2.26.15 Crew News

Calendar Updates:

Mar 9-13: PARCC State Standardized Testing
Mar 11: 4:00-7:00pm Life is Art Artist Edition (Family Friendly Free Event to look at student art work)
Mar 14: 6pm Life is Art (Adults Only Fundraiser)
Mar 18-19: 3rd grade Student Led Conferences
Mar 23-Apr 3 Spring Break
Apr 6: No School- Teacher Work Day (This is different than other schools in the district)
Apr 7: Students return from Spring Break

Apr 20-22 NEW Voyage Date

Apr 23: Day of Rest- No School for 3rd Grade

Apr 24: No School; Teacher Comp Day

Announcements:

VOYAGE RESCHEDULE: April 20-22

If you haven't already, can you please email me to acknowledge and give your permission for your child to go on voyage on this new date? 

Student Led Conferences: 

-Third Grade will be holding their student led conferences the week before Spring Break.  This will be a great way to celebrate student learning and see what we have been doing in the classroom. Please sign up for a conference.

Click here to sign up.

Password: crew

LIFE IS ART: Have you gotten your tickets for March 14th? 

Here is a personal plug. :) Renaissance has done lots of fundraisers in the past, but we have narrowed it down to two big ones: Bootcamp and Life is Art. The parent committee who runs LIA has done such a fabulous job with making this a FUN event that really makes a difference in our classrooms. For example, this is the FIRST year I have had my own computer cart. Last year, 3rd grade had to share one cart, and before that, we had to share carts with multiple grades. This has been AMAZING! It gives us SO much more access to technology and teaching 21st century skills. I can't say enough how much I enjoy this event, and I hope to see all of you there.

Life is Art tickets are on SALE now! Tickets can be purchased here. Get them before the price goes up after March 6th.

Spring Climbing: Our crew will be climbing the week of March 16th. The more belayers we have, the more climbing students get to do! Hope to see you there!

 Belay Training for Spring Climbing will take place every Wednesday through February 25th.

Sign Up online; click 'Find a SignUp' and enter Mr. Doug's email; doug.baker@dcsdk12.org.
For those new to belaying, you will need to attend the entire training, starting at 10:00am (usually lasts about 90 minutes). 
If you know the physical skills necessary to belay safely, you can come at 12:00pm to learn the enhancements added to increase the emotional safety of climbers.  (If you took the belay training in the fall, you do not need to attend unless you would like a refresher or extra practice time.)

Health Fair We have continued our focus on the health fair posters.  Last week students watched the following video about Austin's Butterfly.   We had a rich conversation about high-quality work. It was amazing to witness the transformation of posters as well as the positive attitudes of resiliency and perseverance. Austin's Butterfly had a great theme of the power of feedback. This week, students have been revising their work based on their own critical thinking as well as the feedback of a peer and the teacher. It is really exciting to see how much pride is developing over these posters!  Next up, we will begin working on oral presentation skills and practicing how to present for the health fair. We have not set a date yet for the health fair for the 2nd graders.  Health fair posters will be shared with you during Student Led Conferences. :)

2.19.15 Crew News

Calendar Updates:

Feb 23-25: Winter Voyage to Keystone
Feb 26: No school for 3rd grade (Day of Rest)
Mar 9-13: PARCC State Standardized Testing
Mar 11: 4:00-7:00pm Life is Art Artist Edition (Family Friendly Free Event to look at student art work)
Mar 14: 6pm Life is Art (Adults Only Fundraiser)
Mar 18-19: 3rd grade Student Led Conferences
Mar 23-Apr 3 Spring Break

Announcements:

VOYAGE NEXT WEEK: 

-Our voyage is February 23-25. Drop off students at regular time on Monday morning. Pick up students on Wednesday at 4:00 by the Early Childhood Parking Lot. If we arrive early, the office will send an email out. 

-Day of rest is February 26th. (Students come back to school Friday 2/27)

-Gear list is here.

-STUDENTS PACK THEIR GEAR and YOU double check! (This really helps them know what they have, where it is, and learn the preparation skills for later).

-Pocket warmers are optional, but highly recommended for each day. 

-Pack 1 LUNCH and 1 SNACK for the first day. Pack it in their reusable lunch bag, so that we don't have to use paper sacks when we pack our lunches for the following days.

-HYDRATE early- encourage drinking lots of water over the weekend.  

Student Led Conferences: 

-Third Grade will be holding their student led conferences the week before Spring Break.  This will be a great way to celebrate student learning and see what we have been doing in the classroom. Please sign up for a conference.

Click here to sign up.

Password: crew

LIFE IS ART: Have you gotten your tickets for March 14th? 

Here is a personal plug. :) Renaissance has done lots of fundraisers in the past, but we have narrowed it down to two big ones: Bootcamp and Life is Art. The parent committee who runs LIA has done such a fabulous job with making this a FUN event that really makes a difference in our classrooms. For example, this is the FIRST year I have had my own computer cart. Last year, 3rd grade had to share one cart, and before that, we had to share carts with multiple grades. This has been AMAZING! It gives us SO much more access to technology and teaching 21st century skills. I can't say enough how much I enjoy this event, and I hope to see all of you there.

Life is Art tickets are on SALE now! Tickets can be purchased here. Get them before the price goes up after March 6th.

Spring Climbing: Our crew will be climbing the week of March 16th. The more belayers we have, the more climbing students get to do! Hope to see you there!

 Belay Training for Spring Climbing will take place every Wednesday through February 25th.

Sign Up online; click 'Find a SignUp' and enter Mr. Doug's email; doug.baker@dcsdk12.org.
For those new to belaying, you will need to attend the entire training, starting at 10:00am (usually lasts about 90 minutes). 
If you know the physical skills necessary to belay safely, you can come at 12:00pm to learn the enhancements added to increase the emotional safety of climbers.  (If you took the belay training in the fall, you do not need to attend unless you would like a refresher or extra practice time.)

Health Fair Students have been working hard to put together all their learning about the human body in a Health Fair that we are planning to put on for 2nd grade. We are using this as an opportunity to develop oral presentation skills. Ask your child to tell you about his/her healthy choice and practice the following: -easily explaining this healthy choice & what system it affects -a clear, confident voice -not too slow, not to fast -avoiding filler words ("like" or "um") Teambuilding In preparation for voyage, we did a challenge called the Tarp Flip. A patrol of 12 or 13 would stand on the tarp and have to flip it over without stepping off. This was a great way to prepare for voyage and discuss the importance of communication, collaboration, and a positive attitude.

2.12.15 Crew News

Announcements:

VOYAGE FEB 23-25: I can't believe how quickly our winter voyage to Keystone is coming up! I highly encourage you to have your kids try on all the voyage winter clothes now. They grow so quickly, and I don't want you to have to be scrambling at the last moment. :) Our voyage is February 23-25. Day of rest is February 26th. You can find the link to the gear list here.

Spring Climbing: Our crew will be climbing the week of March 16th. The more belayers we have, the more climbing students get to do! Hope to see you there!

 Belay Training for Spring Climbing will take place every Wednesday through February 25th.

Sign Up online; click 'Find a SignUp' and enter Mr. Doug's email; doug.baker@dcsdk12.org.
For those new to belaying, you will need to attend the entire training, starting at 10:00am (usually lasts about 90 minutes). 
If you know the physical skills necessary to belay safely, you can come at 12:00pm to learn the enhancements added to increase the emotional safety of climbers.  (If you took the belay training in the fall, you do not need to attend unless you would like a refresher or extra practice time.)

Calendar Updates:

Feb 13: TOMORROW No School; Teacher Professional Development
Feb  16: No School; President's Day
Feb 23-25: Winter Voyage to Keystone
Feb 26: No school for 3rd grade (Day of Rest)
Mar 9-13: PARCC State Standardized Testing
Mar 23-Apr 3 Spring Break

Hand Washing Results A few weeks ago, students collected data about how many Renaissance students wash their hands, if they use soap, and how many seconds they wash their hands. After compiling and analyzing the results, students created graphs to display the data and collaboratively wrote reflection paragraphs explaining the results. Sharing our Learning at the Beat Renaissance values service learning. This means that when students learn something, they have opportunities to share it with an authentic audience. After the incredible learning students did on Australia Day and in reflecting on the experience of skyping with a class in Australia, our crew wanted to share at our all-school meeting called "The Beat." We decided on topics that would be worth sharing, and then the kids wrote their scripts in partners and small groups. It was a great opportunity to practice oral presentation skills! Also, I was impressed with how they supported each other to write their scripts and help others brainstorm how to improve their parts. Bravo! Well done crew! We received notes and praise from other students about what a great job and how interesting it was. :) This provided opportunities for some deep thinking and reflection. ~How has your thinking changed after learning about another culture? ~Why is it important to share this learning? This was really tough at first. Students wanted to answer by talking about the language, sports, or items from Australia. For example: "I didn't know what sports they played, and now I do" or "I didn't think I would understand them, but now I know they just have an accent." We read a story today called One Green Apple. It is about a girl from the Middle East who recently moved to America and is adapting to life in America. It helped our crew do some critical thinking about how important attitude is when there are differences.  We had a powerful discussion around themes of accepting others even when there are differences, showing respect regardless of where someone is from or what they look like, showing empathy, not being judgmental, and being open-minded. Students published their Australia reflections and began putting them on their ePortfolio. I invite you to have them share it with you. What powerful words and messages to hear from 3rd graders! Valentine's We had a sweet exchange of cards at the end of our day. It is truly remarkable to see their thoughtfulness. There was never a truer statement... WE ARE CREW!  Happy Valentine's Day from Ms. Lauren's Crew!

2.7.15 Crew News

Announcements:

Crew Sharing at the Beat: Our crew would like to share what they have learned about Australia and what it is like to communicate with kids from another country. We will be sharing at the upcoming Beat (all-school meeting) on Wednesday 2/11. The Beat starts at 9am and usually runs about 30-45 minutes. Feel free to join us! Parents are always welcome to come to the Beat on Wednesdays at 9am.

Valentine's Day Party: We will be having a Vday Party on 2/12. Please have students decorate a shoe-box, bag, or a container that can be brought to school on this day. There will be no time during school to decorate it.

In previous years, I have found that these celebrations are more meaningful when Valentines are thoughtful. I encourage home-made Valentines, and but store-bought Valentines can be personalized and work too. Please have students make enough Valentines for all of our crew (25). Here is a list of names: Adin S., Aiden P., Alyssa, Carter, Charlie R., Charlie V., Cheyenne, Cutter, Dan-Anh, Ethan, Guy, Henry, JJ, Kaden, Kami, Kelby, Logan, Mira, Natalie, Nathan, Rachel, Rylan, Tessa, Tristan, and Vitorio.

VOYAGE in TWO WEEKS: I can't believe how quickly our winter voyage to Keystone is coming up! I highly encourage you to have your kids try on all the voyage winter clothes now. They grow so quickly, and I don't want you to have to be scrambling at the last moment. :) Our voyage is February 23-25. Day of rest is February 26th. You can find the link to the gear list here.

Construct and Deconstruct:

I'm looking for old items that can be donated to the class for a construct and deconstruct center. I'd like to have different items that can be taken apart and put back together (for this reason, don't plan on getting these items back). I'm going to head to Lowes or Home Depot and grab some tools so the kids can unscrew, pry, and investigate how things work. I'd love to have anything around the size of a toaster or smaller. Email me about larger items. :) Thanks in advance for sending in any old items.Also if you have any tools that you would like to donate, that would be great! 

Spring Climbing: Our crew will be climbing the week of March 16th. The more belayers we have, the more climbing students get to do! Hope to see you there!

 Belay Training for Spring Climbing will take place every Wednesday through February 25th.

Sign Up online; click 'Find a SignUp' and enter Mr. Doug's email; doug.baker@dcsdk12.org.
For those new to belaying, you will need to attend the entire training, starting at 10:00am (usually lasts about 90 minutes). 
If you know the physical skills necessary to belay safely, you can come at 12:00pm to learn the enhancements added to increase the emotional safety of climbers.  (If you took the belay training in the fall, you do not need to attend unless you would like a refresher or extra practice time.)

Calendar Updates:

Feb 11: Our Crew sharing at The Beat
Feb 12: Valentine's Day Celebration
Feb 13: No School; Teacher Professional Development
Feb  16: No School; President's Day
Feb 23-25: Winter Voyage to Keystone
Feb 26: No school for 3rd grade (Day of Rest)

Australia Day A highlight of our week was celebrating Australia Day. This holiday is similar to the America's 4th of July. Our resident Australian expert facilitated an authentic cultural experience, complete with food, song, games, art, history, geography, and literature.   We find out some facts about Australia. For example, it is pronounced "Stalia" with "au" silent. We learn about the geography, natural disasters, history, and an overview of how the holiday Australia Day is celebrated.  Students record interesting facts.  Decorations included.  They got to try fairy bread, chocolate crackles, and vegemite. The vegemite was salty!  They were good sports about trying new things!  One of our stations had Aussie children's literature, nursery rhymes, and books about Australian animals. It was fun to notice words that were uncommon to us.    The aborigines used boomerangs to hunt. They are also known for their dot art. Students created their own dot art on boomerangs at this station.  Where is Australia?  Finding Australia on maps and looking at different artifacts. They learned a game called "Pass the Parcel" while listening to Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport.  Looking at Aussie "moolah." What an amazing cultural experience! Students worked together to write about what they have learned and to take the opportunity to research topics of interest. Here is their work: