12.4.14 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

Repost from Monday's Email:

Calling for Chaperones and Volunteers: I am looking for volunteers for our fieldwork on January 8th and chaperones for our winter voyage to Keystone Science School on Feb 23-25th. If you are interested, please sign up here by 12/12/14. I will do a lottery and give final confirmation the week of the 15th. Thanks!

New Homework Policy: 

• Students will not return the homework to school. Instead, I encourage parents to check their students work and have a discussion about their answers. (They brought home the Unit 4 Family Letter that has the answers in it today).
• Students should be able to complete the homework independently. They might need clarification, but they should be able to complete most homework assignments by themselves. 
• If you notice that your child is struggling, please have your child bring in the homework with a note that they need extra help with this concept. 

For more information on everyday math homework, please click here: Everyday Math 3rd Grade Information. We just began Unit 4 on Multiplication/Division.

Calendar Updates: 

Dec 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

Learning More about the Muscular System Last week, we had the privilege of having an expert speaker come talk to us about muscles, fitness, and healthy choices. It was a fun, interactive lesson!  Getting our blood moving!  A visual of bones, tendons, muscles, and connective tissue.  She even got the teachers sweating! :)  Some exercises are better than other. We learned about healthy choices for exercise and eating.  Building Models of the Respiratory System Today we made a working model of how the muscle, the diaphragm, controls breathing in (inflating your lungs) and breathing out (deflating your lungs).   Students should be able to tell you all about the respiratory system from beginning to end. Ask them to use words such as the trachea, bronchial tubes, alveoli, and diaphragm. The Hour of Code Next week, we will be joining 11 million others in the Hour of Code. It is a worldwide effort to teach computer programming concepts and computational skills to people of all ages. Through games and interactive lessons, students will be learning how to code! Check out the website for more information. Students are welcome to work on this at home! http://www.tynker.com/hour-of-code/

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?

11.13.14 Crew News

Announcements:

Climbing is next week!

Our crew will take will climb the week of November 5th from 9:55-10:45am. Sign-ups for belayers, trainings, and refreshers are available at signupgenius.com under Mr. Doug's email:Doug.Baker@dcsdk12.org
The more volunteers we have, the more climbing students get to do!

Book Fair: The Renaissance Book Fair is next week November 17th! Students will get to preview the fair, so they will come home excited. Also, there will be a class wish list, so feel free to donate some great reads to our classroom library. :)

Thanksgiving Family Feast on Thursday, November 20th*: Renaissance would like to invite families to join us for our Thanksgiving Family Feast on Thursday, November 20th.  If you would like to join your student(s) for lunch, please complete the online Thanksgiving Feast Sign Up by November 17th so Ms. Zina knows how much food to prepare.  Lunch schedules on this day are unique; sign up for the crew you will eat with and enter the quantity of guest joining us at that time.
 Our lunch will be at a different time: 12:50-1:15.

*The November lunch menu shows the Thanksgiving Feast on Wednesday, Nov. 19th.  Due to our half-day, we are swapping the lunch menu for the 19th and 20th.

Calendar Updates: 

Week of Nov 17th: Book Fair (Tuesday is Family Night 4-7:30)
Week of Nov 17th: Climbing in Gym Have you signed up to belay?

Nov 20: Thanksgiving Family Feast
Nov 26-28: No School; Thanksgiving Holiday 

So Many Exciting Things Going On In Our Classroom! Creating Video Clips Remember how we are connecting with a class from Australia? Well Ms. Rowe and I thought it would be fun to send an "Introductory" video to introduce ourselves. When I asked our class, what would be important for Ms. Rowe's class to know about us, they came up with some interesting answers: our schedule, our school, animals we see, and holidays we celebrate. OK! So I let them write and perform skits to share some information about these topics.  After break, we watched the videos and noticed that they could be improved. We discussed having enough details to have a clear message, speaking with fluency in an oral presentation, and giving a good cultural impression. (This all tied beautifully to the 21st Century Skill: Communication by the way! And what an authentic way to practice these skills- for a REAL audience.) Here is our final product: We will be partnering all students with an Australian buddy, who they will get to meet NEXT TUESDAY when we skype! :) Reflections in Expedition Students have been working hard on their solar oven reflections. In three paragraphs, they reflected on the following: Question #1: Connect your learning from this expedition to solar ovens. You might include your learning about matter, energy, or the greenhouse effect. Question #2: Connect your solar oven to the idea of systems. Talk about how your solar oven is a system with parts. Why did you use those parts?  Question #3: Reflect on how you used the creative process. What feedback did you get? Did you use that feedback? Why is revision important?  I am super impressed with their connections, effort, and transfer of the writing skills we have been working on with factual description. These are proudly posted on our student work wall. You are welcome to swing by and check them out. Bravo! Student Blogs Speaking of writing, we FINALLY got our blogs rolling this week. It is a learning process, as we figure out how to personalize themes, create posts, and comment. You are welcome to view and comment on student blogs! For parents and families who want to visit: Password: crew Mrs. Lauren's Crew 2014-2 Adin's Blog Aiden's Alyssa's Blog Carter's Blog Charlie's Blog Charlie's Blog Cheyenne's Blog Cutter's Blog Dan-Anh's Blog Ethan's Blog Guy's Blog Henry's Blog JJ's Blog Kaden's Blog Kami's Blog Kelby's Blog Logan's Blog Mira's Blog Natalie's Blog Nathan's Blog Rachel's Blog Roy's Blog Rylan's Blog Tessa's Blog Tristan's Blog Vitorio's Blog For students who want to log in: Username: laurenmg0  (first name, middle initial, last initial, math number)  Password: Dcsdxxxxxxx (lunch number) Some information about these blogs: *These blogs are password protected from outside visitors. The password will be shared with you and our Australian buddies. *All posts and comments must be approved (by me) before they are visible on blogs. *All students must follow our guidelines/expectations for blogging that we have agreed upon as a crew. We have talked about the purpose of our blogs as a communication tool to EXPRESS INDIVIDUALITY by sharing thoughts, stories, and opinions and to  COMMUNICATE with a broader audience. --This information will also be available on the RESOURCES page for reference.-- Hands-On Math Students have been using a lot of math tools in this unit. They have been practicing measurement skills with rulers, yard sticks, and meter sticks. To explore perimeter and area, students used geoboards, pattern blocks, and measured strips of paper. TIPS FOR HOME: Can you please check in with your child about measuring to the nearest half inch, quarter inch, and half centimeter? Also review questions such as: -How many inches in a foot? (12) -How many feet in a yard? (3) -How many inches in a yard? (36) -How many inches in 5 feet? (60) -How many millimeters in a centimeter? (10) -How many centimeters in a decimeter? (10) -How many centimeters in a meter? (100) ***Measurement and the language of measurement can be tricky if you do not use it very often!

11.6.14 Crew News

Announcements:

Thank you for coming to student led conferences! It is such a great occasion to celebrate growth and set goals. It increases student ownership and momentum with their learning. Today, students were gushing about how proud they felt! :)

Thanksgiving Family Feast on Thursday, November 20th*. Renaissance would like to invite families to join us for our Thanksgiving Family Feast on Thursday, November 20th.  If you would like to join your student(s) for lunch, please complete the online Thanksgiving Feast Sign Up by November 17th so Ms. Zina knows how much food to prepare.  Lunch schedules on this day are unique; sign up for the crew you will eat with and enter the quantity of guest joining us at that time.
 Our lunch will be at a different time: 12:50-1:15.

*The November lunch menu shows the Thanksgiving Feast on Wednesday, Nov. 19th.  Due to our half-day, we are swapping the lunch menu for the 19th and 20th.

Calendar Updates: 

Nov 4: No School; Teacher Professional Development

Week of Nov 17th: Book Fair (Tuesday is Family Night 4-7:30)
Week of Nov 17th: Climbing in Gym Have you signed up to belay?

Nov 20: Thanksgiving Family Feast
Nov 26-28: No School; Thanksgiving Holiday

Solar Ovens Students have loved using the creative process to design a system to trap heat.  The creative process has been key to generate ideas, refine ideas, use creative production (build their solar oven), reflect & use feedback to improve their design, and work collaboratively with each other. I was impressed with how students embraced the PROCESS in which they had to persevere with challenges and be flexible in their thinking when it did not go well the first time. We will be able to make a lot of connections to this process throughout the year, as it is a great attitude of thinking and life-lesson. Many students were successful in trapping heat and having a higher-temperature inside their oven than outside. Be sure to ask your child how it went! Happy Halloween! We had a SPOOK-tacular Halloween celebration! A BIG THANK YOU to all who donated food, dropped by, and contributed to this fun morning. It was a blast! Also a big thank you to Trang for sharing her pictures! :)

10.30.14 Crew News

Announcements:

Halloween at Renaissance
All students come to school in their costume and must bring a change of clothes to put on after the morning festivities. 
We will have an all-student parade for parents and crews to enjoy at 9:00am.  The parade will take about 15 minutes.  The parade will be outside in the OLE(Outdoor Learning Environment), walking through the amphitheater.  

Feel free to come watch! :)

Parents are welcome to wait outside (or by the office) after drop off, until the parade starts. 
We will have 'breakfast festivities' in our classrooms following the parade, and you are welcome to hang out.  
If you are choosing to keep your students home for the morning, please call the attendance line so that we can excuse them, 303-387-8002.

Have you signed up for Student Led Conferences? Our crew will be holding our student led conferences next Wednesday and Thursday (November 5th and 6th). Please sign up for a conference. If these times do not work for you, please let me know, and we can figure out another time.

www.SignUpGenius.com/go/60B0A4AA8AE2A1-student3/
password: crew

Calendar Updates: 

Nov 4: No School; Teacher Professional Development

Week of Nov 17th: Book Fair (Tuesday is Family Night 4-7:30)

Nov 26-28: No School; Thanksgiving Holiday

Have you heard about our RAKtivism? This week, our crew began talking about random acts of kindness. We did "Stickie-Note Kindness" where the students wrote positive notes for others. They voted to leave these notes on the desks on all the sixth graders (when they were out of the classroom). It was really sweet! The kids LOVED it, and we talked about how good it feels to be in the service of others! I would like to do more random acts of kindness  and service for others. If you have ties or connections to organizations or projects (ex. nursing home, Habitat for Humanity, animal shelter, Coats for Colorado, and so on), I would love to hear about it. :) This week, I am cutting short my crew news in anticipation of student led conferences. We have been doing some great thinking and learning, that the kids are very excited to share with you. We will see you next week!

10.23.14 Crew News

Announcements:

Crew Pictures and Retakes are next Wednesday. Order forms will go home in Thursday Folders. If you would like an individual re-take, this is the time to do it (please let me know, so no one gets missed).

Parenting Class is available with content similar to Love and Logic. 

Click here for more information.

HALLOWEEN: Are you ready for the annual REMS Halloween parade? Please have students arrive at school in costume on Friday, October 31st. We will be doing a parade, having breakfast, and enjoying a few activities to celebrate in the morning. Then at 9:55 students will change back into regular clothes to go to IAs, and we will have a normal day. :) 

~Costumes should be school-appropriate. No overly-scary costumes or weapon props. Please email me if you have questions.
~A big thank you to Vanessa for facilitating the breakfast and celebration. We are still in need of a few items: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080d48adab29ab9-halloween1
~Parents are welcome to stay after the parade for our breakfast.

Calendar Updates: 

Oct 29: Crew Pictures & Retakes

Nov 4: No School; Teacher Professional Development

Week of Nov 17th: Book Fair (Tuesday is Family Night 4-7:30)

Nov 26-28: No School; Thanksgiving Holiday

I hope you had a fun and refreshing fall break! My trip was absolutely fabulous, and I will be sharing stories and pictures. :)  A Big Thank You to Ms. Lucky!  Awww! I missed you too! Bootcamp Update:  Our class donated 586 canned goods and raised over $1,000. That is amazing! This fundraiser raised over &40,000! Thank you!!! The dollars raised are not all visible but so essential. A big part of those funds will sustain the technology that we have - we call it the 'tech rejuvenation' fund. Having the level of technology that we have is a blessing and it takes many dollars to sustain it! The funds will also go towards our scholarship fund so that we can continue to support families financially who need some help. The funds are also going towards the maintenance and expansion of our Adventure Education program in the form of maintaining our climbing equipment/facilities, tarps, stoves, etc. We will also be taking down the rope ladder and replacing that with 'The Centipede'  - a four-part, hanging-posts climbing structure - THIS year! We are SO grateful for the dedication and support of our families and community. Thank You! Ms. Lucky was so kind to take pictures of the Bootcamp Festivities.