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!