Hi All,
I wanted to update you on how the Rock Opera Project is going in our class! We are having a blast learning about the history of Los Angeles Transportation and then writing songs about each type of transportation. First we covered boats, both how the Tongva Native Americans in this area built rafts and how the Spanish Explorers used boats to come to this area. Then we dove into the Transcontinental Railroad and how it affected California’s population and way of life. Then we were on to Streetcars! We learned all about how the streetcar routes that were designed over a hundred years ago created the spread out city of Los Angeles that we live in today. Last week and this week we have been studying the rise of automobiles. We did an interesting assembly line activity where students tried making a paper car completely on their own, and then again in an assembly line. Students got the firsthand experience of what it is like to work on an assembly line where you have to do the same small job over and over again. We had a really interesting discussion afterwards where students voiced what the experience had been like, and also explored the pros and cons of creating individually vs mass producing a product. As usual, the depth of their thoughtfulness on this complicated issue was inspiring! After each day or two of studying a particular mode of transportation, students get some time to work with a partner and write lyrics for the song that we are creating on that mode of transportation. Most students have become pretty comfortable writing rhyming lines that describe some aspect of the type of transportation or how Los Angeles experienced the rise of that type of transportation. I take all of their lyrics and pull from them as I create a rough draft of each song. I then play it for each class and they make changes to make it more awesome. I am absolutely loving this process, and we already have 4 songs that are almost finished! Well on our way to a full Rock Opera! We still have airplanes and rockets to cover! I will let you know how those go :) My plan for exactly how the performance of the Rock Opera is going to work is still in the works, but I wanted to let you know a few bits of info at this point. We will be performing the entire Rock Opera at Exhibition. I think that this will probably take place for the last 30-45 minutes of Exhibition out on the field. We will be playing with a full rock band, and I don’t think we can fit in the classroom :) I am still working on what kind of set pieces we can create as a class. If you have any expertise/ interest in helping with sets, please let me know. We will also have an opportunity to perform a few songs from the Rock Opera at a local venue called St. Rocke the Sunday before Exhibition between 2:00-3:00pm. This is not at all mandatory, just a fun opportunity that I wanted to offer to both cohorts. I will be getting you more info on this soon! As always, I love learning alongside your kids! Let me know if you have any thoughts or questions, and please reach out if you are interested in helping with sets :) Hi Core 2 parents!
If you were unable to attend PEC 3 last week, please carefully read the blurb below and make plans to attend one of the make-up sessions this week: Parent educators who missed PEC #3 will need to make-up that face-to-face time in order to remain compliant with our Independent Study Enrollment Agreement. We are offering repeats of three PEC workshops in order to help all families with math support. If you missed PEC #3, please plan on attending one of the three workshops below:
Hi All!
Student Led Conferences are coming up at the very beginning of March! Student Led Conferences are an opportunity for your child to share their experience in the classroom, reflect on their learning, and set learning goals. Each student must sign up for one 45 minute block of time, there will be up to 5 families in each block. Parent Teacher Conferences are an optional opportunity for parent and teacher to discuss the student's learning in a more traditional meeting setting. These are available in 15 minute time slots. Here is the sign up genius for Winter Student Led Conferences and optional Parent Teacher Conferences: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d48a8a729abfe3-winter I wanted to remind you that there is no school or Enrichment on these days (March 1st and 2nd), but there is homeschool. I will be mailing out the letters that you wrote at your child’s Fall SLC. I would love if you would read the letter together and reflect on how the year is going. You may even want to begin reflecting on what a good goal for the last part of the year might be. Thanks, and don’t forget to sign up for an SLC time! Update:
There is so much going on right now that I wanted to remind you of a few key dates/ events: Feb 10th, 9:15-2:15 Parent Educator Conference (PEC #3) Hawthorne Mem Center Feb 18th- Work Journal Deadline WJ #3 is due by 4:15 pm on Thursday, Feb. 18th. Mon Feb 15th & Fri, Feb 12th In honor of Presidents' Day, school will be closed on Monday, February 15th. Please note: campus is also closed on Friday, February 12th. ***Friday and Monday are NOT home school days*** (this is a correction, sorry for the confusion). Enjoy the 4 day weekend! Wednesday, February 24th- Robin’s class field trip to Natural History Museum March 1st and 2nd- Student Led Conferences (Homeschool on both days) |
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February 2017
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