided to pilot this program in second through fifth grade and Discovery classrooms. Throughout this year we will monitor the effectiveness of this program to enrich our language arts instruction. We will formally survey you towards the end of the year to collect your input before decisions are made for the following year. The intent of the foreign language program for students is to enhance their literacy and language development. This is a component of their literacy instruction. The goal is not for students to become fluent (though that would be great!) but to gain the benefits of critical thinking, creativity, and flexibility of mind. It is well documented that learning a second language, especially one not spoken at home, is more of a problem solving activity than a linguistic one. Rosetta Stone is a subscription based program. Students and families will be asked to commit to their choice of a language for one school year. If our pilot is successful and we continue with Rosetta Stone in future years, students may want to continue with the same language or choose another. Rosetta Stone brings language learning to our school. Fully on-line with each student working at his or her pace, with models that meet the unique needs of each classroom and each student. This program utilizes innovative approaches, with a learning framework that promotes creative and strategic thinking with feedback that offers motivation and individualized engagement. Progress is measured by each student’s mastery of content. For many students, that progress won’t stop at the classroom door. It’s anytime and anywhere learning that’s both independent and interrelated. Learning begins immediately in an immersion environment with interactive activities carefully sequenced to build language naturally. Core lessons introduce reading, writing, speaking and listening skills (literacy standards). Then, key skills such as grammar and vocabulary are refined in focused activities. Strong emphasis is placed on producing spoken language. Proprietary speech recognition evaluates students’ pronunciation, providing immediate feedback guiding students to speak the new language correctly. Content learned in Language Lessons is reinforced with interactive games and activities that provide fun ways to explore the new language. Students practice reading culturally related stories aloud, receiving feedback on the speech via speech-recognition technology. Management tools enable monitoring of student, class and group progress. This unique language program will be a component of our literacy instruction. Specific information regarding student progress is available through the on-line program itself. We are excited about this new offering and ask that you be patient with us as we implement it. We value your feedback as we work through the coming months. Warmly, Deborah

8.21.14 Camp Elim

 Wow! We had such a wonderful voyage at Camp Elim!

On Tuesday, our first day, we spent the afternoon doing several challenges. Ask your child about the “stepping stones,” “blindfold activity,” and “ants on a log.”  

These team-building challenges required communication, thinking outside the box to creatively solve problems, and working together. These activities allowed for powerful debriefing discussions with messages of learning from mistakes, not worrying about blame, keeping a positive attitude/tone when frustrated, and staying focused to help the team complete the objective. These are all great life lessons!

We also did archery and a lower ropes course (brand-new at Camp Elim). 

Students were able to identify goals and talk about challenges being in their comfort, growth, or panic zone. Students cheered for each other and encouraged each other as each child persevered with his/her own personal challenges.

 On the second day, I told the kids that they would be hiking more than THREE MILES at Mueller State Park. Many children did not think they could hike that far, but they said their goal was to do it. It was not the easiest of hikes and included a few steep inclines. 

We stopped for lunch at a beautiful lookout. We also stopped to learn about plants of the area and to play a game called “Camouflage.” Students learned all kinds of things, including how to go to the bathroom in the woods. 

The hiking got tough towards the end, but morale remained high as they cheered each other to the top. It was such a PROUD moment as students finished that final ascent to the parking lot. 

Seeing a child experience the joy and pride of accomplishing something that was not believed to be possible is remarkable. I was overjoyed and thrilled to celebrate with them. Many students connected it to the quote “You can do ANYTHING you set your mind to.”

We returned to camp for some fun and games. Patrols played a tag game together, and then they worked together to create a masterpiece of art, made out of pinecones.

In the evenings, we enjoyed skits, stories, and songs by the Camp Elim Staff.

We set aside some time for solitude and reflection. During this solo time, students could have some time with their thoughts to reflect on the celebrations and challenges of the day, what they had learned about themselves, and what they had learned about working with each other.

On our last day at Camp Elim, students went canoeing, hiking, zip-lining, and rock climbing. There were more personal victories of trying something new, pushing outside comfort zones, and working to achieve self-identified goals.

Wow, this all took place during the third week of school! It is hard to believe that I have only known these amazing individuals for three weeks. It is impressive for a class to become a CREW, but this is exactly the transformation that I witnessed. I am so very thankful for this time to get to know these children, develop positive relationships outside the classroom, and to have the momentum that “you can do anything you set your mind to.”

Additionally, I was very impressed with how caring our crew can be. There were several instances where individuals would perform acts of kindness, help a friend in need, or put others first. It was touching to see the tender-hearts of our crew. 

What a wonderful way 

to start the year!

A huge THANK YOU to our chaperones Laura, Lora, Jody, Steve, Bill, and Stephen!!! You were amazing, and I appreciate all your hard work and support!

Check out all the pictures. I have organized them by patrol (for the initiatives that were done as a patrol) and as whole crew (for the hike, canoeing, and other times we were all together). There are more than 500 pictures! 

Enjoy! 

You can view them as links to Picassa (must have Google) or through the slideshows below.

Flaming Wolverines

Three Headed Mountain Bears

Whole Crew

8.14.14 Crew News

Announcements:

Time to start packing!

Here is the gear list for Camp Elim. I STRONGLY encourage that kids pack their own gear, and then you double check it. When students pack for voyages, it develops skills in preparation that are essential! :) There will be no "gear check," so students will bring their gear on Tuesday Morning. Here are some questions that came up while we were discussing packing:

-Yes, you may bring one small stuffed animal and one small pillow.

-No, there are no electronics of any kind (including cameras).

      ***The chaperones and I will take pictures and share them with you, but we ask that students do no bring cameras.

-Please bring a book or journal for the bus or before bedtime. 

Other:

-Please send students with a sack lunch and 6 snacks on Tuesday (2 snacks for each day).

-Turn in all medications to the front office by Monday with appropriate paperwork:

Chaperones:

-Use the packing list for yourself as well. And bring what you need to be comfortable. We will be in cabins.

-See you at the chaperone training on Tuesday morning at 8:00am.
-If you would like to drive your own car instead of riding the bus, that is no problem! 

-Bring your camera to take pictures. I will compile them and share them with families at the end. :)

-Parents will not be in their child's patrol during the day, but they will be in their cabin at night.

Students will arrive at the normal time on Tuesday (8:30am), and will return at the normal dismissal time on Thursday (4pm).  On Friday, students do not come to school; it will be their day of rest. 

Calendar Updates: 
Aug 19-21: Fall Voyage to Camp Elim

Aug 22: Day of Rest (No School for 3rd graders)

Sept 1: No School; Labor Day Holiday
Sept 26: No School; Professional Development Day

Crew Highlights:  Voyage Preparation: Over the past week, we have been doing team-building activities that have given us a chance to get to know each other better. Some of these games are silly ones (ask your child about the food-name memory game, "bumpety-bump-bump," or "silent bear"). Other activities have been more powerful and led to deep conversations. One great one was talking about Growth Circles. At Renaissance, we talk about three different zones: your comfort zone (things that you feel comfortable doing), your growth zone (something that pushes you outside your comfort zone but you feel like you can learn or push yourself), and your panic zone (something that pushes you so far outside your comfort zone that you feel much discomfort). We started this as a movement activity. How do you feel about swimming in the ocean? How do you feel about trying new foods? How do you feel about being away from home? Then students were divided into their patrols and were given the task to identify something in each other their zones (that had to do with voyages or outdoor adventures). On the outer edge, students shared something that others could do or they could do to bring them back into their growth zone in the case of a panic zone moment.  This was incredibly powerful! At our debrief students shared the following thoughts: -“This really helped me get to know others in my patrol.” -“Now I know how to help people.” -“I found out who was an expert at something that is in my panic zone, so maybe I will talk to _____ when we do that (going on the zip-line).” -“I feel like I can trust my patrol.” -“At first, I was nervous to share my thinking, but now I feel really good about it.” Awesome! :) Patrol names: Flaming Wolverines and the Three-Headed Mountain Bears Today, we did a team-building activity called the Human Knot. I was VERY impressed with how well students communicated, collaborated, and persevered to “un-tie” themselves without letting go. What a great feeling of accomplishment for students to go from thinking of a task as impossible to the victory of success.  Afterwards, students took some time to solo. Solo time is a time to think, reflect, and grow stronger. Experiences are limited in their power unless you take the time to learn from them. We will be setting aside time to reflect.  This made me think of the quotes that are found on our school website wearecrew.org:   Speaking of which, have you seen the video about our amazing school? If not, you should check it out!

8.6.14 Crew News

Hello Families,

Thursday is my normal day to send out information, so although brief, here we go! :)

Announcements:

Male Chaperone Needed: Our crew needs one more male chaperone for our upcoming Fall Voyage August 19th-21st. Please email me if you can help out!!!

Picture Day TOMORROW: Please dress nicely! Our picture time is at 9:20. Students are welcome to bring an extra shirt if you would like them to change out of their "nice shirt" after we take photos.

Back-to-School Carnival TOMORROW 4-7: Hope to see you tomorrow! Feel free to come say hello! I will be under the splash tank from 4:30-4:45. (The kids were thrilled to hear this! Ha!)

Technology Use Agreement: Our crew is lucky enough to have 27 BRAND NEW Dell Chromebooks! Hooray! However, with opportunity comes great responsibility. Today, students shared with me some of the challenges and highlights of their time with technology in 2nd grade. We agreed on some high expectations of how our technology will be used. 

Tonight for homework, I ask that you spend some time talking about using technology in the classroom- responsibly and appropriately. Please sign and return this form tomorrow, so that we can get started. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me! :)

Crew Highlights:      Usually I provide a write-up of our crew learning but since our time together has been brief, I would like to share a few highlights. Listening Conferences: It was so nice to meet with every family and hear all about your child! Please know that you can email me ANYTIME to set up a time to talk (phone or in-person) to talk about how things are going or to find out more about the progress of your child. I look forward to our partnership to best meet your child's needs. :) Classroom Set-Up:I was blown away by the integrity, maturity, and enthusiasm shown while collaborating and problem-solving. Students volunteered for a committee to help with the library, materials, wall, or desk arrangement. This was a great team-building exercise, as they worked together to accomplish a goal. Today, we had a all-hands-on-deck to help sort library books, while the wall committee directed some fabulous parent volunteers for putting up fabric, borders, and posters. Our rooms look awesome! Very colorful and warm.  Great collaboration!  Our "desk" committee brainstorming the pros and cons of each other's designs.  The "wall" committee deciding which inspirational poster they want on our walls.  It's hard to tell if what is on paper will work in real life, so they got to test-out their arrangements.  With two options in question, the class voted for their favorite arrangement.  Sorting fiction chapter books was a huge task!  The "wall" committee directing where to hang fabric, borders, and posters.   Thank you to our wonderful volunteers!  Putting new supplies away.  The final product!  We love it!!! Bravo! I am so proud of them for working together so well, with no hurt feelings or frustrations. Instead, students were extremely flexible and positive. It was a terrific start to creating OUR classroom and getting the students involved in their learning space.