Hello Everyone,
Thank you to all of the families who came out to the Farmer’s Market on Saturday! I had so much fun getting to see kids and their families outside of school. Please send your child’s farmer’s market interview with them to school if you haven’t already. I am wanting to start discussing the difference between food bought locally (farmer’s market) and food bought at the supermarket. I would like to ask each student to go to their local supermarket and talk to the produce person about where the produce is coming from. It would be great if the student could bring in notes from this supermarket excursion that consist of: The Name of the Supermarket Location Type of Produce that was discussed (help them narrow it down to 2-3 fruits/ veg) Where the produce came from How it traveled (if the produce person knows this info) We are beginning to start focusing on Exhibition this week. Their How To books are coming along beautifully! They are being very thoughtful with what they feel others need to know about how to continue Wangari’s work. I am impressed with how hard they are working and with their ability to sustain work for a substantial amount of time. I am beyond excited to have them share their work with you at Exhibition! In math we are doing a fun pumpkin math activity. Early in the week we made observations and estimated the amount of seeds in four different pumpkins. On Thursday/ Friday we will be counting how many seeds are in each pumpkin and comparing them to our estimates. Our October Math Meet up is this afternoon. If you are unable to come and would like some math game ideas, feel free to pop in before or after school. I will make some extra copies for those that would like them. In reading we have been partner reading a book about pumpkins (From Seed to Pumpkin). They created photosynthesis diagrams and did a gallery walk/ discussion of the whole group’s work. Photosynthesis is a complicated concept for 1st and 2nd graders. If you are wanting to dive deeper on some plant concepts, photosynthesis would be a good concept to explore further. In writing with Patrick they have been writing poems, and discussing nouns and adjectives. Their Green Defenders I Am poems are coming along beautifully, and I know they are looking forward to sharing them at Exhibition. One important bit about the upcoming Exhibition is that Patrick and I are going to be putting on Exhibition together. Students will be presenting in both rooms! I will have more detailed information as it gets closer. Announcements: October 30/31 Halloween and Pizza Day Students are free to wear their costumes. Please make sure it is appropriate for school! A Note from Happily Family We are pleased to announce that we are starting the Compassionate Communication class that you've asked for! We have lots of resources to share with you online and offline to support you in creating and maintaining a wonderful relationship with your children and raising resilient, capable kids. The first step of our journey together is for you to REGISTER to the website we made just for DVIA families. Think of it as your "own private Idaho". It'll take only a moment to register at: dvia.HappilyFamily.com/dvia-register This will give you access to parenting videos, an interactive forum where you can get your parenting questions answered, and recordings if you miss one of our live classes. Please register soon because our first class is in a few days! (You will receive all of the details after you register.) Parenting Workshop Series - The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families Wed, 10/29 | 6 - 7:30 pm Join Rita and Janette on a journey of exploration based on Stephen Covey's book of the same name. This series of workshops will focus on supporting parents in developing a thriving family culture. In this first session (focusing on Habit #2: Begin With the End in Mind), we will explore the role of vision, clear direction and mission statements for our families and create vision boards. You will take away do-able action steps to implement at home. Reading the book is not required for participation. RSVPs are requested and can be made here.
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Hi Core 2 Families! I hope everyone is getting through the long month of October! We have been having such a nice week. The students are now deep into creating their action plans to continue Wangari’s work. Each student is in a small group based on interest and they have come up with an action plan to execute at Exhibition. A big part of this action plan is thinking through how to educate others on their topic. For example, if they have created an action plan that involves giving away seedlings, they are each making a how to book on how to plant seedlings. In starting the how to books, students were expected to watch a short video and take notes on important information that they might want to include in their how to book. I was so impressed to see the quality of their note taking. They were very engaged, and they repeatedly stopped the videos to write detailed notes and pictures. It was interesting to see them working in this way, and it made me think that doing this style of research (watching short educational videos/ taking notes/ writing informational text) could easily be recreated at home. Speaking of writing, several of you have asked for copies of the writing protocols that Patrick went over during his writing workshop at PEC #2. During reading, students have been reading books on trees (A Tree is Growing and Be a Friend to Trees) with their reading partners. It has been interesting to watch them figure out what their strengths are in reading/ comprehending texts, and to watch them support each other. We have also been working more with our word wall and we have been having short talks about long vowel patterns. We have been really hitting our stride in math. Last week we worked on the Georgia Math Task called “Number Hop.” We were able to complete Parts 1,2,3. If you feel that your student could use more practice with skip counting, you could do Parts 4 and 5 at home. This week we did the task “Place Value Play.” We were able to complete all aspects of the lesson. I thought that the number talks included in this lesson were really interesting. We talked about and used friendly 10’s and 100’s and shared our thinking with regards to solving mental math problems. I am really pleased with the balnce we have been striking with all of the different ability levels within the classroom. Please let me know if you need any support with Georgia Math at home. Math Meet Up- October 29th 3:00-4:00 (Still looking for parents to present fun math games!!) Please Sign up on the sign up genius if you plan on attending so that I know how many people to expect. Also, if you would like to share a game with other parents, please sign up! I am going to encourage you to not bring children if at all possible. If lack of childcare would prohibit you from coming, then please bring them and a plan of what they are going to do during that time. Patrick will be watching them, but it will go smoother if they have a plan of what they need to do during that time. www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0D48A8A729ABFE3-october1 Farmer's Market Field Trips! I am looking forward to seeing a lot of you on Saturday! Please don't forget to stay with your child during this outing, as you (not the school or teacher) are responsible for them. I sent out a sheet that can be used to come up with interview questions for the vendors at the farmer's market. Have a great week!!
Happy Wednesday Everyone!
We have had a good week here in Core 2! Thank you for getting your first Work Journal in on time- not a single one late!! A couple of quick reminders about Work Journals: 1. Please NO copies for work samples. We need the originals for the auditor. 2. Make sure to sign, and have your child sign, the Work Journal. 3. I need to see evidence of Math, Reading, and Writing every day. If you skip a day in a subject, please make it obvious where you have made it up. Thanks again for being awesome and doing such great work with your kiddos! We have been hard at work here in Core 2. We began forming our answers to the question: “What can we do to continue Wangari’s work?” The students thought of so many amazingly thoughtful and creative ideas. Please take the time to ask your student about their “action plan.” Some students are creating one around growing food, others around planting trees, and others around giving away seeds. I have been so happy to see the level of critical thinking going into the formation of these plans. I can’t wait to see where they take them! In writing with Patrick, they have been putting the final touches on their Wangari piece and will be moving on to their How To Books. These books will be in support of their actions plan (for example: how to plant an avocado seed, or how to care for a vegetable garden.) In math, we have begun to work on studying numbers through the lens of our base 10 system. I have been having them work on numbers of the day that promote thinking about groups of ten. We looked at the number 10 and the number 100, and talked about all of the different number sentences that we could write to get to those numbers. We also looked at word problems where things were broken into groups of 10. (Camila has a packet of 220 seeds. She puts them into rows of 10. How many rows of 10 can Camila make?) This allows for students to think about breaking hundreds into groups of 10. We have also been working on the Georgia tasks, sometimes as a whole group and sometimes as small differentiated groups. I had a request to let parents know about any part of the “school tasks” that are not covered in school. I think that this is a good idea, as I am not always able to cover all parts of the task. You are not required to try and cover these parts, but you are welcome to, if you feel they would be a good addition to your math lessons for that week. I was able to complete Task 1, or a modified (smaller numbers) version of Task 1 with the class last week. I will keep you up to date with any aspect of the lessons that I do not cover in class. Math Meet Up- October 29th 3:00-4:00 Please Sign up on the sign up genius if you plan on attending so that I know how many people to expect J Also, if you would like to share a game with other parents, please sign up! I am going to encourage you to not bring children if at all possible. If lack of childcare would prohibit you from coming, then please bring them and a plan of what they are going to do during that time. Patrick will be watching them, but it will go smoother if they have a plan of what they need to do during that time. www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0D48A8A729ABFE3-october1 Picture Day! Thurs, 10/16 & Fri, 10/17 To streamline photo day and help students get back to class quickly, we are inviting everyone to pass on polo shirts for the day and wear professional photograph attire instead, if desired. No need to bring that change of clothes required in years past. Please support your students in being mindful of dress code elements when selecting their picture day outfit. Students in clothing which are too short, tight, revealing or otherwise inappropriate will receive a phone call home for a change of clothes. If your child wishes to change back into his/her polo, that is fine. Rubio's FAN FUNdraiser Fri, 10/17 | 2 - 9 pm | Manhattan Beach Store The only thing better than a good cause? A good cause with a side of fish tacos. And we got both! Pop into Rubio's on Friday, Oct. 17th and enjoy fish tacos (and lots of other goodies) and DVIA gets 20%. Click the photo to download the flyer or pick one up in the office. Dear Core 2 Families!
Thank you all for taking the time to come and participate in your child’s Student Led Conference! Everyone did such a great job of getting the students talking and sharing all of the things that we have been doing in the classroom. Thanks for being so thoughtful with your child and for letting them lead the way! This week has been a busy one! We have been expanding what we do during Reading time. At this point in the year the students are doing a combination of word sorts, just right reading, and partner reading. This week we introduced partner reading. Each student is partnered up with another student in the class. If it is a day where they are expected to partner read, then they get the assigned book, make a plan on how they are going to share the reading, and proceed to read the book. Both classes have done phenomenally with this, and I have been so inspired watching them support and work with each other. During math, we have successfully added ST math and Race to 20 (or 100) to our math time. My plan going forward is to do one day a week of whole group instruction (the Georgia State math task) and one day a week of having the kiddos in ability groupings where they work on ST math for half of the time, and play a math game/ or do ability level word problems for half of the time. I think that the whole group task will allow for the collaboration and learning from each other that I like to see in math, while the ability groups will allow for me to make sure each child is being supported and challenged appropriately. Work Journal Changes The copy of Work Journal #2 that was on the Learning Goals page did not have the math standards on it. Please re-download a copy in order to have the math standards included. I wanted to take a moment to clarify one aspect of the Work Journals. I would like to ask that the samples you include are reflective of the standards on the Work Journal. Please do not stress about Work Journal #1, but going forward, please have the samples match the standards. Thanks for being flexible, and let me know if you have any questions about this. Map Test Scores Over the month of September, students were MAP tested in English Language Arts and Mathematics. The results are in and we want to let you know to check your child’s backpack on Thursday and Friday for the envelope which contains the individual student RIT scores in reading and in math. Also included are some new resources correlated to RIT scores for you to use to help improve your child’s skills based on his or her current RIT band. Anxiety Workshop Thurs, 10/9 | 6 - 8 pm Anxiety is the most common mental health problem in children and adolescents, affecting up to 25% of youths. Drs. Michelle Rozenman, Ph.D. and Araceli Gonzalez, Ph.D. will present information on how to assess and identify excessive feelings of fear, nervousness, and worry and discuss evidence-based therapies for pediatric anxiety disorders. Specific tips and strategies for helping kids and teens manage stress will also be discussed. October Math Meet- up I am scheduling our next Math Meet-Up for October 29th (Wednesday) from 3:00-4:00 pm. I want to dedicate this next Math Meet-Up to math games! The unit that we begin next week is on Base Ten Understanding. There are so many excellent games that help build a student’s understanding in this area. I will be sharing some ideas I have, but I would love if any of you would like to share math games that you have found useful with your kiddos. Upcoming Field Trip We are planning an upcoming field trip to the local Farmer’s Market, Saturday, October 25th. Please check out the sign up genius for more details! Hello Everyone! I hope everyone is having a wonderful week. We have been having a great time in Core 2 this week! Our project is coming along nicely! We have continued our work on Wangari and plants, and have even begun to have some luck with getting our seeds to grow! I wanted to ask for some help: We have beautiful new planters on campus, but are in need of potting soil to fill the planters. If anyone wants to donate a bag of potting soil to DVIA, Core 2 would greatly appreciate it!! The more the better! In math we finished up our measurement unit with a glorious day of Measurement Olympics. It was great to see kids making connections between the math work they have been doing at home and the work we are doing at school! I am scheduling our next Math Meet-Up for October 29th (Wednesday) from 3:00-4:00 pm. I want to dedicate this next Math Meet-Up to math games! The unit that we begin next week is on Base Ten Understanding. There are so many excellent games that help build a student’s understanding in this area. I will be sharing some ideas I have, but I would love if any of you would like to share math games that you have found useful with your kiddos. In that vein, I wanted to share the game that we will begin learning this week in class. It is called Race to 20, and all you need is some 10 frames, counters and a die. Here are the instructions: Please alter this to be Race to 100 and use a blank hundreds chart and 2 dice if your child is familiar with numbers up to 100. I would also like to share this article on Counting Collections that I was rereading recently. I believe that counting collections are a useful and fun activity for all of the kids in 1st/ 2nd grade. Please take a moment and read this article and see if it is something you could work into your math routine at home :) Announcements:
SLCs next week, please sign up if you have not already. Contact me if you need to be added to a time slot and there is no availability. Work Journal #2 is now up on the Learning Goals tab. The room parents are sending out some info on an opportunity for a class field trip to the local farmers market on October 25th. I am beyond excited to have the opportunity to go explore the farmers market with you and your kiddos! |
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