11.19.14 Crew News

Announcements:

Volunteers Welcome!

Just a reminder for those of you that our interested in helping out in the classroom. We have slots available from now until the end of the year. Please click on the link below to view the online sign up sheet. It is okay if you can only be there for part of the block of time.
To sign up, go to:
www.SignUpGenius.com/go/5080D48ADAB29AB9-classroom/677411

Group Pictures

The crew picture and retakes went home in Thursday Folders today. There are a couple of extras at the front office if you are interested in purchasing one. :)

From Mr. Doug: 

Hello all,

It is officially the gift giving season.  If your child wants cup stacking equipment or you would like to get someone else hooked on stacking there is a group order now open.  You can go to the speed stacks website, click on group order and then choose Colorado and Renaissance from the drop down menus, or use the link included and then use the drop down menus.  

https://www.speedstacks.com/go/

Thanks for everything, and cups will be here before winter break.  I will assume all cups will be gifts and will let you know how to pick them up discretely, or let me know if I can deliver them to your child.

Thanks again for all your support.       

Doug Baker

Calendar Updates: 

Nov 26-28: No School; Thanksgiving HolidayDec 19: School in session (this is different than other schools in the district)
               Report Cards sent home
Dec 20-Jan 5: Winter Break/Jan 5th is a Teacher work day (this is different than other schools in the district)

Jan 6: Students return to school

Skyping with our Australian Buddies! The room was buzzing with excitement on Tuesday afternoon, when we got to Skype with Ms. Rowe's Class in Australia. Students have been paired up, so that they each have one buddy that they will be connecting with. Buddies got to meet face-to-face to introduce themselves, tell about their family, and share an interest. How fun! Launching our new expedition:  The Human Body and Healthy Choices Last week, we began our new expedition. To get the students excited, we did a "zoom" protocol, where they would see pictures zoomed in, and they would have to record their thinking about what they see and think. Then they would see the picture zoomed out a little bit. And again. And finally, they would see the whole picture. This was a fun way to get them thinking about our new expedition. Here is an example: By the time, we were done, students were all guessing that our topic was about the human body and making healthy choices. They were right! Our guiding questions are: ~How do parts impact the human body? ~How do relationships and connections affect wellness? The Big Ideas are: ~People make choices; the choices people make impact their health and wellness. ~The body is made of systems (parts that work together) that need to be kept safe and healthy. We began our study with the SKELETAL SYSTEM. Ask your child to tell you about how the skeletal system impacts the body. It has been a great week to be P.E. Students have made a lot of connections between our expedition and the choices made in climbing. Next up is the Muscular System! Re-Arranging our Learning Space We took some time to rethink our learning space, and we have made some big shifts! How fun to try something new that will suit the preferences of our learners! :) RAKtivism= performing random acts of kindness Students decided to write thank you notes to all the kitchen helpers to thank them for all their hard work during the Family Feast. They gave this poster of notes first thing this morning, and they were very touched. How sweet! :) Climbing has been a HUGE success! A BIG THANK YOU to all the volunteers who helped belay students! What a great week of climbing! I have heard so many personal celebrations and victories. Adventure education is such a wonderful opportunity for students to push themselves outside their comfort zone, challenge themselves, and gain confidence from their accomplishments. It also was great to listen to students cheering for each other, which is a great testament the feeling of community or "crew." Reflecting is another important part of Adventure Education, and I look forward to listening and reading about what students have learned about themselves or taken away from their time in climbing.  Hints at Home: What goals did you have? How did you do on your goals? How did you handle a challenge? What are you proud of? What did you learn about yourself? How can you apply this to other situations in the classroom or in your life?